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Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 Introduction Lecture 40 on 07 June 2026

2026-08-11T16:10:27Z

Shekhar: /* The Story of Ajātaśatru and Gārgya */

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

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

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते

पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः

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

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

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.
==Introduction to the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad==
In our last class, we completed the first chapter of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. It is called ''Mudhukanda'' or ''Upadeshakanda'' also, and that is the very foundation and essence of the entire Upanishad.

As we discussed earlier, the scripture adopts a particular methodology to guide people like us. First, it accepts that what you are experiencing—that you are the body and mind, that you are in this creation of God—is absolutely true, real ''satyam''. But slowly it says: whatever is changing cannot be relied upon, and in your experience, the world is changing, the body is changing, the mind is changing, and everything is changing. This we have seen in the sixth section of the first chapter. The whole universe is nothing but a form, a name, and an action. All the three together are called our personality, and especially our physical body. Most of the time, almost everyone of us is identified with the body. This identification with the body is called ''satyam'' because that is our reality—not the ultimate reality.

If we can somehow lift our mind and detach ourselves from this idea of body-identity with the body, then we achieve almost immortality, relative immortality, that is called ''amṛta''. Once we understand how we can detach ourselves, then we become wiser, then gradually, progressively, step by step. So, detaching ourselves from the body, identifying with the next ''sukṣma'', that is subtle body, which is called ''prāṇamaya śarīra''. Then rising from there, detaching ourselves, identifying with the mind, then identifying with the ''buddhi'' intellect, then identifying with the ''ānandamaya kośa''. Finally, we have a crystal clear glimpse of what is Brahman, or to put it the same thing, ''pañca kośas'' from the identity with the ''sthūlaśarīra'', we must identify with the ''sūkṣma śarīra'', then identify with the ''karaṇaśarīra'', then we disidentify even from the causal body, and then we understand we are none other than ''turīya'', that supreme reality. So that much we have seen, and that is called ''adhyārupa''. First accept the reality of the creation, then slowly take us step by step, and that is how we grow. This is called evolution.
==The Second Chapter and the Path of Iti Iti==
In order to make us understand how to guide us from a lower step to a higher step, the second chapter had started. This second chapter has got three ''brāhmaṇams'', and as I mentioned, ''brāhmaṇam'' means sections, and the first section is the longest section because here we have been taught in the form of a dialogue—a very interesting dialogue—and this dialogue is in the form of a story between King Ajātaśatru and a Brahmin, bright, well-learned, well-spoken boy called Gārgya. Through this dialogue, what the Upaniṣad wants to tell us is that you go on doing several ''upāsanas''—in fact, twelve special ''upāsanas'' are given. As I said, as we discussed earlier, what is an ''upāsana''? That is expanding ourselves from a small individual identity to a larger whole. In fact, from this body-idea to the idea of ''devatā'', presiding god, from the individuality to the universality, from the microcosm to the macrocosm. That is the goal.

Whether a person adopts the Advaitic method of ''neti neti'', which also we will get in this particular second chapter, the earlier method is through the path of ''iti iti''. The purpose of every contemplation is to completely disidentify with our body and mind and identify ourselves with ''saguṇa brahma''. That is the very first step. This is also called the path of ''iti iti'' (this, this) as contrasted with ''neti neti'' (not this, not this).

I wanted to remind you at the very beginning: Swami Śaradānandajī Mahārāj had written the book ''Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa the Great Master'', and this book is not a mere biography of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, but it is a beautiful commentary on the very meaning of this scripture. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is nothing but a scripture. His life is a scripture, his teachings are scriptures, and we have to understand him properly. So while there is a historical fact that is called the life of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa separately published—where only historical facts have been brought together chronologically—whereas the ''Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa the Great Master'' weaves in and out of past and present. There is a special methodology how he has written that one. He did not write it in a step-by-step manner. First he wrote something, maybe he has gone back and written something, gone into the future and wrote something, again came back. The purpose is not to present us with a historical biography, but how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa grew through his ''sādhanā'', how his life becomes a beacon light for us all to understand the true spirit of the scripture.

Therein, at the very beginning, at about the 90th page, Swami Śaradānandajī describes how one can attain Brahman through the path of ''iti iti'', and he clearly tells us there are two paths. One is called ''iti iti'', and this is the path of the devotee. Another is called the path of ''neti neti'', and both take us to the same goal. The path of ''iti iti'' (this and this) is usually adopted by ''bhaktas'' (devotees), called ''bhakti mārga'' or ''karma mārga'', whereas the path of ''neti neti'' is adopted by the ''jñānīs'' and yogis through ''cittavṛtti nirodha''. One is positive from the beginning; another is gradually sublating the positive with the negative until we deny completely or rise above the three bodies (gross, subtle, and causal) or rise above the ''pañca kośas''.
==How the Path of Iti Iti Works==
Very briefly, I want to mention how this happens because it is one of the most interesting discussions, and it opens a world of intuitive ideas. I am condensing Swami Śaradānandajī's writing in a very easy manner.

Imagine there is a devotee. He adopts the path of bhakti and then he goes on meditating. At first, he thinks: I am imagining the image of a form as given through various descriptions. Viṣṇu looks like this: he has four hands and he has four different weapons and a lotus flower, etcetera, in his hands. He stands on the lotus flower. You can apply this to every God and Goddess—Lakṣmī Devī, Sarasvatī, etcetera. So he meditates. The devotee is intensely aware: I am the body and mind, but at the same time he also understands that my God is something very subtle as contrasted with the physical reality. But as he goes on meditating, at first a lifeless figure appears, first only a small part, maybe legs, maybe hands. Gradually he sees the whole figure, and if you study the Great Master, that is how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa also advanced. After a lot of practice, he sees the whole figure but lifeless. After some time, slowly, slowly, a smile appears on that figure. It comes out alive. So that is how the chosen deity becomes a complete figure, alive, very pleased, looking with great tremendous grace and highly pleased with the devotee's devotion. Then slowly an interaction takes place, and God and the devotee start talking with each other. More time passes, more intensity of ''sādhanā'', and the relationship becomes deeper and deeper.

Now comes the psychological analysis of what Swami Śaradānandajī does—a most beautiful explanation. He says the ''sādhaka'' (the spiritual aspirant) realizes: "You see, at first I was imagining my chosen deity, and as my concentration deepens, I could see very clearly one part, then another part, later on total figure but lifeless, later completely alive, smiling, bestowing gracious looks upon me, talking to me, fulfilling my desires. So I have been imagining Him, and now He has become real to me because of my intense imagination over a period of time, short or long." Then that idea also brings in: "I thought this world was real. Maybe just as I imagined my ''iṣṭadevatā'' is real, the same way, the reality of the world also is created by my mind. Maybe it is not real."

So then the man understands: everything depends upon our imagination. You imagine one way and you experience one way. Imagine another way, experience another way. Imagine positively, experience everything positively, happily. Imagine another way, everything will be in a different way.

I am reminded: I heard about a small game people used to play. Of course, I never knew about it, but later on I came to know in villages these games are invented. So some boys are playing there, and a small coin—a rupee coin or a One Anna coin—is brought. Then what happens? One boy is chosen, he is asked to close his eyes, and then the coin is pressed against his forehead very firmly. For some time he feels the pressure, and then the boy who is putting it on his forehead says: "Now it is completely attached to your forehead. Now the game starts. You will have to get rid of it with closed eyes, remember?" But after pressing for some time, he adroitly removes the coin. But the boy still feels the pressure and still thinks the coin is there. So he adopts various methods—jumping up and down, shaking his head to get rid of it—but he cannot get rid of it. Why? Because firmly it is implanted in his mind that this person had pasted it, gummed it to my forehead, and imaginary pressure will be there. Earlier it was fact—the pressure was a fact—but now it is imaginary pressure. So he goes on jumping up and down. If he can throw that coin out, then he will get a small prize, he will get that coin. Otherwise, he will have to pay from his pocket. This is the game.

Now what I wanted to illustrate through the story: through various ''janmas'', we have been looking at the world and we have been interpreting it. Then we are trying to understand: this is the reality, even though it is changing every second, but the impression that it is real, it is not unreal, continues. But through this path of meditation on the chosen deity, the mind of the spiritual aspirant clearly understands: "I have been deliberately meditating upon my chosen deity and I made it complete, and then I attributed to it life. Then it is smiling, it is talking to me. This is all my imagination. If this be true, my understanding of the world—that it is also ''satyam''—might it not be my own imagination?"

Once a person achieves this, then some magic miracle happens. Then he thinks: if I can develop the another imagination, this world is nothing. Let me elaborate with a small example. A man thinks: "If I can get this woman, I will be a very happy person." Is it a fact, or is it just his imagination (''kalpanā''), just like our dream? Yes, it is also a ''kalpanā'' because, as we see, no object contains something called happiness, because the same person, same so-called beautiful woman or man, can create opposite reactions in other people. So when an object is thought of variously by various people, what is the truth about that object? That is the point. With regard to any object in this world, there are opposing views. Some say it is wonderful, some say it is the most horrid thing in the world. Everything depends upon their imagination and also experience.

So the spiritual aspirant comes to the conclusion that everything is an imagination. Then what is the truth? "I am the truth. I am the Brahman. I am the truth." This is the only reality because anything imaginary is just imaginary. This is the essence of how a ''sādhaka'' attains to the highest truth. ''Aham brahmāsmi'' means what? I am ''satyam''. This is the only truth. I am the only one (''ekam advitīyam''), that is called a''nantham'' because I am the only one, and I am of ''ānanda svarūpa''.
==Connection to the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad==
Why did I narrate this with regard to this Brihadaranyaka Upanishad? Especially because here the story goes that this Brahmin boy comes to the king with the idea that "I am well-learned and I want to teach this king. The king is ignorant; I am knowledgeable." The king is a good person, well known for his generosity. So being in possession of this wonderful knowledge, I must teach him so that he can also progress and do much more good to the world. That is why I referred to it.

So what was taught here? Twelve ''upāsanas'' are taught. All are ''upāsanas''. How is an ''ālambanam taken''? A small thing is taken and identified with the larger whole. An individual is imagined to be universal as an example, because once we understand the essence of it, it will be a breeze to understand the other. There are twelve ''upāsanas'', beginning from the second mantra. For example, this is related to a triangle I mentioned so many times: ''ādhyātmika'', ''ādhibhautika'', ''ādhidaivika''. ''Ādhyātmika'' means me, the individual. I have an eye. What does it do? It has the power to experience forms and colours. But the power of my eye—individual power of my eye—is limited. So now ''devatā''. What is ''devatā''? The universal power of perception or seeing is called ''devatā'', god. So Sūrya Devatā, that is the universal god of the power of seeing, because he emits light. Light means knowledge. Without light, my eye cannot function. This is only as an example. If I can contemplate that my eye is nothing but Sūrya Devatā, I am forgetting the limited individual eye or the power of perception and identifying it, merging it with ''āditya'', then my whole vision will change. What does it change? Once I succeed in it, then I can transfer the same thing to other organs. My ear is individual, but ''ākāśa'' is the ''devatā''. My mind is individual, the moon is the ''devatā'', etc.

So take the ''vyasti'' (the individual) and make it universal, ''samaṣṭi''. Then the individuality melts away, revealing its universal nature, and that is becoming one with the ''saguṇa brahma'' or qualified Brahman. Once I reach there, then I realise that the ''saguṇa brahma'' is none other than ''nirguṇa brahma'' only. The manifest is but a manifestation of the unmanifest, an expression of the unmanifest. That is why I told you earlier: through the path of ''iti iti'', I am not only this individual "I", I am the universal "I". I merely expanded my "I" without any limitation. And then finally I find I am one with the universal ''saguṇa brahma'' (Īśvara), by whatever name you call it. Usually we call it "God". For most religions, God means ''saguṇa brahma''. He is the creator. Creator is always ''saguṇa brahma'' in Vedānta, in Hinduism. But once we identify that "I do not exist, everything is Brahman", this is beautifully expressed in a very clipped manner in the fourth chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā, which we are all familiar with:

'''ब्रह्मार्पणं ब्रह्म हविर्ब्रह्माग्नौ ब्रह्मणा हुतम्। ब्रह्मैव तेन गन्तव्यं ब्रह्मकर्मसमाधिना॥'''

''Brahmārpaṇaṃ brahma havir brahmāgnau brahmaṇā hutam, brahmaiva tena gantavyaṃ brahma-karma-samādhinā.''

''brahmārpaṇaṃ brahma haviḥ brahmāgnau brahmaṇā hutam |'' brahmaiva tena gantavyaṃ brahma karma samādhinā ||

That is, transform each individual component of this creation into its universal aspect, which is called Brahman. What is offered is Brahman. The person who is offering is also Brahman. And what it is offered into is also Brahman. Everything is nothing but Brahman. Such a person attains the highest ''samādhi'', and it is called ''brahma karma samādhi - nirvikalpa samādhi'' through the pathway of ''karma yoga''. So this is the essence of this first section, at least. Then we will come to something very interesting.
==The Story of Ajātaśatru and Gārgya==
The same idea is explored next. This king later on teaches—he becomes the teacher—and then he teaches that the real individual is none other than Brahman, who is beyond the waking, dream, and dreamless experiences. The idea that we explored in the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad has been reiterated in one of these ''brāhmaṇas'' in this particular second chapter. That is how, through the path of ''iti iti'', one attains to Brahman. In fact, even those who can say ''neti neti'' cannot start from the beginning with ''neti neti''; only step by step. How does it happen? We have seen how it happens in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad, especially at first saying ''iti iti'': "This body is Brahman—''annam brahmeti vyajānāt''." That very same person later on glimpses something subtler, more pervading, and he says: "Until now what is called ''anna brahma'', ''annam brahma'', now becomes denied—''neti neti''—not this, not this." And he identifies with the ''prāṇa'', and so on and so forth, until he reaches ''ānandam'', which is beyond ''ānandamaya kośa''. If you can keep this introduction in your minds, it will be very easy for us to understand the essence of this second chapter. In fact, I would dare say, the whole Upaniṣad—any Upaniṣad, any scripture for that matter.

The second chapter has three sections. The aim is the same. So this second chapter starts with a beautiful story. There was a king of Kāśī called Ajātaśatru who was a knower of Brahman, and there was a Brahmin boy called Gārgya, from Garga's lineage. He was well-learned, a very intelligent person, and a great spiritual ''sādhaka''. He had been practicing various contemplations called ''upāsanas'' (the word ''upāsanā'' cannot really be translated properly). So he thought he had reached the goal. Somehow he had mistaken that he has reached the goal—like one of the disciples of Swami Brahmanandajī, practising austerities at Rishikesh, thought that he attained ''samādhi'' (''nirvikalpa samādhi''). Then his guru, when he visited Kankhal, the disciple came to pay his respects to his guru, and the guru looked into his eyes and later on remarked: "It has nothing to do with ''samādhi''." He had some higher experience, a vision. But this is how many people mistake. So like that, this Gārgya also had mistaken that he reached the goal.

Then he decided that he would like to share his knowledge with this king. The scripture is using a peculiar word: ''dhr̥pta bālāki''. ''Dhr̥pta'' means proud, but he was not like Śvetaketu; you have to understand. We have seen the story of Śvetaketu, and after returning from ''gurukula'', he was arrogant, unbearable, and his father, a true ''sādhaka'', asked him: "Did your teacher teach you the highest truth?" And this fellow proudly replied: "My teacher doesn't know; otherwise he would have taught." He did not know that some things can be taught without being asked, but some things must be taught only after being asked. So this person never realized there is something I have to ask, which we see in the Kaṭhopaniṣad: how Naciketā asks, and he is so adamant, so firm, that Yamadharmarāja shows him so many temptations which are extremely rare, but firmly Naciketā rejects all of them: "I will not desire any other boon excepting I want to obtain knowledge of Brahman, knowledge of the Ātman."

So Śvetaketu was very arrogant, and when he approached a king with the same idea that "I will teach", the king questioned him in turn—five questions he could not answer even one. He got hurt, he came back, he complained to his father, and then his father said: "I also do not know the answer, so let us go sit humbly at his feet." But Śvetaketu refused to come. But the father came, he learned. That kind of arrogance is no good at all for true aspirants; one has to be careful about it. So somebody has to certify — you have attained to the highest. Not by granting certificate to oneself, by oneself. That is why Śukadeva had to go to Janaka to be confirmed: "Yes, you are truly a ''brahmajñānī'', ''naira brahma''." But Janaka did not simply look at his face and certify him. He tested him for one week with absolutely no respect, and second, with the highest respect that is possible, and keeping him in the midst of the greatest temptations. Śukadeva's mind did not flicker: ''ethadipo nivathasthu ningate sa upama smruta''. Just as in a windless place, a lamp never flickers even the slightest, Śukadeva's mind remained absolutely firm. It is also said that Janaka gave him a cup full of oil and told him to go around a huge room seven times, and not even one drop of oil had ever spilled out of fear, out of apprehension, out of anxiety. No, his mind was totally what Patañjali Rishi calls complete ''citta nirodha'' had taken place, and he was abiding in his own self: ''tathā dhraśtasvarūpe avasthānam''.

We should not compare Gārgya, this young Brahmin boy, to Śvetaketu at all. How do we know? Because he genuinely thought—mistakenly, but genuinely thought—that "I know; I want to share it with the king." But when the king countered him and said, "I know much more than you," twelve times he says this. Then this boy realized his knowledge is not up to the mark; he has a lot to learn. And you know what happened? Immediately, instantaneously, he sat down. Of course, the Upaniṣad doesn't say that, but he said: "Sir, I thought I came to teach you, but now I know that I am an ignoramus." Acceptance of one's ignorance is the highest knowledge because that leads to the highest knowledge. So we know later on that this Brahmin boy learned well, he behaved well, and he was a little bit proud but at heart he was a very good boy. He approached Ajātaśatru, who is a ''kṣatriya'', a warrior, a king, and he was the king of Kāśī. So he approached and said...

Then the king asked him: "Sir, what brings you here?" He said: "I want to teach you ''brahmavidyā''." He thought he had it. Ajātaśatru immediately said: "Nowadays everybody is running to teach Janaka because he was a very generous king, a great king. But so far nobody had approached me. Everybody says Janaka, Janaka, but nobody takes my name. I am glad that you are gracious enough to choose to teach me. Even whether you teach or not, for that very purpose, I will give you one thousand cows"—like Janaka had offered to Yājñavalkya. That shows the greatness of Ajātaśatru. This also shows that Ajātaśatru was a ''brahmajña'' (knower of Brahman), and we have seen in several places how even Śvetaketu's father had to approach a ''kṣatriya'' in order to learn ''brahma vidyā''. So here also, Ajātaśatru was a ''brahmajña''. But he did not become proud. He welcomed this young Brahmin boy, showed him all the respect, and when he was offered "I will teach you," he said: "I will be very happy to sit at your feet and learn, and that very proposal that you came shows your graciousness. I will offer you one thousand cows."

Then a dialogue takes place—a beautiful dialogue. Gārgya says: "I contemplate, for example, the sun as the highest manifestation of Brahman," like that. Then Ajātaśatru says: "I also worship, but I know about the ''saguṇa brahma'' much more than what you know. And I contemplate him as the greatest, most adorable, the brightest," with certain qualities he says. And there's an important point for us to learn how this also has to be understood by us. But the greater the learning, the greater will be the humility: ''vidyā dadhāti vinayaṃ vinayāt yāti pātratām''. The more our learning, the humbler we become. Why? How? Because greater our knowledge, greater will be our humility, as we understand how little is my knowledge compared to the total knowledge available.

So this Ajātaśatru was a very humble person, very generous, highly seeing everybody as Brahman, so graciously understood this boy—though he thinks he knows everything, actually his knowledge is limited—but I will help him. But he doesn't say it at the beginning: "You begin your teaching." So this Gārgya starts his teaching, and in twelve mantras (from 2nd to 13th) we get this idea. Gradually, twelve aspects of the ''saguṇa brahma''—"I worship, I contemplate, I do ''upāsana'' of the sun, the moon, the lightning, etc."—we will see it. And then immediately Ajātaśatru, very humbly so that he won't offend the boy, said: "Sir, I think I know a little better than you. This is how I worship the same deity whom you mentioned that you worship, and with these qualities."

So what is the idea of contemplation (''upāsanā'')? In whatever way we do the ''upāsanā'', we become that. If I worship Brahman as honoured, I become honoured. If I worship Brahman as desireless, I become desireless. If I worship Brahman as all-pervading, I become all-pervading. We will see it in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad, how marvelously these contemplations are coming across to us.

So twelve teachings Gārgya wants to give Ajātaśatru, but for every contemplation, Ajātaśatru's knowledge is much, much deeper. He says: "This is what I know," in a most inoffensive manner, very humbly, full of like a great, good, intimate, well-wishing friend advising. And then Gārgya understands: my knowledge is very little. But then his greatness is he accepts it. He says: "Sir, I thought I knew everything—genuinely I thought. But now I understand how little is my knowledge. No, I will sit at your feet. You be my teacher; I will be your student."

Now the roles are reversed. Ajātaśatru, of course at first, declines: "It is not in our tradition—always Brahmins were the teachers, and ''kṣatriyas'' can only be students." But then this Gārgya must have said: "Sir, whoever knows better, he is a teacher; whoever knows less, he is a student." So this is how the roles are reversed, and then the teaching comes. So from mantra second to thirteenth: first mantra is the introduction, second to thirteenth are the teachings of Gārgya (so-called teachings of Gārgya to Ajātaśatru), and immediately the correction or expansion of the meaning by Ajātaśatru continues.
==The Value of Upāsanas==
Once we understand the essence, what is it? That all these ''upāsanas'' are extraordinarily valuable. Each ''upāsanā'' gives us a specified result. That is how our mind becomes more and more expansive. That is how we slowly approach, shed the limitations, slowly expand ourselves until we become identified with the ''saguṇa brahma'' completely. In fact, ''sādhanā'' can go only until we identify with the ''saguṇa brahma''. Thereafter, it is not possible to contemplate because any contemplation is done only through thought, and it is not possible to think of ''nirguṇa brahman'', formless Brahman.

In the Gospel, we get it. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa asks M: "How is your meditation going on?" with a specific understanding in his mind because M preferred ''nirguṇa brahma'' (formless aspect of god). And by the way, the formless aspect of god is not ''nirguṇa brahma''. The formless aspect of god is also part of the ''saguṇa brahma'', the universal Brahman. That which has form is highly limited, but its origin is the formless, as we have seen in the sixth section, ''uktham''. The origin of all names (''nāmas'') is sound. The origin of all forms is the unmanifested formlessness, and the origin of all actions is nothing but ''prāṇa'' or ''hiraṇyagarbha''. So ''saguṇa brahma'' has these two aspects: with form, without form; manifest, unmanifest. But that is not the end. ''Sādhanā'' can be done with the mind. Without mind, no ''sādhanā'' can be made. But the limitation of the mind will never allow.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa illustrates this with a marvelous simile or analogy. If somebody's foot is full of thorns because he walked over the thorns, then he gets a bigger thorn, and then that bigger thorn helps the person get rid of all the smaller thorns. And then he says that bigger thorn also should be thrown away. But who is going to throw away that bigger thorn? He cannot do it because to remove that, another thorn, and to remove the second thorn, a third thorn—''ad infinitum'', it is not possible. But when once the mind reaches the identity with ''saguṇa brahma'', ''saguṇa brahma'' himself reveals his higher aspect, which is called ''nirguṇa brahman''.

So this is going to be the subject matter which we will discuss very briefly. First one or two mantras I will discuss in a little bit of detail, and then we have to do the same for the rest of the ''upāsanas'' (twelve ''upāsanas''), only mentioning what is the ''upāsanā'' and what is the result. This is all very true. Whoever does it, he becomes like this. This is what Swami Vivekananda says: great people like Napoleon, their imaginations far outreach ordinary people's imagination. And what is a dream or imagination today becomes a fact tomorrow. And if we want to become great, then our imagination must be expanded. Without doing that, simply saying "I want to be great" is not going to work out.

So how these ''upāsanas'' are going to slowly take us, remove our individuality, remove the limitations of our true self, and gradually expand our nature until we become one with ''saguṇa brahma''—that would be the subject matter, and we will discuss about it from our next class.
== Closing Prayer ==
ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda bless us all with Bhakti.

''Jai Rāmakṛṣṇa!''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.2 Introduction Lecture 40 on 07 June 2026

2026-08-11T16:09:00Z

Shekhar: /* Connection to the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad */

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

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

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते

पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः

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

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

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.
==Introduction to the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad==
In our last class, we completed the first chapter of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. It is called ''Mudhukanda'' or ''Upadeshakanda'' also, and that is the very foundation and essence of the entire Upanishad.

As we discussed earlier, the scripture adopts a particular methodology to guide people like us. First, it accepts that what you are experiencing—that you are the body and mind, that you are in this creation of God—is absolutely true, real ''satyam''. But slowly it says: whatever is changing cannot be relied upon, and in your experience, the world is changing, the body is changing, the mind is changing, and everything is changing. This we have seen in the sixth section of the first chapter. The whole universe is nothing but a form, a name, and an action. All the three together are called our personality, and especially our physical body. Most of the time, almost everyone of us is identified with the body. This identification with the body is called ''satyam'' because that is our reality—not the ultimate reality.

If we can somehow lift our mind and detach ourselves from this idea of body-identity with the body, then we achieve almost immortality, relative immortality, that is called ''amṛta''. Once we understand how we can detach ourselves, then we become wiser, then gradually, progressively, step by step. So, detaching ourselves from the body, identifying with the next ''sukṣma'', that is subtle body, which is called ''prāṇamaya śarīra''. Then rising from there, detaching ourselves, identifying with the mind, then identifying with the ''buddhi'' intellect, then identifying with the ''ānandamaya kośa''. Finally, we have a crystal clear glimpse of what is Brahman, or to put it the same thing, ''pañca kośas'' from the identity with the ''sthūlaśarīra'', we must identify with the ''sūkṣma śarīra'', then identify with the ''karaṇaśarīra'', then we disidentify even from the causal body, and then we understand we are none other than ''turīya'', that supreme reality. So that much we have seen, and that is called ''adhyārupa''. First accept the reality of the creation, then slowly take us step by step, and that is how we grow. This is called evolution.
==The Second Chapter and the Path of Iti Iti==
In order to make us understand how to guide us from a lower step to a higher step, the second chapter had started. This second chapter has got three ''brāhmaṇams'', and as I mentioned, ''brāhmaṇam'' means sections, and the first section is the longest section because here we have been taught in the form of a dialogue—a very interesting dialogue—and this dialogue is in the form of a story between King Ajātaśatru and a Brahmin, bright, well-learned, well-spoken boy called Gārgya. Through this dialogue, what the Upaniṣad wants to tell us is that you go on doing several ''upāsanas''—in fact, twelve special ''upāsanas'' are given. As I said, as we discussed earlier, what is an ''upāsana''? That is expanding ourselves from a small individual identity to a larger whole. In fact, from this body-idea to the idea of ''devatā'', presiding god, from the individuality to the universality, from the microcosm to the macrocosm. That is the goal.

Whether a person adopts the Advaitic method of ''neti neti'', which also we will get in this particular second chapter, the earlier method is through the path of ''iti iti''. The purpose of every contemplation is to completely disidentify with our body and mind and identify ourselves with ''saguṇa brahma''. That is the very first step. This is also called the path of ''iti iti'' (this, this) as contrasted with ''neti neti'' (not this, not this).

I wanted to remind you at the very beginning: Swami Śaradānandajī Mahārāj had written the book ''Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa the Great Master'', and this book is not a mere biography of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, but it is a beautiful commentary on the very meaning of this scripture. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is nothing but a scripture. His life is a scripture, his teachings are scriptures, and we have to understand him properly. So while there is a historical fact that is called the life of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa separately published—where only historical facts have been brought together chronologically—whereas the ''Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa the Great Master'' weaves in and out of past and present. There is a special methodology how he has written that one. He did not write it in a step-by-step manner. First he wrote something, maybe he has gone back and written something, gone into the future and wrote something, again came back. The purpose is not to present us with a historical biography, but how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa grew through his ''sādhanā'', how his life becomes a beacon light for us all to understand the true spirit of the scripture.

Therein, at the very beginning, at about the 90th page, Swami Śaradānandajī describes how one can attain Brahman through the path of ''iti iti'', and he clearly tells us there are two paths. One is called ''iti iti'', and this is the path of the devotee. Another is called the path of ''neti neti'', and both take us to the same goal. The path of ''iti iti'' (this and this) is usually adopted by ''bhaktas'' (devotees), called ''bhakti mārga'' or ''karma mārga'', whereas the path of ''neti neti'' is adopted by the ''jñānīs'' and yogis through ''cittavṛtti nirodha''. One is positive from the beginning; another is gradually sublating the positive with the negative until we deny completely or rise above the three bodies (gross, subtle, and causal) or rise above the ''pañca kośas''.
==How the Path of Iti Iti Works==
Very briefly, I want to mention how this happens because it is one of the most interesting discussions, and it opens a world of intuitive ideas. I am condensing Swami Śaradānandajī's writing in a very easy manner.

Imagine there is a devotee. He adopts the path of bhakti and then he goes on meditating. At first, he thinks: I am imagining the image of a form as given through various descriptions. Viṣṇu looks like this: he has four hands and he has four different weapons and a lotus flower, etcetera, in his hands. He stands on the lotus flower. You can apply this to every God and Goddess—Lakṣmī Devī, Sarasvatī, etcetera. So he meditates. The devotee is intensely aware: I am the body and mind, but at the same time he also understands that my God is something very subtle as contrasted with the physical reality. But as he goes on meditating, at first a lifeless figure appears, first only a small part, maybe legs, maybe hands. Gradually he sees the whole figure, and if you study the Great Master, that is how Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa also advanced. After a lot of practice, he sees the whole figure but lifeless. After some time, slowly, slowly, a smile appears on that figure. It comes out alive. So that is how the chosen deity becomes a complete figure, alive, very pleased, looking with great tremendous grace and highly pleased with the devotee's devotion. Then slowly an interaction takes place, and God and the devotee start talking with each other. More time passes, more intensity of ''sādhanā'', and the relationship becomes deeper and deeper.

Now comes the psychological analysis of what Swami Śaradānandajī does—a most beautiful explanation. He says the ''sādhaka'' (the spiritual aspirant) realizes: "You see, at first I was imagining my chosen deity, and as my concentration deepens, I could see very clearly one part, then another part, later on total figure but lifeless, later completely alive, smiling, bestowing gracious looks upon me, talking to me, fulfilling my desires. So I have been imagining Him, and now He has become real to me because of my intense imagination over a period of time, short or long." Then that idea also brings in: "I thought this world was real. Maybe just as I imagined my ''iṣṭadevatā'' is real, the same way, the reality of the world also is created by my mind. Maybe it is not real."

So then the man understands: everything depends upon our imagination. You imagine one way and you experience one way. Imagine another way, experience another way. Imagine positively, experience everything positively, happily. Imagine another way, everything will be in a different way.

I am reminded: I heard about a small game people used to play. Of course, I never knew about it, but later on I came to know in villages these games are invented. So some boys are playing there, and a small coin—a rupee coin or a One Anna coin—is brought. Then what happens? One boy is chosen, he is asked to close his eyes, and then the coin is pressed against his forehead very firmly. For some time he feels the pressure, and then the boy who is putting it on his forehead says: "Now it is completely attached to your forehead. Now the game starts. You will have to get rid of it with closed eyes, remember?" But after pressing for some time, he adroitly removes the coin. But the boy still feels the pressure and still thinks the coin is there. So he adopts various methods—jumping up and down, shaking his head to get rid of it—but he cannot get rid of it. Why? Because firmly it is implanted in his mind that this person had pasted it, gummed it to my forehead, and imaginary pressure will be there. Earlier it was fact—the pressure was a fact—but now it is imaginary pressure. So he goes on jumping up and down. If he can throw that coin out, then he will get a small prize, he will get that coin. Otherwise, he will have to pay from his pocket. This is the game.

Now what I wanted to illustrate through the story: through various ''janmas'', we have been looking at the world and we have been interpreting it. Then we are trying to understand: this is the reality, even though it is changing every second, but the impression that it is real, it is not unreal, continues. But through this path of meditation on the chosen deity, the mind of the spiritual aspirant clearly understands: "I have been deliberately meditating upon my chosen deity and I made it complete, and then I attributed to it life. Then it is smiling, it is talking to me. This is all my imagination. If this be true, my understanding of the world—that it is also ''satyam''—might it not be my own imagination?"

Once a person achieves this, then some magic miracle happens. Then he thinks: if I can develop the another imagination, this world is nothing. Let me elaborate with a small example. A man thinks: "If I can get this woman, I will be a very happy person." Is it a fact, or is it just his imagination (''kalpanā''), just like our dream? Yes, it is also a ''kalpanā'' because, as we see, no object contains something called happiness, because the same person, same so-called beautiful woman or man, can create opposite reactions in other people. So when an object is thought of variously by various people, what is the truth about that object? That is the point. With regard to any object in this world, there are opposing views. Some say it is wonderful, some say it is the most horrid thing in the world. Everything depends upon their imagination and also experience.

So the spiritual aspirant comes to the conclusion that everything is an imagination. Then what is the truth? "I am the truth. I am the Brahman. I am the truth." This is the only reality because anything imaginary is just imaginary. This is the essence of how a ''sādhaka'' attains to the highest truth. ''Aham brahmāsmi'' means what? I am ''satyam''. This is the only truth. I am the only one (''ekam advitīyam''), that is called a''nantham'' because I am the only one, and I am of ''ānanda svarūpa''.
==Connection to the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad==
Why did I narrate this with regard to this Brihadaranyaka Upanishad? Especially because here the story goes that this Brahmin boy comes to the king with the idea that "I am well-learned and I want to teach this king. The king is ignorant; I am knowledgeable." The king is a good person, well known for his generosity. So being in possession of this wonderful knowledge, I must teach him so that he can also progress and do much more good to the world. That is why I referred to it.

So what was taught here? Twelve ''upāsanas'' are taught. All are ''upāsanas''. How is an ''ālambanam taken''? A small thing is taken and identified with the larger whole. An individual is imagined to be universal as an example, because once we understand the essence of it, it will be a breeze to understand the other. There are twelve ''upāsanas'', beginning from the second mantra. For example, this is related to a triangle I mentioned so many times: ''ādhyātmika'', ''ādhibhautika'', ''ādhidaivika''. ''Ādhyātmika'' means me, the individual. I have an eye. What does it do? It has the power to experience forms and colours. But the power of my eye—individual power of my eye—is limited. So now ''devatā''. What is ''devatā''? The universal power of perception or seeing is called ''devatā'', god. So Sūrya Devatā, that is the universal god of the power of seeing, because he emits light. Light means knowledge. Without light, my eye cannot function. This is only as an example. If I can contemplate that my eye is nothing but Sūrya Devatā, I am forgetting the limited individual eye or the power of perception and identifying it, merging it with ''āditya'', then my whole vision will change. What does it change? Once I succeed in it, then I can transfer the same thing to other organs. My ear is individual, but ''ākāśa'' is the ''devatā''. My mind is individual, the moon is the ''devatā'', etc.

So take the ''vyasti'' (the individual) and make it universal, ''samaṣṭi''. Then the individuality melts away, revealing its universal nature, and that is becoming one with the ''saguṇa brahma'' or qualified Brahman. Once I reach there, then I realise that the ''saguṇa brahma'' is none other than ''nirguṇa brahma'' only. The manifest is but a manifestation of the unmanifest, an expression of the unmanifest. That is why I told you earlier: through the path of ''iti iti'', I am not only this individual "I", I am the universal "I". I merely expanded my "I" without any limitation. And then finally I find I am one with the universal ''saguṇa brahma'' (Īśvara), by whatever name you call it. Usually we call it "God". For most religions, God means ''saguṇa brahma''. He is the creator. Creator is always ''saguṇa brahma'' in Vedānta, in Hinduism. But once we identify that "I do not exist, everything is Brahman", this is beautifully expressed in a very clipped manner in the fourth chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā, which we are all familiar with:

'''ब्रह्मार्पणं ब्रह्म हविर्ब्रह्माग्नौ ब्रह्मणा हुतम्। ब्रह्मैव तेन गन्तव्यं ब्रह्मकर्मसमाधिना॥'''

''Brahmārpaṇaṃ brahma havir brahmāgnau brahmaṇā hutam, brahmaiva tena gantavyaṃ brahma-karma-samādhinā.''

''brahmārpaṇaṃ brahma haviḥ brahmāgnau brahmaṇā hutam |'' brahmaiva tena gantavyaṃ brahma karma samādhinā ||

That is, transform each individual component of this creation into its universal aspect, which is called Brahman. What is offered is Brahman. The person who is offering is also Brahman. And what it is offered into is also Brahman. Everything is nothing but Brahman. Such a person attains the highest ''samādhi'', and it is called ''brahma karma samādhi - nirvikalpa samādhi'' through the pathway of ''karma yoga''. So this is the essence of this first section, at least. Then we will come to something very interesting.
==The Story of Ajātaśatru and Gārgya==
The same idea is explored next. This king later on teaches—he becomes the teacher—and then he teaches that the real individual is none other than Brahman, who is beyond the waking, dream, and dreamless experiences. The idea that we explored in the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad has been reiterated in one of these ''brāhmaṇas'' in this particular second chapter. That is how, through the path of ''iti iti'', one attains to Brahman. In fact, even those who can say ''neti neti'' cannot start from the beginning with ''neti neti''; only step by step. How does it happen? We have seen how it happens in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad, especially at first saying ''iti iti'': "This body is Brahman—''annam brahmeti vyajānāt''." That very same person later on glimpses something subtler, more pervading, and he says: "Until now what is called ''anna brahma'', ''annam brahma'', now becomes denied—''neti neti''—not this, not this." And he identifies with the ''prāṇa'', and so on and so forth, until he reaches ''ānandam'', which is beyond ''ānandamaya kośa''. If you can keep this introduction in your minds, it will be very easy for us to understand the essence of this second chapter. In fact, I would dare say, the whole Upaniṣad—any Upaniṣad, any scripture for that matter.

The second chapter has three sections. The aim is the same. So this second chapter starts with a beautiful story. There was a king of Kāśī called Ajātaśatru who was a knower of Brahman, and there was a Brahmin boy called Gārgya, from Garga's lineage. He was well-learned, a very intelligent person, and a great spiritual ''sādhaka''. He had been practicing various contemplations called ''upāsanas'' (the word ''upāsanā'' cannot really be translated properly). So he thought he had reached the goal. Somehow he had mistaken that he has reached the goal—like one of the disciples of Swami Brahmanandajī, practising austerities at Rishikesh, thought that he attained ''samādhi'' (''nirvikalpa samādhi''). Then his guru, when he visited Kankhal, the disciple came to pay his respects to his guru, and the guru looked into his eyes and later on remarked: "It has nothing to do with ''samādhi''." He had some higher experience, a vision. But this is how many people mistake. So like that, this Gārgya also had mistaken that he reached the goal.

Then he decided that he would like to share his knowledge with this king. The scripture is using a peculiar word: ''dhr̥pta bālāki''. ''Dhr̥pta'' means proud, but he was not like Śvetaketu; you have to understand. We have seen the story of Śvetaketu, and after returning from ''gurukula'', he was arrogant, unbearable, and his father, a true ''sādhaka'', asked him: "Did your teacher teach you the highest truth?" And this fellow proudly replied: "My teacher doesn't know; otherwise he would have taught." He did not know that some things can be taught without being asked, but some things must be taught only after being asked. So this person never realized there is something I have to ask, which we see in the Kaṭhopaniṣad: how Naciketā asks, and he is so adamant, so firm, that Yamadharmarāja shows him so many temptations which are extremely rare, but firmly Naciketā rejects all of them: "I will not desire any other boon excepting I want to obtain knowledge of Brahman, knowledge of the Ātman."

So Śvetaketu was very arrogant, and when he approached a king with the same idea that "I will teach", the king questioned him in turn—five questions he could not answer even one. He got hurt, he came back, he complained to his father, and then his father said: "I also do not know the answer, so let us go sit humbly at his feet." But Śvetaketu refused to come. But the father came, he learned. That kind of arrogance is no good at all for true aspirants; one has to be careful about it. That is why Śukadeva had to go to Janaka to be confirmed: "Yes, you are truly a ''brahmajñānī'', ''naira brahma''." But Janaka did not simply look at his face and certify him. He tested him for one week with absolutely no respect, and second, with the highest respect that is possible, and keeping him in the midst of the greatest temptations. Śukadeva's mind did not flicker: ''ethadipo nivathasthu ningate sa upama smruta''. Just as in a windless place, a lamp never flickers even the slightest, Śukadeva's mind remained absolutely firm. It is also said that Janaka gave him a cup full of oil and told him to go around a huge room seven times, and not even one drop of oil had ever spilled out of fear, out of apprehension, out of anxiety. No, his mind was totally what Patañjali Rishi calls complete ''citta nirodha'' had taken place, and he was abiding in his own self: ''tathā dhraśtasvarūpe avasthānam''.

We should not compare Gārgya, this young Brahmin boy, to Śvetaketu at all. How do we know? Because he genuinely thought—mistakenly, but genuinely thought—that "I know; I want to share it with the king." But when the king countered him and said, "I know much more than you," twelve times he says this. Then this boy realized his knowledge is not up to the mark; he has a lot to learn. And you know what happened? Immediately, instantaneously, he sat down. Of course, the Upaniṣad doesn't say that, but he said: "Sir, I thought I came to teach you, but now I know that I am an ignoramus." Acceptance of one's ignorance is the highest knowledge because that leads to the highest knowledge. So we know later on that this Brahmin boy learned well, he behaved well, and he was a little bit proud but at heart he was a very good boy. He approached Ajātaśatru, who is a ''kṣatriya'', a warrior, a king, and he was the king of Kāśī. So he approached and said...

Then the king asked him: "Sir, what brings you here?" He said: "I want to teach you ''brahmavidyā''." He thought he had it. Ajātaśatru immediately said: "Nowadays everybody is running to teach Janaka because he was a very generous king, a great king. But so far nobody had approached me. Everybody says Janaka, Janaka, but nobody takes my name. I am glad that you are gracious enough to choose to teach me. Even whether you teach or not, for that very purpose, I will give you one thousand cows"—like Janaka had offered to Yājñavalkya. That shows the greatness of Ajātaśatru. This also shows that Ajātaśatru was a ''brahmajña'' (knower of Brahman), and we have seen in several places how even Śvetaketu's father had to approach a ''kṣatriya'' in order to learn ''brahma vidyā''. So here also, Ajātaśatru was a ''brahmajña''. But he did not become proud. He welcomed this young Brahmin boy, showed him all the respect, and when he was offered "I will teach you," he said: "I will be very happy to sit at your feet and learn, and that very proposal that you came shows your graciousness. I will offer you one thousand cows."

Then a dialogue takes place—a beautiful dialogue. Gārgya says: "I contemplate, for example, the sun as the highest manifestation of Brahman," like that. Then Ajātaśatru says: "I also worship, but I know about the ''saguṇa brahma'' much more than what you know. And I contemplate him as the greatest, most adorable, the brightest," with certain qualities he says. And there's an important point for us to learn how this also has to be understood by us. But the greater the learning, the greater will be the humility: ''vidyā dadhāti vinayaṃ vinayāt yāti pātratām''. The more our learning, the humbler we become. Why? How? Because greater our knowledge, greater will be our humility, as we understand how little is my knowledge compared to the total knowledge available.

So this Ajātaśatru was a very humble person, very generous, highly seeing everybody as Brahman, so graciously understood this boy—though he thinks he knows everything, actually his knowledge is limited—but I will help him. But he doesn't say it at the beginning: "You begin your teaching." So this Gārgya starts his teaching, and in twelve mantras (from 2nd to 13th) we get this idea. Gradually, twelve aspects of the ''saguṇa brahma''—"I worship, I contemplate, I do ''upāsana'' of the sun, the moon, the lightning, etc."—we will see it. And then immediately Ajātaśatru, very humbly so that he won't offend the boy, said: "Sir, I think I know a little better than you. This is how I worship the same deity whom you mentioned that you worship, and with these qualities."

So what is the idea of contemplation (''upāsanā'')? In whatever way we do the ''upāsanā'', we become that. If I worship Brahman as honoured, I become honoured. If I worship Brahman as desireless, I become desireless. If I worship Brahman as all-pervading, I become all-pervading. We will see it in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad, how marvelously these contemplations are coming across to us.

So twelve teachings Gārgya wants to give Ajātaśatru, but for every contemplation, Ajātaśatru's knowledge is much, much deeper. He says: "This is what I know," in a most inoffensive manner, very humbly, full of like a great, good, intimate, well-wishing friend advising. And then Gārgya understands: my knowledge is very little. But then his greatness is he accepts it. He says: "Sir, I thought I knew everything—genuinely I thought. But now I understand how little is my knowledge. No, I will sit at your feet. You be my teacher; I will be your student."

Now the roles are reversed. Ajātaśatru, of course at first, declines: "It is not in our tradition—always Brahmins were the teachers, and ''kṣatriyas'' can only be students." But then this Gārgya must have said: "Sir, whoever knows better, he is a teacher; whoever knows less, he is a student." So this is how the roles are reversed, and then the teaching comes. So from mantra second to thirteenth: first mantra is the introduction, second to thirteenth are the teachings of Gārgya (so-called teachings of Gārgya to Ajātaśatru), and immediately the correction or expansion of the meaning by Ajātaśatru continues.
==The Value of Upāsanas==
Once we understand the essence, what is it? That all these ''upāsanas'' are extraordinarily valuable. Each ''upāsanā'' gives us a specified result. That is how our mind becomes more and more expansive. That is how we slowly approach, shed the limitations, slowly expand ourselves until we become identified with the ''saguṇa brahma'' completely. In fact, ''sādhanā'' can go only until we identify with the ''saguṇa brahma''. Thereafter, it is not possible to contemplate because any contemplation is done only through thought, and it is not possible to think of ''nirguṇa brahman'', formless Brahman.

In the Gospel, we get it. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa asks M: "How is your meditation going on?" with a specific understanding in his mind because M preferred ''nirguṇa brahma'' (formless aspect of god). And by the way, the formless aspect of god is not ''nirguṇa brahma''. The formless aspect of god is also part of the ''saguṇa brahma'', the universal Brahman. That which has form is highly limited, but its origin is the formless, as we have seen in the sixth section, ''uktham''. The origin of all names (''nāmas'') is sound. The origin of all forms is the unmanifested formlessness, and the origin of all actions is nothing but ''prāṇa'' or ''hiraṇyagarbha''. So ''saguṇa brahma'' has these two aspects: with form, without form; manifest, unmanifest. But that is not the end. ''Sādhanā'' can be done with the mind. Without mind, no ''sādhanā'' can be made. But the limitation of the mind will never allow.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa illustrates this with a marvelous simile or analogy. If somebody's foot is full of thorns because he walked over the thorns, then he gets a bigger thorn, and then that bigger thorn helps the person get rid of all the smaller thorns. And then he says that bigger thorn also should be thrown away. But who is going to throw away that bigger thorn? He cannot do it because to remove that, another thorn, and to remove the second thorn, a third thorn—''ad infinitum'', it is not possible. But when once the mind reaches the identity with ''saguṇa brahma'', ''saguṇa brahma'' himself reveals his higher aspect, which is called ''nirguṇa brahman''.

So this is going to be the subject matter which we will discuss very briefly. First one or two mantras I will discuss in a little bit of detail, and then we have to do the same for the rest of the ''upāsanas'' (twelve ''upāsanas''), only mentioning what is the ''upāsanā'' and what is the result. This is all very true. Whoever does it, he becomes like this. This is what Swami Vivekananda says: great people like Napoleon, their imaginations far outreach ordinary people's imagination. And what is a dream or imagination today becomes a fact tomorrow. And if we want to become great, then our imagination must be expanded. Without doing that, simply saying "I want to be great" is not going to work out.

So how these ''upāsanas'' are going to slowly take us, remove our individuality, remove the limitations of our true self, and gradually expand our nature until we become one with ''saguṇa brahma''—that would be the subject matter, and we will discuss about it from our next class.
== Closing Prayer ==
ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda bless us all with Bhakti.

''Jai Rāmakṛṣṇa!''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1 Summary Lecture 39 on 06 June 2026

2026-08-03T15:50:10Z

Shekhar: /* 4. Praveśa Bhāṣya (Fourth Section) */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते

पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः

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

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

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.
==Summary of the First Chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad==
In our last class, we have just completed the last section of the first chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, the sixth section. This is a summary of the entire Upaniṣad, we can say.
===What Did We Discuss?===
What does this sixth section really try to teach us? What is the world? What does it consist of? This is the topic. So this section answers that God manifests as three forms, which we call the creation, the world. It is also called ''uktha brāhmaṇa''.
====Uktha====
What is ''uktha''? The final cause from which everything arises. In this section, these three manifestations of Brahman are mentioned. What are they? Name, form, and action.
=====Origin of Forms=====
And wherefrom are the forms coming? From a particular source, and that is called ''cakṣu''. ''Cakṣu'' means "I". We have to understand that ''cakṣu'' actually means formlessness. Unmanifested form is the root cause of every form.

As an example, clay is the unformed form, formless form of every form. Every form should have a name, a specific name to distinguish it and separate it from every other form. That is called "name".

But every name – Rāma, Kṛṣṇa, John, Jesus, Buddha, etc. – these are all special manifestations distinguishable by our mind. There is one root cause to every name. That is called ''śabda''. That is called ''śabda brahma''. Every name that we can understand or remember, even in the future every new form will be given a new name, and all these names are manifestations of one ''śabda''. ''Śabda'' means sound, and that sound in its unmanifest form is called Brahman.

So this is the ''uktha''. The ''uktha'' of names is ''śabda''. The ''uktha'' of forms is that formless ''avyakta''.
=====Karma (Action/Utility)=====
Then the third one is called ''karma''. Every form will have a name, and every name and form is called an object. As soon as you hear the name or remember the name, immediately the form comes, the object comes into view. Regarding that object, what is the utility of that object? As soon as you remember, for example, the name "pot", you know that a pot is a small object where you can cook food, store materials, or even store water, etc. As soon as you see an object called "glass", you think: this is meant for drinking water, wine, etc. So this is the object. Every object is nothing but a combination of form, name, and utility (''prayojana'').

The whole universe, whole creation, is nothing but a combined manifestation of these. Every single object will have ''nāma'', ''rūpa'', and ''karma''. This is what we have to understand.

That is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: "What is in a beautiful body? After all, flesh, blood, urine, stool, sinews, bones, etc." That is true, whether it is an insect or an animal or even a tree in its own way. (Do not ask whether any tree has got a bone – yes, it does. The meaning is that which sustains part of the tree is called the bone: roots, etc.) So every object is nothing but name, form, and utility. All three combined are called "body".
===The Most Important Reality===
This last section, having only three mantras, tells us that for us, what is the most important reality? Each one of us. Ask yourself: "Who am I? I am the body." How many people even dare to think, "I am not the body, I am the mind"? This body is given a special name temporarily. It is called ''satyam''. ''Satyam'' means what is the highest reality to all ignorant people like us. This ''satyam'' covers up something. What does it cover? Immortality.
====What is this Immortality?====
This immortality is called ''amṛtam''. What is this ''amṛtam''? It is called mind. Why is it called ''amṛtam''? Because there are two ways to interpret it. One way is that this physical body comes and goes (how many times? Millions of times). But the mind – meaning the four ''kośas'': ''prāṇa'', ''mana'', ''vijñāna'' and ''ānanda'' – endures almost a long, long time. How long? Until we obtain ''ātma jñānam'', self-knowledge: the knowledge that I am neither the body nor the mind. Until that time, this mind lasts.

The evolution mainly takes place in the mind. The mind evolves, meaning its understanding becomes clearer and even more clear with every birth, until the person (the ''jīva'', individual) takes birth as a human being, evolves into a cultured human being, and acquires more ''sattva''. Until he acquires much of the ''sattva guṇa'', which is the caste called ''brāhmaṇa'' (''brāhmaṇa'' means full of ''sattva''). Even among ''brāhmaṇas'', there would be degrees of difference, but we are talking about a ''brāhmaṇa'' who has become a ''sannyāsī''.

Who is a ''sannyāsī''? Who thinks:

मनोबुद्ध्यहङ्कारचित्तानि नाहम् शिवोहम् शिवोहम्

manobuddhyahaṅkāracittāni nāham śivoham śivoham

One who thinks, who knows that "I am Brahman, I am ''ātman'', I am Śiva" – which means "I am not the body-mind complex". That mind is called ''amṛtam''. This mind alone leads one to both ignorance and liberation. First ignorance, then gradually ignorance becomes less, the light of knowledge manifests more and more, until finally one attains to that highest reality.

What is that reality? I am that reality. I am Brahman. I am ''ātman''. ''Ātman'' means "I am Brahman" – not Brahman as separated.
===Adhyāsa (Superimposition)===
This practically tells us what is called ''adhyāsa''. What is this ''adhyāsa''? Superimposition. What is this superimposition? Each one of us forgetting that "I am Brahman" and identifying ourselves with this body. This ''adhyāsa'' slowly has to be gotten rid of.

What is the way? As just now we mentioned, what is our greatest identity? Body. Once a person succeeds in getting rid of the idea "I am the body", he progresses in spiritual life. For such a person, it will be easier to get rid of the other four ''kośas'' as well. "Getting rid of" does not mean destroying; it means developing the understanding "I am not the body, I am not the ''prāṇa'', I am not the mind, I am not the ''vijñāna buddhi'', I am not the ''ānandamaya kośa''". That complete detachment is called spiritual progress.

Remember, all these things have to be done only through the help of the mind. Just as when a mirror in front of us gets more and more cleaned up, the reflection automatically becomes nearer to the reality, nearer to what is in front of it. What is in front of it is Brahman. What is the mirror? Mind. When the mind is covered with five layers of deep dust, the worst state of the mirror is "I am the body". When that layer is cleaned, then the other four become better and the reflection becomes better.
===Message of the Sixth Section===
Thus this sixth section wants to tell us: "O man, wake up, then control your mind." What is controlling the mind? Developing more ''sattva'', which means developing more identity with our true self and developing more dispassion and detachment from the ideas that "I am the ''annamaya''", "I am the ''prāṇamaya''", etc. This is the message, the essence of the summary of the sixth section of this first chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad.

With this, the first chapter is over. This first chapter is also called ''Madhu Kāṇḍa'', ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa''. It is also called ''Adhyāsa Kāṇḍa'', ''Adhyāropa Kāṇḍa''.

What is ''adhyāropa''? Superimposition – thinking that "I am the body", "I am the ''pañcakośas''", etc. Only in this chapter we have also been taught how to slowly develop detachment through discrimination and slowly progress until we have the knowledge that only one is there, which is called Brahman. There are no two things – God and the world, Brahman and the world. Whatever is, is one only. Then our eyes become pure, and we are able to see everything as Brahman: ''sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ brahma''.

But to come to that stage of spiritual development, first we have to know ''aham brahmāsmi''. In this first chapter, we have seen that one. This is called ''Adhyāropa Prakaraṇam''. How to get rid of it is also indicated here through some mantras, particular mantras. Here are the hints:

First of all, ''sadeva somya'' – there is only one. (In the fourth chapter it comes, that is in the form of unmanifest, that is Brahman.) Then ''aham brahmāsmi'' – "I am Brahman". That is the goal.
===How to Reach That Goal===
Look here, my friend. You see in front of you two things. You feel "I am an individual". You feel "I am separate from everything else". And everybody, every conscious entity (including an amoeba – one amoeba feels that "I am distinct from other amoebas") feels that separation from every living creature and every non-living thing. But that is ''avidyā'', ignorance. That has to be slowly gotten rid of.

For that, creation has to evolve from the inorganic. (There is really nothing inorganic. According to Advaita, ''ātman'' became what modern scientists call "inorganic". What we Hindus, Vedantins, call ''pañcadevatā'' – ''ākāśa'', ''vāyu'', ''agni'', ''jala'', and ''pṛthvī'' – these five are called inorganic.) Slowly they manifest. The inorganic, as it were, evolves into organic, then it acquires ''prāṇa'', and it acquires special ''cidābhāsa''.

"I am an individual. I have a body." Even an insect has indirect knowledge: "I am a living creature. I am separate from everything else. I have to survive. I have to protect myself." So that separation is there. But the scripture wants to tell us that really everything is God only, everything is Brahman only, everything is ''ātman'' only. Gradually, the scripture wants to teach us this.
====How Does It Want to Teach Us?====
First of all, by describing creation, the scripture wants to tell us that everything is changing in this world, and because it is changing, it is called ''mithyā''. But ''mithyā'' is not non-existence. By the description of this world through the detailed process of creation, the world is described. Through this description, the scripture wants to tell us that it is not unreal, but by taking us to the cause, we go from the immediate approximate cause to its cause, to its cause.

For example: "I am annam. I am pṛthvī." Then I understand: I am not pṛthvī. "I am jala." Then I understand: I am not water. "I am fire." I am not the fire. "I am vāyu." I am not vāyu. "I am ākāśa." I am not ākāśa. All these completely merge in the final cause, ''uktam'', and that is called Brahman.

So by saying that as long as you see separation, it is called ''mithyā'' – it is ever-changing. But there is something which is witnessing this ever-changing phenomenon; that unchanging phenomenon is called true consciousness. Step by step, the scripture wants to tell us: the world is neither unreal (because we experience it) nor real (because it is changing). Whatever is experienced but never remains the same – ever-changing – that is called ''mithyā''.

The scripture slowly convinces us and makes us understand that anything changing is not reliable; anything changing is called ''mithyā''; any ''mithyā'' is not reliable; and anything that is ''mithyā'' must have an ''adhiṣṭhāna'' – it must have a cause, it must have a support. That support is called ''satyam''.
====Example of the Rope and Snake====
For every ''mithyā'' – for example, a wrongly perceived snake which turns out to be a rope – without a rope, there cannot be an illusion of a snake. Our solution is that we have to bring light. In the light, we recognize that what we thought was a snake turns out to be an unchanging rope. So a snake is called ''mithyā''. Why is it called changing? Because in semi-darkness, we can mistake it for a garland, we can mistake it for a bent stick – we can mistake it in so many ways, depending upon our past, previous experiences.

The purpose of describing creation is slowly, gradually, to lead us to our true nature. That is the essence of this sixth section.
===The Body as Piṇḍa===
Now we have to conclude the essence of this entire one. One more point I have to find out here. This body, which is our only reality, is called ''piṇḍa''. ''Piṇḍāṇḍa'' – our reality. ''Piṇḍa'' means individual reality. As soon as we use the word "individual", every individual must be universal only. There is a certain logic here.

If there is only one object in this world, that is called ''brahmāṇḍa''. But if there are many objects of the same species, it is called ''piṇḍāṇḍa'' – it is called microcosm. Microcosm must be the same as macrocosm. Microcosm in Sanskrit is called ''piṇḍāṇḍa'', and macrocosm is called ''brahmāṇḍa''.

I think one of the lectures in the Jñāna Yoga of Swami Vivekananda (Swamiji, the greatest sage of any world in plain English language) makes it clear that both the microcosm and macrocosm are built on the same plan. That means they are made up of the same truth, same reality, same constituents. There is no difference. The essence of that lecture is: if we can understand that I am the microcosm and my nature is this – I have consciousness, I have body, mind – what is an individual? Body, mind, plus reflected consciousness called ''cidābhāsa''.

Where there is reflected consciousness, there must also be pure consciousness. If you want reflected light, there must be original light. Just imagine: the sun is shining, and its rays are falling upon a mirror through a window. That mirror is reflecting, and the room which was in darkness is now being lighted up, and every object becomes enveloped by the light and is illumined. Illumination means we get the knowledge: "I know so many objects are in this room." That knowledge, light reveals.
====The Individual====
So wherever there is an individual, there must be original consciousness; there must be a mind. When that original consciousness falls upon this mind (which is compared to a mirror), the light of consciousness gets reflected and it illumines the body and the sense organs and the external world through the body. This subject is beautifully exposed in a beautiful small text called Dṛg-Dṛśya-Viveka by the great Śaṅkarācārya.

So, pure consciousness + reflected consciousness + body and mind is called the individual. At this moment, we are totally identified with the body and what belongs to the body. That is called ''māmakāra''.
===Progression of Identification===
When we advance a little bit, then we identify slowly: "I am not only the body, I am also the mind. I am mind plus body." That is good progress.

Then comes the next step. Actually, I am the body? The whole universe is nothing but my thoughts. Every object, including my body, is a thought in my mind – not to speak of external objects in the external world. That is how slowly we progress. We learn to see this world in higher and higher light.

Two things happen there. As we progress, we expand and then identify with higher and higher degrees of reality: from ''annamaya'' to ''prāṇamaya'' to ''manomaya'' to ''vijñānamaya'' to ''ānandamaya'', etc. In another model, from the body to the mind to the ''ānandamaya kośa''. This is from the gross body to the subtle body to the causal body. When we have a clear concept of these three – i.e., we objectify these three – whatever we objectify is not "me". That is called ''turīya avasthā''. This is the essential exposition in the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad, which we have seen already.
===Conclusion of the First Chapter===
So, this is what the first chapter wants to tell. ''Adhyāropa'' – superimposition – the very world means that is not the reality. That is where we are now. Slowly, by following the path shown by this Upaniṣad, by every Upaniṣad, every scripture of every religion, we slowly progress towards God. Once we progress, ultimately we reach God. That is called paradise, kingdom of heaven, nirvāṇa, or the ''aham brahmāsmi'' state.

Let us now try to analyze. By negating this individual body – that is the first step, ''sthūla śarīra'' – then we have to identify. The individual cannot remain without identification, so he goes to the next step, which is identification with the ''sūkṣma śarīra'', and then comes identification with the ''kāraṇa śarīra'', which we call the experience of deep sleep, wherein body and mind are completely negated; we are not even aware of that. Pure bliss, but limited by time and causation.

This is how a person learns to look upon all the three states as objects of experience. The fundamental principle of Advaita Vedānta is: whatever I experience, whatever I objectify, is not me. Then who am I? Beyond the three ''śarīras'', beyond the three states of experiences, beyond all the three states of ''avasthāntara'', beyond avasthātīta. I am somebody beyond. That is why it is called ''turīya''. This is how negation is to be accomplished slowly and slowly.
===Summary of the Entire First Chapter (Upadeśa Kāṇḍa / Madhu Kāṇḍa)===
Now I will try to summarize the entire first chapter as much as possible. The first chapter is called ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa''. It is also called ''Madhu Kāṇḍa'', and there are six sections. Each section is called a ''brāhmaṇa''.
====First Three Sections: Expansion of Mind====
The first three sections are to elevate our mind by taking support of three individual objects. We have to expand our mind and identify ourselves with the larger whole.
#'''First object: Aśva (horse).''' Contemplate upon the different limbs of that horse, and imagine that the whole universe is represented in the form of a horse. "The head is this, the different parts are these." This is called ''Virāṭ Upāsanā''. Upāsanā means contemplation – contemplation that this is not an individual horse; it represents the whole universe. This Virāṭ meditation is done upon an object temporarily taken as a support, and this is called ''Aśva Medha Yāga''.

#'''Second section: Agni Brāhmaṇam.''' It takes the same goal, but it takes fire as an object and identifies it with the universal thing – ''Agni Virāṭ Upāsanā''.

#'''Third section: Udgītha Brāhmaṇam.''' Here also fire or prāṇa is taken as Virāṭ.
This is how we expand our mind. What is an ''upāsanā''? That which breaks our narrow individuality and makes us identify with the entire universe. That is the purpose of ''upāsanā'' or contemplation in any language. For example, in Christianity, when they say Mass, then the body of Christ: "This is my blood, this is my flesh." The bread and the wine represent. This is called ''ālambana'' or support. It is not the physical bread. That is why as soon as a devotee consumes a thin wafer of this bread, he feels "my flesh has become Christ's flesh; my blood has become Christ's blood" – that means "I have become Christ". And who is Christ? "I am the son of God." And who is the son of God? "I am the manifestation of the unmanifested, unmanifestable God, as it were." So that is called ''upāsanā'', contemplation.
====Fourth Section: Puruṣa Vidha Brāhmaṇam====
In the fourth section, we see it is called ''Puruṣa Vidha Brāhmaṇam''. What is ''Puruṣa Vidha Brāhmaṇam''? He is the all-pervading reality. Here, Hiraṇyagarbha or the Saguṇa Brahma is glorified as the great creator.

For that purpose, how do we understand this whole universe as a manifestation of Brahman? According to the Taittirīya visualization, first ''ātman'' became the five elements. But here it is said: God created; He became Manu and the other; He divided Himself into male and female, Manu and Śatarūpā; He became humans, He became cows, He became goats, He became horses, He became everything. What does it mean? That means He is the root cause. Anything that is made up of dough becomes different forms of cakes; clay becomes different pots; ornaments are nothing but manifestations of formless gold, etc.

These created beings are divided into four castes – ''brāhmaṇa'', ''kṣatriya'', ''vaiśya'' and ''śūdra'' – with different duties in life for them, and that is done according to the manifestation of one of the three guṇas: ''sattva'', ''rajas'' and ''tamas''.

It is also told that a ''jīva'' lives in his own world and he becomes the enjoyer and he becomes the enjoyed. When he enjoys the world, he is called the enjoyer. When the world enjoys him, then he becomes the object. So he becomes both an enjoyer and an object of enjoyment. That is part of the superimposition.
====The Threefold Manifestation: Nāma, Rūpa, Karma====
Then we get the whole superimposition summed up in the form of ''nāma'', ''rūpa'' and ''karma''. The whole universe is nothing but name, form, and function. All three are now further reduced to the physical body. If we know how to handle our body, purify it, use it properly, then we progress, then we develop discrimination, and then we give up our identity with the physical body and identify gradually, step by step, with the ''prāṇamaya kośa'', ''manomaya kośa'', ''vijñānamaya kośa'' and ''ānandamaya kośa''.

Slowly, going beyond all these ''pañcakośas'', going beyond all the three bodies (''sthūla'', ''sūkṣma'', ''kāraṇa''), we understand:

1. I am ''ātman''. 2. I am the first – everything is God. 3. I am that God. 4. The whole universe is nothing but God.

This is the essence of the first chapter of this Upaniṣad.

As I said, it is also called ''Madhukāṇḍa'', meaning the whole universe is related. Every part is related to every part. Every part is connected with every other part. This is the holistic view, and looking at it this way, we are able to look as one unit – that is called Brahman or ''ātman''.
===Śaṅkarācārya’s Commentaries (Bhāṣyas) on the First Chapter===
The great Śaṅkarācārya is one of the ''ācāryas'', and we are following closely. He wrote several versions, and in this first chapter we have several elaborate versions.
====1. Sambandha Bhāṣya====
Even before starting his commentary on the Bṛhadāraṇyaka, he gives a ''Sambandha Bhāṣya''. This is the first ''bhāṣya'', and for every Upaniṣad he does the same thing. He summarizes and takes up some important points and then thoroughly discusses to tell us that the whole world is nothing but ''karma''.
*What is bondage? ''Karma''.
*What is the way to liberation? Again ''karma''.
But ''karma'' is an instrument which should lead us to ''citta śuddhi''. That is why it is called ''Karma Yoga''. By whatever name we call – ''Karma Yoga'', ''Bhakti Yoga'', ''Rāja Yoga'', ''Jñāna Yoga'' – they are nothing but ''Karma Yoga'' only; they are parts of ''Karma Yoga''.
*When we use emotion as the main support in ''Karma Yoga'', it is called ''Bhakti Yoga''.
*When we use our willpower, that is called ''Rāja Yoga''.
*When we use our intellect as the most important part of ''Karma Yoga'', it is called ''Jñāna Yoga''.
*When we use our duties as befitting our birth, our age in life, etc. (called ''varṇa dharmas'' and ''āśrama dharmas''), if we can discharge these duties, then slowly we progress. That is called ''Karma Yoga''.
Never ever think that ''Karma Yoga'' is a separate yoga unrelated to ''Bhakti'', ''Rāja'' and ''Jñāna''. No. No yoga can be separated. All fall under action. A ''bhakta'' (devotee) has to work hard. A ''jñānī'' has to work hard in the form of discrimination, controlling the mind, controlling the diet, etc. Everybody has to do that. Controlling the mind – that ''Karma Yoga'' is called ''Rāja Yoga'' or mastery of the mind. So everything falls under ''Karma Yoga'' only.

That is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says in the Gospel: "Even to think 'I am Brahman', even to meditate 'I am Brahman', that is also ''karma'' only." Nobody can escape ''karma'', but through ''karma'' one can get out of ''karma'', like the pole vault. With the help of the pole we rise high and cross the barrier, but then we become separated from the very pole. So ''Karma Yoga'' makes us realize "I am Brahman", and ''karma'' drops away. He wants to tell that ''Karma Yoga'' is essential, but ''Karma Yoga'' should be understood properly. ''Karma Yoga'' should lead to that true understanding: "I am not the body-mind; I have nothing to do with ''karma''; I am the ''ātman''." Why? ''Karma'' is meant to fulfill desires. All desires belong either to the body or mind. When I have no desires because I am everything, then ''karma'' becomes useless. But ''karma'' should gradually lead us to that conclusion. This is called ''Sambandha Bhāṣya''.
====2. Ghaṭa Bhāṣya (Second Section)====
Some people doubt: "There was nothing, no God, no creation; suddenly creation has come with a big bang." For that, Śaṅkarācārya takes it and says: "No, everything must have a cause. But before creation, the cause is in the form of unmanifest – unmanifested form, unmanifested name, unmanifested action – but it does not mean it is zero or non-existence." For that he takes the example of a pot. A pot cannot come into being without clay, but clay contains the pot already in an unmanifest form. What the potter does is not create something outside the clay; he fashions the clay with the help of a potter's wheel into a particular shape, and then it acquires a special form, acquires a special name, acquires a special utility. This is what he wants to establish. In Sanskrit, a pot is called ''ghaṭa'', and Śaṅkara uses this word ''ghaṭa'' umpteen number of times; therefore it is called ''Ghaṭa Bhāṣya''. This comes in the second section.
====3. Pramāṇa Bhāṣya (Third Section)====
In the third section, we got ''Pramāṇa Bhāṣya''. What is ''pramāṇam''? There are some people who doubt the very validity of the Vedas. So how to understand what is a ''pramāṇa''? For that purpose, we have to take our direct experience and then inference, postulation, comparison, etc., including absence of an object. That is beautifully discussed to establish that everything in the Veda is a ''pramāṇa'', including the ''mahāvākyas'', etc.
====4. Praveśa Bhāṣya (Fourth Section)====
In the fourth section, we get ''Praveśa Bhāṣya'': ''tat sṛṣṭvā'', ''tadeva'', ''anupraviśat'' – "God created, Brahman created and entered." What is the meaning of this "entrance"? A long discussion, but the essence is that Brahman is available inside our own heart. That availability of Brahman in the heart is called "Brahman entering into the heart" – not physical entry, not intellectual entry, but we take it as "it is available". Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: "A ''zamindar'' can be anywhere in his vast lands, but often he is found in his drawing room, where he is easily available." So that is called ''Praveśa Bhāṣyam'' – elaborate discussion: "Brahman created the world and entered; what is this entry? Brahman's availability in the ''jīva'', that's all, because we consider ourselves as ''jīva''." So by taking the support of the ''mahāvākya'' "I am Brahman", we have to meditate upon Brahman in the cave of our own heart.

ज्योतिषां ज्योतिः, उज्ज्वल हृदि कन्दरे, तुमि तम भञ्जनहार।

jyoti rājyoti ujjvalā hṛdikandara tumitama bhañjanahar

This is the essence of the ''Praveśa Bhāṣyam''.
====5. Vidyā Sūtra Bhāṣya and Avidyā Sūtra====
In the seventh mantra (in this fourth section), we get ''Vidyā Sūtra Bhāṣyam''. What is the ''Vidyā Sūtra'' word? ''Aham brahmāsmi'' – "I am alone Brahman." ''Brahmātmaiti eva upāsīta''. This is called ''Vidyā Sūtra''.

Then we get ''Avidyā Sūtra''. What is ''Avidyā Sūtra''? "I am separate from God" – which means "I am separate from everything else". That is called ''Avidyā Sūtra''. There is a beautiful elaboration.
====6. Mahāvākya Bhāṣyam (Fourth Section, Tenth Mantra)====
Then there is a ''Mahāvākya Bhāṣyam''. We get it in the fourth section, tenth mantra, wherein one of the ''mahāvākyas'' – ''Aham brahmāsmi'' – is discussed. First chapter, fourth section, tenth mantra:

'''अहम् ब्रह्मास्मि'''

aham brahmāsmi

The identity of ''jīvātma'' and ''paramātma'' was elaborately discussed and established. What is a ''mahāvākya''? That the individual and the universal – there are no such two things; there is only one.
===Important Mantras in the First Chapter===
There are some important mantras we have to understand.

'''नैवेह किंचनाग्र आसीत्, मृत्युनैवेदमावृतमासीत्।'''

''Naiveha kiñcanāgra āsīt, mṛtyunaivedamāvṛtamāsīt.''

What does it mean? "In the beginning, nothing is manifest." That means everything is in the form of the unmanifest.

Then we get in the third section of the first chapter, abhyāroha mantra, the famous, what is that?

'''असतो मा सद्गमय। तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय। मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय।'''

''Asato mā sadgamaya, tamaso mā jyotirgamaya, mṛtyormā amṛtaṃ gamaya.''

Lead me from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light, from death to immortality (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28).

'''आत्मैव इदमग्र आसीत् पुरुषविधः।'''

''Ātmaiva idamagra āsīt puruṣavidhaḥ.''

At the beginning, there is only one existing, and that is called ātmā, and he is called Purusha. So he saw everywhere.

'''सोऽहमस्मीति अग्रे व्याहरत्।'''

''So'hamasmīti agre vyāharat.''

There is nobody. He did not see. The ātman did not see anything else other than the ātman.

And in the mantra eighth, in this fourth section again, we get a most marvelous psychological fact.

'''तद्धैतत् प्रियः पुत्रात्, प्रियो वित्तात्, प्रियोऽन्यस्मात् सर्वस्मात्, तदन्तरतरं यदयमात्मा।'''

''Taddhaitat priyaḥ putrāt, priyo vittāt, priyo'nyasmāt sarvasmāt, tadantarataraṃ yadayamātmā.''

The ātman is the closest, nearest, dearest way of liberty. And anything that we do is only because we love the ātman. And when we do not get this ātman, we discard it.

So this ātman is dearer than one's own dearest child. It is dearer than any wealth, vittāt, and it is dearest than everything else, sarvasmāt, anyasmāt, antarataram yath ayam ātmā.

'''ब्रह्म वा इदमग्र आसीत्, तदात्मानमेव अवेत्, अहं ब्रह्मास्मीति।'''

''Brahma vā idamagra āsīt, tadātmānameva avet, ahaṃ brahmāsmīti.''

In the beginning, this was Brahman alone; it knew itself: "I am Brahman." Therefore it became all — and whoever among gods or men realizes "I am Brahman" becomes all this (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10).

'''अहं मनुः, अहं सूर्यः।'''

''Ahaṃ manuḥ, ahaṃ sūryaḥ.''

I am Manu, I am Surya — the realization declared by the sage Vāmadeva.

'''ब्रह्म वा इदमग्र आसीत् एकमेव।'''

''Brahma vā idamagra āsīt ekameva.''

In the beginning, there was only brahman, one without a second. So, mantra seventeenth also, more or less repeats this one.

===Transition to the Second Chapter===
These are some of the important mantras we get. Now, from the next class onwards, we will be entering into the second chapter. What is the essence of the second chapter? This chapter features the most marvelous conversation between Ajātaśatru and Gārgīya, which we will be seeing in our next class tomorrow.
== Closing Prayer ==
ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda bless us all with Bhakti.

''Jai Rāmakṛṣṇa!''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1 Summary Lecture 39 on 06 June 2026

2026-07-28T16:32:03Z

Shekhar: /* Conclusion of the First Chapter */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते

पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः

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

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

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.
==Summary of the First Chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad==
In our last class, we have just completed the last section of the first chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, the sixth section. This is a summary of the entire Upaniṣad, we can say.
===What Did We Discuss?===
What does this sixth section really try to teach us? What is the world? What does it consist of? This is the topic. So this section answers that God manifests as three forms, which we call the creation, the world. It is also called ''uktha brāhmaṇa''.
====Uktha====
What is ''uktha''? The final cause from which everything arises. In this section, these three manifestations of Brahman are mentioned. What are they? Name, form, and action.
=====Origin of Forms=====
And wherefrom are the forms coming? From a particular source, and that is called ''cakṣu''. ''Cakṣu'' means "I". We have to understand that ''cakṣu'' actually means formlessness. Unmanifested form is the root cause of every form.

As an example, clay is the unformed form, formless form of every form. Every form should have a name, a specific name to distinguish it and separate it from every other form. That is called "name".

But every name – Rāma, Kṛṣṇa, John, Jesus, Buddha, etc. – these are all special manifestations distinguishable by our mind. There is one root cause to every name. That is called ''śabda''. That is called ''śabda brahma''. Every name that we can understand or remember, even in the future every new form will be given a new name, and all these names are manifestations of one ''śabda''. ''Śabda'' means sound, and that sound in its unmanifest form is called Brahman.

So this is the ''uktha''. The ''uktha'' of names is ''śabda''. The ''uktha'' of forms is that formless ''avyakta''.
=====Karma (Action/Utility)=====
Then the third one is called ''karma''. Every form will have a name, and every name and form is called an object. As soon as you hear the name or remember the name, immediately the form comes, the object comes into view. Regarding that object, what is the utility of that object? As soon as you remember, for example, the name "pot", you know that a pot is a small object where you can cook food, store materials, or even store water, etc. As soon as you see an object called "glass", you think: this is meant for drinking water, wine, etc. So this is the object. Every object is nothing but a combination of form, name, and utility (''prayojana'').

The whole universe, whole creation, is nothing but a combined manifestation of these. Every single object will have ''nāma'', ''rūpa'', and ''karma''. This is what we have to understand.

That is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: "What is in a beautiful body? After all, flesh, blood, urine, stool, sinews, bones, etc." That is true, whether it is an insect or an animal or even a tree in its own way. (Do not ask whether any tree has got a bone – yes, it does. The meaning is that which sustains part of the tree is called the bone: roots, etc.) So every object is nothing but name, form, and utility. All three combined are called "body".
===The Most Important Reality===
This last section, having only three mantras, tells us that for us, what is the most important reality? Each one of us. Ask yourself: "Who am I? I am the body." How many people even dare to think, "I am not the body, I am the mind"? This body is given a special name temporarily. It is called ''satyam''. ''Satyam'' means what is the highest reality to all ignorant people like us. This ''satyam'' covers up something. What does it cover? Immortality.
====What is this Immortality?====
This immortality is called ''amṛtam''. What is this ''amṛtam''? It is called mind. Why is it called ''amṛtam''? Because there are two ways to interpret it. One way is that this physical body comes and goes (how many times? Millions of times). But the mind – meaning the four ''kośas'': ''prāṇa'', ''mana'', ''vijñāna'' and ''ānanda'' – endures almost a long, long time. How long? Until we obtain ''ātma jñānam'', self-knowledge: the knowledge that I am neither the body nor the mind. Until that time, this mind lasts.

The evolution mainly takes place in the mind. The mind evolves, meaning its understanding becomes clearer and even more clear with every birth, until the person (the ''jīva'', individual) takes birth as a human being, evolves into a cultured human being, and acquires more ''sattva''. Until he acquires much of the ''sattva guṇa'', which is the caste called ''brāhmaṇa'' (''brāhmaṇa'' means full of ''sattva''). Even among ''brāhmaṇas'', there would be degrees of difference, but we are talking about a ''brāhmaṇa'' who has become a ''sannyāsī''.

Who is a ''sannyāsī''? Who thinks:

मनोबुद्ध्यहङ्कारचित्तानि नाहम् शिवोहम् शिवोहम्

manobuddhyahaṅkāracittāni nāham śivoham śivoham

One who thinks, who knows that "I am Brahman, I am ''ātman'', I am Śiva" – which means "I am not the body-mind complex". That mind is called ''amṛtam''. This mind alone leads one to both ignorance and liberation. First ignorance, then gradually ignorance becomes less, the light of knowledge manifests more and more, until finally one attains to that highest reality.

What is that reality? I am that reality. I am Brahman. I am ''ātman''. ''Ātman'' means "I am Brahman" – not Brahman as separated.
===Adhyāsa (Superimposition)===
This practically tells us what is called ''adhyāsa''. What is this ''adhyāsa''? Superimposition. What is this superimposition? Each one of us forgetting that "I am Brahman" and identifying ourselves with this body. This ''adhyāsa'' slowly has to be gotten rid of.

What is the way? As just now we mentioned, what is our greatest identity? Body. Once a person succeeds in getting rid of the idea "I am the body", he progresses in spiritual life. For such a person, it will be easier to get rid of the other four ''kośas'' as well. "Getting rid of" does not mean destroying; it means developing the understanding "I am not the body, I am not the ''prāṇa'', I am not the mind, I am not the ''vijñāna buddhi'', I am not the ''ānandamaya kośa''". That complete detachment is called spiritual progress.

Remember, all these things have to be done only through the help of the mind. Just as when a mirror in front of us gets more and more cleaned up, the reflection automatically becomes nearer to the reality, nearer to what is in front of it. What is in front of it is Brahman. What is the mirror? Mind. When the mind is covered with five layers of deep dust, the worst state of the mirror is "I am the body". When that layer is cleaned, then the other four become better and the reflection becomes better.
===Message of the Sixth Section===
Thus this sixth section wants to tell us: "O man, wake up, then control your mind." What is controlling the mind? Developing more ''sattva'', which means developing more identity with our true self and developing more dispassion and detachment from the ideas that "I am the ''annamaya''", "I am the ''prāṇamaya''", etc. This is the message, the essence of the summary of the sixth section of this first chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad.

With this, the first chapter is over. This first chapter is also called ''Madhu Kāṇḍa'', ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa''. It is also called ''Adhyāsa Kāṇḍa'', ''Adhyāropa Kāṇḍa''.

What is ''adhyāropa''? Superimposition – thinking that "I am the body", "I am the ''pañcakośas''", etc. Only in this chapter we have also been taught how to slowly develop detachment through discrimination and slowly progress until we have the knowledge that only one is there, which is called Brahman. There are no two things – God and the world, Brahman and the world. Whatever is, is one only. Then our eyes become pure, and we are able to see everything as Brahman: ''sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ brahma''.

But to come to that stage of spiritual development, first we have to know ''aham brahmāsmi''. In this first chapter, we have seen that one. This is called ''Adhyāropa Prakaraṇam''. How to get rid of it is also indicated here through some mantras, particular mantras. Here are the hints:

First of all, ''sadeva somya'' – there is only one. (In the fourth chapter it comes, that is in the form of unmanifest, that is Brahman.) Then ''aham brahmāsmi'' – "I am Brahman". That is the goal.
===How to Reach That Goal===
Look here, my friend. You see in front of you two things. You feel "I am an individual". You feel "I am separate from everything else". And everybody, every conscious entity (including an amoeba – one amoeba feels that "I am distinct from other amoebas") feels that separation from every living creature and every non-living thing. But that is ''avidyā'', ignorance. That has to be slowly gotten rid of.

For that, creation has to evolve from the inorganic. (There is really nothing inorganic. According to Advaita, ''ātman'' became what modern scientists call "inorganic". What we Hindus, Vedantins, call ''pañcadevatā'' – ''ākāśa'', ''vāyu'', ''agni'', ''jala'', and ''pṛthvī'' – these five are called inorganic.) Slowly they manifest. The inorganic, as it were, evolves into organic, then it acquires ''prāṇa'', and it acquires special ''cidābhāsa''.

"I am an individual. I have a body." Even an insect has indirect knowledge: "I am a living creature. I am separate from everything else. I have to survive. I have to protect myself." So that separation is there. But the scripture wants to tell us that really everything is God only, everything is Brahman only, everything is ''ātman'' only. Gradually, the scripture wants to teach us this.
====How Does It Want to Teach Us?====
First of all, by describing creation, the scripture wants to tell us that everything is changing in this world, and because it is changing, it is called ''mithyā''. But ''mithyā'' is not non-existence. By the description of this world through the detailed process of creation, the world is described. Through this description, the scripture wants to tell us that it is not unreal, but by taking us to the cause, we go from the immediate approximate cause to its cause, to its cause.

For example: "I am annam. I am pṛthvī." Then I understand: I am not pṛthvī. "I am jala." Then I understand: I am not water. "I am fire." I am not the fire. "I am vāyu." I am not vāyu. "I am ākāśa." I am not ākāśa. All these completely merge in the final cause, ''uktam'', and that is called Brahman.

So by saying that as long as you see separation, it is called ''mithyā'' – it is ever-changing. But there is something which is witnessing this ever-changing phenomenon; that unchanging phenomenon is called true consciousness. Step by step, the scripture wants to tell us: the world is neither unreal (because we experience it) nor real (because it is changing). Whatever is experienced but never remains the same – ever-changing – that is called ''mithyā''.

The scripture slowly convinces us and makes us understand that anything changing is not reliable; anything changing is called ''mithyā''; any ''mithyā'' is not reliable; and anything that is ''mithyā'' must have an ''adhiṣṭhāna'' – it must have a cause, it must have a support. That support is called ''satyam''.
====Example of the Rope and Snake====
For every ''mithyā'' – for example, a wrongly perceived snake which turns out to be a rope – without a rope, there cannot be an illusion of a snake. Our solution is that we have to bring light. In the light, we recognize that what we thought was a snake turns out to be an unchanging rope. So a snake is called ''mithyā''. Why is it called changing? Because in semi-darkness, we can mistake it for a garland, we can mistake it for a bent stick – we can mistake it in so many ways, depending upon our past, previous experiences.

The purpose of describing creation is slowly, gradually, to lead us to our true nature. That is the essence of this sixth section.
===The Body as Piṇḍa===
Now we have to conclude the essence of this entire one. One more point I have to find out here. This body, which is our only reality, is called ''piṇḍa''. ''Piṇḍāṇḍa'' – our reality. ''Piṇḍa'' means individual reality. As soon as we use the word "individual", every individual must be universal only. There is a certain logic here.

If there is only one object in this world, that is called ''brahmāṇḍa''. But if there are many objects of the same species, it is called ''piṇḍāṇḍa'' – it is called microcosm. Microcosm must be the same as macrocosm. Microcosm in Sanskrit is called ''piṇḍāṇḍa'', and macrocosm is called ''brahmāṇḍa''.

I think one of the lectures in the Jñāna Yoga of Swami Vivekananda (Swamiji, the greatest sage of any world in plain English language) makes it clear that both the microcosm and macrocosm are built on the same plan. That means they are made up of the same truth, same reality, same constituents. There is no difference. The essence of that lecture is: if we can understand that I am the microcosm and my nature is this – I have consciousness, I have body, mind – what is an individual? Body, mind, plus reflected consciousness called ''cidābhāsa''.

Where there is reflected consciousness, there must also be pure consciousness. If you want reflected light, there must be original light. Just imagine: the sun is shining, and its rays are falling upon a mirror through a window. That mirror is reflecting, and the room which was in darkness is now being lighted up, and every object becomes enveloped by the light and is illumined. Illumination means we get the knowledge: "I know so many objects are in this room." That knowledge, light reveals.
====The Individual====
So wherever there is an individual, there must be original consciousness; there must be a mind. When that original consciousness falls upon this mind (which is compared to a mirror), the light of consciousness gets reflected and it illumines the body and the sense organs and the external world through the body. This subject is beautifully exposed in a beautiful small text called Dṛg-Dṛśya-Viveka by the great Śaṅkarācārya.

So, pure consciousness + reflected consciousness + body and mind is called the individual. At this moment, we are totally identified with the body and what belongs to the body. That is called ''māmakāra''.
===Progression of Identification===
When we advance a little bit, then we identify slowly: "I am not only the body, I am also the mind. I am mind plus body." That is good progress.

Then comes the next step. Actually, I am the body? The whole universe is nothing but my thoughts. Every object, including my body, is a thought in my mind – not to speak of external objects in the external world. That is how slowly we progress. We learn to see this world in higher and higher light.

Two things happen there. As we progress, we expand and then identify with higher and higher degrees of reality: from ''annamaya'' to ''prāṇamaya'' to ''manomaya'' to ''vijñānamaya'' to ''ānandamaya'', etc. In another model, from the body to the mind to the ''ānandamaya kośa''. This is from the gross body to the subtle body to the causal body. When we have a clear concept of these three – i.e., we objectify these three – whatever we objectify is not "me". That is called ''turīya avasthā''. This is the essential exposition in the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad, which we have seen already.
===Conclusion of the First Chapter===
So, this is what the first chapter wants to tell. ''Adhyāropa'' – superimposition – the very world means that is not the reality. That is where we are now. Slowly, by following the path shown by this Upaniṣad, by every Upaniṣad, every scripture of every religion, we slowly progress towards God. Once we progress, ultimately we reach God. That is called paradise, kingdom of heaven, nirvāṇa, or the ''aham brahmāsmi'' state.

Let us now try to analyze. By negating this individual body – that is the first step, ''sthūla śarīra'' – then we have to identify. The individual cannot remain without identification, so he goes to the next step, which is identification with the ''sūkṣma śarīra'', and then comes identification with the ''kāraṇa śarīra'', which we call the experience of deep sleep, wherein body and mind are completely negated; we are not even aware of that. Pure bliss, but limited by time and causation.

This is how a person learns to look upon all the three states as objects of experience. The fundamental principle of Advaita Vedānta is: whatever I experience, whatever I objectify, is not me. Then who am I? Beyond the three ''śarīras'', beyond the three states of experiences, beyond all the three states of ''avasthāntara'', beyond avasthātīta. I am somebody beyond. That is why it is called ''turīya''. This is how negation is to be accomplished slowly and slowly.
===Summary of the Entire First Chapter (Upadeśa Kāṇḍa / Madhu Kāṇḍa)===
Now I will try to summarize the entire first chapter as much as possible. The first chapter is called ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa''. It is also called ''Madhu Kāṇḍa'', and there are six sections. Each section is called a ''brāhmaṇa''.
====First Three Sections: Expansion of Mind====
The first three sections are to elevate our mind by taking support of three individual objects. We have to expand our mind and identify ourselves with the larger whole.
#'''First object: Aśva (horse).''' Contemplate upon the different limbs of that horse, and imagine that the whole universe is represented in the form of a horse. "The head is this, the different parts are these." This is called ''Virāṭ Upāsanā''. Upāsanā means contemplation – contemplation that this is not an individual horse; it represents the whole universe. This Virāṭ meditation is done upon an object temporarily taken as a support, and this is called ''Aśva Medha Yāga''.

#'''Second section: Agni Brāhmaṇam.''' It takes the same goal, but it takes fire as an object and identifies it with the universal thing – ''Agni Virāṭ Upāsanā''.

#'''Third section: Udgītha Brāhmaṇam.''' Here also fire or prāṇa is taken as Virāṭ.
This is how we expand our mind. What is an ''upāsanā''? That which breaks our narrow individuality and makes us identify with the entire universe. That is the purpose of ''upāsanā'' or contemplation in any language. For example, in Christianity, when they say Mass, then the body of Christ: "This is my blood, this is my flesh." The bread and the wine represent. This is called ''ālambana'' or support. It is not the physical bread. That is why as soon as a devotee consumes a thin wafer of this bread, he feels "my flesh has become Christ's flesh; my blood has become Christ's blood" – that means "I have become Christ". And who is Christ? "I am the son of God." And who is the son of God? "I am the manifestation of the unmanifested, unmanifestable God, as it were." So that is called ''upāsanā'', contemplation.
====Fourth Section: Puruṣa Vidha Brāhmaṇam====
In the fourth section, we see it is called ''Puruṣa Vidha Brāhmaṇam''. What is ''Puruṣa Vidha Brāhmaṇam''? He is the all-pervading reality. Here, Hiraṇyagarbha or the Saguṇa Brahma is glorified as the great creator.

For that purpose, how do we understand this whole universe as a manifestation of Brahman? According to the Taittirīya visualization, first ''ātman'' became the five elements. But here it is said: God created; He became Manu and the other; He divided Himself into male and female, Manu and Śatarūpā; He became humans, He became cows, He became goats, He became horses, He became everything. What does it mean? That means He is the root cause. Anything that is made up of dough becomes different forms of cakes; clay becomes different pots; ornaments are nothing but manifestations of formless gold, etc.

These created beings are divided into four castes – ''brāhmaṇa'', ''kṣatriya'', ''vaiśya'' and ''śūdra'' – with different duties in life for them, and that is done according to the manifestation of one of the three guṇas: ''sattva'', ''rajas'' and ''tamas''.

It is also told that a ''jīva'' lives in his own world and he becomes the enjoyer and he becomes the enjoyed. When he enjoys the world, he is called the enjoyer. When the world enjoys him, then he becomes the object. So he becomes both an enjoyer and an object of enjoyment. That is part of the superimposition.
====The Threefold Manifestation: Nāma, Rūpa, Karma====
Then we get the whole superimposition summed up in the form of ''nāma'', ''rūpa'' and ''karma''. The whole universe is nothing but name, form, and function. All three are now further reduced to the physical body. If we know how to handle our body, purify it, use it properly, then we progress, then we develop discrimination, and then we give up our identity with the physical body and identify gradually, step by step, with the ''prāṇamaya kośa'', ''manomaya kośa'', ''vijñānamaya kośa'' and ''ānandamaya kośa''.

Slowly, going beyond all these ''pañcakośas'', going beyond all the three bodies (''sthūla'', ''sūkṣma'', ''kāraṇa''), we understand:

1. I am ''ātman''. 2. I am the first – everything is God. 3. I am that God. 4. The whole universe is nothing but God.

This is the essence of the first chapter of this Upaniṣad.

As I said, it is also called ''Madhukāṇḍa'', meaning the whole universe is related. Every part is related to every part. Every part is connected with every other part. This is the holistic view, and looking at it this way, we are able to look as one unit – that is called Brahman or ''ātman''.
===Śaṅkarācārya’s Commentaries (Bhāṣyas) on the First Chapter===
The great Śaṅkarācārya is one of the ''ācāryas'', and we are following closely. He wrote several versions, and in this first chapter we have several elaborate versions.
====1. Sambandha Bhāṣya====
Even before starting his commentary on the Bṛhadāraṇyaka, he gives a ''Sambandha Bhāṣya''. This is the first ''bhāṣya'', and for every Upaniṣad he does the same thing. He summarizes and takes up some important points and then thoroughly discusses to tell us that the whole world is nothing but ''karma''.
*What is bondage? ''Karma''.
*What is the way to liberation? Again ''karma''.
But ''karma'' is an instrument which should lead us to ''citta śuddhi''. That is why it is called ''Karma Yoga''. By whatever name we call – ''Karma Yoga'', ''Bhakti Yoga'', ''Rāja Yoga'', ''Jñāna Yoga'' – they are nothing but ''Karma Yoga'' only; they are parts of ''Karma Yoga''.
*When we use emotion as the main support in ''Karma Yoga'', it is called ''Bhakti Yoga''.
*When we use our willpower, that is called ''Rāja Yoga''.
*When we use our intellect as the most important part of ''Karma Yoga'', it is called ''Jñāna Yoga''.
*When we use our duties as befitting our birth, our age in life, etc. (called ''varṇa dharmas'' and ''āśrama dharmas''), if we can discharge these duties, then slowly we progress. That is called ''Karma Yoga''.
Never ever think that ''Karma Yoga'' is a separate yoga unrelated to ''Bhakti'', ''Rāja'' and ''Jñāna''. No. No yoga can be separated. All fall under action. A ''bhakta'' (devotee) has to work hard. A ''jñānī'' has to work hard in the form of discrimination, controlling the mind, controlling the diet, etc. Everybody has to do that. Controlling the mind – that ''Karma Yoga'' is called ''Rāja Yoga'' or mastery of the mind. So everything falls under ''Karma Yoga'' only.

That is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says in the Gospel: "Even to think 'I am Brahman', even to meditate 'I am Brahman', that is also ''karma'' only." Nobody can escape ''karma'', but through ''karma'' one can get out of ''karma'', like the pole vault. With the help of the pole we rise high and cross the barrier, but then we become separated from the very pole. So ''Karma Yoga'' makes us realize "I am Brahman", and ''karma'' drops away. He wants to tell that ''Karma Yoga'' is essential, but ''Karma Yoga'' should be understood properly. ''Karma Yoga'' should lead to that true understanding: "I am not the body-mind; I have nothing to do with ''karma''; I am the ''ātman''." Why? ''Karma'' is meant to fulfill desires. All desires belong either to the body or mind. When I have no desires because I am everything, then ''karma'' becomes useless. But ''karma'' should gradually lead us to that conclusion. This is called ''Sambandha Bhāṣya''.
====2. Ghaṭa Bhāṣya (Second Section)====
Some people doubt: "There was nothing, no God, no creation; suddenly creation has come with a big bang." For that, Śaṅkarācārya takes it and says: "No, everything must have a cause. But before creation, the cause is in the form of unmanifest – unmanifested form, unmanifested name, unmanifested action – but it does not mean it is zero or non-existence." For that he takes the example of a pot. A pot cannot come into being without clay, but clay contains the pot already in an unmanifest form. What the potter does is not create something outside the clay; he fashions the clay with the help of a potter's wheel into a particular shape, and then it acquires a special form, acquires a special name, acquires a special utility. This is what he wants to establish. In Sanskrit, a pot is called ''ghaṭa'', and Śaṅkara uses this word ''ghaṭa'' umpteen number of times; therefore it is called ''Ghaṭa Bhāṣya''. This comes in the second section.
====3. Pramāṇa Bhāṣya (Third Section)====
In the third section, we got ''Pramāṇa Bhāṣya''. What is ''pramāṇam''? There are some people who doubt the very validity of the Vedas. So how to understand what is a ''pramāṇa''? For that purpose, we have to take our direct experience and then inference, postulation, comparison, etc., including absence of an object. That is beautifully discussed to establish that everything in the Veda is a ''pramāṇa'', including the ''mahāvākyas'', etc.
====4. Praveśa Bhāṣya (Fourth Section)====
In the fourth section, we get ''Praveśa Bhāṣya'': ''tat sṛṣṭvā'', ''tadeva'', ''anupraviśat'' – "God created, Brahman created and entered." What is the meaning of this "entrance"? A long discussion, but the essence is that Brahman is available inside our own heart. That availability of Brahman in the heart is called "Brahman entering into the heart" – not physical entry, not intellectual entry, but we take it as "it is available". Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: "A ''zamindar'' can be anywhere in his vast lands, but often he is found in his drawing room, where he is easily available." So that is called ''Praveśa Bhāṣyam'' – elaborate discussion: "Brahman created the world and entered; what is this entry? Brahman's availability in the ''jīva'', that's all, because we consider ourselves as ''jīva''." So by taking the support of the ''mahāvākya'' "I am Brahman", we have to meditate upon Brahman in the cave of our own heart.

ज्योति राज्योति उज्ज्वला हृदिकन्दर तुमितम भञ्जनहर्

jyoti rājyoti ujjvalā hṛdikandara tumitama bhañjanahar

This is the essence of the ''Praveśa Bhāṣyam''.
====5. Vidyā Sūtra Bhāṣya and Avidyā Sūtra====
In the seventh mantra (in this fourth section), we get ''Vidyā Sūtra Bhāṣyam''. What is the ''Vidyā Sūtra'' word? ''Aham brahmāsmi'' – "I am alone Brahman." ''Brahmātmaiti eva upāsīta''. This is called ''Vidyā Sūtra''.

Then we get ''Avidyā Sūtra''. What is ''Avidyā Sūtra''? "I am separate from God" – which means "I am separate from everything else". That is called ''Avidyā Sūtra''. There is a beautiful elaboration.
====6. Mahāvākya Bhāṣyam (Fourth Section, Tenth Mantra)====
Then there is a ''Mahāvākya Bhāṣyam''. We get it in the fourth section, tenth mantra, wherein one of the ''mahāvākyas'' – ''Aham brahmāsmi'' – is discussed. First chapter, fourth section, tenth mantra:

अहम् ब्रह्मास्मि

aham brahmāsmi

The identity of ''jīvātma'' and ''paramātma'' was elaborately discussed and established. What is a ''mahāvākya''? That the individual and the universal – there are no such two things; there is only one.
===Important Mantras in the First Chapter===
There are some important mantras we have to understand.
====First Mantra: ''Naiva kiñcana agre āsīt''====
The famous mantra:

नैव किञ्चनाग्रे आसीत्

naiva kiñcanāgre āsīt

What does it mean? "In the beginning, nothing is manifest." That means everything is in the form of the unmanifest.
====Fourth Section: ''Ātmaivedam agre āsīt''====
In the fourth section we get:

आत्मैवेदमग्रे आसीत्

ātmaivedam agre āsīt

" In the beginning, there was only one existing, and that is called ''Ātman'' and He is called ''Puruṣa''." He saw everywhere, and then He said:

अहम् अस्मि

aham asmi

"There is nobody He did not see. The ''Ātman'' did not see anything else other than the ''Ātman''. So He said 'I am'." That is why we use "I am" before adding anything else.
====Fourth Section, Eighth Mantra====
In this fourth section again, we get a most marvelous psychological fact:

प्रियोऽन्यस्मात् सर्वस्मात्

priyo'nyasmāt sarvasmāt

"The ''Ātman'' is the closest, nearest, dearest to everybody. Anything that we do is only because we love the ''Ātman''. When we do not get this ''Ātman'', we discard it. This ''Ātman'' is dearer than one's own dearest child. It is dearer than any wealth, and it is dearer than everything else: ''sarvasmāt anyasmāt antara taram'' – I am ''Ātman''."
====Fourth Section, Tenth Mantra====
ब्रह्मव इदमग्रे आसीत्

brahmava idam agre āsīt

"In the beginning, Brahman was alone." ''Tad ātmanāmevā aham brahmāsmi'' – "It knew 'I am Brahman'." Therefore it knows "I am everything". Whoever realizes "I am Brahman, I am everything" becomes free from slavery to gods, to this body, to this mind, to the ''pañcakośas''. There were many people who had this realization. One of the ṛṣis called Vāmadeva said after realization:

अहम् मनोः अहम् सूर्यः

aham manoḥ aham sūryaḥ

"I am Manu, I am Sūrya, I am everything else."
====Fourth Section, Eleventh Mantra====
ब्रह्मव इदमग्रे आसीत् एकमेव

brahmava idam agre āsīt ekameva

"In the beginning, there was only Brahman, one without a second."

The seventeenth mantra also more or less repeats this one.
===Transition to the Second Chapter===
These are some of the important mantras we get. Now, from the next class onwards, we will be entering into the second chapter. What is the essence of the second chapter? This chapter features the most marvelous conversation between Ajātaśatru and Gārgīya, which we will be seeing in our next class tomorrow.
== Closing Prayer ==
ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda bless us all with Bhakti.

''Jai Rāmakṛṣṇa!''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1 Summary Lecture 39 on 06 June 2026

2026-07-28T16:27:50Z

Shekhar: /* The Individual */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते

पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः

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

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

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.
==Summary of the First Chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad==
In our last class, we have just completed the last section of the first chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, the sixth section. This is a summary of the entire Upaniṣad, we can say.
===What Did We Discuss?===
What does this sixth section really try to teach us? What is the world? What does it consist of? This is the topic. So this section answers that God manifests as three forms, which we call the creation, the world. It is also called ''uktha brāhmaṇa''.
====Uktha====
What is ''uktha''? The final cause from which everything arises. In this section, these three manifestations of Brahman are mentioned. What are they? Name, form, and action.
=====Origin of Forms=====
And wherefrom are the forms coming? From a particular source, and that is called ''cakṣu''. ''Cakṣu'' means "I". We have to understand that ''cakṣu'' actually means formlessness. Unmanifested form is the root cause of every form.

As an example, clay is the unformed form, formless form of every form. Every form should have a name, a specific name to distinguish it and separate it from every other form. That is called "name".

But every name – Rāma, Kṛṣṇa, John, Jesus, Buddha, etc. – these are all special manifestations distinguishable by our mind. There is one root cause to every name. That is called ''śabda''. That is called ''śabda brahma''. Every name that we can understand or remember, even in the future every new form will be given a new name, and all these names are manifestations of one ''śabda''. ''Śabda'' means sound, and that sound in its unmanifest form is called Brahman.

So this is the ''uktha''. The ''uktha'' of names is ''śabda''. The ''uktha'' of forms is that formless ''avyakta''.
=====Karma (Action/Utility)=====
Then the third one is called ''karma''. Every form will have a name, and every name and form is called an object. As soon as you hear the name or remember the name, immediately the form comes, the object comes into view. Regarding that object, what is the utility of that object? As soon as you remember, for example, the name "pot", you know that a pot is a small object where you can cook food, store materials, or even store water, etc. As soon as you see an object called "glass", you think: this is meant for drinking water, wine, etc. So this is the object. Every object is nothing but a combination of form, name, and utility (''prayojana'').

The whole universe, whole creation, is nothing but a combined manifestation of these. Every single object will have ''nāma'', ''rūpa'', and ''karma''. This is what we have to understand.

That is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: "What is in a beautiful body? After all, flesh, blood, urine, stool, sinews, bones, etc." That is true, whether it is an insect or an animal or even a tree in its own way. (Do not ask whether any tree has got a bone – yes, it does. The meaning is that which sustains part of the tree is called the bone: roots, etc.) So every object is nothing but name, form, and utility. All three combined are called "body".
===The Most Important Reality===
This last section, having only three mantras, tells us that for us, what is the most important reality? Each one of us. Ask yourself: "Who am I? I am the body." How many people even dare to think, "I am not the body, I am the mind"? This body is given a special name temporarily. It is called ''satyam''. ''Satyam'' means what is the highest reality to all ignorant people like us. This ''satyam'' covers up something. What does it cover? Immortality.
====What is this Immortality?====
This immortality is called ''amṛtam''. What is this ''amṛtam''? It is called mind. Why is it called ''amṛtam''? Because there are two ways to interpret it. One way is that this physical body comes and goes (how many times? Millions of times). But the mind – meaning the four ''kośas'': ''prāṇa'', ''mana'', ''vijñāna'' and ''ānanda'' – endures almost a long, long time. How long? Until we obtain ''ātma jñānam'', self-knowledge: the knowledge that I am neither the body nor the mind. Until that time, this mind lasts.

The evolution mainly takes place in the mind. The mind evolves, meaning its understanding becomes clearer and even more clear with every birth, until the person (the ''jīva'', individual) takes birth as a human being, evolves into a cultured human being, and acquires more ''sattva''. Until he acquires much of the ''sattva guṇa'', which is the caste called ''brāhmaṇa'' (''brāhmaṇa'' means full of ''sattva''). Even among ''brāhmaṇas'', there would be degrees of difference, but we are talking about a ''brāhmaṇa'' who has become a ''sannyāsī''.

Who is a ''sannyāsī''? Who thinks:

मनोबुद्ध्यहङ्कारचित्तानि नाहम् शिवोहम् शिवोहम्

manobuddhyahaṅkāracittāni nāham śivoham śivoham

One who thinks, who knows that "I am Brahman, I am ''ātman'', I am Śiva" – which means "I am not the body-mind complex". That mind is called ''amṛtam''. This mind alone leads one to both ignorance and liberation. First ignorance, then gradually ignorance becomes less, the light of knowledge manifests more and more, until finally one attains to that highest reality.

What is that reality? I am that reality. I am Brahman. I am ''ātman''. ''Ātman'' means "I am Brahman" – not Brahman as separated.
===Adhyāsa (Superimposition)===
This practically tells us what is called ''adhyāsa''. What is this ''adhyāsa''? Superimposition. What is this superimposition? Each one of us forgetting that "I am Brahman" and identifying ourselves with this body. This ''adhyāsa'' slowly has to be gotten rid of.

What is the way? As just now we mentioned, what is our greatest identity? Body. Once a person succeeds in getting rid of the idea "I am the body", he progresses in spiritual life. For such a person, it will be easier to get rid of the other four ''kośas'' as well. "Getting rid of" does not mean destroying; it means developing the understanding "I am not the body, I am not the ''prāṇa'', I am not the mind, I am not the ''vijñāna buddhi'', I am not the ''ānandamaya kośa''". That complete detachment is called spiritual progress.

Remember, all these things have to be done only through the help of the mind. Just as when a mirror in front of us gets more and more cleaned up, the reflection automatically becomes nearer to the reality, nearer to what is in front of it. What is in front of it is Brahman. What is the mirror? Mind. When the mind is covered with five layers of deep dust, the worst state of the mirror is "I am the body". When that layer is cleaned, then the other four become better and the reflection becomes better.
===Message of the Sixth Section===
Thus this sixth section wants to tell us: "O man, wake up, then control your mind." What is controlling the mind? Developing more ''sattva'', which means developing more identity with our true self and developing more dispassion and detachment from the ideas that "I am the ''annamaya''", "I am the ''prāṇamaya''", etc. This is the message, the essence of the summary of the sixth section of this first chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad.

With this, the first chapter is over. This first chapter is also called ''Madhu Kāṇḍa'', ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa''. It is also called ''Adhyāsa Kāṇḍa'', ''Adhyāropa Kāṇḍa''.

What is ''adhyāropa''? Superimposition – thinking that "I am the body", "I am the ''pañcakośas''", etc. Only in this chapter we have also been taught how to slowly develop detachment through discrimination and slowly progress until we have the knowledge that only one is there, which is called Brahman. There are no two things – God and the world, Brahman and the world. Whatever is, is one only. Then our eyes become pure, and we are able to see everything as Brahman: ''sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ brahma''.

But to come to that stage of spiritual development, first we have to know ''aham brahmāsmi''. In this first chapter, we have seen that one. This is called ''Adhyāropa Prakaraṇam''. How to get rid of it is also indicated here through some mantras, particular mantras. Here are the hints:

First of all, ''sadeva somya'' – there is only one. (In the fourth chapter it comes, that is in the form of unmanifest, that is Brahman.) Then ''aham brahmāsmi'' – "I am Brahman". That is the goal.
===How to Reach That Goal===
Look here, my friend. You see in front of you two things. You feel "I am an individual". You feel "I am separate from everything else". And everybody, every conscious entity (including an amoeba – one amoeba feels that "I am distinct from other amoebas") feels that separation from every living creature and every non-living thing. But that is ''avidyā'', ignorance. That has to be slowly gotten rid of.

For that, creation has to evolve from the inorganic. (There is really nothing inorganic. According to Advaita, ''ātman'' became what modern scientists call "inorganic". What we Hindus, Vedantins, call ''pañcadevatā'' – ''ākāśa'', ''vāyu'', ''agni'', ''jala'', and ''pṛthvī'' – these five are called inorganic.) Slowly they manifest. The inorganic, as it were, evolves into organic, then it acquires ''prāṇa'', and it acquires special ''cidābhāsa''.

"I am an individual. I have a body." Even an insect has indirect knowledge: "I am a living creature. I am separate from everything else. I have to survive. I have to protect myself." So that separation is there. But the scripture wants to tell us that really everything is God only, everything is Brahman only, everything is ''ātman'' only. Gradually, the scripture wants to teach us this.
====How Does It Want to Teach Us?====
First of all, by describing creation, the scripture wants to tell us that everything is changing in this world, and because it is changing, it is called ''mithyā''. But ''mithyā'' is not non-existence. By the description of this world through the detailed process of creation, the world is described. Through this description, the scripture wants to tell us that it is not unreal, but by taking us to the cause, we go from the immediate approximate cause to its cause, to its cause.

For example: "I am annam. I am pṛthvī." Then I understand: I am not pṛthvī. "I am jala." Then I understand: I am not water. "I am fire." I am not the fire. "I am vāyu." I am not vāyu. "I am ākāśa." I am not ākāśa. All these completely merge in the final cause, ''uktam'', and that is called Brahman.

So by saying that as long as you see separation, it is called ''mithyā'' – it is ever-changing. But there is something which is witnessing this ever-changing phenomenon; that unchanging phenomenon is called true consciousness. Step by step, the scripture wants to tell us: the world is neither unreal (because we experience it) nor real (because it is changing). Whatever is experienced but never remains the same – ever-changing – that is called ''mithyā''.

The scripture slowly convinces us and makes us understand that anything changing is not reliable; anything changing is called ''mithyā''; any ''mithyā'' is not reliable; and anything that is ''mithyā'' must have an ''adhiṣṭhāna'' – it must have a cause, it must have a support. That support is called ''satyam''.
====Example of the Rope and Snake====
For every ''mithyā'' – for example, a wrongly perceived snake which turns out to be a rope – without a rope, there cannot be an illusion of a snake. Our solution is that we have to bring light. In the light, we recognize that what we thought was a snake turns out to be an unchanging rope. So a snake is called ''mithyā''. Why is it called changing? Because in semi-darkness, we can mistake it for a garland, we can mistake it for a bent stick – we can mistake it in so many ways, depending upon our past, previous experiences.

The purpose of describing creation is slowly, gradually, to lead us to our true nature. That is the essence of this sixth section.
===The Body as Piṇḍa===
Now we have to conclude the essence of this entire one. One more point I have to find out here. This body, which is our only reality, is called ''piṇḍa''. ''Piṇḍāṇḍa'' – our reality. ''Piṇḍa'' means individual reality. As soon as we use the word "individual", every individual must be universal only. There is a certain logic here.

If there is only one object in this world, that is called ''brahmāṇḍa''. But if there are many objects of the same species, it is called ''piṇḍāṇḍa'' – it is called microcosm. Microcosm must be the same as macrocosm. Microcosm in Sanskrit is called ''piṇḍāṇḍa'', and macrocosm is called ''brahmāṇḍa''.

I think one of the lectures in the Jñāna Yoga of Swami Vivekananda (Swamiji, the greatest sage of any world in plain English language) makes it clear that both the microcosm and macrocosm are built on the same plan. That means they are made up of the same truth, same reality, same constituents. There is no difference. The essence of that lecture is: if we can understand that I am the microcosm and my nature is this – I have consciousness, I have body, mind – what is an individual? Body, mind, plus reflected consciousness called ''cidābhāsa''.

Where there is reflected consciousness, there must also be pure consciousness. If you want reflected light, there must be original light. Just imagine: the sun is shining, and its rays are falling upon a mirror through a window. That mirror is reflecting, and the room which was in darkness is now being lighted up, and every object becomes enveloped by the light and is illumined. Illumination means we get the knowledge: "I know so many objects are in this room." That knowledge, light reveals.
====The Individual====
So wherever there is an individual, there must be original consciousness; there must be a mind. When that original consciousness falls upon this mind (which is compared to a mirror), the light of consciousness gets reflected and it illumines the body and the sense organs and the external world through the body. This subject is beautifully exposed in a beautiful small text called Dṛg-Dṛśya-Viveka by the great Śaṅkarācārya.

So, pure consciousness + reflected consciousness + body and mind is called the individual. At this moment, we are totally identified with the body and what belongs to the body. That is called ''māmakāra''.
===Progression of Identification===
When we advance a little bit, then we identify slowly: "I am not only the body, I am also the mind. I am mind plus body." That is good progress.

Then comes the next step. Actually, I am the body? The whole universe is nothing but my thoughts. Every object, including my body, is a thought in my mind – not to speak of external objects in the external world. That is how slowly we progress. We learn to see this world in higher and higher light.

Two things happen there. As we progress, we expand and then identify with higher and higher degrees of reality: from ''annamaya'' to ''prāṇamaya'' to ''manomaya'' to ''vijñānamaya'' to ''ānandamaya'', etc. In another model, from the body to the mind to the ''ānandamaya kośa''. This is from the gross body to the subtle body to the causal body. When we have a clear concept of these three – i.e., we objectify these three – whatever we objectify is not "me". That is called ''turīya avasthā''. This is the essential exposition in the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad, which we have seen already.
===Conclusion of the First Chapter===
So, this is what the first chapter wants to tell. ''Adhyāropa'' – superimposition – the very world means that is not the reality. That is where we are now. Slowly, by following the path shown by this Upaniṣad, by every Upaniṣad, every scripture of every religion, we slowly progress towards God. Once we progress, ultimately we reach God. That is called paradise, kingdom of heaven, nirvāṇa, or the ''aham brahmāsmi'' state.

Let us now try to analyze. By negating this individual body – that is the first step, ''sthūla śarīra'' – then we have to identify. The individual cannot remain without identification, so he goes to the next step, which is identification with the ''sūkṣma śarīra'', and then comes identification with the ''kāraṇa śarīra'', which we call the experience of deep sleep, wherein body and mind are completely negated; we are not even aware of that. Pure bliss, but limited by time and causation.

This is how a person learns to look upon all the three states as objects of experience. The fundamental principle of Advaita Vedānta is: whatever I experience, whatever I objectify, is not me. Then who am I? Beyond the three ''śarīras'', beyond the three states of experiences, beyond all the three states of ''avasthāntara'', I am somebody beyond. That is why it is called ''turīya''. This is how negation is to be accomplished slowly and slowly.
===Summary of the Entire First Chapter (Upadeśa Kāṇḍa / Madhu Kāṇḍa)===
Now I will try to summarize the entire first chapter as much as possible. The first chapter is called ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa''. It is also called ''Madhu Kāṇḍa'', and there are six sections. Each section is called a ''brāhmaṇa''.
====First Three Sections: Expansion of Mind====
The first three sections are to elevate our mind by taking support of three individual objects. We have to expand our mind and identify ourselves with the larger whole.
#'''First object: Aśva (horse).''' Contemplate upon the different limbs of that horse, and imagine that the whole universe is represented in the form of a horse. "The head is this, the different parts are these." This is called ''Virāṭ Upāsanā''. Upāsanā means contemplation – contemplation that this is not an individual horse; it represents the whole universe. This Virāṭ meditation is done upon an object temporarily taken as a support, and this is called ''Aśva Medha Yāga''.

#'''Second section: Agni Brāhmaṇam.''' It takes the same goal, but it takes fire as an object and identifies it with the universal thing – ''Agni Virāṭ Upāsanā''.

#'''Third section: Udgītha Brāhmaṇam.''' Here also fire or prāṇa is taken as Virāṭ.
This is how we expand our mind. What is an ''upāsanā''? That which breaks our narrow individuality and makes us identify with the entire universe. That is the purpose of ''upāsanā'' or contemplation in any language. For example, in Christianity, when they say Mass, then the body of Christ: "This is my blood, this is my flesh." The bread and the wine represent. This is called ''ālambana'' or support. It is not the physical bread. That is why as soon as a devotee consumes a thin wafer of this bread, he feels "my flesh has become Christ's flesh; my blood has become Christ's blood" – that means "I have become Christ". And who is Christ? "I am the son of God." And who is the son of God? "I am the manifestation of the unmanifested, unmanifestable God, as it were." So that is called ''upāsanā'', contemplation.
====Fourth Section: Puruṣa Vidha Brāhmaṇam====
In the fourth section, we see it is called ''Puruṣa Vidha Brāhmaṇam''. What is ''Puruṣa Vidha Brāhmaṇam''? He is the all-pervading reality. Here, Hiraṇyagarbha or the Saguṇa Brahma is glorified as the great creator.

For that purpose, how do we understand this whole universe as a manifestation of Brahman? According to the Taittirīya visualization, first ''ātman'' became the five elements. But here it is said: God created; He became Manu and the other; He divided Himself into male and female, Manu and Śatarūpā; He became humans, He became cows, He became goats, He became horses, He became everything. What does it mean? That means He is the root cause. Anything that is made up of dough becomes different forms of cakes; clay becomes different pots; ornaments are nothing but manifestations of formless gold, etc.

These created beings are divided into four castes – ''brāhmaṇa'', ''kṣatriya'', ''vaiśya'' and ''śūdra'' – with different duties in life for them, and that is done according to the manifestation of one of the three guṇas: ''sattva'', ''rajas'' and ''tamas''.

It is also told that a ''jīva'' lives in his own world and he becomes the enjoyer and he becomes the enjoyed. When he enjoys the world, he is called the enjoyer. When the world enjoys him, then he becomes the object. So he becomes both an enjoyer and an object of enjoyment. That is part of the superimposition.
====The Threefold Manifestation: Nāma, Rūpa, Karma====
Then we get the whole superimposition summed up in the form of ''nāma'', ''rūpa'' and ''karma''. The whole universe is nothing but name, form, and function. All three are now further reduced to the physical body. If we know how to handle our body, purify it, use it properly, then we progress, then we develop discrimination, and then we give up our identity with the physical body and identify gradually, step by step, with the ''prāṇamaya kośa'', ''manomaya kośa'', ''vijñānamaya kośa'' and ''ānandamaya kośa''.

Slowly, going beyond all these ''pañcakośas'', going beyond all the three bodies (''sthūla'', ''sūkṣma'', ''kāraṇa''), we understand:

1. I am ''ātman''. 2. I am the first – everything is God. 3. I am that God. 4. The whole universe is nothing but God.

This is the essence of the first chapter of this Upaniṣad.

As I said, it is also called ''Madhukāṇḍa'', meaning the whole universe is related. Every part is related to every part. Every part is connected with every other part. This is the holistic view, and looking at it this way, we are able to look as one unit – that is called Brahman or ''ātman''.
===Śaṅkarācārya’s Commentaries (Bhāṣyas) on the First Chapter===
The great Śaṅkarācārya is one of the ''ācāryas'', and we are following closely. He wrote several versions, and in this first chapter we have several elaborate versions.
====1. Sambandha Bhāṣya====
Even before starting his commentary on the Bṛhadāraṇyaka, he gives a ''Sambandha Bhāṣya''. This is the first ''bhāṣya'', and for every Upaniṣad he does the same thing. He summarizes and takes up some important points and then thoroughly discusses to tell us that the whole world is nothing but ''karma''.
*What is bondage? ''Karma''.
*What is the way to liberation? Again ''karma''.
But ''karma'' is an instrument which should lead us to ''citta śuddhi''. That is why it is called ''Karma Yoga''. By whatever name we call – ''Karma Yoga'', ''Bhakti Yoga'', ''Rāja Yoga'', ''Jñāna Yoga'' – they are nothing but ''Karma Yoga'' only; they are parts of ''Karma Yoga''.
*When we use emotion as the main support in ''Karma Yoga'', it is called ''Bhakti Yoga''.
*When we use our willpower, that is called ''Rāja Yoga''.
*When we use our intellect as the most important part of ''Karma Yoga'', it is called ''Jñāna Yoga''.
*When we use our duties as befitting our birth, our age in life, etc. (called ''varṇa dharmas'' and ''āśrama dharmas''), if we can discharge these duties, then slowly we progress. That is called ''Karma Yoga''.
Never ever think that ''Karma Yoga'' is a separate yoga unrelated to ''Bhakti'', ''Rāja'' and ''Jñāna''. No. No yoga can be separated. All fall under action. A ''bhakta'' (devotee) has to work hard. A ''jñānī'' has to work hard in the form of discrimination, controlling the mind, controlling the diet, etc. Everybody has to do that. Controlling the mind – that ''Karma Yoga'' is called ''Rāja Yoga'' or mastery of the mind. So everything falls under ''Karma Yoga'' only.

That is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says in the Gospel: "Even to think 'I am Brahman', even to meditate 'I am Brahman', that is also ''karma'' only." Nobody can escape ''karma'', but through ''karma'' one can get out of ''karma'', like the pole vault. With the help of the pole we rise high and cross the barrier, but then we become separated from the very pole. So ''Karma Yoga'' makes us realize "I am Brahman", and ''karma'' drops away. He wants to tell that ''Karma Yoga'' is essential, but ''Karma Yoga'' should be understood properly. ''Karma Yoga'' should lead to that true understanding: "I am not the body-mind; I have nothing to do with ''karma''; I am the ''ātman''." Why? ''Karma'' is meant to fulfill desires. All desires belong either to the body or mind. When I have no desires because I am everything, then ''karma'' becomes useless. But ''karma'' should gradually lead us to that conclusion. This is called ''Sambandha Bhāṣya''.
====2. Ghaṭa Bhāṣya (Second Section)====
Some people doubt: "There was nothing, no God, no creation; suddenly creation has come with a big bang." For that, Śaṅkarācārya takes it and says: "No, everything must have a cause. But before creation, the cause is in the form of unmanifest – unmanifested form, unmanifested name, unmanifested action – but it does not mean it is zero or non-existence." For that he takes the example of a pot. A pot cannot come into being without clay, but clay contains the pot already in an unmanifest form. What the potter does is not create something outside the clay; he fashions the clay with the help of a potter's wheel into a particular shape, and then it acquires a special form, acquires a special name, acquires a special utility. This is what he wants to establish. In Sanskrit, a pot is called ''ghaṭa'', and Śaṅkara uses this word ''ghaṭa'' umpteen number of times; therefore it is called ''Ghaṭa Bhāṣya''. This comes in the second section.
====3. Pramāṇa Bhāṣya (Third Section)====
In the third section, we got ''Pramāṇa Bhāṣya''. What is ''pramāṇam''? There are some people who doubt the very validity of the Vedas. So how to understand what is a ''pramāṇa''? For that purpose, we have to take our direct experience and then inference, postulation, comparison, etc., including absence of an object. That is beautifully discussed to establish that everything in the Veda is a ''pramāṇa'', including the ''mahāvākyas'', etc.
====4. Praveśa Bhāṣya (Fourth Section)====
In the fourth section, we get ''Praveśa Bhāṣya'': ''tat sṛṣṭvā'', ''tadeva'', ''anupraviśat'' – "God created, Brahman created and entered." What is the meaning of this "entrance"? A long discussion, but the essence is that Brahman is available inside our own heart. That availability of Brahman in the heart is called "Brahman entering into the heart" – not physical entry, not intellectual entry, but we take it as "it is available". Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: "A ''zamindar'' can be anywhere in his vast lands, but often he is found in his drawing room, where he is easily available." So that is called ''Praveśa Bhāṣyam'' – elaborate discussion: "Brahman created the world and entered; what is this entry? Brahman's availability in the ''jīva'', that's all, because we consider ourselves as ''jīva''." So by taking the support of the ''mahāvākya'' "I am Brahman", we have to meditate upon Brahman in the cave of our own heart.

ज्योति राज्योति उज्ज्वला हृदिकन्दर तुमितम भञ्जनहर्

jyoti rājyoti ujjvalā hṛdikandara tumitama bhañjanahar

This is the essence of the ''Praveśa Bhāṣyam''.
====5. Vidyā Sūtra Bhāṣya and Avidyā Sūtra====
In the seventh mantra (in this fourth section), we get ''Vidyā Sūtra Bhāṣyam''. What is the ''Vidyā Sūtra'' word? ''Aham brahmāsmi'' – "I am alone Brahman." ''Brahmātmaiti eva upāsīta''. This is called ''Vidyā Sūtra''.

Then we get ''Avidyā Sūtra''. What is ''Avidyā Sūtra''? "I am separate from God" – which means "I am separate from everything else". That is called ''Avidyā Sūtra''. There is a beautiful elaboration.
====6. Mahāvākya Bhāṣyam (Fourth Section, Tenth Mantra)====
Then there is a ''Mahāvākya Bhāṣyam''. We get it in the fourth section, tenth mantra, wherein one of the ''mahāvākyas'' – ''Aham brahmāsmi'' – is discussed. First chapter, fourth section, tenth mantra:

अहम् ब्रह्मास्मि

aham brahmāsmi

The identity of ''jīvātma'' and ''paramātma'' was elaborately discussed and established. What is a ''mahāvākya''? That the individual and the universal – there are no such two things; there is only one.
===Important Mantras in the First Chapter===
There are some important mantras we have to understand.
====First Mantra: ''Naiva kiñcana agre āsīt''====
The famous mantra:

नैव किञ्चनाग्रे आसीत्

naiva kiñcanāgre āsīt

What does it mean? "In the beginning, nothing is manifest." That means everything is in the form of the unmanifest.
====Fourth Section: ''Ātmaivedam agre āsīt''====
In the fourth section we get:

आत्मैवेदमग्रे आसीत्

ātmaivedam agre āsīt

" In the beginning, there was only one existing, and that is called ''Ātman'' and He is called ''Puruṣa''." He saw everywhere, and then He said:

अहम् अस्मि

aham asmi

"There is nobody He did not see. The ''Ātman'' did not see anything else other than the ''Ātman''. So He said 'I am'." That is why we use "I am" before adding anything else.
====Fourth Section, Eighth Mantra====
In this fourth section again, we get a most marvelous psychological fact:

प्रियोऽन्यस्मात् सर्वस्मात्

priyo'nyasmāt sarvasmāt

"The ''Ātman'' is the closest, nearest, dearest to everybody. Anything that we do is only because we love the ''Ātman''. When we do not get this ''Ātman'', we discard it. This ''Ātman'' is dearer than one's own dearest child. It is dearer than any wealth, and it is dearer than everything else: ''sarvasmāt anyasmāt antara taram'' – I am ''Ātman''."
====Fourth Section, Tenth Mantra====
ब्रह्मव इदमग्रे आसीत्

brahmava idam agre āsīt

"In the beginning, Brahman was alone." ''Tad ātmanāmevā aham brahmāsmi'' – "It knew 'I am Brahman'." Therefore it knows "I am everything". Whoever realizes "I am Brahman, I am everything" becomes free from slavery to gods, to this body, to this mind, to the ''pañcakośas''. There were many people who had this realization. One of the ṛṣis called Vāmadeva said after realization:

अहम् मनोः अहम् सूर्यः

aham manoḥ aham sūryaḥ

"I am Manu, I am Sūrya, I am everything else."
====Fourth Section, Eleventh Mantra====
ब्रह्मव इदमग्रे आसीत् एकमेव

brahmava idam agre āsīt ekameva

"In the beginning, there was only Brahman, one without a second."

The seventeenth mantra also more or less repeats this one.
===Transition to the Second Chapter===
These are some of the important mantras we get. Now, from the next class onwards, we will be entering into the second chapter. What is the essence of the second chapter? This chapter features the most marvelous conversation between Ajātaśatru and Gārgīya, which we will be seeing in our next class tomorrow.
== Closing Prayer ==
ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda bless us all with Bhakti.

''Jai Rāmakṛṣṇa!''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.6 Lecture 38 on 31 May 2026

2026-07-19T17:16:14Z

Shekhar: /* First Chapter, Sixth Section – Uktha Brāhmaṇa */

Full Transcript

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।'''

'''पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadgurum |''

''pāda-padme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhur muhuḥ ||''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते ।'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥ हरिः ॐ ॥'''

''oṃ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṃ pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate |''

''pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate ||''

''oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ || hariḥ oṃ ||''

= 1 · The Sixth Section: Nāma, Rūpa and Karma =
We have almost come to the end of the first chapter. We are in the sixth section of the first chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, and herein in this sixth section, the Upaniṣad is really condensing, summariszing, andgiving the very essence of the entire Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad by reducing the whole world into three experienceable components: the names, the forms, and the action —āma, rūpa and karma.

As we discussed earlier, nāma, rūpa and karma. N"Nāma"means sound —"abda brahma. "Rūpa means the material from which every conceivable form can come out, and wherever there is nāma and rūpa, there would be a prayojana, a utility, an action, whether it is by others or by oneself. So we have to take both into consideration. For example, when I see a glass and I feel like drinking water, then I use that glass for this action called filling it up with water and drinking it. Of course, the glass never feels the thirst, but it has a definite purpose, an actionable purpose.

= 2 · Uktha Brāhmaṇa: The Meaning of Uktha =
As we discussed, this sixth section is also called Uktha Brāhmaṇa. Brāhmaṇa means section, not a person belonging to a particular caste; here it means a se"section."skrit words can have many different meanings for the same word. For example, ātman can mean the body, ātman can mean the mind, ātman can mean the egotism, ātmaand n can mean itself or Brahman. So every essence can also be called ātman. Sweetness is the ātman, the very essence, of sugar or of any sweet.

So here "uktha" means origin—that undifferentiated universal substance or material cause from which the whole universe comes out. That is called "uktham," and all these three are called uktham. What are these three? Nāma, rūpa a,nd karma.

= 3 · The Triangle of Nāma, Rūpa and Karma =
The whole universe is nothing but a combination of these three. That is why I called it a triangle. In a triangle, you cannot remove one; if you remove one angle, the triangle falls down. Remove the nāma from this triangle of nāma-rūpa-karma, the world will vanish. Remove the rūpa (form), the and world will vanish. With the destruction of one particular aspect, the whole universe will completely disappear.

For example, you see a tree; let us say it is a mango tree. So you remove the nāma—then what happens? The tree itself will disappear, because nāma indicates a particular form, and when there is no nāma (name) and form, there would be no object also. Then what remains? Don’t think it becomes non-existent. No, it remains: it merges back into Brahman. Remove karma from this world – what will remain? There would be no name, no form, but it is not destruction. It is merging back into its unmanifest form, merging back into its unmanifest form which is Brahman–ātman.

So this section is telling us: wherever you experience anything, the experience will be either the gross physical or the subtle thought – either you experience a thought or you experience some external object – and they both must contain nāma, rūpa and karma. So, as I said, you experience a person, and if you remove the rūpa, the name will automatically disappear. When form and name disappear, the action also will disappear. This person called Rāma will not be available at all for experience. And these three are in subtle form, and that is what we call a thought. The moment we think “Rāma”, the moment we see Rāma, immediately the form of Rāma and the name of Rāma and the character of Rāma, which is called action, [arise together].

= 4 · Karma as Character =
The summation of every activity is called character. Is Rāma a good person, a generous person, a loving person, or a cruel person, a destructive person? So all that is dependent upon karma. What we call our assessment of the whole character is nothing but through the experience of karmas only, and that is how it is called karma. Karma means character; character means our estimate of a person, the idea about that person, and that is called karma.

And it must have a specific separation: “This is not Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is a very good person, but this person is not so good.” So every single experienceable object can be separated from the infinite number of objects in this world completely.

= 5 · The Origins: Cakṣu and Prāṇa =
But here is one point. Nāma means śabda – that is Brahman. The form (rūpa) is Brahman when it is removed of its specific form. And in this sixth section we get a peculiar name for the uktham of form, for the original cause of every form – that is called cakṣu. Sometimes when we try to read, cakṣu means the eye. So is the eye that from where all the forms arise? No, the cakṣu to which we are referring is a sense organ; through that we are able to experience forms, but the origin of the forms is not the cakṣu. So according to this section, cakṣu means origin, uktham – the cause from which all forms arise, and all forms can arise only from a formless aspect. Please keep this in mind: from the nameless origin, any name can come out; from śabda, any name can come out; from formlessness, any form can come out.

And what is the origin or uktham of karma? Prāṇa. Prāṇa means energy – the sum total of energy, not individualized energy, but universal energy. That is called Īśvara, Hiraṇyagarbha, Saguṇa Brahma – these are all different names for it.

So what is this whole universe? It is nothing but śabda brahma, rūpa brahma and prāṇa brahma, and they are all unmanifest. Only when Brahman manifests in the form of sound, it becomes names. When Brahman manifests as forms, they all become different forms, experienceable externally and also in the form of thoughts. If you analyse your dream state, everything that you see is nothing but name, form and action. And this prāṇa is not called prāṇa; it is called Brahman. Only when it manifests through and in a particular instrument, then it will be called prāṇa; otherwise it is called prāṇadevatā, which is another name for Brahman.

= 6 · What Binds Us =
So why is this section telling us this? Because it wants to tell what it is that binds us – this nāma, rūpa and karma. We see an object, for example a person, and he has a particular form which can be distinguished from every other person, and he has a particular name to distinguish him. If there are, for example, three Rāmas in the same family, then Rāma number one, Rāma number two, Rāma number three – we have to distinguish. So the function of a name is to distinguish every form from every other form. And about everybody, through the actions, we have an idea of what this object is – every object, not necessarily human beings: “This is a good mango, this is a good dog, that is a dangerous animal,” etcetera, etcetera.

But if you remove nāma, rūpa and karma – removing means what? Merging them back into their original cause – what remains is pure Brahman. And as I mentioned earlier, Vidyāraṇya puts it in his Pañcadaśī: What is the world? Sat-Cit-Ānanda plus nāma plus rūpa. What is Brahman? Sat-Cit-Ānanda – the world without nāma and rūpa. Simply Sat-Cit-Ānanda, which is the origin (uktham) – that is called Brahman.

= 7 · Bondage to the Body =
So what does it want? Now the Upaniṣad warns us: why this particular explanation in this last section of the first chapter? We are all caught, bound, and this bondage is of two types. Our first bondage will be to the body. Everybody – my body, your body, anybody’s body – will have a particular form, a particular shape, a particular colour, height, weight, etcetera. Distinguishable, totally distinguishable from everything else in this world. There will not be two equally same objects; some difference will be there. As they say, even between a billion hairs, one can clearly distinguish one hair from the other hair – of course, we require a very subtle instrument for that. When the snow falls, there will be billions of snowflakes. Every snowflake has its own specific signature – nāma rūpa. What a marvelous creation it is. So no two persons’ eyes are alike; no two persons’ thumb impressions are alike. That is how our thumb impressions are taken to distinguish, and immigration officials do find out. So everything is unique.

And this whole body – our body, as a form, as a name – has certain characteristics created by our actions, and actions are possible only because of prāṇa or energy. So these three things form the physical body as well as the sūkṣma śarīra (subtle body).

= 8 · Satyam and Amṛtam =
Now the Upaniṣad wants to distinguish. In this section, the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad has given a beautiful name for the physical body: it is called satyam. And for the subtle body – our mind – it has given another name: amṛtam (immortality). Now we may be wondering why the Upaniṣad is giving this word satyam; only Brahman – Saccidānanda – deserves the word satyam: satyam jñānam anantam brahma. Because what is our satyam? My satyam, your satyam. If I think you are not satyam, I would not be giving this talk. If you think I am not satyam, you would not be listening to this talk. But for us, the body, the physical body, the physical world are the most – they are the only truth available at this moment. That is why it is called satyam, and we are enormously attached to it.

This attachment prevents us from going into our uktham (original cause) and realizing it. Why should we realize our uktham, our original cause? Because our identity with this particular personality is preventing our identity with every object in this world. But if we seek for the truth, every object has got the same form, name, and prāṇa (energy), and so these are the effects. Every effect must have a cause. So these are the manifested effects, and a manifested effect must have an unmanifested cause. But we are caught in it, and this emphasis on separating ourselves from everything else – that is called bondage – and that creates a tremendous amount of suffering.

= 9 · Identity Is Happiness =
How does it create suffering? If I can identify with my brother, with my sister, with my mother, with my parent – even if I am suffering, but if they are enjoying happiness, then I will be a happy person. Because identity means I cannot say “I identify with you, but I don’t experience your happiness, joy.” No, the moment I identify, the other person’s experience must become my experience. That is why when a mother has a lesser amount of sweet and she gives it to her children, she is more than happy, because as a mother – and that is the meaning of the word “mother” – she is completely identified: “This is me, but I am eating through the body of my child.” But the same mother will not experience it when the neighboring child is eating it. That is the funny thing.

So the Upaniṣad wants to tell: now you practice sādhanā (spiritual practice) and slowly go back to your origin. Surprisingly, you will discover that every name is your name, every form is your form, and every karma is your karma – every object is none other than you.

= 10 · The Story of Śukadeva =
This is so beautifully illustrated in the Bhāgavatam. Śukadeva, the son of Vedavyāsa, as soon as he was born – completely naked, sixteen years old – started walking away, because he was a full jñānī, a knower of Brahman. His father, who was attached, started following his son, calling him, “O my son, O my son.” And do you know what miracle took place? Śukadeva was completely unaware that somebody was following him and calling him, because he was absorbed in his nature as Brahman, and Brahman is this world. Therefore, the whole world started responding to Śukadeva’s father: “Yes, father! Yes, father!” – every tree, every creature telling “Yes, father, yes, father.” What a marvelous illustration we get in these beautiful scriptures.

= 11 · Identifying with Everybody =
So, O man, after all, what is it you are seeking? You are striving 24 hours a day: “I want to be happy,” but you can never be happy – maybe very little happiness for a very short time. But if you can identify yourself with another person, with two people, with a hundred people, with a thousand people, with everybody – then when a tiger succeeds in hunting a deer and starts enjoying that food and quenching its hunger, there is a peculiar ānanda, just like us, and that ānanda will be yours, because you are identifying with the tiger. Anybody who is happy, you will be happy, and where there is happiness, there is no place for unhappiness, because these two opposite thoughts cannot stay in the mind at the same time. So a person who identifies with the whole universe will be the happiest person in this world, and that is one way of understanding what the Divine Mother showed to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: “Why are you not eating through all these mouths?”

So that is the message: your very unconscious is striving to break this bondage called identity with your individuality and to become the real you, who is the universal. But you are not able to understand it. So this is the hint: try to find out that every name has the same origin. Like ten separate people who are the children of one particular couple – yesterday, a small illustration – all of them feel identity: “We are brothers and sisters. If some harm, some suffering comes to one of us, it is as if all of us are suffering.” That is called a true family. So this is the idea; but first of all, trace your identity – the cause from which you have come, which is called uktham in this case.

= 12 · One in Three, Three in One =
Another important point we have to remember: you cannot separately, independently merge name into śabda, form into formlessness, and action into prāṇa or Īśvara or Hiraṇyagarbha or Sūtra Brahma. Either all the three will merge, or all the three will be separated, because they are one and the same. Just a small example: suppose there is a small mango fruit, full of flesh, very ripe and very fragrant. As soon as it is thrown out, everything will disappear – the flavor, the fragrance, the sweetness, that soft texture – everything will disappear. So we are one in three, three in one. That is the lesson this sixth section wants to tell us.

So this is the message of the sixth section. What is the tātparya – the essence, the summary of this one? The summary is that we are all one in Brahman. What makes us think we are separate is form, name and action. If we can succeed in merging them, then there is nothing that separates.

Take the example of clay. Supposing a hundred pots are made out of clay, and all the hundred pots have to be given a hundred separate names: “This is a glass, this is a plate, this is for cooking (a cooking pot), this is a storage pot,” etcetera, etcetera. But when we go into the origin, remember, all the three will be there. What is the karma (prāṇa) of this cooking pot? Cooking. What is the karma of the glass pot? It fulfills the function of drinking. What is the function of the plate? That is for keeping food so that we can eat according to our own mix. So the names (plate, glass pot, storage pot) are different, their forms are different, their functions are different. Names (nāma), forms (rūpa), functions (karma) – all are different. But if you merge them back – all the three – if you merge the cooking pot, then it becomes clay. As soon as it becomes clay, it loses its particular form, name, function. Apply the same thing to the glass pot, the plate, the storage pot – any number of blessed pots. You see, that is how it works.

Take another example: golden ornaments – make any number of ornaments. The names are different, the functions are different. This golden ornament is called an earring, meant only to be hung in the ear. This is called a nose ring, meant to be hung through the nose. This is a bangle, meant to be kept on the arm. So this is how the functions will be there – each function separate, form separate, name separate. Then you melt one – nāma, rūpa and karma disappear.

= 13 · Vairāgyam: “I Am Not the Body” =
That is how we have to understand what is the way for us to achieve identity with the universe: by removing the attachment to this nāma rūpa. That is called vairāgyam. Vairāgyam means dispassion. What is the dispassion here? Not giving up necessarily, but removing the attachment. So that is called nāhaṃ deham – “I am not the body.” The moment you say it, the form of the body, the name of the body, the function of the body – everything associated with the body – ceases to affect that particular mind.

So the Upaniṣad, as I mentioned earlier, calls this body – consisting of a particular formation, particular name, particular function – satyam. Satya – we should not take it in the ultimate sense. Satyam means here that our satyam, our perception: “This is the only truth, this is the only truth, this is the truth.” But the scripture knows this is not the truth, because that which perishes, that which changes, that which is dependent – that is not truth. What is independent, what is not dependent upon anything, and what can never either grow or become less – that is called satyam – trikāla abādhitaṃ satyam.

So the form is changing, and according to the form, what do you think? The name also is changing: “This is a child, this is a youth, this is a middle-aged person, this is an old person, and this is a dead person.” With every change, the name also changes, the function also changes, prāṇa also varies. So we suffer from these limitations. How to get out? At least the first stage is: “I am not the body.” Then to say “I am not the body” – to say “I am not the annamaya kośa” – I will have to identify with the prāṇamaya kośa next, the subtler form, the cause of anna, which is called prāṇamaya kośa. Only then I will say, “This is anātman.” Anātman means asatya – that is not the truth. That means I am not attached to it; that means it doesn’t affect us.

= 14 · Ascending Through the Kośas: The Mind as Amṛta =
So we have seen this in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad – how Bhṛgu had gradually overcome by identifying with the subtler cause, from the effect to the cause; and that becomes the effect in its turn – find out its cause. The cause of the prāṇa is mind, the cause of the mind is intellect, the cause of the intellect is ānanda, and the cause of ānanda is Brahman.

So the Upaniṣad is funnily telling us the mind is called amṛta (immortal). Why? Immortality means – we use this word: the gods always want to drink the nectar of immortality – but the scripture knows very well what it is talking about. It is relative immortality. That means for a long time you are not going to die; you are going to endure. The duration of the body is very little – every day we are changing – but the duration of the mind is longer. Therefore, if somebody can succeed in identifying oneself with the mind, relatively the person can achieve immortality. That is what this section wants to convey: detach yourself. When you realize, “I thought this was satyam; now I realize how can that which is changing every millisecond be satyam? But I want satyam. So seek it at a higher level, a subtler level” – that is called the mind. And of course, here by “mind” it means until the ānandamaya kośa – all the other four kośas are included. But this immortality of these four kośas is called the mind here – antaḥkaraṇa. You know how long it lasts? It only gets destroyed when we get liberation. Until that time, it is not going to happen.

So that is what this sixth section wants to convey: slowly, gradually ascend. That is what St. John of the Cross explained beautifully in the form of a very small poem, The Dark Night of the Soul. Until that time, the soul thought “I am in full light” – until what time? As long as the person was totally identified with the body. He doesn’t have any faith in God; for him, the world alone is. And what is the world? This body is the world.

= 15 · The World Is Only Five =
This is a marvelous point: “Oh, there is a world outside” – and how did you know there is a world outside? Only through this body. So, for example, the world consists of five elements – that is sounds, forms, colours, fragrances, tastes, and touches – through five sense organs we are experiencing these five. Remember always: the world means only five. Svāmī Premēśvarānanda tells: “Five dishes for us to enjoy.”

Suppose somebody is blind. The world now becomes only consisting of four things, because the world of colours and forms totally disappears. Suppose this person is deaf: his world consists of only three-fifths, only three. Supposing that person loses taste – only two-fifths. Suppose this person loses the ability to smell – one more fifth gone. Suppose this person cannot even experience touch (touch means soft, hard, cold, heat) – then where is the world, the external world? Nothing. A person’s world – the so-called world – is totally dead.

Just imagine: when a person is born blind or born deaf, he will never be able to understand. Of course, this is the Western view. The Eastern view, the Hindu view, is: no, in the past lives he was not like that. He had all his five sense organs fully functioning; therefore, the impressions are remaining in the mind, and therefore he can dream – seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching, etcetera. That is an entirely different subject matter; I am not going into that. But what I am trying to tell is that this body is the instrument through which we guess, assume, infer there is an external world. Minus this body, there is no external world at all. What a marvelous truth it is – a psychological truth. So that is why our whole world is nothing but our body, and that is the greatest bondage.

= 16 · Back to the Origin: Everything Becomes Līlā =
What is the way? Let us identify not only with this particular body but with everybody. But before we could do that, we must go back to the origin, and then identify with the origin of these three: śabda, then formlessness (arūpa), and prāṇa or Hiraṇyagarbha or Īśvara – identify with that, because Īśvara represents the origin of these three. Once I identify, then I can enjoy every form, every name and every activity. Then it becomes a līlā. Līlā means what? Because if two people are fighting and one kills the other, there cannot be any killing. Even from the ordinary point of view – which David Attenborough explained so beautifully – death is not permanent non-existence. Death is only going back to the five elements. The body is made up of five elements, and it is only the death of the body. But the other four kośas – all of them are called sūkṣma śarīra, including of course kāraṇa śarīra – they all go in search of a new body, and very soon it will get a new body. And so all the five kośas become complete, because without interacting with the world, our experience will not be complete. And without the world, we cannot be bound, we cannot be released. So the world is an absolute necessity for our growth.

= 17 · Love Without Expectation =
Every experience that we get in this world is to be learned. What lesson? “So I loved this person; this person betrayed me.” So what is the lesson we have to learn? That that person has not betrayed you. You were expecting that person to be grateful and recompense, pay back. It is your fault. You are free to love; you are not free to expect. So learn the lesson. Don’t stop loving, because if you stop loving, you stop being happy. Love and happiness, joy, are one and the same thing actually. If you say “I am happy”, that is called love. If you say “I love”, that means you are happy. Try to understand this very clearly. And we cannot live without happiness. So we have the right to love.

Can we be joyful without the other person responding? In fact, we can be more happy, because if I love something, then that gives us the greatest happiness. The greater our love, proportionately greater would be our happiness. You all know that you are very intelligent students, but still I would like to give an illustration. Supposing you like to read mystery novels – a very common example – and there is your favorite author, and you just love whatever that person writes – a page-turner. You just love that person’s writings, and it comes to you in the form of a book. Does the book return your love? Will it tell, “Oh, I also love you”? No, you love, you use the book, you read the book. The book never responds, because it is lifeless. But if your love for that type of book is 10%, your happiness is 10%. If you love it 50%, your joy will be 50%. If you love it 100%, then you would like to read it again and again, and your joy will be 100%. So love is equivalent to joy.

What are we talking about? That our problem comes especially with other living human beings: that my love is not requited, not returned. That is our mistake. You have a right only to love; you have no right to expect anything. And you know, the moment we stop expecting, how much joy will come? All the joy that we are likely to derive. For example, you love a person, you meet the person, you talk with that person, and that person also starts showing love for you – the person’s talk, the person’s smile, the personality of that person – it enhances your happiness, joy. That’s what you think. But sometimes, if he doesn’t express it, or if he reduces that expression, you’re upset. So you set up this expectation, and the result will be – you’re upset. But just imagine: “I love this person, but I will not expect anything from that person. Whether that person gives it back, shows love or doesn’t show love, it doesn’t really matter, because you are your own master.” If your love is dependent upon that person’s reaction, then your love goes up and down, changes all the time. But if it is completely independent – “I don’t care, but I just love.”

= 18 · Yudhiṣṭhira and the Sunrise; Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and the Swans =
There is a beautiful quotation from, I think, Swami Vivekananda. He quotes from the Mahābhārata (or it is not there actually in the Mahābhārata, but it is a wise saying, let us say). Once Yudhiṣṭhira was absorbed in looking at the beautiful sunrise and sunset. Somebody wanted to speak with him. He went there, but Yudhiṣṭhira was so completely absorbed that he was not aware of it. After some time, this person found that Yudhiṣṭhira was coming back to consciousness. So he asked him, “Sir, what do you get? I see that you are completely absorbed in it. What profit, what lābha do you get out of it?” And Yudhiṣṭhira was shocked, surprised, and said, “Lābha? Profit? I am not expecting. I love. I enjoy seeing the sunrise, the sunset – any beautiful thing. That is it. It gives me the greatest joy. If I expect something, it will definitely break at some point of time.”

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, at the age of seven or eight, was walking in the fields. It was the rainy season; the whole sky was covered up with black thick clouds, and there was a flock of swans gracefully flying across. And that sight had made him so joyous, so absorbed, that he fell down unconscious. He was unconscious to the world, conscious to the aesthetic beauty of that experience. That is why, when people were frightened, he said, “No, my health is perfectly all right. In fact, an unhealthy person cannot experience this – only a perfectly healthy person can experience it.”

= 19 · Conclusion: Sarvatra Sama Darśana =
So what are we talking about? That you go to the origin. Two things happen. First, you identify yourself with the entire creation. Second, whatever is happening in this universe, everything will be joyful. Somebody is quarreling with somebody or with you – that is a joy. It is like a drama, because it is unreal. Somebody is killing somebody – it is an extreme philosophy, hard to understand, digest: somebody is killing somebody, and that person is enjoying it. Just as an illustration, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa saw Akṣay pass away in front of his eyes. Everybody was weeping their eyes out; Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was laughing, because he saw what is the satyam: death is unreal. It is only the body; nothing happened to the soul. The scabbard has been separated from this world; whether something happens to the scabbard or not, it doesn’t really matter.

So develop that vairāgya. What is vairāgya? Giving up attachment to one’s individuality and identifying oneself with everything else – that is called true vairāgya, and that is the essence of this one. So, O man, every experience in this world has something to teach you. Learn it well, keep it in mind, reinforce it, try to identify with everybody else – and that is called sarvatra sama darśana.

== Closing Prayer ==
ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda bless us all with Bhakti.

''Jai Rāmakṛṣṇa!''

= 20 · Questions and Answers =

== Q1 · “The Mother of the Good and the Wicked” — Who Really Creates? ==
Questioner: Mahārāj, in yesterday’s class you mentioned one point about creation — that we love what we create, both good and bad characters equally. Is that [why], when Holy Mother says, “I am the mother of the good as well as the wicked — everyone”?

Yes. The creator is a joyful being — not an unhappy, suffering being: joyful. Because whatever you create… For example, as a child you draw the picture of a tree — whether it is a tree or a piece of grass, we don’t understand!

You see, there was a school, and there was a drawing class. One day the drawing teacher wanted to test his pupils. So he asked them to take up a piece of paper and draw whatever they liked, and he was going from student to student, trying to figure out what they were [drawing] — small children. He came to one small girl and tried to figure out what it was she was trying to draw; he couldn’t make head or tail of it. So he asked: “Child, what are you trying to draw?” She sa, " “I am trying to draw God.” He asked: “Do you know what God looks like?” She said: “No. When I complete my drawing, I will know what He looks like.”

See — really speaking, this is the truth: everything is [our] creation. The whole world — from one point of view we say God created it. You know, God never accepted this. God only created the five elements, and it is the jīva who created the entire universe for himself. Very meaningful, highly debatable, and at the same time absolute truth.

So if you are living, for example, under this particular government — who created that government? Who elected them? As citizens — the citizens created it; more than fifty percent voted for that government. So who created it? I create; each one of us creates. So we get back — now enjoy what you created. That is called spirituality.

This is the truth: the whole world is created. Svarga-loka is created. When you go to svarga-loka, you don’t say, "I created svarga-loka”—"It already exists; I am only going there.” That is your language. But actually, who created that svarga-loka? Absolutely—think over it, meditate upon it—you created it. So you are the creator of joy; you are the creator of unhappin— — everything.

Advaita Vedānta never accepts that God created this world. That is why they don’t want to answer: “Did God create [the world]?” No. “Then how is this world [here]?” Oh, it is not [created] — it is co-equal with God: anādi — beginningless creation, beginningless suffering.

So we created the entire world. Just now I pointed out you have to connect these two ideas. [I] said the whole external world is nothing but experience through our [five senses]. How do you experience it? [unclear] Each one of us experiences it in a peculiar way, isn’t it? That is called creation — that is called dṛṣṭi-sṛṣṭi-vāda.

== Q2 · Vairāgya and Pure Love ==
Questioner: What an absolutely beautiful, lovable talk — and there were quite a few key elements today, such as not to expect. Is it right to understand that vairāgya is really the key to the way of pure love, which is not bound by anything?

You see, people have got many, many misconceptions about vairāgya. Vairāgya means “give up.” Yes—but the thing is, you cannot give up the land on which you are standing until you get a firmer ground for you to occupy and stand upon. So what is it we want to give up? We always want to give up what is less satisfying for what is more satisfying—is it not? Nobody says “I want to give up what is less satisfying” without expecting higher satisfaction. But you know what the psychology is: the moment I give up duḥkh—automatically, is it what remains, joy? So think of it: giving up means giving up the lesser value for a higher value.

Questioner: [To give] up, we need to change the setup, isn’t it?

Correct.

== Q3 · On Watching Moving Stories ==
Questioner: Mahārāj, this is a very silly question, but can I ask — if I enjoy, for example, deeply moving, real human stories as movies, is that okay? Because it allows me to see where I am attached or not attached. Is it okay?

First let me recollect a small joke. There was a tramp, a beggar, in front of a huge, magnificent hotel. He had not eaten for three days. He was waiting for some compassionate soul to look at him and give him something so that he could eat. Suddenly the inner doors of the hotel opened, and a gorgeous lady, covered with diamonds and a mink coat, came out. One look — “Oh, I cannot bear to look at the sight of these miserable creatures!” — [and she] ran to her Rolls-Royce, jumped into it, and disappeared.

If that is the kind of watching that we want to do, it is not desirable. [If] you demonstrate in your life that you are translating your sympathy into concrete help, then it is okay. But even this dependency upon too many moving stories — that is also a kind of slavery. We want to feel s,d; swhenn] we don’t find any excuse to be sad, then we seek this kind of moves, hoping against hope that they will move us. What is a movie? Whatever moves you is called a m—e — I realized why it is called a “movie”! You have to be discriminative enough to s, " “Am I watching simply to give vent to my emotion and get satisfaction thereby, or does it really inspire me to do something concrete as a service to God?”

[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.6 Lecture 38 on 31 May 2026

2026-07-19T13:16:31Z

Shekhar:

Full Transcript

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।'''

'''पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadgurum |''

''pāda-padme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhur muhuḥ ||''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते ।'''

'''पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥ हरिः ॐ ॥'''

''oṃ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṃ pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate |''

''pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate ||''

''oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ || hariḥ oṃ ||''

==First Chapter, Sixth Section – Uktha Brāhmaṇa==
We have almost come to the end of the first chapter. We are in the sixth section of the first chapter of the ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad'', and herein in this sixth section, the ''Upaniṣad'' is really condensing, summarising, giving the very essence of the entire ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad'' by reducing the whole world into three experiencable components: the names, the forms, and the action – ''nāma'', ''rūpa'' and ''karma''.

As we discussed earlier, ''nāma'', ''rūpa'' and ''karma''. ''Nāma'' means sound – ''śabda brahma''. ''Rūpa'' means the material from which every conceivable form can come out, and wherever there is ''nāma'' and ''rūpa'', there would be a ''prayojana'', a utility, an action, whether it is by others or by oneself. So we have to take both into consideration. For example, when I see a glass and I feel like drinking water, then I use that glass for this action called filling it up with water and drinking it. Of course, the glass never feels the thirst, but it has a definite purpose, actionable purpose.

As we discussed, this sixth section is also called ''Uktha Brāhmaṇa''. ''Brāhmaṇa'' means section, not a person belonging to a particular caste. Here it means a section. Sanskrit words can have many different meanings for the same word. For example, ''ātman'' can mean the body, ''ātman'' can mean the mind, ''ātman'' can mean the egotism, ''ātman'' can mean itself or Brahman. So every essence can also be called ''ātman''. Sweetness is the ''ātman'', the very essence of sugar or of any sweet.

So here ''uktha'' means origin, that undifferentiated universal substance or material cause from which the whole universe comes out. That is called ''uktham'', and all these three are called ''uktham''. What are these three? ''Nāma'', ''rūpa'' and ''karma''. The whole universe is nothing but a combination of these three. That is why I called it a triangle. In a triangle, you cannot remove one. If you remove one angle, the triangle falls down. Remove the ''nāma'' from this triangle of ''nāma-rūpa-karma'', the world will vanish. Remove the ''rūpa'' (form), the world will vanish with the destruction of one particular aspect. The whole universe will completely disappear.

For example, that you see a tree; let us say it is a mango tree. So you remove the ''nāma'', then what happens? The tree itself will disappear because ''nāma'' indicates a particular form, and when there is no ''nāma'' (name) and form, there would be no object. Also, then what remains? Don't think it becomes non-existent. No, it remains. It merges back into Brahman. Remove ''karma'' from this world. What remains will be? There would be no name, no form, but it is not destruction. It is merging back into its unmanifest form, merging back into its unmanifest form which is Brahman – ''ātman''.

So this section is telling us: wherever you experience anything, and experience will be either the gross physical or the subtle thought – either you experience a thought or you experience some external object – they both must contain ''nāma'', ''rūpa'' and ''karma''. So as I said, you experience a person, and if you remove the ''rūpa'', the name will automatically disappear. When form and name disappear, the action also will disappear. This person called Rāma will not be available at all for experience, and these three are in subtle form. And that is what we call a thought. The moment we think "Rāma", the moment we see Rāma, immediately the form of Rāma and the name of Rāma and the character of Rāma, which is called action – the summation of every activity is called character. Is Rāma a good person, generous person, loving person or cruel person, destructive person? So all that is dependent upon ''karma''. What we call our assessment of the whole character is nothing but through the experience of ''karmas'' only, and that is how that is called ''karma''. ''Karma'' means character; character means our estimate of a person, the idea about that person, and that is called ''karma''.

And it must have a specific separation: "This is not Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is a very good person, but this person is not so good." So every single experienceable object can be separated from the infinite number of objects in this world completely, but here is one. What is the point? That ''nāma'' means ''śabda'' that is Brahman. The form (''rūpa'') is Brahman when it is removed of its specific form. And in this sixth section we get a peculiar name for the ''uktham'' of form, for the original cause of every form – that is called ''cakṣu''. So sometimes when we try to read ''cakṣu'' means the eye. So eye is from where all the forms arise? No, the ''cakṣu'' which we are referring to is a sense organ. Through that we are able to experience forms, but the origin of the forms is not the ''cakṣu''. So according to this section, ''cakṣu'' means origin, ''uktham'', the cause from which all forms arise, and all forms can arise only from a formless aspect. Please keep this in mind: from the nameless origin, any name can come out; from ''śabda'', any name can come out; from formlessness, any form can come out.

And what is the origin or ''uktham'' of ''karma''? ''Prāṇa''. ''Prāṇa'' means energy – the sum total of energy, not individualized energy, but universal energy. That is called ''Īśvara'', ''Hiraṇyagarbha'', ''Saguṇa Brahma'' – these are all different names for it.

So what is this whole universe? It is nothing but ''śabda brahma'', ''rūpa brahma'' and ''prāṇa brahma'', and they are all unmanifest. Only when Brahman manifests in the form of sound, it becomes names. When Brahman manifests as forms, they all become different forms, experienceable externally and also in the form of thoughts. If you analyse your dream state, everything that you see is nothing but name, form and action. And this ''prāṇa'' is not called ''prāṇa''; it is called Brahman only when it manifests through and in a particular instrument; then it will be called ''prāṇa''; otherwise it is called ''prāṇadevatā'', which is another name for Brahman.

So why is this section telling us this? Because it wants to tell what is it that binds us – this ''nāma'', ''rūpa'' and ''karma''. We see an object, for example a person. And he has a particular form which can be distinguished from every other person, and he has a particular name to distinguish him. If there are, for example, three Rāmas in the same family, then Rāma number one, Rāma number two, Rāma number three – we have to distinguish. So the function of a name is to distinguish every form from every other form. And about everybody, through the actions, we have an idea of what this object is – every object, not necessarily human beings: "This is a good mango, this is a good dog, that is a dangerous animal," etcetera, etcetera. But if you remove ''nāma'', ''rūpa'' and ''karma'' – removing means what? Merging them back into their original cause – what remains is pure Brahman.

And as I mentioned earlier, Vidyāraṇya puts it in his ''Pañcadaśī'': What is the world? ''Sat-Cit-Ānanda'' plus ''nāma'' plus ''rūpa''. What is Brahman? ''Sat-Cit-Ānanda'' – the world without ''nāma'' and ''rūpa''. Simply ''Sat-Cit-Ānanda'', which is the origin (''uktham''), that is called Brahman.

So what does it want? Now the Upaniṣad warns us that why this particular explanation in this last section of the first chapter? We are all caught, bound, and this bondage is of two types. Our first bondage will be to the body. Everybody – my body, your body, anybody's body – will have a particular form, a particular shape, a particular colour, height, weight, etcetera. Distinguishable, totally distinguishable from everything else in this world. There will not be two equally same objects. Some difference will be there, as they say, even between a billion hairs – one can clearly distinguish one hair from the other hair. Of course, we require a very subtle instrument for that. When the snow falls, there will be billions of snowflakes. Every snowflake has its own specific signature – ''nāma rūpa''. What a marvelous creation it is. So no two persons' eyes are alike. No two persons' thumb impressions are alike. That is how our thumb impressions are taken to distinguish, and immigration officials they do find out. So everything is unique, and this whole body – our body as a form, as a name – has certain characteristics created by our actions, and actions are possible only because of ''prāṇa'' or energy. So these three things form the physical body as well as the ''sūkṣma śarīra'' (subtle body).

Now the Upaniṣad wants to distinguish. In this fifth section, the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad has given a beautiful name for the physical body. It is called ''satyam'', and for the subtle body – our mind – it has given another name: ''amṛtam'' (immortality). Now we may be wondering why the Upaniṣad is giving this word ''satyam''. Only Brahman – ''Saccidānanda'' – deserves the word ''satyam jñānam anantam brahma''. Because what is our ''satyam''? My ''satyam'', your ''satyam''. If I think you are not ''satyam'', I would not be giving this talk. If you think I am not ''satyam'', you would not be listening to this talk. But for us, the body, the physical body, the physical world are the most – they are the only truth available at this moment. That is why it is called ''satyam'', and we are enormously attached to it. This attachment prevents us from going into our ''uktham'' (original cause) and realizing why we should realize our ''uktham'', our original cause. Because our identity with this particular personality is preventing our identity with every object in this world. But if we seek for the truth, every object has got the same form, name, and ''prāṇa'' (energy), and so these are the effects. Every effect must have a cause. So these are the manifested effects, and a manifested effect must have an unmanifested cause. But we are caught in it, and this emphasis on separating ourselves from everything else – that is called bondage – that creates a tremendous amount of suffering.

How does it create suffering? If I can identify with my brother, with my sister, with my mother, with my parent – even if I am suffering, but if they are enjoying happiness, then I will be a happy person. Because identity means I cannot say "I identify with you, but I don't experience your happiness, joy." No, the moment I identify, the other person's experience must become my experience. That is why when a mother has a less amount of sweet and she gives it to her children, she is more than happy because as a mother – and that is the meaning of the word "mother" – she is completely identified: "This is me, but I am eating through the body of my child." But they say a mother will not experience it when the neighboring child is eating it. That is the funny thing.

So the Upaniṣad wants to tell: now you practice ''sādhanā'' (spiritual practice) and slowly go back to your origin. Surprisingly, you will discover that every name is your name, every form is your form, and every ''karma'' is your karma – every object is none other than you. This is so beautifully illustrated in the ''Bhāgavatam''. Śukadeva, the son of Vedavyāsa, as soon as he was born – completely naked, sixteen years old – he started walking away because he was a full ''jñānī'', a brahmin. His father, who was attached, started following his son, calling him, "O my son, O my son." And do you know what miracle took place? Śukadeva was completely unaware that somebody was following him and calling him, because he was absorbed in his nature as Brahman, and Brahman is this world. Therefore, the whole world started responding to Śukadeva: "Yes, father! Yes, father!" – every tree, every creature is telling "Yes, father, yes, father." What a marvelous illustration we get in these beautiful scriptures.

So, O man, after all, what is it you are seeking? You are striving 24 hours a day: "I want to be happy," but you can never be happy – maybe very little happiness for a very short time. But if you can identify yourself with another person, with two people, with a hundred people, with a thousand people, with everybody, then when a tiger succeeds in hunting a deer and then starts enjoying that food and quenching its hunger, there is a peculiar ''ānanda'' just like us, and that ''ānanda'' will be yours because you are identifying with the tiger. Anybody who is happy, you will be happy, and where there is happiness, there is no place for unhappiness because these two opposite thoughts cannot stay in the mind at the same time. So a person who identifies with the whole universe will be the happiest person in this world, and that is one way of understanding when the Divine Mother showed to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: "Why are you not eating through all these mouths?"

So that is the message: your very unconscious is striving to break this bondage called identity with your individuality and becoming the real you, who is the universal. But you are not able to understand it. So this hint: try to find out every name has the same origin. Like ten separate people are the children of one particular couple – yesterday a small illustration – then all of them feel identity: "We are brothers and sisters. If some harm, some suffering comes to one of us, it is as if all of us are suffering." So that is called true family. So this is the idea, but first of all, trace your identity – the cause from which you have come, which is called ''uktham'' in this case.

So another important point we have to remember: you cannot separately, independently merge name into ''śabda'', form into formlessness, and action into ''prāṇa'' or ''Īśvara'' or ''Hiraṇyagarbha'' or ''Sūtra Brahma''. Either all the three will merge, or all the three will be separated, because they are one and the same. Just a small example: suppose there is a small mango fruit, and it is full of flesh, very ripe and very fragrant. So as soon as it is thrown out, then everything will disappear – the flavor, the fragrance, the sweetness, that soft texture – everything will disappear. So we are one in three, three in one. That is the lesson this sixth section wants to tell us.

So this is the message of the sixth section. What is the ''tātparya''? The essence, the summary of this one. The summary is that we are all one in Brahman. What makes us think we are separate is form, name and action. If we can succeed in merging them, then there is nothing that is there. Take the example of clay. So supposing a hundred pots are made out of clay, and all the hundred pots have to be given a hundred separate names: "This is a glass, this is a plate, this is for cooking (cooking pot), this is a storage pot," etcetera, etcetera. But when we go into the origin, we remember all the three will be there. What is the ''karma'' (''prāṇa'') of this cooking pot? Cooking. What is the ''karma'' of the glass pot? It fulfills the function of drinking. What is the function of the plate? That is for keeping food so that we can eat according to our own mix-up. So the name (plate, glass pot, storage pot) – they are different. Their forms are different, their functions are different. Names (''nāma''), forms (''rūpa''), functions (''karma'') – all are different. But if you merge them back – all the three – if you merge the cooking pot, then it becomes clay. As soon as it becomes clay, it loses its particular form, name, function. Apply the same thing to the glass pot, the plate pot, the storage pot – any number of blessed pots. You see, that is how it works.

Take another example: golden ornaments – make any number of ornaments. The names are different, the functions are different. This golden ornament is called earring, meant only to be hung in the ear. This is called nose ring, meant to be hung through the nose. This is a bangle, meant to be kept on the arm. So this is how the functions will be there – each function separate, form separate, name separate. Then you melt one – ''nāma'', ''rūpa'' and ''karma'' disappear. That is how we have to understand what is the way for us to achieve identity with the universe by removing the attachment to this ''nāma rūpa''. That is called ''vairāgyam''. ''Vairāgyam'' means dispassion. What is the dispassion here? Not giving up necessarily, but removing the attachment. So that is called ''nāhaṃ deham'' – "I am not the body." The moment you say the form of the body, the name of the body, the function of the body – everything associated with the body – it ceases to affect that particular mind.

So the Upaniṣad, as I mentioned earlier, calls this body consisting of particular formation, particular name, particular function – calls it ''satyam''. ''Satya'' means – we should not take it in the ultimate sense. ''Satyam'' means here that our ''satyam'', our perception: "This is the only truth, this is the only truth, this is the truth." But the scripture knows this is not the truth, because that which perishes, that which changes, that which is dependent – that is not truth. What is independent, what is not dependent upon anything, and what can never either grow or become less – that is called ''satyam'' – ''trikāla abādhitaṃ satyam''. So the form is changing, and according to the form, what do you think? The name also is changing. "This is a child, this is a youth, this is a middle-aged person, this is an old person, and this is a dead person." With every change, the name also changes. The function also changes. ''Prāṇa'' also varies. So we suffer from these limitations. How to get out? At least the first stage is: "I am not the body." Then to say "I am not the body" – to say "I am not the annamaya kośa" – I will have to identify with the prāṇamaya kośa next, the subtler form, the cause of ''anna'' which is called prāṇamaya kośa. Only then I will say "This is ''anātman''." ''Anātman'' means ''asatya'' – that is not the truth. That means I am not attached to it. That means it doesn't affect us.

So we have seen this in the ''Taittirīya Upaniṣad'', how Bhṛgu had gradually overcome by identifying with the subtler cause from the effect to the cause, and that becomes the effect in its turn. Find out its cause: the cause of the ''prāṇa'' is mind, the cause of the mind is intellect, the cause of the intellect is ''ānanda'', and the cause of ''ānanda'' is Brahman. So the Upaniṣad is funnily telling us the mind is called ''amṛta'' (immortal). Why? Immortality means – we use this word: the gods always want to drink the nectar of immortality – but the scripture knows very well what it is talking about. So it is relative immortality. That means for a long time you are not going to die; you are going to enjoy. So the duration of the body is very little – every day we are changing – but the duration of the mind is longer. Therefore, if somebody can succeed in identifying oneself with the mind, relatively the person can achieve immortality. That is what this section wants to convey. Detach yourself. When you realize, "I thought this was ''satyam''; now I realize how can that which is changing every millisecond be ''satyam''? But I want ''satyam''. So seek it at a higher level, subtler level" – that is called the mind. And of course, here by "mind" it means until the ānandamaya kośa – all the other four kośas are included. But this immortality of these four kośas is called the mind here – ''antaḥkaraṇa''. You know how long? It only gets destroyed when we get liberation. Until that time, it is not going to happen. So that is what this sixth section wants us to convey: slowly, gradually ascend. That is what St. John of the Cross explained beautifully in the form of a very small poem, ''The Dark Night of the Soul''. Until that time, the soul thought "I am in full light" – until what time? That the person was totally identified with the body. He doesn't have any faith in God; for him, the world. And what is the world? This body is the world.

This is a marvelous point: "Oh, there is a world outside" – and how did you know there is a world outside? Only through this body. So, for example, the world consists of five elements – that is sounds, forms, colours, fragrances, pastes, and touches – through five sense organs. We are experiencing these five. Remember always: the world means only five. Svāmī Premēśvarānanda tells: "Five dishes for us to enjoy." Suppose somebody is blind. The world now becomes only consisting of four things, because the world of colours and forms totally disappears. Suppose this person is deaf. His world consists of only three-fifths, only three. Supposing that person loses taste – only two-fifths. Suppose this person loses the ability to smell – one-fifth gone. Suppose this person cannot even experience touch (touch means soft, hard, cold, heat) – then where is the world? External world? Nothing. A person's world – so-called world – is totally dead. Just imagine that when a person is born blind or born deaf, he will never be able to understand. Of course, this is the Western view. Eastern view, Hindu view is: no, in the past lives he was not like that. He had all his five sense organs fully functioning. Therefore, the impressions are remaining in the mind, and therefore he can dream – seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching, etcetera. That is an entirely different subject matter. I am not going into that, but what I am trying to tell is that this body is the instrument through which we guess, assume, infer there is an external world. Minus this body, there is no external world at all. What a marvelous truth it is – a psychological truth. So that is why our whole world is nothing but our body, and that is the greatest bondage.

What is the way? Let us identify not only with this particular body but with everybody. But before we could do that, we must acquire – go back to the origin – and then identify with the origin of these three: ''śabda'', then formlessness (''arūpa''), and ''prāṇa'' or ''Hiraṇyagarbha'' or ''Īśvara'' – identify with that, because ''Īśvara'' represents the origin of these three. Once I identify, then I can enjoy every form, every name and every activity. Then it becomes a ''līlā''. ''Līlā'' means what? Because if two people are fighting and one kills the other, there cannot be any killing. Even from the ordinary point of view, which David Attenborough explained so beautifully, death is not permanent non-existence. Death is only going back to the five elements. The body is made up of five elements, and it is only the death of the body. But the other four kośas – all of them are called ''sūkṣma śarīra'', including of course ''karana śarīra'' – they all go in search of a new body. Very soon it will get a new body. And so all the five kośas become complete, because without interacting with the world, our experience will not be complete. And without the world, we cannot be bound, we cannot be released. So the world is an absolute necessity for our growth.

Every experience that we get in this world is to be learned. What lesson? "So I loved this person, this person betrayed me." So what is the lesson we have to learn? That that person has not betrayed you. You were expecting that person to be grateful and recompense, pay back. It is your fault. You are free to love. You are not free to expect. So learn the lesson. Don't stop loving, because if you stop loving, you stop being happy. Love and happiness, joy are one and the same thing actually. If you say "I am happy", that is called love. If you say "I love", that means you are happy. Try to understand this very clearly. And we cannot live without happiness. So we have the right to love. Can we be joyful without the other person responding? In fact, we can be more happy, because if I love something, then that gives us the greatest happiness. The greater our love, proportionately greater would be our happiness. You all know that you are very intelligent students, but still I would like to give an illustration.

Supposing you like to read mystery novels – a very common example. And there is your favorite author, and you just love whatever that person writes – a page-turner. You just love that person's writings, and it comes to you in the form of a book. Does the book return your love? Will it tell, "Oh, I also love you"? No, you love, you use the book, you read the book. The book never responds because it is lifeless. But if your love for that type of book is 10%, your happiness is 10%. If you love it 50%, your joy will be 50%. If you love it 100%, then you would like to read it again and again, and your joy will be 100%. So love is equivalent to joy.

What are we talking about? That our problem comes especially with other living human beings: that my love is not requited, not returned. That is our mistake. You have a right only to love. You have no right to expect anything. And you know, the moment we stop expecting, how much joy will come? All the joy that we are likely to derive. For example, you love a person, you meet the person, you talk with that person, and that person also starts showing love for you – the person's talk, person's smile, personality of that person – it enhances your happiness, joy. That's what you think. But because sometimes if he doesn't express or if he reduces that expression, you're upset. So you set up this expectation, and the resultant will be you're upset. But just imagine: "I love this person, but I will not expect anything from that person. Whether that person gives it back, shows love or doesn't show love – it doesn't really matter, because you are your own master." If your love is dependent upon that person's reaction, then your love goes up and down, changes all the time. But if it is completely independent – "I don't care, but I just love" – there is a beautiful quotation from, I think, Swami Vivekananda. He quotes from ''Mahābhārata'' (or it is not there actually in ''Mahābhārata'', but it is a wise saying, let us say). Once Yudhiṣṭhira was absorbed in looking at the beautiful sunrise and sunset. Somebody wanted to speak with him. He went there, but Yudhiṣṭhira was so completely absorbed he was not aware of it. After some time, this person found that Yudhiṣṭhira was coming back to consciousness. So he asked him, "Sir, what do you get? I see that you are completely absorbed in it. What profit, what ''lābha'' do you get out of it?" And Yudhiṣṭhira was shocked, surprised, and said, "''Lābha''? Profit? I am not expecting. I love. I enjoy seeing the sunrise, the sunset – any beautiful thing. That is it. It gives me the greatest joy. If I expect something, it will definitely break at some point of time."

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, at the age of seven or eight, was walking in the fields. It was rainy season, the whole sky was covered up with black thick clouds, and there was a flock of swans gracefully flying across, and that sight had made him so joyous, so absorbed, he fell down unconscious. He was unconscious to the world, conscious to the aesthetic beauty of that experience. That's why when people were frightened, he said, "No, my health is perfectly all right. In fact, an unhealthy person cannot experience this – only a perfectly healthy person can experience it."

So what are we talking about? That you go to the origin. Two things happen: then you identify yourself with the entire creation. Second thing: whatever is happening in this universe, everything will be joyful. Somebody is quarreling with somebody or with you – that is a joy. It is like a drama because it is unreal. Somebody is killing somebody – it's an extreme philosophy, hard to understand, digest: somebody is killing somebody, and that person is enjoying it. Just as an illustration, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa saw Akṣay passed away in front of his eyes. Everybody was weeping their eyes out. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was laughing because he saw what is the ''satyam'': death is unreal. It is only the body; nothing happened to the soul. The scabbard has been separated from this world; whether something happens to the scabbard or not, it doesn't really matter. So develop that ''vairāgya''. What is ''vairāgya''? Giving up attachment to one individuality and identifying oneself with everything else – that is called true ''vairāgya'', and that is the essence of this one. So, O man, every experience in this world has something to teach you. Learn it well, keep it in mind, reinforce it, try to identify with everybody else, and that is called ''sarvatra sama darśana''.
== Closing Prayer ==
ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda bless us all with Bhakti.

''Jai Rāmakṛṣṇa!''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.1-2 Lecture 11 on 28 February 2026

2026-06-11T07:06:59Z

Shekhar: /* The Three Upāsanās of the First Chapter */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् । पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

'''ॐ आप्यायन्तु ममाङ्गानि वाक्प्राणश्चक्षुः श्रोत्रमथो बलमिन्द्रियाणि च सर्वाणि । सर्वं ब्रह्मौपनिषदम् । माहं ब्रह्म निराकुर्यां मा मा ब्रह्म निराकरोत् ।'''

'''अनिराकरणमस्तु अनिराकरणं मेऽस्तु । तदात्मनि निरते य उपनिषत्सु धर्मास्ते मयि सन्तु ते मयि सन्तु ।'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥'''

Oṁ āpyāyantu mamāṅgāni vāk prāṇaś cakṣuḥ śrotram atho balam indriyāṇi ca sarvāṇi । sarvaṁ brahmaupaniṣadam । mā'haṁ brahma nirākuryāṁ mā mā brahma nirākarot । anirākaraṇam astu anirākaraṇaṁ me'stu । tad ātmani nirate ya upaniṣatsu dharmās te mayi santu te mayi santu । Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ ॥

(Simplified phonetic reading: Om aapyaayantu mamaangaani, vaak praanash-chakshuh shrotram-atho balam-indriyaani cha sarvaani; sarvam brahma-aupanishadam; maa-aham brahma niraakuryaam, maa maa brahma niraakarot; aniraakaranam astu, aniraakaranam me astu; tad-aatmani nirate ya upanishatsu dharmaas-te mayi santu te mayi santu; Om shaantih shaantih shaantih.)

Om — May my limbs, speech, vital force, eyes, ears, as also strength and all the organs become well developed. Everything is the Brahman revealed in the Upanishads. May I not deny Brahman, may not Brahman deny me, let there be no spurning of me by Brahman, let there be no rejection of Brahman by me. May all the virtues that are spoken of in the Upanishads repose in me, who am engaged in the pursuit of the Self. May they repose in me, may they repose in me, may they repose in me. Om, peace, peace, peace be unto all.

= Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: Introduction to the First and Second Mantras =

== Overview of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad ==
We have been studying the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. Now we are going to enter into the first and second mantras.

As we discussed earlier, this Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad has six chapters, and every two chapters are combined into one. The very first section is called ''Madhu Kāṇḍam'' or ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍam''. ''Kāṇḍam'' means a section dealing with real teaching — ''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi''. The second part supports the same teaching with reasoning and rationality. That is the subject matter. It is also called ''Yājñavalkya Kāṇḍa'', ''Muni Kāṇḍa'', ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' with ''Tarka'' — that is, ''Śruti'', ''Samatha'', ''Tarka''. The third two chapters, the third part, are called ''Khila Kāṇḍam'', which covers miscellaneous items, some of which are highly important.

As I mentioned earlier at the very beginning, we are not going to proceed mantra by mantra, but will take the very essence of it. That way we will not be confused. Otherwise, this is one of the biggest of the Upaniṣads, containing more than 640 mantras. To go through every one of them is neither necessary, nor need we waste time doing so. Essential points in the light of the teachings of Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda will be very useful.
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== Adhyāropa and Apavāda: The Vedāntic Methodology ==
Now this first chapter, according to the interpretation of Śaṅkarācārya, follows the Advaita Vedāntic methodology called ''Adhyāropa'' and ''Apavāda''.

=== What is Adhyāropa? ===
''Adhyāropa'' means accepting our present experience as it is. The scripture says: yes, you are right — what you are experiencing is real. But there are certain points you have to note down, and only then will you understand the nature of this world you are experiencing.

First of all, the world depends upon you. If you, the subject, are sleeping, in a coma, or unconscious, the whole universe disappears so far as you are concerned. Even though in our ordinary experience we say we depend upon the world, actually we can see that we shape the whole world. What does an artist do? He shapes whatever object — be it wood, be it stone — according to his own concept. He can bring out Rāma or he can bring out Rāvaṇāsura, depending upon his ''saṃskāras''. He can bring out Kṛṣṇa, he can bring out Kaṃsa.

A writer can express his own beautiful imaginations and manifest them in the form of beautiful language and literature. And earlier days, we used to study the literature of both the East and the West. Nowadays, I don't know whether they are doing it. And a poet or a musician — the limit is the sky, one's own imagination.

Consider our dreams. We can dream whatever we like. We think, most of the time by mistake, that a dream overwhelms us and that we are forced to experience the dream. But no. If a child is reading about gods and goddesses and is endowed with spiritual ''saṃskāras'', he will be dreaming of gods and goddesses like Nāgamahāśaya. But if somebody is interested in Superman or evil characters — and so many people are addicted to these evil characters because they want to be like that but don't have the capacity — they watch films and rule over the world in imagination. Similarly, a cricket fan's biggest heroes will be those who fetch the greatest number of runs. So everything depends upon our mind, and the mind is endowed with borrowed consciousness. The mind pays attention, and only that which it attends to is experienceable by us.

Second, the world is continuously changing. Third, it consists of three parts: form, name, and utility — ''Rūpa'', ''Nāma'', ''Karma''.

So what does the scripture tell fortunate souls who want to progress in spiritual life, who believe in the teachings of the scriptures, and who want to realize God? If the scriptures start by saying this world is unreal, we are likely to give up the world. But if the scriptures accept that it is true — not unreal, but ''Mithyā'' — that changes things. ''Mithyā'' means dependent, ever-changing, unreliable, and so forth. This is called ''Adhyāropa'': accepting it temporarily.

The scripture doesn't stop there. It goes on to ask: what do you want in this world? "I want money." Alright, do this — you will get money. Chant the name of Mahālakṣmī mantra, recite Śrī Sūktam or Kanakādhārastavam. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said, and proved to the hilt, that every mantra in the scriptures — meaning the Vedas, Purāṇas, Tantras, and instructions of Gurus — is absolutely true. He proved it. When he used to perform ''pūjā'' and chant a particular mantra, for example the Agni Mantra ''Rām'', he would immediately see a wall of fire springing up and protecting him. When Rāmakṛṣṇa was young, he used to visit a crematorium called Bhuterkhali, and he used to carry a pot of rice, cooked rice. And then he said later on, the pot disappears in the mid-air, from our eyes, that means there are spirits, which accept them.

And now, what little original capacity we have, we are fast losing to the new AI, and that becomes our reality. . But, I can assure you, it is not going to be so for long, because human being, every human being is potentially divine, and there will be a lot of knocks, sticks, not always carrots. God will give those sticks to awaken us.

'''Kaṭha Upaniṣad Verse — "Arise! Awake!"'''

Devanagari:

उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत ।

Transliteration (IAST):

uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata ।

Phonetic:

''uttishthata jaagrata praapya varaan-nibodhata.''

(Meaning: "Arise! Awake! Approach the great ones and learn!" — Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.14).

You can have eternal existence, infinite knowledge, unbroken bliss — '''sat, chit, ananda''' (सत्, चित्, आनन्द), '''satyam, gnanam, anantam, brahma''' (सत्यं ज्ञानम् अनन्तं ब्रह्म) — by now, the student's mind has developed tremendous '''śraddhā''' (श्रद्धा), then, starts the second part of the scripture, which is called, '''Apavāda''' (अपवाद).

So, what I told you, that is true, only for that level of students, or when you are at that level, but now, you have crossed over, now, you yourself are longing for something higher, now, I will teach you — that is called, Apavāda (अपवाद).

=== What is Apavāda? ===
In a manner of speaking, the world is unreal. To prove that the world is insubstantial, unreliable, ever-changing, dangerous, and the cause of repeated births and repeated sufferings — that is the common view. But the scripture, through the Guru, teaches: that is only the middle way, valid when you are in the middle stage of your development. But later on you understand that everything is Brahman. This world is a ''Līlā'' — a divine play. Everybody, everything in this universe is only the infinite imagination of the infinite Brahman. What is suffering — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. What is happiness and bliss — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. That is the ''Apavāda''. ''Apavāda'' means negation: negation of your previous understanding of the world. First, the only reality has been understood as a changing, unreliable, insubstantial reality. That is then transformed into the understanding that everything is Brahman. And the final step is that everything is the ''Līlā'' of Brahman. This applies especially to the ''Jīvanmukta''.

What a beautiful way this is! First, like giving a child a real apple and saying "this is called apple, the spelling starts with A; this is beetroot, it starts with B; this is a carrot, and it starts with C" — like that, a person is helped to evolve both physically and spiritually, intellectually and spiritually.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa illustrates this beautifully. So, there is a kind of sweet in Bengal, and the outside looks absolutely the same, but the inside can be filled with hard lentils, kalaidal, or it can be filled with coconut plus jaggery, or it can be filled up with what we call chana. Or the broken milk, which is called cheese, actually, in English language, but that's not a correct word. There is a vast difference between cheese, and then this paneer. What a delicious curry it makes, if it is done properly.
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== The Structure of the First Chapter: Upadeśa Kāṇḍa ==
In the very first chapter, as just mentioned, it is called ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' or ''Madhu Kāṇḍa''. ''Upadeśa'' means teaching. Usually the word ''upadeśa'' means when a Guru initiates a disciple, that is called ''upadeśa''. But here, instead of just a mantra, he also gives explanation and teaching.

You should look upon your body as ''Brahmapurī''. You should look upon your mind also as ''Brahmapurī'', the ''Hṛdayākāśa''. It is the abode of the purest of the pure. Brahman, ''Jyotir Jyotiḥ'', resides within it. This is how you will have to slowly orient your thought: this body is a sacred temple. When one succeeds in thinking of oneself as a sacred temple, and Brahman is within, and "I am not different from that Brahman," slowly his understanding is also applied — first to the mother, then the father, then the teacher, then everybody else. Slow expansion.

As an example: first, Gopāla's Maa had the ''darśana'' of child Gopāla. And then, like a mad woman, she went to Dakṣiṇeśvara, and there she saw that this Kṛṣṇa — God himself — had said:

'''ये यथा मां प्रपद्यन्ते तांस्तथैव भजाम्यहम् ।'''

Transliteration:

ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham ।

Phonetic:

''ye yathaa maam prapadyante taams-tathaiva bhajaamy-aham.''

(Meaning: "Whatever pathway a person chooses to approach and come to me, I will run towards him and take him into my bosom, teach him.")

So, Gopāla's mother, that is Gopāla, Krishna, Bālakṛṣṇa (बालकृष्ण), he started entering into Sri Ramakrishna's body, coming out. Several times he did this, until Gopāla's mother understood, my Gopāla and Sri Ramakrishna are not different. They are one and the same.

In fact, Gopāla's mother had first the vision of Sri Ramakrishna, then only Sri Ramakrishna transformed himself into a child Gopāla. So, that was the first teacher, '''Ācārya''' (आचार्य) had become Gopāla.

After a few days — that is, when the idea that Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa are absolutely one became firm and unshakeable — Gopāla started doing exactly the same thing but with the other direct disciples of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. Now she started understanding, because the first understanding made her understand the other facts very quickly, my Gopāla wants to teach me that I am Rakhal, I am Narendra, I am Tarak, and I am the other disciples. Like that, Gopāla entered into any number of disciples and devotees until she realized — but that also was a partial view and not complete realization.

And then after some weeks or months, there was a chariot festival, and then this lady had gone to attend that one, and she described graphically those who wish they can refer to the Sri Ramakrishna, the great master by Swami Sharadhananda. She said that day, I have universal vision of my Gopāla, everything, living, non-living, moving, non-moving, the priests, the audience, the chariot, the people who are pulling the chariot, the music makers, without exception, everybody was nothing but her Gopāla.

With that, her realization —

सर्वं खल्विदं ब्रह्म ।

Transliteration:

sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma ।

Phonetic:

''sarvam khalv-idam brahma.''

(Meaning: "All this, verily, is Brahman.")

— was over. So, that is the purpose of Adhyāropa and Apavāda.
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== The Three Upāsanās of the First Chapter ==
So, as I mentioned, chapter 1, these two chapters combined are called '''Madhu Kāṇḍa''' (मधुकाण्ड), or it is also Upadeśa Kāṇḍa (उपदेशकाण्ड).

So, this first chapter contains the analysis of Adhyāropa. How do we know? Because in the following, in the first chapter, certain types of contemplations. Contemplation, about that I will speak. Even though I have spoken many times, every time we have to remember it until it sinks into the very bottom of our consciousness.

So, there is what is called very first beginning, an '''Upāsanā''' (उपासना) is mentioned. First, it is the contemplation on a horse. Second, it is a contemplation on '''Agni''' (अग्नि) or fire. Third, it is a contemplation on '''Prāṇa''' (प्राण).

So, '''Aśva''' (अश्व), '''Agni''' (अग्नि), and '''Prāṇa''' (प्राण). In this Upanishad, the chapters are known as '''Adhyāyas''' (अध्याय).

Very interesting word, this word Adhyāya. Adhyāya means, '''Adhyāpaka''' (अध्यापक) means teacher. '''Adhyayana''' (अध्ययन) is studying. So, it is Adhyayana means that which teaches what a person wants to learn.

And there are so, each chapter has several sections. Each section is called a '''Brāhmaṇa''' (ब्राह्मण). So, in the first three Brāhmaṇas of the first chapter, we see three meditations.

'''Aśva Upāsanā''' (अश्वोपासना), Upāsanā means contemplation. '''Agni Upāsanā''' (अग्न्युपासना), '''Prāṇa Upāsanā''' (प्राणोपासना). And then, it is not an ordinary Upāsanā. Let us see what does it mean. Upāsanā means contemplation.

So, the first Brāhmaṇa of the first chapter consists of two verses, and the second consists of seven. And both these first Brāhmaṇas, second Brāhmaṇas are devoted to the meditation on a horse. And the fire used in that particular ritual called '''Aśvamedha Yajña''' (अश्वमेधयज्ञ).
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== The Aśvamedha Yajña ==

=== Nature of the Sacrifice ===
The ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' is the highest of all Vedic rites. What does the person who successfully completes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' attain? He will go to ''Prajāpati Loka'', ''Virāṭ Loka'', ''Brahma Loka''. But this sacrifice involves a tremendous amount of money, time, power, and intelligence. Briefly: the best horse available in the kingdom is chosen and set free to roam all over the world. Of course, people accompany and attend to it, and when it returns it is worshipped, for it has become the most sacred of animals.

The purpose is twofold. The first purpose is that whichever kingdom the horse enters, the king who is performing the sacrifice must subdue its ruler. If he cannot, he cannot perform the ''Aśvamedha Yajña''. That is why only a powerful ''Kṣatriya'' king can truly perform it, and the best soldiers with the best commander-in-chief are sent to defend the horse's passage. Even Rāma had done this.

=== The Story of Lava and Kuśa ===
And then, Aśva came to a forest where this Muni, '''Vālmīki''' (वाल्मीकि), was residing. Rama had asked Sita. He had, what is called, outcast her. She had to leave the kingdom, and she took shelter. She was pregnant. And Lakshmana, who was devoted to Mother Sita, was asked to take her far away from Ayodhya. So, he was shedding tears, but he had to obey Rama. Then, he brought her to Vālmīki Ṛṣi, where she gave birth.

Vālmīki Ṛṣi, who wrote this Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa (वाल्मीकि रामायण). He became like a grandfather. He adopted Sita as his own daughter. And, with the utmost tenderness, he looked after her, and she gave birth to twins, '''Lava''' (लव) and '''Kuśa''' (कुश). The story is marvelous, very purifying.

So, Vālmīki not only was a poet, he was also an expert, archer. He taught the best. And then, these two children grew very proud. And then, one day they saw this horse sent by, they did not know, his own father Rama. And then, Hanuman was supposed to be the commander in ship.

And nobody can defeat Hanuman, because he is called '''Mukhyaprāṇa''' (मुख्यप्राण). Nobody can defeat Prāṇa, because if you fight with Prāṇa, Prāṇa will leave you. Then, you will be a dead person.

But here ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' means the best teacher of ''Brahma Vidyā''.

How do we know this? Because of the symbolism in the South Indian version: Sītā was the individual soul, fallen into the net of Mahamaya called Rāvaṇāsura. Rāma sent Hanumān to rescue her. He crosses the ocean — the ocean of ''Saṃsāra'', ''Māyā'' — and gives his ''Upadeśa'': "Rāma is concerned about you. He will soon come and rescue you. God will bless you very soon, and you will be free from ''saṃsāra bandhanam''." That was the message. That is why Hanumān is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' — the greatest ''Brahma Jñānī'', the foremost Guru. So Hanumān liberated Sītā, who in this version is compared to a bound soul. We have to understand the symbolism. The ''Yoga Vāsiṣṭha Rāmāyaṇa'' and the ''Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa'' are variations of the same meaning.

So Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, but he knew everything — where Sītā was living and where Lava and Kuśa were. These two caught hold of the horse and bound it, and Hanumān was bound to fight with Lava and Kuśa. They were already experts, as good as Rāma himself. They kept taking their mother Sītā's name, for they had the greatest faith: "If my mother's grace falls upon me — she is the divine mother — we can conquer, we can overcome anybody." And Hanumān had to give in.

Then Hanumān was bound, and the horse was brought before Sītā. She saw Hanumān, laughed, and released him, and introduced him to Lava and Kuśa. There is also a funny version. In Bengali there is a song about it. Hanumān is unconquerable — nobody can conquer him, for he is a ''Brahma Jñānī''. Who can conquer a Guru? Impossible. But he allowed himself, indulgingly like a grandfather, to be defeated by his grandchildren in play. And since he had "been defeated," he had to carry them around — that was the bet. The children, not knowing, climbed onto his shoulders and used him like a horse. Anyway, a poet composed a song: "If I had not voluntarily allowed myself to be conquered by you, could anyone have conquered me? It is impossible." That means nobody can go beyond the Guru. Guru is Brahmā, Guru is Viṣṇu, Guru is Maheśvara. Who can cross God himself?

But every devotee should be happy to fight with God. Rāmaprasāda also composed a song: "I will take you to court, O Mother! You are not giving me my inheritance. And I will call my father as a witness that this property belongs to me. I have come of age, and you will have to yield. And if you don't yield, I will catch hold of your lotus feet and go on crying, 'Mā, Mā,' until you have no option but to give me what I want." Beautiful ''bhajans'' of this meaning have been composed by quite a number of ''bhajan'' makers.

=== The Conclusion of the Sacrifice and Its Fruits ===
Returning to our main point: the performance of the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' demands that the king be powerful, intelligent, endowed with great resources, and it may take several years until the horse returns. When the horse finally returns, it is sacrificed and its ''medha'' — the consecrated substance — is partaken by those who conduct the ritual, including the king. Such a person, if he successfully accomplishes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', is promised by scripture that he will go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Symbolic Meditation: Aśva Upāsanā ==
Now we must understand something very important. There are many people who want to go to ''Brahma Loka'', but very few — including Brāhmaṇas — can afford to perform this sacrifice. What should they do?

What they should do is mentally perform exactly the same thing that the ''Kṣatriya'' king does — not conquering other kingdoms, but simply contemplating on the horse. This is called contemplation, ''Dhyāna Mantra''. Whoever is not a powerful, intelligent, and wealthy ''Kṣatriya'' — any Brāhmaṇa, any other ''Kṣatriya'', or person of any caste who has the capacity of mind — can do it.

The horse, however, is to be contemplated as ''Virāṭ'' — as ''Hiraṇyagarbha'', as Brahmā. Every part of the horse is described in this Upaniṣad, and every part is compared to one part of this universe. Not only powerful kings, but others as well can obtain the same result through this symbolic meditation, in which the different parts of the sacrificial horse are to be regarded as the different parts of the creator Prajāpati's body.

Now what do they attain? Whether it is the ''Kṣatriya'' who actually performs the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', or others who do this ''Aśva Upāsanā'' as ''Virāṭ Upāsanā'', as ''Hiraṇyagarbha Upāsanā'', as ''Brahma Upāsanā'' — the result is that all of them without exception go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Nature of Brahma Loka ==
''Brahma Loka'' is the most exalted plane in this entire creation. Brahmā is the presiding deity, and this world is the manifestation of that Brahmā alone. What is the speciality of this ''Brahma Loka''? Any inhabitant of ''Brahma Loka'' is conscious of his individuality, and at the same time knows his identity with all created beings. Who is Brahmā? He who identifies himself with all creation is called Brahmā. But at the same time, he doesn't say "I am ''Parabrahman'', the Supreme Brahman." Rather: "I am an individual, but the whole universe is my individuality."

Can we understand this? Yes. Every day we go to our ''Svapna Loka''. The waker "I," after the waking state comes the dream state, becomes the entire universe created in imagination. But at the same time, even in the dream we are highly conscious of our individuality. We are not conscious in the dream that we are every object in the dream world — for that we have to wake up, come to this waking world, and recollect: "Oh! I became the tree. I became the tiger. I became my neighbours. I became my friend. I became my enemy. And I gave myself a great present in the form of somebody else. And I also robbed myself." Whatever happens in the dream state — upon waking up we see that I, the one waker alone, created everything.

The condition of ''Brahma Loka'' is similar, but far greater. The denizen of ''Brahma Loka'' knows much better than the ordinary waker that the entire created world is himself. But because ''Loka'' means limitation, he knows he is also an individual. Only when he attains to Brahman will that individuality be totally dissolved. Until that time, he knows: "This entire creation is me and nothing else."

And even this gives such happiness. The more expansive one becomes, the more identification there is, the greater will be one's happiness. Let me give an example to help imagine it. Picture a householder — perhaps 100 years ago — who has several fields and is a good person, an intelligent and expert cultivator. He has married a devout wife and has five or six children, all sons, all married, all staying in the same house as a joint family; every person—husbands, wives, and their children — very good, loving, helping each other. They consider the entire joint family as "me." Just imagine, and then you can understand what the person in ''Brahma Loka'' feels. How happy from one, of course, from one point of view. There can be what is called too many rains, too less rains. That is a different issue. I am only giving a positive picture.

This person knows I am an individual. I have got this great family. But they are all my children, my grandchildren. And they are all extremely good. And they are leading the footsteps of me. And everywhere people praise, if at all there should be any joint family, it should be like that.

This citizen of ''Brahma Loka'' identifies himself with this entire universe. What happens? He doesn't see the defects. He doesn't see the wickedness. He doesn't see the suffering. Because what does he see? Just as a person with a very beautiful dream would like to recollect that dream as many times as possible and re-enjoy it — like that, for this person there is no birth, there is no death. It is a beautiful, marvellous drama taking place.

This is how we gain a glimpse of what ''Brahma Loka'' is. Once a person attains to this state, he experiences the highest happiness possible in this dualistic world. Then what happens? One who knows, "I am in ''Brahma Loka'', in fact I have become one with Brahmā by contemplating on him — I identified myself with Brahmā, and that is called the ''Brahma Loka'' experience" — for this person there is no neighbor, no friend, no enemy in any conventional sense. In ''Brahma Loka'', I am Brahmā. That is called ''Brahma Loka''. A person who reaches ''Indra Loka'', I am Indra. I am Prajāpati. I am Bṛhaspati. We have to understand that particular fact.
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== Beyond Brahma Loka: The Longing for Brahman ==
So one who knows this — then his eyes open further and he sees: even this ''Brahma Loka'' is perishable. Maybe for a long time and an extraordinarily great quantum of happiness is experienced here. But as soon as the result of the ''Karma'' comes to an end, he has to again come back and earn that ''puṇyam'' again. Like a person who stays in a first-class hotel, enjoys everything, and then comes back, and has to earn once more if he wants to stay in that hotel again.

Like that, he understands: all these rites, all these ''upāsanās'' where the distinction between the worshipper and the deity is admitted — a person who has done these must eventually become eager for the knowledge of Brahman, which alone enables one to attain freedom and immortality.
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== The Six Benefits of Upāsanā ==
Before we go into the text, we have to understand and remind ourselves of what results we attain if we can hone and perfect the art of contemplation.

Like first-class students: first, concentration — undeviating concentration. Second, unmitigated, extraordinarily positive, great spiritual imagination. What do you think Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was doing when he was meditating upon the Divine Mother? He was exercising his imagination — not meditating upon a stone-like figure made of basalt that he used to worship, but a living imagination.

Third, in contemplation — ''upāsanā'' — a lower object is replaced with a higher object. Example: the ''Śiva Liṅga'' with Śiva, ''Śālagrāma'' with Viṣṇu, and the symbol of the cross with Jesus Christ, etc.

Fourth, what happens in this ''upāsanā'' is the separation of everything from "I," the pure consciousness. Pure consciousness alone is everything, and everything derives from this consciousness. First the mind borrows it, then it lends it to the sense organs. This happens to all living creatures in this world. And according to Advaita Vedānta, even the non-living creatures are manifestations of ''Sat'', ''Cit'', and ''Ānanda'' — only they are not aware that they exist. They exist, but they are not aware that we exist. They are not aware that we are ''Ānanda Svarūpas''. Only living beings experience it, and when that experience comes to an end, it is called unhappiness. Then comes again the attempt to become one with happiness. That is how it continues.

So: separation of everything from "I," which is pure consciousness. Then that "I," now pure consciousness, should be united — this individual consciousness should be united with the universal consciousness. That is, instead of saying "I am so-and-so," I am Brahman. Or if we start slowly: I am Kālī, I am Śiva, I am Viṣṇu — slowly, slowly. Or if we cannot understand even that, we say: I am ''Annamaya Brahma'', I am ''Prāṇamaya Brahma'', I am ''Manomaya Brahma'', I am ''Vijñānamaya Brahma'', I am ''Ānandamaya Brahma'' — slowly ascending, but always identifying with the larger whole. That is the purpose of ''upāsanā''.

And lastly, this is called expansiveness of mind — ''Citta Vaiśālyatā''. Gradually, on one side I give up my limitedness, and I start identifying with the universal. These are the six benefits of ''upāsanā''.
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== Summary: The Three Brahmanas and Their Purpose ==
So this first ''Brāhmaṇa'' is called ''Aśvamedha Brāhmaṇa''. In fact, the first, second, and third ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter all speak of these ''upāsanās''. We must remember: this is called ''Adhyāropa Prakaraṇa'', because ''Sṛṣṭi'' — creation — is vividly described here.

As I mentioned, this description is meant for a purpose: the Guru does not want to deny our experience that this universe is real. But it is an effect. An effect is always limited from the cause. The cause is unlimited; the effect is limited. So you will be more happy if you expand yourself into the cause. Find out the cause of this universe. Who is that? Brahmā. Find out the cause of Brahmā. Then it becomes Brahman. That is the purpose.

So there are three ''upāsanās'' in these first three ''Brāhmaṇas'': ''Aśva'', ''Agni'', and ''Prāṇa''. We will talk about this in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।'''

'''पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

Transliteration :

Oṁ jananīṁ śāradāṁ devīṁ rāmakṛṣṇaṁ jagad-gurum । pāda-padme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhur-muhuḥ ॥

Phonetic:

''Om jananeem shaaradaam deveem raamakrishnam jagad-gurum; paada-padme tayoh shritvaa pranamaami muhur-muhuh.''

May Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with '''Bhakti''' (भक्ति).

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.1-2 Lecture 11 on 28 February 2026

2026-06-11T06:09:34Z

Shekhar: /* The Structure of the First Chapter: Upadeśa Kāṇḍa */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् । पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

'''ॐ आप्यायन्तु ममाङ्गानि वाक्प्राणश्चक्षुः श्रोत्रमथो बलमिन्द्रियाणि च सर्वाणि । सर्वं ब्रह्मौपनिषदम् । माहं ब्रह्म निराकुर्यां मा मा ब्रह्म निराकरोत् ।'''

'''अनिराकरणमस्तु अनिराकरणं मेऽस्तु । तदात्मनि निरते य उपनिषत्सु धर्मास्ते मयि सन्तु ते मयि सन्तु ।'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥'''

Oṁ āpyāyantu mamāṅgāni vāk prāṇaś cakṣuḥ śrotram atho balam indriyāṇi ca sarvāṇi । sarvaṁ brahmaupaniṣadam । mā'haṁ brahma nirākuryāṁ mā mā brahma nirākarot । anirākaraṇam astu anirākaraṇaṁ me'stu । tad ātmani nirate ya upaniṣatsu dharmās te mayi santu te mayi santu । Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ ॥

(Simplified phonetic reading: Om aapyaayantu mamaangaani, vaak praanash-chakshuh shrotram-atho balam-indriyaani cha sarvaani; sarvam brahma-aupanishadam; maa-aham brahma niraakuryaam, maa maa brahma niraakarot; aniraakaranam astu, aniraakaranam me astu; tad-aatmani nirate ya upanishatsu dharmaas-te mayi santu te mayi santu; Om shaantih shaantih shaantih.)

Om — May my limbs, speech, vital force, eyes, ears, as also strength and all the organs become well developed. Everything is the Brahman revealed in the Upanishads. May I not deny Brahman, may not Brahman deny me, let there be no spurning of me by Brahman, let there be no rejection of Brahman by me. May all the virtues that are spoken of in the Upanishads repose in me, who am engaged in the pursuit of the Self. May they repose in me, may they repose in me, may they repose in me. Om, peace, peace, peace be unto all.

= Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: Introduction to the First and Second Mantras =

== Overview of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad ==
We have been studying the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. Now we are going to enter into the first and second mantras.

As we discussed earlier, this Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad has six chapters, and every two chapters are combined into one. The very first section is called ''Madhu Kāṇḍam'' or ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍam''. ''Kāṇḍam'' means a section dealing with real teaching — ''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi''. The second part supports the same teaching with reasoning and rationality. That is the subject matter. It is also called ''Yājñavalkya Kāṇḍa'', ''Muni Kāṇḍa'', ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' with ''Tarka'' — that is, ''Śruti'', ''Samatha'', ''Tarka''. The third two chapters, the third part, are called ''Khila Kāṇḍam'', which covers miscellaneous items, some of which are highly important.

As I mentioned earlier at the very beginning, we are not going to proceed mantra by mantra, but will take the very essence of it. That way we will not be confused. Otherwise, this is one of the biggest of the Upaniṣads, containing more than 640 mantras. To go through every one of them is neither necessary, nor need we waste time doing so. Essential points in the light of the teachings of Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda will be very useful.
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== Adhyāropa and Apavāda: The Vedāntic Methodology ==
Now this first chapter, according to the interpretation of Śaṅkarācārya, follows the Advaita Vedāntic methodology called ''Adhyāropa'' and ''Apavāda''.

=== What is Adhyāropa? ===
''Adhyāropa'' means accepting our present experience as it is. The scripture says: yes, you are right — what you are experiencing is real. But there are certain points you have to note down, and only then will you understand the nature of this world you are experiencing.

First of all, the world depends upon you. If you, the subject, are sleeping, in a coma, or unconscious, the whole universe disappears so far as you are concerned. Even though in our ordinary experience we say we depend upon the world, actually we can see that we shape the whole world. What does an artist do? He shapes whatever object — be it wood, be it stone — according to his own concept. He can bring out Rāma or he can bring out Rāvaṇāsura, depending upon his ''saṃskāras''. He can bring out Kṛṣṇa, he can bring out Kaṃsa.

A writer can express his own beautiful imaginations and manifest them in the form of beautiful language and literature. And earlier days, we used to study the literature of both the East and the West. Nowadays, I don't know whether they are doing it. And a poet or a musician — the limit is the sky, one's own imagination.

Consider our dreams. We can dream whatever we like. We think, most of the time by mistake, that a dream overwhelms us and that we are forced to experience the dream. But no. If a child is reading about gods and goddesses and is endowed with spiritual ''saṃskāras'', he will be dreaming of gods and goddesses like Nāgamahāśaya. But if somebody is interested in Superman or evil characters — and so many people are addicted to these evil characters because they want to be like that but don't have the capacity — they watch films and rule over the world in imagination. Similarly, a cricket fan's biggest heroes will be those who fetch the greatest number of runs. So everything depends upon our mind, and the mind is endowed with borrowed consciousness. The mind pays attention, and only that which it attends to is experienceable by us.

Second, the world is continuously changing. Third, it consists of three parts: form, name, and utility — ''Rūpa'', ''Nāma'', ''Karma''.

So what does the scripture tell fortunate souls who want to progress in spiritual life, who believe in the teachings of the scriptures, and who want to realize God? If the scriptures start by saying this world is unreal, we are likely to give up the world. But if the scriptures accept that it is true — not unreal, but ''Mithyā'' — that changes things. ''Mithyā'' means dependent, ever-changing, unreliable, and so forth. This is called ''Adhyāropa'': accepting it temporarily.

The scripture doesn't stop there. It goes on to ask: what do you want in this world? "I want money." Alright, do this — you will get money. Chant the name of Mahālakṣmī mantra, recite Śrī Sūktam or Kanakādhārastavam. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said, and proved to the hilt, that every mantra in the scriptures — meaning the Vedas, Purāṇas, Tantras, and instructions of Gurus — is absolutely true. He proved it. When he used to perform ''pūjā'' and chant a particular mantra, for example the Agni Mantra ''Rām'', he would immediately see a wall of fire springing up and protecting him. When Rāmakṛṣṇa was young, he used to visit a crematorium called Bhuterkhali, and he used to carry a pot of rice, cooked rice. And then he said later on, the pot disappears in the mid-air, from our eyes, that means there are spirits, which accept them.

And now, what little original capacity we have, we are fast losing to the new AI, and that becomes our reality. . But, I can assure you, it is not going to be so for long, because human being, every human being is potentially divine, and there will be a lot of knocks, sticks, not always carrots. God will give those sticks to awaken us.

'''Kaṭha Upaniṣad Verse — "Arise! Awake!"'''

Devanagari:

उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत ।

Transliteration (IAST):

uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata ।

Phonetic:

''uttishthata jaagrata praapya varaan-nibodhata.''

(Meaning: "Arise! Awake! Approach the great ones and learn!" — Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.14).

You can have eternal existence, infinite knowledge, unbroken bliss — '''sat, chit, ananda''' (सत्, चित्, आनन्द), '''satyam, gnanam, anantam, brahma''' (सत्यं ज्ञानम् अनन्तं ब्रह्म) — by now, the student's mind has developed tremendous '''śraddhā''' (श्रद्धा), then, starts the second part of the scripture, which is called, '''Apavāda''' (अपवाद).

So, what I told you, that is true, only for that level of students, or when you are at that level, but now, you have crossed over, now, you yourself are longing for something higher, now, I will teach you — that is called, Apavāda (अपवाद).

=== What is Apavāda? ===
In a manner of speaking, the world is unreal. To prove that the world is insubstantial, unreliable, ever-changing, dangerous, and the cause of repeated births and repeated sufferings — that is the common view. But the scripture, through the Guru, teaches: that is only the middle way, valid when you are in the middle stage of your development. But later on you understand that everything is Brahman. This world is a ''Līlā'' — a divine play. Everybody, everything in this universe is only the infinite imagination of the infinite Brahman. What is suffering — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. What is happiness and bliss — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. That is the ''Apavāda''. ''Apavāda'' means negation: negation of your previous understanding of the world. First, the only reality has been understood as a changing, unreliable, insubstantial reality. That is then transformed into the understanding that everything is Brahman. And the final step is that everything is the ''Līlā'' of Brahman. This applies especially to the ''Jīvanmukta''.

What a beautiful way this is! First, like giving a child a real apple and saying "this is called apple, the spelling starts with A; this is beetroot, it starts with B; this is a carrot, and it starts with C" — like that, a person is helped to evolve both physically and spiritually, intellectually and spiritually.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa illustrates this beautifully. So, there is a kind of sweet in Bengal, and the outside looks absolutely the same, but the inside can be filled with hard lentils, kalaidal, or it can be filled with coconut plus jaggery, or it can be filled up with what we call chana. Or the broken milk, which is called cheese, actually, in English language, but that's not a correct word. There is a vast difference between cheese, and then this paneer. What a delicious curry it makes, if it is done properly.
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== The Structure of the First Chapter: Upadeśa Kāṇḍa ==
In the very first chapter, as just mentioned, it is called ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' or ''Madhu Kāṇḍa''. ''Upadeśa'' means teaching. Usually the word ''upadeśa'' means when a Guru initiates a disciple, that is called ''upadeśa''. But here, instead of just a mantra, he also gives explanation and teaching.

You should look upon your body as ''Brahmapurī''. You should look upon your mind also as ''Brahmapurī'', the ''Hṛdayākāśa''. It is the abode of the purest of the pure. Brahman, ''Jyotir Jyotiḥ'', resides within it. This is how you will have to slowly orient your thought: this body is a sacred temple. When one succeeds in thinking of oneself as a sacred temple, and Brahman is within, and "I am not different from that Brahman," slowly his understanding is also applied — first to the mother, then the father, then the teacher, then everybody else. Slow expansion.

As an example: first, Gopāla's Maa had the ''darśana'' of child Gopāla. And then, like a mad woman, she went to Dakṣiṇeśvara, and there she saw that this Kṛṣṇa — God himself — had said:

'''ये यथा मां प्रपद्यन्ते तांस्तथैव भजाम्यहम् ।'''

Transliteration:

ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham ।

Phonetic:

''ye yathaa maam prapadyante taams-tathaiva bhajaamy-aham.''

(Meaning: "Whatever pathway a person chooses to approach and come to me, I will run towards him and take him into my bosom, teach him.")

So, Gopāla's mother, that is Gopāla, Krishna, Bālakṛṣṇa (बालकृष्ण), he started entering into Sri Ramakrishna's body, coming out. Several times he did this, until Gopāla's mother understood, my Gopāla and Sri Ramakrishna are not different. They are one and the same.

In fact, Gopāla's mother had first the vision of Sri Ramakrishna, then only Sri Ramakrishna transformed himself into a child Gopāla. So, that was the first teacher, '''Ācārya''' (आचार्य) had become Gopāla.

After a few days — that is, when the idea that Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa are absolutely one became firm and unshakeable — Gopāla started doing exactly the same thing but with the other direct disciples of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. Now she started understanding, because the first understanding made her understand the other facts very quickly, my Gopāla wants to teach me that I am Rakhal, I am Narendra, I am Tarak, and I am the other disciples. Like that, Gopāla entered into any number of disciples and devotees until she realized — but that also was a partial view and not complete realization.

And then after some weeks or months, there was a chariot festival, and then this lady had gone to attend that one, and she described graphically those who wish they can refer to the Sri Ramakrishna, the great master by Swami Sharadhananda. She said that day, I have universal vision of my Gopāla, everything, living, non-living, moving, non-moving, the priests, the audience, the chariot, the people who are pulling the chariot, the music makers, without exception, everybody was nothing but her Gopāla.

With that, her realization —

सर्वं खल्विदं ब्रह्म ।

Transliteration:

sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma ।

Phonetic:

''sarvam khalv-idam brahma.''

(Meaning: "All this, verily, is Brahman.")

— was over. So, that is the purpose of Adhyāropa and Apavāda.
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== The Three Upāsanās of the First Chapter ==
As I mentioned, the first chapter contains the analysis of ''Adhyāropa''. How do we know? Because in the first chapter, following certain types of contemplations, there are three meditations — ''upāsanās'' — described:

# Contemplation on a horse — ''Aśva Upāsanā''
# Contemplation on fire — ''Agni Upāsanā''
# Contemplation on ''Prāṇa'' — ''Prāṇa Upāsanā''

In this Upaniṣad, the chapters are known as ''Adhyāyas''. The word ''Adhyāya'' is very interesting: ''Adhyāpaka'' means teacher, ''adhyayana'' is studying, and so ''Adhyāya'' means that which teaches what a person wants to learn. Each chapter has several sections, and each section is called a ''Brāhmaṇa''.

In the first three ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter, we see these three meditations. The first ''Brāhmaṇa'' of the first chapter consists of two verses, and the second consists of seven. Both the first and second ''Brāhmaṇas'' are devoted to the meditation on a horse and the fire used in the ritual called ''Aśvamedha Yajña''.
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== The Aśvamedha Yajña ==

=== Nature of the Sacrifice ===
The ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' is the highest of all Vedic rites. What does the person who successfully completes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' attain? He will go to ''Prajāpati Loka'', ''Virāṭ Loka'', ''Brahma Loka''. But this sacrifice involves a tremendous amount of money, time, power, and intelligence. Briefly: the best horse available in the kingdom is chosen and set free to roam all over the world. Of course, people accompany and attend to it, and when it returns it is worshipped, for it has become the most sacred of animals.

The purpose is twofold. The first purpose is that whichever kingdom the horse enters, the king who is performing the sacrifice must subdue its ruler. If he cannot, he cannot perform the ''Aśvamedha Yajña''. That is why only a powerful ''Kṣatriya'' king can truly perform it, and the best soldiers with the best commander-in-chief are sent to defend the horse's passage. Even Rāma had done this.

=== The Story of Lava and Kuśa ===
When the horse came to the forest where Muni Vālmīki resided — Rāma having sent Sītā away from the kingdom, she being pregnant, and Lakṣmaṇa, devoted to Sītā, having brought her to Vālmīki Ṛṣi with tears in his eyes, though he had to obey Rāma — there she gave birth to twins, Lava and Kuśa. Vālmīki, not only a poet but also an expert archer, taught them the best of archery. The story is marvellous and very purifying.

These two children, proud and well-trained, one day saw this horse sent by Rāma — their own father, though they did not know it. Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, and nobody can defeat Hanumān because he is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa''. Nobody can defeat ''Prāṇa'', because if you fight with ''Prāṇa'', ''Prāṇa'' will leave you and you will be dead. But here ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' means the best teacher of ''Brahma Vidyā''.

How do we know this? Because of the symbolism in the South Indian version: Sītā was the individual soul, fallen into the net of ''Māyā'' called Rāvaṇāsura. Rāma sent Hanumān to rescue her. He crosses the ocean — the ocean of ''Saṃsāra'', ''Māyā'' — and gives his ''Upadeśa'': "Rāma is concerned about you. He will soon come and rescue you. God will bless you very soon, and you will be free from ''saṃsāra bandhanam''." That was the message. That is why Hanumān is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' — the greatest ''Brahma Jñānī'', the foremost Guru. So Hanumān liberated Sītā, who in this version is compared to a bound soul. We have to understand the symbolism. The ''Yoga Vāsiṣṭha Rāmāyaṇa'' and the ''Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa'' are variations of the same meaning.

So Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, but he knew everything — where Sītā was living and where Lava and Kuśa were. These two caught hold of the horse and bound it, and Hanumān was bound to fight with Lava and Kuśa. They were already experts, as good as Rāma himself. They kept taking their mother Sītā's name, for they had the greatest faith: "If my mother's grace falls upon me — she is the divine mother — we can conquer, we can overcome anybody." And Hanumān had to give in.

Then Hanumān was bound, and the horse was brought before Sītā. She saw Hanumān, laughed, and released him, and introduced him to Lava and Kuśa. There is also a funny version. In Bengali there is a song about it. Hanumān is unconquerable — nobody can conquer him, for he is a ''Brahma Jñānī''. Who can conquer a Guru? Impossible. But he allowed himself, indulgingly like a grandfather, to be defeated by his grandchildren in play. And since he had "been defeated," he had to carry them around — that was the bet. The children, not knowing, climbed onto his shoulders and used him like a horse. Anyway, a poet composed a song: "If I had not voluntarily allowed myself to be conquered by you, could anyone have conquered me? It is impossible." That means nobody can go beyond the Guru. Guru is Brahmā, Guru is Viṣṇu, Guru is Maheśvara. Who can cross God himself?

But every devotee should be happy to fight with God. Rāmaprasāda also composed a song: "I will take you to court, O Mother! You are not giving me my inheritance. And I will call my father as a witness that this property belongs to me. I have come of age, and you will have to yield. And if you don't yield, I will catch hold of your lotus feet and go on crying, 'Mā, Mā,' until you have no option but to give me what I want." Beautiful ''bhajans'' of this meaning have been composed by quite a number of ''bhajan'' makers.

=== The Conclusion of the Sacrifice and Its Fruits ===
Returning to our main point: the performance of the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' demands that the king be powerful, intelligent, endowed with great resources, and it may take several years until the horse returns. When the horse finally returns, it is sacrificed and its ''medha'' — the consecrated substance — is partaken by those who conduct the ritual, including the king. Such a person, if he successfully accomplishes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', is promised by scripture that he will go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Symbolic Meditation: Aśva Upāsanā ==
Now we must understand something very important. There are many people who want to go to ''Brahma Loka'', but very few — including Brāhmaṇas — can afford to perform this sacrifice. What should they do?

What they should do is mentally perform exactly the same thing that the ''Kṣatriya'' king does — not conquering other kingdoms, but simply contemplating on the horse. This is called contemplation, ''Dhyāna Mantra''. Whoever is not a powerful, intelligent, and wealthy ''Kṣatriya'' — any Brāhmaṇa, any other ''Kṣatriya'', or person of any caste who has the capacity of mind — can do it.

The horse, however, is to be contemplated as ''Virāṭ'' — as ''Hiraṇyagarbha'', as Brahmā. Every part of the horse is described in this Upaniṣad, and every part is compared to one part of this universe. Not only powerful kings, but others as well can obtain the same result through this symbolic meditation, in which the different parts of the sacrificial horse are to be regarded as the different parts of the creator Prajāpati's body.

Now what do they attain? Whether it is the ''Kṣatriya'' who actually performs the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', or others who do this ''Aśva Upāsanā'' as ''Virāṭ Upāsanā'', as ''Hiraṇyagarbha Upāsanā'', as ''Brahma Upāsanā'' — the result is that all of them without exception go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Nature of Brahma Loka ==
''Brahma Loka'' is the most exalted plane in this entire creation. Brahmā is the presiding deity, and this world is the manifestation of that Brahmā alone. What is the speciality of this ''Brahma Loka''? Any inhabitant of ''Brahma Loka'' is conscious of his individuality, and at the same time knows his identity with all created beings. Who is Brahmā? He who identifies himself with all creation is called Brahmā. But at the same time, he doesn't say "I am ''Parabrahman'', the Supreme Brahman." Rather: "I am an individual, but the whole universe is my individuality."

Can we understand this? Yes. Every day we go to our ''Svapna Loka''. The waking "I," after the waking state comes the dream state, becomes the entire universe created in imagination. But at the same time, even in the dream we are highly conscious of our individuality. We are not conscious in the dream that we are every object in the dream world — for that we have to wake up, come to this waking world, and recollect: "Oh! I became the tree. I became the tiger. I became my neighbours. I became my friend. I became my enemy. And I gave myself a great present in the form of somebody else. And I also robbed myself." Whatever happens in the dream state — upon waking up we see that I, the one waker alone, created everything.

The condition of ''Brahma Loka'' is similar, but far greater. The denizen of ''Brahma Loka'' knows much better than the ordinary waker that the entire created world is himself. But because ''Loka'' means limitation, he knows he is also an individual. Only when he attains to Brahman will that individuality be totally dissolved. Until that time, he knows: "This entire creation is me and nothing else."

And even this gives such happiness. The more expansive one becomes, the more identification there is, the greater will be one's happiness. Let me give an example to help imagine it. Picture a householder — perhaps 100 years ago — who has several fields, is a good person, an intelligent and expert cultivator. He has married a devout wife and has five or six children, all sons, all married, all staying in the same house as a joint family, every person — husbands, wives, and their children — very good, loving, helping each other. They consider the entire joint family as "me." Just imagine, and then you can understand what the person in ''Brahma Loka'' feels.

This citizen of ''Brahma Loka'' identifies himself with this entire universe. What happens? He doesn't see the defects. He doesn't see the wickedness. He doesn't see the suffering. Because what does he see? Just as a person with a very beautiful dream would like to recollect that dream as many times as possible and re-enjoy it — like that, for this person there is no birth, there is no death. It is a beautiful, marvellous drama taking place.

This is how we gain a glimpse of what ''Brahma Loka'' is. Once a person attains to this state, he experiences the highest happiness possible in this dualistic world. Then what happens? One who knows, "I am in ''Brahma Loka'', in fact I have become one with Brahmā by contemplating on him — I identified myself with Brahmā, and that is called the ''Brahma Loka'' experience" — for this person there is no neighbor, no friend, no enemy in any conventional sense. In ''Brahma Loka'', I am Brahmā. That is called ''Brahma Loka''. A person who reaches ''Indra Loka'', I am Indra. I am Prajāpati. I am Bṛhaspati. We have to understand that particular fact.
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== Beyond Brahma Loka: The Longing for Brahman ==
So one who knows this — then his eyes open further and he sees: even this ''Brahma Loka'' is perishable. Maybe for a long time and an extraordinarily great quantum of happiness is experienced here. But as soon as the result of the ''Karma'' comes to an end, he has to again come back and earn that ''puṇyam'' again. Like a person who stays in a first-class hotel, enjoys everything, and then comes back, and has to earn once more if he wants to stay in that hotel again.

Like that, he understands: all these rites, all these ''upāsanās'' where the distinction between the worshipper and the deity is admitted — a person who has done these must eventually become eager for the knowledge of Brahman, which alone enables one to attain freedom and immortality.
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== The Six Benefits of Upāsanā ==
Before we go into the text, we have to understand and remind ourselves of what results we attain if we can hone and perfect the art of contemplation.

Like first-class students: first, concentration — undeviating concentration. Second, unmitigated, extraordinarily positive, great spiritual imagination. What do you think Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was doing when he was meditating upon the Divine Mother? He was exercising his imagination — not meditating upon a stone-like figure made of basalt that he used to worship, but a living imagination.

Third, in contemplation — ''upāsanā'' — a lower object is replaced with a higher object. Example: the ''Śiva Liṅga'' with Śiva, ''Śālagrāma'' with Viṣṇu, and the symbol of the cross with Jesus Christ, etc.

Fourth, what happens in this ''upāsanā'' is the separation of everything from "I," the pure consciousness. Pure consciousness alone is everything, and everything derives from this consciousness. First the mind borrows it, then it lends it to the sense organs. This happens to all living creatures in this world. And according to Advaita Vedānta, even the non-living creatures are manifestations of ''Sat'', ''Cit'', and ''Ānanda'' — only they are not aware that they exist. They exist, but they are not aware that we exist. They are not aware that we are ''Ānanda Svarūpas''. Only living beings experience it, and when that experience comes to an end, it is called unhappiness. Then comes again the attempt to become one with happiness. That is how it continues.

So: separation of everything from "I," which is pure consciousness. Then that "I," now pure consciousness, should be united — this individual consciousness should be united with the universal consciousness. That is, instead of saying "I am so-and-so," I am Brahman. Or if we start slowly: I am Kālī, I am Śiva, I am Viṣṇu — slowly, slowly. Or if we cannot understand even that, we say: I am ''Annamaya Brahma'', I am ''Prāṇamaya Brahma'', I am ''Manomaya Brahma'', I am ''Vijñānamaya Brahma'', I am ''Ānandamaya Brahma'' — slowly ascending, but always identifying with the larger whole. That is the purpose of ''upāsanā''.

And lastly, this is called expansiveness of mind — ''Citta Vaiśālyatā''. Gradually, on one side I give up my limitedness, and I start identifying with the universal. These are the six benefits of ''upāsanā''.
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== Summary: The Three Brahmanas and Their Purpose ==
So this first ''Brāhmaṇa'' is called ''Aśvamedha Brāhmaṇa''. In fact, the first, second, and third ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter all speak of these ''upāsanās''. We must remember: this is called ''Adhyāropa Prakaraṇa'', because ''Sṛṣṭi'' — creation — is vividly described here.

As I mentioned, this description is meant for a purpose: the Guru does not want to deny our experience that this universe is real. But it is an effect. An effect is always limited from the cause. The cause is unlimited; the effect is limited. So you will be more happy if you expand yourself into the cause. Find out the cause of this universe. Who is that? Brahmā. Find out the cause of Brahmā. Then it becomes Brahman. That is the purpose.

So there are three ''upāsanās'' in these first three ''Brāhmaṇas'': ''Aśva'', ''Agni'', and ''Prāṇa''. We will talk about this in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''

[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.1-2 Lecture 11 on 28 February 2026

2026-06-11T06:05:58Z

Shekhar: /* The Structure of the First Chapter: Upadeśa Kāṇḍa */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् । पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

'''ॐ आप्यायन्तु ममाङ्गानि वाक्प्राणश्चक्षुः श्रोत्रमथो बलमिन्द्रियाणि च सर्वाणि । सर्वं ब्रह्मौपनिषदम् । माहं ब्रह्म निराकुर्यां मा मा ब्रह्म निराकरोत् ।'''

'''अनिराकरणमस्तु अनिराकरणं मेऽस्तु । तदात्मनि निरते य उपनिषत्सु धर्मास्ते मयि सन्तु ते मयि सन्तु ।'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥'''

Oṁ āpyāyantu mamāṅgāni vāk prāṇaś cakṣuḥ śrotram atho balam indriyāṇi ca sarvāṇi । sarvaṁ brahmaupaniṣadam । mā'haṁ brahma nirākuryāṁ mā mā brahma nirākarot । anirākaraṇam astu anirākaraṇaṁ me'stu । tad ātmani nirate ya upaniṣatsu dharmās te mayi santu te mayi santu । Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ ॥

(Simplified phonetic reading: Om aapyaayantu mamaangaani, vaak praanash-chakshuh shrotram-atho balam-indriyaani cha sarvaani; sarvam brahma-aupanishadam; maa-aham brahma niraakuryaam, maa maa brahma niraakarot; aniraakaranam astu, aniraakaranam me astu; tad-aatmani nirate ya upanishatsu dharmaas-te mayi santu te mayi santu; Om shaantih shaantih shaantih.)

Om — May my limbs, speech, vital force, eyes, ears, as also strength and all the organs become well developed. Everything is the Brahman revealed in the Upanishads. May I not deny Brahman, may not Brahman deny me, let there be no spurning of me by Brahman, let there be no rejection of Brahman by me. May all the virtues that are spoken of in the Upanishads repose in me, who am engaged in the pursuit of the Self. May they repose in me, may they repose in me, may they repose in me. Om, peace, peace, peace be unto all.

= Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: Introduction to the First and Second Mantras =

== Overview of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad ==
We have been studying the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. Now we are going to enter into the first and second mantras.

As we discussed earlier, this Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad has six chapters, and every two chapters are combined into one. The very first section is called ''Madhu Kāṇḍam'' or ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍam''. ''Kāṇḍam'' means a section dealing with real teaching — ''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi''. The second part supports the same teaching with reasoning and rationality. That is the subject matter. It is also called ''Yājñavalkya Kāṇḍa'', ''Muni Kāṇḍa'', ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' with ''Tarka'' — that is, ''Śruti'', ''Samatha'', ''Tarka''. The third two chapters, the third part, are called ''Khila Kāṇḍam'', which covers miscellaneous items, some of which are highly important.

As I mentioned earlier at the very beginning, we are not going to proceed mantra by mantra, but will take the very essence of it. That way we will not be confused. Otherwise, this is one of the biggest of the Upaniṣads, containing more than 640 mantras. To go through every one of them is neither necessary, nor need we waste time doing so. Essential points in the light of the teachings of Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda will be very useful.
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== Adhyāropa and Apavāda: The Vedāntic Methodology ==
Now this first chapter, according to the interpretation of Śaṅkarācārya, follows the Advaita Vedāntic methodology called ''Adhyāropa'' and ''Apavāda''.

=== What is Adhyāropa? ===
''Adhyāropa'' means accepting our present experience as it is. The scripture says: yes, you are right — what you are experiencing is real. But there are certain points you have to note down, and only then will you understand the nature of this world you are experiencing.

First of all, the world depends upon you. If you, the subject, are sleeping, in a coma, or unconscious, the whole universe disappears so far as you are concerned. Even though in our ordinary experience we say we depend upon the world, actually we can see that we shape the whole world. What does an artist do? He shapes whatever object — be it wood, be it stone — according to his own concept. He can bring out Rāma or he can bring out Rāvaṇāsura, depending upon his ''saṃskāras''. He can bring out Kṛṣṇa, he can bring out Kaṃsa.

A writer can express his own beautiful imaginations and manifest them in the form of beautiful language and literature. And earlier days, we used to study the literature of both the East and the West. Nowadays, I don't know whether they are doing it. And a poet or a musician — the limit is the sky, one's own imagination.

Consider our dreams. We can dream whatever we like. We think, most of the time by mistake, that a dream overwhelms us and that we are forced to experience the dream. But no. If a child is reading about gods and goddesses and is endowed with spiritual ''saṃskāras'', he will be dreaming of gods and goddesses like Nāgamahāśaya. But if somebody is interested in Superman or evil characters — and so many people are addicted to these evil characters because they want to be like that but don't have the capacity — they watch films and rule over the world in imagination. Similarly, a cricket fan's biggest heroes will be those who fetch the greatest number of runs. So everything depends upon our mind, and the mind is endowed with borrowed consciousness. The mind pays attention, and only that which it attends to is experienceable by us.

Second, the world is continuously changing. Third, it consists of three parts: form, name, and utility — ''Rūpa'', ''Nāma'', ''Karma''.

So what does the scripture tell fortunate souls who want to progress in spiritual life, who believe in the teachings of the scriptures, and who want to realize God? If the scriptures start by saying this world is unreal, we are likely to give up the world. But if the scriptures accept that it is true — not unreal, but ''Mithyā'' — that changes things. ''Mithyā'' means dependent, ever-changing, unreliable, and so forth. This is called ''Adhyāropa'': accepting it temporarily.

The scripture doesn't stop there. It goes on to ask: what do you want in this world? "I want money." Alright, do this — you will get money. Chant the name of Mahālakṣmī mantra, recite Śrī Sūktam or Kanakādhārastavam. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said, and proved to the hilt, that every mantra in the scriptures — meaning the Vedas, Purāṇas, Tantras, and instructions of Gurus — is absolutely true. He proved it. When he used to perform ''pūjā'' and chant a particular mantra, for example the Agni Mantra ''Rām'', he would immediately see a wall of fire springing up and protecting him. When Rāmakṛṣṇa was young, he used to visit a crematorium called Bhuterkhali, and he used to carry a pot of rice, cooked rice. And then he said later on, the pot disappears in the mid-air, from our eyes, that means there are spirits, which accept them.

And now, what little original capacity we have, we are fast losing to the new AI, and that becomes our reality. . But, I can assure you, it is not going to be so for long, because human being, every human being is potentially divine, and there will be a lot of knocks, sticks, not always carrots. God will give those sticks to awaken us.

'''Kaṭha Upaniṣad Verse — "Arise! Awake!"'''

Devanagari:

उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत ।

Transliteration (IAST):

uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata ।

Phonetic:

''uttishthata jaagrata praapya varaan-nibodhata.''

(Meaning: "Arise! Awake! Approach the great ones and learn!" — Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.14).

You can have eternal existence, infinite knowledge, unbroken bliss — '''sat, chit, ananda''' (सत्, चित्, आनन्द), '''satyam, gnanam, anantam, brahma''' (सत्यं ज्ञानम् अनन्तं ब्रह्म) — by now, the student's mind has developed tremendous '''śraddhā''' (श्रद्धा), then, starts the second part of the scripture, which is called, '''Apavāda''' (अपवाद).

So, what I told you, that is true, only for that level of students, or when you are at that level, but now, you have crossed over, now, you yourself are longing for something higher, now, I will teach you — that is called, Apavāda (अपवाद).

=== What is Apavāda? ===
In a manner of speaking, the world is unreal. To prove that the world is insubstantial, unreliable, ever-changing, dangerous, and the cause of repeated births and repeated sufferings — that is the common view. But the scripture, through the Guru, teaches: that is only the middle way, valid when you are in the middle stage of your development. But later on you understand that everything is Brahman. This world is a ''Līlā'' — a divine play. Everybody, everything in this universe is only the infinite imagination of the infinite Brahman. What is suffering — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. What is happiness and bliss — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. That is the ''Apavāda''. ''Apavāda'' means negation: negation of your previous understanding of the world. First, the only reality has been understood as a changing, unreliable, insubstantial reality. That is then transformed into the understanding that everything is Brahman. And the final step is that everything is the ''Līlā'' of Brahman. This applies especially to the ''Jīvanmukta''.

What a beautiful way this is! First, like giving a child a real apple and saying "this is called apple, the spelling starts with A; this is beetroot, it starts with B; this is a carrot, and it starts with C" — like that, a person is helped to evolve both physically and spiritually, intellectually and spiritually.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa illustrates this beautifully. So, there is a kind of sweet in Bengal, and the outside looks absolutely the same, but the inside can be filled with hard lentils, kalaidal, or it can be filled with coconut plus jaggery, or it can be filled up with what we call chana. Or the broken milk, which is called cheese, actually, in English language, but that's not a correct word. There is a vast difference between cheese, and then this paneer. What a delicious curry it makes, if it is done properly.
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== The Structure of the First Chapter: Upadeśa Kāṇḍa ==
In the very first chapter, as just mentioned, it is called ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' or ''Madhu Kāṇḍa''. ''Upadeśa'' means teaching. Usually the word ''upadeśa'' means when a Guru initiates a disciple, that is called ''upadeśa''. But here, instead of just a mantra, he also gives explanation and teaching.

You should look upon your body as ''Brahmapurī''. You should look upon your mind also as ''Brahmapurī'', the ''Hṛdayākāśa''. It is the abode of the purest of the pure. Brahman, ''Jyotir Jyotiḥ'', resides within it. This is how you will have to slowly orient your thought: this body is a sacred temple. When one succeeds in thinking of oneself as a sacred temple, and Brahman is within, and "I am not different from that Brahman," slowly his understanding is also applied — first to the mother, then the father, then the teacher, then everybody else. Slow expansion.

As an example: first, Gopāla's Maa had the ''darśana'' of child Gopāla. And then, like a mad woman, she went to Dakṣiṇeśvara, and there she saw that this Kṛṣṇa — God himself — had said:

'''ये यथा मां प्रपद्यन्ते तांस्तथैव भजाम्यहम् ।'''

Transliteration:

ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham ।

Phonetic:

''ye yathaa maam prapadyante taams-tathaiva bhajaamy-aham.''

(Meaning: "Whatever pathway a person chooses to approach and come to me, I will run towards him and take him into my bosom, teach him.")

So, Gopāla's mother, that is Gopāla, Krishna, Bālakṛṣṇa (बालकृष्ण), he started entering into Sri Ramakrishna's body, coming out. Several times he did this, until Gopāla's mother understood, my Gopāla and Sri Ramakrishna are not different. They are one and the same.

In fact, Gopāla's mother had first the vision of Sri Ramakrishna, then only Sri Ramakrishna transformed himself into a child Gopāla. So, that was the first teacher, '''Ācārya''' (आचार्य) had become Gopāla.

After a few days — that is, when the idea that Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa are absolutely one became firm and unshakeable — Gopāla started doing exactly the same thing but with the other direct disciples of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. Now she started understanding, because the first understanding made her understand the other facts very quickly, my Gopāla wants to teach me that I am Rakhal, I am Narendra, I am Tarak, and I am the other disciples. Like that, Gopāla entered into any number of disciples and devotees until she realized — but that also was a partial view and not complete realization.

After some weeks or months, there was a chariot festival. Those who wish to know the details can refer to ''Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: The Great Master'' by Swami Sārādānanda. She described graphically that on that day she had a universal vision of her Gopāla. Everything — living and non-living, moving and non-moving, the priest, the audience, the chariot, the people pulling the chariot, the music makers — without exception, everybody was nothing but her Gopāla. With that, her realization of ''Sarvaṃ Khalvidaṃ Brahma'' was complete.

That is the purpose of ''Adhyāropa'' and ''Apavāda''.
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== The Three Upāsanās of the First Chapter ==
As I mentioned, the first chapter contains the analysis of ''Adhyāropa''. How do we know? Because in the first chapter, following certain types of contemplations, there are three meditations — ''upāsanās'' — described:

# Contemplation on a horse — ''Aśva Upāsanā''
# Contemplation on fire — ''Agni Upāsanā''
# Contemplation on ''Prāṇa'' — ''Prāṇa Upāsanā''

In this Upaniṣad, the chapters are known as ''Adhyāyas''. The word ''Adhyāya'' is very interesting: ''Adhyāpaka'' means teacher, ''adhyayana'' is studying, and so ''Adhyāya'' means that which teaches what a person wants to learn. Each chapter has several sections, and each section is called a ''Brāhmaṇa''.

In the first three ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter, we see these three meditations. The first ''Brāhmaṇa'' of the first chapter consists of two verses, and the second consists of seven. Both the first and second ''Brāhmaṇas'' are devoted to the meditation on a horse and the fire used in the ritual called ''Aśvamedha Yajña''.
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== The Aśvamedha Yajña ==

=== Nature of the Sacrifice ===
The ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' is the highest of all Vedic rites. What does the person who successfully completes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' attain? He will go to ''Prajāpati Loka'', ''Virāṭ Loka'', ''Brahma Loka''. But this sacrifice involves a tremendous amount of money, time, power, and intelligence. Briefly: the best horse available in the kingdom is chosen and set free to roam all over the world. Of course, people accompany and attend to it, and when it returns it is worshipped, for it has become the most sacred of animals.

The purpose is twofold. The first purpose is that whichever kingdom the horse enters, the king who is performing the sacrifice must subdue its ruler. If he cannot, he cannot perform the ''Aśvamedha Yajña''. That is why only a powerful ''Kṣatriya'' king can truly perform it, and the best soldiers with the best commander-in-chief are sent to defend the horse's passage. Even Rāma had done this.

=== The Story of Lava and Kuśa ===
When the horse came to the forest where Muni Vālmīki resided — Rāma having sent Sītā away from the kingdom, she being pregnant, and Lakṣmaṇa, devoted to Sītā, having brought her to Vālmīki Ṛṣi with tears in his eyes, though he had to obey Rāma — there she gave birth to twins, Lava and Kuśa. Vālmīki, not only a poet but also an expert archer, taught them the best of archery. The story is marvellous and very purifying.

These two children, proud and well-trained, one day saw this horse sent by Rāma — their own father, though they did not know it. Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, and nobody can defeat Hanumān because he is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa''. Nobody can defeat ''Prāṇa'', because if you fight with ''Prāṇa'', ''Prāṇa'' will leave you and you will be dead. But here ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' means the best teacher of ''Brahma Vidyā''.

How do we know this? Because of the symbolism in the South Indian version: Sītā was the individual soul, fallen into the net of ''Māyā'' called Rāvaṇāsura. Rāma sent Hanumān to rescue her. He crosses the ocean — the ocean of ''Saṃsāra'', ''Māyā'' — and gives his ''Upadeśa'': "Rāma is concerned about you. He will soon come and rescue you. God will bless you very soon, and you will be free from ''saṃsāra bandhanam''." That was the message. That is why Hanumān is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' — the greatest ''Brahma Jñānī'', the foremost Guru. So Hanumān liberated Sītā, who in this version is compared to a bound soul. We have to understand the symbolism. The ''Yoga Vāsiṣṭha Rāmāyaṇa'' and the ''Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa'' are variations of the same meaning.

So Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, but he knew everything — where Sītā was living and where Lava and Kuśa were. These two caught hold of the horse and bound it, and Hanumān was bound to fight with Lava and Kuśa. They were already experts, as good as Rāma himself. They kept taking their mother Sītā's name, for they had the greatest faith: "If my mother's grace falls upon me — she is the divine mother — we can conquer, we can overcome anybody." And Hanumān had to give in.

Then Hanumān was bound, and the horse was brought before Sītā. She saw Hanumān, laughed, and released him, and introduced him to Lava and Kuśa. There is also a funny version. In Bengali there is a song about it. Hanumān is unconquerable — nobody can conquer him, for he is a ''Brahma Jñānī''. Who can conquer a Guru? Impossible. But he allowed himself, indulgingly like a grandfather, to be defeated by his grandchildren in play. And since he had "been defeated," he had to carry them around — that was the bet. The children, not knowing, climbed onto his shoulders and used him like a horse. Anyway, a poet composed a song: "If I had not voluntarily allowed myself to be conquered by you, could anyone have conquered me? It is impossible." That means nobody can go beyond the Guru. Guru is Brahmā, Guru is Viṣṇu, Guru is Maheśvara. Who can cross God himself?

But every devotee should be happy to fight with God. Rāmaprasāda also composed a song: "I will take you to court, O Mother! You are not giving me my inheritance. And I will call my father as a witness that this property belongs to me. I have come of age, and you will have to yield. And if you don't yield, I will catch hold of your lotus feet and go on crying, 'Mā, Mā,' until you have no option but to give me what I want." Beautiful ''bhajans'' of this meaning have been composed by quite a number of ''bhajan'' makers.

=== The Conclusion of the Sacrifice and Its Fruits ===
Returning to our main point: the performance of the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' demands that the king be powerful, intelligent, endowed with great resources, and it may take several years until the horse returns. When the horse finally returns, it is sacrificed and its ''medha'' — the consecrated substance — is partaken by those who conduct the ritual, including the king. Such a person, if he successfully accomplishes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', is promised by scripture that he will go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Symbolic Meditation: Aśva Upāsanā ==
Now we must understand something very important. There are many people who want to go to ''Brahma Loka'', but very few — including Brāhmaṇas — can afford to perform this sacrifice. What should they do?

What they should do is mentally perform exactly the same thing that the ''Kṣatriya'' king does — not conquering other kingdoms, but simply contemplating on the horse. This is called contemplation, ''Dhyāna Mantra''. Whoever is not a powerful, intelligent, and wealthy ''Kṣatriya'' — any Brāhmaṇa, any other ''Kṣatriya'', or person of any caste who has the capacity of mind — can do it.

The horse, however, is to be contemplated as ''Virāṭ'' — as ''Hiraṇyagarbha'', as Brahmā. Every part of the horse is described in this Upaniṣad, and every part is compared to one part of this universe. Not only powerful kings, but others as well can obtain the same result through this symbolic meditation, in which the different parts of the sacrificial horse are to be regarded as the different parts of the creator Prajāpati's body.

Now what do they attain? Whether it is the ''Kṣatriya'' who actually performs the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', or others who do this ''Aśva Upāsanā'' as ''Virāṭ Upāsanā'', as ''Hiraṇyagarbha Upāsanā'', as ''Brahma Upāsanā'' — the result is that all of them without exception go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Nature of Brahma Loka ==
''Brahma Loka'' is the most exalted plane in this entire creation. Brahmā is the presiding deity, and this world is the manifestation of that Brahmā alone. What is the speciality of this ''Brahma Loka''? Any inhabitant of ''Brahma Loka'' is conscious of his individuality, and at the same time knows his identity with all created beings. Who is Brahmā? He who identifies himself with all creation is called Brahmā. But at the same time, he doesn't say "I am ''Parabrahman'', the Supreme Brahman." Rather: "I am an individual, but the whole universe is my individuality."

Can we understand this? Yes. Every day we go to our ''Svapna Loka''. The waking "I," after the waking state comes the dream state, becomes the entire universe created in imagination. But at the same time, even in the dream we are highly conscious of our individuality. We are not conscious in the dream that we are every object in the dream world — for that we have to wake up, come to this waking world, and recollect: "Oh! I became the tree. I became the tiger. I became my neighbours. I became my friend. I became my enemy. And I gave myself a great present in the form of somebody else. And I also robbed myself." Whatever happens in the dream state — upon waking up we see that I, the one waker alone, created everything.

The condition of ''Brahma Loka'' is similar, but far greater. The denizen of ''Brahma Loka'' knows much better than the ordinary waker that the entire created world is himself. But because ''Loka'' means limitation, he knows he is also an individual. Only when he attains to Brahman will that individuality be totally dissolved. Until that time, he knows: "This entire creation is me and nothing else."

And even this gives such happiness. The more expansive one becomes, the more identification there is, the greater will be one's happiness. Let me give an example to help imagine it. Picture a householder — perhaps 100 years ago — who has several fields, is a good person, an intelligent and expert cultivator. He has married a devout wife and has five or six children, all sons, all married, all staying in the same house as a joint family, every person — husbands, wives, and their children — very good, loving, helping each other. They consider the entire joint family as "me." Just imagine, and then you can understand what the person in ''Brahma Loka'' feels.

This citizen of ''Brahma Loka'' identifies himself with this entire universe. What happens? He doesn't see the defects. He doesn't see the wickedness. He doesn't see the suffering. Because what does he see? Just as a person with a very beautiful dream would like to recollect that dream as many times as possible and re-enjoy it — like that, for this person there is no birth, there is no death. It is a beautiful, marvellous drama taking place.

This is how we gain a glimpse of what ''Brahma Loka'' is. Once a person attains to this state, he experiences the highest happiness possible in this dualistic world. Then what happens? One who knows, "I am in ''Brahma Loka'', in fact I have become one with Brahmā by contemplating on him — I identified myself with Brahmā, and that is called the ''Brahma Loka'' experience" — for this person there is no neighbor, no friend, no enemy in any conventional sense. In ''Brahma Loka'', I am Brahmā. That is called ''Brahma Loka''. A person who reaches ''Indra Loka'', I am Indra. I am Prajāpati. I am Bṛhaspati. We have to understand that particular fact.
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== Beyond Brahma Loka: The Longing for Brahman ==
So one who knows this — then his eyes open further and he sees: even this ''Brahma Loka'' is perishable. Maybe for a long time and an extraordinarily great quantum of happiness is experienced here. But as soon as the result of the ''Karma'' comes to an end, he has to again come back and earn that ''puṇyam'' again. Like a person who stays in a first-class hotel, enjoys everything, and then comes back, and has to earn once more if he wants to stay in that hotel again.

Like that, he understands: all these rites, all these ''upāsanās'' where the distinction between the worshipper and the deity is admitted — a person who has done these must eventually become eager for the knowledge of Brahman, which alone enables one to attain freedom and immortality.
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== The Six Benefits of Upāsanā ==
Before we go into the text, we have to understand and remind ourselves of what results we attain if we can hone and perfect the art of contemplation.

Like first-class students: first, concentration — undeviating concentration. Second, unmitigated, extraordinarily positive, great spiritual imagination. What do you think Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was doing when he was meditating upon the Divine Mother? He was exercising his imagination — not meditating upon a stone-like figure made of basalt that he used to worship, but a living imagination.

Third, in contemplation — ''upāsanā'' — a lower object is replaced with a higher object. Example: the ''Śiva Liṅga'' with Śiva, ''Śālagrāma'' with Viṣṇu, and the symbol of the cross with Jesus Christ, etc.

Fourth, what happens in this ''upāsanā'' is the separation of everything from "I," the pure consciousness. Pure consciousness alone is everything, and everything derives from this consciousness. First the mind borrows it, then it lends it to the sense organs. This happens to all living creatures in this world. And according to Advaita Vedānta, even the non-living creatures are manifestations of ''Sat'', ''Cit'', and ''Ānanda'' — only they are not aware that they exist. They exist, but they are not aware that we exist. They are not aware that we are ''Ānanda Svarūpas''. Only living beings experience it, and when that experience comes to an end, it is called unhappiness. Then comes again the attempt to become one with happiness. That is how it continues.

So: separation of everything from "I," which is pure consciousness. Then that "I," now pure consciousness, should be united — this individual consciousness should be united with the universal consciousness. That is, instead of saying "I am so-and-so," I am Brahman. Or if we start slowly: I am Kālī, I am Śiva, I am Viṣṇu — slowly, slowly. Or if we cannot understand even that, we say: I am ''Annamaya Brahma'', I am ''Prāṇamaya Brahma'', I am ''Manomaya Brahma'', I am ''Vijñānamaya Brahma'', I am ''Ānandamaya Brahma'' — slowly ascending, but always identifying with the larger whole. That is the purpose of ''upāsanā''.

And lastly, this is called expansiveness of mind — ''Citta Vaiśālyatā''. Gradually, on one side I give up my limitedness, and I start identifying with the universal. These are the six benefits of ''upāsanā''.
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== Summary: The Three Brahmanas and Their Purpose ==
So this first ''Brāhmaṇa'' is called ''Aśvamedha Brāhmaṇa''. In fact, the first, second, and third ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter all speak of these ''upāsanās''. We must remember: this is called ''Adhyāropa Prakaraṇa'', because ''Sṛṣṭi'' — creation — is vividly described here.

As I mentioned, this description is meant for a purpose: the Guru does not want to deny our experience that this universe is real. But it is an effect. An effect is always limited from the cause. The cause is unlimited; the effect is limited. So you will be more happy if you expand yourself into the cause. Find out the cause of this universe. Who is that? Brahmā. Find out the cause of Brahmā. Then it becomes Brahman. That is the purpose.

So there are three ''upāsanās'' in these first three ''Brāhmaṇas'': ''Aśva'', ''Agni'', and ''Prāṇa''. We will talk about this in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''

[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.1-2 Lecture 11 on 28 February 2026

2026-06-11T06:00:56Z

Shekhar: /* The Structure of the First Chapter: Upadeśa Kāṇḍa */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् । पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

'''ॐ आप्यायन्तु ममाङ्गानि वाक्प्राणश्चक्षुः श्रोत्रमथो बलमिन्द्रियाणि च सर्वाणि । सर्वं ब्रह्मौपनिषदम् । माहं ब्रह्म निराकुर्यां मा मा ब्रह्म निराकरोत् ।'''

'''अनिराकरणमस्तु अनिराकरणं मेऽस्तु । तदात्मनि निरते य उपनिषत्सु धर्मास्ते मयि सन्तु ते मयि सन्तु ।'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥'''

Oṁ āpyāyantu mamāṅgāni vāk prāṇaś cakṣuḥ śrotram atho balam indriyāṇi ca sarvāṇi । sarvaṁ brahmaupaniṣadam । mā'haṁ brahma nirākuryāṁ mā mā brahma nirākarot । anirākaraṇam astu anirākaraṇaṁ me'stu । tad ātmani nirate ya upaniṣatsu dharmās te mayi santu te mayi santu । Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ ॥

(Simplified phonetic reading: Om aapyaayantu mamaangaani, vaak praanash-chakshuh shrotram-atho balam-indriyaani cha sarvaani; sarvam brahma-aupanishadam; maa-aham brahma niraakuryaam, maa maa brahma niraakarot; aniraakaranam astu, aniraakaranam me astu; tad-aatmani nirate ya upanishatsu dharmaas-te mayi santu te mayi santu; Om shaantih shaantih shaantih.)

Om — May my limbs, speech, vital force, eyes, ears, as also strength and all the organs become well developed. Everything is the Brahman revealed in the Upanishads. May I not deny Brahman, may not Brahman deny me, let there be no spurning of me by Brahman, let there be no rejection of Brahman by me. May all the virtues that are spoken of in the Upanishads repose in me, who am engaged in the pursuit of the Self. May they repose in me, may they repose in me, may they repose in me. Om, peace, peace, peace be unto all.

= Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: Introduction to the First and Second Mantras =

== Overview of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad ==
We have been studying the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. Now we are going to enter into the first and second mantras.

As we discussed earlier, this Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad has six chapters, and every two chapters are combined into one. The very first section is called ''Madhu Kāṇḍam'' or ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍam''. ''Kāṇḍam'' means a section dealing with real teaching — ''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi''. The second part supports the same teaching with reasoning and rationality. That is the subject matter. It is also called ''Yājñavalkya Kāṇḍa'', ''Muni Kāṇḍa'', ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' with ''Tarka'' — that is, ''Śruti'', ''Samatha'', ''Tarka''. The third two chapters, the third part, are called ''Khila Kāṇḍam'', which covers miscellaneous items, some of which are highly important.

As I mentioned earlier at the very beginning, we are not going to proceed mantra by mantra, but will take the very essence of it. That way we will not be confused. Otherwise, this is one of the biggest of the Upaniṣads, containing more than 640 mantras. To go through every one of them is neither necessary, nor need we waste time doing so. Essential points in the light of the teachings of Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda will be very useful.
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== Adhyāropa and Apavāda: The Vedāntic Methodology ==
Now this first chapter, according to the interpretation of Śaṅkarācārya, follows the Advaita Vedāntic methodology called ''Adhyāropa'' and ''Apavāda''.

=== What is Adhyāropa? ===
''Adhyāropa'' means accepting our present experience as it is. The scripture says: yes, you are right — what you are experiencing is real. But there are certain points you have to note down, and only then will you understand the nature of this world you are experiencing.

First of all, the world depends upon you. If you, the subject, are sleeping, in a coma, or unconscious, the whole universe disappears so far as you are concerned. Even though in our ordinary experience we say we depend upon the world, actually we can see that we shape the whole world. What does an artist do? He shapes whatever object — be it wood, be it stone — according to his own concept. He can bring out Rāma or he can bring out Rāvaṇāsura, depending upon his ''saṃskāras''. He can bring out Kṛṣṇa, he can bring out Kaṃsa.

A writer can express his own beautiful imaginations and manifest them in the form of beautiful language and literature. And earlier days, we used to study the literature of both the East and the West. Nowadays, I don't know whether they are doing it. And a poet or a musician — the limit is the sky, one's own imagination.

Consider our dreams. We can dream whatever we like. We think, most of the time by mistake, that a dream overwhelms us and that we are forced to experience the dream. But no. If a child is reading about gods and goddesses and is endowed with spiritual ''saṃskāras'', he will be dreaming of gods and goddesses like Nāgamahāśaya. But if somebody is interested in Superman or evil characters — and so many people are addicted to these evil characters because they want to be like that but don't have the capacity — they watch films and rule over the world in imagination. Similarly, a cricket fan's biggest heroes will be those who fetch the greatest number of runs. So everything depends upon our mind, and the mind is endowed with borrowed consciousness. The mind pays attention, and only that which it attends to is experienceable by us.

Second, the world is continuously changing. Third, it consists of three parts: form, name, and utility — ''Rūpa'', ''Nāma'', ''Karma''.

So what does the scripture tell fortunate souls who want to progress in spiritual life, who believe in the teachings of the scriptures, and who want to realize God? If the scriptures start by saying this world is unreal, we are likely to give up the world. But if the scriptures accept that it is true — not unreal, but ''Mithyā'' — that changes things. ''Mithyā'' means dependent, ever-changing, unreliable, and so forth. This is called ''Adhyāropa'': accepting it temporarily.

The scripture doesn't stop there. It goes on to ask: what do you want in this world? "I want money." Alright, do this — you will get money. Chant the name of Mahālakṣmī mantra, recite Śrī Sūktam or Kanakādhārastavam. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said, and proved to the hilt, that every mantra in the scriptures — meaning the Vedas, Purāṇas, Tantras, and instructions of Gurus — is absolutely true. He proved it. When he used to perform ''pūjā'' and chant a particular mantra, for example the Agni Mantra ''Rām'', he would immediately see a wall of fire springing up and protecting him. When Rāmakṛṣṇa was young, he used to visit a crematorium called Bhuterkhali, and he used to carry a pot of rice, cooked rice. And then he said later on, the pot disappears in the mid-air, from our eyes, that means there are spirits, which accept them.

And now, what little original capacity we have, we are fast losing to the new AI, and that becomes our reality. . But, I can assure you, it is not going to be so for long, because human being, every human being is potentially divine, and there will be a lot of knocks, sticks, not always carrots. God will give those sticks to awaken us.

'''Kaṭha Upaniṣad Verse — "Arise! Awake!"'''

Devanagari:

उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत ।

Transliteration (IAST):

uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata ।

Phonetic:

''uttishthata jaagrata praapya varaan-nibodhata.''

(Meaning: "Arise! Awake! Approach the great ones and learn!" — Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.14).

You can have eternal existence, infinite knowledge, unbroken bliss — '''sat, chit, ananda''' (सत्, चित्, आनन्द), '''satyam, gnanam, anantam, brahma''' (सत्यं ज्ञानम् अनन्तं ब्रह्म) — by now, the student's mind has developed tremendous '''śraddhā''' (श्रद्धा), then, starts the second part of the scripture, which is called, '''Apavāda''' (अपवाद).

So, what I told you, that is true, only for that level of students, or when you are at that level, but now, you have crossed over, now, you yourself are longing for something higher, now, I will teach you — that is called, Apavāda (अपवाद).

=== What is Apavāda? ===
In a manner of speaking, the world is unreal. To prove that the world is insubstantial, unreliable, ever-changing, dangerous, and the cause of repeated births and repeated sufferings — that is the common view. But the scripture, through the Guru, teaches: that is only the middle way, valid when you are in the middle stage of your development. But later on you understand that everything is Brahman. This world is a ''Līlā'' — a divine play. Everybody, everything in this universe is only the infinite imagination of the infinite Brahman. What is suffering — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. What is happiness and bliss — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. That is the ''Apavāda''. ''Apavāda'' means negation: negation of your previous understanding of the world. First, the only reality has been understood as a changing, unreliable, insubstantial reality. That is then transformed into the understanding that everything is Brahman. And the final step is that everything is the ''Līlā'' of Brahman. This applies especially to the ''Jīvanmukta''.

What a beautiful way this is! First, like giving a child a real apple and saying "this is called apple, the spelling starts with A; this is beetroot, it starts with B; this is a carrot, and it starts with C" — like that, a person is helped to evolve both physically and spiritually, intellectually and spiritually.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa illustrates this beautifully. So, there is a kind of sweet in Bengal, and the outside looks absolutely the same, but the inside can be filled with hard lentils, kalaidal, or it can be filled with coconut plus jaggery, or it can be filled up with what we call chana. Or the broken milk, which is called cheese, actually, in English language, but that's not a correct word. There is a vast difference between cheese, and then this paneer. What a delicious curry it makes, if it is done properly.
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== The Structure of the First Chapter: Upadeśa Kāṇḍa ==
In the very first chapter, as just mentioned, it is called ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' or ''Madhu Kāṇḍa''. ''Upadeśa'' means teaching. Usually the word ''upadeśa'' means when a Guru initiates a disciple, that is called ''upadeśa''. But here, instead of just a mantra, he also gives explanation and teaching.

You should look upon your body as ''Brahmapurī''. You should look upon your mind also as ''Brahmapurī'', the ''Hṛdayākāśa''. It is the abode of the purest of the pure. Brahman, ''Jyotir Jyotiḥ'', resides within it. This is how you will have to slowly orient your thought: this body is a sacred temple. When one succeeds in thinking of oneself as a sacred temple, and Brahman is within, and "I am not different from that Brahman," slowly his understanding is also applied — first to the mother, then the father, then the teacher, then everybody else. Slow expansion.

As an example: first, Gopālasumā had the ''darśana'' of child Gopāla. And then, like a devoted woman, she went to Dakṣiṇeśvara, and there she saw that this Kṛṣṇa — God himself — had said:

'''ये यथा मां प्रपद्यन्ते तांस्तथैव भजाम्यहम् ।'''

Transliteration:

ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham ।

Phonetic:

''ye yathaa maam prapadyante taams-tathaiva bhajaamy-aham.''

(Meaning: "Whatever pathway a person chooses to approach and come to me, I will run towards him and take him into my bosom, teach him.")

So Gopāla — that is, Bāla Kṛṣṇa — started entering into Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's body and coming out. He did this several times until Gopāla's mother understood that her Gopāla and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa are not different — they are one and the same. In fact, Gopāla's mother first had the vision of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, and then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa transformed himself into child Gopāla.

After a few days — that is, when the idea that Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa are absolutely one became firm and unshakeable — Gopāla started doing exactly the same thing but with the other direct disciples of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. She started understanding: "My Gopāla wants to teach me that he is Rākhal, he is Narendra, he is Tārak, and he is the other disciples." Like that, Gopāla entered into any number of disciples and devotees until she realized — but that also was a partial view and not complete realization.

After some weeks or months, there was a chariot festival. Those who wish to know the details can refer to ''Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: The Great Master'' by Swami Sārādānanda. She described graphically that on that day she had a universal vision of her Gopāla. Everything — living and non-living, moving and non-moving, the priest, the audience, the chariot, the people pulling the chariot, the music makers — without exception, everybody was nothing but her Gopāla. With that, her realization of ''Sarvaṃ Khalvidaṃ Brahma'' was complete.

That is the purpose of ''Adhyāropa'' and ''Apavāda''.
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== The Three Upāsanās of the First Chapter ==
As I mentioned, the first chapter contains the analysis of ''Adhyāropa''. How do we know? Because in the first chapter, following certain types of contemplations, there are three meditations — ''upāsanās'' — described:

# Contemplation on a horse — ''Aśva Upāsanā''
# Contemplation on fire — ''Agni Upāsanā''
# Contemplation on ''Prāṇa'' — ''Prāṇa Upāsanā''

In this Upaniṣad, the chapters are known as ''Adhyāyas''. The word ''Adhyāya'' is very interesting: ''Adhyāpaka'' means teacher, ''adhyayana'' is studying, and so ''Adhyāya'' means that which teaches what a person wants to learn. Each chapter has several sections, and each section is called a ''Brāhmaṇa''.

In the first three ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter, we see these three meditations. The first ''Brāhmaṇa'' of the first chapter consists of two verses, and the second consists of seven. Both the first and second ''Brāhmaṇas'' are devoted to the meditation on a horse and the fire used in the ritual called ''Aśvamedha Yajña''.
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== The Aśvamedha Yajña ==

=== Nature of the Sacrifice ===
The ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' is the highest of all Vedic rites. What does the person who successfully completes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' attain? He will go to ''Prajāpati Loka'', ''Virāṭ Loka'', ''Brahma Loka''. But this sacrifice involves a tremendous amount of money, time, power, and intelligence. Briefly: the best horse available in the kingdom is chosen and set free to roam all over the world. Of course, people accompany and attend to it, and when it returns it is worshipped, for it has become the most sacred of animals.

The purpose is twofold. The first purpose is that whichever kingdom the horse enters, the king who is performing the sacrifice must subdue its ruler. If he cannot, he cannot perform the ''Aśvamedha Yajña''. That is why only a powerful ''Kṣatriya'' king can truly perform it, and the best soldiers with the best commander-in-chief are sent to defend the horse's passage. Even Rāma had done this.

=== The Story of Lava and Kuśa ===
When the horse came to the forest where Muni Vālmīki resided — Rāma having sent Sītā away from the kingdom, she being pregnant, and Lakṣmaṇa, devoted to Sītā, having brought her to Vālmīki Ṛṣi with tears in his eyes, though he had to obey Rāma — there she gave birth to twins, Lava and Kuśa. Vālmīki, not only a poet but also an expert archer, taught them the best of archery. The story is marvellous and very purifying.

These two children, proud and well-trained, one day saw this horse sent by Rāma — their own father, though they did not know it. Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, and nobody can defeat Hanumān because he is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa''. Nobody can defeat ''Prāṇa'', because if you fight with ''Prāṇa'', ''Prāṇa'' will leave you and you will be dead. But here ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' means the best teacher of ''Brahma Vidyā''.

How do we know this? Because of the symbolism in the South Indian version: Sītā was the individual soul, fallen into the net of ''Māyā'' called Rāvaṇāsura. Rāma sent Hanumān to rescue her. He crosses the ocean — the ocean of ''Saṃsāra'', ''Māyā'' — and gives his ''Upadeśa'': "Rāma is concerned about you. He will soon come and rescue you. God will bless you very soon, and you will be free from ''saṃsāra bandhanam''." That was the message. That is why Hanumān is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' — the greatest ''Brahma Jñānī'', the foremost Guru. So Hanumān liberated Sītā, who in this version is compared to a bound soul. We have to understand the symbolism. The ''Yoga Vāsiṣṭha Rāmāyaṇa'' and the ''Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa'' are variations of the same meaning.

So Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, but he knew everything — where Sītā was living and where Lava and Kuśa were. These two caught hold of the horse and bound it, and Hanumān was bound to fight with Lava and Kuśa. They were already experts, as good as Rāma himself. They kept taking their mother Sītā's name, for they had the greatest faith: "If my mother's grace falls upon me — she is the divine mother — we can conquer, we can overcome anybody." And Hanumān had to give in.

Then Hanumān was bound, and the horse was brought before Sītā. She saw Hanumān, laughed, and released him, and introduced him to Lava and Kuśa. There is also a funny version. In Bengali there is a song about it. Hanumān is unconquerable — nobody can conquer him, for he is a ''Brahma Jñānī''. Who can conquer a Guru? Impossible. But he allowed himself, indulgingly like a grandfather, to be defeated by his grandchildren in play. And since he had "been defeated," he had to carry them around — that was the bet. The children, not knowing, climbed onto his shoulders and used him like a horse. Anyway, a poet composed a song: "If I had not voluntarily allowed myself to be conquered by you, could anyone have conquered me? It is impossible." That means nobody can go beyond the Guru. Guru is Brahmā, Guru is Viṣṇu, Guru is Maheśvara. Who can cross God himself?

But every devotee should be happy to fight with God. Rāmaprasāda also composed a song: "I will take you to court, O Mother! You are not giving me my inheritance. And I will call my father as a witness that this property belongs to me. I have come of age, and you will have to yield. And if you don't yield, I will catch hold of your lotus feet and go on crying, 'Mā, Mā,' until you have no option but to give me what I want." Beautiful ''bhajans'' of this meaning have been composed by quite a number of ''bhajan'' makers.

=== The Conclusion of the Sacrifice and Its Fruits ===
Returning to our main point: the performance of the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' demands that the king be powerful, intelligent, endowed with great resources, and it may take several years until the horse returns. When the horse finally returns, it is sacrificed and its ''medha'' — the consecrated substance — is partaken by those who conduct the ritual, including the king. Such a person, if he successfully accomplishes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', is promised by scripture that he will go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Symbolic Meditation: Aśva Upāsanā ==
Now we must understand something very important. There are many people who want to go to ''Brahma Loka'', but very few — including Brāhmaṇas — can afford to perform this sacrifice. What should they do?

What they should do is mentally perform exactly the same thing that the ''Kṣatriya'' king does — not conquering other kingdoms, but simply contemplating on the horse. This is called contemplation, ''Dhyāna Mantra''. Whoever is not a powerful, intelligent, and wealthy ''Kṣatriya'' — any Brāhmaṇa, any other ''Kṣatriya'', or person of any caste who has the capacity of mind — can do it.

The horse, however, is to be contemplated as ''Virāṭ'' — as ''Hiraṇyagarbha'', as Brahmā. Every part of the horse is described in this Upaniṣad, and every part is compared to one part of this universe. Not only powerful kings, but others as well can obtain the same result through this symbolic meditation, in which the different parts of the sacrificial horse are to be regarded as the different parts of the creator Prajāpati's body.

Now what do they attain? Whether it is the ''Kṣatriya'' who actually performs the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', or others who do this ''Aśva Upāsanā'' as ''Virāṭ Upāsanā'', as ''Hiraṇyagarbha Upāsanā'', as ''Brahma Upāsanā'' — the result is that all of them without exception go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Nature of Brahma Loka ==
''Brahma Loka'' is the most exalted plane in this entire creation. Brahmā is the presiding deity, and this world is the manifestation of that Brahmā alone. What is the speciality of this ''Brahma Loka''? Any inhabitant of ''Brahma Loka'' is conscious of his individuality, and at the same time knows his identity with all created beings. Who is Brahmā? He who identifies himself with all creation is called Brahmā. But at the same time, he doesn't say "I am ''Parabrahman'', the Supreme Brahman." Rather: "I am an individual, but the whole universe is my individuality."

Can we understand this? Yes. Every day we go to our ''Svapna Loka''. The waking "I," after the waking state comes the dream state, becomes the entire universe created in imagination. But at the same time, even in the dream we are highly conscious of our individuality. We are not conscious in the dream that we are every object in the dream world — for that we have to wake up, come to this waking world, and recollect: "Oh! I became the tree. I became the tiger. I became my neighbours. I became my friend. I became my enemy. And I gave myself a great present in the form of somebody else. And I also robbed myself." Whatever happens in the dream state — upon waking up we see that I, the one waker alone, created everything.

The condition of ''Brahma Loka'' is similar, but far greater. The denizen of ''Brahma Loka'' knows much better than the ordinary waker that the entire created world is himself. But because ''Loka'' means limitation, he knows he is also an individual. Only when he attains to Brahman will that individuality be totally dissolved. Until that time, he knows: "This entire creation is me and nothing else."

And even this gives such happiness. The more expansive one becomes, the more identification there is, the greater will be one's happiness. Let me give an example to help imagine it. Picture a householder — perhaps 100 years ago — who has several fields, is a good person, an intelligent and expert cultivator. He has married a devout wife and has five or six children, all sons, all married, all staying in the same house as a joint family, every person — husbands, wives, and their children — very good, loving, helping each other. They consider the entire joint family as "me." Just imagine, and then you can understand what the person in ''Brahma Loka'' feels.

This citizen of ''Brahma Loka'' identifies himself with this entire universe. What happens? He doesn't see the defects. He doesn't see the wickedness. He doesn't see the suffering. Because what does he see? Just as a person with a very beautiful dream would like to recollect that dream as many times as possible and re-enjoy it — like that, for this person there is no birth, there is no death. It is a beautiful, marvellous drama taking place.

This is how we gain a glimpse of what ''Brahma Loka'' is. Once a person attains to this state, he experiences the highest happiness possible in this dualistic world. Then what happens? One who knows, "I am in ''Brahma Loka'', in fact I have become one with Brahmā by contemplating on him — I identified myself with Brahmā, and that is called the ''Brahma Loka'' experience" — for this person there is no neighbor, no friend, no enemy in any conventional sense. In ''Brahma Loka'', I am Brahmā. That is called ''Brahma Loka''. A person who reaches ''Indra Loka'', I am Indra. I am Prajāpati. I am Bṛhaspati. We have to understand that particular fact.
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== Beyond Brahma Loka: The Longing for Brahman ==
So one who knows this — then his eyes open further and he sees: even this ''Brahma Loka'' is perishable. Maybe for a long time and an extraordinarily great quantum of happiness is experienced here. But as soon as the result of the ''Karma'' comes to an end, he has to again come back and earn that ''puṇyam'' again. Like a person who stays in a first-class hotel, enjoys everything, and then comes back, and has to earn once more if he wants to stay in that hotel again.

Like that, he understands: all these rites, all these ''upāsanās'' where the distinction between the worshipper and the deity is admitted — a person who has done these must eventually become eager for the knowledge of Brahman, which alone enables one to attain freedom and immortality.
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== The Six Benefits of Upāsanā ==
Before we go into the text, we have to understand and remind ourselves of what results we attain if we can hone and perfect the art of contemplation.

Like first-class students: first, concentration — undeviating concentration. Second, unmitigated, extraordinarily positive, great spiritual imagination. What do you think Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was doing when he was meditating upon the Divine Mother? He was exercising his imagination — not meditating upon a stone-like figure made of basalt that he used to worship, but a living imagination.

Third, in contemplation — ''upāsanā'' — a lower object is replaced with a higher object. Example: the ''Śiva Liṅga'' with Śiva, ''Śālagrāma'' with Viṣṇu, and the symbol of the cross with Jesus Christ, etc.

Fourth, what happens in this ''upāsanā'' is the separation of everything from "I," the pure consciousness. Pure consciousness alone is everything, and everything derives from this consciousness. First the mind borrows it, then it lends it to the sense organs. This happens to all living creatures in this world. And according to Advaita Vedānta, even the non-living creatures are manifestations of ''Sat'', ''Cit'', and ''Ānanda'' — only they are not aware that they exist. They exist, but they are not aware that we exist. They are not aware that we are ''Ānanda Svarūpas''. Only living beings experience it, and when that experience comes to an end, it is called unhappiness. Then comes again the attempt to become one with happiness. That is how it continues.

So: separation of everything from "I," which is pure consciousness. Then that "I," now pure consciousness, should be united — this individual consciousness should be united with the universal consciousness. That is, instead of saying "I am so-and-so," I am Brahman. Or if we start slowly: I am Kālī, I am Śiva, I am Viṣṇu — slowly, slowly. Or if we cannot understand even that, we say: I am ''Annamaya Brahma'', I am ''Prāṇamaya Brahma'', I am ''Manomaya Brahma'', I am ''Vijñānamaya Brahma'', I am ''Ānandamaya Brahma'' — slowly ascending, but always identifying with the larger whole. That is the purpose of ''upāsanā''.

And lastly, this is called expansiveness of mind — ''Citta Vaiśālyatā''. Gradually, on one side I give up my limitedness, and I start identifying with the universal. These are the six benefits of ''upāsanā''.
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== Summary: The Three Brahmanas and Their Purpose ==
So this first ''Brāhmaṇa'' is called ''Aśvamedha Brāhmaṇa''. In fact, the first, second, and third ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter all speak of these ''upāsanās''. We must remember: this is called ''Adhyāropa Prakaraṇa'', because ''Sṛṣṭi'' — creation — is vividly described here.

As I mentioned, this description is meant for a purpose: the Guru does not want to deny our experience that this universe is real. But it is an effect. An effect is always limited from the cause. The cause is unlimited; the effect is limited. So you will be more happy if you expand yourself into the cause. Find out the cause of this universe. Who is that? Brahmā. Find out the cause of Brahmā. Then it becomes Brahman. That is the purpose.

So there are three ''upāsanās'' in these first three ''Brāhmaṇas'': ''Aśva'', ''Agni'', and ''Prāṇa''. We will talk about this in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''

[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.1-2 Lecture 11 on 28 February 2026

2026-06-11T05:57:06Z

Shekhar: /* Adhyāropa and Apavāda: The Vedāntic Methodology */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् । पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

'''ॐ आप्यायन्तु ममाङ्गानि वाक्प्राणश्चक्षुः श्रोत्रमथो बलमिन्द्रियाणि च सर्वाणि । सर्वं ब्रह्मौपनिषदम् । माहं ब्रह्म निराकुर्यां मा मा ब्रह्म निराकरोत् ।'''

'''अनिराकरणमस्तु अनिराकरणं मेऽस्तु । तदात्मनि निरते य उपनिषत्सु धर्मास्ते मयि सन्तु ते मयि सन्तु ।'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥'''

Oṁ āpyāyantu mamāṅgāni vāk prāṇaś cakṣuḥ śrotram atho balam indriyāṇi ca sarvāṇi । sarvaṁ brahmaupaniṣadam । mā'haṁ brahma nirākuryāṁ mā mā brahma nirākarot । anirākaraṇam astu anirākaraṇaṁ me'stu । tad ātmani nirate ya upaniṣatsu dharmās te mayi santu te mayi santu । Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ ॥

(Simplified phonetic reading: Om aapyaayantu mamaangaani, vaak praanash-chakshuh shrotram-atho balam-indriyaani cha sarvaani; sarvam brahma-aupanishadam; maa-aham brahma niraakuryaam, maa maa brahma niraakarot; aniraakaranam astu, aniraakaranam me astu; tad-aatmani nirate ya upanishatsu dharmaas-te mayi santu te mayi santu; Om shaantih shaantih shaantih.)

Om — May my limbs, speech, vital force, eyes, ears, as also strength and all the organs become well developed. Everything is the Brahman revealed in the Upanishads. May I not deny Brahman, may not Brahman deny me, let there be no spurning of me by Brahman, let there be no rejection of Brahman by me. May all the virtues that are spoken of in the Upanishads repose in me, who am engaged in the pursuit of the Self. May they repose in me, may they repose in me, may they repose in me. Om, peace, peace, peace be unto all.

= Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: Introduction to the First and Second Mantras =

== Overview of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad ==
We have been studying the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. Now we are going to enter into the first and second mantras.

As we discussed earlier, this Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad has six chapters, and every two chapters are combined into one. The very first section is called ''Madhu Kāṇḍam'' or ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍam''. ''Kāṇḍam'' means a section dealing with real teaching — ''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi''. The second part supports the same teaching with reasoning and rationality. That is the subject matter. It is also called ''Yājñavalkya Kāṇḍa'', ''Muni Kāṇḍa'', ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' with ''Tarka'' — that is, ''Śruti'', ''Samatha'', ''Tarka''. The third two chapters, the third part, are called ''Khila Kāṇḍam'', which covers miscellaneous items, some of which are highly important.

As I mentioned earlier at the very beginning, we are not going to proceed mantra by mantra, but will take the very essence of it. That way we will not be confused. Otherwise, this is one of the biggest of the Upaniṣads, containing more than 640 mantras. To go through every one of them is neither necessary, nor need we waste time doing so. Essential points in the light of the teachings of Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda will be very useful.
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== Adhyāropa and Apavāda: The Vedāntic Methodology ==
Now this first chapter, according to the interpretation of Śaṅkarācārya, follows the Advaita Vedāntic methodology called ''Adhyāropa'' and ''Apavāda''.

=== What is Adhyāropa? ===
''Adhyāropa'' means accepting our present experience as it is. The scripture says: yes, you are right — what you are experiencing is real. But there are certain points you have to note down, and only then will you understand the nature of this world you are experiencing.

First of all, the world depends upon you. If you, the subject, are sleeping, in a coma, or unconscious, the whole universe disappears so far as you are concerned. Even though in our ordinary experience we say we depend upon the world, actually we can see that we shape the whole world. What does an artist do? He shapes whatever object — be it wood, be it stone — according to his own concept. He can bring out Rāma or he can bring out Rāvaṇāsura, depending upon his ''saṃskāras''. He can bring out Kṛṣṇa, he can bring out Kaṃsa.

A writer can express his own beautiful imaginations and manifest them in the form of beautiful language and literature. And earlier days, we used to study the literature of both the East and the West. Nowadays, I don't know whether they are doing it. And a poet or a musician — the limit is the sky, one's own imagination.

Consider our dreams. We can dream whatever we like. We think, most of the time by mistake, that a dream overwhelms us and that we are forced to experience the dream. But no. If a child is reading about gods and goddesses and is endowed with spiritual ''saṃskāras'', he will be dreaming of gods and goddesses like Nāgamahāśaya. But if somebody is interested in Superman or evil characters — and so many people are addicted to these evil characters because they want to be like that but don't have the capacity — they watch films and rule over the world in imagination. Similarly, a cricket fan's biggest heroes will be those who fetch the greatest number of runs. So everything depends upon our mind, and the mind is endowed with borrowed consciousness. The mind pays attention, and only that which it attends to is experienceable by us.

Second, the world is continuously changing. Third, it consists of three parts: form, name, and utility — ''Rūpa'', ''Nāma'', ''Karma''.

So what does the scripture tell fortunate souls who want to progress in spiritual life, who believe in the teachings of the scriptures, and who want to realize God? If the scriptures start by saying this world is unreal, we are likely to give up the world. But if the scriptures accept that it is true — not unreal, but ''Mithyā'' — that changes things. ''Mithyā'' means dependent, ever-changing, unreliable, and so forth. This is called ''Adhyāropa'': accepting it temporarily.

The scripture doesn't stop there. It goes on to ask: what do you want in this world? "I want money." Alright, do this — you will get money. Chant the name of Mahālakṣmī mantra, recite Śrī Sūktam or Kanakādhārastavam. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said, and proved to the hilt, that every mantra in the scriptures — meaning the Vedas, Purāṇas, Tantras, and instructions of Gurus — is absolutely true. He proved it. When he used to perform ''pūjā'' and chant a particular mantra, for example the Agni Mantra ''Rām'', he would immediately see a wall of fire springing up and protecting him. When Rāmakṛṣṇa was young, he used to visit a crematorium called Bhuterkhali, and he used to carry a pot of rice, cooked rice. And then he said later on, the pot disappears in the mid-air, from our eyes, that means there are spirits, which accept them.

And now, what little original capacity we have, we are fast losing to the new AI, and that becomes our reality. . But, I can assure you, it is not going to be so for long, because human being, every human being is potentially divine, and there will be a lot of knocks, sticks, not always carrots. God will give those sticks to awaken us.

'''Kaṭha Upaniṣad Verse — "Arise! Awake!"'''

Devanagari:

उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत ।

Transliteration (IAST):

uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata ।

Phonetic:

''uttishthata jaagrata praapya varaan-nibodhata.''

(Meaning: "Arise! Awake! Approach the great ones and learn!" — Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.14).

You can have eternal existence, infinite knowledge, unbroken bliss — '''sat, chit, ananda''' (सत्, चित्, आनन्द), '''satyam, gnanam, anantam, brahma''' (सत्यं ज्ञानम् अनन्तं ब्रह्म) — by now, the student's mind has developed tremendous '''śraddhā''' (श्रद्धा), then, starts the second part of the scripture, which is called, '''Apavāda''' (अपवाद).

So, what I told you, that is true, only for that level of students, or when you are at that level, but now, you have crossed over, now, you yourself are longing for something higher, now, I will teach you — that is called, Apavāda (अपवाद).

=== What is Apavāda? ===
In a manner of speaking, the world is unreal. To prove that the world is insubstantial, unreliable, ever-changing, dangerous, and the cause of repeated births and repeated sufferings — that is the common view. But the scripture, through the Guru, teaches: that is only the middle way, valid when you are in the middle stage of your development. But later on you understand that everything is Brahman. This world is a ''Līlā'' — a divine play. Everybody, everything in this universe is only the infinite imagination of the infinite Brahman. What is suffering — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. What is happiness and bliss — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. That is the ''Apavāda''. ''Apavāda'' means negation: negation of your previous understanding of the world. First, the only reality has been understood as a changing, unreliable, insubstantial reality. That is then transformed into the understanding that everything is Brahman. And the final step is that everything is the ''Līlā'' of Brahman. This applies especially to the ''Jīvanmukta''.

What a beautiful way this is! First, like giving a child a real apple and saying "this is called apple, the spelling starts with A; this is beetroot, it starts with B; this is a carrot, and it starts with C" — like that, a person is helped to evolve both physically and spiritually, intellectually and spiritually.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa illustrates this beautifully. So, there is a kind of sweet in Bengal, and the outside looks absolutely the same, but the inside can be filled with hard lentils, kalaidal, or it can be filled with coconut plus jaggery, or it can be filled up with what we call chana. Or the broken milk, which is called cheese, actually, in English language, but that's not a correct word. There is a vast difference between cheese, and then this paneer. What a delicious curry it makes, if it is done properly.
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== The Structure of the First Chapter: Upadeśa Kāṇḍa ==
In the very first chapter, as just mentioned, it is called ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' or ''Madhu Kāṇḍa''. ''Upadeśa'' means teaching. Usually the word ''upadeśa'' means when a Guru initiates a disciple, that is called ''upadeśa''. But here, instead of just a mantra, he also gives explanation and teaching.

You should look upon your body as ''Brahmapurī''. You should look upon your mind also as ''Brahmapurī'', the ''Hṛdayākāśa''. It is the abode of the purest of the pure. Brahman, ''Jyotir Jyotiḥ'', resides within it. This is how you will have to slowly orient your thought: this body is a sacred temple. When one succeeds in thinking of oneself as a sacred temple, and Brahman is within, and "I am not different from that Brahman," slowly his understanding is also applied — first to the mother, then the father, then the teacher, then everybody else. Slow expansion.

As an example: first, Gopālasumā had the ''darśana'' of child Gopāla. And then, like a devoted woman, she went to Dakṣiṇeśvara, and there she saw that this Kṛṣṇa — God himself — had said: "Whatever pathway a person chooses to approach and come to me, I will run towards him and take him into my bosom and teach him." So Gopāla — that is, Bāla Kṛṣṇa — started entering into Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's body and coming out. He did this several times until Gopāla's mother understood that her Gopāla and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa are not different — they are one and the same. In fact, Gopāla's mother first had the vision of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, and then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa transformed himself into child Gopāla.

After a few days — that is, when the idea that Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa are absolutely one became firm and unshakeable — Gopāla started doing exactly the same thing but with the other direct disciples of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. She started understanding: "My Gopāla wants to teach me that he is Rākhal, he is Narendra, he is Tārak, and he is the other disciples." Like that, Gopāla entered into any number of disciples and devotees until she realized — but that also was a partial view and not complete realization.

After some weeks or months, there was a chariot festival. Those who wish to know the details can refer to ''Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: The Great Master'' by Swami Sārādānanda. She described graphically that on that day she had a universal vision of her Gopāla. Everything — living and non-living, moving and non-moving, the priest, the audience, the chariot, the people pulling the chariot, the music makers — without exception, everybody was nothing but her Gopāla. With that, her realization of ''Sarvaṃ Khalvidaṃ Brahma'' was complete.

That is the purpose of ''Adhyāropa'' and ''Apavāda''.
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== The Three Upāsanās of the First Chapter ==
As I mentioned, the first chapter contains the analysis of ''Adhyāropa''. How do we know? Because in the first chapter, following certain types of contemplations, there are three meditations — ''upāsanās'' — described:

# Contemplation on a horse — ''Aśva Upāsanā''
# Contemplation on fire — ''Agni Upāsanā''
# Contemplation on ''Prāṇa'' — ''Prāṇa Upāsanā''

In this Upaniṣad, the chapters are known as ''Adhyāyas''. The word ''Adhyāya'' is very interesting: ''Adhyāpaka'' means teacher, ''adhyayana'' is studying, and so ''Adhyāya'' means that which teaches what a person wants to learn. Each chapter has several sections, and each section is called a ''Brāhmaṇa''.

In the first three ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter, we see these three meditations. The first ''Brāhmaṇa'' of the first chapter consists of two verses, and the second consists of seven. Both the first and second ''Brāhmaṇas'' are devoted to the meditation on a horse and the fire used in the ritual called ''Aśvamedha Yajña''.
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== The Aśvamedha Yajña ==

=== Nature of the Sacrifice ===
The ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' is the highest of all Vedic rites. What does the person who successfully completes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' attain? He will go to ''Prajāpati Loka'', ''Virāṭ Loka'', ''Brahma Loka''. But this sacrifice involves a tremendous amount of money, time, power, and intelligence. Briefly: the best horse available in the kingdom is chosen and set free to roam all over the world. Of course, people accompany and attend to it, and when it returns it is worshipped, for it has become the most sacred of animals.

The purpose is twofold. The first purpose is that whichever kingdom the horse enters, the king who is performing the sacrifice must subdue its ruler. If he cannot, he cannot perform the ''Aśvamedha Yajña''. That is why only a powerful ''Kṣatriya'' king can truly perform it, and the best soldiers with the best commander-in-chief are sent to defend the horse's passage. Even Rāma had done this.

=== The Story of Lava and Kuśa ===
When the horse came to the forest where Muni Vālmīki resided — Rāma having sent Sītā away from the kingdom, she being pregnant, and Lakṣmaṇa, devoted to Sītā, having brought her to Vālmīki Ṛṣi with tears in his eyes, though he had to obey Rāma — there she gave birth to twins, Lava and Kuśa. Vālmīki, not only a poet but also an expert archer, taught them the best of archery. The story is marvellous and very purifying.

These two children, proud and well-trained, one day saw this horse sent by Rāma — their own father, though they did not know it. Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, and nobody can defeat Hanumān because he is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa''. Nobody can defeat ''Prāṇa'', because if you fight with ''Prāṇa'', ''Prāṇa'' will leave you and you will be dead. But here ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' means the best teacher of ''Brahma Vidyā''.

How do we know this? Because of the symbolism in the South Indian version: Sītā was the individual soul, fallen into the net of ''Māyā'' called Rāvaṇāsura. Rāma sent Hanumān to rescue her. He crosses the ocean — the ocean of ''Saṃsāra'', ''Māyā'' — and gives his ''Upadeśa'': "Rāma is concerned about you. He will soon come and rescue you. God will bless you very soon, and you will be free from ''saṃsāra bandhanam''." That was the message. That is why Hanumān is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' — the greatest ''Brahma Jñānī'', the foremost Guru. So Hanumān liberated Sītā, who in this version is compared to a bound soul. We have to understand the symbolism. The ''Yoga Vāsiṣṭha Rāmāyaṇa'' and the ''Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa'' are variations of the same meaning.

So Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, but he knew everything — where Sītā was living and where Lava and Kuśa were. These two caught hold of the horse and bound it, and Hanumān was bound to fight with Lava and Kuśa. They were already experts, as good as Rāma himself. They kept taking their mother Sītā's name, for they had the greatest faith: "If my mother's grace falls upon me — she is the divine mother — we can conquer, we can overcome anybody." And Hanumān had to give in.

Then Hanumān was bound, and the horse was brought before Sītā. She saw Hanumān, laughed, and released him, and introduced him to Lava and Kuśa. There is also a funny version. In Bengali there is a song about it. Hanumān is unconquerable — nobody can conquer him, for he is a ''Brahma Jñānī''. Who can conquer a Guru? Impossible. But he allowed himself, indulgingly like a grandfather, to be defeated by his grandchildren in play. And since he had "been defeated," he had to carry them around — that was the bet. The children, not knowing, climbed onto his shoulders and used him like a horse. Anyway, a poet composed a song: "If I had not voluntarily allowed myself to be conquered by you, could anyone have conquered me? It is impossible." That means nobody can go beyond the Guru. Guru is Brahmā, Guru is Viṣṇu, Guru is Maheśvara. Who can cross God himself?

But every devotee should be happy to fight with God. Rāmaprasāda also composed a song: "I will take you to court, O Mother! You are not giving me my inheritance. And I will call my father as a witness that this property belongs to me. I have come of age, and you will have to yield. And if you don't yield, I will catch hold of your lotus feet and go on crying, 'Mā, Mā,' until you have no option but to give me what I want." Beautiful ''bhajans'' of this meaning have been composed by quite a number of ''bhajan'' makers.

=== The Conclusion of the Sacrifice and Its Fruits ===
Returning to our main point: the performance of the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' demands that the king be powerful, intelligent, endowed with great resources, and it may take several years until the horse returns. When the horse finally returns, it is sacrificed and its ''medha'' — the consecrated substance — is partaken by those who conduct the ritual, including the king. Such a person, if he successfully accomplishes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', is promised by scripture that he will go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Symbolic Meditation: Aśva Upāsanā ==
Now we must understand something very important. There are many people who want to go to ''Brahma Loka'', but very few — including Brāhmaṇas — can afford to perform this sacrifice. What should they do?

What they should do is mentally perform exactly the same thing that the ''Kṣatriya'' king does — not conquering other kingdoms, but simply contemplating on the horse. This is called contemplation, ''Dhyāna Mantra''. Whoever is not a powerful, intelligent, and wealthy ''Kṣatriya'' — any Brāhmaṇa, any other ''Kṣatriya'', or person of any caste who has the capacity of mind — can do it.

The horse, however, is to be contemplated as ''Virāṭ'' — as ''Hiraṇyagarbha'', as Brahmā. Every part of the horse is described in this Upaniṣad, and every part is compared to one part of this universe. Not only powerful kings, but others as well can obtain the same result through this symbolic meditation, in which the different parts of the sacrificial horse are to be regarded as the different parts of the creator Prajāpati's body.

Now what do they attain? Whether it is the ''Kṣatriya'' who actually performs the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', or others who do this ''Aśva Upāsanā'' as ''Virāṭ Upāsanā'', as ''Hiraṇyagarbha Upāsanā'', as ''Brahma Upāsanā'' — the result is that all of them without exception go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Nature of Brahma Loka ==
''Brahma Loka'' is the most exalted plane in this entire creation. Brahmā is the presiding deity, and this world is the manifestation of that Brahmā alone. What is the speciality of this ''Brahma Loka''? Any inhabitant of ''Brahma Loka'' is conscious of his individuality, and at the same time knows his identity with all created beings. Who is Brahmā? He who identifies himself with all creation is called Brahmā. But at the same time, he doesn't say "I am ''Parabrahman'', the Supreme Brahman." Rather: "I am an individual, but the whole universe is my individuality."

Can we understand this? Yes. Every day we go to our ''Svapna Loka''. The waking "I," after the waking state comes the dream state, becomes the entire universe created in imagination. But at the same time, even in the dream we are highly conscious of our individuality. We are not conscious in the dream that we are every object in the dream world — for that we have to wake up, come to this waking world, and recollect: "Oh! I became the tree. I became the tiger. I became my neighbours. I became my friend. I became my enemy. And I gave myself a great present in the form of somebody else. And I also robbed myself." Whatever happens in the dream state — upon waking up we see that I, the one waker alone, created everything.

The condition of ''Brahma Loka'' is similar, but far greater. The denizen of ''Brahma Loka'' knows much better than the ordinary waker that the entire created world is himself. But because ''Loka'' means limitation, he knows he is also an individual. Only when he attains to Brahman will that individuality be totally dissolved. Until that time, he knows: "This entire creation is me and nothing else."

And even this gives such happiness. The more expansive one becomes, the more identification there is, the greater will be one's happiness. Let me give an example to help imagine it. Picture a householder — perhaps 100 years ago — who has several fields, is a good person, an intelligent and expert cultivator. He has married a devout wife and has five or six children, all sons, all married, all staying in the same house as a joint family, every person — husbands, wives, and their children — very good, loving, helping each other. They consider the entire joint family as "me." Just imagine, and then you can understand what the person in ''Brahma Loka'' feels.

This citizen of ''Brahma Loka'' identifies himself with this entire universe. What happens? He doesn't see the defects. He doesn't see the wickedness. He doesn't see the suffering. Because what does he see? Just as a person with a very beautiful dream would like to recollect that dream as many times as possible and re-enjoy it — like that, for this person there is no birth, there is no death. It is a beautiful, marvellous drama taking place.

This is how we gain a glimpse of what ''Brahma Loka'' is. Once a person attains to this state, he experiences the highest happiness possible in this dualistic world. Then what happens? One who knows, "I am in ''Brahma Loka'', in fact I have become one with Brahmā by contemplating on him — I identified myself with Brahmā, and that is called the ''Brahma Loka'' experience" — for this person there is no neighbor, no friend, no enemy in any conventional sense. In ''Brahma Loka'', I am Brahmā. That is called ''Brahma Loka''. A person who reaches ''Indra Loka'', I am Indra. I am Prajāpati. I am Bṛhaspati. We have to understand that particular fact.
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== Beyond Brahma Loka: The Longing for Brahman ==
So one who knows this — then his eyes open further and he sees: even this ''Brahma Loka'' is perishable. Maybe for a long time and an extraordinarily great quantum of happiness is experienced here. But as soon as the result of the ''Karma'' comes to an end, he has to again come back and earn that ''puṇyam'' again. Like a person who stays in a first-class hotel, enjoys everything, and then comes back, and has to earn once more if he wants to stay in that hotel again.

Like that, he understands: all these rites, all these ''upāsanās'' where the distinction between the worshipper and the deity is admitted — a person who has done these must eventually become eager for the knowledge of Brahman, which alone enables one to attain freedom and immortality.
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== The Six Benefits of Upāsanā ==
Before we go into the text, we have to understand and remind ourselves of what results we attain if we can hone and perfect the art of contemplation.

Like first-class students: first, concentration — undeviating concentration. Second, unmitigated, extraordinarily positive, great spiritual imagination. What do you think Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was doing when he was meditating upon the Divine Mother? He was exercising his imagination — not meditating upon a stone-like figure made of basalt that he used to worship, but a living imagination.

Third, in contemplation — ''upāsanā'' — a lower object is replaced with a higher object. Example: the ''Śiva Liṅga'' with Śiva, ''Śālagrāma'' with Viṣṇu, and the symbol of the cross with Jesus Christ, etc.

Fourth, what happens in this ''upāsanā'' is the separation of everything from "I," the pure consciousness. Pure consciousness alone is everything, and everything derives from this consciousness. First the mind borrows it, then it lends it to the sense organs. This happens to all living creatures in this world. And according to Advaita Vedānta, even the non-living creatures are manifestations of ''Sat'', ''Cit'', and ''Ānanda'' — only they are not aware that they exist. They exist, but they are not aware that we exist. They are not aware that we are ''Ānanda Svarūpas''. Only living beings experience it, and when that experience comes to an end, it is called unhappiness. Then comes again the attempt to become one with happiness. That is how it continues.

So: separation of everything from "I," which is pure consciousness. Then that "I," now pure consciousness, should be united — this individual consciousness should be united with the universal consciousness. That is, instead of saying "I am so-and-so," I am Brahman. Or if we start slowly: I am Kālī, I am Śiva, I am Viṣṇu — slowly, slowly. Or if we cannot understand even that, we say: I am ''Annamaya Brahma'', I am ''Prāṇamaya Brahma'', I am ''Manomaya Brahma'', I am ''Vijñānamaya Brahma'', I am ''Ānandamaya Brahma'' — slowly ascending, but always identifying with the larger whole. That is the purpose of ''upāsanā''.

And lastly, this is called expansiveness of mind — ''Citta Vaiśālyatā''. Gradually, on one side I give up my limitedness, and I start identifying with the universal. These are the six benefits of ''upāsanā''.
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== Summary: The Three Brahmanas and Their Purpose ==
So this first ''Brāhmaṇa'' is called ''Aśvamedha Brāhmaṇa''. In fact, the first, second, and third ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter all speak of these ''upāsanās''. We must remember: this is called ''Adhyāropa Prakaraṇa'', because ''Sṛṣṭi'' — creation — is vividly described here.

As I mentioned, this description is meant for a purpose: the Guru does not want to deny our experience that this universe is real. But it is an effect. An effect is always limited from the cause. The cause is unlimited; the effect is limited. So you will be more happy if you expand yourself into the cause. Find out the cause of this universe. Who is that? Brahmā. Find out the cause of Brahmā. Then it becomes Brahman. That is the purpose.

So there are three ''upāsanās'' in these first three ''Brāhmaṇas'': ''Aśva'', ''Agni'', and ''Prāṇa''. We will talk about this in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''

[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.1-2 Lecture 11 on 28 February 2026

2026-06-11T05:48:39Z

Shekhar: /* What is Apavāda? */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् । पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

'''ॐ आप्यायन्तु ममाङ्गानि वाक्प्राणश्चक्षुः श्रोत्रमथो बलमिन्द्रियाणि च सर्वाणि । सर्वं ब्रह्मौपनिषदम् । माहं ब्रह्म निराकुर्यां मा मा ब्रह्म निराकरोत् ।'''

'''अनिराकरणमस्तु अनिराकरणं मेऽस्तु । तदात्मनि निरते य उपनिषत्सु धर्मास्ते मयि सन्तु ते मयि सन्तु ।'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥'''

Oṁ āpyāyantu mamāṅgāni vāk prāṇaś cakṣuḥ śrotram atho balam indriyāṇi ca sarvāṇi । sarvaṁ brahmaupaniṣadam । mā'haṁ brahma nirākuryāṁ mā mā brahma nirākarot । anirākaraṇam astu anirākaraṇaṁ me'stu । tad ātmani nirate ya upaniṣatsu dharmās te mayi santu te mayi santu । Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ ॥

(Simplified phonetic reading: Om aapyaayantu mamaangaani, vaak praanash-chakshuh shrotram-atho balam-indriyaani cha sarvaani; sarvam brahma-aupanishadam; maa-aham brahma niraakuryaam, maa maa brahma niraakarot; aniraakaranam astu, aniraakaranam me astu; tad-aatmani nirate ya upanishatsu dharmaas-te mayi santu te mayi santu; Om shaantih shaantih shaantih.)

Om — May my limbs, speech, vital force, eyes, ears, as also strength and all the organs become well developed. Everything is the Brahman revealed in the Upanishads. May I not deny Brahman, may not Brahman deny me, let there be no spurning of me by Brahman, let there be no rejection of Brahman by me. May all the virtues that are spoken of in the Upanishads repose in me, who am engaged in the pursuit of the Self. May they repose in me, may they repose in me, may they repose in me. Om, peace, peace, peace be unto all.

= Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: Introduction to the First and Second Mantras =

== Overview of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad ==
We have been studying the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. Now we are going to enter into the first and second mantras.

As we discussed earlier, this Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad has six chapters, and every two chapters are combined into one. The very first section is called ''Madhu Kāṇḍam'' or ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍam''. ''Kāṇḍam'' means a section dealing with real teaching — ''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi''. The second part supports the same teaching with reasoning and rationality. That is the subject matter. It is also called ''Yājñavalkya Kāṇḍa'', ''Muni Kāṇḍa'', ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' with ''Tarka'' — that is, ''Śruti'', ''Samatha'', ''Tarka''. The third two chapters, the third part, are called ''Khila Kāṇḍam'', which covers miscellaneous items, some of which are highly important.

As I mentioned earlier at the very beginning, we are not going to proceed mantra by mantra, but will take the very essence of it. That way we will not be confused. Otherwise, this is one of the biggest of the Upaniṣads, containing more than 640 mantras. To go through every one of them is neither necessary, nor need we waste time doing so. Essential points in the light of the teachings of Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda will be very useful.
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== Adhyāropa and Apavāda: The Vedāntic Methodology ==
Now this first chapter, according to the interpretation of Śaṅkarācārya, follows the Advaita Vedāntic methodology called ''Adhyāropa'' and ''Apavāda''.

=== What is Adhyāropa? ===
''Adhyāropa'' means accepting our present experience as it is. The scripture says: yes, you are right — what you are experiencing is real. But there are certain points you have to note down, and only then will you understand the nature of this world you are experiencing.

First of all, the world depends upon you. If you, the subject, are sleeping, in a coma, or unconscious, the whole universe disappears so far as you are concerned. Even though in our ordinary experience we say we depend upon the world, actually we can see that we shape the whole world. What does an artist do? He shapes whatever object — be it wood, be it stone — according to his own concept. He can bring out Rāma or he can bring out Rāvaṇāsura, depending upon his ''saṃskāras''. He can bring out Kṛṣṇa, he can bring out Kaṃsa.

A writer can express his own beautiful imaginations and manifest them in the form of beautiful language and literature. And earlier days, we used to study the literature of both the East and the West. Nowadays, I don't know whether they are doing it. And a poet or a musician — the limit is the sky, one's own imagination.

Consider our dreams. We can dream whatever we like. We think, most of the time by mistake, that a dream overwhelms us and that we are forced to experience the dream. But no. If a child is reading about gods and goddesses and is endowed with spiritual ''saṃskāras'', he will be dreaming of gods and goddesses like Nāgamahāśaya. But if somebody is interested in Superman or evil characters — and so many people are addicted to these evil characters because they want to be like that but don't have the capacity — they watch films and rule over the world in imagination. Similarly, a cricket fan's biggest heroes will be those who fetch the greatest number of runs. So everything depends upon our mind, and the mind is endowed with borrowed consciousness. The mind pays attention, and only that which it attends to is experienceable by us.

Second, the world is continuously changing. Third, it consists of three parts: form, name, and utility — ''Rūpa'', ''Nāma'', ''Karma''.

So what does the scripture tell fortunate souls who want to progress in spiritual life, who believe in the teachings of the scriptures, and who want to realize God? If the scriptures start by saying this world is unreal, we are likely to give up the world. But if the scriptures accept that it is true — not unreal, but ''Mithyā'' — that changes things. ''Mithyā'' means dependent, ever-changing, unreliable, and so forth. This is called ''Adhyāropa'': accepting it temporarily.

The scripture doesn't stop there. It goes on to ask: what do you want in this world? "I want money." Alright, do this — you will get money. Chant the name of Mahālakṣmī mantra, recite Śrī Sūktam or Kanakādhārastavam. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said, and proved to the hilt, that every mantra in the scriptures — meaning the Vedas, Purāṇas, Tantras, and instructions of Gurus — is absolutely true. He proved it. When he used to perform ''pūjā'' and chant a particular mantra, for example the Agni Mantra ''Rām'', he would immediately see a wall of fire springing up and protecting him. When Rāmakṛṣṇa was young, he used to visit a crematorium called Bhuterkhali, and he used to carry a pot of rice, cooked rice. And then he said later on, the pot disappears in the mid-air, from our eyes, that means there are spirits, which accept them.

And now, what little original capacity we have, we are fast losing to the new AI, and that becomes our reality. . But, I can assure you, it is not going to be so for long, because human being, every human being is potentially divine, and there will be a lot of knocks, sticks, not always carrots. God will give those sticks to awaken us.

'''Kaṭha Upaniṣad Verse — "Arise! Awake!"'''

Devanagari:

उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत ।

Transliteration (IAST):

uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata ।

Phonetic:

''uttishthata jaagrata praapya varaan-nibodhata.''

(Meaning: "Arise! Awake! Approach the great ones and learn!" — Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.14).

You can have eternal existence, infinite knowledge, unbroken bliss — '''sat, chit, ananda''' (सत्, चित्, आनन्द), '''satyam, gnanam, anantam, brahma''' (सत्यं ज्ञानम् अनन्तं ब्रह्म) — by now, the student's mind has developed tremendous '''śraddhā''' (श्रद्धा), then, starts the second part of the scripture, which is called, '''Apavāda''' (अपवाद).

So, what I told you, that is true, only for that level of students, or when you are at that level, but now, you have crossed over, now, you yourself are longing for something higher, now, I will teach you — that is called, Apavāda (अपवाद).

=== What is Apavāda? ===
In a manner of speaking, the world is unreal. To prove that the world is insubstantial, unreliable, ever-changing, dangerous, and the cause of repeated births and repeated sufferings — that is the common view. But the scripture, through the Guru, teaches: that is only the middle way, valid when you are in the middle stage of your development. But later on you understand that everything is Brahman. This world is a ''Līlā'' — a divine play. Everybody, everything in this universe is only the infinite imagination of the infinite Brahman. What is suffering — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. What is happiness and bliss — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. That is the ''Apavāda''. ''Apavāda'' means negation: negation of your previous understanding of the world. First, the only reality has been understood as a changing, unreliable, insubstantial reality. That is then transformed into the understanding that everything is Brahman. And the final step is that everything is the ''Līlā'' of Brahman. This applies especially to the ''Jīvanmukta''.

What a beautiful way this is! First, like giving a child a real apple and saying "this is called apple, the spelling starts with A; this is beetroot, it starts with B; this is a carrot, and it starts with C" — like that, a person is helped to evolve both physically and spiritually, intellectually and spiritually.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa illustrates this beautifully. There is a kind of Bengali sweet whose outside looks absolutely the same, but the inside can be filled with hard lentils — ''kaḍai dāl'' — or with coconut and jaggery, or with ''canā'', or with broken milk — what we call paneer. There is a vast difference in what is within, even though the outside appears the same. Slowly the teacher takes the student higher in exactly this way.
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== The Structure of the First Chapter: Upadeśa Kāṇḍa ==
In the very first chapter, as just mentioned, it is called ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' or ''Madhu Kāṇḍa''. ''Upadeśa'' means teaching. Usually the word ''upadeśa'' means when a Guru initiates a disciple, that is called ''upadeśa''. But here, instead of just a mantra, he also gives explanation and teaching.

You should look upon your body as ''Brahmapurī''. You should look upon your mind also as ''Brahmapurī'', the ''Hṛdayākāśa''. It is the abode of the purest of the pure. Brahman, ''Jyotir Jyotiḥ'', resides within it. This is how you will have to slowly orient your thought: this body is a sacred temple. When one succeeds in thinking of oneself as a sacred temple, and Brahman is within, and "I am not different from that Brahman," slowly his understanding is also applied — first to the mother, then the father, then the teacher, then everybody else. Slow expansion.

As an example: first, Gopālasumā had the ''darśana'' of child Gopāla. And then, like a devoted woman, she went to Dakṣiṇeśvara, and there she saw that this Kṛṣṇa — God himself — had said: "Whatever pathway a person chooses to approach and come to me, I will run towards him and take him into my bosom and teach him." So Gopāla — that is, Bāla Kṛṣṇa — started entering into Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's body and coming out. He did this several times until Gopāla's mother understood that her Gopāla and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa are not different — they are one and the same. In fact, Gopāla's mother first had the vision of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, and then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa transformed himself into child Gopāla.

After a few days — that is, when the idea that Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa are absolutely one became firm and unshakeable — Gopāla started doing exactly the same thing but with the other direct disciples of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. She started understanding: "My Gopāla wants to teach me that he is Rākhal, he is Narendra, he is Tārak, and he is the other disciples." Like that, Gopāla entered into any number of disciples and devotees until she realized — but that also was a partial view and not complete realization.

After some weeks or months, there was a chariot festival. Those who wish to know the details can refer to ''Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: The Great Master'' by Swami Sārādānanda. She described graphically that on that day she had a universal vision of her Gopāla. Everything — living and non-living, moving and non-moving, the priest, the audience, the chariot, the people pulling the chariot, the music makers — without exception, everybody was nothing but her Gopāla. With that, her realization of ''Sarvaṃ Khalvidaṃ Brahma'' was complete.

That is the purpose of ''Adhyāropa'' and ''Apavāda''.
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== The Three Upāsanās of the First Chapter ==
As I mentioned, the first chapter contains the analysis of ''Adhyāropa''. How do we know? Because in the first chapter, following certain types of contemplations, there are three meditations — ''upāsanās'' — described:

# Contemplation on a horse — ''Aśva Upāsanā''
# Contemplation on fire — ''Agni Upāsanā''
# Contemplation on ''Prāṇa'' — ''Prāṇa Upāsanā''

In this Upaniṣad, the chapters are known as ''Adhyāyas''. The word ''Adhyāya'' is very interesting: ''Adhyāpaka'' means teacher, ''adhyayana'' is studying, and so ''Adhyāya'' means that which teaches what a person wants to learn. Each chapter has several sections, and each section is called a ''Brāhmaṇa''.

In the first three ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter, we see these three meditations. The first ''Brāhmaṇa'' of the first chapter consists of two verses, and the second consists of seven. Both the first and second ''Brāhmaṇas'' are devoted to the meditation on a horse and the fire used in the ritual called ''Aśvamedha Yajña''.
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== The Aśvamedha Yajña ==

=== Nature of the Sacrifice ===
The ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' is the highest of all Vedic rites. What does the person who successfully completes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' attain? He will go to ''Prajāpati Loka'', ''Virāṭ Loka'', ''Brahma Loka''. But this sacrifice involves a tremendous amount of money, time, power, and intelligence. Briefly: the best horse available in the kingdom is chosen and set free to roam all over the world. Of course, people accompany and attend to it, and when it returns it is worshipped, for it has become the most sacred of animals.

The purpose is twofold. The first purpose is that whichever kingdom the horse enters, the king who is performing the sacrifice must subdue its ruler. If he cannot, he cannot perform the ''Aśvamedha Yajña''. That is why only a powerful ''Kṣatriya'' king can truly perform it, and the best soldiers with the best commander-in-chief are sent to defend the horse's passage. Even Rāma had done this.

=== The Story of Lava and Kuśa ===
When the horse came to the forest where Muni Vālmīki resided — Rāma having sent Sītā away from the kingdom, she being pregnant, and Lakṣmaṇa, devoted to Sītā, having brought her to Vālmīki Ṛṣi with tears in his eyes, though he had to obey Rāma — there she gave birth to twins, Lava and Kuśa. Vālmīki, not only a poet but also an expert archer, taught them the best of archery. The story is marvellous and very purifying.

These two children, proud and well-trained, one day saw this horse sent by Rāma — their own father, though they did not know it. Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, and nobody can defeat Hanumān because he is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa''. Nobody can defeat ''Prāṇa'', because if you fight with ''Prāṇa'', ''Prāṇa'' will leave you and you will be dead. But here ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' means the best teacher of ''Brahma Vidyā''.

How do we know this? Because of the symbolism in the South Indian version: Sītā was the individual soul, fallen into the net of ''Māyā'' called Rāvaṇāsura. Rāma sent Hanumān to rescue her. He crosses the ocean — the ocean of ''Saṃsāra'', ''Māyā'' — and gives his ''Upadeśa'': "Rāma is concerned about you. He will soon come and rescue you. God will bless you very soon, and you will be free from ''saṃsāra bandhanam''." That was the message. That is why Hanumān is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' — the greatest ''Brahma Jñānī'', the foremost Guru. So Hanumān liberated Sītā, who in this version is compared to a bound soul. We have to understand the symbolism. The ''Yoga Vāsiṣṭha Rāmāyaṇa'' and the ''Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa'' are variations of the same meaning.

So Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, but he knew everything — where Sītā was living and where Lava and Kuśa were. These two caught hold of the horse and bound it, and Hanumān was bound to fight with Lava and Kuśa. They were already experts, as good as Rāma himself. They kept taking their mother Sītā's name, for they had the greatest faith: "If my mother's grace falls upon me — she is the divine mother — we can conquer, we can overcome anybody." And Hanumān had to give in.

Then Hanumān was bound, and the horse was brought before Sītā. She saw Hanumān, laughed, and released him, and introduced him to Lava and Kuśa. There is also a funny version. In Bengali there is a song about it. Hanumān is unconquerable — nobody can conquer him, for he is a ''Brahma Jñānī''. Who can conquer a Guru? Impossible. But he allowed himself, indulgingly like a grandfather, to be defeated by his grandchildren in play. And since he had "been defeated," he had to carry them around — that was the bet. The children, not knowing, climbed onto his shoulders and used him like a horse. Anyway, a poet composed a song: "If I had not voluntarily allowed myself to be conquered by you, could anyone have conquered me? It is impossible." That means nobody can go beyond the Guru. Guru is Brahmā, Guru is Viṣṇu, Guru is Maheśvara. Who can cross God himself?

But every devotee should be happy to fight with God. Rāmaprasāda also composed a song: "I will take you to court, O Mother! You are not giving me my inheritance. And I will call my father as a witness that this property belongs to me. I have come of age, and you will have to yield. And if you don't yield, I will catch hold of your lotus feet and go on crying, 'Mā, Mā,' until you have no option but to give me what I want." Beautiful ''bhajans'' of this meaning have been composed by quite a number of ''bhajan'' makers.

=== The Conclusion of the Sacrifice and Its Fruits ===
Returning to our main point: the performance of the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' demands that the king be powerful, intelligent, endowed with great resources, and it may take several years until the horse returns. When the horse finally returns, it is sacrificed and its ''medha'' — the consecrated substance — is partaken by those who conduct the ritual, including the king. Such a person, if he successfully accomplishes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', is promised by scripture that he will go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Symbolic Meditation: Aśva Upāsanā ==
Now we must understand something very important. There are many people who want to go to ''Brahma Loka'', but very few — including Brāhmaṇas — can afford to perform this sacrifice. What should they do?

What they should do is mentally perform exactly the same thing that the ''Kṣatriya'' king does — not conquering other kingdoms, but simply contemplating on the horse. This is called contemplation, ''Dhyāna Mantra''. Whoever is not a powerful, intelligent, and wealthy ''Kṣatriya'' — any Brāhmaṇa, any other ''Kṣatriya'', or person of any caste who has the capacity of mind — can do it.

The horse, however, is to be contemplated as ''Virāṭ'' — as ''Hiraṇyagarbha'', as Brahmā. Every part of the horse is described in this Upaniṣad, and every part is compared to one part of this universe. Not only powerful kings, but others as well can obtain the same result through this symbolic meditation, in which the different parts of the sacrificial horse are to be regarded as the different parts of the creator Prajāpati's body.

Now what do they attain? Whether it is the ''Kṣatriya'' who actually performs the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', or others who do this ''Aśva Upāsanā'' as ''Virāṭ Upāsanā'', as ''Hiraṇyagarbha Upāsanā'', as ''Brahma Upāsanā'' — the result is that all of them without exception go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Nature of Brahma Loka ==
''Brahma Loka'' is the most exalted plane in this entire creation. Brahmā is the presiding deity, and this world is the manifestation of that Brahmā alone. What is the speciality of this ''Brahma Loka''? Any inhabitant of ''Brahma Loka'' is conscious of his individuality, and at the same time knows his identity with all created beings. Who is Brahmā? He who identifies himself with all creation is called Brahmā. But at the same time, he doesn't say "I am ''Parabrahman'', the Supreme Brahman." Rather: "I am an individual, but the whole universe is my individuality."

Can we understand this? Yes. Every day we go to our ''Svapna Loka''. The waking "I," after the waking state comes the dream state, becomes the entire universe created in imagination. But at the same time, even in the dream we are highly conscious of our individuality. We are not conscious in the dream that we are every object in the dream world — for that we have to wake up, come to this waking world, and recollect: "Oh! I became the tree. I became the tiger. I became my neighbours. I became my friend. I became my enemy. And I gave myself a great present in the form of somebody else. And I also robbed myself." Whatever happens in the dream state — upon waking up we see that I, the one waker alone, created everything.

The condition of ''Brahma Loka'' is similar, but far greater. The denizen of ''Brahma Loka'' knows much better than the ordinary waker that the entire created world is himself. But because ''Loka'' means limitation, he knows he is also an individual. Only when he attains to Brahman will that individuality be totally dissolved. Until that time, he knows: "This entire creation is me and nothing else."

And even this gives such happiness. The more expansive one becomes, the more identification there is, the greater will be one's happiness. Let me give an example to help imagine it. Picture a householder — perhaps 100 years ago — who has several fields, is a good person, an intelligent and expert cultivator. He has married a devout wife and has five or six children, all sons, all married, all staying in the same house as a joint family, every person — husbands, wives, and their children — very good, loving, helping each other. They consider the entire joint family as "me." Just imagine, and then you can understand what the person in ''Brahma Loka'' feels.

This citizen of ''Brahma Loka'' identifies himself with this entire universe. What happens? He doesn't see the defects. He doesn't see the wickedness. He doesn't see the suffering. Because what does he see? Just as a person with a very beautiful dream would like to recollect that dream as many times as possible and re-enjoy it — like that, for this person there is no birth, there is no death. It is a beautiful, marvellous drama taking place.

This is how we gain a glimpse of what ''Brahma Loka'' is. Once a person attains to this state, he experiences the highest happiness possible in this dualistic world. Then what happens? One who knows, "I am in ''Brahma Loka'', in fact I have become one with Brahmā by contemplating on him — I identified myself with Brahmā, and that is called the ''Brahma Loka'' experience" — for this person there is no neighbor, no friend, no enemy in any conventional sense. In ''Brahma Loka'', I am Brahmā. That is called ''Brahma Loka''. A person who reaches ''Indra Loka'', I am Indra. I am Prajāpati. I am Bṛhaspati. We have to understand that particular fact.
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== Beyond Brahma Loka: The Longing for Brahman ==
So one who knows this — then his eyes open further and he sees: even this ''Brahma Loka'' is perishable. Maybe for a long time and an extraordinarily great quantum of happiness is experienced here. But as soon as the result of the ''Karma'' comes to an end, he has to again come back and earn that ''puṇyam'' again. Like a person who stays in a first-class hotel, enjoys everything, and then comes back, and has to earn once more if he wants to stay in that hotel again.

Like that, he understands: all these rites, all these ''upāsanās'' where the distinction between the worshipper and the deity is admitted — a person who has done these must eventually become eager for the knowledge of Brahman, which alone enables one to attain freedom and immortality.
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== The Six Benefits of Upāsanā ==
Before we go into the text, we have to understand and remind ourselves of what results we attain if we can hone and perfect the art of contemplation.

Like first-class students: first, concentration — undeviating concentration. Second, unmitigated, extraordinarily positive, great spiritual imagination. What do you think Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was doing when he was meditating upon the Divine Mother? He was exercising his imagination — not meditating upon a stone-like figure made of basalt that he used to worship, but a living imagination.

Third, in contemplation — ''upāsanā'' — a lower object is replaced with a higher object. Example: the ''Śiva Liṅga'' with Śiva, ''Śālagrāma'' with Viṣṇu, and the symbol of the cross with Jesus Christ, etc.

Fourth, what happens in this ''upāsanā'' is the separation of everything from "I," the pure consciousness. Pure consciousness alone is everything, and everything derives from this consciousness. First the mind borrows it, then it lends it to the sense organs. This happens to all living creatures in this world. And according to Advaita Vedānta, even the non-living creatures are manifestations of ''Sat'', ''Cit'', and ''Ānanda'' — only they are not aware that they exist. They exist, but they are not aware that we exist. They are not aware that we are ''Ānanda Svarūpas''. Only living beings experience it, and when that experience comes to an end, it is called unhappiness. Then comes again the attempt to become one with happiness. That is how it continues.

So: separation of everything from "I," which is pure consciousness. Then that "I," now pure consciousness, should be united — this individual consciousness should be united with the universal consciousness. That is, instead of saying "I am so-and-so," I am Brahman. Or if we start slowly: I am Kālī, I am Śiva, I am Viṣṇu — slowly, slowly. Or if we cannot understand even that, we say: I am ''Annamaya Brahma'', I am ''Prāṇamaya Brahma'', I am ''Manomaya Brahma'', I am ''Vijñānamaya Brahma'', I am ''Ānandamaya Brahma'' — slowly ascending, but always identifying with the larger whole. That is the purpose of ''upāsanā''.

And lastly, this is called expansiveness of mind — ''Citta Vaiśālyatā''. Gradually, on one side I give up my limitedness, and I start identifying with the universal. These are the six benefits of ''upāsanā''.
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== Summary: The Three Brahmanas and Their Purpose ==
So this first ''Brāhmaṇa'' is called ''Aśvamedha Brāhmaṇa''. In fact, the first, second, and third ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter all speak of these ''upāsanās''. We must remember: this is called ''Adhyāropa Prakaraṇa'', because ''Sṛṣṭi'' — creation — is vividly described here.

As I mentioned, this description is meant for a purpose: the Guru does not want to deny our experience that this universe is real. But it is an effect. An effect is always limited from the cause. The cause is unlimited; the effect is limited. So you will be more happy if you expand yourself into the cause. Find out the cause of this universe. Who is that? Brahmā. Find out the cause of Brahmā. Then it becomes Brahman. That is the purpose.

So there are three ''upāsanās'' in these first three ''Brāhmaṇas'': ''Aśva'', ''Agni'', and ''Prāṇa''. We will talk about this in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''

[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.1-2 Lecture 11 on 28 February 2026

2026-06-11T05:47:30Z

Shekhar: /* Adhyāropa and Apavāda: The Vedāntic Methodology */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् । पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

'''ॐ आप्यायन्तु ममाङ्गानि वाक्प्राणश्चक्षुः श्रोत्रमथो बलमिन्द्रियाणि च सर्वाणि । सर्वं ब्रह्मौपनिषदम् । माहं ब्रह्म निराकुर्यां मा मा ब्रह्म निराकरोत् ।'''

'''अनिराकरणमस्तु अनिराकरणं मेऽस्तु । तदात्मनि निरते य उपनिषत्सु धर्मास्ते मयि सन्तु ते मयि सन्तु ।'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥'''

Oṁ āpyāyantu mamāṅgāni vāk prāṇaś cakṣuḥ śrotram atho balam indriyāṇi ca sarvāṇi । sarvaṁ brahmaupaniṣadam । mā'haṁ brahma nirākuryāṁ mā mā brahma nirākarot । anirākaraṇam astu anirākaraṇaṁ me'stu । tad ātmani nirate ya upaniṣatsu dharmās te mayi santu te mayi santu । Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ ॥

(Simplified phonetic reading: Om aapyaayantu mamaangaani, vaak praanash-chakshuh shrotram-atho balam-indriyaani cha sarvaani; sarvam brahma-aupanishadam; maa-aham brahma niraakuryaam, maa maa brahma niraakarot; aniraakaranam astu, aniraakaranam me astu; tad-aatmani nirate ya upanishatsu dharmaas-te mayi santu te mayi santu; Om shaantih shaantih shaantih.)

Om — May my limbs, speech, vital force, eyes, ears, as also strength and all the organs become well developed. Everything is the Brahman revealed in the Upanishads. May I not deny Brahman, may not Brahman deny me, let there be no spurning of me by Brahman, let there be no rejection of Brahman by me. May all the virtues that are spoken of in the Upanishads repose in me, who am engaged in the pursuit of the Self. May they repose in me, may they repose in me, may they repose in me. Om, peace, peace, peace be unto all.

= Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: Introduction to the First and Second Mantras =

== Overview of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad ==
We have been studying the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. Now we are going to enter into the first and second mantras.

As we discussed earlier, this Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad has six chapters, and every two chapters are combined into one. The very first section is called ''Madhu Kāṇḍam'' or ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍam''. ''Kāṇḍam'' means a section dealing with real teaching — ''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi''. The second part supports the same teaching with reasoning and rationality. That is the subject matter. It is also called ''Yājñavalkya Kāṇḍa'', ''Muni Kāṇḍa'', ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' with ''Tarka'' — that is, ''Śruti'', ''Samatha'', ''Tarka''. The third two chapters, the third part, are called ''Khila Kāṇḍam'', which covers miscellaneous items, some of which are highly important.

As I mentioned earlier at the very beginning, we are not going to proceed mantra by mantra, but will take the very essence of it. That way we will not be confused. Otherwise, this is one of the biggest of the Upaniṣads, containing more than 640 mantras. To go through every one of them is neither necessary, nor need we waste time doing so. Essential points in the light of the teachings of Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda will be very useful.
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== Adhyāropa and Apavāda: The Vedāntic Methodology ==
Now this first chapter, according to the interpretation of Śaṅkarācārya, follows the Advaita Vedāntic methodology called ''Adhyāropa'' and ''Apavāda''.

=== What is Adhyāropa? ===
''Adhyāropa'' means accepting our present experience as it is. The scripture says: yes, you are right — what you are experiencing is real. But there are certain points you have to note down, and only then will you understand the nature of this world you are experiencing.

First of all, the world depends upon you. If you, the subject, are sleeping, in a coma, or unconscious, the whole universe disappears so far as you are concerned. Even though in our ordinary experience we say we depend upon the world, actually we can see that we shape the whole world. What does an artist do? He shapes whatever object — be it wood, be it stone — according to his own concept. He can bring out Rāma or he can bring out Rāvaṇāsura, depending upon his ''saṃskāras''. He can bring out Kṛṣṇa, he can bring out Kaṃsa.

A writer can express his own beautiful imaginations and manifest them in the form of beautiful language and literature. And earlier days, we used to study the literature of both the East and the West. Nowadays, I don't know whether they are doing it. And a poet or a musician — the limit is the sky, one's own imagination.

Consider our dreams. We can dream whatever we like. We think, most of the time by mistake, that a dream overwhelms us and that we are forced to experience the dream. But no. If a child is reading about gods and goddesses and is endowed with spiritual ''saṃskāras'', he will be dreaming of gods and goddesses like Nāgamahāśaya. But if somebody is interested in Superman or evil characters — and so many people are addicted to these evil characters because they want to be like that but don't have the capacity — they watch films and rule over the world in imagination. Similarly, a cricket fan's biggest heroes will be those who fetch the greatest number of runs. So everything depends upon our mind, and the mind is endowed with borrowed consciousness. The mind pays attention, and only that which it attends to is experienceable by us.

Second, the world is continuously changing. Third, it consists of three parts: form, name, and utility — ''Rūpa'', ''Nāma'', ''Karma''.

So what does the scripture tell fortunate souls who want to progress in spiritual life, who believe in the teachings of the scriptures, and who want to realize God? If the scriptures start by saying this world is unreal, we are likely to give up the world. But if the scriptures accept that it is true — not unreal, but ''Mithyā'' — that changes things. ''Mithyā'' means dependent, ever-changing, unreliable, and so forth. This is called ''Adhyāropa'': accepting it temporarily.

The scripture doesn't stop there. It goes on to ask: what do you want in this world? "I want money." Alright, do this — you will get money. Chant the name of Mahālakṣmī mantra, recite Śrī Sūktam or Kanakādhārastavam. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said, and proved to the hilt, that every mantra in the scriptures — meaning the Vedas, Purāṇas, Tantras, and instructions of Gurus — is absolutely true. He proved it. When he used to perform ''pūjā'' and chant a particular mantra, for example the Agni Mantra ''Rām'', he would immediately see a wall of fire springing up and protecting him. When Rāmakṛṣṇa was young, he used to visit a crematorium called Bhuterkhali, and he used to carry a pot of rice, cooked rice. And then he said later on, the pot disappears in the mid-air, from our eyes, that means there are spirits, which accept them.

And now, what little original capacity we have, we are fast losing to the new AI, and that becomes our reality. . But, I can assure you, it is not going to be so for long, because human being, every human being is potentially divine, and there will be a lot of knocks, sticks, not always carrots. God will give those sticks to awaken us.

'''Kaṭha Upaniṣad Verse — "Arise! Awake!"'''

Devanagari:

उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत ।

Transliteration (IAST):

uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata ।

Phonetic:

''uttishthata jaagrata praapya varaan-nibodhata.''

(Meaning: "Arise! Awake! Approach the great ones and learn!" — Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.14).

You can have eternal existence, infinite knowledge, unbroken bliss — '''sat, chit, ananda''' (सत्, चित्, आनन्द), '''satyam, gnanam, anantam, brahma''' (सत्यं ज्ञानम् अनन्तं ब्रह्म) — by now, the student's mind has developed tremendous '''śraddhā''' (श्रद्धा), then, starts the second part of the scripture, which is called, '''Apavāda''' (अपवाद).

So, what I told you, that is true, only for that level of students, or when you are at that level, but now, you have crossed over, now, you yourself are longing for something higher, now, I will teach you — that is called, Apavāda (अपवाद).

=== What is Apavāda? ===
Then starts the second part of the scripture, called ''Apavāda''. The teacher says: what I told you was true only for that level of students, or when you were at that level. But now you have crossed over, and you yourself are longing for something higher. Now I will teach you. This is called ''Apavāda''.

In a manner of speaking, the world is unreal. To prove that the world is insubstantial, unreliable, ever-changing, dangerous, and the cause of repeated births and repeated sufferings — that is the common view. But the scripture, through the Guru, teaches: that is only the middle way, valid when you are in the middle stage of your development. But later on you understand that everything is Brahman. This world is a ''Līlā'' — a divine play. Everybody, everything in this universe is only the infinite imagination of the infinite Brahman. What is suffering — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. What is happiness and bliss — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. That is the ''Apavāda''. ''Apavāda'' means negation: negation of your previous understanding of the world. First, the only reality has been understood as a changing, unreliable, insubstantial reality. That is then transformed into the understanding that everything is Brahman. And the final step is that everything is the ''Līlā'' of Brahman. This applies especially to the ''Jīvanmukta''.

What a beautiful way this is! First, like giving a child a real apple and saying "this is called apple, the spelling starts with A; this is beetroot, it starts with B; this is a carrot, and it starts with C" — like that, a person is helped to evolve both physically and spiritually, intellectually and spiritually.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa illustrates this beautifully. There is a kind of Bengali sweet whose outside looks absolutely the same, but the inside can be filled with hard lentils — ''kaḍai dāl'' — or with coconut and jaggery, or with ''canā'', or with broken milk — what we call paneer. There is a vast difference in what is within, even though the outside appears the same. Slowly the teacher takes the student higher in exactly this way.
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== The Structure of the First Chapter: Upadeśa Kāṇḍa ==
In the very first chapter, as just mentioned, it is called ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' or ''Madhu Kāṇḍa''. ''Upadeśa'' means teaching. Usually the word ''upadeśa'' means when a Guru initiates a disciple, that is called ''upadeśa''. But here, instead of just a mantra, he also gives explanation and teaching.

You should look upon your body as ''Brahmapurī''. You should look upon your mind also as ''Brahmapurī'', the ''Hṛdayākāśa''. It is the abode of the purest of the pure. Brahman, ''Jyotir Jyotiḥ'', resides within it. This is how you will have to slowly orient your thought: this body is a sacred temple. When one succeeds in thinking of oneself as a sacred temple, and Brahman is within, and "I am not different from that Brahman," slowly his understanding is also applied — first to the mother, then the father, then the teacher, then everybody else. Slow expansion.

As an example: first, Gopālasumā had the ''darśana'' of child Gopāla. And then, like a devoted woman, she went to Dakṣiṇeśvara, and there she saw that this Kṛṣṇa — God himself — had said: "Whatever pathway a person chooses to approach and come to me, I will run towards him and take him into my bosom and teach him." So Gopāla — that is, Bāla Kṛṣṇa — started entering into Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's body and coming out. He did this several times until Gopāla's mother understood that her Gopāla and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa are not different — they are one and the same. In fact, Gopāla's mother first had the vision of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, and then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa transformed himself into child Gopāla.

After a few days — that is, when the idea that Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa are absolutely one became firm and unshakeable — Gopāla started doing exactly the same thing but with the other direct disciples of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. She started understanding: "My Gopāla wants to teach me that he is Rākhal, he is Narendra, he is Tārak, and he is the other disciples." Like that, Gopāla entered into any number of disciples and devotees until she realized — but that also was a partial view and not complete realization.

After some weeks or months, there was a chariot festival. Those who wish to know the details can refer to ''Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: The Great Master'' by Swami Sārādānanda. She described graphically that on that day she had a universal vision of her Gopāla. Everything — living and non-living, moving and non-moving, the priest, the audience, the chariot, the people pulling the chariot, the music makers — without exception, everybody was nothing but her Gopāla. With that, her realization of ''Sarvaṃ Khalvidaṃ Brahma'' was complete.

That is the purpose of ''Adhyāropa'' and ''Apavāda''.
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== The Three Upāsanās of the First Chapter ==
As I mentioned, the first chapter contains the analysis of ''Adhyāropa''. How do we know? Because in the first chapter, following certain types of contemplations, there are three meditations — ''upāsanās'' — described:

# Contemplation on a horse — ''Aśva Upāsanā''
# Contemplation on fire — ''Agni Upāsanā''
# Contemplation on ''Prāṇa'' — ''Prāṇa Upāsanā''

In this Upaniṣad, the chapters are known as ''Adhyāyas''. The word ''Adhyāya'' is very interesting: ''Adhyāpaka'' means teacher, ''adhyayana'' is studying, and so ''Adhyāya'' means that which teaches what a person wants to learn. Each chapter has several sections, and each section is called a ''Brāhmaṇa''.

In the first three ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter, we see these three meditations. The first ''Brāhmaṇa'' of the first chapter consists of two verses, and the second consists of seven. Both the first and second ''Brāhmaṇas'' are devoted to the meditation on a horse and the fire used in the ritual called ''Aśvamedha Yajña''.
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== The Aśvamedha Yajña ==

=== Nature of the Sacrifice ===
The ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' is the highest of all Vedic rites. What does the person who successfully completes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' attain? He will go to ''Prajāpati Loka'', ''Virāṭ Loka'', ''Brahma Loka''. But this sacrifice involves a tremendous amount of money, time, power, and intelligence. Briefly: the best horse available in the kingdom is chosen and set free to roam all over the world. Of course, people accompany and attend to it, and when it returns it is worshipped, for it has become the most sacred of animals.

The purpose is twofold. The first purpose is that whichever kingdom the horse enters, the king who is performing the sacrifice must subdue its ruler. If he cannot, he cannot perform the ''Aśvamedha Yajña''. That is why only a powerful ''Kṣatriya'' king can truly perform it, and the best soldiers with the best commander-in-chief are sent to defend the horse's passage. Even Rāma had done this.

=== The Story of Lava and Kuśa ===
When the horse came to the forest where Muni Vālmīki resided — Rāma having sent Sītā away from the kingdom, she being pregnant, and Lakṣmaṇa, devoted to Sītā, having brought her to Vālmīki Ṛṣi with tears in his eyes, though he had to obey Rāma — there she gave birth to twins, Lava and Kuśa. Vālmīki, not only a poet but also an expert archer, taught them the best of archery. The story is marvellous and very purifying.

These two children, proud and well-trained, one day saw this horse sent by Rāma — their own father, though they did not know it. Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, and nobody can defeat Hanumān because he is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa''. Nobody can defeat ''Prāṇa'', because if you fight with ''Prāṇa'', ''Prāṇa'' will leave you and you will be dead. But here ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' means the best teacher of ''Brahma Vidyā''.

How do we know this? Because of the symbolism in the South Indian version: Sītā was the individual soul, fallen into the net of ''Māyā'' called Rāvaṇāsura. Rāma sent Hanumān to rescue her. He crosses the ocean — the ocean of ''Saṃsāra'', ''Māyā'' — and gives his ''Upadeśa'': "Rāma is concerned about you. He will soon come and rescue you. God will bless you very soon, and you will be free from ''saṃsāra bandhanam''." That was the message. That is why Hanumān is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' — the greatest ''Brahma Jñānī'', the foremost Guru. So Hanumān liberated Sītā, who in this version is compared to a bound soul. We have to understand the symbolism. The ''Yoga Vāsiṣṭha Rāmāyaṇa'' and the ''Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa'' are variations of the same meaning.

So Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, but he knew everything — where Sītā was living and where Lava and Kuśa were. These two caught hold of the horse and bound it, and Hanumān was bound to fight with Lava and Kuśa. They were already experts, as good as Rāma himself. They kept taking their mother Sītā's name, for they had the greatest faith: "If my mother's grace falls upon me — she is the divine mother — we can conquer, we can overcome anybody." And Hanumān had to give in.

Then Hanumān was bound, and the horse was brought before Sītā. She saw Hanumān, laughed, and released him, and introduced him to Lava and Kuśa. There is also a funny version. In Bengali there is a song about it. Hanumān is unconquerable — nobody can conquer him, for he is a ''Brahma Jñānī''. Who can conquer a Guru? Impossible. But he allowed himself, indulgingly like a grandfather, to be defeated by his grandchildren in play. And since he had "been defeated," he had to carry them around — that was the bet. The children, not knowing, climbed onto his shoulders and used him like a horse. Anyway, a poet composed a song: "If I had not voluntarily allowed myself to be conquered by you, could anyone have conquered me? It is impossible." That means nobody can go beyond the Guru. Guru is Brahmā, Guru is Viṣṇu, Guru is Maheśvara. Who can cross God himself?

But every devotee should be happy to fight with God. Rāmaprasāda also composed a song: "I will take you to court, O Mother! You are not giving me my inheritance. And I will call my father as a witness that this property belongs to me. I have come of age, and you will have to yield. And if you don't yield, I will catch hold of your lotus feet and go on crying, 'Mā, Mā,' until you have no option but to give me what I want." Beautiful ''bhajans'' of this meaning have been composed by quite a number of ''bhajan'' makers.

=== The Conclusion of the Sacrifice and Its Fruits ===
Returning to our main point: the performance of the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' demands that the king be powerful, intelligent, endowed with great resources, and it may take several years until the horse returns. When the horse finally returns, it is sacrificed and its ''medha'' — the consecrated substance — is partaken by those who conduct the ritual, including the king. Such a person, if he successfully accomplishes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', is promised by scripture that he will go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Symbolic Meditation: Aśva Upāsanā ==
Now we must understand something very important. There are many people who want to go to ''Brahma Loka'', but very few — including Brāhmaṇas — can afford to perform this sacrifice. What should they do?

What they should do is mentally perform exactly the same thing that the ''Kṣatriya'' king does — not conquering other kingdoms, but simply contemplating on the horse. This is called contemplation, ''Dhyāna Mantra''. Whoever is not a powerful, intelligent, and wealthy ''Kṣatriya'' — any Brāhmaṇa, any other ''Kṣatriya'', or person of any caste who has the capacity of mind — can do it.

The horse, however, is to be contemplated as ''Virāṭ'' — as ''Hiraṇyagarbha'', as Brahmā. Every part of the horse is described in this Upaniṣad, and every part is compared to one part of this universe. Not only powerful kings, but others as well can obtain the same result through this symbolic meditation, in which the different parts of the sacrificial horse are to be regarded as the different parts of the creator Prajāpati's body.

Now what do they attain? Whether it is the ''Kṣatriya'' who actually performs the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', or others who do this ''Aśva Upāsanā'' as ''Virāṭ Upāsanā'', as ''Hiraṇyagarbha Upāsanā'', as ''Brahma Upāsanā'' — the result is that all of them without exception go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Nature of Brahma Loka ==
''Brahma Loka'' is the most exalted plane in this entire creation. Brahmā is the presiding deity, and this world is the manifestation of that Brahmā alone. What is the speciality of this ''Brahma Loka''? Any inhabitant of ''Brahma Loka'' is conscious of his individuality, and at the same time knows his identity with all created beings. Who is Brahmā? He who identifies himself with all creation is called Brahmā. But at the same time, he doesn't say "I am ''Parabrahman'', the Supreme Brahman." Rather: "I am an individual, but the whole universe is my individuality."

Can we understand this? Yes. Every day we go to our ''Svapna Loka''. The waking "I," after the waking state comes the dream state, becomes the entire universe created in imagination. But at the same time, even in the dream we are highly conscious of our individuality. We are not conscious in the dream that we are every object in the dream world — for that we have to wake up, come to this waking world, and recollect: "Oh! I became the tree. I became the tiger. I became my neighbours. I became my friend. I became my enemy. And I gave myself a great present in the form of somebody else. And I also robbed myself." Whatever happens in the dream state — upon waking up we see that I, the one waker alone, created everything.

The condition of ''Brahma Loka'' is similar, but far greater. The denizen of ''Brahma Loka'' knows much better than the ordinary waker that the entire created world is himself. But because ''Loka'' means limitation, he knows he is also an individual. Only when he attains to Brahman will that individuality be totally dissolved. Until that time, he knows: "This entire creation is me and nothing else."

And even this gives such happiness. The more expansive one becomes, the more identification there is, the greater will be one's happiness. Let me give an example to help imagine it. Picture a householder — perhaps 100 years ago — who has several fields, is a good person, an intelligent and expert cultivator. He has married a devout wife and has five or six children, all sons, all married, all staying in the same house as a joint family, every person — husbands, wives, and their children — very good, loving, helping each other. They consider the entire joint family as "me." Just imagine, and then you can understand what the person in ''Brahma Loka'' feels.

This citizen of ''Brahma Loka'' identifies himself with this entire universe. What happens? He doesn't see the defects. He doesn't see the wickedness. He doesn't see the suffering. Because what does he see? Just as a person with a very beautiful dream would like to recollect that dream as many times as possible and re-enjoy it — like that, for this person there is no birth, there is no death. It is a beautiful, marvellous drama taking place.

This is how we gain a glimpse of what ''Brahma Loka'' is. Once a person attains to this state, he experiences the highest happiness possible in this dualistic world. Then what happens? One who knows, "I am in ''Brahma Loka'', in fact I have become one with Brahmā by contemplating on him — I identified myself with Brahmā, and that is called the ''Brahma Loka'' experience" — for this person there is no neighbor, no friend, no enemy in any conventional sense. In ''Brahma Loka'', I am Brahmā. That is called ''Brahma Loka''. A person who reaches ''Indra Loka'', I am Indra. I am Prajāpati. I am Bṛhaspati. We have to understand that particular fact.
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== Beyond Brahma Loka: The Longing for Brahman ==
So one who knows this — then his eyes open further and he sees: even this ''Brahma Loka'' is perishable. Maybe for a long time and an extraordinarily great quantum of happiness is experienced here. But as soon as the result of the ''Karma'' comes to an end, he has to again come back and earn that ''puṇyam'' again. Like a person who stays in a first-class hotel, enjoys everything, and then comes back, and has to earn once more if he wants to stay in that hotel again.

Like that, he understands: all these rites, all these ''upāsanās'' where the distinction between the worshipper and the deity is admitted — a person who has done these must eventually become eager for the knowledge of Brahman, which alone enables one to attain freedom and immortality.
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== The Six Benefits of Upāsanā ==
Before we go into the text, we have to understand and remind ourselves of what results we attain if we can hone and perfect the art of contemplation.

Like first-class students: first, concentration — undeviating concentration. Second, unmitigated, extraordinarily positive, great spiritual imagination. What do you think Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was doing when he was meditating upon the Divine Mother? He was exercising his imagination — not meditating upon a stone-like figure made of basalt that he used to worship, but a living imagination.

Third, in contemplation — ''upāsanā'' — a lower object is replaced with a higher object. Example: the ''Śiva Liṅga'' with Śiva, ''Śālagrāma'' with Viṣṇu, and the symbol of the cross with Jesus Christ, etc.

Fourth, what happens in this ''upāsanā'' is the separation of everything from "I," the pure consciousness. Pure consciousness alone is everything, and everything derives from this consciousness. First the mind borrows it, then it lends it to the sense organs. This happens to all living creatures in this world. And according to Advaita Vedānta, even the non-living creatures are manifestations of ''Sat'', ''Cit'', and ''Ānanda'' — only they are not aware that they exist. They exist, but they are not aware that we exist. They are not aware that we are ''Ānanda Svarūpas''. Only living beings experience it, and when that experience comes to an end, it is called unhappiness. Then comes again the attempt to become one with happiness. That is how it continues.

So: separation of everything from "I," which is pure consciousness. Then that "I," now pure consciousness, should be united — this individual consciousness should be united with the universal consciousness. That is, instead of saying "I am so-and-so," I am Brahman. Or if we start slowly: I am Kālī, I am Śiva, I am Viṣṇu — slowly, slowly. Or if we cannot understand even that, we say: I am ''Annamaya Brahma'', I am ''Prāṇamaya Brahma'', I am ''Manomaya Brahma'', I am ''Vijñānamaya Brahma'', I am ''Ānandamaya Brahma'' — slowly ascending, but always identifying with the larger whole. That is the purpose of ''upāsanā''.

And lastly, this is called expansiveness of mind — ''Citta Vaiśālyatā''. Gradually, on one side I give up my limitedness, and I start identifying with the universal. These are the six benefits of ''upāsanā''.
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== Summary: The Three Brahmanas and Their Purpose ==
So this first ''Brāhmaṇa'' is called ''Aśvamedha Brāhmaṇa''. In fact, the first, second, and third ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter all speak of these ''upāsanās''. We must remember: this is called ''Adhyāropa Prakaraṇa'', because ''Sṛṣṭi'' — creation — is vividly described here.

As I mentioned, this description is meant for a purpose: the Guru does not want to deny our experience that this universe is real. But it is an effect. An effect is always limited from the cause. The cause is unlimited; the effect is limited. So you will be more happy if you expand yourself into the cause. Find out the cause of this universe. Who is that? Brahmā. Find out the cause of Brahmā. Then it becomes Brahman. That is the purpose.

So there are three ''upāsanās'' in these first three ''Brāhmaṇas'': ''Aśva'', ''Agni'', and ''Prāṇa''. We will talk about this in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''

[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.1-2 Lecture 11 on 28 February 2026

2026-06-11T05:46:00Z

Shekhar: /* What is Adhyāropa? */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् । पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

'''ॐ आप्यायन्तु ममाङ्गानि वाक्प्राणश्चक्षुः श्रोत्रमथो बलमिन्द्रियाणि च सर्वाणि । सर्वं ब्रह्मौपनिषदम् । माहं ब्रह्म निराकुर्यां मा मा ब्रह्म निराकरोत् ।'''

'''अनिराकरणमस्तु अनिराकरणं मेऽस्तु । तदात्मनि निरते य उपनिषत्सु धर्मास्ते मयि सन्तु ते मयि सन्तु ।'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥'''

Oṁ āpyāyantu mamāṅgāni vāk prāṇaś cakṣuḥ śrotram atho balam indriyāṇi ca sarvāṇi । sarvaṁ brahmaupaniṣadam । mā'haṁ brahma nirākuryāṁ mā mā brahma nirākarot । anirākaraṇam astu anirākaraṇaṁ me'stu । tad ātmani nirate ya upaniṣatsu dharmās te mayi santu te mayi santu । Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ ॥

(Simplified phonetic reading: Om aapyaayantu mamaangaani, vaak praanash-chakshuh shrotram-atho balam-indriyaani cha sarvaani; sarvam brahma-aupanishadam; maa-aham brahma niraakuryaam, maa maa brahma niraakarot; aniraakaranam astu, aniraakaranam me astu; tad-aatmani nirate ya upanishatsu dharmaas-te mayi santu te mayi santu; Om shaantih shaantih shaantih.)

Om — May my limbs, speech, vital force, eyes, ears, as also strength and all the organs become well developed. Everything is the Brahman revealed in the Upanishads. May I not deny Brahman, may not Brahman deny me, let there be no spurning of me by Brahman, let there be no rejection of Brahman by me. May all the virtues that are spoken of in the Upanishads repose in me, who am engaged in the pursuit of the Self. May they repose in me, may they repose in me, may they repose in me. Om, peace, peace, peace be unto all.

= Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: Introduction to the First and Second Mantras =

== Overview of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad ==
We have been studying the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. Now we are going to enter into the first and second mantras.

As we discussed earlier, this Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad has six chapters, and every two chapters are combined into one. The very first section is called ''Madhu Kāṇḍam'' or ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍam''. ''Kāṇḍam'' means a section dealing with real teaching — ''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi''. The second part supports the same teaching with reasoning and rationality. That is the subject matter. It is also called ''Yājñavalkya Kāṇḍa'', ''Muni Kāṇḍa'', ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' with ''Tarka'' — that is, ''Śruti'', ''Samatha'', ''Tarka''. The third two chapters, the third part, are called ''Khila Kāṇḍam'', which covers miscellaneous items, some of which are highly important.

As I mentioned earlier at the very beginning, we are not going to proceed mantra by mantra, but will take the very essence of it. That way we will not be confused. Otherwise, this is one of the biggest of the Upaniṣads, containing more than 640 mantras. To go through every one of them is neither necessary, nor need we waste time doing so. Essential points in the light of the teachings of Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda will be very useful.
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== Adhyāropa and Apavāda: The Vedāntic Methodology ==
Now this first chapter, according to the interpretation of Śaṅkarācārya, follows the Advaita Vedāntic methodology called ''Adhyāropa'' and ''Apavāda''.

=== What is Adhyāropa? ===
''Adhyāropa'' means accepting our present experience as it is. The scripture says: yes, you are right — what you are experiencing is real. But there are certain points you have to note down, and only then will you understand the nature of this world you are experiencing.

First of all, the world depends upon you. If you, the subject, are sleeping, in a coma, or unconscious, the whole universe disappears so far as you are concerned. Even though in our ordinary experience we say we depend upon the world, actually we can see that we shape the whole world. What does an artist do? He shapes whatever object — be it wood, be it stone — according to his own concept. He can bring out Rāma or he can bring out Rāvaṇāsura, depending upon his ''saṃskāras''. He can bring out Kṛṣṇa, he can bring out Kaṃsa.

A writer can express his own beautiful imaginations and manifest them in the form of beautiful language and literature. And earlier days, we used to study the literature of both the East and the West. Nowadays, I don't know whether they are doing it. And a poet or a musician — the limit is the sky, one's own imagination.

Consider our dreams. We can dream whatever we like. We think, most of the time by mistake, that a dream overwhelms us and that we are forced to experience the dream. But no. If a child is reading about gods and goddesses and is endowed with spiritual ''saṃskāras'', he will be dreaming of gods and goddesses like Nāgamahāśaya. But if somebody is interested in Superman or evil characters — and so many people are addicted to these evil characters because they want to be like that but don't have the capacity — they watch films and rule over the world in imagination. Similarly, a cricket fan's biggest heroes will be those who fetch the greatest number of runs. So everything depends upon our mind, and the mind is endowed with borrowed consciousness. The mind pays attention, and only that which it attends to is experienceable by us.

Second, the world is continuously changing. Third, it consists of three parts: form, name, and utility — ''Rūpa'', ''Nāma'', ''Karma''.

So what does the scripture tell fortunate souls who want to progress in spiritual life, who believe in the teachings of the scriptures, and who want to realize God? If the scriptures start by saying this world is unreal, we are likely to give up the world. But if the scriptures accept that it is true — not unreal, but ''Mithyā'' — that changes things. ''Mithyā'' means dependent, ever-changing, unreliable, and so forth. This is called ''Adhyāropa'': accepting it temporarily.

The scripture doesn't stop there. It goes on to ask: what do you want in this world? "I want money." Alright, do this — you will get money. Chant the name of Mahālakṣmī mantra, recite Śrī Sūktam or Kanakādhārastavam. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said, and proved to the hilt, that every mantra in the scriptures — meaning the Vedas, Purāṇas, Tantras, and instructions of Gurus — is absolutely true. He proved it. When he used to perform ''pūjā'' and chant a particular mantra, for example the Agni Mantra ''Rām'', he would immediately see a wall of fire springing up and protecting him. When Rāmakṛṣṇa was young, he used to visit a crematorium called Bhuterkhali, and he used to carry a pot of rice, cooked rice. And then he said later on, the pot disappears in the mid-air, from our eyes, that means there are spirits, which accept them.

And now, what little original capacity we have, we are fast losing to the new AI, and that becomes our reality. . But, I can assure you, it is not going to be so for long, because human being, every human being is potentially divine, and there will be a lot of knocks, sticks, not always carrots. God will give those sticks to awaken us.

'''Kaṭha Upaniṣad Verse — "Arise! Awake!"'''

Devanagari:

उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत ।

Transliteration (IAST):

uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata ।

Phonetic:

''uttishthata jaagrata praapya varaan-nibodhata.''

(Meaning: "Arise! Awake! Approach the great ones and learn!" — Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.14).

So slowly the teacher tells the student to fulfil desires through scriptural means. The person may start sceptically, but in course of time he gets what was promised, develops faith, and when he opens his eyes and looks further into the scripture, he says: "Why should I be content with temporary results and limited happiness? Why settle for limited existence? I can have eternal existence, infinite knowledge, and unbroken bliss." By now the student's mind has developed tremendous ''śraddhā''.

=== What is Apavāda? ===
Then starts the second part of the scripture, called ''Apavāda''. The teacher says: what I told you was true only for that level of students, or when you were at that level. But now you have crossed over, and you yourself are longing for something higher. Now I will teach you. This is called ''Apavāda''.

In a manner of speaking, the world is unreal. To prove that the world is insubstantial, unreliable, ever-changing, dangerous, and the cause of repeated births and repeated sufferings — that is the common view. But the scripture, through the Guru, teaches: that is only the middle way, valid when you are in the middle stage of your development. But later on you understand that everything is Brahman. This world is a ''Līlā'' — a divine play. Everybody, everything in this universe is only the infinite imagination of the infinite Brahman. What is suffering — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. What is happiness and bliss — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. That is the ''Apavāda''. ''Apavāda'' means negation: negation of your previous understanding of the world. First, the only reality has been understood as a changing, unreliable, insubstantial reality. That is then transformed into the understanding that everything is Brahman. And the final step is that everything is the ''Līlā'' of Brahman. This applies especially to the ''Jīvanmukta''.

What a beautiful way this is! First, like giving a child a real apple and saying "this is called apple, the spelling starts with A; this is beetroot, it starts with B; this is a carrot, and it starts with C" — like that, a person is helped to evolve both physically and spiritually, intellectually and spiritually.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa illustrates this beautifully. There is a kind of Bengali sweet whose outside looks absolutely the same, but the inside can be filled with hard lentils — ''kaḍai dāl'' — or with coconut and jaggery, or with ''canā'', or with broken milk — what we call paneer. There is a vast difference in what is within, even though the outside appears the same. Slowly the teacher takes the student higher in exactly this way.
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== The Structure of the First Chapter: Upadeśa Kāṇḍa ==
In the very first chapter, as just mentioned, it is called ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' or ''Madhu Kāṇḍa''. ''Upadeśa'' means teaching. Usually the word ''upadeśa'' means when a Guru initiates a disciple, that is called ''upadeśa''. But here, instead of just a mantra, he also gives explanation and teaching.

You should look upon your body as ''Brahmapurī''. You should look upon your mind also as ''Brahmapurī'', the ''Hṛdayākāśa''. It is the abode of the purest of the pure. Brahman, ''Jyotir Jyotiḥ'', resides within it. This is how you will have to slowly orient your thought: this body is a sacred temple. When one succeeds in thinking of oneself as a sacred temple, and Brahman is within, and "I am not different from that Brahman," slowly his understanding is also applied — first to the mother, then the father, then the teacher, then everybody else. Slow expansion.

As an example: first, Gopālasumā had the ''darśana'' of child Gopāla. And then, like a devoted woman, she went to Dakṣiṇeśvara, and there she saw that this Kṛṣṇa — God himself — had said: "Whatever pathway a person chooses to approach and come to me, I will run towards him and take him into my bosom and teach him." So Gopāla — that is, Bāla Kṛṣṇa — started entering into Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's body and coming out. He did this several times until Gopāla's mother understood that her Gopāla and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa are not different — they are one and the same. In fact, Gopāla's mother first had the vision of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, and then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa transformed himself into child Gopāla.

After a few days — that is, when the idea that Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa are absolutely one became firm and unshakeable — Gopāla started doing exactly the same thing but with the other direct disciples of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. She started understanding: "My Gopāla wants to teach me that he is Rākhal, he is Narendra, he is Tārak, and he is the other disciples." Like that, Gopāla entered into any number of disciples and devotees until she realized — but that also was a partial view and not complete realization.

After some weeks or months, there was a chariot festival. Those who wish to know the details can refer to ''Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: The Great Master'' by Swami Sārādānanda. She described graphically that on that day she had a universal vision of her Gopāla. Everything — living and non-living, moving and non-moving, the priest, the audience, the chariot, the people pulling the chariot, the music makers — without exception, everybody was nothing but her Gopāla. With that, her realization of ''Sarvaṃ Khalvidaṃ Brahma'' was complete.

That is the purpose of ''Adhyāropa'' and ''Apavāda''.
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== The Three Upāsanās of the First Chapter ==
As I mentioned, the first chapter contains the analysis of ''Adhyāropa''. How do we know? Because in the first chapter, following certain types of contemplations, there are three meditations — ''upāsanās'' — described:

# Contemplation on a horse — ''Aśva Upāsanā''
# Contemplation on fire — ''Agni Upāsanā''
# Contemplation on ''Prāṇa'' — ''Prāṇa Upāsanā''

In this Upaniṣad, the chapters are known as ''Adhyāyas''. The word ''Adhyāya'' is very interesting: ''Adhyāpaka'' means teacher, ''adhyayana'' is studying, and so ''Adhyāya'' means that which teaches what a person wants to learn. Each chapter has several sections, and each section is called a ''Brāhmaṇa''.

In the first three ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter, we see these three meditations. The first ''Brāhmaṇa'' of the first chapter consists of two verses, and the second consists of seven. Both the first and second ''Brāhmaṇas'' are devoted to the meditation on a horse and the fire used in the ritual called ''Aśvamedha Yajña''.
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== The Aśvamedha Yajña ==

=== Nature of the Sacrifice ===
The ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' is the highest of all Vedic rites. What does the person who successfully completes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' attain? He will go to ''Prajāpati Loka'', ''Virāṭ Loka'', ''Brahma Loka''. But this sacrifice involves a tremendous amount of money, time, power, and intelligence. Briefly: the best horse available in the kingdom is chosen and set free to roam all over the world. Of course, people accompany and attend to it, and when it returns it is worshipped, for it has become the most sacred of animals.

The purpose is twofold. The first purpose is that whichever kingdom the horse enters, the king who is performing the sacrifice must subdue its ruler. If he cannot, he cannot perform the ''Aśvamedha Yajña''. That is why only a powerful ''Kṣatriya'' king can truly perform it, and the best soldiers with the best commander-in-chief are sent to defend the horse's passage. Even Rāma had done this.

=== The Story of Lava and Kuśa ===
When the horse came to the forest where Muni Vālmīki resided — Rāma having sent Sītā away from the kingdom, she being pregnant, and Lakṣmaṇa, devoted to Sītā, having brought her to Vālmīki Ṛṣi with tears in his eyes, though he had to obey Rāma — there she gave birth to twins, Lava and Kuśa. Vālmīki, not only a poet but also an expert archer, taught them the best of archery. The story is marvellous and very purifying.

These two children, proud and well-trained, one day saw this horse sent by Rāma — their own father, though they did not know it. Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, and nobody can defeat Hanumān because he is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa''. Nobody can defeat ''Prāṇa'', because if you fight with ''Prāṇa'', ''Prāṇa'' will leave you and you will be dead. But here ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' means the best teacher of ''Brahma Vidyā''.

How do we know this? Because of the symbolism in the South Indian version: Sītā was the individual soul, fallen into the net of ''Māyā'' called Rāvaṇāsura. Rāma sent Hanumān to rescue her. He crosses the ocean — the ocean of ''Saṃsāra'', ''Māyā'' — and gives his ''Upadeśa'': "Rāma is concerned about you. He will soon come and rescue you. God will bless you very soon, and you will be free from ''saṃsāra bandhanam''." That was the message. That is why Hanumān is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' — the greatest ''Brahma Jñānī'', the foremost Guru. So Hanumān liberated Sītā, who in this version is compared to a bound soul. We have to understand the symbolism. The ''Yoga Vāsiṣṭha Rāmāyaṇa'' and the ''Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa'' are variations of the same meaning.

So Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, but he knew everything — where Sītā was living and where Lava and Kuśa were. These two caught hold of the horse and bound it, and Hanumān was bound to fight with Lava and Kuśa. They were already experts, as good as Rāma himself. They kept taking their mother Sītā's name, for they had the greatest faith: "If my mother's grace falls upon me — she is the divine mother — we can conquer, we can overcome anybody." And Hanumān had to give in.

Then Hanumān was bound, and the horse was brought before Sītā. She saw Hanumān, laughed, and released him, and introduced him to Lava and Kuśa. There is also a funny version. In Bengali there is a song about it. Hanumān is unconquerable — nobody can conquer him, for he is a ''Brahma Jñānī''. Who can conquer a Guru? Impossible. But he allowed himself, indulgingly like a grandfather, to be defeated by his grandchildren in play. And since he had "been defeated," he had to carry them around — that was the bet. The children, not knowing, climbed onto his shoulders and used him like a horse. Anyway, a poet composed a song: "If I had not voluntarily allowed myself to be conquered by you, could anyone have conquered me? It is impossible." That means nobody can go beyond the Guru. Guru is Brahmā, Guru is Viṣṇu, Guru is Maheśvara. Who can cross God himself?

But every devotee should be happy to fight with God. Rāmaprasāda also composed a song: "I will take you to court, O Mother! You are not giving me my inheritance. And I will call my father as a witness that this property belongs to me. I have come of age, and you will have to yield. And if you don't yield, I will catch hold of your lotus feet and go on crying, 'Mā, Mā,' until you have no option but to give me what I want." Beautiful ''bhajans'' of this meaning have been composed by quite a number of ''bhajan'' makers.

=== The Conclusion of the Sacrifice and Its Fruits ===
Returning to our main point: the performance of the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' demands that the king be powerful, intelligent, endowed with great resources, and it may take several years until the horse returns. When the horse finally returns, it is sacrificed and its ''medha'' — the consecrated substance — is partaken by those who conduct the ritual, including the king. Such a person, if he successfully accomplishes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', is promised by scripture that he will go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Symbolic Meditation: Aśva Upāsanā ==
Now we must understand something very important. There are many people who want to go to ''Brahma Loka'', but very few — including Brāhmaṇas — can afford to perform this sacrifice. What should they do?

What they should do is mentally perform exactly the same thing that the ''Kṣatriya'' king does — not conquering other kingdoms, but simply contemplating on the horse. This is called contemplation, ''Dhyāna Mantra''. Whoever is not a powerful, intelligent, and wealthy ''Kṣatriya'' — any Brāhmaṇa, any other ''Kṣatriya'', or person of any caste who has the capacity of mind — can do it.

The horse, however, is to be contemplated as ''Virāṭ'' — as ''Hiraṇyagarbha'', as Brahmā. Every part of the horse is described in this Upaniṣad, and every part is compared to one part of this universe. Not only powerful kings, but others as well can obtain the same result through this symbolic meditation, in which the different parts of the sacrificial horse are to be regarded as the different parts of the creator Prajāpati's body.

Now what do they attain? Whether it is the ''Kṣatriya'' who actually performs the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', or others who do this ''Aśva Upāsanā'' as ''Virāṭ Upāsanā'', as ''Hiraṇyagarbha Upāsanā'', as ''Brahma Upāsanā'' — the result is that all of them without exception go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Nature of Brahma Loka ==
''Brahma Loka'' is the most exalted plane in this entire creation. Brahmā is the presiding deity, and this world is the manifestation of that Brahmā alone. What is the speciality of this ''Brahma Loka''? Any inhabitant of ''Brahma Loka'' is conscious of his individuality, and at the same time knows his identity with all created beings. Who is Brahmā? He who identifies himself with all creation is called Brahmā. But at the same time, he doesn't say "I am ''Parabrahman'', the Supreme Brahman." Rather: "I am an individual, but the whole universe is my individuality."

Can we understand this? Yes. Every day we go to our ''Svapna Loka''. The waking "I," after the waking state comes the dream state, becomes the entire universe created in imagination. But at the same time, even in the dream we are highly conscious of our individuality. We are not conscious in the dream that we are every object in the dream world — for that we have to wake up, come to this waking world, and recollect: "Oh! I became the tree. I became the tiger. I became my neighbours. I became my friend. I became my enemy. And I gave myself a great present in the form of somebody else. And I also robbed myself." Whatever happens in the dream state — upon waking up we see that I, the one waker alone, created everything.

The condition of ''Brahma Loka'' is similar, but far greater. The denizen of ''Brahma Loka'' knows much better than the ordinary waker that the entire created world is himself. But because ''Loka'' means limitation, he knows he is also an individual. Only when he attains to Brahman will that individuality be totally dissolved. Until that time, he knows: "This entire creation is me and nothing else."

And even this gives such happiness. The more expansive one becomes, the more identification there is, the greater will be one's happiness. Let me give an example to help imagine it. Picture a householder — perhaps 100 years ago — who has several fields, is a good person, an intelligent and expert cultivator. He has married a devout wife and has five or six children, all sons, all married, all staying in the same house as a joint family, every person — husbands, wives, and their children — very good, loving, helping each other. They consider the entire joint family as "me." Just imagine, and then you can understand what the person in ''Brahma Loka'' feels.

This citizen of ''Brahma Loka'' identifies himself with this entire universe. What happens? He doesn't see the defects. He doesn't see the wickedness. He doesn't see the suffering. Because what does he see? Just as a person with a very beautiful dream would like to recollect that dream as many times as possible and re-enjoy it — like that, for this person there is no birth, there is no death. It is a beautiful, marvellous drama taking place.

This is how we gain a glimpse of what ''Brahma Loka'' is. Once a person attains to this state, he experiences the highest happiness possible in this dualistic world. Then what happens? One who knows, "I am in ''Brahma Loka'', in fact I have become one with Brahmā by contemplating on him — I identified myself with Brahmā, and that is called the ''Brahma Loka'' experience" — for this person there is no neighbor, no friend, no enemy in any conventional sense. In ''Brahma Loka'', I am Brahmā. That is called ''Brahma Loka''. A person who reaches ''Indra Loka'', I am Indra. I am Prajāpati. I am Bṛhaspati. We have to understand that particular fact.
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== Beyond Brahma Loka: The Longing for Brahman ==
So one who knows this — then his eyes open further and he sees: even this ''Brahma Loka'' is perishable. Maybe for a long time and an extraordinarily great quantum of happiness is experienced here. But as soon as the result of the ''Karma'' comes to an end, he has to again come back and earn that ''puṇyam'' again. Like a person who stays in a first-class hotel, enjoys everything, and then comes back, and has to earn once more if he wants to stay in that hotel again.

Like that, he understands: all these rites, all these ''upāsanās'' where the distinction between the worshipper and the deity is admitted — a person who has done these must eventually become eager for the knowledge of Brahman, which alone enables one to attain freedom and immortality.
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== The Six Benefits of Upāsanā ==
Before we go into the text, we have to understand and remind ourselves of what results we attain if we can hone and perfect the art of contemplation.

Like first-class students: first, concentration — undeviating concentration. Second, unmitigated, extraordinarily positive, great spiritual imagination. What do you think Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was doing when he was meditating upon the Divine Mother? He was exercising his imagination — not meditating upon a stone-like figure made of basalt that he used to worship, but a living imagination.

Third, in contemplation — ''upāsanā'' — a lower object is replaced with a higher object. Example: the ''Śiva Liṅga'' with Śiva, ''Śālagrāma'' with Viṣṇu, and the symbol of the cross with Jesus Christ, etc.

Fourth, what happens in this ''upāsanā'' is the separation of everything from "I," the pure consciousness. Pure consciousness alone is everything, and everything derives from this consciousness. First the mind borrows it, then it lends it to the sense organs. This happens to all living creatures in this world. And according to Advaita Vedānta, even the non-living creatures are manifestations of ''Sat'', ''Cit'', and ''Ānanda'' — only they are not aware that they exist. They exist, but they are not aware that we exist. They are not aware that we are ''Ānanda Svarūpas''. Only living beings experience it, and when that experience comes to an end, it is called unhappiness. Then comes again the attempt to become one with happiness. That is how it continues.

So: separation of everything from "I," which is pure consciousness. Then that "I," now pure consciousness, should be united — this individual consciousness should be united with the universal consciousness. That is, instead of saying "I am so-and-so," I am Brahman. Or if we start slowly: I am Kālī, I am Śiva, I am Viṣṇu — slowly, slowly. Or if we cannot understand even that, we say: I am ''Annamaya Brahma'', I am ''Prāṇamaya Brahma'', I am ''Manomaya Brahma'', I am ''Vijñānamaya Brahma'', I am ''Ānandamaya Brahma'' — slowly ascending, but always identifying with the larger whole. That is the purpose of ''upāsanā''.

And lastly, this is called expansiveness of mind — ''Citta Vaiśālyatā''. Gradually, on one side I give up my limitedness, and I start identifying with the universal. These are the six benefits of ''upāsanā''.
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== Summary: The Three Brahmanas and Their Purpose ==
So this first ''Brāhmaṇa'' is called ''Aśvamedha Brāhmaṇa''. In fact, the first, second, and third ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter all speak of these ''upāsanās''. We must remember: this is called ''Adhyāropa Prakaraṇa'', because ''Sṛṣṭi'' — creation — is vividly described here.

As I mentioned, this description is meant for a purpose: the Guru does not want to deny our experience that this universe is real. But it is an effect. An effect is always limited from the cause. The cause is unlimited; the effect is limited. So you will be more happy if you expand yourself into the cause. Find out the cause of this universe. Who is that? Brahmā. Find out the cause of Brahmā. Then it becomes Brahman. That is the purpose.

So there are three ''upāsanās'' in these first three ''Brāhmaṇas'': ''Aśva'', ''Agni'', and ''Prāṇa''. We will talk about this in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''

[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.1-2 Lecture 11 on 28 February 2026

2026-06-11T05:44:34Z

Shekhar: /* What is Adhyāropa? */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् । पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

'''ॐ आप्यायन्तु ममाङ्गानि वाक्प्राणश्चक्षुः श्रोत्रमथो बलमिन्द्रियाणि च सर्वाणि । सर्वं ब्रह्मौपनिषदम् । माहं ब्रह्म निराकुर्यां मा मा ब्रह्म निराकरोत् ।'''

'''अनिराकरणमस्तु अनिराकरणं मेऽस्तु । तदात्मनि निरते य उपनिषत्सु धर्मास्ते मयि सन्तु ते मयि सन्तु ।'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥'''

Oṁ āpyāyantu mamāṅgāni vāk prāṇaś cakṣuḥ śrotram atho balam indriyāṇi ca sarvāṇi । sarvaṁ brahmaupaniṣadam । mā'haṁ brahma nirākuryāṁ mā mā brahma nirākarot । anirākaraṇam astu anirākaraṇaṁ me'stu । tad ātmani nirate ya upaniṣatsu dharmās te mayi santu te mayi santu । Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ ॥

(Simplified phonetic reading: Om aapyaayantu mamaangaani, vaak praanash-chakshuh shrotram-atho balam-indriyaani cha sarvaani; sarvam brahma-aupanishadam; maa-aham brahma niraakuryaam, maa maa brahma niraakarot; aniraakaranam astu, aniraakaranam me astu; tad-aatmani nirate ya upanishatsu dharmaas-te mayi santu te mayi santu; Om shaantih shaantih shaantih.)

Om — May my limbs, speech, vital force, eyes, ears, as also strength and all the organs become well developed. Everything is the Brahman revealed in the Upanishads. May I not deny Brahman, may not Brahman deny me, let there be no spurning of me by Brahman, let there be no rejection of Brahman by me. May all the virtues that are spoken of in the Upanishads repose in me, who am engaged in the pursuit of the Self. May they repose in me, may they repose in me, may they repose in me. Om, peace, peace, peace be unto all.

= Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: Introduction to the First and Second Mantras =

== Overview of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad ==
We have been studying the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. Now we are going to enter into the first and second mantras.

As we discussed earlier, this Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad has six chapters, and every two chapters are combined into one. The very first section is called ''Madhu Kāṇḍam'' or ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍam''. ''Kāṇḍam'' means a section dealing with real teaching — ''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi''. The second part supports the same teaching with reasoning and rationality. That is the subject matter. It is also called ''Yājñavalkya Kāṇḍa'', ''Muni Kāṇḍa'', ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' with ''Tarka'' — that is, ''Śruti'', ''Samatha'', ''Tarka''. The third two chapters, the third part, are called ''Khila Kāṇḍam'', which covers miscellaneous items, some of which are highly important.

As I mentioned earlier at the very beginning, we are not going to proceed mantra by mantra, but will take the very essence of it. That way we will not be confused. Otherwise, this is one of the biggest of the Upaniṣads, containing more than 640 mantras. To go through every one of them is neither necessary, nor need we waste time doing so. Essential points in the light of the teachings of Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda will be very useful.
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== Adhyāropa and Apavāda: The Vedāntic Methodology ==
Now this first chapter, according to the interpretation of Śaṅkarācārya, follows the Advaita Vedāntic methodology called ''Adhyāropa'' and ''Apavāda''.

=== What is Adhyāropa? ===
''Adhyāropa'' means accepting our present experience as it is. The scripture says: yes, you are right — what you are experiencing is real. But there are certain points you have to note down, and only then will you understand the nature of this world you are experiencing.

First of all, the world depends upon you. If you, the subject, are sleeping, in a coma, or unconscious, the whole universe disappears so far as you are concerned. Even though in our ordinary experience we say we depend upon the world, actually we can see that we shape the whole world. What does an artist do? He shapes whatever object — be it wood, be it stone — according to his own concept. He can bring out Rāma or he can bring out Rāvaṇāsura, depending upon his ''saṃskāras''. He can bring out Kṛṣṇa, he can bring out Kaṃsa.

A writer can express his own beautiful imaginations and manifest them in the form of beautiful language and literature. And earlier days, we used to study the literature of both the East and the West. Nowadays, I don't know whether they are doing it. And a poet or a musician — the limit is the sky, one's own imagination.

Consider our dreams. We can dream whatever we like. We think, most of the time by mistake, that a dream overwhelms us and that we are forced to experience the dream. But no. If a child is reading about gods and goddesses and is endowed with spiritual ''saṃskāras'', he will be dreaming of gods and goddesses like Nāgamahāśaya. But if somebody is interested in Superman or evil characters — and so many people are addicted to these evil characters because they want to be like that but don't have the capacity — they watch films and rule over the world in imagination. Similarly, a cricket fan's biggest heroes will be those who fetch the greatest number of runs. So everything depends upon our mind, and the mind is endowed with borrowed consciousness. The mind pays attention, and only that which it attends to is experienceable by us.

Second, the world is continuously changing. Third, it consists of three parts: form, name, and utility — ''Rūpa'', ''Nāma'', ''Karma''.

So what does the scripture tell fortunate souls who want to progress in spiritual life, who believe in the teachings of the scriptures, and who want to realize God? If the scriptures start by saying this world is unreal, we are likely to give up the world. But if the scriptures accept that it is true — not unreal, but ''Mithyā'' — that changes things. ''Mithyā'' means dependent, ever-changing, unreliable, and so forth. This is called ''Adhyāropa'': accepting it temporarily.

The scripture doesn't stop there. It goes on to ask: what do you want in this world? "I want money." Alright, do this — you will get money. Chant the name of Mahālakṣmī mantra, recite Śrī Sūktam or Kanakādhārastavam. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said, and proved to the hilt, that every mantra in the scriptures — meaning the Vedas, Purāṇas, Tantras, and instructions of Gurus — is absolutely true. He proved it. When he used to perform ''pūjā'' and chant a particular mantra, for example the Agni Mantra ''Rām'', he would immediately see a wall of fire springing up and protecting him. When Rāmakṛṣṇa was young, he used to visit a crematorium called Bhuterkhali, and he used to carry a pot of rice, cooked rice. And then he said later on, the pot disappears in the mid-air, from our eyes, that means there are spirits, which accept them.

And now, what little original capacity we have, we are fast losing to the new AI, and that becomes our reality. . But, I can assure you, it is not going to be so for long, because human being, every human being is potentially divine, and there will be a lot of knocks, sticks, not always carrots. God will give those sticks to awaken us

So slowly the teacher tells the student to fulfil desires through scriptural means. The person may start sceptically, but in course of time he gets what was promised, develops faith, and when he opens his eyes and looks further into the scripture, he says: "Why should I be content with temporary results and limited happiness? Why settle for limited existence? I can have eternal existence, infinite knowledge, and unbroken bliss." By now the student's mind has developed tremendous ''śraddhā''.

=== What is Apavāda? ===
Then starts the second part of the scripture, called ''Apavāda''. The teacher says: what I told you was true only for that level of students, or when you were at that level. But now you have crossed over, and you yourself are longing for something higher. Now I will teach you. This is called ''Apavāda''.

In a manner of speaking, the world is unreal. To prove that the world is insubstantial, unreliable, ever-changing, dangerous, and the cause of repeated births and repeated sufferings — that is the common view. But the scripture, through the Guru, teaches: that is only the middle way, valid when you are in the middle stage of your development. But later on you understand that everything is Brahman. This world is a ''Līlā'' — a divine play. Everybody, everything in this universe is only the infinite imagination of the infinite Brahman. What is suffering — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. What is happiness and bliss — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. That is the ''Apavāda''. ''Apavāda'' means negation: negation of your previous understanding of the world. First, the only reality has been understood as a changing, unreliable, insubstantial reality. That is then transformed into the understanding that everything is Brahman. And the final step is that everything is the ''Līlā'' of Brahman. This applies especially to the ''Jīvanmukta''.

What a beautiful way this is! First, like giving a child a real apple and saying "this is called apple, the spelling starts with A; this is beetroot, it starts with B; this is a carrot, and it starts with C" — like that, a person is helped to evolve both physically and spiritually, intellectually and spiritually.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa illustrates this beautifully. There is a kind of Bengali sweet whose outside looks absolutely the same, but the inside can be filled with hard lentils — ''kaḍai dāl'' — or with coconut and jaggery, or with ''canā'', or with broken milk — what we call paneer. There is a vast difference in what is within, even though the outside appears the same. Slowly the teacher takes the student higher in exactly this way.
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== The Structure of the First Chapter: Upadeśa Kāṇḍa ==
In the very first chapter, as just mentioned, it is called ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' or ''Madhu Kāṇḍa''. ''Upadeśa'' means teaching. Usually the word ''upadeśa'' means when a Guru initiates a disciple, that is called ''upadeśa''. But here, instead of just a mantra, he also gives explanation and teaching.

You should look upon your body as ''Brahmapurī''. You should look upon your mind also as ''Brahmapurī'', the ''Hṛdayākāśa''. It is the abode of the purest of the pure. Brahman, ''Jyotir Jyotiḥ'', resides within it. This is how you will have to slowly orient your thought: this body is a sacred temple. When one succeeds in thinking of oneself as a sacred temple, and Brahman is within, and "I am not different from that Brahman," slowly his understanding is also applied — first to the mother, then the father, then the teacher, then everybody else. Slow expansion.

As an example: first, Gopālasumā had the ''darśana'' of child Gopāla. And then, like a devoted woman, she went to Dakṣiṇeśvara, and there she saw that this Kṛṣṇa — God himself — had said: "Whatever pathway a person chooses to approach and come to me, I will run towards him and take him into my bosom and teach him." So Gopāla — that is, Bāla Kṛṣṇa — started entering into Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's body and coming out. He did this several times until Gopāla's mother understood that her Gopāla and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa are not different — they are one and the same. In fact, Gopāla's mother first had the vision of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, and then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa transformed himself into child Gopāla.

After a few days — that is, when the idea that Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa are absolutely one became firm and unshakeable — Gopāla started doing exactly the same thing but with the other direct disciples of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. She started understanding: "My Gopāla wants to teach me that he is Rākhal, he is Narendra, he is Tārak, and he is the other disciples." Like that, Gopāla entered into any number of disciples and devotees until she realized — but that also was a partial view and not complete realization.

After some weeks or months, there was a chariot festival. Those who wish to know the details can refer to ''Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: The Great Master'' by Swami Sārādānanda. She described graphically that on that day she had a universal vision of her Gopāla. Everything — living and non-living, moving and non-moving, the priest, the audience, the chariot, the people pulling the chariot, the music makers — without exception, everybody was nothing but her Gopāla. With that, her realization of ''Sarvaṃ Khalvidaṃ Brahma'' was complete.

That is the purpose of ''Adhyāropa'' and ''Apavāda''.
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== The Three Upāsanās of the First Chapter ==
As I mentioned, the first chapter contains the analysis of ''Adhyāropa''. How do we know? Because in the first chapter, following certain types of contemplations, there are three meditations — ''upāsanās'' — described:

# Contemplation on a horse — ''Aśva Upāsanā''
# Contemplation on fire — ''Agni Upāsanā''
# Contemplation on ''Prāṇa'' — ''Prāṇa Upāsanā''

In this Upaniṣad, the chapters are known as ''Adhyāyas''. The word ''Adhyāya'' is very interesting: ''Adhyāpaka'' means teacher, ''adhyayana'' is studying, and so ''Adhyāya'' means that which teaches what a person wants to learn. Each chapter has several sections, and each section is called a ''Brāhmaṇa''.

In the first three ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter, we see these three meditations. The first ''Brāhmaṇa'' of the first chapter consists of two verses, and the second consists of seven. Both the first and second ''Brāhmaṇas'' are devoted to the meditation on a horse and the fire used in the ritual called ''Aśvamedha Yajña''.
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== The Aśvamedha Yajña ==

=== Nature of the Sacrifice ===
The ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' is the highest of all Vedic rites. What does the person who successfully completes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' attain? He will go to ''Prajāpati Loka'', ''Virāṭ Loka'', ''Brahma Loka''. But this sacrifice involves a tremendous amount of money, time, power, and intelligence. Briefly: the best horse available in the kingdom is chosen and set free to roam all over the world. Of course, people accompany and attend to it, and when it returns it is worshipped, for it has become the most sacred of animals.

The purpose is twofold. The first purpose is that whichever kingdom the horse enters, the king who is performing the sacrifice must subdue its ruler. If he cannot, he cannot perform the ''Aśvamedha Yajña''. That is why only a powerful ''Kṣatriya'' king can truly perform it, and the best soldiers with the best commander-in-chief are sent to defend the horse's passage. Even Rāma had done this.

=== The Story of Lava and Kuśa ===
When the horse came to the forest where Muni Vālmīki resided — Rāma having sent Sītā away from the kingdom, she being pregnant, and Lakṣmaṇa, devoted to Sītā, having brought her to Vālmīki Ṛṣi with tears in his eyes, though he had to obey Rāma — there she gave birth to twins, Lava and Kuśa. Vālmīki, not only a poet but also an expert archer, taught them the best of archery. The story is marvellous and very purifying.

These two children, proud and well-trained, one day saw this horse sent by Rāma — their own father, though they did not know it. Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, and nobody can defeat Hanumān because he is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa''. Nobody can defeat ''Prāṇa'', because if you fight with ''Prāṇa'', ''Prāṇa'' will leave you and you will be dead. But here ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' means the best teacher of ''Brahma Vidyā''.

How do we know this? Because of the symbolism in the South Indian version: Sītā was the individual soul, fallen into the net of ''Māyā'' called Rāvaṇāsura. Rāma sent Hanumān to rescue her. He crosses the ocean — the ocean of ''Saṃsāra'', ''Māyā'' — and gives his ''Upadeśa'': "Rāma is concerned about you. He will soon come and rescue you. God will bless you very soon, and you will be free from ''saṃsāra bandhanam''." That was the message. That is why Hanumān is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' — the greatest ''Brahma Jñānī'', the foremost Guru. So Hanumān liberated Sītā, who in this version is compared to a bound soul. We have to understand the symbolism. The ''Yoga Vāsiṣṭha Rāmāyaṇa'' and the ''Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa'' are variations of the same meaning.

So Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, but he knew everything — where Sītā was living and where Lava and Kuśa were. These two caught hold of the horse and bound it, and Hanumān was bound to fight with Lava and Kuśa. They were already experts, as good as Rāma himself. They kept taking their mother Sītā's name, for they had the greatest faith: "If my mother's grace falls upon me — she is the divine mother — we can conquer, we can overcome anybody." And Hanumān had to give in.

Then Hanumān was bound, and the horse was brought before Sītā. She saw Hanumān, laughed, and released him, and introduced him to Lava and Kuśa. There is also a funny version. In Bengali there is a song about it. Hanumān is unconquerable — nobody can conquer him, for he is a ''Brahma Jñānī''. Who can conquer a Guru? Impossible. But he allowed himself, indulgingly like a grandfather, to be defeated by his grandchildren in play. And since he had "been defeated," he had to carry them around — that was the bet. The children, not knowing, climbed onto his shoulders and used him like a horse. Anyway, a poet composed a song: "If I had not voluntarily allowed myself to be conquered by you, could anyone have conquered me? It is impossible." That means nobody can go beyond the Guru. Guru is Brahmā, Guru is Viṣṇu, Guru is Maheśvara. Who can cross God himself?

But every devotee should be happy to fight with God. Rāmaprasāda also composed a song: "I will take you to court, O Mother! You are not giving me my inheritance. And I will call my father as a witness that this property belongs to me. I have come of age, and you will have to yield. And if you don't yield, I will catch hold of your lotus feet and go on crying, 'Mā, Mā,' until you have no option but to give me what I want." Beautiful ''bhajans'' of this meaning have been composed by quite a number of ''bhajan'' makers.

=== The Conclusion of the Sacrifice and Its Fruits ===
Returning to our main point: the performance of the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' demands that the king be powerful, intelligent, endowed with great resources, and it may take several years until the horse returns. When the horse finally returns, it is sacrificed and its ''medha'' — the consecrated substance — is partaken by those who conduct the ritual, including the king. Such a person, if he successfully accomplishes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', is promised by scripture that he will go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Symbolic Meditation: Aśva Upāsanā ==
Now we must understand something very important. There are many people who want to go to ''Brahma Loka'', but very few — including Brāhmaṇas — can afford to perform this sacrifice. What should they do?

What they should do is mentally perform exactly the same thing that the ''Kṣatriya'' king does — not conquering other kingdoms, but simply contemplating on the horse. This is called contemplation, ''Dhyāna Mantra''. Whoever is not a powerful, intelligent, and wealthy ''Kṣatriya'' — any Brāhmaṇa, any other ''Kṣatriya'', or person of any caste who has the capacity of mind — can do it.

The horse, however, is to be contemplated as ''Virāṭ'' — as ''Hiraṇyagarbha'', as Brahmā. Every part of the horse is described in this Upaniṣad, and every part is compared to one part of this universe. Not only powerful kings, but others as well can obtain the same result through this symbolic meditation, in which the different parts of the sacrificial horse are to be regarded as the different parts of the creator Prajāpati's body.

Now what do they attain? Whether it is the ''Kṣatriya'' who actually performs the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', or others who do this ''Aśva Upāsanā'' as ''Virāṭ Upāsanā'', as ''Hiraṇyagarbha Upāsanā'', as ''Brahma Upāsanā'' — the result is that all of them without exception go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Nature of Brahma Loka ==
''Brahma Loka'' is the most exalted plane in this entire creation. Brahmā is the presiding deity, and this world is the manifestation of that Brahmā alone. What is the speciality of this ''Brahma Loka''? Any inhabitant of ''Brahma Loka'' is conscious of his individuality, and at the same time knows his identity with all created beings. Who is Brahmā? He who identifies himself with all creation is called Brahmā. But at the same time, he doesn't say "I am ''Parabrahman'', the Supreme Brahman." Rather: "I am an individual, but the whole universe is my individuality."

Can we understand this? Yes. Every day we go to our ''Svapna Loka''. The waking "I," after the waking state comes the dream state, becomes the entire universe created in imagination. But at the same time, even in the dream we are highly conscious of our individuality. We are not conscious in the dream that we are every object in the dream world — for that we have to wake up, come to this waking world, and recollect: "Oh! I became the tree. I became the tiger. I became my neighbours. I became my friend. I became my enemy. And I gave myself a great present in the form of somebody else. And I also robbed myself." Whatever happens in the dream state — upon waking up we see that I, the one waker alone, created everything.

The condition of ''Brahma Loka'' is similar, but far greater. The denizen of ''Brahma Loka'' knows much better than the ordinary waker that the entire created world is himself. But because ''Loka'' means limitation, he knows he is also an individual. Only when he attains to Brahman will that individuality be totally dissolved. Until that time, he knows: "This entire creation is me and nothing else."

And even this gives such happiness. The more expansive one becomes, the more identification there is, the greater will be one's happiness. Let me give an example to help imagine it. Picture a householder — perhaps 100 years ago — who has several fields, is a good person, an intelligent and expert cultivator. He has married a devout wife and has five or six children, all sons, all married, all staying in the same house as a joint family, every person — husbands, wives, and their children — very good, loving, helping each other. They consider the entire joint family as "me." Just imagine, and then you can understand what the person in ''Brahma Loka'' feels.

This citizen of ''Brahma Loka'' identifies himself with this entire universe. What happens? He doesn't see the defects. He doesn't see the wickedness. He doesn't see the suffering. Because what does he see? Just as a person with a very beautiful dream would like to recollect that dream as many times as possible and re-enjoy it — like that, for this person there is no birth, there is no death. It is a beautiful, marvellous drama taking place.

This is how we gain a glimpse of what ''Brahma Loka'' is. Once a person attains to this state, he experiences the highest happiness possible in this dualistic world. Then what happens? One who knows, "I am in ''Brahma Loka'', in fact I have become one with Brahmā by contemplating on him — I identified myself with Brahmā, and that is called the ''Brahma Loka'' experience" — for this person there is no neighbor, no friend, no enemy in any conventional sense. In ''Brahma Loka'', I am Brahmā. That is called ''Brahma Loka''. A person who reaches ''Indra Loka'', I am Indra. I am Prajāpati. I am Bṛhaspati. We have to understand that particular fact.
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== Beyond Brahma Loka: The Longing for Brahman ==
So one who knows this — then his eyes open further and he sees: even this ''Brahma Loka'' is perishable. Maybe for a long time and an extraordinarily great quantum of happiness is experienced here. But as soon as the result of the ''Karma'' comes to an end, he has to again come back and earn that ''puṇyam'' again. Like a person who stays in a first-class hotel, enjoys everything, and then comes back, and has to earn once more if he wants to stay in that hotel again.

Like that, he understands: all these rites, all these ''upāsanās'' where the distinction between the worshipper and the deity is admitted — a person who has done these must eventually become eager for the knowledge of Brahman, which alone enables one to attain freedom and immortality.
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== The Six Benefits of Upāsanā ==
Before we go into the text, we have to understand and remind ourselves of what results we attain if we can hone and perfect the art of contemplation.

Like first-class students: first, concentration — undeviating concentration. Second, unmitigated, extraordinarily positive, great spiritual imagination. What do you think Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was doing when he was meditating upon the Divine Mother? He was exercising his imagination — not meditating upon a stone-like figure made of basalt that he used to worship, but a living imagination.

Third, in contemplation — ''upāsanā'' — a lower object is replaced with a higher object. Example: the ''Śiva Liṅga'' with Śiva, ''Śālagrāma'' with Viṣṇu, and the symbol of the cross with Jesus Christ, etc.

Fourth, what happens in this ''upāsanā'' is the separation of everything from "I," the pure consciousness. Pure consciousness alone is everything, and everything derives from this consciousness. First the mind borrows it, then it lends it to the sense organs. This happens to all living creatures in this world. And according to Advaita Vedānta, even the non-living creatures are manifestations of ''Sat'', ''Cit'', and ''Ānanda'' — only they are not aware that they exist. They exist, but they are not aware that we exist. They are not aware that we are ''Ānanda Svarūpas''. Only living beings experience it, and when that experience comes to an end, it is called unhappiness. Then comes again the attempt to become one with happiness. That is how it continues.

So: separation of everything from "I," which is pure consciousness. Then that "I," now pure consciousness, should be united — this individual consciousness should be united with the universal consciousness. That is, instead of saying "I am so-and-so," I am Brahman. Or if we start slowly: I am Kālī, I am Śiva, I am Viṣṇu — slowly, slowly. Or if we cannot understand even that, we say: I am ''Annamaya Brahma'', I am ''Prāṇamaya Brahma'', I am ''Manomaya Brahma'', I am ''Vijñānamaya Brahma'', I am ''Ānandamaya Brahma'' — slowly ascending, but always identifying with the larger whole. That is the purpose of ''upāsanā''.

And lastly, this is called expansiveness of mind — ''Citta Vaiśālyatā''. Gradually, on one side I give up my limitedness, and I start identifying with the universal. These are the six benefits of ''upāsanā''.
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== Summary: The Three Brahmanas and Their Purpose ==
So this first ''Brāhmaṇa'' is called ''Aśvamedha Brāhmaṇa''. In fact, the first, second, and third ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter all speak of these ''upāsanās''. We must remember: this is called ''Adhyāropa Prakaraṇa'', because ''Sṛṣṭi'' — creation — is vividly described here.

As I mentioned, this description is meant for a purpose: the Guru does not want to deny our experience that this universe is real. But it is an effect. An effect is always limited from the cause. The cause is unlimited; the effect is limited. So you will be more happy if you expand yourself into the cause. Find out the cause of this universe. Who is that? Brahmā. Find out the cause of Brahmā. Then it becomes Brahman. That is the purpose.

So there are three ''upāsanās'' in these first three ''Brāhmaṇas'': ''Aśva'', ''Agni'', and ''Prāṇa''. We will talk about this in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''

[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.1-2 Lecture 11 on 28 February 2026

2026-06-11T05:42:50Z

Shekhar: /* What is Adhyāropa? */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् । पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

'''ॐ आप्यायन्तु ममाङ्गानि वाक्प्राणश्चक्षुः श्रोत्रमथो बलमिन्द्रियाणि च सर्वाणि । सर्वं ब्रह्मौपनिषदम् । माहं ब्रह्म निराकुर्यां मा मा ब्रह्म निराकरोत् ।'''

'''अनिराकरणमस्तु अनिराकरणं मेऽस्तु । तदात्मनि निरते य उपनिषत्सु धर्मास्ते मयि सन्तु ते मयि सन्तु ।'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥'''

Oṁ āpyāyantu mamāṅgāni vāk prāṇaś cakṣuḥ śrotram atho balam indriyāṇi ca sarvāṇi । sarvaṁ brahmaupaniṣadam । mā'haṁ brahma nirākuryāṁ mā mā brahma nirākarot । anirākaraṇam astu anirākaraṇaṁ me'stu । tad ātmani nirate ya upaniṣatsu dharmās te mayi santu te mayi santu । Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ ॥

(Simplified phonetic reading: Om aapyaayantu mamaangaani, vaak praanash-chakshuh shrotram-atho balam-indriyaani cha sarvaani; sarvam brahma-aupanishadam; maa-aham brahma niraakuryaam, maa maa brahma niraakarot; aniraakaranam astu, aniraakaranam me astu; tad-aatmani nirate ya upanishatsu dharmaas-te mayi santu te mayi santu; Om shaantih shaantih shaantih.)

Om — May my limbs, speech, vital force, eyes, ears, as also strength and all the organs become well developed. Everything is the Brahman revealed in the Upanishads. May I not deny Brahman, may not Brahman deny me, let there be no spurning of me by Brahman, let there be no rejection of Brahman by me. May all the virtues that are spoken of in the Upanishads repose in me, who am engaged in the pursuit of the Self. May they repose in me, may they repose in me, may they repose in me. Om, peace, peace, peace be unto all.

= Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: Introduction to the First and Second Mantras =

== Overview of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad ==
We have been studying the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. Now we are going to enter into the first and second mantras.

As we discussed earlier, this Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad has six chapters, and every two chapters are combined into one. The very first section is called ''Madhu Kāṇḍam'' or ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍam''. ''Kāṇḍam'' means a section dealing with real teaching — ''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi''. The second part supports the same teaching with reasoning and rationality. That is the subject matter. It is also called ''Yājñavalkya Kāṇḍa'', ''Muni Kāṇḍa'', ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' with ''Tarka'' — that is, ''Śruti'', ''Samatha'', ''Tarka''. The third two chapters, the third part, are called ''Khila Kāṇḍam'', which covers miscellaneous items, some of which are highly important.

As I mentioned earlier at the very beginning, we are not going to proceed mantra by mantra, but will take the very essence of it. That way we will not be confused. Otherwise, this is one of the biggest of the Upaniṣads, containing more than 640 mantras. To go through every one of them is neither necessary, nor need we waste time doing so. Essential points in the light of the teachings of Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda will be very useful.
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== Adhyāropa and Apavāda: The Vedāntic Methodology ==
Now this first chapter, according to the interpretation of Śaṅkarācārya, follows the Advaita Vedāntic methodology called ''Adhyāropa'' and ''Apavāda''.

=== What is Adhyāropa? ===
''Adhyāropa'' means accepting our present experience as it is. The scripture says: yes, you are right — what you are experiencing is real. But there are certain points you have to note down, and only then will you understand the nature of this world you are experiencing.

First of all, the world depends upon you. If you, the subject, are sleeping, in a coma, or unconscious, the whole universe disappears so far as you are concerned. Even though in our ordinary experience we say we depend upon the world, actually we can see that we shape the whole world. What does an artist do? He shapes whatever object — be it wood, be it stone — according to his own concept. He can bring out Rāma or he can bring out Rāvaṇāsura, depending upon his ''saṃskāras''. He can bring out Kṛṣṇa, he can bring out Kaṃsa.

A writer can express his own beautiful imaginations and manifest them in the form of beautiful language and literature. And earlier days, we used to study the literature of both the East and the West. Nowadays, I don't know whether they are doing it. And a poet or a musician — the limit is the sky, one's own imagination.

Consider our dreams. We can dream whatever we like. We think, most of the time by mistake, that a dream overwhelms us and that we are forced to experience the dream. But no. If a child is reading about gods and goddesses and is endowed with spiritual ''saṃskāras'', he will be dreaming of gods and goddesses like Nāgamahāśaya. But if somebody is interested in Superman or evil characters — and so many people are addicted to these evil characters because they want to be like that but don't have the capacity — they watch films and rule over the world in imagination. Similarly, a cricket fan's biggest heroes will be those who fetch the greatest number of runs. So everything depends upon our mind, and the mind is endowed with borrowed consciousness. The mind pays attention, and only that which it attends to is experienceable by us.

Second, the world is continuously changing. Third, it consists of three parts: form, name, and utility — ''Rūpa'', ''Nāma'', ''Karma''.

So what does the scripture tell fortunate souls who want to progress in spiritual life, who believe in the teachings of the scriptures, and who want to realize God? If the scriptures start by saying this world is unreal, we are likely to give up the world. But if the scriptures accept that it is true — not unreal, but ''Mithyā'' — that changes things. ''Mithyā'' means dependent, ever-changing, unreliable, and so forth. This is called ''Adhyāropa'': accepting it temporarily.

The scripture doesn't stop there. It goes on to ask: what do you want in this world? "I want money." Alright, do this — you will get money. Chant the name of Mahālakṣmī mantra, recite Śrī Sūktam or Kanakādhārastavam. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said, and proved to the hilt, that every mantra in the scriptures — meaning the Vedas, Purāṇas, Tantras, and instructions of Gurus — is absolutely true. He proved it. When he used to perform ''pūjā'' and chant a particular mantra, for example the Agni Mantra ''Rām'', he would immediately see a wall of fire springing up and protecting him. When Rāmakṛṣṇa was young, he used to visit a crematorium called Bhuterkhali, and he used to carry a pot of rice, cooked rice. And then he said later on, the pot disappears in the mid-air, from our eyes, that means there are spirits, which accept them.

And now, what little original capacity we have, we are fast losing to the new AI, and that becomes our reality. But I can assure you it is not going to be so for long, because every human being is potentially divine. God will give those necessary sticks — not always carrots — to awaken us.

So slowly the teacher tells the student to fulfil desires through scriptural means. The person may start sceptically, but in course of time he gets what was promised, develops faith, and when he opens his eyes and looks further into the scripture, he says: "Why should I be content with temporary results and limited happiness? Why settle for limited existence? I can have eternal existence, infinite knowledge, and unbroken bliss." By now the student's mind has developed tremendous ''śraddhā''.

=== What is Apavāda? ===
Then starts the second part of the scripture, called ''Apavāda''. The teacher says: what I told you was true only for that level of students, or when you were at that level. But now you have crossed over, and you yourself are longing for something higher. Now I will teach you. This is called ''Apavāda''.

In a manner of speaking, the world is unreal. To prove that the world is insubstantial, unreliable, ever-changing, dangerous, and the cause of repeated births and repeated sufferings — that is the common view. But the scripture, through the Guru, teaches: that is only the middle way, valid when you are in the middle stage of your development. But later on you understand that everything is Brahman. This world is a ''Līlā'' — a divine play. Everybody, everything in this universe is only the infinite imagination of the infinite Brahman. What is suffering — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. What is happiness and bliss — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. That is the ''Apavāda''. ''Apavāda'' means negation: negation of your previous understanding of the world. First, the only reality has been understood as a changing, unreliable, insubstantial reality. That is then transformed into the understanding that everything is Brahman. And the final step is that everything is the ''Līlā'' of Brahman. This applies especially to the ''Jīvanmukta''.

What a beautiful way this is! First, like giving a child a real apple and saying "this is called apple, the spelling starts with A; this is beetroot, it starts with B; this is a carrot, and it starts with C" — like that, a person is helped to evolve both physically and spiritually, intellectually and spiritually.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa illustrates this beautifully. There is a kind of Bengali sweet whose outside looks absolutely the same, but the inside can be filled with hard lentils — ''kaḍai dāl'' — or with coconut and jaggery, or with ''canā'', or with broken milk — what we call paneer. There is a vast difference in what is within, even though the outside appears the same. Slowly the teacher takes the student higher in exactly this way.
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== The Structure of the First Chapter: Upadeśa Kāṇḍa ==
In the very first chapter, as just mentioned, it is called ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' or ''Madhu Kāṇḍa''. ''Upadeśa'' means teaching. Usually the word ''upadeśa'' means when a Guru initiates a disciple, that is called ''upadeśa''. But here, instead of just a mantra, he also gives explanation and teaching.

You should look upon your body as ''Brahmapurī''. You should look upon your mind also as ''Brahmapurī'', the ''Hṛdayākāśa''. It is the abode of the purest of the pure. Brahman, ''Jyotir Jyotiḥ'', resides within it. This is how you will have to slowly orient your thought: this body is a sacred temple. When one succeeds in thinking of oneself as a sacred temple, and Brahman is within, and "I am not different from that Brahman," slowly his understanding is also applied — first to the mother, then the father, then the teacher, then everybody else. Slow expansion.

As an example: first, Gopālasumā had the ''darśana'' of child Gopāla. And then, like a devoted woman, she went to Dakṣiṇeśvara, and there she saw that this Kṛṣṇa — God himself — had said: "Whatever pathway a person chooses to approach and come to me, I will run towards him and take him into my bosom and teach him." So Gopāla — that is, Bāla Kṛṣṇa — started entering into Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's body and coming out. He did this several times until Gopāla's mother understood that her Gopāla and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa are not different — they are one and the same. In fact, Gopāla's mother first had the vision of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, and then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa transformed himself into child Gopāla.

After a few days — that is, when the idea that Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa are absolutely one became firm and unshakeable — Gopāla started doing exactly the same thing but with the other direct disciples of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. She started understanding: "My Gopāla wants to teach me that he is Rākhal, he is Narendra, he is Tārak, and he is the other disciples." Like that, Gopāla entered into any number of disciples and devotees until she realized — but that also was a partial view and not complete realization.

After some weeks or months, there was a chariot festival. Those who wish to know the details can refer to ''Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: The Great Master'' by Swami Sārādānanda. She described graphically that on that day she had a universal vision of her Gopāla. Everything — living and non-living, moving and non-moving, the priest, the audience, the chariot, the people pulling the chariot, the music makers — without exception, everybody was nothing but her Gopāla. With that, her realization of ''Sarvaṃ Khalvidaṃ Brahma'' was complete.

That is the purpose of ''Adhyāropa'' and ''Apavāda''.
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== The Three Upāsanās of the First Chapter ==
As I mentioned, the first chapter contains the analysis of ''Adhyāropa''. How do we know? Because in the first chapter, following certain types of contemplations, there are three meditations — ''upāsanās'' — described:

# Contemplation on a horse — ''Aśva Upāsanā''
# Contemplation on fire — ''Agni Upāsanā''
# Contemplation on ''Prāṇa'' — ''Prāṇa Upāsanā''

In this Upaniṣad, the chapters are known as ''Adhyāyas''. The word ''Adhyāya'' is very interesting: ''Adhyāpaka'' means teacher, ''adhyayana'' is studying, and so ''Adhyāya'' means that which teaches what a person wants to learn. Each chapter has several sections, and each section is called a ''Brāhmaṇa''.

In the first three ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter, we see these three meditations. The first ''Brāhmaṇa'' of the first chapter consists of two verses, and the second consists of seven. Both the first and second ''Brāhmaṇas'' are devoted to the meditation on a horse and the fire used in the ritual called ''Aśvamedha Yajña''.
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== The Aśvamedha Yajña ==

=== Nature of the Sacrifice ===
The ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' is the highest of all Vedic rites. What does the person who successfully completes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' attain? He will go to ''Prajāpati Loka'', ''Virāṭ Loka'', ''Brahma Loka''. But this sacrifice involves a tremendous amount of money, time, power, and intelligence. Briefly: the best horse available in the kingdom is chosen and set free to roam all over the world. Of course, people accompany and attend to it, and when it returns it is worshipped, for it has become the most sacred of animals.

The purpose is twofold. The first purpose is that whichever kingdom the horse enters, the king who is performing the sacrifice must subdue its ruler. If he cannot, he cannot perform the ''Aśvamedha Yajña''. That is why only a powerful ''Kṣatriya'' king can truly perform it, and the best soldiers with the best commander-in-chief are sent to defend the horse's passage. Even Rāma had done this.

=== The Story of Lava and Kuśa ===
When the horse came to the forest where Muni Vālmīki resided — Rāma having sent Sītā away from the kingdom, she being pregnant, and Lakṣmaṇa, devoted to Sītā, having brought her to Vālmīki Ṛṣi with tears in his eyes, though he had to obey Rāma — there she gave birth to twins, Lava and Kuśa. Vālmīki, not only a poet but also an expert archer, taught them the best of archery. The story is marvellous and very purifying.

These two children, proud and well-trained, one day saw this horse sent by Rāma — their own father, though they did not know it. Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, and nobody can defeat Hanumān because he is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa''. Nobody can defeat ''Prāṇa'', because if you fight with ''Prāṇa'', ''Prāṇa'' will leave you and you will be dead. But here ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' means the best teacher of ''Brahma Vidyā''.

How do we know this? Because of the symbolism in the South Indian version: Sītā was the individual soul, fallen into the net of ''Māyā'' called Rāvaṇāsura. Rāma sent Hanumān to rescue her. He crosses the ocean — the ocean of ''Saṃsāra'', ''Māyā'' — and gives his ''Upadeśa'': "Rāma is concerned about you. He will soon come and rescue you. God will bless you very soon, and you will be free from ''saṃsāra bandhanam''." That was the message. That is why Hanumān is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' — the greatest ''Brahma Jñānī'', the foremost Guru. So Hanumān liberated Sītā, who in this version is compared to a bound soul. We have to understand the symbolism. The ''Yoga Vāsiṣṭha Rāmāyaṇa'' and the ''Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa'' are variations of the same meaning.

So Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, but he knew everything — where Sītā was living and where Lava and Kuśa were. These two caught hold of the horse and bound it, and Hanumān was bound to fight with Lava and Kuśa. They were already experts, as good as Rāma himself. They kept taking their mother Sītā's name, for they had the greatest faith: "If my mother's grace falls upon me — she is the divine mother — we can conquer, we can overcome anybody." And Hanumān had to give in.

Then Hanumān was bound, and the horse was brought before Sītā. She saw Hanumān, laughed, and released him, and introduced him to Lava and Kuśa. There is also a funny version. In Bengali there is a song about it. Hanumān is unconquerable — nobody can conquer him, for he is a ''Brahma Jñānī''. Who can conquer a Guru? Impossible. But he allowed himself, indulgingly like a grandfather, to be defeated by his grandchildren in play. And since he had "been defeated," he had to carry them around — that was the bet. The children, not knowing, climbed onto his shoulders and used him like a horse. Anyway, a poet composed a song: "If I had not voluntarily allowed myself to be conquered by you, could anyone have conquered me? It is impossible." That means nobody can go beyond the Guru. Guru is Brahmā, Guru is Viṣṇu, Guru is Maheśvara. Who can cross God himself?

But every devotee should be happy to fight with God. Rāmaprasāda also composed a song: "I will take you to court, O Mother! You are not giving me my inheritance. And I will call my father as a witness that this property belongs to me. I have come of age, and you will have to yield. And if you don't yield, I will catch hold of your lotus feet and go on crying, 'Mā, Mā,' until you have no option but to give me what I want." Beautiful ''bhajans'' of this meaning have been composed by quite a number of ''bhajan'' makers.

=== The Conclusion of the Sacrifice and Its Fruits ===
Returning to our main point: the performance of the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' demands that the king be powerful, intelligent, endowed with great resources, and it may take several years until the horse returns. When the horse finally returns, it is sacrificed and its ''medha'' — the consecrated substance — is partaken by those who conduct the ritual, including the king. Such a person, if he successfully accomplishes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', is promised by scripture that he will go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Symbolic Meditation: Aśva Upāsanā ==
Now we must understand something very important. There are many people who want to go to ''Brahma Loka'', but very few — including Brāhmaṇas — can afford to perform this sacrifice. What should they do?

What they should do is mentally perform exactly the same thing that the ''Kṣatriya'' king does — not conquering other kingdoms, but simply contemplating on the horse. This is called contemplation, ''Dhyāna Mantra''. Whoever is not a powerful, intelligent, and wealthy ''Kṣatriya'' — any Brāhmaṇa, any other ''Kṣatriya'', or person of any caste who has the capacity of mind — can do it.

The horse, however, is to be contemplated as ''Virāṭ'' — as ''Hiraṇyagarbha'', as Brahmā. Every part of the horse is described in this Upaniṣad, and every part is compared to one part of this universe. Not only powerful kings, but others as well can obtain the same result through this symbolic meditation, in which the different parts of the sacrificial horse are to be regarded as the different parts of the creator Prajāpati's body.

Now what do they attain? Whether it is the ''Kṣatriya'' who actually performs the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', or others who do this ''Aśva Upāsanā'' as ''Virāṭ Upāsanā'', as ''Hiraṇyagarbha Upāsanā'', as ''Brahma Upāsanā'' — the result is that all of them without exception go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Nature of Brahma Loka ==
''Brahma Loka'' is the most exalted plane in this entire creation. Brahmā is the presiding deity, and this world is the manifestation of that Brahmā alone. What is the speciality of this ''Brahma Loka''? Any inhabitant of ''Brahma Loka'' is conscious of his individuality, and at the same time knows his identity with all created beings. Who is Brahmā? He who identifies himself with all creation is called Brahmā. But at the same time, he doesn't say "I am ''Parabrahman'', the Supreme Brahman." Rather: "I am an individual, but the whole universe is my individuality."

Can we understand this? Yes. Every day we go to our ''Svapna Loka''. The waking "I," after the waking state comes the dream state, becomes the entire universe created in imagination. But at the same time, even in the dream we are highly conscious of our individuality. We are not conscious in the dream that we are every object in the dream world — for that we have to wake up, come to this waking world, and recollect: "Oh! I became the tree. I became the tiger. I became my neighbours. I became my friend. I became my enemy. And I gave myself a great present in the form of somebody else. And I also robbed myself." Whatever happens in the dream state — upon waking up we see that I, the one waker alone, created everything.

The condition of ''Brahma Loka'' is similar, but far greater. The denizen of ''Brahma Loka'' knows much better than the ordinary waker that the entire created world is himself. But because ''Loka'' means limitation, he knows he is also an individual. Only when he attains to Brahman will that individuality be totally dissolved. Until that time, he knows: "This entire creation is me and nothing else."

And even this gives such happiness. The more expansive one becomes, the more identification there is, the greater will be one's happiness. Let me give an example to help imagine it. Picture a householder — perhaps 100 years ago — who has several fields, is a good person, an intelligent and expert cultivator. He has married a devout wife and has five or six children, all sons, all married, all staying in the same house as a joint family, every person — husbands, wives, and their children — very good, loving, helping each other. They consider the entire joint family as "me." Just imagine, and then you can understand what the person in ''Brahma Loka'' feels.

This citizen of ''Brahma Loka'' identifies himself with this entire universe. What happens? He doesn't see the defects. He doesn't see the wickedness. He doesn't see the suffering. Because what does he see? Just as a person with a very beautiful dream would like to recollect that dream as many times as possible and re-enjoy it — like that, for this person there is no birth, there is no death. It is a beautiful, marvellous drama taking place.

This is how we gain a glimpse of what ''Brahma Loka'' is. Once a person attains to this state, he experiences the highest happiness possible in this dualistic world. Then what happens? One who knows, "I am in ''Brahma Loka'', in fact I have become one with Brahmā by contemplating on him — I identified myself with Brahmā, and that is called the ''Brahma Loka'' experience" — for this person there is no neighbor, no friend, no enemy in any conventional sense. In ''Brahma Loka'', I am Brahmā. That is called ''Brahma Loka''. A person who reaches ''Indra Loka'', I am Indra. I am Prajāpati. I am Bṛhaspati. We have to understand that particular fact.
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== Beyond Brahma Loka: The Longing for Brahman ==
So one who knows this — then his eyes open further and he sees: even this ''Brahma Loka'' is perishable. Maybe for a long time and an extraordinarily great quantum of happiness is experienced here. But as soon as the result of the ''Karma'' comes to an end, he has to again come back and earn that ''puṇyam'' again. Like a person who stays in a first-class hotel, enjoys everything, and then comes back, and has to earn once more if he wants to stay in that hotel again.

Like that, he understands: all these rites, all these ''upāsanās'' where the distinction between the worshipper and the deity is admitted — a person who has done these must eventually become eager for the knowledge of Brahman, which alone enables one to attain freedom and immortality.
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== The Six Benefits of Upāsanā ==
Before we go into the text, we have to understand and remind ourselves of what results we attain if we can hone and perfect the art of contemplation.

Like first-class students: first, concentration — undeviating concentration. Second, unmitigated, extraordinarily positive, great spiritual imagination. What do you think Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was doing when he was meditating upon the Divine Mother? He was exercising his imagination — not meditating upon a stone-like figure made of basalt that he used to worship, but a living imagination.

Third, in contemplation — ''upāsanā'' — a lower object is replaced with a higher object. Example: the ''Śiva Liṅga'' with Śiva, ''Śālagrāma'' with Viṣṇu, and the symbol of the cross with Jesus Christ, etc.

Fourth, what happens in this ''upāsanā'' is the separation of everything from "I," the pure consciousness. Pure consciousness alone is everything, and everything derives from this consciousness. First the mind borrows it, then it lends it to the sense organs. This happens to all living creatures in this world. And according to Advaita Vedānta, even the non-living creatures are manifestations of ''Sat'', ''Cit'', and ''Ānanda'' — only they are not aware that they exist. They exist, but they are not aware that we exist. They are not aware that we are ''Ānanda Svarūpas''. Only living beings experience it, and when that experience comes to an end, it is called unhappiness. Then comes again the attempt to become one with happiness. That is how it continues.

So: separation of everything from "I," which is pure consciousness. Then that "I," now pure consciousness, should be united — this individual consciousness should be united with the universal consciousness. That is, instead of saying "I am so-and-so," I am Brahman. Or if we start slowly: I am Kālī, I am Śiva, I am Viṣṇu — slowly, slowly. Or if we cannot understand even that, we say: I am ''Annamaya Brahma'', I am ''Prāṇamaya Brahma'', I am ''Manomaya Brahma'', I am ''Vijñānamaya Brahma'', I am ''Ānandamaya Brahma'' — slowly ascending, but always identifying with the larger whole. That is the purpose of ''upāsanā''.

And lastly, this is called expansiveness of mind — ''Citta Vaiśālyatā''. Gradually, on one side I give up my limitedness, and I start identifying with the universal. These are the six benefits of ''upāsanā''.
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== Summary: The Three Brahmanas and Their Purpose ==
So this first ''Brāhmaṇa'' is called ''Aśvamedha Brāhmaṇa''. In fact, the first, second, and third ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter all speak of these ''upāsanās''. We must remember: this is called ''Adhyāropa Prakaraṇa'', because ''Sṛṣṭi'' — creation — is vividly described here.

As I mentioned, this description is meant for a purpose: the Guru does not want to deny our experience that this universe is real. But it is an effect. An effect is always limited from the cause. The cause is unlimited; the effect is limited. So you will be more happy if you expand yourself into the cause. Find out the cause of this universe. Who is that? Brahmā. Find out the cause of Brahmā. Then it becomes Brahman. That is the purpose.

So there are three ''upāsanās'' in these first three ''Brāhmaṇas'': ''Aśva'', ''Agni'', and ''Prāṇa''. We will talk about this in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''

[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.1-2 Lecture 11 on 28 February 2026

2026-06-11T05:37:09Z

Shekhar: /* What is Adhyāropa? */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् । पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

'''ॐ आप्यायन्तु ममाङ्गानि वाक्प्राणश्चक्षुः श्रोत्रमथो बलमिन्द्रियाणि च सर्वाणि । सर्वं ब्रह्मौपनिषदम् । माहं ब्रह्म निराकुर्यां मा मा ब्रह्म निराकरोत् ।'''

'''अनिराकरणमस्तु अनिराकरणं मेऽस्तु । तदात्मनि निरते य उपनिषत्सु धर्मास्ते मयि सन्तु ते मयि सन्तु ।'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥'''

Oṁ āpyāyantu mamāṅgāni vāk prāṇaś cakṣuḥ śrotram atho balam indriyāṇi ca sarvāṇi । sarvaṁ brahmaupaniṣadam । mā'haṁ brahma nirākuryāṁ mā mā brahma nirākarot । anirākaraṇam astu anirākaraṇaṁ me'stu । tad ātmani nirate ya upaniṣatsu dharmās te mayi santu te mayi santu । Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ ॥

(Simplified phonetic reading: Om aapyaayantu mamaangaani, vaak praanash-chakshuh shrotram-atho balam-indriyaani cha sarvaani; sarvam brahma-aupanishadam; maa-aham brahma niraakuryaam, maa maa brahma niraakarot; aniraakaranam astu, aniraakaranam me astu; tad-aatmani nirate ya upanishatsu dharmaas-te mayi santu te mayi santu; Om shaantih shaantih shaantih.)

Om — May my limbs, speech, vital force, eyes, ears, as also strength and all the organs become well developed. Everything is the Brahman revealed in the Upanishads. May I not deny Brahman, may not Brahman deny me, let there be no spurning of me by Brahman, let there be no rejection of Brahman by me. May all the virtues that are spoken of in the Upanishads repose in me, who am engaged in the pursuit of the Self. May they repose in me, may they repose in me, may they repose in me. Om, peace, peace, peace be unto all.

= Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: Introduction to the First and Second Mantras =

== Overview of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad ==
We have been studying the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. Now we are going to enter into the first and second mantras.

As we discussed earlier, this Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad has six chapters, and every two chapters are combined into one. The very first section is called ''Madhu Kāṇḍam'' or ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍam''. ''Kāṇḍam'' means a section dealing with real teaching — ''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi''. The second part supports the same teaching with reasoning and rationality. That is the subject matter. It is also called ''Yājñavalkya Kāṇḍa'', ''Muni Kāṇḍa'', ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' with ''Tarka'' — that is, ''Śruti'', ''Samatha'', ''Tarka''. The third two chapters, the third part, are called ''Khila Kāṇḍam'', which covers miscellaneous items, some of which are highly important.

As I mentioned earlier at the very beginning, we are not going to proceed mantra by mantra, but will take the very essence of it. That way we will not be confused. Otherwise, this is one of the biggest of the Upaniṣads, containing more than 640 mantras. To go through every one of them is neither necessary, nor need we waste time doing so. Essential points in the light of the teachings of Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda will be very useful.
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== Adhyāropa and Apavāda: The Vedāntic Methodology ==
Now this first chapter, according to the interpretation of Śaṅkarācārya, follows the Advaita Vedāntic methodology called ''Adhyāropa'' and ''Apavāda''.

=== What is Adhyāropa? ===
''Adhyāropa'' means accepting our present experience as it is. The scripture says: yes, you are right — what you are experiencing is real. But there are certain points you have to note down, and only then will you understand the nature of this world you are experiencing.

First of all, the world depends upon you. If you, the subject, are sleeping, in a coma, or unconscious, the whole universe disappears so far as you are concerned. Even though in our ordinary experience we say we depend upon the world, actually we can see that we shape the whole world. What does an artist do? He shapes whatever object — be it wood, be it stone — according to his own concept. He can bring out Rāma or he can bring out Rāvaṇāsura, depending upon his ''saṃskāras''. He can bring out Kṛṣṇa, he can bring out Kaṃsa.

A writer can express his own beautiful imaginations and manifest them in the form of beautiful language and literature. And earlier days, we used to study the literature of both the East and the West. Nowadays, I don't know whether they are doing it. And a poet or a musician — the limit is the sky, one's own imagination.

Consider our dreams. We can dream whatever we like. We think, most of the time by mistake, that a dream overwhelms us and that we are forced to experience the dream. But no. If a child is reading about gods and goddesses and is endowed with spiritual ''saṃskāras'', he will be dreaming of gods and goddesses like Nāgamahāśaya. But if somebody is interested in Superman or evil characters — and so many people are addicted to these evil characters because they want to be like that but don't have the capacity — they watch films and rule over the world in imagination. Similarly, a cricket fan's biggest heroes will be those who fetch the greatest number of runs. So everything depends upon our mind, and the mind is endowed with borrowed consciousness. The mind pays attention, and only that which it attends to is experienceable by us.

Second, the world is continuously changing. Third, it consists of three parts: form, name, and utility — ''Rūpa'', ''Nāma'', ''Karma''.

So what does the scripture tell fortunate souls who want to progress in spiritual life, who believe in the teachings of the scriptures, and who want to realize God? If the scriptures start by saying this world is unreal, we are likely to give up the world. But if the scriptures accept that it is true — not unreal, but ''Mithyā'' — that changes things. ''Mithyā'' means dependent, ever-changing, unreliable, and so forth. This is called ''Adhyāropa'': accepting it temporarily.

The scripture doesn't stop there. It goes on to ask: what do you want in this world? "I want money." Alright, do this — you will get money. Chant the name of Mahālakṣmī mantra, recite Śrī Sūktam or Kanakādhārastavam. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said, and proved to the hilt, that every mantra in the scriptures — meaning the Vedas, Purāṇas, Tantras, and instructions of Gurus — is absolutely true. He proved it. When he used to perform ''pūjā'' and chant a particular mantra, for example the Agni Mantra ''Rām'', he would immediately see a wall of fire springing up and protecting him. When Rāmakṛṣṇa was young, he used to visit a crematorium called Bhuterkhali, and he said later that the pot would disappear in mid-air — that is, there are spirits which accept such offerings.

And now, what little original capacity we have, we are fast losing to the new AI, and that becomes our reality. But I can assure you it is not going to be so for long, because every human being is potentially divine. God will give those necessary sticks — not always carrots — to awaken us.

So slowly the teacher tells the student to fulfil desires through scriptural means. The person may start sceptically, but in course of time he gets what was promised, develops faith, and when he opens his eyes and looks further into the scripture, he says: "Why should I be content with temporary results and limited happiness? Why settle for limited existence? I can have eternal existence, infinite knowledge, and unbroken bliss." By now the student's mind has developed tremendous ''śraddhā''.

=== What is Apavāda? ===
Then starts the second part of the scripture, called ''Apavāda''. The teacher says: what I told you was true only for that level of students, or when you were at that level. But now you have crossed over, and you yourself are longing for something higher. Now I will teach you. This is called ''Apavāda''.

In a manner of speaking, the world is unreal. To prove that the world is insubstantial, unreliable, ever-changing, dangerous, and the cause of repeated births and repeated sufferings — that is the common view. But the scripture, through the Guru, teaches: that is only the middle way, valid when you are in the middle stage of your development. But later on you understand that everything is Brahman. This world is a ''Līlā'' — a divine play. Everybody, everything in this universe is only the infinite imagination of the infinite Brahman. What is suffering — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. What is happiness and bliss — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. That is the ''Apavāda''. ''Apavāda'' means negation: negation of your previous understanding of the world. First, the only reality has been understood as a changing, unreliable, insubstantial reality. That is then transformed into the understanding that everything is Brahman. And the final step is that everything is the ''Līlā'' of Brahman. This applies especially to the ''Jīvanmukta''.

What a beautiful way this is! First, like giving a child a real apple and saying "this is called apple, the spelling starts with A; this is beetroot, it starts with B; this is a carrot, and it starts with C" — like that, a person is helped to evolve both physically and spiritually, intellectually and spiritually.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa illustrates this beautifully. There is a kind of Bengali sweet whose outside looks absolutely the same, but the inside can be filled with hard lentils — ''kaḍai dāl'' — or with coconut and jaggery, or with ''canā'', or with broken milk — what we call paneer. There is a vast difference in what is within, even though the outside appears the same. Slowly the teacher takes the student higher in exactly this way.
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== The Structure of the First Chapter: Upadeśa Kāṇḍa ==
In the very first chapter, as just mentioned, it is called ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' or ''Madhu Kāṇḍa''. ''Upadeśa'' means teaching. Usually the word ''upadeśa'' means when a Guru initiates a disciple, that is called ''upadeśa''. But here, instead of just a mantra, he also gives explanation and teaching.

You should look upon your body as ''Brahmapurī''. You should look upon your mind also as ''Brahmapurī'', the ''Hṛdayākāśa''. It is the abode of the purest of the pure. Brahman, ''Jyotir Jyotiḥ'', resides within it. This is how you will have to slowly orient your thought: this body is a sacred temple. When one succeeds in thinking of oneself as a sacred temple, and Brahman is within, and "I am not different from that Brahman," slowly his understanding is also applied — first to the mother, then the father, then the teacher, then everybody else. Slow expansion.

As an example: first, Gopālasumā had the ''darśana'' of child Gopāla. And then, like a devoted woman, she went to Dakṣiṇeśvara, and there she saw that this Kṛṣṇa — God himself — had said: "Whatever pathway a person chooses to approach and come to me, I will run towards him and take him into my bosom and teach him." So Gopāla — that is, Bāla Kṛṣṇa — started entering into Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's body and coming out. He did this several times until Gopāla's mother understood that her Gopāla and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa are not different — they are one and the same. In fact, Gopāla's mother first had the vision of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, and then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa transformed himself into child Gopāla.

After a few days — that is, when the idea that Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa are absolutely one became firm and unshakeable — Gopāla started doing exactly the same thing but with the other direct disciples of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. She started understanding: "My Gopāla wants to teach me that he is Rākhal, he is Narendra, he is Tārak, and he is the other disciples." Like that, Gopāla entered into any number of disciples and devotees until she realized — but that also was a partial view and not complete realization.

After some weeks or months, there was a chariot festival. Those who wish to know the details can refer to ''Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: The Great Master'' by Swami Sārādānanda. She described graphically that on that day she had a universal vision of her Gopāla. Everything — living and non-living, moving and non-moving, the priest, the audience, the chariot, the people pulling the chariot, the music makers — without exception, everybody was nothing but her Gopāla. With that, her realization of ''Sarvaṃ Khalvidaṃ Brahma'' was complete.

That is the purpose of ''Adhyāropa'' and ''Apavāda''.
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== The Three Upāsanās of the First Chapter ==
As I mentioned, the first chapter contains the analysis of ''Adhyāropa''. How do we know? Because in the first chapter, following certain types of contemplations, there are three meditations — ''upāsanās'' — described:

# Contemplation on a horse — ''Aśva Upāsanā''
# Contemplation on fire — ''Agni Upāsanā''
# Contemplation on ''Prāṇa'' — ''Prāṇa Upāsanā''

In this Upaniṣad, the chapters are known as ''Adhyāyas''. The word ''Adhyāya'' is very interesting: ''Adhyāpaka'' means teacher, ''adhyayana'' is studying, and so ''Adhyāya'' means that which teaches what a person wants to learn. Each chapter has several sections, and each section is called a ''Brāhmaṇa''.

In the first three ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter, we see these three meditations. The first ''Brāhmaṇa'' of the first chapter consists of two verses, and the second consists of seven. Both the first and second ''Brāhmaṇas'' are devoted to the meditation on a horse and the fire used in the ritual called ''Aśvamedha Yajña''.
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== The Aśvamedha Yajña ==

=== Nature of the Sacrifice ===
The ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' is the highest of all Vedic rites. What does the person who successfully completes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' attain? He will go to ''Prajāpati Loka'', ''Virāṭ Loka'', ''Brahma Loka''. But this sacrifice involves a tremendous amount of money, time, power, and intelligence. Briefly: the best horse available in the kingdom is chosen and set free to roam all over the world. Of course, people accompany and attend to it, and when it returns it is worshipped, for it has become the most sacred of animals.

The purpose is twofold. The first purpose is that whichever kingdom the horse enters, the king who is performing the sacrifice must subdue its ruler. If he cannot, he cannot perform the ''Aśvamedha Yajña''. That is why only a powerful ''Kṣatriya'' king can truly perform it, and the best soldiers with the best commander-in-chief are sent to defend the horse's passage. Even Rāma had done this.

=== The Story of Lava and Kuśa ===
When the horse came to the forest where Muni Vālmīki resided — Rāma having sent Sītā away from the kingdom, she being pregnant, and Lakṣmaṇa, devoted to Sītā, having brought her to Vālmīki Ṛṣi with tears in his eyes, though he had to obey Rāma — there she gave birth to twins, Lava and Kuśa. Vālmīki, not only a poet but also an expert archer, taught them the best of archery. The story is marvellous and very purifying.

These two children, proud and well-trained, one day saw this horse sent by Rāma — their own father, though they did not know it. Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, and nobody can defeat Hanumān because he is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa''. Nobody can defeat ''Prāṇa'', because if you fight with ''Prāṇa'', ''Prāṇa'' will leave you and you will be dead. But here ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' means the best teacher of ''Brahma Vidyā''.

How do we know this? Because of the symbolism in the South Indian version: Sītā was the individual soul, fallen into the net of ''Māyā'' called Rāvaṇāsura. Rāma sent Hanumān to rescue her. He crosses the ocean — the ocean of ''Saṃsāra'', ''Māyā'' — and gives his ''Upadeśa'': "Rāma is concerned about you. He will soon come and rescue you. God will bless you very soon, and you will be free from ''saṃsāra bandhanam''." That was the message. That is why Hanumān is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' — the greatest ''Brahma Jñānī'', the foremost Guru. So Hanumān liberated Sītā, who in this version is compared to a bound soul. We have to understand the symbolism. The ''Yoga Vāsiṣṭha Rāmāyaṇa'' and the ''Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa'' are variations of the same meaning.

So Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, but he knew everything — where Sītā was living and where Lava and Kuśa were. These two caught hold of the horse and bound it, and Hanumān was bound to fight with Lava and Kuśa. They were already experts, as good as Rāma himself. They kept taking their mother Sītā's name, for they had the greatest faith: "If my mother's grace falls upon me — she is the divine mother — we can conquer, we can overcome anybody." And Hanumān had to give in.

Then Hanumān was bound, and the horse was brought before Sītā. She saw Hanumān, laughed, and released him, and introduced him to Lava and Kuśa. There is also a funny version. In Bengali there is a song about it. Hanumān is unconquerable — nobody can conquer him, for he is a ''Brahma Jñānī''. Who can conquer a Guru? Impossible. But he allowed himself, indulgingly like a grandfather, to be defeated by his grandchildren in play. And since he had "been defeated," he had to carry them around — that was the bet. The children, not knowing, climbed onto his shoulders and used him like a horse. Anyway, a poet composed a song: "If I had not voluntarily allowed myself to be conquered by you, could anyone have conquered me? It is impossible." That means nobody can go beyond the Guru. Guru is Brahmā, Guru is Viṣṇu, Guru is Maheśvara. Who can cross God himself?

But every devotee should be happy to fight with God. Rāmaprasāda also composed a song: "I will take you to court, O Mother! You are not giving me my inheritance. And I will call my father as a witness that this property belongs to me. I have come of age, and you will have to yield. And if you don't yield, I will catch hold of your lotus feet and go on crying, 'Mā, Mā,' until you have no option but to give me what I want." Beautiful ''bhajans'' of this meaning have been composed by quite a number of ''bhajan'' makers.

=== The Conclusion of the Sacrifice and Its Fruits ===
Returning to our main point: the performance of the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' demands that the king be powerful, intelligent, endowed with great resources, and it may take several years until the horse returns. When the horse finally returns, it is sacrificed and its ''medha'' — the consecrated substance — is partaken by those who conduct the ritual, including the king. Such a person, if he successfully accomplishes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', is promised by scripture that he will go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Symbolic Meditation: Aśva Upāsanā ==
Now we must understand something very important. There are many people who want to go to ''Brahma Loka'', but very few — including Brāhmaṇas — can afford to perform this sacrifice. What should they do?

What they should do is mentally perform exactly the same thing that the ''Kṣatriya'' king does — not conquering other kingdoms, but simply contemplating on the horse. This is called contemplation, ''Dhyāna Mantra''. Whoever is not a powerful, intelligent, and wealthy ''Kṣatriya'' — any Brāhmaṇa, any other ''Kṣatriya'', or person of any caste who has the capacity of mind — can do it.

The horse, however, is to be contemplated as ''Virāṭ'' — as ''Hiraṇyagarbha'', as Brahmā. Every part of the horse is described in this Upaniṣad, and every part is compared to one part of this universe. Not only powerful kings, but others as well can obtain the same result through this symbolic meditation, in which the different parts of the sacrificial horse are to be regarded as the different parts of the creator Prajāpati's body.

Now what do they attain? Whether it is the ''Kṣatriya'' who actually performs the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', or others who do this ''Aśva Upāsanā'' as ''Virāṭ Upāsanā'', as ''Hiraṇyagarbha Upāsanā'', as ''Brahma Upāsanā'' — the result is that all of them without exception go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Nature of Brahma Loka ==
''Brahma Loka'' is the most exalted plane in this entire creation. Brahmā is the presiding deity, and this world is the manifestation of that Brahmā alone. What is the speciality of this ''Brahma Loka''? Any inhabitant of ''Brahma Loka'' is conscious of his individuality, and at the same time knows his identity with all created beings. Who is Brahmā? He who identifies himself with all creation is called Brahmā. But at the same time, he doesn't say "I am ''Parabrahman'', the Supreme Brahman." Rather: "I am an individual, but the whole universe is my individuality."

Can we understand this? Yes. Every day we go to our ''Svapna Loka''. The waking "I," after the waking state comes the dream state, becomes the entire universe created in imagination. But at the same time, even in the dream we are highly conscious of our individuality. We are not conscious in the dream that we are every object in the dream world — for that we have to wake up, come to this waking world, and recollect: "Oh! I became the tree. I became the tiger. I became my neighbours. I became my friend. I became my enemy. And I gave myself a great present in the form of somebody else. And I also robbed myself." Whatever happens in the dream state — upon waking up we see that I, the one waker alone, created everything.

The condition of ''Brahma Loka'' is similar, but far greater. The denizen of ''Brahma Loka'' knows much better than the ordinary waker that the entire created world is himself. But because ''Loka'' means limitation, he knows he is also an individual. Only when he attains to Brahman will that individuality be totally dissolved. Until that time, he knows: "This entire creation is me and nothing else."

And even this gives such happiness. The more expansive one becomes, the more identification there is, the greater will be one's happiness. Let me give an example to help imagine it. Picture a householder — perhaps 100 years ago — who has several fields, is a good person, an intelligent and expert cultivator. He has married a devout wife and has five or six children, all sons, all married, all staying in the same house as a joint family, every person — husbands, wives, and their children — very good, loving, helping each other. They consider the entire joint family as "me." Just imagine, and then you can understand what the person in ''Brahma Loka'' feels.

This citizen of ''Brahma Loka'' identifies himself with this entire universe. What happens? He doesn't see the defects. He doesn't see the wickedness. He doesn't see the suffering. Because what does he see? Just as a person with a very beautiful dream would like to recollect that dream as many times as possible and re-enjoy it — like that, for this person there is no birth, there is no death. It is a beautiful, marvellous drama taking place.

This is how we gain a glimpse of what ''Brahma Loka'' is. Once a person attains to this state, he experiences the highest happiness possible in this dualistic world. Then what happens? One who knows, "I am in ''Brahma Loka'', in fact I have become one with Brahmā by contemplating on him — I identified myself with Brahmā, and that is called the ''Brahma Loka'' experience" — for this person there is no neighbor, no friend, no enemy in any conventional sense. In ''Brahma Loka'', I am Brahmā. That is called ''Brahma Loka''. A person who reaches ''Indra Loka'', I am Indra. I am Prajāpati. I am Bṛhaspati. We have to understand that particular fact.
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== Beyond Brahma Loka: The Longing for Brahman ==
So one who knows this — then his eyes open further and he sees: even this ''Brahma Loka'' is perishable. Maybe for a long time and an extraordinarily great quantum of happiness is experienced here. But as soon as the result of the ''Karma'' comes to an end, he has to again come back and earn that ''puṇyam'' again. Like a person who stays in a first-class hotel, enjoys everything, and then comes back, and has to earn once more if he wants to stay in that hotel again.

Like that, he understands: all these rites, all these ''upāsanās'' where the distinction between the worshipper and the deity is admitted — a person who has done these must eventually become eager for the knowledge of Brahman, which alone enables one to attain freedom and immortality.
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== The Six Benefits of Upāsanā ==
Before we go into the text, we have to understand and remind ourselves of what results we attain if we can hone and perfect the art of contemplation.

Like first-class students: first, concentration — undeviating concentration. Second, unmitigated, extraordinarily positive, great spiritual imagination. What do you think Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was doing when he was meditating upon the Divine Mother? He was exercising his imagination — not meditating upon a stone-like figure made of basalt that he used to worship, but a living imagination.

Third, in contemplation — ''upāsanā'' — a lower object is replaced with a higher object. Example: the ''Śiva Liṅga'' with Śiva, ''Śālagrāma'' with Viṣṇu, and the symbol of the cross with Jesus Christ, etc.

Fourth, what happens in this ''upāsanā'' is the separation of everything from "I," the pure consciousness. Pure consciousness alone is everything, and everything derives from this consciousness. First the mind borrows it, then it lends it to the sense organs. This happens to all living creatures in this world. And according to Advaita Vedānta, even the non-living creatures are manifestations of ''Sat'', ''Cit'', and ''Ānanda'' — only they are not aware that they exist. They exist, but they are not aware that we exist. They are not aware that we are ''Ānanda Svarūpas''. Only living beings experience it, and when that experience comes to an end, it is called unhappiness. Then comes again the attempt to become one with happiness. That is how it continues.

So: separation of everything from "I," which is pure consciousness. Then that "I," now pure consciousness, should be united — this individual consciousness should be united with the universal consciousness. That is, instead of saying "I am so-and-so," I am Brahman. Or if we start slowly: I am Kālī, I am Śiva, I am Viṣṇu — slowly, slowly. Or if we cannot understand even that, we say: I am ''Annamaya Brahma'', I am ''Prāṇamaya Brahma'', I am ''Manomaya Brahma'', I am ''Vijñānamaya Brahma'', I am ''Ānandamaya Brahma'' — slowly ascending, but always identifying with the larger whole. That is the purpose of ''upāsanā''.

And lastly, this is called expansiveness of mind — ''Citta Vaiśālyatā''. Gradually, on one side I give up my limitedness, and I start identifying with the universal. These are the six benefits of ''upāsanā''.
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== Summary: The Three Brahmanas and Their Purpose ==
So this first ''Brāhmaṇa'' is called ''Aśvamedha Brāhmaṇa''. In fact, the first, second, and third ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter all speak of these ''upāsanās''. We must remember: this is called ''Adhyāropa Prakaraṇa'', because ''Sṛṣṭi'' — creation — is vividly described here.

As I mentioned, this description is meant for a purpose: the Guru does not want to deny our experience that this universe is real. But it is an effect. An effect is always limited from the cause. The cause is unlimited; the effect is limited. So you will be more happy if you expand yourself into the cause. Find out the cause of this universe. Who is that? Brahmā. Find out the cause of Brahmā. Then it becomes Brahman. That is the purpose.

So there are three ''upāsanās'' in these first three ''Brāhmaṇas'': ''Aśva'', ''Agni'', and ''Prāṇa''. We will talk about this in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''

[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.1-2 Lecture 11 on 28 February 2026

2026-06-11T05:30:52Z

Shekhar: /* Opening Invocation */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् । पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

'''ॐ आप्यायन्तु ममाङ्गानि वाक्प्राणश्चक्षुः श्रोत्रमथो बलमिन्द्रियाणि च सर्वाणि । सर्वं ब्रह्मौपनिषदम् । माहं ब्रह्म निराकुर्यां मा मा ब्रह्म निराकरोत् ।'''

'''अनिराकरणमस्तु अनिराकरणं मेऽस्तु । तदात्मनि निरते य उपनिषत्सु धर्मास्ते मयि सन्तु ते मयि सन्तु ।'''

'''ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥'''

Oṁ āpyāyantu mamāṅgāni vāk prāṇaś cakṣuḥ śrotram atho balam indriyāṇi ca sarvāṇi । sarvaṁ brahmaupaniṣadam । mā'haṁ brahma nirākuryāṁ mā mā brahma nirākarot । anirākaraṇam astu anirākaraṇaṁ me'stu । tad ātmani nirate ya upaniṣatsu dharmās te mayi santu te mayi santu । Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ ॥

(Simplified phonetic reading: Om aapyaayantu mamaangaani, vaak praanash-chakshuh shrotram-atho balam-indriyaani cha sarvaani; sarvam brahma-aupanishadam; maa-aham brahma niraakuryaam, maa maa brahma niraakarot; aniraakaranam astu, aniraakaranam me astu; tad-aatmani nirate ya upanishatsu dharmaas-te mayi santu te mayi santu; Om shaantih shaantih shaantih.)

Om — May my limbs, speech, vital force, eyes, ears, as also strength and all the organs become well developed. Everything is the Brahman revealed in the Upanishads. May I not deny Brahman, may not Brahman deny me, let there be no spurning of me by Brahman, let there be no rejection of Brahman by me. May all the virtues that are spoken of in the Upanishads repose in me, who am engaged in the pursuit of the Self. May they repose in me, may they repose in me, may they repose in me. Om, peace, peace, peace be unto all.

= Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: Introduction to the First and Second Mantras =

== Overview of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad ==
We have been studying the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. Now we are going to enter into the first and second mantras.

As we discussed earlier, this Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad has six chapters, and every two chapters are combined into one. The very first section is called ''Madhu Kāṇḍam'' or ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍam''. ''Kāṇḍam'' means a section dealing with real teaching — ''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi''. The second part supports the same teaching with reasoning and rationality. That is the subject matter. It is also called ''Yājñavalkya Kāṇḍa'', ''Muni Kāṇḍa'', ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' with ''Tarka'' — that is, ''Śruti'', ''Samatha'', ''Tarka''. The third two chapters, the third part, are called ''Khila Kāṇḍam'', which covers miscellaneous items, some of which are highly important.

As I mentioned earlier at the very beginning, we are not going to proceed mantra by mantra, but will take the very essence of it. That way we will not be confused. Otherwise, this is one of the biggest of the Upaniṣads, containing more than 640 mantras. To go through every one of them is neither necessary, nor need we waste time doing so. Essential points in the light of the teachings of Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda will be very useful.
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== Adhyāropa and Apavāda: The Vedāntic Methodology ==
Now this first chapter, according to the interpretation of Śaṅkarācārya, follows the Advaita Vedāntic methodology called ''Adhyāropa'' and ''Apavāda''.

=== What is Adhyāropa? ===
''Adhyāropa'' means accepting our present experience as it is. The scripture says: yes, you are right — what you are experiencing is real. But there are certain points you have to note down, and only then will you understand the nature of this world you are experiencing.

First of all, the world depends upon you. If you, the subject, are sleeping, in a coma, or unconscious, the whole universe disappears so far as you are concerned. Even though in our ordinary experience we say we depend upon the world, actually we can see that we shape the whole world. What does an artist do? He shapes whatever object — be it wood, be it stone — according to his own concept. He can bring out Rāma or he can bring out Rāvaṇāsura, depending upon his ''saṃskāras''. He can bring out Kṛṣṇa, he can bring out Kaṃsa.

A writer can express his own beautiful imaginations and manifest them in the form of beautiful language and literature. And a poet or a musician — the limit is the sky, one's own imagination.

Consider our dreams. We can dream whatever we like. We think, most of the time by mistake, that a dream overwhelms us and that we are forced to experience the dream. But no. If a child is reading about gods and goddesses and is endowed with spiritual ''saṃskāras'', he will be dreaming of gods and goddesses like Nāgamahāśaya. But if somebody is interested in Superman or evil characters — and so many people are addicted to these evil characters because they want to be like that but don't have the capacity — they watch films and rule over the world in imagination. Similarly, a cricket fan's biggest heroes will be those who fetch the greatest number of runs. So everything depends upon our mind, and the mind is endowed with borrowed consciousness. The mind pays attention, and only that which it attends to is experienceable by us.

Second, the world is continuously changing. Third, it consists of three parts: form, name, and utility — ''Rūpa'', ''Nāma'', ''Karma''.

So what does the scripture tell fortunate souls who want to progress in spiritual life, who believe in the teachings of the scriptures, and who want to realize God? If the scriptures start by saying this world is unreal, we are likely to give up the world. But if the scriptures accept that it is true — not unreal, but ''Mithyā'' — that changes things. ''Mithyā'' means dependent, ever-changing, unreliable, and so forth. This is called ''Adhyāropa'': accepting it temporarily.

The scripture doesn't stop there. It goes on to ask: what do you want in this world? "I want money." Alright, do this — you will get money. Chant the name of Mahālakṣmī mantra, recite Śrī Sūktam or Kanakādhārastavam. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said, and proved to the hilt, that every mantra in the scriptures — meaning the Vedas, Purāṇas, Tantras, and instructions of Gurus — is absolutely true. He proved it. When he used to perform ''pūjā'' and chant a particular mantra, for example the Agni Mantra ''Rām'', he would immediately see a wall of fire springing up and protecting him. When Rāmakṛṣṇa was young, he used to visit a crematorium called Bhuterkhali, and he said later that the pot would disappear in mid-air — that is, there are spirits which accept such offerings.

And now, what little original capacity we have, we are fast losing to the new AI, and that becomes our reality. But I can assure you it is not going to be so for long, because every human being is potentially divine. God will give those necessary sticks — not always carrots — to awaken us.

So slowly the teacher tells the student to fulfil desires through scriptural means. The person may start sceptically, but in course of time he gets what was promised, develops faith, and when he opens his eyes and looks further into the scripture, he says: "Why should I be content with temporary results and limited happiness? Why settle for limited existence? I can have eternal existence, infinite knowledge, and unbroken bliss." By now the student's mind has developed tremendous ''śraddhā''.

=== What is Apavāda? ===
Then starts the second part of the scripture, called ''Apavāda''. The teacher says: what I told you was true only for that level of students, or when you were at that level. But now you have crossed over, and you yourself are longing for something higher. Now I will teach you. This is called ''Apavāda''.

In a manner of speaking, the world is unreal. To prove that the world is insubstantial, unreliable, ever-changing, dangerous, and the cause of repeated births and repeated sufferings — that is the common view. But the scripture, through the Guru, teaches: that is only the middle way, valid when you are in the middle stage of your development. But later on you understand that everything is Brahman. This world is a ''Līlā'' — a divine play. Everybody, everything in this universe is only the infinite imagination of the infinite Brahman. What is suffering — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. What is happiness and bliss — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. That is the ''Apavāda''. ''Apavāda'' means negation: negation of your previous understanding of the world. First, the only reality has been understood as a changing, unreliable, insubstantial reality. That is then transformed into the understanding that everything is Brahman. And the final step is that everything is the ''Līlā'' of Brahman. This applies especially to the ''Jīvanmukta''.

What a beautiful way this is! First, like giving a child a real apple and saying "this is called apple, the spelling starts with A; this is beetroot, it starts with B; this is a carrot, and it starts with C" — like that, a person is helped to evolve both physically and spiritually, intellectually and spiritually.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa illustrates this beautifully. There is a kind of Bengali sweet whose outside looks absolutely the same, but the inside can be filled with hard lentils — ''kaḍai dāl'' — or with coconut and jaggery, or with ''canā'', or with broken milk — what we call paneer. There is a vast difference in what is within, even though the outside appears the same. Slowly the teacher takes the student higher in exactly this way.
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== The Structure of the First Chapter: Upadeśa Kāṇḍa ==
In the very first chapter, as just mentioned, it is called ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' or ''Madhu Kāṇḍa''. ''Upadeśa'' means teaching. Usually the word ''upadeśa'' means when a Guru initiates a disciple, that is called ''upadeśa''. But here, instead of just a mantra, he also gives explanation and teaching.

You should look upon your body as ''Brahmapurī''. You should look upon your mind also as ''Brahmapurī'', the ''Hṛdayākāśa''. It is the abode of the purest of the pure. Brahman, ''Jyotir Jyotiḥ'', resides within it. This is how you will have to slowly orient your thought: this body is a sacred temple. When one succeeds in thinking of oneself as a sacred temple, and Brahman is within, and "I am not different from that Brahman," slowly his understanding is also applied — first to the mother, then the father, then the teacher, then everybody else. Slow expansion.

As an example: first, Gopālasumā had the ''darśana'' of child Gopāla. And then, like a devoted woman, she went to Dakṣiṇeśvara, and there she saw that this Kṛṣṇa — God himself — had said: "Whatever pathway a person chooses to approach and come to me, I will run towards him and take him into my bosom and teach him." So Gopāla — that is, Bāla Kṛṣṇa — started entering into Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's body and coming out. He did this several times until Gopāla's mother understood that her Gopāla and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa are not different — they are one and the same. In fact, Gopāla's mother first had the vision of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, and then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa transformed himself into child Gopāla.

After a few days — that is, when the idea that Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa are absolutely one became firm and unshakeable — Gopāla started doing exactly the same thing but with the other direct disciples of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. She started understanding: "My Gopāla wants to teach me that he is Rākhal, he is Narendra, he is Tārak, and he is the other disciples." Like that, Gopāla entered into any number of disciples and devotees until she realized — but that also was a partial view and not complete realization.

After some weeks or months, there was a chariot festival. Those who wish to know the details can refer to ''Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: The Great Master'' by Swami Sārādānanda. She described graphically that on that day she had a universal vision of her Gopāla. Everything — living and non-living, moving and non-moving, the priest, the audience, the chariot, the people pulling the chariot, the music makers — without exception, everybody was nothing but her Gopāla. With that, her realization of ''Sarvaṃ Khalvidaṃ Brahma'' was complete.

That is the purpose of ''Adhyāropa'' and ''Apavāda''.
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== The Three Upāsanās of the First Chapter ==
As I mentioned, the first chapter contains the analysis of ''Adhyāropa''. How do we know? Because in the first chapter, following certain types of contemplations, there are three meditations — ''upāsanās'' — described:

# Contemplation on a horse — ''Aśva Upāsanā''
# Contemplation on fire — ''Agni Upāsanā''
# Contemplation on ''Prāṇa'' — ''Prāṇa Upāsanā''

In this Upaniṣad, the chapters are known as ''Adhyāyas''. The word ''Adhyāya'' is very interesting: ''Adhyāpaka'' means teacher, ''adhyayana'' is studying, and so ''Adhyāya'' means that which teaches what a person wants to learn. Each chapter has several sections, and each section is called a ''Brāhmaṇa''.

In the first three ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter, we see these three meditations. The first ''Brāhmaṇa'' of the first chapter consists of two verses, and the second consists of seven. Both the first and second ''Brāhmaṇas'' are devoted to the meditation on a horse and the fire used in the ritual called ''Aśvamedha Yajña''.
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== The Aśvamedha Yajña ==

=== Nature of the Sacrifice ===
The ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' is the highest of all Vedic rites. What does the person who successfully completes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' attain? He will go to ''Prajāpati Loka'', ''Virāṭ Loka'', ''Brahma Loka''. But this sacrifice involves a tremendous amount of money, time, power, and intelligence. Briefly: the best horse available in the kingdom is chosen and set free to roam all over the world. Of course, people accompany and attend to it, and when it returns it is worshipped, for it has become the most sacred of animals.

The purpose is twofold. The first purpose is that whichever kingdom the horse enters, the king who is performing the sacrifice must subdue its ruler. If he cannot, he cannot perform the ''Aśvamedha Yajña''. That is why only a powerful ''Kṣatriya'' king can truly perform it, and the best soldiers with the best commander-in-chief are sent to defend the horse's passage. Even Rāma had done this.

=== The Story of Lava and Kuśa ===
When the horse came to the forest where Muni Vālmīki resided — Rāma having sent Sītā away from the kingdom, she being pregnant, and Lakṣmaṇa, devoted to Sītā, having brought her to Vālmīki Ṛṣi with tears in his eyes, though he had to obey Rāma — there she gave birth to twins, Lava and Kuśa. Vālmīki, not only a poet but also an expert archer, taught them the best of archery. The story is marvellous and very purifying.

These two children, proud and well-trained, one day saw this horse sent by Rāma — their own father, though they did not know it. Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, and nobody can defeat Hanumān because he is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa''. Nobody can defeat ''Prāṇa'', because if you fight with ''Prāṇa'', ''Prāṇa'' will leave you and you will be dead. But here ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' means the best teacher of ''Brahma Vidyā''.

How do we know this? Because of the symbolism in the South Indian version: Sītā was the individual soul, fallen into the net of ''Māyā'' called Rāvaṇāsura. Rāma sent Hanumān to rescue her. He crosses the ocean — the ocean of ''Saṃsāra'', ''Māyā'' — and gives his ''Upadeśa'': "Rāma is concerned about you. He will soon come and rescue you. God will bless you very soon, and you will be free from ''saṃsāra bandhanam''." That was the message. That is why Hanumān is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' — the greatest ''Brahma Jñānī'', the foremost Guru. So Hanumān liberated Sītā, who in this version is compared to a bound soul. We have to understand the symbolism. The ''Yoga Vāsiṣṭha Rāmāyaṇa'' and the ''Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa'' are variations of the same meaning.

So Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, but he knew everything — where Sītā was living and where Lava and Kuśa were. These two caught hold of the horse and bound it, and Hanumān was bound to fight with Lava and Kuśa. They were already experts, as good as Rāma himself. They kept taking their mother Sītā's name, for they had the greatest faith: "If my mother's grace falls upon me — she is the divine mother — we can conquer, we can overcome anybody." And Hanumān had to give in.

Then Hanumān was bound, and the horse was brought before Sītā. She saw Hanumān, laughed, and released him, and introduced him to Lava and Kuśa. There is also a funny version. In Bengali there is a song about it. Hanumān is unconquerable — nobody can conquer him, for he is a ''Brahma Jñānī''. Who can conquer a Guru? Impossible. But he allowed himself, indulgingly like a grandfather, to be defeated by his grandchildren in play. And since he had "been defeated," he had to carry them around — that was the bet. The children, not knowing, climbed onto his shoulders and used him like a horse. Anyway, a poet composed a song: "If I had not voluntarily allowed myself to be conquered by you, could anyone have conquered me? It is impossible." That means nobody can go beyond the Guru. Guru is Brahmā, Guru is Viṣṇu, Guru is Maheśvara. Who can cross God himself?

But every devotee should be happy to fight with God. Rāmaprasāda also composed a song: "I will take you to court, O Mother! You are not giving me my inheritance. And I will call my father as a witness that this property belongs to me. I have come of age, and you will have to yield. And if you don't yield, I will catch hold of your lotus feet and go on crying, 'Mā, Mā,' until you have no option but to give me what I want." Beautiful ''bhajans'' of this meaning have been composed by quite a number of ''bhajan'' makers.

=== The Conclusion of the Sacrifice and Its Fruits ===
Returning to our main point: the performance of the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' demands that the king be powerful, intelligent, endowed with great resources, and it may take several years until the horse returns. When the horse finally returns, it is sacrificed and its ''medha'' — the consecrated substance — is partaken by those who conduct the ritual, including the king. Such a person, if he successfully accomplishes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', is promised by scripture that he will go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Symbolic Meditation: Aśva Upāsanā ==
Now we must understand something very important. There are many people who want to go to ''Brahma Loka'', but very few — including Brāhmaṇas — can afford to perform this sacrifice. What should they do?

What they should do is mentally perform exactly the same thing that the ''Kṣatriya'' king does — not conquering other kingdoms, but simply contemplating on the horse. This is called contemplation, ''Dhyāna Mantra''. Whoever is not a powerful, intelligent, and wealthy ''Kṣatriya'' — any Brāhmaṇa, any other ''Kṣatriya'', or person of any caste who has the capacity of mind — can do it.

The horse, however, is to be contemplated as ''Virāṭ'' — as ''Hiraṇyagarbha'', as Brahmā. Every part of the horse is described in this Upaniṣad, and every part is compared to one part of this universe. Not only powerful kings, but others as well can obtain the same result through this symbolic meditation, in which the different parts of the sacrificial horse are to be regarded as the different parts of the creator Prajāpati's body.

Now what do they attain? Whether it is the ''Kṣatriya'' who actually performs the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', or others who do this ''Aśva Upāsanā'' as ''Virāṭ Upāsanā'', as ''Hiraṇyagarbha Upāsanā'', as ''Brahma Upāsanā'' — the result is that all of them without exception go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Nature of Brahma Loka ==
''Brahma Loka'' is the most exalted plane in this entire creation. Brahmā is the presiding deity, and this world is the manifestation of that Brahmā alone. What is the speciality of this ''Brahma Loka''? Any inhabitant of ''Brahma Loka'' is conscious of his individuality, and at the same time knows his identity with all created beings. Who is Brahmā? He who identifies himself with all creation is called Brahmā. But at the same time, he doesn't say "I am ''Parabrahman'', the Supreme Brahman." Rather: "I am an individual, but the whole universe is my individuality."

Can we understand this? Yes. Every day we go to our ''Svapna Loka''. The waking "I," after the waking state comes the dream state, becomes the entire universe created in imagination. But at the same time, even in the dream we are highly conscious of our individuality. We are not conscious in the dream that we are every object in the dream world — for that we have to wake up, come to this waking world, and recollect: "Oh! I became the tree. I became the tiger. I became my neighbours. I became my friend. I became my enemy. And I gave myself a great present in the form of somebody else. And I also robbed myself." Whatever happens in the dream state — upon waking up we see that I, the one waker alone, created everything.

The condition of ''Brahma Loka'' is similar, but far greater. The denizen of ''Brahma Loka'' knows much better than the ordinary waker that the entire created world is himself. But because ''Loka'' means limitation, he knows he is also an individual. Only when he attains to Brahman will that individuality be totally dissolved. Until that time, he knows: "This entire creation is me and nothing else."

And even this gives such happiness. The more expansive one becomes, the more identification there is, the greater will be one's happiness. Let me give an example to help imagine it. Picture a householder — perhaps 100 years ago — who has several fields, is a good person, an intelligent and expert cultivator. He has married a devout wife and has five or six children, all sons, all married, all staying in the same house as a joint family, every person — husbands, wives, and their children — very good, loving, helping each other. They consider the entire joint family as "me." Just imagine, and then you can understand what the person in ''Brahma Loka'' feels.

This citizen of ''Brahma Loka'' identifies himself with this entire universe. What happens? He doesn't see the defects. He doesn't see the wickedness. He doesn't see the suffering. Because what does he see? Just as a person with a very beautiful dream would like to recollect that dream as many times as possible and re-enjoy it — like that, for this person there is no birth, there is no death. It is a beautiful, marvellous drama taking place.

This is how we gain a glimpse of what ''Brahma Loka'' is. Once a person attains to this state, he experiences the highest happiness possible in this dualistic world. Then what happens? One who knows, "I am in ''Brahma Loka'', in fact I have become one with Brahmā by contemplating on him — I identified myself with Brahmā, and that is called the ''Brahma Loka'' experience" — for this person there is no neighbor, no friend, no enemy in any conventional sense. In ''Brahma Loka'', I am Brahmā. That is called ''Brahma Loka''. A person who reaches ''Indra Loka'', I am Indra. I am Prajāpati. I am Bṛhaspati. We have to understand that particular fact.
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== Beyond Brahma Loka: The Longing for Brahman ==
So one who knows this — then his eyes open further and he sees: even this ''Brahma Loka'' is perishable. Maybe for a long time and an extraordinarily great quantum of happiness is experienced here. But as soon as the result of the ''Karma'' comes to an end, he has to again come back and earn that ''puṇyam'' again. Like a person who stays in a first-class hotel, enjoys everything, and then comes back, and has to earn once more if he wants to stay in that hotel again.

Like that, he understands: all these rites, all these ''upāsanās'' where the distinction between the worshipper and the deity is admitted — a person who has done these must eventually become eager for the knowledge of Brahman, which alone enables one to attain freedom and immortality.
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== The Six Benefits of Upāsanā ==
Before we go into the text, we have to understand and remind ourselves of what results we attain if we can hone and perfect the art of contemplation.

Like first-class students: first, concentration — undeviating concentration. Second, unmitigated, extraordinarily positive, great spiritual imagination. What do you think Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was doing when he was meditating upon the Divine Mother? He was exercising his imagination — not meditating upon a stone-like figure made of basalt that he used to worship, but a living imagination.

Third, in contemplation — ''upāsanā'' — a lower object is replaced with a higher object. Example: the ''Śiva Liṅga'' with Śiva, ''Śālagrāma'' with Viṣṇu, and the symbol of the cross with Jesus Christ, etc.

Fourth, what happens in this ''upāsanā'' is the separation of everything from "I," the pure consciousness. Pure consciousness alone is everything, and everything derives from this consciousness. First the mind borrows it, then it lends it to the sense organs. This happens to all living creatures in this world. And according to Advaita Vedānta, even the non-living creatures are manifestations of ''Sat'', ''Cit'', and ''Ānanda'' — only they are not aware that they exist. They exist, but they are not aware that we exist. They are not aware that we are ''Ānanda Svarūpas''. Only living beings experience it, and when that experience comes to an end, it is called unhappiness. Then comes again the attempt to become one with happiness. That is how it continues.

So: separation of everything from "I," which is pure consciousness. Then that "I," now pure consciousness, should be united — this individual consciousness should be united with the universal consciousness. That is, instead of saying "I am so-and-so," I am Brahman. Or if we start slowly: I am Kālī, I am Śiva, I am Viṣṇu — slowly, slowly. Or if we cannot understand even that, we say: I am ''Annamaya Brahma'', I am ''Prāṇamaya Brahma'', I am ''Manomaya Brahma'', I am ''Vijñānamaya Brahma'', I am ''Ānandamaya Brahma'' — slowly ascending, but always identifying with the larger whole. That is the purpose of ''upāsanā''.

And lastly, this is called expansiveness of mind — ''Citta Vaiśālyatā''. Gradually, on one side I give up my limitedness, and I start identifying with the universal. These are the six benefits of ''upāsanā''.
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== Summary: The Three Brahmanas and Their Purpose ==
So this first ''Brāhmaṇa'' is called ''Aśvamedha Brāhmaṇa''. In fact, the first, second, and third ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter all speak of these ''upāsanās''. We must remember: this is called ''Adhyāropa Prakaraṇa'', because ''Sṛṣṭi'' — creation — is vividly described here.

As I mentioned, this description is meant for a purpose: the Guru does not want to deny our experience that this universe is real. But it is an effect. An effect is always limited from the cause. The cause is unlimited; the effect is limited. So you will be more happy if you expand yourself into the cause. Find out the cause of this universe. Who is that? Brahmā. Find out the cause of Brahmā. Then it becomes Brahman. That is the purpose.

So there are three ''upāsanās'' in these first three ''Brāhmaṇas'': ''Aśva'', ''Agni'', and ''Prāṇa''. We will talk about this in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''

[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.1-2 Lecture 11 on 28 February 2026

2026-06-09T16:49:46Z

Shekhar: /* Opening Invocation */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् । पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

'''ॐ आप्यायन्तु ममाङ्गानि वाक्प्राणश्चक्षुः श्रोत्रमथो बलमिन्द्रियाणि च सर्वाणि । सर्वं ब्रह्मौपनिषदम् । माहं ब्रह्म निराकुर्यां मा मा ब्रह्म निराकरोत् । अनिराकरणमस्तु अनिराकरणं मेऽस्तु । तदात्मनि निरते य उपनिषत्सु धर्मास्ते मयि सन्तु ते मयि सन्तु । ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥'''

Oṁ āpyāyantu mamāṅgāni vāk prāṇaś cakṣuḥ śrotram atho balam indriyāṇi ca sarvāṇi । sarvaṁ brahmaupaniṣadam । mā'haṁ brahma nirākuryāṁ mā mā brahma nirākarot । anirākaraṇam astu anirākaraṇaṁ me'stu । tad ātmani nirate ya upaniṣatsu dharmās te mayi santu te mayi santu । Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ ॥

(Simplified phonetic reading: Om aapyaayantu mamaangaani, vaak praanash-chakshuh shrotram-atho balam-indriyaani cha sarvaani; sarvam brahma-aupanishadam; maa-aham brahma niraakuryaam, maa maa brahma niraakarot; aniraakaranam astu, aniraakaranam me astu; tad-aatmani nirate ya upanishatsu dharmaas-te mayi santu te mayi santu; Om shaantih shaantih shaantih.)

"Om. May my limbs grow strong; may my speech, vital breath, eyes, ears, strength, and all my senses become full and vigorous. All this (the entire universe) is the Brahman revealed in the Upaniṣads. May I never deny Brahman; may Brahman never deny me. Let there be no rejection between us — let me never reject Brahman. May all the noble qualities (dharmas) taught in the Upaniṣads dwell in me, in me who am devoted to the Self. Yes, may they abide in me. Om — peace, peace, peace."

= Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: Introduction to the First and Second Mantras =

== Overview of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad ==
We have been studying the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. Now we are going to enter into the first and second mantras.

As we discussed earlier, this Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad has six chapters, and every two chapters are combined into one. The very first section is called ''Madhu Kāṇḍam'' or ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍam''. ''Kāṇḍam'' means a section dealing with real teaching — ''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi''. The second part supports the same teaching with reasoning and rationality. That is the subject matter. It is also called ''Yājñavalkya Kāṇḍa'', ''Muni Kāṇḍa'', ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' with ''Tarka'' — that is, ''Śruti'', ''Samatha'', ''Tarka''. The third two chapters, the third part, are called ''Khila Kāṇḍam'', which covers miscellaneous items, some of which are highly important.

As I mentioned earlier at the very beginning, we are not going to proceed mantra by mantra, but will take the very essence of it. That way we will not be confused. Otherwise, this is one of the biggest of the Upaniṣads, containing more than 640 mantras. To go through every one of them is neither necessary, nor need we waste time doing so. Essential points in the light of the teachings of Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda will be very useful.
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== Adhyāropa and Apavāda: The Vedāntic Methodology ==
Now this first chapter, according to the interpretation of Śaṅkarācārya, follows the Advaita Vedāntic methodology called ''Adhyāropa'' and ''Apavāda''.

=== What is Adhyāropa? ===
''Adhyāropa'' means accepting our present experience as it is. The scripture says: yes, you are right — what you are experiencing is real. But there are certain points you have to note down, and only then will you understand the nature of this world you are experiencing.

First of all, the world depends upon you. If you, the subject, are sleeping, in a coma, or unconscious, the whole universe disappears so far as you are concerned. Even though in our ordinary experience we say we depend upon the world, actually we can see that we shape the whole world. What does an artist do? He shapes whatever object — be it wood, be it stone — according to his own concept. He can bring out Rāma or he can bring out Rāvaṇāsura, depending upon his ''saṃskāras''. He can bring out Kṛṣṇa, he can bring out Kaṃsa.

A writer can express his own beautiful imaginations and manifest them in the form of beautiful language and literature. And a poet or a musician — the limit is the sky, one's own imagination.

Consider our dreams. We can dream whatever we like. We think, most of the time by mistake, that a dream overwhelms us and that we are forced to experience the dream. But no. If a child is reading about gods and goddesses and is endowed with spiritual ''saṃskāras'', he will be dreaming of gods and goddesses like Nāgamahāśaya. But if somebody is interested in Superman or evil characters — and so many people are addicted to these evil characters because they want to be like that but don't have the capacity — they watch films and rule over the world in imagination. Similarly, a cricket fan's biggest heroes will be those who fetch the greatest number of runs. So everything depends upon our mind, and the mind is endowed with borrowed consciousness. The mind pays attention, and only that which it attends to is experienceable by us.

Second, the world is continuously changing. Third, it consists of three parts: form, name, and utility — ''Rūpa'', ''Nāma'', ''Karma''.

So what does the scripture tell fortunate souls who want to progress in spiritual life, who believe in the teachings of the scriptures, and who want to realize God? If the scriptures start by saying this world is unreal, we are likely to give up the world. But if the scriptures accept that it is true — not unreal, but ''Mithyā'' — that changes things. ''Mithyā'' means dependent, ever-changing, unreliable, and so forth. This is called ''Adhyāropa'': accepting it temporarily.

The scripture doesn't stop there. It goes on to ask: what do you want in this world? "I want money." Alright, do this — you will get money. Chant the name of Mahālakṣmī mantra, recite Śrī Sūktam or Kanakādhārastavam. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said, and proved to the hilt, that every mantra in the scriptures — meaning the Vedas, Purāṇas, Tantras, and instructions of Gurus — is absolutely true. He proved it. When he used to perform ''pūjā'' and chant a particular mantra, for example the Agni Mantra ''Rām'', he would immediately see a wall of fire springing up and protecting him. When Rāmakṛṣṇa was young, he used to visit a crematorium called Bhuterkhali, and he said later that the pot would disappear in mid-air — that is, there are spirits which accept such offerings.

And now, what little original capacity we have, we are fast losing to the new AI, and that becomes our reality. But I can assure you it is not going to be so for long, because every human being is potentially divine. God will give those necessary sticks — not always carrots — to awaken us.

So slowly the teacher tells the student to fulfil desires through scriptural means. The person may start sceptically, but in course of time he gets what was promised, develops faith, and when he opens his eyes and looks further into the scripture, he says: "Why should I be content with temporary results and limited happiness? Why settle for limited existence? I can have eternal existence, infinite knowledge, and unbroken bliss." By now the student's mind has developed tremendous ''śraddhā''.

=== What is Apavāda? ===
Then starts the second part of the scripture, called ''Apavāda''. The teacher says: what I told you was true only for that level of students, or when you were at that level. But now you have crossed over, and you yourself are longing for something higher. Now I will teach you. This is called ''Apavāda''.

In a manner of speaking, the world is unreal. To prove that the world is insubstantial, unreliable, ever-changing, dangerous, and the cause of repeated births and repeated sufferings — that is the common view. But the scripture, through the Guru, teaches: that is only the middle way, valid when you are in the middle stage of your development. But later on you understand that everything is Brahman. This world is a ''Līlā'' — a divine play. Everybody, everything in this universe is only the infinite imagination of the infinite Brahman. What is suffering — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. What is happiness and bliss — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. That is the ''Apavāda''. ''Apavāda'' means negation: negation of your previous understanding of the world. First, the only reality has been understood as a changing, unreliable, insubstantial reality. That is then transformed into the understanding that everything is Brahman. And the final step is that everything is the ''Līlā'' of Brahman. This applies especially to the ''Jīvanmukta''.

What a beautiful way this is! First, like giving a child a real apple and saying "this is called apple, the spelling starts with A; this is beetroot, it starts with B; this is a carrot, and it starts with C" — like that, a person is helped to evolve both physically and spiritually, intellectually and spiritually.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa illustrates this beautifully. There is a kind of Bengali sweet whose outside looks absolutely the same, but the inside can be filled with hard lentils — ''kaḍai dāl'' — or with coconut and jaggery, or with ''canā'', or with broken milk — what we call paneer. There is a vast difference in what is within, even though the outside appears the same. Slowly the teacher takes the student higher in exactly this way.
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== The Structure of the First Chapter: Upadeśa Kāṇḍa ==
In the very first chapter, as just mentioned, it is called ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' or ''Madhu Kāṇḍa''. ''Upadeśa'' means teaching. Usually the word ''upadeśa'' means when a Guru initiates a disciple, that is called ''upadeśa''. But here, instead of just a mantra, he also gives explanation and teaching.

You should look upon your body as ''Brahmapurī''. You should look upon your mind also as ''Brahmapurī'', the ''Hṛdayākāśa''. It is the abode of the purest of the pure. Brahman, ''Jyotir Jyotiḥ'', resides within it. This is how you will have to slowly orient your thought: this body is a sacred temple. When one succeeds in thinking of oneself as a sacred temple, and Brahman is within, and "I am not different from that Brahman," slowly his understanding is also applied — first to the mother, then the father, then the teacher, then everybody else. Slow expansion.

As an example: first, Gopālasumā had the ''darśana'' of child Gopāla. And then, like a devoted woman, she went to Dakṣiṇeśvara, and there she saw that this Kṛṣṇa — God himself — had said: "Whatever pathway a person chooses to approach and come to me, I will run towards him and take him into my bosom and teach him." So Gopāla — that is, Bāla Kṛṣṇa — started entering into Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's body and coming out. He did this several times until Gopāla's mother understood that her Gopāla and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa are not different — they are one and the same. In fact, Gopāla's mother first had the vision of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, and then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa transformed himself into child Gopāla.

After a few days — that is, when the idea that Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa are absolutely one became firm and unshakeable — Gopāla started doing exactly the same thing but with the other direct disciples of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. She started understanding: "My Gopāla wants to teach me that he is Rākhal, he is Narendra, he is Tārak, and he is the other disciples." Like that, Gopāla entered into any number of disciples and devotees until she realized — but that also was a partial view and not complete realization.

After some weeks or months, there was a chariot festival. Those who wish to know the details can refer to ''Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: The Great Master'' by Swami Sārādānanda. She described graphically that on that day she had a universal vision of her Gopāla. Everything — living and non-living, moving and non-moving, the priest, the audience, the chariot, the people pulling the chariot, the music makers — without exception, everybody was nothing but her Gopāla. With that, her realization of ''Sarvaṃ Khalvidaṃ Brahma'' was complete.

That is the purpose of ''Adhyāropa'' and ''Apavāda''.
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== The Three Upāsanās of the First Chapter ==
As I mentioned, the first chapter contains the analysis of ''Adhyāropa''. How do we know? Because in the first chapter, following certain types of contemplations, there are three meditations — ''upāsanās'' — described:

# Contemplation on a horse — ''Aśva Upāsanā''
# Contemplation on fire — ''Agni Upāsanā''
# Contemplation on ''Prāṇa'' — ''Prāṇa Upāsanā''

In this Upaniṣad, the chapters are known as ''Adhyāyas''. The word ''Adhyāya'' is very interesting: ''Adhyāpaka'' means teacher, ''adhyayana'' is studying, and so ''Adhyāya'' means that which teaches what a person wants to learn. Each chapter has several sections, and each section is called a ''Brāhmaṇa''.

In the first three ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter, we see these three meditations. The first ''Brāhmaṇa'' of the first chapter consists of two verses, and the second consists of seven. Both the first and second ''Brāhmaṇas'' are devoted to the meditation on a horse and the fire used in the ritual called ''Aśvamedha Yajña''.
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== The Aśvamedha Yajña ==

=== Nature of the Sacrifice ===
The ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' is the highest of all Vedic rites. What does the person who successfully completes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' attain? He will go to ''Prajāpati Loka'', ''Virāṭ Loka'', ''Brahma Loka''. But this sacrifice involves a tremendous amount of money, time, power, and intelligence. Briefly: the best horse available in the kingdom is chosen and set free to roam all over the world. Of course, people accompany and attend to it, and when it returns it is worshipped, for it has become the most sacred of animals.

The purpose is twofold. The first purpose is that whichever kingdom the horse enters, the king who is performing the sacrifice must subdue its ruler. If he cannot, he cannot perform the ''Aśvamedha Yajña''. That is why only a powerful ''Kṣatriya'' king can truly perform it, and the best soldiers with the best commander-in-chief are sent to defend the horse's passage. Even Rāma had done this.

=== The Story of Lava and Kuśa ===
When the horse came to the forest where Muni Vālmīki resided — Rāma having sent Sītā away from the kingdom, she being pregnant, and Lakṣmaṇa, devoted to Sītā, having brought her to Vālmīki Ṛṣi with tears in his eyes, though he had to obey Rāma — there she gave birth to twins, Lava and Kuśa. Vālmīki, not only a poet but also an expert archer, taught them the best of archery. The story is marvellous and very purifying.

These two children, proud and well-trained, one day saw this horse sent by Rāma — their own father, though they did not know it. Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, and nobody can defeat Hanumān because he is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa''. Nobody can defeat ''Prāṇa'', because if you fight with ''Prāṇa'', ''Prāṇa'' will leave you and you will be dead. But here ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' means the best teacher of ''Brahma Vidyā''.

How do we know this? Because of the symbolism in the South Indian version: Sītā was the individual soul, fallen into the net of ''Māyā'' called Rāvaṇāsura. Rāma sent Hanumān to rescue her. He crosses the ocean — the ocean of ''Saṃsāra'', ''Māyā'' — and gives his ''Upadeśa'': "Rāma is concerned about you. He will soon come and rescue you. God will bless you very soon, and you will be free from ''saṃsāra bandhanam''." That was the message. That is why Hanumān is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' — the greatest ''Brahma Jñānī'', the foremost Guru. So Hanumān liberated Sītā, who in this version is compared to a bound soul. We have to understand the symbolism. The ''Yoga Vāsiṣṭha Rāmāyaṇa'' and the ''Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa'' are variations of the same meaning.

So Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, but he knew everything — where Sītā was living and where Lava and Kuśa were. These two caught hold of the horse and bound it, and Hanumān was bound to fight with Lava and Kuśa. They were already experts, as good as Rāma himself. They kept taking their mother Sītā's name, for they had the greatest faith: "If my mother's grace falls upon me — she is the divine mother — we can conquer, we can overcome anybody." And Hanumān had to give in.

Then Hanumān was bound, and the horse was brought before Sītā. She saw Hanumān, laughed, and released him, and introduced him to Lava and Kuśa. There is also a funny version. In Bengali there is a song about it. Hanumān is unconquerable — nobody can conquer him, for he is a ''Brahma Jñānī''. Who can conquer a Guru? Impossible. But he allowed himself, indulgingly like a grandfather, to be defeated by his grandchildren in play. And since he had "been defeated," he had to carry them around — that was the bet. The children, not knowing, climbed onto his shoulders and used him like a horse. Anyway, a poet composed a song: "If I had not voluntarily allowed myself to be conquered by you, could anyone have conquered me? It is impossible." That means nobody can go beyond the Guru. Guru is Brahmā, Guru is Viṣṇu, Guru is Maheśvara. Who can cross God himself?

But every devotee should be happy to fight with God. Rāmaprasāda also composed a song: "I will take you to court, O Mother! You are not giving me my inheritance. And I will call my father as a witness that this property belongs to me. I have come of age, and you will have to yield. And if you don't yield, I will catch hold of your lotus feet and go on crying, 'Mā, Mā,' until you have no option but to give me what I want." Beautiful ''bhajans'' of this meaning have been composed by quite a number of ''bhajan'' makers.

=== The Conclusion of the Sacrifice and Its Fruits ===
Returning to our main point: the performance of the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' demands that the king be powerful, intelligent, endowed with great resources, and it may take several years until the horse returns. When the horse finally returns, it is sacrificed and its ''medha'' — the consecrated substance — is partaken by those who conduct the ritual, including the king. Such a person, if he successfully accomplishes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', is promised by scripture that he will go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Symbolic Meditation: Aśva Upāsanā ==
Now we must understand something very important. There are many people who want to go to ''Brahma Loka'', but very few — including Brāhmaṇas — can afford to perform this sacrifice. What should they do?

What they should do is mentally perform exactly the same thing that the ''Kṣatriya'' king does — not conquering other kingdoms, but simply contemplating on the horse. This is called contemplation, ''Dhyāna Mantra''. Whoever is not a powerful, intelligent, and wealthy ''Kṣatriya'' — any Brāhmaṇa, any other ''Kṣatriya'', or person of any caste who has the capacity of mind — can do it.

The horse, however, is to be contemplated as ''Virāṭ'' — as ''Hiraṇyagarbha'', as Brahmā. Every part of the horse is described in this Upaniṣad, and every part is compared to one part of this universe. Not only powerful kings, but others as well can obtain the same result through this symbolic meditation, in which the different parts of the sacrificial horse are to be regarded as the different parts of the creator Prajāpati's body.

Now what do they attain? Whether it is the ''Kṣatriya'' who actually performs the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', or others who do this ''Aśva Upāsanā'' as ''Virāṭ Upāsanā'', as ''Hiraṇyagarbha Upāsanā'', as ''Brahma Upāsanā'' — the result is that all of them without exception go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Nature of Brahma Loka ==
''Brahma Loka'' is the most exalted plane in this entire creation. Brahmā is the presiding deity, and this world is the manifestation of that Brahmā alone. What is the speciality of this ''Brahma Loka''? Any inhabitant of ''Brahma Loka'' is conscious of his individuality, and at the same time knows his identity with all created beings. Who is Brahmā? He who identifies himself with all creation is called Brahmā. But at the same time, he doesn't say "I am ''Parabrahman'', the Supreme Brahman." Rather: "I am an individual, but the whole universe is my individuality."

Can we understand this? Yes. Every day we go to our ''Svapna Loka''. The waking "I," after the waking state comes the dream state, becomes the entire universe created in imagination. But at the same time, even in the dream we are highly conscious of our individuality. We are not conscious in the dream that we are every object in the dream world — for that we have to wake up, come to this waking world, and recollect: "Oh! I became the tree. I became the tiger. I became my neighbours. I became my friend. I became my enemy. And I gave myself a great present in the form of somebody else. And I also robbed myself." Whatever happens in the dream state — upon waking up we see that I, the one waker alone, created everything.

The condition of ''Brahma Loka'' is similar, but far greater. The denizen of ''Brahma Loka'' knows much better than the ordinary waker that the entire created world is himself. But because ''Loka'' means limitation, he knows he is also an individual. Only when he attains to Brahman will that individuality be totally dissolved. Until that time, he knows: "This entire creation is me and nothing else."

And even this gives such happiness. The more expansive one becomes, the more identification there is, the greater will be one's happiness. Let me give an example to help imagine it. Picture a householder — perhaps 100 years ago — who has several fields, is a good person, an intelligent and expert cultivator. He has married a devout wife and has five or six children, all sons, all married, all staying in the same house as a joint family, every person — husbands, wives, and their children — very good, loving, helping each other. They consider the entire joint family as "me." Just imagine, and then you can understand what the person in ''Brahma Loka'' feels.

This citizen of ''Brahma Loka'' identifies himself with this entire universe. What happens? He doesn't see the defects. He doesn't see the wickedness. He doesn't see the suffering. Because what does he see? Just as a person with a very beautiful dream would like to recollect that dream as many times as possible and re-enjoy it — like that, for this person there is no birth, there is no death. It is a beautiful, marvellous drama taking place.

This is how we gain a glimpse of what ''Brahma Loka'' is. Once a person attains to this state, he experiences the highest happiness possible in this dualistic world. Then what happens? One who knows, "I am in ''Brahma Loka'', in fact I have become one with Brahmā by contemplating on him — I identified myself with Brahmā, and that is called the ''Brahma Loka'' experience" — for this person there is no neighbor, no friend, no enemy in any conventional sense. In ''Brahma Loka'', I am Brahmā. That is called ''Brahma Loka''. A person who reaches ''Indra Loka'', I am Indra. I am Prajāpati. I am Bṛhaspati. We have to understand that particular fact.
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== Beyond Brahma Loka: The Longing for Brahman ==
So one who knows this — then his eyes open further and he sees: even this ''Brahma Loka'' is perishable. Maybe for a long time and an extraordinarily great quantum of happiness is experienced here. But as soon as the result of the ''Karma'' comes to an end, he has to again come back and earn that ''puṇyam'' again. Like a person who stays in a first-class hotel, enjoys everything, and then comes back, and has to earn once more if he wants to stay in that hotel again.

Like that, he understands: all these rites, all these ''upāsanās'' where the distinction between the worshipper and the deity is admitted — a person who has done these must eventually become eager for the knowledge of Brahman, which alone enables one to attain freedom and immortality.
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== The Six Benefits of Upāsanā ==
Before we go into the text, we have to understand and remind ourselves of what results we attain if we can hone and perfect the art of contemplation.

Like first-class students: first, concentration — undeviating concentration. Second, unmitigated, extraordinarily positive, great spiritual imagination. What do you think Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was doing when he was meditating upon the Divine Mother? He was exercising his imagination — not meditating upon a stone-like figure made of basalt that he used to worship, but a living imagination.

Third, in contemplation — ''upāsanā'' — a lower object is replaced with a higher object. Example: the ''Śiva Liṅga'' with Śiva, ''Śālagrāma'' with Viṣṇu, and the symbol of the cross with Jesus Christ, etc.

Fourth, what happens in this ''upāsanā'' is the separation of everything from "I," the pure consciousness. Pure consciousness alone is everything, and everything derives from this consciousness. First the mind borrows it, then it lends it to the sense organs. This happens to all living creatures in this world. And according to Advaita Vedānta, even the non-living creatures are manifestations of ''Sat'', ''Cit'', and ''Ānanda'' — only they are not aware that they exist. They exist, but they are not aware that we exist. They are not aware that we are ''Ānanda Svarūpas''. Only living beings experience it, and when that experience comes to an end, it is called unhappiness. Then comes again the attempt to become one with happiness. That is how it continues.

So: separation of everything from "I," which is pure consciousness. Then that "I," now pure consciousness, should be united — this individual consciousness should be united with the universal consciousness. That is, instead of saying "I am so-and-so," I am Brahman. Or if we start slowly: I am Kālī, I am Śiva, I am Viṣṇu — slowly, slowly. Or if we cannot understand even that, we say: I am ''Annamaya Brahma'', I am ''Prāṇamaya Brahma'', I am ''Manomaya Brahma'', I am ''Vijñānamaya Brahma'', I am ''Ānandamaya Brahma'' — slowly ascending, but always identifying with the larger whole. That is the purpose of ''upāsanā''.

And lastly, this is called expansiveness of mind — ''Citta Vaiśālyatā''. Gradually, on one side I give up my limitedness, and I start identifying with the universal. These are the six benefits of ''upāsanā''.
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== Summary: The Three Brahmanas and Their Purpose ==
So this first ''Brāhmaṇa'' is called ''Aśvamedha Brāhmaṇa''. In fact, the first, second, and third ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter all speak of these ''upāsanās''. We must remember: this is called ''Adhyāropa Prakaraṇa'', because ''Sṛṣṭi'' — creation — is vividly described here.

As I mentioned, this description is meant for a purpose: the Guru does not want to deny our experience that this universe is real. But it is an effect. An effect is always limited from the cause. The cause is unlimited; the effect is limited. So you will be more happy if you expand yourself into the cause. Find out the cause of this universe. Who is that? Brahmā. Find out the cause of Brahmā. Then it becomes Brahman. That is the purpose.

So there are three ''upāsanās'' in these first three ''Brāhmaṇas'': ''Aśva'', ''Agni'', and ''Prāṇa''. We will talk about this in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''

[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.1-2 Lecture 11 on 28 February 2026

2026-06-09T16:35:28Z

Shekhar: /* Opening Invocation */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् । पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

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

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

= Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: Introduction to the First and Second Mantras =

== Overview of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad ==
We have been studying the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. Now we are going to enter into the first and second mantras.

As we discussed earlier, this Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad has six chapters, and every two chapters are combined into one. The very first section is called ''Madhu Kāṇḍam'' or ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍam''. ''Kāṇḍam'' means a section dealing with real teaching — ''Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi''. The second part supports the same teaching with reasoning and rationality. That is the subject matter. It is also called ''Yājñavalkya Kāṇḍa'', ''Muni Kāṇḍa'', ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' with ''Tarka'' — that is, ''Śruti'', ''Samatha'', ''Tarka''. The third two chapters, the third part, are called ''Khila Kāṇḍam'', which covers miscellaneous items, some of which are highly important.

As I mentioned earlier at the very beginning, we are not going to proceed mantra by mantra, but will take the very essence of it. That way we will not be confused. Otherwise, this is one of the biggest of the Upaniṣads, containing more than 640 mantras. To go through every one of them is neither necessary, nor need we waste time doing so. Essential points in the light of the teachings of Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda will be very useful.
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== Adhyāropa and Apavāda: The Vedāntic Methodology ==
Now this first chapter, according to the interpretation of Śaṅkarācārya, follows the Advaita Vedāntic methodology called ''Adhyāropa'' and ''Apavāda''.

=== What is Adhyāropa? ===
''Adhyāropa'' means accepting our present experience as it is. The scripture says: yes, you are right — what you are experiencing is real. But there are certain points you have to note down, and only then will you understand the nature of this world you are experiencing.

First of all, the world depends upon you. If you, the subject, are sleeping, in a coma, or unconscious, the whole universe disappears so far as you are concerned. Even though in our ordinary experience we say we depend upon the world, actually we can see that we shape the whole world. What does an artist do? He shapes whatever object — be it wood, be it stone — according to his own concept. He can bring out Rāma or he can bring out Rāvaṇāsura, depending upon his ''saṃskāras''. He can bring out Kṛṣṇa, he can bring out Kaṃsa.

A writer can express his own beautiful imaginations and manifest them in the form of beautiful language and literature. And a poet or a musician — the limit is the sky, one's own imagination.

Consider our dreams. We can dream whatever we like. We think, most of the time by mistake, that a dream overwhelms us and that we are forced to experience the dream. But no. If a child is reading about gods and goddesses and is endowed with spiritual ''saṃskāras'', he will be dreaming of gods and goddesses like Nāgamahāśaya. But if somebody is interested in Superman or evil characters — and so many people are addicted to these evil characters because they want to be like that but don't have the capacity — they watch films and rule over the world in imagination. Similarly, a cricket fan's biggest heroes will be those who fetch the greatest number of runs. So everything depends upon our mind, and the mind is endowed with borrowed consciousness. The mind pays attention, and only that which it attends to is experienceable by us.

Second, the world is continuously changing. Third, it consists of three parts: form, name, and utility — ''Rūpa'', ''Nāma'', ''Karma''.

So what does the scripture tell fortunate souls who want to progress in spiritual life, who believe in the teachings of the scriptures, and who want to realize God? If the scriptures start by saying this world is unreal, we are likely to give up the world. But if the scriptures accept that it is true — not unreal, but ''Mithyā'' — that changes things. ''Mithyā'' means dependent, ever-changing, unreliable, and so forth. This is called ''Adhyāropa'': accepting it temporarily.

The scripture doesn't stop there. It goes on to ask: what do you want in this world? "I want money." Alright, do this — you will get money. Chant the name of Mahālakṣmī mantra, recite Śrī Sūktam or Kanakādhārastavam. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said, and proved to the hilt, that every mantra in the scriptures — meaning the Vedas, Purāṇas, Tantras, and instructions of Gurus — is absolutely true. He proved it. When he used to perform ''pūjā'' and chant a particular mantra, for example the Agni Mantra ''Rām'', he would immediately see a wall of fire springing up and protecting him. When Rāmakṛṣṇa was young, he used to visit a crematorium called Bhuterkhali, and he said later that the pot would disappear in mid-air — that is, there are spirits which accept such offerings.

And now, what little original capacity we have, we are fast losing to the new AI, and that becomes our reality. But I can assure you it is not going to be so for long, because every human being is potentially divine. God will give those necessary sticks — not always carrots — to awaken us.

So slowly the teacher tells the student to fulfil desires through scriptural means. The person may start sceptically, but in course of time he gets what was promised, develops faith, and when he opens his eyes and looks further into the scripture, he says: "Why should I be content with temporary results and limited happiness? Why settle for limited existence? I can have eternal existence, infinite knowledge, and unbroken bliss." By now the student's mind has developed tremendous ''śraddhā''.

=== What is Apavāda? ===
Then starts the second part of the scripture, called ''Apavāda''. The teacher says: what I told you was true only for that level of students, or when you were at that level. But now you have crossed over, and you yourself are longing for something higher. Now I will teach you. This is called ''Apavāda''.

In a manner of speaking, the world is unreal. To prove that the world is insubstantial, unreliable, ever-changing, dangerous, and the cause of repeated births and repeated sufferings — that is the common view. But the scripture, through the Guru, teaches: that is only the middle way, valid when you are in the middle stage of your development. But later on you understand that everything is Brahman. This world is a ''Līlā'' — a divine play. Everybody, everything in this universe is only the infinite imagination of the infinite Brahman. What is suffering — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. What is happiness and bliss — that is also part of the ''Līlā''. That is the ''Apavāda''. ''Apavāda'' means negation: negation of your previous understanding of the world. First, the only reality has been understood as a changing, unreliable, insubstantial reality. That is then transformed into the understanding that everything is Brahman. And the final step is that everything is the ''Līlā'' of Brahman. This applies especially to the ''Jīvanmukta''.

What a beautiful way this is! First, like giving a child a real apple and saying "this is called apple, the spelling starts with A; this is beetroot, it starts with B; this is a carrot, and it starts with C" — like that, a person is helped to evolve both physically and spiritually, intellectually and spiritually.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa illustrates this beautifully. There is a kind of Bengali sweet whose outside looks absolutely the same, but the inside can be filled with hard lentils — ''kaḍai dāl'' — or with coconut and jaggery, or with ''canā'', or with broken milk — what we call paneer. There is a vast difference in what is within, even though the outside appears the same. Slowly the teacher takes the student higher in exactly this way.
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== The Structure of the First Chapter: Upadeśa Kāṇḍa ==
In the very first chapter, as just mentioned, it is called ''Upadeśa Kāṇḍa'' or ''Madhu Kāṇḍa''. ''Upadeśa'' means teaching. Usually the word ''upadeśa'' means when a Guru initiates a disciple, that is called ''upadeśa''. But here, instead of just a mantra, he also gives explanation and teaching.

You should look upon your body as ''Brahmapurī''. You should look upon your mind also as ''Brahmapurī'', the ''Hṛdayākāśa''. It is the abode of the purest of the pure. Brahman, ''Jyotir Jyotiḥ'', resides within it. This is how you will have to slowly orient your thought: this body is a sacred temple. When one succeeds in thinking of oneself as a sacred temple, and Brahman is within, and "I am not different from that Brahman," slowly his understanding is also applied — first to the mother, then the father, then the teacher, then everybody else. Slow expansion.

As an example: first, Gopālasumā had the ''darśana'' of child Gopāla. And then, like a devoted woman, she went to Dakṣiṇeśvara, and there she saw that this Kṛṣṇa — God himself — had said: "Whatever pathway a person chooses to approach and come to me, I will run towards him and take him into my bosom and teach him." So Gopāla — that is, Bāla Kṛṣṇa — started entering into Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's body and coming out. He did this several times until Gopāla's mother understood that her Gopāla and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa are not different — they are one and the same. In fact, Gopāla's mother first had the vision of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, and then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa transformed himself into child Gopāla.

After a few days — that is, when the idea that Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa are absolutely one became firm and unshakeable — Gopāla started doing exactly the same thing but with the other direct disciples of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. She started understanding: "My Gopāla wants to teach me that he is Rākhal, he is Narendra, he is Tārak, and he is the other disciples." Like that, Gopāla entered into any number of disciples and devotees until she realized — but that also was a partial view and not complete realization.

After some weeks or months, there was a chariot festival. Those who wish to know the details can refer to ''Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: The Great Master'' by Swami Sārādānanda. She described graphically that on that day she had a universal vision of her Gopāla. Everything — living and non-living, moving and non-moving, the priest, the audience, the chariot, the people pulling the chariot, the music makers — without exception, everybody was nothing but her Gopāla. With that, her realization of ''Sarvaṃ Khalvidaṃ Brahma'' was complete.

That is the purpose of ''Adhyāropa'' and ''Apavāda''.
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== The Three Upāsanās of the First Chapter ==
As I mentioned, the first chapter contains the analysis of ''Adhyāropa''. How do we know? Because in the first chapter, following certain types of contemplations, there are three meditations — ''upāsanās'' — described:

# Contemplation on a horse — ''Aśva Upāsanā''
# Contemplation on fire — ''Agni Upāsanā''
# Contemplation on ''Prāṇa'' — ''Prāṇa Upāsanā''

In this Upaniṣad, the chapters are known as ''Adhyāyas''. The word ''Adhyāya'' is very interesting: ''Adhyāpaka'' means teacher, ''adhyayana'' is studying, and so ''Adhyāya'' means that which teaches what a person wants to learn. Each chapter has several sections, and each section is called a ''Brāhmaṇa''.

In the first three ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter, we see these three meditations. The first ''Brāhmaṇa'' of the first chapter consists of two verses, and the second consists of seven. Both the first and second ''Brāhmaṇas'' are devoted to the meditation on a horse and the fire used in the ritual called ''Aśvamedha Yajña''.
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== The Aśvamedha Yajña ==

=== Nature of the Sacrifice ===
The ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' is the highest of all Vedic rites. What does the person who successfully completes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' attain? He will go to ''Prajāpati Loka'', ''Virāṭ Loka'', ''Brahma Loka''. But this sacrifice involves a tremendous amount of money, time, power, and intelligence. Briefly: the best horse available in the kingdom is chosen and set free to roam all over the world. Of course, people accompany and attend to it, and when it returns it is worshipped, for it has become the most sacred of animals.

The purpose is twofold. The first purpose is that whichever kingdom the horse enters, the king who is performing the sacrifice must subdue its ruler. If he cannot, he cannot perform the ''Aśvamedha Yajña''. That is why only a powerful ''Kṣatriya'' king can truly perform it, and the best soldiers with the best commander-in-chief are sent to defend the horse's passage. Even Rāma had done this.

=== The Story of Lava and Kuśa ===
When the horse came to the forest where Muni Vālmīki resided — Rāma having sent Sītā away from the kingdom, she being pregnant, and Lakṣmaṇa, devoted to Sītā, having brought her to Vālmīki Ṛṣi with tears in his eyes, though he had to obey Rāma — there she gave birth to twins, Lava and Kuśa. Vālmīki, not only a poet but also an expert archer, taught them the best of archery. The story is marvellous and very purifying.

These two children, proud and well-trained, one day saw this horse sent by Rāma — their own father, though they did not know it. Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, and nobody can defeat Hanumān because he is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa''. Nobody can defeat ''Prāṇa'', because if you fight with ''Prāṇa'', ''Prāṇa'' will leave you and you will be dead. But here ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' means the best teacher of ''Brahma Vidyā''.

How do we know this? Because of the symbolism in the South Indian version: Sītā was the individual soul, fallen into the net of ''Māyā'' called Rāvaṇāsura. Rāma sent Hanumān to rescue her. He crosses the ocean — the ocean of ''Saṃsāra'', ''Māyā'' — and gives his ''Upadeśa'': "Rāma is concerned about you. He will soon come and rescue you. God will bless you very soon, and you will be free from ''saṃsāra bandhanam''." That was the message. That is why Hanumān is called ''Mukhya Prāṇa'' — the greatest ''Brahma Jñānī'', the foremost Guru. So Hanumān liberated Sītā, who in this version is compared to a bound soul. We have to understand the symbolism. The ''Yoga Vāsiṣṭha Rāmāyaṇa'' and the ''Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa'' are variations of the same meaning.

So Hanumān was the commander-in-chief, but he knew everything — where Sītā was living and where Lava and Kuśa were. These two caught hold of the horse and bound it, and Hanumān was bound to fight with Lava and Kuśa. They were already experts, as good as Rāma himself. They kept taking their mother Sītā's name, for they had the greatest faith: "If my mother's grace falls upon me — she is the divine mother — we can conquer, we can overcome anybody." And Hanumān had to give in.

Then Hanumān was bound, and the horse was brought before Sītā. She saw Hanumān, laughed, and released him, and introduced him to Lava and Kuśa. There is also a funny version. In Bengali there is a song about it. Hanumān is unconquerable — nobody can conquer him, for he is a ''Brahma Jñānī''. Who can conquer a Guru? Impossible. But he allowed himself, indulgingly like a grandfather, to be defeated by his grandchildren in play. And since he had "been defeated," he had to carry them around — that was the bet. The children, not knowing, climbed onto his shoulders and used him like a horse. Anyway, a poet composed a song: "If I had not voluntarily allowed myself to be conquered by you, could anyone have conquered me? It is impossible." That means nobody can go beyond the Guru. Guru is Brahmā, Guru is Viṣṇu, Guru is Maheśvara. Who can cross God himself?

But every devotee should be happy to fight with God. Rāmaprasāda also composed a song: "I will take you to court, O Mother! You are not giving me my inheritance. And I will call my father as a witness that this property belongs to me. I have come of age, and you will have to yield. And if you don't yield, I will catch hold of your lotus feet and go on crying, 'Mā, Mā,' until you have no option but to give me what I want." Beautiful ''bhajans'' of this meaning have been composed by quite a number of ''bhajan'' makers.

=== The Conclusion of the Sacrifice and Its Fruits ===
Returning to our main point: the performance of the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'' demands that the king be powerful, intelligent, endowed with great resources, and it may take several years until the horse returns. When the horse finally returns, it is sacrificed and its ''medha'' — the consecrated substance — is partaken by those who conduct the ritual, including the king. Such a person, if he successfully accomplishes this ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', is promised by scripture that he will go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Symbolic Meditation: Aśva Upāsanā ==
Now we must understand something very important. There are many people who want to go to ''Brahma Loka'', but very few — including Brāhmaṇas — can afford to perform this sacrifice. What should they do?

What they should do is mentally perform exactly the same thing that the ''Kṣatriya'' king does — not conquering other kingdoms, but simply contemplating on the horse. This is called contemplation, ''Dhyāna Mantra''. Whoever is not a powerful, intelligent, and wealthy ''Kṣatriya'' — any Brāhmaṇa, any other ''Kṣatriya'', or person of any caste who has the capacity of mind — can do it.

The horse, however, is to be contemplated as ''Virāṭ'' — as ''Hiraṇyagarbha'', as Brahmā. Every part of the horse is described in this Upaniṣad, and every part is compared to one part of this universe. Not only powerful kings, but others as well can obtain the same result through this symbolic meditation, in which the different parts of the sacrificial horse are to be regarded as the different parts of the creator Prajāpati's body.

Now what do they attain? Whether it is the ''Kṣatriya'' who actually performs the ''Aśvamedha Yajña'', or others who do this ''Aśva Upāsanā'' as ''Virāṭ Upāsanā'', as ''Hiraṇyagarbha Upāsanā'', as ''Brahma Upāsanā'' — the result is that all of them without exception go to ''Brahma Loka''.
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== The Nature of Brahma Loka ==
''Brahma Loka'' is the most exalted plane in this entire creation. Brahmā is the presiding deity, and this world is the manifestation of that Brahmā alone. What is the speciality of this ''Brahma Loka''? Any inhabitant of ''Brahma Loka'' is conscious of his individuality, and at the same time knows his identity with all created beings. Who is Brahmā? He who identifies himself with all creation is called Brahmā. But at the same time, he doesn't say "I am ''Parabrahman'', the Supreme Brahman." Rather: "I am an individual, but the whole universe is my individuality."

Can we understand this? Yes. Every day we go to our ''Svapna Loka''. The waking "I," after the waking state comes the dream state, becomes the entire universe created in imagination. But at the same time, even in the dream we are highly conscious of our individuality. We are not conscious in the dream that we are every object in the dream world — for that we have to wake up, come to this waking world, and recollect: "Oh! I became the tree. I became the tiger. I became my neighbours. I became my friend. I became my enemy. And I gave myself a great present in the form of somebody else. And I also robbed myself." Whatever happens in the dream state — upon waking up we see that I, the one waker alone, created everything.

The condition of ''Brahma Loka'' is similar, but far greater. The denizen of ''Brahma Loka'' knows much better than the ordinary waker that the entire created world is himself. But because ''Loka'' means limitation, he knows he is also an individual. Only when he attains to Brahman will that individuality be totally dissolved. Until that time, he knows: "This entire creation is me and nothing else."

And even this gives such happiness. The more expansive one becomes, the more identification there is, the greater will be one's happiness. Let me give an example to help imagine it. Picture a householder — perhaps 100 years ago — who has several fields, is a good person, an intelligent and expert cultivator. He has married a devout wife and has five or six children, all sons, all married, all staying in the same house as a joint family, every person — husbands, wives, and their children — very good, loving, helping each other. They consider the entire joint family as "me." Just imagine, and then you can understand what the person in ''Brahma Loka'' feels.

This citizen of ''Brahma Loka'' identifies himself with this entire universe. What happens? He doesn't see the defects. He doesn't see the wickedness. He doesn't see the suffering. Because what does he see? Just as a person with a very beautiful dream would like to recollect that dream as many times as possible and re-enjoy it — like that, for this person there is no birth, there is no death. It is a beautiful, marvellous drama taking place.

This is how we gain a glimpse of what ''Brahma Loka'' is. Once a person attains to this state, he experiences the highest happiness possible in this dualistic world. Then what happens? One who knows, "I am in ''Brahma Loka'', in fact I have become one with Brahmā by contemplating on him — I identified myself with Brahmā, and that is called the ''Brahma Loka'' experience" — for this person there is no neighbor, no friend, no enemy in any conventional sense. In ''Brahma Loka'', I am Brahmā. That is called ''Brahma Loka''. A person who reaches ''Indra Loka'', I am Indra. I am Prajāpati. I am Bṛhaspati. We have to understand that particular fact.
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== Beyond Brahma Loka: The Longing for Brahman ==
So one who knows this — then his eyes open further and he sees: even this ''Brahma Loka'' is perishable. Maybe for a long time and an extraordinarily great quantum of happiness is experienced here. But as soon as the result of the ''Karma'' comes to an end, he has to again come back and earn that ''puṇyam'' again. Like a person who stays in a first-class hotel, enjoys everything, and then comes back, and has to earn once more if he wants to stay in that hotel again.

Like that, he understands: all these rites, all these ''upāsanās'' where the distinction between the worshipper and the deity is admitted — a person who has done these must eventually become eager for the knowledge of Brahman, which alone enables one to attain freedom and immortality.
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== The Six Benefits of Upāsanā ==
Before we go into the text, we have to understand and remind ourselves of what results we attain if we can hone and perfect the art of contemplation.

Like first-class students: first, concentration — undeviating concentration. Second, unmitigated, extraordinarily positive, great spiritual imagination. What do you think Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was doing when he was meditating upon the Divine Mother? He was exercising his imagination — not meditating upon a stone-like figure made of basalt that he used to worship, but a living imagination.

Third, in contemplation — ''upāsanā'' — a lower object is replaced with a higher object. Example: the ''Śiva Liṅga'' with Śiva, ''Śālagrāma'' with Viṣṇu, and the symbol of the cross with Jesus Christ, etc.

Fourth, what happens in this ''upāsanā'' is the separation of everything from "I," the pure consciousness. Pure consciousness alone is everything, and everything derives from this consciousness. First the mind borrows it, then it lends it to the sense organs. This happens to all living creatures in this world. And according to Advaita Vedānta, even the non-living creatures are manifestations of ''Sat'', ''Cit'', and ''Ānanda'' — only they are not aware that they exist. They exist, but they are not aware that we exist. They are not aware that we are ''Ānanda Svarūpas''. Only living beings experience it, and when that experience comes to an end, it is called unhappiness. Then comes again the attempt to become one with happiness. That is how it continues.

So: separation of everything from "I," which is pure consciousness. Then that "I," now pure consciousness, should be united — this individual consciousness should be united with the universal consciousness. That is, instead of saying "I am so-and-so," I am Brahman. Or if we start slowly: I am Kālī, I am Śiva, I am Viṣṇu — slowly, slowly. Or if we cannot understand even that, we say: I am ''Annamaya Brahma'', I am ''Prāṇamaya Brahma'', I am ''Manomaya Brahma'', I am ''Vijñānamaya Brahma'', I am ''Ānandamaya Brahma'' — slowly ascending, but always identifying with the larger whole. That is the purpose of ''upāsanā''.

And lastly, this is called expansiveness of mind — ''Citta Vaiśālyatā''. Gradually, on one side I give up my limitedness, and I start identifying with the universal. These are the six benefits of ''upāsanā''.
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== Summary: The Three Brahmanas and Their Purpose ==
So this first ''Brāhmaṇa'' is called ''Aśvamedha Brāhmaṇa''. In fact, the first, second, and third ''Brāhmaṇas'' of the first chapter all speak of these ''upāsanās''. We must remember: this is called ''Adhyāropa Prakaraṇa'', because ''Sṛṣṭi'' — creation — is vividly described here.

As I mentioned, this description is meant for a purpose: the Guru does not want to deny our experience that this universe is real. But it is an effect. An effect is always limited from the cause. The cause is unlimited; the effect is limited. So you will be more happy if you expand yourself into the cause. Find out the cause of this universe. Who is that? Brahmā. Find out the cause of Brahmā. Then it becomes Brahman. That is the purpose.

So there are three ''upāsanās'' in these first three ''Brāhmaṇas'': ''Aśva'', ''Agni'', and ''Prāṇa''. We will talk about this in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''

[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Introduction Lecture 03 on 31 January 2026

2026-05-24T16:22:44Z

Shekhar: /* Closing Prayer */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् । पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते । पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥ ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥'''

'''Oṁ pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṁ pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate, pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate. Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ.'''

''(Simplified phonetic reading: Om poornam-adah poornam-idam, poornaat poornam-udachyate; poornasya poornam-aadaaya poornam-eva-avashishyate. Om shaantih shaantih shaantih.)''

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

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

== Introduction to Brihadaranyaka Upanishad ==
Of all the Upanishads, this Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is not only the biggest, it is the most important. And that's why Shankaracharya had written an elaborate commentary upon it. Earlier, I have given some introduction.

=== The Author and Origin ===
Who was this author, the writer or the manifester of this Brihadaranyaka Upanishad? The real author is only God, Brahman. But Brahman had revealed this Upanishad to Yajnavalkya through the deity called Surya Deva, the Sun God. And that is why it came to be known as Shukla Yajurveda.

The entire Shukla Yajurveda was a kind, graceful revelation of this highest spiritual truth to Yajnavalkya because he prepared himself to receive it.

=== The Nature of Prayer and Grace ===
Many times we do not understand what is the meaning of prayer. And even more important, why prayers are not answered.

It is just like an analogy: Two persons go to the ocean. One person goes with a small glass. Another person goes with a huge tanker. And then both of them receive water. But the person with a glass complains, "Why are you bestowing so much upon the other person? Whereas you have given me only a small glass full."

Of course, the ocean will not reply. But common sense will tell us that it is not that the ocean refuses to give you. But you are not ready to receive it. Or whatever capacity of reception you have, that much you got full.

This is what Sri Ramakrishna used to call, "The breeze of God's grace is always blowing. But you have to unfurl your sails." That means you should be ready to receive the grace, which has not started at a particular point of time, but forever it is blowing. Here grace means knowledge.

=== Sadhana and Mental Purification ===
And if we do sadhana, gradually increase our capacity of our mind, then we will be able to receive as much as our mind is ready to receive.

Imagine there is a room full of objects. And you want to buy something huge and put it there. You cannot because there is no space. So you will have to throw out, remove many objects, sufficient at least to keep that newly bought object.

In the same way, our mind is full of thoughts about the world—mithya jagat, avidya world. Sadhana is not meant to receive the grace of God. I repeat, sadhana is not meant to receive the grace of God. Sadhana is meant to make our minds pure. Purity means emptying the mind of all thoughts.

And just like space, as soon as a place is vacant, immediately it becomes available. That is, the space becomes available. You can keep whatever you want there. God's grace, you don't need to invite. You don't need to pray.

=== Yajnavalkya's Realization ===
So Yajnavalkya completely removed all thoughts. That is called purification of the mind. That is called destroying all attachments instantaneously. As soon as a place is vacant, space enters there. Rather, it is already there. Now it becomes more manifest.

This is the clear concept of what is called receiving the grace of God. And Yajnavalkya received it to the full. That means he removed 100% of his mind. Then what remained was Brahman. And that's why he was called Brahmavid (ब्रह्मविद्).

And Brahmavid (ब्रह्मविद्), as we saw in the Taittiriya Upanishad, āpnoti param (आप्नोति परम्) — he attains everything. He becomes Satyam Jñānam Anantam Brahma (सत्यं ज्ञानम् अनन्तं ब्रह्म).

=== The Setting for Study ===
So in the introduction, we have seen this is the biggest of the Upanishads. And it is usually taught to renunciates in the forest. Forest means a place where one can pursue the spiritual studies, spiritual sadhanas.

Spiritual study and spiritual sadhana are not two separate things. Just like a scientist: Scientific knowledge is not a dry knowledge. It is first thought about, then experimented upon. It becomes a provable knowledge. Proven knowledge becomes forever provable knowledge. Take the same steps, one should get the same result. Brahma jñānam is no exception to it. That is the real meaning.

=== Benefits of Forest Environment ===
So where there is no distraction, the mind also, because of the absence of distractions, can also remain equanimous, more calm. We have not developed so much that we can afford to be in this, what is called huge storm on the ocean, and remain in that ocean called Samsara Sagara, and expect to be calm and quiet.

So we have to help ourselves by going into solitude, which Ramakrishna used to call nirjanasthāna. Do not depend upon anything. Everything is perishable, non-dependable. Only God is dependable. That is called solitude.

And it is for the solitude, and there is also another thing: A forest is the most natural expression of nature. And to be in contact with nature itself is extraordinarily calming.

=== The Importance of Pure Food ===
So when a person starts to live and enjoy the bounty of the forest—fruits, roots, etc.—without contamination by artificial fertilizers, etc., the mind of a person becomes very, very pure.

Whereas we are all living cultivated with fertilizers and pesticides, etc. How much harm is being done? Now scientists are astonished how much plastic is going into the fishes, into the animals, into our own bodies. God alone knows.

And when the food is impure, when āhāra is not sāttvic āhāra, śuddha āhāra, then our remembrance of who we are also will be affected by it. That is why the Vishishtadvaitins, advaitins and the bhaktas, is so much of importance for food.

==== An Incident About Food Purity ====
I have narrated an incident: Once Holy Mother bestowed her grace upon one of her disciples and asked him not to eat food in anybody's house excepting at the Jayrambati, Holy Mother's prasada, or the next best choice, the cooking of one's own mother.

The devotee disobeyed it, thinking that after all I am taking food from a devotee's house. Instantaneously his mind came down, fallen, and he received a shock. Then Mother must have told him, "Why did you disobey me? You should have come back here." Such is the effect of food.

Sri Ramakrishna could not touch the food, let alone cooked, even touched by impure people.

=== The True Meaning of Forest ===
So forest affords us natural food, healthy food, and also healthy environment. And there distractions are very, very less. If distractions are not less, that's not a forest, even if it is a forest. We have to understand the inner meaning.

Forest means where a person's mind can remain naturally, without effort, calm and quiet, equanimous. That is a real forest. A house also can be like that.

There is a beautiful Sanskrit verse: So one's own home, svagṛham, itself can become the greatest ashrama, provided the environment is kept like that. Sri Rama's home became such a heaven of peace.

=== Students of the Upanishad ===
Anyway, we already introduced Brihadaranyaka, and people used to study. Two types of people used to study there. One is the vanaprasthis, householders, and then another is monks who renounced.

After living for some time as a vanaprastha ashrama, then when he becomes ready, some of them don't—they occur robe, but not necessary. Sannyasa, vanaprastha ashrama, are not physical external stages. They are development of the purity of the mind. That's what we might discuss in the future.

== Three Main Divisions (Kandas) ==
This Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is mainly divided into three parts: Madhu Kanda, Muni Kanda (also known as Yajnavalkya Kanda), and Khila Kanda. Kanda means a chapter (or section).

=== 1. Madhu Kanda (The Honey Chapter) ===
Madhu Kanda means the chapter called honey. Honey means everything is interconnected. Why is everything interconnected? Because the source, the ultimate cause is Brahman, and everything comes out Brahman. Like many children of the same parents are interconnected, blood related. That is how it is called Madhu Kanda.

If we do not realize it, that I am separate, you are separate, I can do whatever I like with you, so also you can do, and that brings disastrous results. So it is called Madhu Kanda.

=== 2. Muni Kanda (Yajnavalkya Kanda) ===
Then the second part is called Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda, because there are marvelous discussions about the highest knowledge and also about many of the important contemplations called upasanas.

Yajnavalkya explains everything to his challengers and he also becomes the guru of Janaka Maharaja and he also becomes the teacher of his own, one of his own wives called Maitreyi, and most marvelous teachings are there.

=== 3. Khila Kanda (Miscellaneous Chapter) ===
The last Kanda is Khila Kanda. This is what we call appendix or appendicitis or whatever, where various distorted things, disconnected things, kept together, some of them are marvelous things.

So these are the three important divisions of his Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. And again each Adhyaya or Kanda is subdivided into two, so three into two, total there are six chapters.

And then some of them are repetitions, especially the conversation between Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi repeated in another section. And there is also remembrance of lineage, spiritual lineage, guru parampara system, that also is there.

=== Comparative Understanding of the Three Kandas ===
In Madhu Kanda, the primary teaching is upadesha of Brahma jñāna. Therefore it is called also Upadesha Kanda. And second, this is compared to śravaṇa because that is our goal.

Second is Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda. In this second chapter, the teachings given are supported by logic. Logic or upapatti is used. That is why it is called logical explanations of these real teachings are given in the first chapter.

And the person who explains such with superb intelligence and clarity is none other than Yajnavalkya himself. So if the first Kanda can be compared to śravaṇa, the second Kanda, Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda, Upapatti Kanda can be compared to manana. That is deeply churning, thinking.

Manana means churn the mind, keeping all the acquired knowledge and all the dirt, dust and unnecessary things are removed. Pure, what is called, butter is distilled from there. And Sri Ramakrishna often uses this: There is no harm after being churned. If butter is kept in what you call buttermilk or water, it never mixes. But without that, the milk can get spoiled.

So this is the second chapter and the main guru is Yajnavalkya, Khila Kanda. That is what is called a miscellaneous chapter. In this part, various kinds of upasanas, that is contemplations, various types of rituals are found.

=== The Logic of This Division ===
Why are they found? It doesn't seem logical. First there should be what is called rituals and contemplations. Then logical explanations about Brahma jñāna. And lastly, pure Brahma jñāna.

No, sir. First the goal is explained. Then it is made to be understood with various logics, etc. Supported by logic, the teachings become much more acceptable. But to transform them into practical Vedanta, we have to start from where we are standing or even sitting or even lying down and move forward.

So this is the very logical way of dividing.

== Etymology of "Upanishad" ==
Now we will talk about what is the meaning of the Upanishad. In many of the Upanishads we have explained, but it is very necessary to go through it. First, because of our memory. Second, because repetition only drives deep the meaning into our subconscious and unconscious minds. That is what we need to understand.

This word Upanishad, according to Shankaracharya, is divided into three small words: Upa, Ni, Sad. And Upa and Ni are prefixes. The real word is Sad.

=== Meaning of "Sad" ===
Sad means, according to Shankara himself, that which destroys. What does it destroy? Sad means knowledge. What does knowledge destroy? Knowledge always destroys, only ignorance, nothing else.

Ignorance in Vedanta is called avidya. So Brahmavidya is that which destroys ignorance. If one attains Brahmavidya, then Brahman-ignorance, ignorance of Brahman is destroyed. They are simultaneous process. As soon as we bring light, darkness disappears, things are revealed, stand revealed.

==== Avidya as the Cause of Bondage ====
So according to this scripture, our Vedas, the cause of our bondage, called worldly existence, samsara, is ignorance of Brahman. If Brahmavidya, that is true knowledge, about whom? About our own nature, who am I?

'''कोऽहं कस्त्वं कुत आयातः तत्त्वं चिन्तय तदीयं भ्रातः ।'''

ko'haṁ kastvaṁ kuta āyātaḥ tattvaṁ cintaya tadīyaṁ bhrātaḥ ।

''(Simplified phonetic reading: ko-ham kas-tvam kuta aayaatah; tattvam chintaya tadeeyam bhraatah.)''

So Brahmavidya destroys the very cause of worldly existence, which is called avidya. And when the cause ceases to exist, the effect of the cause also will be destroyed. As soon as you come to know that this is a rope, not a snake, the fear, the palpitation, will be automatically destroyed.

Not only so, destruction of the false knowledge, but the result of the effect of the false knowledge will also be destroyed. Brahma-avidya-nāśa, its effect, samsara-nāśa, that's what happens.

==== The Problem of Samsara ====
Why should we destroy samsara? If anybody is doubting, worldly existence, samsara means problems arising from gaining, loss, everything. Many times, gaining also causes great sorrow. How does it cause? If somebody is promoted, a hundred or thousand eyes will be glaring at him, scorching him. "What right have you got to get what you got? Each one of us should have got that."

Whoever rises to that position will get the same looks. How many people are waiting to kill the presidents, prime ministers, in every country? Worldly existence means problems. Problems means sorrow. Sorrow is opposite our nature.

How do we know? Because we never lift even a small finger to what is called destroy happiness. But the moment even the slightest sorrow comes, immediately, automatically, we want to get rid of it.

==== The Three Sources of Sorrow ====
And according to Vedanta, all sorrows come from three factors. What is that? This external world represented by gross body, internal world, our mental reactions caused by what is called the mental world. And the root cause of both is karana, cause, causal world.

So, gross body, subtle body, causal body. Any sorrow comes only from these three.

So there is another way, explanation also is there. So that which causes sorrow from our body and external world is called adhyātma. But that which comes from God is what is called from the external world, earthquakes, or lack of rain, or occupation by other people, people who cheat, or punish to people's savings, etc. And that also because of one's own prarabdha actually.

So, there is a third: God or Brahman, also is not only creator, but he is also a supporter, sustainer. And if we do not recognize, if we are not grateful what we are receiving for, then great destruction will come. They will send what is called too much rain, too less of rain, unseasonal rain, earthquakes, or wars, pestilences, or germ warfare.

All these things come. Unfortunately, we blame them on other people, not knowing we are the other people. Our government is nothing but our representation. Collective representation is called our government.

==== Liberation from Samsara ====
So, world existence means problems arising from tapa, sorrow, tapatraya. Liberation from world existence is moksha. Cessation from sorrow. Brahmavid, you know the supreme. So, along with Brahman, he enjoys everything.

Brahmavidya gives two fruits. It destroys ignorance and it grants liberation. There is no separate thing called liberation. To know that I was, I am, I will be ever free, that is, to know that is called liberation.

=== Second Meaning of "Sad" ===
That is one meaning of the word sad. There is another word. It means that which leads us to the right goal. So, what does lead us? Sad means knowledge of self, Brahman. Brahmavidya, where does it lead us?

So, Brahmavidya leads to Brahman. It means what? Leading means what? It means it makes us completely become one with Brahman. Or to know there are no Brahman and me, only one thing and that is Brahman. I am that Brahman. That is why it is said Brahmavid āpnoti param.

So, one meaning of sad is destruction of ignorance. Second meaning is that which leads us to Brahman. And what is the good of it? The nature of Brahman is what? Sat, Cit, Ānanda. Ānanda means bliss.

So, sad means that which leads each one of us to Brahman which means to bliss, which means to counter death, which means complete knowledge, all consciousness, I am Brahman. Thus, attainment of Brahman means I am ānanda svarūpa.

So, we have seen both.

=== Meaning of "Ni" ===
Then, we have to see what is the meaning of Ni. Ni is a prefix and niśaśena nāśayati. We have to presume that meaning. That means there would be not even a little bit remnant of avidya completely. That which eradicates, destroys, so uproots the samsara vṛkṣa.

That is called—that what does it mean? What does it do? Who does it? Sad. So, Ni means there would be a little bit of samsara, a little bit of Brahman. No. Completely.

==== The Problem of Mental Conflict ====
So, what is the problem? Sad. Whatever knowledge we have, that is our problem. Knowledge is received by the mind, developed by the mind. But then, mind means there is also intellect.

So, our mind, our understanding, buddhi and manas are ever at conflict. I know aham brahmāsmi. But, my mind says, "You idiot, you liked this sweet very much. Now, get to work and enjoy that sweet."

This ever opposing force, that is why it is called dvandva, is haunting us ever since creation. So, therefore, mere knowledge will not do. Our identity with the body, our identity with our possessions, our identity with the family and our hatred of other people, both of them lead to bondage only.

That's why it is said, pāpam is also gives us sorrow. Puṇyam also gives us more sorrow. How come? Because if pāpam is like a person who falls a little bit down, from a short height. Puṇyam, you go to the Svarga Loka, the pāpa, you fall down, which is extraordinarily painful.

That's why we must rise beyond both virtue and vice. But in the beginning, get rid of the vice. Later on, we have to get rid of virtue also. We must go beyond that. So, we must go beyond dharma, beyond artha, beyond kāma, then only moksha is possible.

==== Obstacles to Knowledge ====
So, in spite of knowledge, we have got passions, hatreds, aversions, desires, kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, mātsarya. These are called obstacles to right knowledge.

So, these feelings have not only come from the past birth, but in this birth also, unfortunately, we reinforce them instead of cutting them down. So, all these things are sure to affect the mind, but Vedanta knowledge also arises in the intellect. Doubts also arise in the intellect until definitive knowledge arises.

If the mind is not kept under control, śama, dama, ādi, ṣaṭ, sampatti, this knowledge does not really work. That is why, even when we understand intellectually Vedanta, we are unable to keep serene and quite equanimous in the face of ups and downs of life. And this is the problem of all humanity.

Only just a selected few manushya, nāma, sahasreṣu try to jump out of the net, as Sri Ramakrishna gives the analogy of the fish, and only a few succeed in it.

==== The Path Through Dharma Shastra ====
That is why, we have to start our life in having faith not in Vedanta Shastra, but in Dharma Shastra. What does Dharma Shastra do? Like a spiritual doctor, like a physical doctor, this is a spiritual doctor, it says, if you want physical health, mental health, every type of health, then you will have to stop doing these things and start doing these things.

They are called niṣedhāda, do not even think of doing them, or if, because we have already done, then slowly try to reduce them by replacing them with what should be done. That is called vidhi.

So, only when one leads a dharmic life, these obstacles of vidhi or misconception will become absent, it takes time gradually. So, that knowledge which arises in an intellect free from all doubts and in a mind free from the obstacles of misconception or jñāna, that is called in Vedanta, Sanskrit knowledge of the absence of all the obstacles.

==== The Process of Learning ====
So, to remove misconceptions, how do we do that? So, as I said, first we have to go to a guru and then what does the guru do? He first prescribes rituals and then contemplations. First rituals, then contemplations and then when the guru finds a fit person, he starts giving us what is called upadeśa, teaching and that teaching is called śravaṇam.

Śravaṇam is not merely listening to a lecture like this. For that, we have to be ready and then whatever is received must be made firm through the process of churning the mind until the last vestige of doubt is totally removed and when that happens, then we have to fight with the old samskaras, bring in new samskaras and that is called nididhyāsana means remove the unspiritual samskaras, replacing them with spiritual samskaras until we reach the doorway to Brahman.

So, Ni means definitive knowledge.

=== Meaning of "Upa" ===
Upa, what is Upa means method of attaining self-knowledge and there is only one path. Upa means near.

==== First Meaning: Approaching the Self ====
First meaning of Upa is we have to approach the self who is within every object in this world, living or non-living.

In the non-living, it is in the form of existence. In the living, it is in the form of not only existence sat but cit and ānanda but even this cit and ānanda are very very minimal, miniscule at the beginning as the soul evolves further, it evolves its brain. Brain means the ability to understand an appropriate body and mind and it culminates in human body and even then the human body has to go through three steps of rajoguna.

==== The Three Gunas and Human Evolution ====
First it would be enveloped with tamoguna. Tamas means darkness. Then slowly like a train approaching the ground, traveling in the tunnel, a faint glimpse of light comes and that is where rajoguna comes out.

Then after the rajoguna as the progress is made, the light becomes more and more and when we come out it becomes perfectly clear which is called sattvaguna. That is how Hinduism divides people into śūdra, vaiśya, kṣatriya and brāhmaṇa but even in a Brahmin's life and that includes other varnas also.

==== The Four Ashramas ====
So life is divided into four as you all know very well, should know very well: learning process, experimenting and experiencing process and being disappointed with the results attained thus slowly turning our face away from the external into the internal which is called vanaprasthāśrama and finally trying to abide with the self in the self called sannyāsāśrama.

So that is the only process and we see this in several of the Upanishads since we have discussed what we call Chandogya Upanishad in the 7th chapter that great learned person who knows everything but whose mind was not under control. He approaches Sanatkumara without guru that is called approaching guru. Approaching guru in Sanskrit is called upasadanam.

==== Guru Upasadanam ====
Guru upasadanam—you stay with the guru and then serve him: tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā. So gradually one learns to surrender to the guru. Guru means right knowledge so that right knowledge as much as we surrender right knowledge penetrates into the depths of our darkest unconscious lights up destroys old samskaras slowly reveals the self that is abiding there not reluctantly but with the greatest eagerness.

==== The Three Meanings of "Upa" ====
That is the three meanings of the Upa finally the Near. Upa means Near and the nearest thing to us is our own true self or God and approaching him just as a dry straw as soon as it approaches blazing fire it becomes completely burnt out becomes fire itself or like the clarified butter ghee poured into blazing fire it only feeds the fire so one becomes completely one with one's own true nature not becoming somebody else Brahman is our own true nature.

These are the three meanings of Upa:

# A deep desire to approach God
# Follow the teachings of a guru by surrendering and guru tells him first you do this second you do that any number of steps that are needed and that is what is called rituals then contemplations finally śravaṇa, manana, nididhyāsana
# So Upa means Brahma vidya

This is the primary meaning of the word Upanishad.

== What is Knowledge? ==
Knowledge means right understanding about any object, just as it is, not as we think it is, just look back in your life, look at number of people that we come into contact, objects we come into contact with, each one of us have got our own peculiar opinions.

Not only this applies, not only this applies to strangers and others, it applies including to our own parents, to our own brothers and sisters, and including our own self also.

All misconceptions start with the misconception that I am somebody else, so, for that, how does right knowledge arise?

=== Prama — The Meaning of "Right Knowledge" ===
And right knowledge is called pramana.
The word prama means to measure.

So, prama means to measure. When we measure, when we measure anything, let us say grain, if you have the right type of measurement, whether it is weighing or you put it, there is a vessel which gives you 100 grams, another vessel which gives you 500 grams, another when it is full will give you 100%.

So, anything that gives us complete knowledge is called prama means to measure, that's why it is called prama means to obtain, through right means absolute knowledge which will not be mixed with even 1% of wrong knowledge.

That is called prama means to measure, that is called prama means to measure, and the instruments for this prama right knowledge are called pramanas.

=== The Six Pramanas of Advaita Vedanta ===
These pramanas are 6 in number according to Advaita Vedanta. We have discussed, but just a brief recollection, just to recollect, what are these? In Indian philosophy, particularly within the school of Advaita Vedanta, pramanas are the valid means through which we acquire accurate, valid knowledge of the world and the self. Note down, we are not only talking about self or God, we are talking about the world.

But if the condition of our present knowledge, God may or may not exist, but the world definitely is existing and therefore it is real, therefore we should act and react according to this concept.

What does Vedanta teach? Brahm satya Jagat mithya, It goes completely opposite to what we know.

A sincere student has to and will question the teacher, "Sir, my experience shows this world is real, your Vedanta teaches this world is unreal, God alone is real, my knowledge is just the contrary, complete 100% opposite, how come?"

=== Two categories of Pramanas ===
Anyway, for that purpose, knowledge or the means of knowledge called pramanas are divided into two categories.

The first category of pramanas should give us valid knowledge about this world and we employ five means, and the first means that we employ is called d"irect experience ," called "pratyaksha pramana."And based upon this pratyaksha pramana, another four subsidiary pratyaksha pramana are added, so you can say one pramana or you can say one plus four, five pramanas.

The second category of pramana is called shabda pramana because there is the knowledge of things of which we have absolutely no knowledge because they are not pratyaksha, they are not directly experienceable. For example, there is life after death, there are other worlds and there are higher worlds and lower worlds ,and there is also a God ,and we are all experiencing the results of our own past lives.

So science employs, and we also consciously and most of the time unconsciously experience, five types of this means of acquiring knowledge. Most of the time we don't employ them properly, and that's why our knowledge will be not only defective knowledge but positively harmful knowledge.

==== 1. Pratyaksha (Direct Perception) ====
But to go briefly, the first category, and the only category really speaking, is called pratyaksha, perceptual knowledge.This is anowledge gained directly through the five sense organs. So sight, hearing, smell, taste ,and touch anrecombined with the mind. Mind is the internal perception of emotions like joy or pain , happiness, andunhappiness.

So as a simple example, you see a blue book on a table your eyes ,our eyes ,perceive the color and shape directly ,giving us the valid knowledge that here is a blue book ,and that also separates bit y the adjectives . Wat is the adjective ? I is a book ; therefore,it is not a table ,it is not a tree ,and it is blue ,so it excludes all other colors . Tat is called pratyakṣa pramāṇa.

And as a derivative of this pratyakṣa pramāṇa there are another four pramāṇas ; briefly,we will discuss ithem n today's class and go to the śabda pramāṇa in our next class.

==== 2. Anumana (Inference) ====
The second is called anumāna—inference. So what is the inference? This knowledge reached by using a rson to arrive at a conclusion based on a previously known universal relationship also called vyāpti.

For example this is a famous example there is a hill in front of you ,and one day you see smoke arising from behind the hill and you don't know what causes the smoke but you have observed in day to day life when you lit a fire and then smoke arises so smoke will not come unless there is a fire therefore even though we do not see the fire we infer that some fire is going on and the result will be the smoke.

Smoke is definitely caused by fire; therefore, we infer b,ut foiversally we observe that wherever there is fire, there is smoke. That is very necessary; that is called vyāpti.

Apply this to all these inferences therefore when you see one part of our experience nobut t the other part b,y seeing one part of the fact w,e infer the other fact a,nd that is called anumāna pramāṇa.

For that very important to underst,and so we must have experience of both things together invaria. Sy suppose you see fibut re no sm; then so this inference becomes inva. No, no every time we see a fire there is a wisp of sm,oke even from the driest firew,ood and that is call"vyāpti," meaningans universally applicable observa,ble so we see only part of, it which is call"smoke,"oke and theref,ore wherever there is f,ire there would be sm,oke so if you sonly ee the sm,nly we infer there is f is.

==== 3. Upamana (Comparison/Analogy) ====
The third is called upamāna—comparison or analogy. What is this? This is knowledge gained by identifying any unknown object based on its similarity to a known object.

For example you know a person he is such and such but his brother is somewhere in America you have never seen and one day suddenly you encounter this person . H looks almost like the person you know and you observe carefully and say ,"Oh ,I heard sometime back my friend telling me that his brother is coming back from America" that knowledge will come but even without knowledge this person looks like a person I have already known very well and therefore this person must be related somehow to that person whether it is cousin, brother etc.

The famous example given in Vedanta is we all know what is a cow but suddenly in the forest we see another animal almost resembling lacow called a "gavaya," and then we understand somebody told us there is an animal you might see in the forest; it is called "wild ox," and it resembles our cow in a great way, to a great extent, and as soon as you behold that, immediately you find out this must be that animal which was described to me.

So seeing resemblance and inferring this must be that particular animal that is called upamāna pramāṇa.

==== 4. Arthapatti (Postulation/Presumption) ====
Then fourth is called arthāpatti. "Arthāpatti" means meani"reasonable inference."ce. Seeison, forn famous example,okayis yodo u k, or many people knson, per,so oned noboen has seen him eating during the daytime, but he is growing fatter and fatter every day.

What is the inference? Nobody can grow without eating and nobody can grow fat without eating oily sorfatty substance s,so this person must be gobbling up oily foods plenty of it more than he can digest ,at night where nobody can see him.

So by seeing an effect and you don't see any what is called contrary contradictory reason ,you guess this person must be doing this thing secretly at night ,so to resolve this contradiction nof ot seeing him eating and still growing ,we postulate that he must be eating at night ,not only eating plenty ,not only plenty mof the ost unhealthy subjects ;that is called arthāpatti.

==== 5. Anupalabdhi (Non-Perception) ====
And fifth I already mentioned anupalabdhi. You kept a book always you keep a book in a particular place one day it is missing and at night eleven o'clock after closing all your doors you kept tit here . Thenext morning it is not there ,so that absence of that object leads us to infer that bthe ook must have been taken by somebody to another room ;if it is not in this room ,it must be in the other room.

And all the time we use this arthāpatti where is the officer ?"oOh,we saw him just entering into the office"." S you rush to the office ,but he is not there in his chair ;that is ,,you don't see him . Cn you guess he must have gone to some other room to inspect or to ask or to have a cup of coffee or toi use the tolet ? Watever it is this is called a"anupalabdhi,"or non -erception of an object.

=== Proper Application of Pramanas ===
And all of us use them wonderfully well all these five pramanas are useful apnd aplicable and they must be applied meticulously if we want right knowledge ,but they only apply to sensory knowledge.

But with regard to supersensory knowledge we require another type of pramana , hich is called Veda pramāṇa, śor abda pramāṇa. So we will discuss at in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।'''

'''पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Oṁ jananīṁ śāradāṁ devīṁ rāmakṛṣṇaṁ jagad-gurum । pāda-padme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhur-muhuḥ ॥''

(Simplified phonetic reading: Om jananeem shaaradaam deveem raamakrishnam jagad-gurum; paada-padme tayoh shritvaa pranamaami muhur-muhuh.)

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Introduction Lecture 03 on 31 January 2026

2026-05-24T16:20:25Z

Shekhar: /* The Five Pramanas (First Category) */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् । पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते । पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥ ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥'''

'''Oṁ pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṁ pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate, pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate. Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ.'''

''(Simplified phonetic reading: Om poornam-adah poornam-idam, poornaat poornam-udachyate; poornasya poornam-aadaaya poornam-eva-avashishyate. Om shaantih shaantih shaantih.)''

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

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

== Introduction to Brihadaranyaka Upanishad ==
Of all the Upanishads, this Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is not only the biggest, it is the most important. And that's why Shankaracharya had written an elaborate commentary upon it. Earlier, I have given some introduction.

=== The Author and Origin ===
Who was this author, the writer or the manifester of this Brihadaranyaka Upanishad? The real author is only God, Brahman. But Brahman had revealed this Upanishad to Yajnavalkya through the deity called Surya Deva, the Sun God. And that is why it came to be known as Shukla Yajurveda.

The entire Shukla Yajurveda was a kind, graceful revelation of this highest spiritual truth to Yajnavalkya because he prepared himself to receive it.

=== The Nature of Prayer and Grace ===
Many times we do not understand what is the meaning of prayer. And even more important, why prayers are not answered.

It is just like an analogy: Two persons go to the ocean. One person goes with a small glass. Another person goes with a huge tanker. And then both of them receive water. But the person with a glass complains, "Why are you bestowing so much upon the other person? Whereas you have given me only a small glass full."

Of course, the ocean will not reply. But common sense will tell us that it is not that the ocean refuses to give you. But you are not ready to receive it. Or whatever capacity of reception you have, that much you got full.

This is what Sri Ramakrishna used to call, "The breeze of God's grace is always blowing. But you have to unfurl your sails." That means you should be ready to receive the grace, which has not started at a particular point of time, but forever it is blowing. Here grace means knowledge.

=== Sadhana and Mental Purification ===
And if we do sadhana, gradually increase our capacity of our mind, then we will be able to receive as much as our mind is ready to receive.

Imagine there is a room full of objects. And you want to buy something huge and put it there. You cannot because there is no space. So you will have to throw out, remove many objects, sufficient at least to keep that newly bought object.

In the same way, our mind is full of thoughts about the world—mithya jagat, avidya world. Sadhana is not meant to receive the grace of God. I repeat, sadhana is not meant to receive the grace of God. Sadhana is meant to make our minds pure. Purity means emptying the mind of all thoughts.

And just like space, as soon as a place is vacant, immediately it becomes available. That is, the space becomes available. You can keep whatever you want there. God's grace, you don't need to invite. You don't need to pray.

=== Yajnavalkya's Realization ===
So Yajnavalkya completely removed all thoughts. That is called purification of the mind. That is called destroying all attachments instantaneously. As soon as a place is vacant, space enters there. Rather, it is already there. Now it becomes more manifest.

This is the clear concept of what is called receiving the grace of God. And Yajnavalkya received it to the full. That means he removed 100% of his mind. Then what remained was Brahman. And that's why he was called Brahmavid (ब्रह्मविद्).

And Brahmavid (ब्रह्मविद्), as we saw in the Taittiriya Upanishad, āpnoti param (आप्नोति परम्) — he attains everything. He becomes Satyam Jñānam Anantam Brahma (सत्यं ज्ञानम् अनन्तं ब्रह्म).

=== The Setting for Study ===
So in the introduction, we have seen this is the biggest of the Upanishads. And it is usually taught to renunciates in the forest. Forest means a place where one can pursue the spiritual studies, spiritual sadhanas.

Spiritual study and spiritual sadhana are not two separate things. Just like a scientist: Scientific knowledge is not a dry knowledge. It is first thought about, then experimented upon. It becomes a provable knowledge. Proven knowledge becomes forever provable knowledge. Take the same steps, one should get the same result. Brahma jñānam is no exception to it. That is the real meaning.

=== Benefits of Forest Environment ===
So where there is no distraction, the mind also, because of the absence of distractions, can also remain equanimous, more calm. We have not developed so much that we can afford to be in this, what is called huge storm on the ocean, and remain in that ocean called Samsara Sagara, and expect to be calm and quiet.

So we have to help ourselves by going into solitude, which Ramakrishna used to call nirjanasthāna. Do not depend upon anything. Everything is perishable, non-dependable. Only God is dependable. That is called solitude.

And it is for the solitude, and there is also another thing: A forest is the most natural expression of nature. And to be in contact with nature itself is extraordinarily calming.

=== The Importance of Pure Food ===
So when a person starts to live and enjoy the bounty of the forest—fruits, roots, etc.—without contamination by artificial fertilizers, etc., the mind of a person becomes very, very pure.

Whereas we are all living cultivated with fertilizers and pesticides, etc. How much harm is being done? Now scientists are astonished how much plastic is going into the fishes, into the animals, into our own bodies. God alone knows.

And when the food is impure, when āhāra is not sāttvic āhāra, śuddha āhāra, then our remembrance of who we are also will be affected by it. That is why the Vishishtadvaitins, advaitins and the bhaktas, is so much of importance for food.

==== An Incident About Food Purity ====
I have narrated an incident: Once Holy Mother bestowed her grace upon one of her disciples and asked him not to eat food in anybody's house excepting at the Jayrambati, Holy Mother's prasada, or the next best choice, the cooking of one's own mother.

The devotee disobeyed it, thinking that after all I am taking food from a devotee's house. Instantaneously his mind came down, fallen, and he received a shock. Then Mother must have told him, "Why did you disobey me? You should have come back here." Such is the effect of food.

Sri Ramakrishna could not touch the food, let alone cooked, even touched by impure people.

=== The True Meaning of Forest ===
So forest affords us natural food, healthy food, and also healthy environment. And there distractions are very, very less. If distractions are not less, that's not a forest, even if it is a forest. We have to understand the inner meaning.

Forest means where a person's mind can remain naturally, without effort, calm and quiet, equanimous. That is a real forest. A house also can be like that.

There is a beautiful Sanskrit verse: So one's own home, svagṛham, itself can become the greatest ashrama, provided the environment is kept like that. Sri Rama's home became such a heaven of peace.

=== Students of the Upanishad ===
Anyway, we already introduced Brihadaranyaka, and people used to study. Two types of people used to study there. One is the vanaprasthis, householders, and then another is monks who renounced.

After living for some time as a vanaprastha ashrama, then when he becomes ready, some of them don't—they occur robe, but not necessary. Sannyasa, vanaprastha ashrama, are not physical external stages. They are development of the purity of the mind. That's what we might discuss in the future.

== Three Main Divisions (Kandas) ==
This Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is mainly divided into three parts: Madhu Kanda, Muni Kanda (also known as Yajnavalkya Kanda), and Khila Kanda. Kanda means a chapter (or section).

=== 1. Madhu Kanda (The Honey Chapter) ===
Madhu Kanda means the chapter called honey. Honey means everything is interconnected. Why is everything interconnected? Because the source, the ultimate cause is Brahman, and everything comes out Brahman. Like many children of the same parents are interconnected, blood related. That is how it is called Madhu Kanda.

If we do not realize it, that I am separate, you are separate, I can do whatever I like with you, so also you can do, and that brings disastrous results. So it is called Madhu Kanda.

=== 2. Muni Kanda (Yajnavalkya Kanda) ===
Then the second part is called Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda, because there are marvelous discussions about the highest knowledge and also about many of the important contemplations called upasanas.

Yajnavalkya explains everything to his challengers and he also becomes the guru of Janaka Maharaja and he also becomes the teacher of his own, one of his own wives called Maitreyi, and most marvelous teachings are there.

=== 3. Khila Kanda (Miscellaneous Chapter) ===
The last Kanda is Khila Kanda. This is what we call appendix or appendicitis or whatever, where various distorted things, disconnected things, kept together, some of them are marvelous things.

So these are the three important divisions of his Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. And again each Adhyaya or Kanda is subdivided into two, so three into two, total there are six chapters.

And then some of them are repetitions, especially the conversation between Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi repeated in another section. And there is also remembrance of lineage, spiritual lineage, guru parampara system, that also is there.

=== Comparative Understanding of the Three Kandas ===
In Madhu Kanda, the primary teaching is upadesha of Brahma jñāna. Therefore it is called also Upadesha Kanda. And second, this is compared to śravaṇa because that is our goal.

Second is Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda. In this second chapter, the teachings given are supported by logic. Logic or upapatti is used. That is why it is called logical explanations of these real teachings are given in the first chapter.

And the person who explains such with superb intelligence and clarity is none other than Yajnavalkya himself. So if the first Kanda can be compared to śravaṇa, the second Kanda, Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda, Upapatti Kanda can be compared to manana. That is deeply churning, thinking.

Manana means churn the mind, keeping all the acquired knowledge and all the dirt, dust and unnecessary things are removed. Pure, what is called, butter is distilled from there. And Sri Ramakrishna often uses this: There is no harm after being churned. If butter is kept in what you call buttermilk or water, it never mixes. But without that, the milk can get spoiled.

So this is the second chapter and the main guru is Yajnavalkya, Khila Kanda. That is what is called a miscellaneous chapter. In this part, various kinds of upasanas, that is contemplations, various types of rituals are found.

=== The Logic of This Division ===
Why are they found? It doesn't seem logical. First there should be what is called rituals and contemplations. Then logical explanations about Brahma jñāna. And lastly, pure Brahma jñāna.

No, sir. First the goal is explained. Then it is made to be understood with various logics, etc. Supported by logic, the teachings become much more acceptable. But to transform them into practical Vedanta, we have to start from where we are standing or even sitting or even lying down and move forward.

So this is the very logical way of dividing.

== Etymology of "Upanishad" ==
Now we will talk about what is the meaning of the Upanishad. In many of the Upanishads we have explained, but it is very necessary to go through it. First, because of our memory. Second, because repetition only drives deep the meaning into our subconscious and unconscious minds. That is what we need to understand.

This word Upanishad, according to Shankaracharya, is divided into three small words: Upa, Ni, Sad. And Upa and Ni are prefixes. The real word is Sad.

=== Meaning of "Sad" ===
Sad means, according to Shankara himself, that which destroys. What does it destroy? Sad means knowledge. What does knowledge destroy? Knowledge always destroys, only ignorance, nothing else.

Ignorance in Vedanta is called avidya. So Brahmavidya is that which destroys ignorance. If one attains Brahmavidya, then Brahman-ignorance, ignorance of Brahman is destroyed. They are simultaneous process. As soon as we bring light, darkness disappears, things are revealed, stand revealed.

==== Avidya as the Cause of Bondage ====
So according to this scripture, our Vedas, the cause of our bondage, called worldly existence, samsara, is ignorance of Brahman. If Brahmavidya, that is true knowledge, about whom? About our own nature, who am I?

'''कोऽहं कस्त्वं कुत आयातः तत्त्वं चिन्तय तदीयं भ्रातः ।'''

ko'haṁ kastvaṁ kuta āyātaḥ tattvaṁ cintaya tadīyaṁ bhrātaḥ ।

''(Simplified phonetic reading: ko-ham kas-tvam kuta aayaatah; tattvam chintaya tadeeyam bhraatah.)''

So Brahmavidya destroys the very cause of worldly existence, which is called avidya. And when the cause ceases to exist, the effect of the cause also will be destroyed. As soon as you come to know that this is a rope, not a snake, the fear, the palpitation, will be automatically destroyed.

Not only so, destruction of the false knowledge, but the result of the effect of the false knowledge will also be destroyed. Brahma-avidya-nāśa, its effect, samsara-nāśa, that's what happens.

==== The Problem of Samsara ====
Why should we destroy samsara? If anybody is doubting, worldly existence, samsara means problems arising from gaining, loss, everything. Many times, gaining also causes great sorrow. How does it cause? If somebody is promoted, a hundred or thousand eyes will be glaring at him, scorching him. "What right have you got to get what you got? Each one of us should have got that."

Whoever rises to that position will get the same looks. How many people are waiting to kill the presidents, prime ministers, in every country? Worldly existence means problems. Problems means sorrow. Sorrow is opposite our nature.

How do we know? Because we never lift even a small finger to what is called destroy happiness. But the moment even the slightest sorrow comes, immediately, automatically, we want to get rid of it.

==== The Three Sources of Sorrow ====
And according to Vedanta, all sorrows come from three factors. What is that? This external world represented by gross body, internal world, our mental reactions caused by what is called the mental world. And the root cause of both is karana, cause, causal world.

So, gross body, subtle body, causal body. Any sorrow comes only from these three.

So there is another way, explanation also is there. So that which causes sorrow from our body and external world is called adhyātma. But that which comes from God is what is called from the external world, earthquakes, or lack of rain, or occupation by other people, people who cheat, or punish to people's savings, etc. And that also because of one's own prarabdha actually.

So, there is a third: God or Brahman, also is not only creator, but he is also a supporter, sustainer. And if we do not recognize, if we are not grateful what we are receiving for, then great destruction will come. They will send what is called too much rain, too less of rain, unseasonal rain, earthquakes, or wars, pestilences, or germ warfare.

All these things come. Unfortunately, we blame them on other people, not knowing we are the other people. Our government is nothing but our representation. Collective representation is called our government.

==== Liberation from Samsara ====
So, world existence means problems arising from tapa, sorrow, tapatraya. Liberation from world existence is moksha. Cessation from sorrow. Brahmavid, you know the supreme. So, along with Brahman, he enjoys everything.

Brahmavidya gives two fruits. It destroys ignorance and it grants liberation. There is no separate thing called liberation. To know that I was, I am, I will be ever free, that is, to know that is called liberation.

=== Second Meaning of "Sad" ===
That is one meaning of the word sad. There is another word. It means that which leads us to the right goal. So, what does lead us? Sad means knowledge of self, Brahman. Brahmavidya, where does it lead us?

So, Brahmavidya leads to Brahman. It means what? Leading means what? It means it makes us completely become one with Brahman. Or to know there are no Brahman and me, only one thing and that is Brahman. I am that Brahman. That is why it is said Brahmavid āpnoti param.

So, one meaning of sad is destruction of ignorance. Second meaning is that which leads us to Brahman. And what is the good of it? The nature of Brahman is what? Sat, Cit, Ānanda. Ānanda means bliss.

So, sad means that which leads each one of us to Brahman which means to bliss, which means to counter death, which means complete knowledge, all consciousness, I am Brahman. Thus, attainment of Brahman means I am ānanda svarūpa.

So, we have seen both.

=== Meaning of "Ni" ===
Then, we have to see what is the meaning of Ni. Ni is a prefix and niśaśena nāśayati. We have to presume that meaning. That means there would be not even a little bit remnant of avidya completely. That which eradicates, destroys, so uproots the samsara vṛkṣa.

That is called—that what does it mean? What does it do? Who does it? Sad. So, Ni means there would be a little bit of samsara, a little bit of Brahman. No. Completely.

==== The Problem of Mental Conflict ====
So, what is the problem? Sad. Whatever knowledge we have, that is our problem. Knowledge is received by the mind, developed by the mind. But then, mind means there is also intellect.

So, our mind, our understanding, buddhi and manas are ever at conflict. I know aham brahmāsmi. But, my mind says, "You idiot, you liked this sweet very much. Now, get to work and enjoy that sweet."

This ever opposing force, that is why it is called dvandva, is haunting us ever since creation. So, therefore, mere knowledge will not do. Our identity with the body, our identity with our possessions, our identity with the family and our hatred of other people, both of them lead to bondage only.

That's why it is said, pāpam is also gives us sorrow. Puṇyam also gives us more sorrow. How come? Because if pāpam is like a person who falls a little bit down, from a short height. Puṇyam, you go to the Svarga Loka, the pāpa, you fall down, which is extraordinarily painful.

That's why we must rise beyond both virtue and vice. But in the beginning, get rid of the vice. Later on, we have to get rid of virtue also. We must go beyond that. So, we must go beyond dharma, beyond artha, beyond kāma, then only moksha is possible.

==== Obstacles to Knowledge ====
So, in spite of knowledge, we have got passions, hatreds, aversions, desires, kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, mātsarya. These are called obstacles to right knowledge.

So, these feelings have not only come from the past birth, but in this birth also, unfortunately, we reinforce them instead of cutting them down. So, all these things are sure to affect the mind, but Vedanta knowledge also arises in the intellect. Doubts also arise in the intellect until definitive knowledge arises.

If the mind is not kept under control, śama, dama, ādi, ṣaṭ, sampatti, this knowledge does not really work. That is why, even when we understand intellectually Vedanta, we are unable to keep serene and quite equanimous in the face of ups and downs of life. And this is the problem of all humanity.

Only just a selected few manushya, nāma, sahasreṣu try to jump out of the net, as Sri Ramakrishna gives the analogy of the fish, and only a few succeed in it.

==== The Path Through Dharma Shastra ====
That is why, we have to start our life in having faith not in Vedanta Shastra, but in Dharma Shastra. What does Dharma Shastra do? Like a spiritual doctor, like a physical doctor, this is a spiritual doctor, it says, if you want physical health, mental health, every type of health, then you will have to stop doing these things and start doing these things.

They are called niṣedhāda, do not even think of doing them, or if, because we have already done, then slowly try to reduce them by replacing them with what should be done. That is called vidhi.

So, only when one leads a dharmic life, these obstacles of vidhi or misconception will become absent, it takes time gradually. So, that knowledge which arises in an intellect free from all doubts and in a mind free from the obstacles of misconception or jñāna, that is called in Vedanta, Sanskrit knowledge of the absence of all the obstacles.

==== The Process of Learning ====
So, to remove misconceptions, how do we do that? So, as I said, first we have to go to a guru and then what does the guru do? He first prescribes rituals and then contemplations. First rituals, then contemplations and then when the guru finds a fit person, he starts giving us what is called upadeśa, teaching and that teaching is called śravaṇam.

Śravaṇam is not merely listening to a lecture like this. For that, we have to be ready and then whatever is received must be made firm through the process of churning the mind until the last vestige of doubt is totally removed and when that happens, then we have to fight with the old samskaras, bring in new samskaras and that is called nididhyāsana means remove the unspiritual samskaras, replacing them with spiritual samskaras until we reach the doorway to Brahman.

So, Ni means definitive knowledge.

=== Meaning of "Upa" ===
Upa, what is Upa means method of attaining self-knowledge and there is only one path. Upa means near.

==== First Meaning: Approaching the Self ====
First meaning of Upa is we have to approach the self who is within every object in this world, living or non-living.

In the non-living, it is in the form of existence. In the living, it is in the form of not only existence sat but cit and ānanda but even this cit and ānanda are very very minimal, miniscule at the beginning as the soul evolves further, it evolves its brain. Brain means the ability to understand an appropriate body and mind and it culminates in human body and even then the human body has to go through three steps of rajoguna.

==== The Three Gunas and Human Evolution ====
First it would be enveloped with tamoguna. Tamas means darkness. Then slowly like a train approaching the ground, traveling in the tunnel, a faint glimpse of light comes and that is where rajoguna comes out.

Then after the rajoguna as the progress is made, the light becomes more and more and when we come out it becomes perfectly clear which is called sattvaguna. That is how Hinduism divides people into śūdra, vaiśya, kṣatriya and brāhmaṇa but even in a Brahmin's life and that includes other varnas also.

==== The Four Ashramas ====
So life is divided into four as you all know very well, should know very well: learning process, experimenting and experiencing process and being disappointed with the results attained thus slowly turning our face away from the external into the internal which is called vanaprasthāśrama and finally trying to abide with the self in the self called sannyāsāśrama.

So that is the only process and we see this in several of the Upanishads since we have discussed what we call Chandogya Upanishad in the 7th chapter that great learned person who knows everything but whose mind was not under control. He approaches Sanatkumara without guru that is called approaching guru. Approaching guru in Sanskrit is called upasadanam.

==== Guru Upasadanam ====
Guru upasadanam—you stay with the guru and then serve him: tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā. So gradually one learns to surrender to the guru. Guru means right knowledge so that right knowledge as much as we surrender right knowledge penetrates into the depths of our darkest unconscious lights up destroys old samskaras slowly reveals the self that is abiding there not reluctantly but with the greatest eagerness.

==== The Three Meanings of "Upa" ====
That is the three meanings of the Upa finally the Near. Upa means Near and the nearest thing to us is our own true self or God and approaching him just as a dry straw as soon as it approaches blazing fire it becomes completely burnt out becomes fire itself or like the clarified butter ghee poured into blazing fire it only feeds the fire so one becomes completely one with one's own true nature not becoming somebody else Brahman is our own true nature.

These are the three meanings of Upa:

# A deep desire to approach God
# Follow the teachings of a guru by surrendering and guru tells him first you do this second you do that any number of steps that are needed and that is what is called rituals then contemplations finally śravaṇa, manana, nididhyāsana
# So Upa means Brahma vidya

This is the primary meaning of the word Upanishad.

== What is Knowledge? ==
Knowledge means right understanding about any object, just as it is, not as we think it is, just look back in your life, look at number of people that we come into contact, objects we come into contact with, each one of us have got our own peculiar opinions.

Not only this applies, not only this applies to strangers and others, it applies including to our own parents, to our own brothers and sisters, and including our own self also.

All misconceptions start with the misconception that I am somebody else, so, for that, how does right knowledge arise?

=== Prama — The Meaning of "Right Knowledge" ===
And right knowledge is called pramana.
The word prama means to measure.

So, prama means to measure. When we measure, when we measure anything, let us say grain, if you have the right type of measurement, whether it is weighing or you put it, there is a vessel which gives you 100 grams, another vessel which gives you 500 grams, another when it is full will give you 100%.

So, anything that gives us complete knowledge is called prama means to measure, that's why it is called prama means to obtain, through right means absolute knowledge which will not be mixed with even 1% of wrong knowledge.

That is called prama means to measure, that is called prama means to measure, and the instruments for this prama right knowledge are called pramanas.

=== The Six Pramanas of Advaita Vedanta ===
These pramanas are 6 in number according to Advaita Vedanta. We have discussed, but just a brief recollection, just to recollect, what are these? In Indian philosophy, particularly within the school of Advaita Vedanta, pramanas are the valid means through which we acquire accurate, valid knowledge of the world and the self. Note down, we are not only talking about self or God, we are talking about the world.

But if the condition of our present knowledge, God may or may not exist, but the world definitely is existing and therefore it is real, therefore we should act and react according to this concept.

What does Vedanta teach? Brahm satya Jagat mithya, It goes completely opposite to what we know.

A sincere student has to and will question the teacher, "Sir, my experience shows this world is real, your Vedanta teaches this world is unreal, God alone is real, my knowledge is just the contrary, complete 100% opposite, how come?"

=== Two categories of Pramanas ===
Anyway, for that purpose, knowledge or the means of knowledge called pramanas are divided into two categories.

The first category of pramanas should give us valid knowledge about this world and we employ five means, and the first means that we employ is called d"irect experience ," called "pratyaksha pramana."And based upon this pratyaksha pramana, another four subsidiary pratyaksha pramana are added, so you can say one pramana or you can say one plus four, five pramanas.

The second category of pramana is called shabda pramana because there is the knowledge of things of which we have absolutely no knowledge because they are not pratyaksha, they are not directly experienceable. For example, there is life after death, there are other worlds and there are higher worlds and lower worlds ,and there is also a God ,and we are all experiencing the results of our own past lives.

So science employs, and we also consciously and most of the time unconsciously experience, five types of this means of acquiring knowledge. Most of the time we don't employ them properly, and that's why our knowledge will be not only defective knowledge but positively harmful knowledge.

==== 1. Pratyaksha (Direct Perception) ====
But to go briefly, the first category, and the only category really speaking, is called pratyaksha, perceptual knowledge.This is anowledge gained directly through the five sense organs. So sight, hearing, smell, taste ,and touch anrecombined with the mind. Mind is the internal perception of emotions like joy or pain , happiness, andunhappiness.

So as a simple example, you see a blue book on a table your eyes ,our eyes ,perceive the color and shape directly ,giving us the valid knowledge that here is a blue book ,and that also separates bit y the adjectives . Wat is the adjective ? I is a book ; therefore,it is not a table ,it is not a tree ,and it is blue ,so it excludes all other colors . Tat is called pratyakṣa pramāṇa.

And as a derivative of this pratyakṣa pramāṇa there are another four pramāṇas ; briefly,we will discuss ithem n today's class and go to the śabda pramāṇa in our next class.

==== 2. Anumana (Inference) ====
The second is called anumāna—inference. So what is the inference? This knowledge reached by using a rson to arrive at a conclusion based on a previously known universal relationship also called vyāpti.

For example this is a famous example there is a hill in front of you ,and one day you see smoke arising from behind the hill and you don't know what causes the smoke but you have observed in day to day life when you lit a fire and then smoke arises so smoke will not come unless there is a fire therefore even though we do not see the fire we infer that some fire is going on and the result will be the smoke.

Smoke is definitely caused by fire; therefore, we infer b,ut foiversally we observe that wherever there is fire, there is smoke. That is very necessary; that is called vyāpti.

Apply this to all these inferences therefore when you see one part of our experience nobut t the other part b,y seeing one part of the fact w,e infer the other fact a,nd that is called anumāna pramāṇa.

For that very important to underst,and so we must have experience of both things together invaria. Sy suppose you see fibut re no sm; then so this inference becomes inva. No, no every time we see a fire there is a wisp of sm,oke even from the driest firew,ood and that is call"vyāpti," meaningans universally applicable observa,ble so we see only part of, it which is call"smoke,"oke and theref,ore wherever there is f,ire there would be sm,oke so if you sonly ee the sm,nly we infer there is f is.

==== 3. Upamana (Comparison/Analogy) ====
The third is called upamāna—comparison or analogy. What is this? This is knowledge gained by identifying any unknown object based on its similarity to a known object.

For example you know a person he is such and such but his brother is somewhere in America you have never seen and one day suddenly you encounter this person . H looks almost like the person you know and you observe carefully and say ,"Oh ,I heard sometime back my friend telling me that his brother is coming back from America" that knowledge will come but even without knowledge this person looks like a person I have already known very well and therefore this person must be related somehow to that person whether it is cousin, brother etc.

The famous example given in Vedanta is we all know what is a cow but suddenly in the forest we see another animal almost resembling lacow called a "gavaya," and then we understand somebody told us there is an animal you might see in the forest; it is called "wild ox," and it resembles our cow in a great way, to a great extent, and as soon as you behold that, immediately you find out this must be that animal which was described to me.

So seeing resemblance and inferring this must be that particular animal that is called upamāna pramāṇa.

==== 4. Arthapatti (Postulation/Presumption) ====
Then fourth is called arthāpatti. "Arthāpatti" means meani"reasonable inference."ce. Seeison, forn famous example,okayis yodo u k, or many people knson, per,so oned noboen has seen him eating during the daytime, but he is growing fatter and fatter every day.

What is the inference? Nobody can grow without eating and nobody can grow fat without eating oily sorfatty substance s,so this person must be gobbling up oily foods plenty of it more than he can digest ,at night where nobody can see him.

So by seeing an effect and you don't see any what is called contrary contradictory reason ,you guess this person must be doing this thing secretly at night ,so to resolve this contradiction nof ot seeing him eating and still growing ,we postulate that he must be eating at night ,not only eating plenty ,not only plenty mof the ost unhealthy subjects ;that is called arthāpatti.

==== 5. Anupalabdhi (Non-Perception) ====
And fifth I already mentioned anupalabdhi. You kept a book always you keep a book in a particular place one day it is missing and at night eleven o'clock after closing all your doors you kept tit here . Thenext morning it is not there ,so that absence of that object leads us to infer that bthe ook must have been taken by somebody to another room ;if it is not in this room ,it must be in the other room.

And all the time we use this arthāpatti where is the officer ?"oOh,we saw him just entering into the office"." S you rush to the office ,but he is not there in his chair ;that is ,,you don't see him . Cn you guess he must have gone to some other room to inspect or to ask or to have a cup of coffee or toi use the tolet ? Watever it is this is called a"anupalabdhi,"or non -erception of an object.

=== Proper Application of Pramanas ===
And all of us use them wonderfully well all these five pramanas are useful apnd aplicable and they must be applied meticulously if we want right knowledge ,but they only apply to sensory knowledge.

But with regard to supersensory knowledge we require another type of pramana , hich is called Veda pramāṇa, śor abda pramāṇa. So we will discuss at in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।'''

'''पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

(Simplified phonetic reading: Om jananeem shaaradaam deveem raamakrishnam jagad-gurum; paada-padme tayoh shritvaa pranamaami muhur-muhuh.)

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Introduction Lecture 03 on 31 January 2026

2026-05-24T16:03:37Z

Shekhar: /* Pramanas: Valid Means of Knowledge */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् । पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते । पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥ ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥'''

'''Oṁ pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṁ pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate, pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate. Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ.'''

''(Simplified phonetic reading: Om poornam-adah poornam-idam, poornaat poornam-udachyate; poornasya poornam-aadaaya poornam-eva-avashishyate. Om shaantih shaantih shaantih.)''

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

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

== Introduction to Brihadaranyaka Upanishad ==
Of all the Upanishads, this Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is not only the biggest, it is the most important. And that's why Shankaracharya had written an elaborate commentary upon it. Earlier, I have given some introduction.

=== The Author and Origin ===
Who was this author, the writer or the manifester of this Brihadaranyaka Upanishad? The real author is only God, Brahman. But Brahman had revealed this Upanishad to Yajnavalkya through the deity called Surya Deva, the Sun God. And that is why it came to be known as Shukla Yajurveda.

The entire Shukla Yajurveda was a kind, graceful revelation of this highest spiritual truth to Yajnavalkya because he prepared himself to receive it.

=== The Nature of Prayer and Grace ===
Many times we do not understand what is the meaning of prayer. And even more important, why prayers are not answered.

It is just like an analogy: Two persons go to the ocean. One person goes with a small glass. Another person goes with a huge tanker. And then both of them receive water. But the person with a glass complains, "Why are you bestowing so much upon the other person? Whereas you have given me only a small glass full."

Of course, the ocean will not reply. But common sense will tell us that it is not that the ocean refuses to give you. But you are not ready to receive it. Or whatever capacity of reception you have, that much you got full.

This is what Sri Ramakrishna used to call, "The breeze of God's grace is always blowing. But you have to unfurl your sails." That means you should be ready to receive the grace, which has not started at a particular point of time, but forever it is blowing. Here grace means knowledge.

=== Sadhana and Mental Purification ===
And if we do sadhana, gradually increase our capacity of our mind, then we will be able to receive as much as our mind is ready to receive.

Imagine there is a room full of objects. And you want to buy something huge and put it there. You cannot because there is no space. So you will have to throw out, remove many objects, sufficient at least to keep that newly bought object.

In the same way, our mind is full of thoughts about the world—mithya jagat, avidya world. Sadhana is not meant to receive the grace of God. I repeat, sadhana is not meant to receive the grace of God. Sadhana is meant to make our minds pure. Purity means emptying the mind of all thoughts.

And just like space, as soon as a place is vacant, immediately it becomes available. That is, the space becomes available. You can keep whatever you want there. God's grace, you don't need to invite. You don't need to pray.

=== Yajnavalkya's Realization ===
So Yajnavalkya completely removed all thoughts. That is called purification of the mind. That is called destroying all attachments instantaneously. As soon as a place is vacant, space enters there. Rather, it is already there. Now it becomes more manifest.

This is the clear concept of what is called receiving the grace of God. And Yajnavalkya received it to the full. That means he removed 100% of his mind. Then what remained was Brahman. And that's why he was called Brahmavid (ब्रह्मविद्).

And Brahmavid (ब्रह्मविद्), as we saw in the Taittiriya Upanishad, āpnoti param (आप्नोति परम्) — he attains everything. He becomes Satyam Jñānam Anantam Brahma (सत्यं ज्ञानम् अनन्तं ब्रह्म).

=== The Setting for Study ===
So in the introduction, we have seen this is the biggest of the Upanishads. And it is usually taught to renunciates in the forest. Forest means a place where one can pursue the spiritual studies, spiritual sadhanas.

Spiritual study and spiritual sadhana are not two separate things. Just like a scientist: Scientific knowledge is not a dry knowledge. It is first thought about, then experimented upon. It becomes a provable knowledge. Proven knowledge becomes forever provable knowledge. Take the same steps, one should get the same result. Brahma jñānam is no exception to it. That is the real meaning.

=== Benefits of Forest Environment ===
So where there is no distraction, the mind also, because of the absence of distractions, can also remain equanimous, more calm. We have not developed so much that we can afford to be in this, what is called huge storm on the ocean, and remain in that ocean called Samsara Sagara, and expect to be calm and quiet.

So we have to help ourselves by going into solitude, which Ramakrishna used to call nirjanasthāna. Do not depend upon anything. Everything is perishable, non-dependable. Only God is dependable. That is called solitude.

And it is for the solitude, and there is also another thing: A forest is the most natural expression of nature. And to be in contact with nature itself is extraordinarily calming.

=== The Importance of Pure Food ===
So when a person starts to live and enjoy the bounty of the forest—fruits, roots, etc.—without contamination by artificial fertilizers, etc., the mind of a person becomes very, very pure.

Whereas we are all living cultivated with fertilizers and pesticides, etc. How much harm is being done? Now scientists are astonished how much plastic is going into the fishes, into the animals, into our own bodies. God alone knows.

And when the food is impure, when āhāra is not sāttvic āhāra, śuddha āhāra, then our remembrance of who we are also will be affected by it. That is why the Vishishtadvaitins, advaitins and the bhaktas, is so much of importance for food.

==== An Incident About Food Purity ====
I have narrated an incident: Once Holy Mother bestowed her grace upon one of her disciples and asked him not to eat food in anybody's house excepting at the Jayrambati, Holy Mother's prasada, or the next best choice, the cooking of one's own mother.

The devotee disobeyed it, thinking that after all I am taking food from a devotee's house. Instantaneously his mind came down, fallen, and he received a shock. Then Mother must have told him, "Why did you disobey me? You should have come back here." Such is the effect of food.

Sri Ramakrishna could not touch the food, let alone cooked, even touched by impure people.

=== The True Meaning of Forest ===
So forest affords us natural food, healthy food, and also healthy environment. And there distractions are very, very less. If distractions are not less, that's not a forest, even if it is a forest. We have to understand the inner meaning.

Forest means where a person's mind can remain naturally, without effort, calm and quiet, equanimous. That is a real forest. A house also can be like that.

There is a beautiful Sanskrit verse: So one's own home, svagṛham, itself can become the greatest ashrama, provided the environment is kept like that. Sri Rama's home became such a heaven of peace.

=== Students of the Upanishad ===
Anyway, we already introduced Brihadaranyaka, and people used to study. Two types of people used to study there. One is the vanaprasthis, householders, and then another is monks who renounced.

After living for some time as a vanaprastha ashrama, then when he becomes ready, some of them don't—they occur robe, but not necessary. Sannyasa, vanaprastha ashrama, are not physical external stages. They are development of the purity of the mind. That's what we might discuss in the future.

== Three Main Divisions (Kandas) ==
This Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is mainly divided into three parts: Madhu Kanda, Muni Kanda (also known as Yajnavalkya Kanda), and Khila Kanda. Kanda means a chapter (or section).

=== 1. Madhu Kanda (The Honey Chapter) ===
Madhu Kanda means the chapter called honey. Honey means everything is interconnected. Why is everything interconnected? Because the source, the ultimate cause is Brahman, and everything comes out Brahman. Like many children of the same parents are interconnected, blood related. That is how it is called Madhu Kanda.

If we do not realize it, that I am separate, you are separate, I can do whatever I like with you, so also you can do, and that brings disastrous results. So it is called Madhu Kanda.

=== 2. Muni Kanda (Yajnavalkya Kanda) ===
Then the second part is called Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda, because there are marvelous discussions about the highest knowledge and also about many of the important contemplations called upasanas.

Yajnavalkya explains everything to his challengers and he also becomes the guru of Janaka Maharaja and he also becomes the teacher of his own, one of his own wives called Maitreyi, and most marvelous teachings are there.

=== 3. Khila Kanda (Miscellaneous Chapter) ===
The last Kanda is Khila Kanda. This is what we call appendix or appendicitis or whatever, where various distorted things, disconnected things, kept together, some of them are marvelous things.

So these are the three important divisions of his Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. And again each Adhyaya or Kanda is subdivided into two, so three into two, total there are six chapters.

And then some of them are repetitions, especially the conversation between Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi repeated in another section. And there is also remembrance of lineage, spiritual lineage, guru parampara system, that also is there.

=== Comparative Understanding of the Three Kandas ===
In Madhu Kanda, the primary teaching is upadesha of Brahma jñāna. Therefore it is called also Upadesha Kanda. And second, this is compared to śravaṇa because that is our goal.

Second is Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda. In this second chapter, the teachings given are supported by logic. Logic or upapatti is used. That is why it is called logical explanations of these real teachings are given in the first chapter.

And the person who explains such with superb intelligence and clarity is none other than Yajnavalkya himself. So if the first Kanda can be compared to śravaṇa, the second Kanda, Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda, Upapatti Kanda can be compared to manana. That is deeply churning, thinking.

Manana means churn the mind, keeping all the acquired knowledge and all the dirt, dust and unnecessary things are removed. Pure, what is called, butter is distilled from there. And Sri Ramakrishna often uses this: There is no harm after being churned. If butter is kept in what you call buttermilk or water, it never mixes. But without that, the milk can get spoiled.

So this is the second chapter and the main guru is Yajnavalkya, Khila Kanda. That is what is called a miscellaneous chapter. In this part, various kinds of upasanas, that is contemplations, various types of rituals are found.

=== The Logic of This Division ===
Why are they found? It doesn't seem logical. First there should be what is called rituals and contemplations. Then logical explanations about Brahma jñāna. And lastly, pure Brahma jñāna.

No, sir. First the goal is explained. Then it is made to be understood with various logics, etc. Supported by logic, the teachings become much more acceptable. But to transform them into practical Vedanta, we have to start from where we are standing or even sitting or even lying down and move forward.

So this is the very logical way of dividing.

== Etymology of "Upanishad" ==
Now we will talk about what is the meaning of the Upanishad. In many of the Upanishads we have explained, but it is very necessary to go through it. First, because of our memory. Second, because repetition only drives deep the meaning into our subconscious and unconscious minds. That is what we need to understand.

This word Upanishad, according to Shankaracharya, is divided into three small words: Upa, Ni, Sad. And Upa and Ni are prefixes. The real word is Sad.

=== Meaning of "Sad" ===
Sad means, according to Shankara himself, that which destroys. What does it destroy? Sad means knowledge. What does knowledge destroy? Knowledge always destroys, only ignorance, nothing else.

Ignorance in Vedanta is called avidya. So Brahmavidya is that which destroys ignorance. If one attains Brahmavidya, then Brahman-ignorance, ignorance of Brahman is destroyed. They are simultaneous process. As soon as we bring light, darkness disappears, things are revealed, stand revealed.

==== Avidya as the Cause of Bondage ====
So according to this scripture, our Vedas, the cause of our bondage, called worldly existence, samsara, is ignorance of Brahman. If Brahmavidya, that is true knowledge, about whom? About our own nature, who am I?

'''कोऽहं कस्त्वं कुत आयातः तत्त्वं चिन्तय तदीयं भ्रातः ।'''

ko'haṁ kastvaṁ kuta āyātaḥ tattvaṁ cintaya tadīyaṁ bhrātaḥ ।

''(Simplified phonetic reading: ko-ham kas-tvam kuta aayaatah; tattvam chintaya tadeeyam bhraatah.)''

So Brahmavidya destroys the very cause of worldly existence, which is called avidya. And when the cause ceases to exist, the effect of the cause also will be destroyed. As soon as you come to know that this is a rope, not a snake, the fear, the palpitation, will be automatically destroyed.

Not only so, destruction of the false knowledge, but the result of the effect of the false knowledge will also be destroyed. Brahma-avidya-nāśa, its effect, samsara-nāśa, that's what happens.

==== The Problem of Samsara ====
Why should we destroy samsara? If anybody is doubting, worldly existence, samsara means problems arising from gaining, loss, everything. Many times, gaining also causes great sorrow. How does it cause? If somebody is promoted, a hundred or thousand eyes will be glaring at him, scorching him. "What right have you got to get what you got? Each one of us should have got that."

Whoever rises to that position will get the same looks. How many people are waiting to kill the presidents, prime ministers, in every country? Worldly existence means problems. Problems means sorrow. Sorrow is opposite our nature.

How do we know? Because we never lift even a small finger to what is called destroy happiness. But the moment even the slightest sorrow comes, immediately, automatically, we want to get rid of it.

==== The Three Sources of Sorrow ====
And according to Vedanta, all sorrows come from three factors. What is that? This external world represented by gross body, internal world, our mental reactions caused by what is called the mental world. And the root cause of both is karana, cause, causal world.

So, gross body, subtle body, causal body. Any sorrow comes only from these three.

So there is another way, explanation also is there. So that which causes sorrow from our body and external world is called adhyātma. But that which comes from God is what is called from the external world, earthquakes, or lack of rain, or occupation by other people, people who cheat, or punish to people's savings, etc. And that also because of one's own prarabdha actually.

So, there is a third: God or Brahman, also is not only creator, but he is also a supporter, sustainer. And if we do not recognize, if we are not grateful what we are receiving for, then great destruction will come. They will send what is called too much rain, too less of rain, unseasonal rain, earthquakes, or wars, pestilences, or germ warfare.

All these things come. Unfortunately, we blame them on other people, not knowing we are the other people. Our government is nothing but our representation. Collective representation is called our government.

==== Liberation from Samsara ====
So, world existence means problems arising from tapa, sorrow, tapatraya. Liberation from world existence is moksha. Cessation from sorrow. Brahmavid, you know the supreme. So, along with Brahman, he enjoys everything.

Brahmavidya gives two fruits. It destroys ignorance and it grants liberation. There is no separate thing called liberation. To know that I was, I am, I will be ever free, that is, to know that is called liberation.

=== Second Meaning of "Sad" ===
That is one meaning of the word sad. There is another word. It means that which leads us to the right goal. So, what does lead us? Sad means knowledge of self, Brahman. Brahmavidya, where does it lead us?

So, Brahmavidya leads to Brahman. It means what? Leading means what? It means it makes us completely become one with Brahman. Or to know there are no Brahman and me, only one thing and that is Brahman. I am that Brahman. That is why it is said Brahmavid āpnoti param.

So, one meaning of sad is destruction of ignorance. Second meaning is that which leads us to Brahman. And what is the good of it? The nature of Brahman is what? Sat, Cit, Ānanda. Ānanda means bliss.

So, sad means that which leads each one of us to Brahman which means to bliss, which means to counter death, which means complete knowledge, all consciousness, I am Brahman. Thus, attainment of Brahman means I am ānanda svarūpa.

So, we have seen both.

=== Meaning of "Ni" ===
Then, we have to see what is the meaning of Ni. Ni is a prefix and niśaśena nāśayati. We have to presume that meaning. That means there would be not even a little bit remnant of avidya completely. That which eradicates, destroys, so uproots the samsara vṛkṣa.

That is called—that what does it mean? What does it do? Who does it? Sad. So, Ni means there would be a little bit of samsara, a little bit of Brahman. No. Completely.

==== The Problem of Mental Conflict ====
So, what is the problem? Sad. Whatever knowledge we have, that is our problem. Knowledge is received by the mind, developed by the mind. But then, mind means there is also intellect.

So, our mind, our understanding, buddhi and manas are ever at conflict. I know aham brahmāsmi. But, my mind says, "You idiot, you liked this sweet very much. Now, get to work and enjoy that sweet."

This ever opposing force, that is why it is called dvandva, is haunting us ever since creation. So, therefore, mere knowledge will not do. Our identity with the body, our identity with our possessions, our identity with the family and our hatred of other people, both of them lead to bondage only.

That's why it is said, pāpam is also gives us sorrow. Puṇyam also gives us more sorrow. How come? Because if pāpam is like a person who falls a little bit down, from a short height. Puṇyam, you go to the Svarga Loka, the pāpa, you fall down, which is extraordinarily painful.

That's why we must rise beyond both virtue and vice. But in the beginning, get rid of the vice. Later on, we have to get rid of virtue also. We must go beyond that. So, we must go beyond dharma, beyond artha, beyond kāma, then only moksha is possible.

==== Obstacles to Knowledge ====
So, in spite of knowledge, we have got passions, hatreds, aversions, desires, kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, mātsarya. These are called obstacles to right knowledge.

So, these feelings have not only come from the past birth, but in this birth also, unfortunately, we reinforce them instead of cutting them down. So, all these things are sure to affect the mind, but Vedanta knowledge also arises in the intellect. Doubts also arise in the intellect until definitive knowledge arises.

If the mind is not kept under control, śama, dama, ādi, ṣaṭ, sampatti, this knowledge does not really work. That is why, even when we understand intellectually Vedanta, we are unable to keep serene and quite equanimous in the face of ups and downs of life. And this is the problem of all humanity.

Only just a selected few manushya, nāma, sahasreṣu try to jump out of the net, as Sri Ramakrishna gives the analogy of the fish, and only a few succeed in it.

==== The Path Through Dharma Shastra ====
That is why, we have to start our life in having faith not in Vedanta Shastra, but in Dharma Shastra. What does Dharma Shastra do? Like a spiritual doctor, like a physical doctor, this is a spiritual doctor, it says, if you want physical health, mental health, every type of health, then you will have to stop doing these things and start doing these things.

They are called niṣedhāda, do not even think of doing them, or if, because we have already done, then slowly try to reduce them by replacing them with what should be done. That is called vidhi.

So, only when one leads a dharmic life, these obstacles of vidhi or misconception will become absent, it takes time gradually. So, that knowledge which arises in an intellect free from all doubts and in a mind free from the obstacles of misconception or jñāna, that is called in Vedanta, Sanskrit knowledge of the absence of all the obstacles.

==== The Process of Learning ====
So, to remove misconceptions, how do we do that? So, as I said, first we have to go to a guru and then what does the guru do? He first prescribes rituals and then contemplations. First rituals, then contemplations and then when the guru finds a fit person, he starts giving us what is called upadeśa, teaching and that teaching is called śravaṇam.

Śravaṇam is not merely listening to a lecture like this. For that, we have to be ready and then whatever is received must be made firm through the process of churning the mind until the last vestige of doubt is totally removed and when that happens, then we have to fight with the old samskaras, bring in new samskaras and that is called nididhyāsana means remove the unspiritual samskaras, replacing them with spiritual samskaras until we reach the doorway to Brahman.

So, Ni means definitive knowledge.

=== Meaning of "Upa" ===
Upa, what is Upa means method of attaining self-knowledge and there is only one path. Upa means near.

==== First Meaning: Approaching the Self ====
First meaning of Upa is we have to approach the self who is within every object in this world, living or non-living.

In the non-living, it is in the form of existence. In the living, it is in the form of not only existence sat but cit and ānanda but even this cit and ānanda are very very minimal, miniscule at the beginning as the soul evolves further, it evolves its brain. Brain means the ability to understand an appropriate body and mind and it culminates in human body and even then the human body has to go through three steps of rajoguna.

==== The Three Gunas and Human Evolution ====
First it would be enveloped with tamoguna. Tamas means darkness. Then slowly like a train approaching the ground, traveling in the tunnel, a faint glimpse of light comes and that is where rajoguna comes out.

Then after the rajoguna as the progress is made, the light becomes more and more and when we come out it becomes perfectly clear which is called sattvaguna. That is how Hinduism divides people into śūdra, vaiśya, kṣatriya and brāhmaṇa but even in a Brahmin's life and that includes other varnas also.

==== The Four Ashramas ====
So life is divided into four as you all know very well, should know very well: learning process, experimenting and experiencing process and being disappointed with the results attained thus slowly turning our face away from the external into the internal which is called vanaprasthāśrama and finally trying to abide with the self in the self called sannyāsāśrama.

So that is the only process and we see this in several of the Upanishads since we have discussed what we call Chandogya Upanishad in the 7th chapter that great learned person who knows everything but whose mind was not under control. He approaches Sanatkumara without guru that is called approaching guru. Approaching guru in Sanskrit is called upasadanam.

==== Guru Upasadanam ====
Guru upasadanam—you stay with the guru and then serve him: tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā. So gradually one learns to surrender to the guru. Guru means right knowledge so that right knowledge as much as we surrender right knowledge penetrates into the depths of our darkest unconscious lights up destroys old samskaras slowly reveals the self that is abiding there not reluctantly but with the greatest eagerness.

==== The Three Meanings of "Upa" ====
That is the three meanings of the Upa finally the Near. Upa means Near and the nearest thing to us is our own true self or God and approaching him just as a dry straw as soon as it approaches blazing fire it becomes completely burnt out becomes fire itself or like the clarified butter ghee poured into blazing fire it only feeds the fire so one becomes completely one with one's own true nature not becoming somebody else Brahman is our own true nature.

These are the three meanings of Upa:

# A deep desire to approach God
# Follow the teachings of a guru by surrendering and guru tells him first you do this second you do that any number of steps that are needed and that is what is called rituals then contemplations finally śravaṇa, manana, nididhyāsana
# So Upa means Brahma vidya

This is the primary meaning of the word Upanishad.

== What is Knowledge? ==
Knowledge means right understanding about any object, just as it is, not as we think it is, just look back in your life, look at number of people that we come into contact, objects we come into contact with, each one of us have got our own peculiar opinions.

Not only this applies, not only this applies to strangers and others, it applies including to our own parents, to our own brothers and sisters, and including our own self also.

All misconceptions start with the misconception that I am somebody else, so, for that, how does right knowledge arise?

=== Prama — The Meaning of "Right Knowledge" ===
And right knowledge is called pramana.
The word prama means to measure.

So, prama means to measure.

When we measure, when we measure anything, let us say grain, if you have the right type of measurement, whether it is weighing or you put it, there is a vessel which gives you 100 grams, another vessel which gives you 500 grams, another when it is full will give you 100%.

So, anything that gives us complete knowledge is called prama means to measure, that's why it is called prama means to obtain, through right means absolute knowledge which will not be mixed with even 1% of wrong knowledge.

That is called prama means to measure, that is called prama means to measure, and the instruments for this prama right knowledge are called pramanas.

=== The Five Pramanas (First Category) ===
But to go briefly so first category is and only category really speaking is called:

==== 1. Pratyaksha (Direct Perception) ====
Pratyakṣa—perceptual knowledge. This is a knowledge gained directly through the five sense organs. So sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch and combined with the mind. Mind is the internal perception of emotions like joy or pain happiness unhappiness.

So as a simple example you see a blue book on a table your eyes our eyes perceive the color and shape directly giving us the valid knowledge that here is a blue book and that also separates by the adjectives what is the adjective it is a book therefore it is not a table it is not a tree and it is blue so it excludes all other colors that is called pratyakṣa pramāṇa.

And as a derivative of this pratyakṣa pramāṇa there are another four pramāṇas briefly we will discuss in today's class and go to the śabda pramāṇa in our next class.

==== 2. Anumana (Inference) ====
The second is called anumāna—inference. So what is the inference? This knowledge reached by using a reason to arrive at a conclusion based on a previously known universal relationship also called vyāpti.

For example this is a famous example there is a hill in front of you and one day you see smoke arising from behind the hill and you don't know what causes the smoke but you have observed in day to day life when you lit a fire and then smoke arises so smoke will not come unless there is a fire therefore even though we do not see the fire we infer that some fire is going on and the result will be the smoke.

Smoke is definitely caused by fire therefore we infer but for this universally we observe wherever there is fire there is smoke that is very necessary that is called vyāpti.

Apply this to all these inferences therefore when you see one part of our experience not the other part by seeing one part of the fact we infer the other fact and that is called anumāna pramāṇa.

For that very important to understand so we must have experience of both things together invariably suppose you see fire no smoke so this inference becomes invalid no every time we see a fire there is a wisp of smoke even from the driest firewood and that is called vyāpti means universally applicable observable so we see only part of it which is called smoke and therefore wherever there is fire there would be smoke so if you see the smoke only we infer there is fire that is.

==== 3. Upamana (Comparison/Analogy) ====
The third is called upamāna—comparison or analogy. What is this? This is knowledge gained by identifying any unknown object based on its similarity to a known object.

For example you know a person he is such and such but his brother is somewhere in America you have never seen and one day suddenly you encounter this person he looks almost like the person you know and you observe carefully and say "Oh I heard sometime back my friend telling me that his brother is coming back from America" that knowledge will come but even without knowledge this person looks like a person I have already known very well and therefore this person must be related somehow to that person whether it is cousin, brother etc.

The famous example given in Vedanta is we all know what is a cow but suddenly in the forest we see another animal almost resembling like a cow called gavaya then we understand somebody told us there is a animal you might see in the forest it is called wild ox and it resembles our cow in great way great extent and as soon as you behold that immediately you find out so this must be that animal which was described to me.

So seeing resemblance and inferring this must be that particular animal that is called upamāna pramāṇa.

==== 4. Arthapatti (Postulation/Presumption) ====
Then fourth is called arthāpatti. Arthāpatti means artha means meaning that is reasonable inference. Seeing a person famous example is you know or many people know a person and nobody seen has seen him eating during day time but he is growing fatter and fatter everyday.

What is the inference? Nobody can grow without eating and nobody can grow fat without eating oily substance fatty substance so this person must be gobbling up oily foods plenty of it more than he can digest at night where nobody can see him.

So by seeing an effect and you don't see any what is called contrary contradictory reason so you guess this person must be doing this thing secretly at night so to resolve this contradiction not seeing him eating and still growing we postulate that he must be eating at night not only eating plenty not only plenty most unhealthy subjects that is called arthāpatti.

==== 5. Anupalabdhi (Non-Perception) ====
And fifth I already mentioned anupalabdhi. You kept a book always you keep a book in a particular place one day it is missing and at night eleven o'clock after closing all your doors you kept there next morning it is not there so that absence of that object leads us to infer that book must have been taken by somebody to another room if it is not in this room it must be in the other room.

And all the time we use this arthāpatti where is the officer "oh we saw him just entering into the office" so you rush to the office but he is not there in his chair that is you don't see him can you guess he must have gone to some other room to inspect or to ask or to have a cup of coffee or toilet whatever it is this is called anupalabdhi or non perception of an object.

=== Proper Application of Pramanas ===
And all of us use them wonderfully well all these five pramanas are useful applicable and they must be applied meticulously if we want right knowledge but they only apply to sensory knowledge.

But with regard to supersensory knowledge we require another type of pramana which is called Veda pramāṇa, śabda pramāṇa. So we will discuss about it in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Introduction Lecture 03 on 31 January 2026

2026-05-24T13:58:00Z

Shekhar: /* Obstacles to Knowledge */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् । पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते । पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥ ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥'''

'''Oṁ pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṁ pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate, pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate. Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ.'''

''(Simplified phonetic reading: Om poornam-adah poornam-idam, poornaat poornam-udachyate; poornasya poornam-aadaaya poornam-eva-avashishyate. Om shaantih shaantih shaantih.)''

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

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

== Introduction to Brihadaranyaka Upanishad ==
Of all the Upanishads, this Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is not only the biggest, it is the most important. And that's why Shankaracharya had written an elaborate commentary upon it. Earlier, I have given some introduction.

=== The Author and Origin ===
Who was this author, the writer or the manifester of this Brihadaranyaka Upanishad? The real author is only God, Brahman. But Brahman had revealed this Upanishad to Yajnavalkya through the deity called Surya Deva, the Sun God. And that is why it came to be known as Shukla Yajurveda.

The entire Shukla Yajurveda was a kind, graceful revelation of this highest spiritual truth to Yajnavalkya because he prepared himself to receive it.

=== The Nature of Prayer and Grace ===
Many times we do not understand what is the meaning of prayer. And even more important, why prayers are not answered.

It is just like an analogy: Two persons go to the ocean. One person goes with a small glass. Another person goes with a huge tanker. And then both of them receive water. But the person with a glass complains, "Why are you bestowing so much upon the other person? Whereas you have given me only a small glass full."

Of course, the ocean will not reply. But common sense will tell us that it is not that the ocean refuses to give you. But you are not ready to receive it. Or whatever capacity of reception you have, that much you got full.

This is what Sri Ramakrishna used to call, "The breeze of God's grace is always blowing. But you have to unfurl your sails." That means you should be ready to receive the grace, which has not started at a particular point of time, but forever it is blowing. Here grace means knowledge.

=== Sadhana and Mental Purification ===
And if we do sadhana, gradually increase our capacity of our mind, then we will be able to receive as much as our mind is ready to receive.

Imagine there is a room full of objects. And you want to buy something huge and put it there. You cannot because there is no space. So you will have to throw out, remove many objects, sufficient at least to keep that newly bought object.

In the same way, our mind is full of thoughts about the world—mithya jagat, avidya world. Sadhana is not meant to receive the grace of God. I repeat, sadhana is not meant to receive the grace of God. Sadhana is meant to make our minds pure. Purity means emptying the mind of all thoughts.

And just like space, as soon as a place is vacant, immediately it becomes available. That is, the space becomes available. You can keep whatever you want there. God's grace, you don't need to invite. You don't need to pray.

=== Yajnavalkya's Realization ===
So Yajnavalkya completely removed all thoughts. That is called purification of the mind. That is called destroying all attachments instantaneously. As soon as a place is vacant, space enters there. Rather, it is already there. Now it becomes more manifest.

This is the clear concept of what is called receiving the grace of God. And Yajnavalkya received it to the full. That means he removed 100% of his mind. Then what remained was Brahman. And that's why he was called Brahmavid (ब्रह्मविद्).

And Brahmavid (ब्रह्मविद्), as we saw in the Taittiriya Upanishad, āpnoti param (आप्नोति परम्) — he attains everything. He becomes Satyam Jñānam Anantam Brahma (सत्यं ज्ञानम् अनन्तं ब्रह्म).

=== The Setting for Study ===
So in the introduction, we have seen this is the biggest of the Upanishads. And it is usually taught to renunciates in the forest. Forest means a place where one can pursue the spiritual studies, spiritual sadhanas.

Spiritual study and spiritual sadhana are not two separate things. Just like a scientist: Scientific knowledge is not a dry knowledge. It is first thought about, then experimented upon. It becomes a provable knowledge. Proven knowledge becomes forever provable knowledge. Take the same steps, one should get the same result. Brahma jñānam is no exception to it. That is the real meaning.

=== Benefits of Forest Environment ===
So where there is no distraction, the mind also, because of the absence of distractions, can also remain equanimous, more calm. We have not developed so much that we can afford to be in this, what is called huge storm on the ocean, and remain in that ocean called Samsara Sagara, and expect to be calm and quiet.

So we have to help ourselves by going into solitude, which Ramakrishna used to call nirjanasthāna. Do not depend upon anything. Everything is perishable, non-dependable. Only God is dependable. That is called solitude.

And it is for the solitude, and there is also another thing: A forest is the most natural expression of nature. And to be in contact with nature itself is extraordinarily calming.

=== The Importance of Pure Food ===
So when a person starts to live and enjoy the bounty of the forest—fruits, roots, etc.—without contamination by artificial fertilizers, etc., the mind of a person becomes very, very pure.

Whereas we are all living cultivated with fertilizers and pesticides, etc. How much harm is being done? Now scientists are astonished how much plastic is going into the fishes, into the animals, into our own bodies. God alone knows.

And when the food is impure, when āhāra is not sāttvic āhāra, śuddha āhāra, then our remembrance of who we are also will be affected by it. That is why the Vishishtadvaitins, advaitins and the bhaktas, is so much of importance for food.

==== An Incident About Food Purity ====
I have narrated an incident: Once Holy Mother bestowed her grace upon one of her disciples and asked him not to eat food in anybody's house excepting at the Jayrambati, Holy Mother's prasada, or the next best choice, the cooking of one's own mother.

The devotee disobeyed it, thinking that after all I am taking food from a devotee's house. Instantaneously his mind came down, fallen, and he received a shock. Then Mother must have told him, "Why did you disobey me? You should have come back here." Such is the effect of food.

Sri Ramakrishna could not touch the food, let alone cooked, even touched by impure people.

=== The True Meaning of Forest ===
So forest affords us natural food, healthy food, and also healthy environment. And there distractions are very, very less. If distractions are not less, that's not a forest, even if it is a forest. We have to understand the inner meaning.

Forest means where a person's mind can remain naturally, without effort, calm and quiet, equanimous. That is a real forest. A house also can be like that.

There is a beautiful Sanskrit verse: So one's own home, svagṛham, itself can become the greatest ashrama, provided the environment is kept like that. Sri Rama's home became such a heaven of peace.

=== Students of the Upanishad ===
Anyway, we already introduced Brihadaranyaka, and people used to study. Two types of people used to study there. One is the vanaprasthis, householders, and then another is monks who renounced.

After living for some time as a vanaprastha ashrama, then when he becomes ready, some of them don't—they occur robe, but not necessary. Sannyasa, vanaprastha ashrama, are not physical external stages. They are development of the purity of the mind. That's what we might discuss in the future.

== Three Main Divisions (Kandas) ==
This Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is mainly divided into three parts: Madhu Kanda, Muni Kanda (also known as Yajnavalkya Kanda), and Khila Kanda. Kanda means a chapter (or section).

=== 1. Madhu Kanda (The Honey Chapter) ===
Madhu Kanda means the chapter called honey. Honey means everything is interconnected. Why is everything interconnected? Because the source, the ultimate cause is Brahman, and everything comes out Brahman. Like many children of the same parents are interconnected, blood related. That is how it is called Madhu Kanda.

If we do not realize it, that I am separate, you are separate, I can do whatever I like with you, so also you can do, and that brings disastrous results. So it is called Madhu Kanda.

=== 2. Muni Kanda (Yajnavalkya Kanda) ===
Then the second part is called Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda, because there are marvelous discussions about the highest knowledge and also about many of the important contemplations called upasanas.

Yajnavalkya explains everything to his challengers and he also becomes the guru of Janaka Maharaja and he also becomes the teacher of his own, one of his own wives called Maitreyi, and most marvelous teachings are there.

=== 3. Khila Kanda (Miscellaneous Chapter) ===
The last Kanda is Khila Kanda. This is what we call appendix or appendicitis or whatever, where various distorted things, disconnected things, kept together, some of them are marvelous things.

So these are the three important divisions of his Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. And again each Adhyaya or Kanda is subdivided into two, so three into two, total there are six chapters.

And then some of them are repetitions, especially the conversation between Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi repeated in another section. And there is also remembrance of lineage, spiritual lineage, guru parampara system, that also is there.

=== Comparative Understanding of the Three Kandas ===
In Madhu Kanda, the primary teaching is upadesha of Brahma jñāna. Therefore it is called also Upadesha Kanda. And second, this is compared to śravaṇa because that is our goal.

Second is Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda. In this second chapter, the teachings given are supported by logic. Logic or upapatti is used. That is why it is called logical explanations of these real teachings are given in the first chapter.

And the person who explains such with superb intelligence and clarity is none other than Yajnavalkya himself. So if the first Kanda can be compared to śravaṇa, the second Kanda, Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda, Upapatti Kanda can be compared to manana. That is deeply churning, thinking.

Manana means churn the mind, keeping all the acquired knowledge and all the dirt, dust and unnecessary things are removed. Pure, what is called, butter is distilled from there. And Sri Ramakrishna often uses this: There is no harm after being churned. If butter is kept in what you call buttermilk or water, it never mixes. But without that, the milk can get spoiled.

So this is the second chapter and the main guru is Yajnavalkya, Khila Kanda. That is what is called a miscellaneous chapter. In this part, various kinds of upasanas, that is contemplations, various types of rituals are found.

=== The Logic of This Division ===
Why are they found? It doesn't seem logical. First there should be what is called rituals and contemplations. Then logical explanations about Brahma jñāna. And lastly, pure Brahma jñāna.

No, sir. First the goal is explained. Then it is made to be understood with various logics, etc. Supported by logic, the teachings become much more acceptable. But to transform them into practical Vedanta, we have to start from where we are standing or even sitting or even lying down and move forward.

So this is the very logical way of dividing.

== Etymology of "Upanishad" ==
Now we will talk about what is the meaning of the Upanishad. In many of the Upanishads we have explained, but it is very necessary to go through it. First, because of our memory. Second, because repetition only drives deep the meaning into our subconscious and unconscious minds. That is what we need to understand.

This word Upanishad, according to Shankaracharya, is divided into three small words: Upa, Ni, Sad. And Upa and Ni are prefixes. The real word is Sad.

=== Meaning of "Sad" ===
Sad means, according to Shankara himself, that which destroys. What does it destroy? Sad means knowledge. What does knowledge destroy? Knowledge always destroys, only ignorance, nothing else.

Ignorance in Vedanta is called avidya. So Brahmavidya is that which destroys ignorance. If one attains Brahmavidya, then Brahman-ignorance, ignorance of Brahman is destroyed. They are simultaneous process. As soon as we bring light, darkness disappears, things are revealed, stand revealed.

==== Avidya as the Cause of Bondage ====
So according to this scripture, our Vedas, the cause of our bondage, called worldly existence, samsara, is ignorance of Brahman. If Brahmavidya, that is true knowledge, about whom? About our own nature, who am I?

'''कोऽहं कस्त्वं कुत आयातः तत्त्वं चिन्तय तदीयं भ्रातः ।'''

ko'haṁ kastvaṁ kuta āyātaḥ tattvaṁ cintaya tadīyaṁ bhrātaḥ ।

''(Simplified phonetic reading: ko-ham kas-tvam kuta aayaatah; tattvam chintaya tadeeyam bhraatah.)''

So Brahmavidya destroys the very cause of worldly existence, which is called avidya. And when the cause ceases to exist, the effect of the cause also will be destroyed. As soon as you come to know that this is a rope, not a snake, the fear, the palpitation, will be automatically destroyed.

Not only so, destruction of the false knowledge, but the result of the effect of the false knowledge will also be destroyed. Brahma-avidya-nāśa, its effect, samsara-nāśa, that's what happens.

==== The Problem of Samsara ====
Why should we destroy samsara? If anybody is doubting, worldly existence, samsara means problems arising from gaining, loss, everything. Many times, gaining also causes great sorrow. How does it cause? If somebody is promoted, a hundred or thousand eyes will be glaring at him, scorching him. "What right have you got to get what you got? Each one of us should have got that."

Whoever rises to that position will get the same looks. How many people are waiting to kill the presidents, prime ministers, in every country? Worldly existence means problems. Problems means sorrow. Sorrow is opposite our nature.

How do we know? Because we never lift even a small finger to what is called destroy happiness. But the moment even the slightest sorrow comes, immediately, automatically, we want to get rid of it.

==== The Three Sources of Sorrow ====
And according to Vedanta, all sorrows come from three factors. What is that? This external world represented by gross body, internal world, our mental reactions caused by what is called the mental world. And the root cause of both is karana, cause, causal world.

So, gross body, subtle body, causal body. Any sorrow comes only from these three.

So there is another way, explanation also is there. So that which causes sorrow from our body and external world is called adhyātma. But that which comes from God is what is called from the external world, earthquakes, or lack of rain, or occupation by other people, people who cheat, or punish to people's savings, etc. And that also because of one's own prarabdha actually.

So, there is a third: God or Brahman, also is not only creator, but he is also a supporter, sustainer. And if we do not recognize, if we are not grateful what we are receiving for, then great destruction will come. They will send what is called too much rain, too less of rain, unseasonal rain, earthquakes, or wars, pestilences, or germ warfare.

All these things come. Unfortunately, we blame them on other people, not knowing we are the other people. Our government is nothing but our representation. Collective representation is called our government.

==== Liberation from Samsara ====
So, world existence means problems arising from tapa, sorrow, tapatraya. Liberation from world existence is moksha. Cessation from sorrow. Brahmavid, you know the supreme. So, along with Brahman, he enjoys everything.

Brahmavidya gives two fruits. It destroys ignorance and it grants liberation. There is no separate thing called liberation. To know that I was, I am, I will be ever free, that is, to know that is called liberation.

=== Second Meaning of "Sad" ===
That is one meaning of the word sad. There is another word. It means that which leads us to the right goal. So, what does lead us? Sad means knowledge of self, Brahman. Brahmavidya, where does it lead us?

So, Brahmavidya leads to Brahman. It means what? Leading means what? It means it makes us completely become one with Brahman. Or to know there are no Brahman and me, only one thing and that is Brahman. I am that Brahman. That is why it is said Brahmavid āpnoti param.

So, one meaning of sad is destruction of ignorance. Second meaning is that which leads us to Brahman. And what is the good of it? The nature of Brahman is what? Sat, Cit, Ānanda. Ānanda means bliss.

So, sad means that which leads each one of us to Brahman which means to bliss, which means to counter death, which means complete knowledge, all consciousness, I am Brahman. Thus, attainment of Brahman means I am ānanda svarūpa.

So, we have seen both.

=== Meaning of "Ni" ===
Then, we have to see what is the meaning of Ni. Ni is a prefix and niśaśena nāśayati. We have to presume that meaning. That means there would be not even a little bit remnant of avidya completely. That which eradicates, destroys, so uproots the samsara vṛkṣa.

That is called—that what does it mean? What does it do? Who does it? Sad. So, Ni means there would be a little bit of samsara, a little bit of Brahman. No. Completely.

==== The Problem of Mental Conflict ====
So, what is the problem? Sad. Whatever knowledge we have, that is our problem. Knowledge is received by the mind, developed by the mind. But then, mind means there is also intellect.

So, our mind, our understanding, buddhi and manas are ever at conflict. I know aham brahmāsmi. But, my mind says, "You idiot, you liked this sweet very much. Now, get to work and enjoy that sweet."

This ever opposing force, that is why it is called dvandva, is haunting us ever since creation. So, therefore, mere knowledge will not do. Our identity with the body, our identity with our possessions, our identity with the family and our hatred of other people, both of them lead to bondage only.

That's why it is said, pāpam is also gives us sorrow. Puṇyam also gives us more sorrow. How come? Because if pāpam is like a person who falls a little bit down, from a short height. Puṇyam, you go to the Svarga Loka, the pāpa, you fall down, which is extraordinarily painful.

That's why we must rise beyond both virtue and vice. But in the beginning, get rid of the vice. Later on, we have to get rid of virtue also. We must go beyond that. So, we must go beyond dharma, beyond artha, beyond kāma, then only moksha is possible.

==== Obstacles to Knowledge ====
So, in spite of knowledge, we have got passions, hatreds, aversions, desires, kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, mātsarya. These are called obstacles to right knowledge.

So, these feelings have not only come from the past birth, but in this birth also, unfortunately, we reinforce them instead of cutting them down. So, all these things are sure to affect the mind, but Vedanta knowledge also arises in the intellect. Doubts also arise in the intellect until definitive knowledge arises.

If the mind is not kept under control, śama, dama, ādi, ṣaṭ, sampatti, this knowledge does not really work. That is why, even when we understand intellectually Vedanta, we are unable to keep serene and quite equanimous in the face of ups and downs of life. And this is the problem of all humanity.

Only just a selected few manushya, nāma, sahasreṣu try to jump out of the net, as Sri Ramakrishna gives the analogy of the fish, and only a few succeed in it.

==== The Path Through Dharma Shastra ====
That is why, we have to start our life in having faith not in Vedanta Shastra, but in Dharma Shastra. What does Dharma Shastra do? Like a spiritual doctor, like a physical doctor, this is a spiritual doctor, it says, if you want physical health, mental health, every type of health, then you will have to stop doing these things and start doing these things.

They are called niṣedhāda, do not even think of doing them, or if, because we have already done, then slowly try to reduce them by replacing them with what should be done. That is called vidhi.

So, only when one leads a dharmic life, these obstacles of vidhi or misconception will become absent, it takes time gradually. So, that knowledge which arises in an intellect free from all doubts and in a mind free from the obstacles of misconception or jñāna, that is called in Vedanta, Sanskrit knowledge of the absence of all the obstacles.

==== The Process of Learning ====
So, to remove misconceptions, how do we do that? So, as I said, first we have to go to a guru and then what does the guru do? He first prescribes rituals and then contemplations. First rituals, then contemplations and then when the guru finds a fit person, he starts giving us what is called upadeśa, teaching and that teaching is called śravaṇam.

Śravaṇam is not merely listening to a lecture like this. For that, we have to be ready and then whatever is received must be made firm through the process of churning the mind until the last vestige of doubt is totally removed and when that happens, then we have to fight with the old samskaras, bring in new samskaras and that is called nididhyāsana means remove the unspiritual samskaras, replacing them with spiritual samskaras until we reach the doorway to Brahman.

So, Ni means definitive knowledge.

=== Meaning of "Upa" ===
Upa, what is Upa means method of attaining self-knowledge and there is only one path. Upa means near.

==== First Meaning: Approaching the Self ====
First meaning of Upa is we have to approach the self who is within every object in this world, living or non-living.

In the non-living, it is in the form of existence. In the living, it is in the form of not only existence sat but cit and ānanda but even this cit and ānanda are very very minimal, miniscule at the beginning as the soul evolves further, it evolves its brain. Brain means the ability to understand an appropriate body and mind and it culminates in human body and even then the human body has to go through three steps of rajoguna.

==== The Three Gunas and Human Evolution ====
First it would be enveloped with tamoguna. Tamas means darkness. Then slowly like a train approaching the ground, traveling in the tunnel, a faint glimpse of light comes and that is where rajoguna comes out.

Then after the rajoguna as the progress is made, the light becomes more and more and when we come out it becomes perfectly clear which is called sattvaguna. That is how Hinduism divides people into śūdra, vaiśya, kṣatriya and brāhmaṇa but even in a Brahmin's life and that includes other varnas also.

==== The Four Ashramas ====
So life is divided into four as you all know very well, should know very well: learning process, experimenting and experiencing process and being disappointed with the results attained thus slowly turning our face away from the external into the internal which is called vanaprasthāśrama and finally trying to abide with the self in the self called sannyāsāśrama.

So that is the only process and we see this in several of the Upanishads since we have discussed what we call Chandogya Upanishad in the 7th chapter that great learned person who knows everything but whose mind was not under control. He approaches Sanatkumara without guru that is called approaching guru. Approaching guru in Sanskrit is called upasadanam.

==== Guru Upasadanam ====
Guru upasadanam—you stay with the guru and then serve him: tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā. So gradually one learns to surrender to the guru. Guru means right knowledge so that right knowledge as much as we surrender right knowledge penetrates into the depths of our darkest unconscious lights up destroys old samskaras slowly reveals the self that is abiding there not reluctantly but with the greatest eagerness.

==== The Three Meanings of "Upa" ====
That is the three meanings of the Upa finally the Near. Upa means Near and the nearest thing to us is our own true self or God and approaching him just as a dry straw as soon as it approaches blazing fire it becomes completely burnt out becomes fire itself or like the clarified butter ghee poured into blazing fire it only feeds the fire so one becomes completely one with one's own true nature not becoming somebody else Brahman is our own true nature.

These are the three meanings of Upa:

# A deep desire to approach God
# Follow the teachings of a guru by surrendering and guru tells him first you do this second you do that any number of steps that are needed and that is what is called rituals then contemplations finally śravaṇa, manana, nididhyāsana
# So Upa means Brahma vidya

This is the primary meaning of the word Upanishad.

== Pramanas: Valid Means of Knowledge ==
So now we have discussed but just a brief recollection just to recollect what are these in Indian philosophy particularly within the school of Advaita Vedanta. Pramanas are the valid means through which we acquire accurate valid knowledge of the world and the self.

Note down we are not only talking about self or God we are talking about the world what is the condition of our present knowledge. God may or may not exist but the world definitely is existing and therefore it is real therefore we should act and react according to this concept.

What does Vedanta teach? Brahma satyam jagan mithya. It goes completely opposite to what we know.

A sincere student has to and will question the teacher, "Sir, my experience shows this world is real your Vedanta teaches this world is unreal God alone is real my knowledge is just the contrary complete 100% opposite how come?"

=== Two Categories of Pramanas ===
Anyway for that purpose knowledge or the means of knowledge called pramanas are divided into two categories.

The first category of pramanas should give us valid knowledge about this world and we employ five means and the first means that we employ is called direct experience called pratyakṣa pramāṇa and based upon this pratyakṣa pramāṇa another four subsidiary pratyakṣa pramāṇas are added so you can say one pramāṇa or you can say one plus four five pramāṇas.

The second category of pramāṇa is called śabda pramāṇa because there is the knowledge of things of which we have absolutely no knowledge because they are not pratyakṣa they are not directly experienceable.

For example that there is life after death there are other worlds and there are higher worlds and lower worlds and there is also a God and we are all experiencing the results of our own past lives these are not available for any scientific knowledge.

So science employs and we also consciously and most of the time unconsciously experience five types of this means of acquiring knowledge and most of the time we don't employ them properly and that's why our knowledge will be not only defective knowledge but positively harmful knowledge.

=== The Five Pramanas (First Category) ===
But to go briefly so first category is and only category really speaking is called:

==== 1. Pratyaksha (Direct Perception) ====
Pratyakṣa—perceptual knowledge. This is a knowledge gained directly through the five sense organs. So sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch and combined with the mind. Mind is the internal perception of emotions like joy or pain happiness unhappiness.

So as a simple example you see a blue book on a table your eyes our eyes perceive the color and shape directly giving us the valid knowledge that here is a blue book and that also separates by the adjectives what is the adjective it is a book therefore it is not a table it is not a tree and it is blue so it excludes all other colors that is called pratyakṣa pramāṇa.

And as a derivative of this pratyakṣa pramāṇa there are another four pramāṇas briefly we will discuss in today's class and go to the śabda pramāṇa in our next class.

==== 2. Anumana (Inference) ====
The second is called anumāna—inference. So what is the inference? This knowledge reached by using a reason to arrive at a conclusion based on a previously known universal relationship also called vyāpti.

For example this is a famous example there is a hill in front of you and one day you see smoke arising from behind the hill and you don't know what causes the smoke but you have observed in day to day life when you lit a fire and then smoke arises so smoke will not come unless there is a fire therefore even though we do not see the fire we infer that some fire is going on and the result will be the smoke.

Smoke is definitely caused by fire therefore we infer but for this universally we observe wherever there is fire there is smoke that is very necessary that is called vyāpti.

Apply this to all these inferences therefore when you see one part of our experience not the other part by seeing one part of the fact we infer the other fact and that is called anumāna pramāṇa.

For that very important to understand so we must have experience of both things together invariably suppose you see fire no smoke so this inference becomes invalid no every time we see a fire there is a wisp of smoke even from the driest firewood and that is called vyāpti means universally applicable observable so we see only part of it which is called smoke and therefore wherever there is fire there would be smoke so if you see the smoke only we infer there is fire that is.

==== 3. Upamana (Comparison/Analogy) ====
The third is called upamāna—comparison or analogy. What is this? This is knowledge gained by identifying any unknown object based on its similarity to a known object.

For example you know a person he is such and such but his brother is somewhere in America you have never seen and one day suddenly you encounter this person he looks almost like the person you know and you observe carefully and say "Oh I heard sometime back my friend telling me that his brother is coming back from America" that knowledge will come but even without knowledge this person looks like a person I have already known very well and therefore this person must be related somehow to that person whether it is cousin, brother etc.

The famous example given in Vedanta is we all know what is a cow but suddenly in the forest we see another animal almost resembling like a cow called gavaya then we understand somebody told us there is a animal you might see in the forest it is called wild ox and it resembles our cow in great way great extent and as soon as you behold that immediately you find out so this must be that animal which was described to me.

So seeing resemblance and inferring this must be that particular animal that is called upamāna pramāṇa.

==== 4. Arthapatti (Postulation/Presumption) ====
Then fourth is called arthāpatti. Arthāpatti means artha means meaning that is reasonable inference. Seeing a person famous example is you know or many people know a person and nobody seen has seen him eating during day time but he is growing fatter and fatter everyday.

What is the inference? Nobody can grow without eating and nobody can grow fat without eating oily substance fatty substance so this person must be gobbling up oily foods plenty of it more than he can digest at night where nobody can see him.

So by seeing an effect and you don't see any what is called contrary contradictory reason so you guess this person must be doing this thing secretly at night so to resolve this contradiction not seeing him eating and still growing we postulate that he must be eating at night not only eating plenty not only plenty most unhealthy subjects that is called arthāpatti.

==== 5. Anupalabdhi (Non-Perception) ====
And fifth I already mentioned anupalabdhi. You kept a book always you keep a book in a particular place one day it is missing and at night eleven o'clock after closing all your doors you kept there next morning it is not there so that absence of that object leads us to infer that book must have been taken by somebody to another room if it is not in this room it must be in the other room.

And all the time we use this arthāpatti where is the officer "oh we saw him just entering into the office" so you rush to the office but he is not there in his chair that is you don't see him can you guess he must have gone to some other room to inspect or to ask or to have a cup of coffee or toilet whatever it is this is called anupalabdhi or non perception of an object.

=== Proper Application of Pramanas ===
And all of us use them wonderfully well all these five pramanas are useful applicable and they must be applied meticulously if we want right knowledge but they only apply to sensory knowledge.

But with regard to supersensory knowledge we require another type of pramana which is called Veda pramāṇa, śabda pramāṇa. So we will discuss about it in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Introduction Lecture 03 on 31 January 2026

2026-05-24T13:48:02Z

Shekhar: /* Avidya as the Cause of Bondage */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् । पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते । पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥ ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥'''

'''Oṁ pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṁ pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate, pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate. Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ.'''

''(Simplified phonetic reading: Om poornam-adah poornam-idam, poornaat poornam-udachyate; poornasya poornam-aadaaya poornam-eva-avashishyate. Om shaantih shaantih shaantih.)''

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

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

== Introduction to Brihadaranyaka Upanishad ==
Of all the Upanishads, this Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is not only the biggest, it is the most important. And that's why Shankaracharya had written an elaborate commentary upon it. Earlier, I have given some introduction.

=== The Author and Origin ===
Who was this author, the writer or the manifester of this Brihadaranyaka Upanishad? The real author is only God, Brahman. But Brahman had revealed this Upanishad to Yajnavalkya through the deity called Surya Deva, the Sun God. And that is why it came to be known as Shukla Yajurveda.

The entire Shukla Yajurveda was a kind, graceful revelation of this highest spiritual truth to Yajnavalkya because he prepared himself to receive it.

=== The Nature of Prayer and Grace ===
Many times we do not understand what is the meaning of prayer. And even more important, why prayers are not answered.

It is just like an analogy: Two persons go to the ocean. One person goes with a small glass. Another person goes with a huge tanker. And then both of them receive water. But the person with a glass complains, "Why are you bestowing so much upon the other person? Whereas you have given me only a small glass full."

Of course, the ocean will not reply. But common sense will tell us that it is not that the ocean refuses to give you. But you are not ready to receive it. Or whatever capacity of reception you have, that much you got full.

This is what Sri Ramakrishna used to call, "The breeze of God's grace is always blowing. But you have to unfurl your sails." That means you should be ready to receive the grace, which has not started at a particular point of time, but forever it is blowing. Here grace means knowledge.

=== Sadhana and Mental Purification ===
And if we do sadhana, gradually increase our capacity of our mind, then we will be able to receive as much as our mind is ready to receive.

Imagine there is a room full of objects. And you want to buy something huge and put it there. You cannot because there is no space. So you will have to throw out, remove many objects, sufficient at least to keep that newly bought object.

In the same way, our mind is full of thoughts about the world—mithya jagat, avidya world. Sadhana is not meant to receive the grace of God. I repeat, sadhana is not meant to receive the grace of God. Sadhana is meant to make our minds pure. Purity means emptying the mind of all thoughts.

And just like space, as soon as a place is vacant, immediately it becomes available. That is, the space becomes available. You can keep whatever you want there. God's grace, you don't need to invite. You don't need to pray.

=== Yajnavalkya's Realization ===
So Yajnavalkya completely removed all thoughts. That is called purification of the mind. That is called destroying all attachments instantaneously. As soon as a place is vacant, space enters there. Rather, it is already there. Now it becomes more manifest.

This is the clear concept of what is called receiving the grace of God. And Yajnavalkya received it to the full. That means he removed 100% of his mind. Then what remained was Brahman. And that's why he was called Brahmavid (ब्रह्मविद्).

And Brahmavid (ब्रह्मविद्), as we saw in the Taittiriya Upanishad, āpnoti param (आप्नोति परम्) — he attains everything. He becomes Satyam Jñānam Anantam Brahma (सत्यं ज्ञानम् अनन्तं ब्रह्म).

=== The Setting for Study ===
So in the introduction, we have seen this is the biggest of the Upanishads. And it is usually taught to renunciates in the forest. Forest means a place where one can pursue the spiritual studies, spiritual sadhanas.

Spiritual study and spiritual sadhana are not two separate things. Just like a scientist: Scientific knowledge is not a dry knowledge. It is first thought about, then experimented upon. It becomes a provable knowledge. Proven knowledge becomes forever provable knowledge. Take the same steps, one should get the same result. Brahma jñānam is no exception to it. That is the real meaning.

=== Benefits of Forest Environment ===
So where there is no distraction, the mind also, because of the absence of distractions, can also remain equanimous, more calm. We have not developed so much that we can afford to be in this, what is called huge storm on the ocean, and remain in that ocean called Samsara Sagara, and expect to be calm and quiet.

So we have to help ourselves by going into solitude, which Ramakrishna used to call nirjanasthāna. Do not depend upon anything. Everything is perishable, non-dependable. Only God is dependable. That is called solitude.

And it is for the solitude, and there is also another thing: A forest is the most natural expression of nature. And to be in contact with nature itself is extraordinarily calming.

=== The Importance of Pure Food ===
So when a person starts to live and enjoy the bounty of the forest—fruits, roots, etc.—without contamination by artificial fertilizers, etc., the mind of a person becomes very, very pure.

Whereas we are all living cultivated with fertilizers and pesticides, etc. How much harm is being done? Now scientists are astonished how much plastic is going into the fishes, into the animals, into our own bodies. God alone knows.

And when the food is impure, when āhāra is not sāttvic āhāra, śuddha āhāra, then our remembrance of who we are also will be affected by it. That is why the Vishishtadvaitins, advaitins and the bhaktas, is so much of importance for food.

==== An Incident About Food Purity ====
I have narrated an incident: Once Holy Mother bestowed her grace upon one of her disciples and asked him not to eat food in anybody's house excepting at the Jayrambati, Holy Mother's prasada, or the next best choice, the cooking of one's own mother.

The devotee disobeyed it, thinking that after all I am taking food from a devotee's house. Instantaneously his mind came down, fallen, and he received a shock. Then Mother must have told him, "Why did you disobey me? You should have come back here." Such is the effect of food.

Sri Ramakrishna could not touch the food, let alone cooked, even touched by impure people.

=== The True Meaning of Forest ===
So forest affords us natural food, healthy food, and also healthy environment. And there distractions are very, very less. If distractions are not less, that's not a forest, even if it is a forest. We have to understand the inner meaning.

Forest means where a person's mind can remain naturally, without effort, calm and quiet, equanimous. That is a real forest. A house also can be like that.

There is a beautiful Sanskrit verse: So one's own home, svagṛham, itself can become the greatest ashrama, provided the environment is kept like that. Sri Rama's home became such a heaven of peace.

=== Students of the Upanishad ===
Anyway, we already introduced Brihadaranyaka, and people used to study. Two types of people used to study there. One is the vanaprasthis, householders, and then another is monks who renounced.

After living for some time as a vanaprastha ashrama, then when he becomes ready, some of them don't—they occur robe, but not necessary. Sannyasa, vanaprastha ashrama, are not physical external stages. They are development of the purity of the mind. That's what we might discuss in the future.

== Three Main Divisions (Kandas) ==
This Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is mainly divided into three parts: Madhu Kanda, Muni Kanda (also known as Yajnavalkya Kanda), and Khila Kanda. Kanda means a chapter (or section).

=== 1. Madhu Kanda (The Honey Chapter) ===
Madhu Kanda means the chapter called honey. Honey means everything is interconnected. Why is everything interconnected? Because the source, the ultimate cause is Brahman, and everything comes out Brahman. Like many children of the same parents are interconnected, blood related. That is how it is called Madhu Kanda.

If we do not realize it, that I am separate, you are separate, I can do whatever I like with you, so also you can do, and that brings disastrous results. So it is called Madhu Kanda.

=== 2. Muni Kanda (Yajnavalkya Kanda) ===
Then the second part is called Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda, because there are marvelous discussions about the highest knowledge and also about many of the important contemplations called upasanas.

Yajnavalkya explains everything to his challengers and he also becomes the guru of Janaka Maharaja and he also becomes the teacher of his own, one of his own wives called Maitreyi, and most marvelous teachings are there.

=== 3. Khila Kanda (Miscellaneous Chapter) ===
The last Kanda is Khila Kanda. This is what we call appendix or appendicitis or whatever, where various distorted things, disconnected things, kept together, some of them are marvelous things.

So these are the three important divisions of his Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. And again each Adhyaya or Kanda is subdivided into two, so three into two, total there are six chapters.

And then some of them are repetitions, especially the conversation between Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi repeated in another section. And there is also remembrance of lineage, spiritual lineage, guru parampara system, that also is there.

=== Comparative Understanding of the Three Kandas ===
In Madhu Kanda, the primary teaching is upadesha of Brahma jñāna. Therefore it is called also Upadesha Kanda. And second, this is compared to śravaṇa because that is our goal.

Second is Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda. In this second chapter, the teachings given are supported by logic. Logic or upapatti is used. That is why it is called logical explanations of these real teachings are given in the first chapter.

And the person who explains such with superb intelligence and clarity is none other than Yajnavalkya himself. So if the first Kanda can be compared to śravaṇa, the second Kanda, Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda, Upapatti Kanda can be compared to manana. That is deeply churning, thinking.

Manana means churn the mind, keeping all the acquired knowledge and all the dirt, dust and unnecessary things are removed. Pure, what is called, butter is distilled from there. And Sri Ramakrishna often uses this: There is no harm after being churned. If butter is kept in what you call buttermilk or water, it never mixes. But without that, the milk can get spoiled.

So this is the second chapter and the main guru is Yajnavalkya, Khila Kanda. That is what is called a miscellaneous chapter. In this part, various kinds of upasanas, that is contemplations, various types of rituals are found.

=== The Logic of This Division ===
Why are they found? It doesn't seem logical. First there should be what is called rituals and contemplations. Then logical explanations about Brahma jñāna. And lastly, pure Brahma jñāna.

No, sir. First the goal is explained. Then it is made to be understood with various logics, etc. Supported by logic, the teachings become much more acceptable. But to transform them into practical Vedanta, we have to start from where we are standing or even sitting or even lying down and move forward.

So this is the very logical way of dividing.

== Etymology of "Upanishad" ==
Now we will talk about what is the meaning of the Upanishad. In many of the Upanishads we have explained, but it is very necessary to go through it. First, because of our memory. Second, because repetition only drives deep the meaning into our subconscious and unconscious minds. That is what we need to understand.

This word Upanishad, according to Shankaracharya, is divided into three small words: Upa, Ni, Sad. And Upa and Ni are prefixes. The real word is Sad.

=== Meaning of "Sad" ===
Sad means, according to Shankara himself, that which destroys. What does it destroy? Sad means knowledge. What does knowledge destroy? Knowledge always destroys, only ignorance, nothing else.

Ignorance in Vedanta is called avidya. So Brahmavidya is that which destroys ignorance. If one attains Brahmavidya, then Brahman-ignorance, ignorance of Brahman is destroyed. They are simultaneous process. As soon as we bring light, darkness disappears, things are revealed, stand revealed.

==== Avidya as the Cause of Bondage ====
So according to this scripture, our Vedas, the cause of our bondage, called worldly existence, samsara, is ignorance of Brahman. If Brahmavidya, that is true knowledge, about whom? About our own nature, who am I?

'''कोऽहं कस्त्वं कुत आयातः तत्त्वं चिन्तय तदीयं भ्रातः ।'''

ko'haṁ kastvaṁ kuta āyātaḥ tattvaṁ cintaya tadīyaṁ bhrātaḥ ।

''(Simplified phonetic reading: ko-ham kas-tvam kuta aayaatah; tattvam chintaya tadeeyam bhraatah.)''

So Brahmavidya destroys the very cause of worldly existence, which is called avidya. And when the cause ceases to exist, the effect of the cause also will be destroyed. As soon as you come to know that this is a rope, not a snake, the fear, the palpitation, will be automatically destroyed.

Not only so, destruction of the false knowledge, but the result of the effect of the false knowledge will also be destroyed. Brahma-avidya-nāśa, its effect, samsara-nāśa, that's what happens.

==== The Problem of Samsara ====
Why should we destroy samsara? If anybody is doubting, worldly existence, samsara means problems arising from gaining, loss, everything. Many times, gaining also causes great sorrow. How does it cause? If somebody is promoted, a hundred or thousand eyes will be glaring at him, scorching him. "What right have you got to get what you got? Each one of us should have got that."

Whoever rises to that position will get the same looks. How many people are waiting to kill the presidents, prime ministers, in every country? Worldly existence means problems. Problems means sorrow. Sorrow is opposite our nature.

How do we know? Because we never lift even a small finger to what is called destroy happiness. But the moment even the slightest sorrow comes, immediately, automatically, we want to get rid of it.

==== The Three Sources of Sorrow ====
And according to Vedanta, all sorrows come from three factors. What is that? This external world represented by gross body, internal world, our mental reactions caused by what is called the mental world. And the root cause of both is karana, cause, causal world.

So, gross body, subtle body, causal body. Any sorrow comes only from these three.

So there is another way, explanation also is there. So that which causes sorrow from our body and external world is called adhyātma. But that which comes from God is what is called from the external world, earthquakes, or lack of rain, or occupation by other people, people who cheat, or punish to people's savings, etc. And that also because of one's own prarabdha actually.

So, there is a third: God or Brahman, also is not only creator, but he is also a supporter, sustainer. And if we do not recognize, if we are not grateful what we are receiving for, then great destruction will come. They will send what is called too much rain, too less of rain, unseasonal rain, earthquakes, or wars, pestilences, or germ warfare.

All these things come. Unfortunately, we blame them on other people, not knowing we are the other people. Our government is nothing but our representation. Collective representation is called our government.

==== Liberation from Samsara ====
So, world existence means problems arising from tapa, sorrow, tapatraya. Liberation from world existence is moksha. Cessation from sorrow. Brahmavid, you know the supreme. So, along with Brahman, he enjoys everything.

Brahmavidya gives two fruits. It destroys ignorance and it grants liberation. There is no separate thing called liberation. To know that I was, I am, I will be ever free, that is, to know that is called liberation.

=== Second Meaning of "Sad" ===
That is one meaning of the word sad. There is another word. It means that which leads us to the right goal. So, what does lead us? Sad means knowledge of self, Brahman. Brahmavidya, where does it lead us?

So, Brahmavidya leads to Brahman. It means what? Leading means what? It means it makes us completely become one with Brahman. Or to know there are no Brahman and me, only one thing and that is Brahman. I am that Brahman. That is why it is said Brahmavid āpnoti param.

So, one meaning of sad is destruction of ignorance. Second meaning is that which leads us to Brahman. And what is the good of it? The nature of Brahman is what? Sat, Cit, Ānanda. Ānanda means bliss.

So, sad means that which leads each one of us to Brahman which means to bliss, which means to counter death, which means complete knowledge, all consciousness, I am Brahman. Thus, attainment of Brahman means I am ānanda svarūpa.

So, we have seen both.

=== Meaning of "Ni" ===
Then, we have to see what is the meaning of Ni. Ni is a prefix and niśaśena nāśayati. We have to presume that meaning. That means there would be not even a little bit remnant of avidya completely. That which eradicates, destroys, so uproots the samsara vṛkṣa.

That is called—that what does it mean? What does it do? Who does it? Sad. So, Ni means there would be a little bit of samsara, a little bit of Brahman. No. Completely.

==== The Problem of Mental Conflict ====
So, what is the problem? Sad. Whatever knowledge we have, that is our problem. Knowledge is received by the mind, developed by the mind. But then, mind means there is also intellect.

So, our mind, our understanding, buddhi and manas are ever at conflict. I know aham brahmāsmi. But, my mind says, "You idiot, you liked this sweet very much. Now, get to work and enjoy that sweet."

This ever opposing force, that is why it is called dvandva, is haunting us ever since creation. So, therefore, mere knowledge will not do. Our identity with the body, our identity with our possessions, our identity with the family and our hatred of other people, both of them lead to bondage only.

That's why it is said, pāpam is also gives us sorrow. Puṇyam also gives us more sorrow. How come? Because if pāpam is like a person who falls a little bit down, from a short height. Puṇyam, you go to the Svarga Loka, the pāpa, you fall down, which is extraordinarily painful.

That's why we must rise beyond both virtue and vice. But in the beginning, get rid of the vice. Later on, we have to get rid of virtue also. We must go beyond that. So, we must go beyond dharma, beyond artha, beyond kāma, then only moksha is possible.

==== Obstacles to Knowledge ====
So, in spite of knowledge, we have got passions, hatreds, aversions, desires, kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, mātsarya. These are called obstacles to right knowledge.

So, these feelings have not only come from the past birth, but in this birth also, unfortunately, we reinforce them instead of cutting them down. So, all these things are sure to affect the mind, but Vedanta knowledge also arises in the intellect. Doubts also arise in the intellect until definitive knowledge arises.

If the mind is not kept under control, śama, dama, ādi, ṣaṭ, sampatti, this knowledge does not really work. That is why, even when we understand intellectually Vedanta, we are unable to keep serene and quite equanimous in the face of ups and downs of life. And this is the problem of all humanity.

Only just a selected few manushya, nāma, sahasreṣu try to jump out of the net, as Ramakrishna gives the analogy of the fish, and only a few succeed in it.

==== The Path Through Dharma Shastra ====
That is why, we have to start our life in having faith not in Vedanta Shastra, but in Dharma Shastra. What does Dharma Shastra do? Like a spiritual doctor, like a physical doctor, this is a spiritual doctor, it says, if you want physical health, mental health, every type of health, then you will have to stop doing these things and start doing these things.

They are called niṣedhāda, do not even think of doing them, or if, because we have already done, then slowly try to reduce them by replacing them with what should be done. That is called vidhi.

So, only when one leads a dharmic life, these obstacles of vidhi or misconception will become absent, it takes time gradually. So, that knowledge which arises in an intellect free from all doubts and in a mind free from the obstacles of misconception or jñāna, that is called in Vedanta, Sanskrit knowledge of the absence of all the obstacles.

==== The Process of Learning ====
So, to remove misconceptions, how do we do that? So, as I said, first we have to go to a guru and then what does the guru do? He first prescribes rituals and then contemplations. First rituals, then contemplations and then when the guru finds a fit person, he starts giving us what is called upadeśa, teaching and that teaching is called śravaṇam.

Śravaṇam is not merely listening to a lecture like this. For that, we have to be ready and then whatever is received must be made firm through the process of churning the mind until the last vestige of doubt is totally removed and when that happens, then we have to fight with the old samskaras, bring in new samskaras and that is called nididhyāsana means remove the unspiritual samskaras, replacing them with spiritual samskaras until we reach the doorway to Brahman.

So, Ni means definitive knowledge.

=== Meaning of "Upa" ===
Upa, what is Upa means method of attaining self-knowledge and there is only one path. Upa means near.

==== First Meaning: Approaching the Self ====
First meaning of Upa is we have to approach the self who is within every object in this world, living or non-living.

In the non-living, it is in the form of existence. In the living, it is in the form of not only existence sat but cit and ānanda but even this cit and ānanda are very very minimal, miniscule at the beginning as the soul evolves further, it evolves its brain. Brain means the ability to understand an appropriate body and mind and it culminates in human body and even then the human body has to go through three steps of rajoguna.

==== The Three Gunas and Human Evolution ====
First it would be enveloped with tamoguna. Tamas means darkness. Then slowly like a train approaching the ground, traveling in the tunnel, a faint glimpse of light comes and that is where rajoguna comes out.

Then after the rajoguna as the progress is made, the light becomes more and more and when we come out it becomes perfectly clear which is called sattvaguna. That is how Hinduism divides people into śūdra, vaiśya, kṣatriya and brāhmaṇa but even in a Brahmin's life and that includes other varnas also.

==== The Four Ashramas ====
So life is divided into four as you all know very well, should know very well: learning process, experimenting and experiencing process and being disappointed with the results attained thus slowly turning our face away from the external into the internal which is called vanaprasthāśrama and finally trying to abide with the self in the self called sannyāsāśrama.

So that is the only process and we see this in several of the Upanishads since we have discussed what we call Chandogya Upanishad in the 7th chapter that great learned person who knows everything but whose mind was not under control. He approaches Sanatkumara without guru that is called approaching guru. Approaching guru in Sanskrit is called upasadanam.

==== Guru Upasadanam ====
Guru upasadanam—you stay with the guru and then serve him: tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā. So gradually one learns to surrender to the guru. Guru means right knowledge so that right knowledge as much as we surrender right knowledge penetrates into the depths of our darkest unconscious lights up destroys old samskaras slowly reveals the self that is abiding there not reluctantly but with the greatest eagerness.

==== The Three Meanings of "Upa" ====
That is the three meanings of the Upa finally the Near. Upa means Near and the nearest thing to us is our own true self or God and approaching him just as a dry straw as soon as it approaches blazing fire it becomes completely burnt out becomes fire itself or like the clarified butter ghee poured into blazing fire it only feeds the fire so one becomes completely one with one's own true nature not becoming somebody else Brahman is our own true nature.

These are the three meanings of Upa:

# A deep desire to approach God
# Follow the teachings of a guru by surrendering and guru tells him first you do this second you do that any number of steps that are needed and that is what is called rituals then contemplations finally śravaṇa, manana, nididhyāsana
# So Upa means Brahma vidya

This is the primary meaning of the word Upanishad.

== Pramanas: Valid Means of Knowledge ==
So now we have discussed but just a brief recollection just to recollect what are these in Indian philosophy particularly within the school of Advaita Vedanta. Pramanas are the valid means through which we acquire accurate valid knowledge of the world and the self.

Note down we are not only talking about self or God we are talking about the world what is the condition of our present knowledge. God may or may not exist but the world definitely is existing and therefore it is real therefore we should act and react according to this concept.

What does Vedanta teach? Brahma satyam jagan mithya. It goes completely opposite to what we know.

A sincere student has to and will question the teacher, "Sir, my experience shows this world is real your Vedanta teaches this world is unreal God alone is real my knowledge is just the contrary complete 100% opposite how come?"

=== Two Categories of Pramanas ===
Anyway for that purpose knowledge or the means of knowledge called pramanas are divided into two categories.

The first category of pramanas should give us valid knowledge about this world and we employ five means and the first means that we employ is called direct experience called pratyakṣa pramāṇa and based upon this pratyakṣa pramāṇa another four subsidiary pratyakṣa pramāṇas are added so you can say one pramāṇa or you can say one plus four five pramāṇas.

The second category of pramāṇa is called śabda pramāṇa because there is the knowledge of things of which we have absolutely no knowledge because they are not pratyakṣa they are not directly experienceable.

For example that there is life after death there are other worlds and there are higher worlds and lower worlds and there is also a God and we are all experiencing the results of our own past lives these are not available for any scientific knowledge.

So science employs and we also consciously and most of the time unconsciously experience five types of this means of acquiring knowledge and most of the time we don't employ them properly and that's why our knowledge will be not only defective knowledge but positively harmful knowledge.

=== The Five Pramanas (First Category) ===
But to go briefly so first category is and only category really speaking is called:

==== 1. Pratyaksha (Direct Perception) ====
Pratyakṣa—perceptual knowledge. This is a knowledge gained directly through the five sense organs. So sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch and combined with the mind. Mind is the internal perception of emotions like joy or pain happiness unhappiness.

So as a simple example you see a blue book on a table your eyes our eyes perceive the color and shape directly giving us the valid knowledge that here is a blue book and that also separates by the adjectives what is the adjective it is a book therefore it is not a table it is not a tree and it is blue so it excludes all other colors that is called pratyakṣa pramāṇa.

And as a derivative of this pratyakṣa pramāṇa there are another four pramāṇas briefly we will discuss in today's class and go to the śabda pramāṇa in our next class.

==== 2. Anumana (Inference) ====
The second is called anumāna—inference. So what is the inference? This knowledge reached by using a reason to arrive at a conclusion based on a previously known universal relationship also called vyāpti.

For example this is a famous example there is a hill in front of you and one day you see smoke arising from behind the hill and you don't know what causes the smoke but you have observed in day to day life when you lit a fire and then smoke arises so smoke will not come unless there is a fire therefore even though we do not see the fire we infer that some fire is going on and the result will be the smoke.

Smoke is definitely caused by fire therefore we infer but for this universally we observe wherever there is fire there is smoke that is very necessary that is called vyāpti.

Apply this to all these inferences therefore when you see one part of our experience not the other part by seeing one part of the fact we infer the other fact and that is called anumāna pramāṇa.

For that very important to understand so we must have experience of both things together invariably suppose you see fire no smoke so this inference becomes invalid no every time we see a fire there is a wisp of smoke even from the driest firewood and that is called vyāpti means universally applicable observable so we see only part of it which is called smoke and therefore wherever there is fire there would be smoke so if you see the smoke only we infer there is fire that is.

==== 3. Upamana (Comparison/Analogy) ====
The third is called upamāna—comparison or analogy. What is this? This is knowledge gained by identifying any unknown object based on its similarity to a known object.

For example you know a person he is such and such but his brother is somewhere in America you have never seen and one day suddenly you encounter this person he looks almost like the person you know and you observe carefully and say "Oh I heard sometime back my friend telling me that his brother is coming back from America" that knowledge will come but even without knowledge this person looks like a person I have already known very well and therefore this person must be related somehow to that person whether it is cousin, brother etc.

The famous example given in Vedanta is we all know what is a cow but suddenly in the forest we see another animal almost resembling like a cow called gavaya then we understand somebody told us there is a animal you might see in the forest it is called wild ox and it resembles our cow in great way great extent and as soon as you behold that immediately you find out so this must be that animal which was described to me.

So seeing resemblance and inferring this must be that particular animal that is called upamāna pramāṇa.

==== 4. Arthapatti (Postulation/Presumption) ====
Then fourth is called arthāpatti. Arthāpatti means artha means meaning that is reasonable inference. Seeing a person famous example is you know or many people know a person and nobody seen has seen him eating during day time but he is growing fatter and fatter everyday.

What is the inference? Nobody can grow without eating and nobody can grow fat without eating oily substance fatty substance so this person must be gobbling up oily foods plenty of it more than he can digest at night where nobody can see him.

So by seeing an effect and you don't see any what is called contrary contradictory reason so you guess this person must be doing this thing secretly at night so to resolve this contradiction not seeing him eating and still growing we postulate that he must be eating at night not only eating plenty not only plenty most unhealthy subjects that is called arthāpatti.

==== 5. Anupalabdhi (Non-Perception) ====
And fifth I already mentioned anupalabdhi. You kept a book always you keep a book in a particular place one day it is missing and at night eleven o'clock after closing all your doors you kept there next morning it is not there so that absence of that object leads us to infer that book must have been taken by somebody to another room if it is not in this room it must be in the other room.

And all the time we use this arthāpatti where is the officer "oh we saw him just entering into the office" so you rush to the office but he is not there in his chair that is you don't see him can you guess he must have gone to some other room to inspect or to ask or to have a cup of coffee or toilet whatever it is this is called anupalabdhi or non perception of an object.

=== Proper Application of Pramanas ===
And all of us use them wonderfully well all these five pramanas are useful applicable and they must be applied meticulously if we want right knowledge but they only apply to sensory knowledge.

But with regard to supersensory knowledge we require another type of pramana which is called Veda pramāṇa, śabda pramāṇa. So we will discuss about it in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Introduction Lecture 03 on 31 January 2026

2026-05-24T13:37:05Z

Shekhar: /* Comparative Understanding of the Three Kandas */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् । पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते । पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥ ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥'''

'''Oṁ pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṁ pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate, pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate. Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ.'''

''(Simplified phonetic reading: Om poornam-adah poornam-idam, poornaat poornam-udachyate; poornasya poornam-aadaaya poornam-eva-avashishyate. Om shaantih shaantih shaantih.)''

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

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

== Introduction to Brihadaranyaka Upanishad ==
Of all the Upanishads, this Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is not only the biggest, it is the most important. And that's why Shankaracharya had written an elaborate commentary upon it. Earlier, I have given some introduction.

=== The Author and Origin ===
Who was this author, the writer or the manifester of this Brihadaranyaka Upanishad? The real author is only God, Brahman. But Brahman had revealed this Upanishad to Yajnavalkya through the deity called Surya Deva, the Sun God. And that is why it came to be known as Shukla Yajurveda.

The entire Shukla Yajurveda was a kind, graceful revelation of this highest spiritual truth to Yajnavalkya because he prepared himself to receive it.

=== The Nature of Prayer and Grace ===
Many times we do not understand what is the meaning of prayer. And even more important, why prayers are not answered.

It is just like an analogy: Two persons go to the ocean. One person goes with a small glass. Another person goes with a huge tanker. And then both of them receive water. But the person with a glass complains, "Why are you bestowing so much upon the other person? Whereas you have given me only a small glass full."

Of course, the ocean will not reply. But common sense will tell us that it is not that the ocean refuses to give you. But you are not ready to receive it. Or whatever capacity of reception you have, that much you got full.

This is what Sri Ramakrishna used to call, "The breeze of God's grace is always blowing. But you have to unfurl your sails." That means you should be ready to receive the grace, which has not started at a particular point of time, but forever it is blowing. Here grace means knowledge.

=== Sadhana and Mental Purification ===
And if we do sadhana, gradually increase our capacity of our mind, then we will be able to receive as much as our mind is ready to receive.

Imagine there is a room full of objects. And you want to buy something huge and put it there. You cannot because there is no space. So you will have to throw out, remove many objects, sufficient at least to keep that newly bought object.

In the same way, our mind is full of thoughts about the world—mithya jagat, avidya world. Sadhana is not meant to receive the grace of God. I repeat, sadhana is not meant to receive the grace of God. Sadhana is meant to make our minds pure. Purity means emptying the mind of all thoughts.

And just like space, as soon as a place is vacant, immediately it becomes available. That is, the space becomes available. You can keep whatever you want there. God's grace, you don't need to invite. You don't need to pray.

=== Yajnavalkya's Realization ===
So Yajnavalkya completely removed all thoughts. That is called purification of the mind. That is called destroying all attachments instantaneously. As soon as a place is vacant, space enters there. Rather, it is already there. Now it becomes more manifest.

This is the clear concept of what is called receiving the grace of God. And Yajnavalkya received it to the full. That means he removed 100% of his mind. Then what remained was Brahman. And that's why he was called Brahmavid (ब्रह्मविद्).

And Brahmavid (ब्रह्मविद्), as we saw in the Taittiriya Upanishad, āpnoti param (आप्नोति परम्) — he attains everything. He becomes Satyam Jñānam Anantam Brahma (सत्यं ज्ञानम् अनन्तं ब्रह्म).

=== The Setting for Study ===
So in the introduction, we have seen this is the biggest of the Upanishads. And it is usually taught to renunciates in the forest. Forest means a place where one can pursue the spiritual studies, spiritual sadhanas.

Spiritual study and spiritual sadhana are not two separate things. Just like a scientist: Scientific knowledge is not a dry knowledge. It is first thought about, then experimented upon. It becomes a provable knowledge. Proven knowledge becomes forever provable knowledge. Take the same steps, one should get the same result. Brahma jñānam is no exception to it. That is the real meaning.

=== Benefits of Forest Environment ===
So where there is no distraction, the mind also, because of the absence of distractions, can also remain equanimous, more calm. We have not developed so much that we can afford to be in this, what is called huge storm on the ocean, and remain in that ocean called Samsara Sagara, and expect to be calm and quiet.

So we have to help ourselves by going into solitude, which Ramakrishna used to call nirjanasthāna. Do not depend upon anything. Everything is perishable, non-dependable. Only God is dependable. That is called solitude.

And it is for the solitude, and there is also another thing: A forest is the most natural expression of nature. And to be in contact with nature itself is extraordinarily calming.

=== The Importance of Pure Food ===
So when a person starts to live and enjoy the bounty of the forest—fruits, roots, etc.—without contamination by artificial fertilizers, etc., the mind of a person becomes very, very pure.

Whereas we are all living cultivated with fertilizers and pesticides, etc. How much harm is being done? Now scientists are astonished how much plastic is going into the fishes, into the animals, into our own bodies. God alone knows.

And when the food is impure, when āhāra is not sāttvic āhāra, śuddha āhāra, then our remembrance of who we are also will be affected by it. That is why the Vishishtadvaitins, advaitins and the bhaktas, is so much of importance for food.

==== An Incident About Food Purity ====
I have narrated an incident: Once Holy Mother bestowed her grace upon one of her disciples and asked him not to eat food in anybody's house excepting at the Jayrambati, Holy Mother's prasada, or the next best choice, the cooking of one's own mother.

The devotee disobeyed it, thinking that after all I am taking food from a devotee's house. Instantaneously his mind came down, fallen, and he received a shock. Then Mother must have told him, "Why did you disobey me? You should have come back here." Such is the effect of food.

Sri Ramakrishna could not touch the food, let alone cooked, even touched by impure people.

=== The True Meaning of Forest ===
So forest affords us natural food, healthy food, and also healthy environment. And there distractions are very, very less. If distractions are not less, that's not a forest, even if it is a forest. We have to understand the inner meaning.

Forest means where a person's mind can remain naturally, without effort, calm and quiet, equanimous. That is a real forest. A house also can be like that.

There is a beautiful Sanskrit verse: So one's own home, svagṛham, itself can become the greatest ashrama, provided the environment is kept like that. Sri Rama's home became such a heaven of peace.

=== Students of the Upanishad ===
Anyway, we already introduced Brihadaranyaka, and people used to study. Two types of people used to study there. One is the vanaprasthis, householders, and then another is monks who renounced.

After living for some time as a vanaprastha ashrama, then when he becomes ready, some of them don't—they occur robe, but not necessary. Sannyasa, vanaprastha ashrama, are not physical external stages. They are development of the purity of the mind. That's what we might discuss in the future.

== Three Main Divisions (Kandas) ==
This Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is mainly divided into three parts: Madhu Kanda, Muni Kanda (also known as Yajnavalkya Kanda), and Khila Kanda. Kanda means a chapter (or section).

=== 1. Madhu Kanda (The Honey Chapter) ===
Madhu Kanda means the chapter called honey. Honey means everything is interconnected. Why is everything interconnected? Because the source, the ultimate cause is Brahman, and everything comes out Brahman. Like many children of the same parents are interconnected, blood related. That is how it is called Madhu Kanda.

If we do not realize it, that I am separate, you are separate, I can do whatever I like with you, so also you can do, and that brings disastrous results. So it is called Madhu Kanda.

=== 2. Muni Kanda (Yajnavalkya Kanda) ===
Then the second part is called Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda, because there are marvelous discussions about the highest knowledge and also about many of the important contemplations called upasanas.

Yajnavalkya explains everything to his challengers and he also becomes the guru of Janaka Maharaja and he also becomes the teacher of his own, one of his own wives called Maitreyi, and most marvelous teachings are there.

=== 3. Khila Kanda (Miscellaneous Chapter) ===
The last Kanda is Khila Kanda. This is what we call appendix or appendicitis or whatever, where various distorted things, disconnected things, kept together, some of them are marvelous things.

So these are the three important divisions of his Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. And again each Adhyaya or Kanda is subdivided into two, so three into two, total there are six chapters.

And then some of them are repetitions, especially the conversation between Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi repeated in another section. And there is also remembrance of lineage, spiritual lineage, guru parampara system, that also is there.

=== Comparative Understanding of the Three Kandas ===
In Madhu Kanda, the primary teaching is upadesha of Brahma jñāna. Therefore it is called also Upadesha Kanda. And second, this is compared to śravaṇa because that is our goal.

Second is Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda. In this second chapter, the teachings given are supported by logic. Logic or upapatti is used. That is why it is called logical explanations of these real teachings are given in the first chapter.

And the person who explains such with superb intelligence and clarity is none other than Yajnavalkya himself. So if the first Kanda can be compared to śravaṇa, the second Kanda, Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda, Upapatti Kanda can be compared to manana. That is deeply churning, thinking.

Manana means churn the mind, keeping all the acquired knowledge and all the dirt, dust and unnecessary things are removed. Pure, what is called, butter is distilled from there. And Sri Ramakrishna often uses this: There is no harm after being churned. If butter is kept in what you call buttermilk or water, it never mixes. But without that, the milk can get spoiled.

So this is the second chapter and the main guru is Yajnavalkya, Khila Kanda. That is what is called a miscellaneous chapter. In this part, various kinds of upasanas, that is contemplations, various types of rituals are found.

=== The Logic of This Division ===
Why are they found? It doesn't seem logical. First there should be what is called rituals and contemplations. Then logical explanations about Brahma jñāna. And lastly, pure Brahma jñāna.

No, sir. First the goal is explained. Then it is made to be understood with various logics, etc. Supported by logic, the teachings become much more acceptable. But to transform them into practical Vedanta, we have to start from where we are standing or even sitting or even lying down and move forward.

So this is the very logical way of dividing.

== Etymology of "Upanishad" ==
Now we will talk about what is the meaning of the Upanishad. In many of the Upanishads we have explained, but it is very necessary to go through it. First, because of our memory. Second, because repetition only drives deep the meaning into our subconscious and unconscious minds. That is what we need to understand.

This word Upanishad, according to Shankaracharya, is divided into three small words: Upa, Ni, Sad. And Upa and Ni are prefixes. The real word is Sad.

=== Meaning of "Sad" ===
Sad means, according to Shankara himself, that which destroys. What does it destroy? Sad means knowledge. What does knowledge destroy? Knowledge always destroys, only ignorance, nothing else.

Ignorance in Vedanta is called avidya. So Brahmavidya is that which destroys ignorance. If one attains Brahmavidya, then Brahman-ignorance, ignorance of Brahman is destroyed. They are simultaneous process. As soon as we bring light, darkness disappears, things are revealed, stand revealed.

==== Avidya as the Cause of Bondage ====
So according to this scripture, our Vedas, the cause of our bondage, called worldly existence, samsara, is ignorance of Brahman. If Brahmavidya, that is true knowledge, about whom? About our own nature, who am I?

So Brahmavidya destroys the very cause of worldly existence, which is called avidya. And when the cause ceases to exist, the effect of the cause also will be destroyed. As soon as you come to know that this is a rope, not a snake, the fear, the palpitation, will be automatically destroyed.

Not only so, destruction of the false knowledge, but the result of the effect of the false knowledge will also be destroyed. Brahma-avidya-nāśa, its effect, samsara-nāśa, that's what happens.

==== The Problem of Samsara ====
Why should we destroy samsara? If anybody is doubting, worldly existence, samsara means problems arising from gaining, loss, everything. Many times, gaining also causes great sorrow. How does it cause? If somebody is promoted, a hundred or thousand eyes will be glaring at him, scorching him. "What right have you got to get what you got? Each one of us should have got that."

Whoever rises to that position will get the same looks. How many people are waiting to kill the presidents, prime ministers, in every country? Worldly existence means problems. Problems means sorrow. Sorrow is opposite our nature.

How do we know? Because we never lift even a small finger to what is called destroy happiness. But the moment even the slightest sorrow comes, immediately, automatically, we want to get rid of it.

==== The Three Sources of Sorrow ====
And according to Vedanta, all sorrows come from three factors. What is that? This external world represented by gross body, internal world, our mental reactions caused by what is called the mental world. And the root cause of both is karana, cause, causal world.

So, gross body, subtle body, causal body. Any sorrow comes only from these three.

So there is another way, explanation also is there. So that which causes sorrow from our body and external world is called adhyātma. But that which comes from God is what is called from the external world, earthquakes, or lack of rain, or occupation by other people, people who cheat, or punish to people's savings, etc. And that also because of one's own prarabdha actually.

So, there is a third: God or Brahman, also is not only creator, but he is also a supporter, sustainer. And if we do not recognize, if we are not grateful what we are receiving for, then great destruction will come. They will send what is called too much rain, too less of rain, unseasonal rain, earthquakes, or wars, pestilences, or germ warfare.

All these things come. Unfortunately, we blame them on other people, not knowing we are the other people. Our government is nothing but our representation. Collective representation is called our government.

==== Liberation from Samsara ====
So, world existence means problems arising from tapa, sorrow, tapatraya. Liberation from world existence is moksha. Cessation from sorrow. Brahmavid, you know the supreme. So, along with Brahman, he enjoys everything.

Brahmavidya gives two fruits. It destroys ignorance and it grants liberation. There is no separate thing called liberation. To know that I was, I am, I will be ever free, that is, to know that is called liberation.

=== Second Meaning of "Sad" ===
That is one meaning of the word sad. There is another word. It means that which leads us to the right goal. So, what does lead us? Sad means knowledge of self, Brahman. Brahmavidya, where does it lead us?

So, Brahmavidya leads to Brahman. It means what? Leading means what? It means it makes us completely become one with Brahman. Or to know there are no Brahman and me, only one thing and that is Brahman. I am that Brahman. That is why it is said Brahmavid āpnoti param.

So, one meaning of sad is destruction of ignorance. Second meaning is that which leads us to Brahman. And what is the good of it? The nature of Brahman is what? Sat, Cit, Ānanda. Ānanda means bliss.

So, sad means that which leads each one of us to Brahman which means to bliss, which means to counter death, which means complete knowledge, all consciousness, I am Brahman. Thus, attainment of Brahman means I am ānanda svarūpa.

So, we have seen both.

=== Meaning of "Ni" ===
Then, we have to see what is the meaning of Ni. Ni is a prefix and niśaśena nāśayati. We have to presume that meaning. That means there would be not even a little bit remnant of avidya completely. That which eradicates, destroys, so uproots the samsara vṛkṣa.

That is called—that what does it mean? What does it do? Who does it? Sad. So, Ni means there would be a little bit of samsara, a little bit of Brahman. No. Completely.

==== The Problem of Mental Conflict ====
So, what is the problem? Sad. Whatever knowledge we have, that is our problem. Knowledge is received by the mind, developed by the mind. But then, mind means there is also intellect.

So, our mind, our understanding, buddhi and manas are ever at conflict. I know aham brahmāsmi. But, my mind says, "You idiot, you liked this sweet very much. Now, get to work and enjoy that sweet."

This ever opposing force, that is why it is called dvandva, is haunting us ever since creation. So, therefore, mere knowledge will not do. Our identity with the body, our identity with our possessions, our identity with the family and our hatred of other people, both of them lead to bondage only.

That's why it is said, pāpam is also gives us sorrow. Puṇyam also gives us more sorrow. How come? Because if pāpam is like a person who falls a little bit down, from a short height. Puṇyam, you go to the Svarga Loka, the pāpa, you fall down, which is extraordinarily painful.

That's why we must rise beyond both virtue and vice. But in the beginning, get rid of the vice. Later on, we have to get rid of virtue also. We must go beyond that. So, we must go beyond dharma, beyond artha, beyond kāma, then only moksha is possible.

==== Obstacles to Knowledge ====
So, in spite of knowledge, we have got passions, hatreds, aversions, desires, kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, mātsarya. These are called obstacles to right knowledge.

So, these feelings have not only come from the past birth, but in this birth also, unfortunately, we reinforce them instead of cutting them down. So, all these things are sure to affect the mind, but Vedanta knowledge also arises in the intellect. Doubts also arise in the intellect until definitive knowledge arises.

If the mind is not kept under control, śama, dama, ādi, ṣaṭ, sampatti, this knowledge does not really work. That is why, even when we understand intellectually Vedanta, we are unable to keep serene and quite equanimous in the face of ups and downs of life. And this is the problem of all humanity.

Only just a selected few manushya, nāma, sahasreṣu try to jump out of the net, as Ramakrishna gives the analogy of the fish, and only a few succeed in it.

==== The Path Through Dharma Shastra ====
That is why, we have to start our life in having faith not in Vedanta Shastra, but in Dharma Shastra. What does Dharma Shastra do? Like a spiritual doctor, like a physical doctor, this is a spiritual doctor, it says, if you want physical health, mental health, every type of health, then you will have to stop doing these things and start doing these things.

They are called niṣedhāda, do not even think of doing them, or if, because we have already done, then slowly try to reduce them by replacing them with what should be done. That is called vidhi.

So, only when one leads a dharmic life, these obstacles of vidhi or misconception will become absent, it takes time gradually. So, that knowledge which arises in an intellect free from all doubts and in a mind free from the obstacles of misconception or jñāna, that is called in Vedanta, Sanskrit knowledge of the absence of all the obstacles.

==== The Process of Learning ====
So, to remove misconceptions, how do we do that? So, as I said, first we have to go to a guru and then what does the guru do? He first prescribes rituals and then contemplations. First rituals, then contemplations and then when the guru finds a fit person, he starts giving us what is called upadeśa, teaching and that teaching is called śravaṇam.

Śravaṇam is not merely listening to a lecture like this. For that, we have to be ready and then whatever is received must be made firm through the process of churning the mind until the last vestige of doubt is totally removed and when that happens, then we have to fight with the old samskaras, bring in new samskaras and that is called nididhyāsana means remove the unspiritual samskaras, replacing them with spiritual samskaras until we reach the doorway to Brahman.

So, Ni means definitive knowledge.

=== Meaning of "Upa" ===
Upa, what is Upa means method of attaining self-knowledge and there is only one path. Upa means near.

==== First Meaning: Approaching the Self ====
First meaning of Upa is we have to approach the self who is within every object in this world, living or non-living.

In the non-living, it is in the form of existence. In the living, it is in the form of not only existence sat but cit and ānanda but even this cit and ānanda are very very minimal, miniscule at the beginning as the soul evolves further, it evolves its brain. Brain means the ability to understand an appropriate body and mind and it culminates in human body and even then the human body has to go through three steps of rajoguna.

==== The Three Gunas and Human Evolution ====
First it would be enveloped with tamoguna. Tamas means darkness. Then slowly like a train approaching the ground, traveling in the tunnel, a faint glimpse of light comes and that is where rajoguna comes out.

Then after the rajoguna as the progress is made, the light becomes more and more and when we come out it becomes perfectly clear which is called sattvaguna. That is how Hinduism divides people into śūdra, vaiśya, kṣatriya and brāhmaṇa but even in a Brahmin's life and that includes other varnas also.

==== The Four Ashramas ====
So life is divided into four as you all know very well, should know very well: learning process, experimenting and experiencing process and being disappointed with the results attained thus slowly turning our face away from the external into the internal which is called vanaprasthāśrama and finally trying to abide with the self in the self called sannyāsāśrama.

So that is the only process and we see this in several of the Upanishads since we have discussed what we call Chandogya Upanishad in the 7th chapter that great learned person who knows everything but whose mind was not under control. He approaches Sanatkumara without guru that is called approaching guru. Approaching guru in Sanskrit is called upasadanam.

==== Guru Upasadanam ====
Guru upasadanam—you stay with the guru and then serve him: tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā. So gradually one learns to surrender to the guru. Guru means right knowledge so that right knowledge as much as we surrender right knowledge penetrates into the depths of our darkest unconscious lights up destroys old samskaras slowly reveals the self that is abiding there not reluctantly but with the greatest eagerness.

==== The Three Meanings of "Upa" ====
That is the three meanings of the Upa finally the Near. Upa means Near and the nearest thing to us is our own true self or God and approaching him just as a dry straw as soon as it approaches blazing fire it becomes completely burnt out becomes fire itself or like the clarified butter ghee poured into blazing fire it only feeds the fire so one becomes completely one with one's own true nature not becoming somebody else Brahman is our own true nature.

These are the three meanings of Upa:

# A deep desire to approach God
# Follow the teachings of a guru by surrendering and guru tells him first you do this second you do that any number of steps that are needed and that is what is called rituals then contemplations finally śravaṇa, manana, nididhyāsana
# So Upa means Brahma vidya

This is the primary meaning of the word Upanishad.

== Pramanas: Valid Means of Knowledge ==
So now we have discussed but just a brief recollection just to recollect what are these in Indian philosophy particularly within the school of Advaita Vedanta. Pramanas are the valid means through which we acquire accurate valid knowledge of the world and the self.

Note down we are not only talking about self or God we are talking about the world what is the condition of our present knowledge. God may or may not exist but the world definitely is existing and therefore it is real therefore we should act and react according to this concept.

What does Vedanta teach? Brahma satyam jagan mithya. It goes completely opposite to what we know.

A sincere student has to and will question the teacher, "Sir, my experience shows this world is real your Vedanta teaches this world is unreal God alone is real my knowledge is just the contrary complete 100% opposite how come?"

=== Two Categories of Pramanas ===
Anyway for that purpose knowledge or the means of knowledge called pramanas are divided into two categories.

The first category of pramanas should give us valid knowledge about this world and we employ five means and the first means that we employ is called direct experience called pratyakṣa pramāṇa and based upon this pratyakṣa pramāṇa another four subsidiary pratyakṣa pramāṇas are added so you can say one pramāṇa or you can say one plus four five pramāṇas.

The second category of pramāṇa is called śabda pramāṇa because there is the knowledge of things of which we have absolutely no knowledge because they are not pratyakṣa they are not directly experienceable.

For example that there is life after death there are other worlds and there are higher worlds and lower worlds and there is also a God and we are all experiencing the results of our own past lives these are not available for any scientific knowledge.

So science employs and we also consciously and most of the time unconsciously experience five types of this means of acquiring knowledge and most of the time we don't employ them properly and that's why our knowledge will be not only defective knowledge but positively harmful knowledge.

=== The Five Pramanas (First Category) ===
But to go briefly so first category is and only category really speaking is called:

==== 1. Pratyaksha (Direct Perception) ====
Pratyakṣa—perceptual knowledge. This is a knowledge gained directly through the five sense organs. So sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch and combined with the mind. Mind is the internal perception of emotions like joy or pain happiness unhappiness.

So as a simple example you see a blue book on a table your eyes our eyes perceive the color and shape directly giving us the valid knowledge that here is a blue book and that also separates by the adjectives what is the adjective it is a book therefore it is not a table it is not a tree and it is blue so it excludes all other colors that is called pratyakṣa pramāṇa.

And as a derivative of this pratyakṣa pramāṇa there are another four pramāṇas briefly we will discuss in today's class and go to the śabda pramāṇa in our next class.

==== 2. Anumana (Inference) ====
The second is called anumāna—inference. So what is the inference? This knowledge reached by using a reason to arrive at a conclusion based on a previously known universal relationship also called vyāpti.

For example this is a famous example there is a hill in front of you and one day you see smoke arising from behind the hill and you don't know what causes the smoke but you have observed in day to day life when you lit a fire and then smoke arises so smoke will not come unless there is a fire therefore even though we do not see the fire we infer that some fire is going on and the result will be the smoke.

Smoke is definitely caused by fire therefore we infer but for this universally we observe wherever there is fire there is smoke that is very necessary that is called vyāpti.

Apply this to all these inferences therefore when you see one part of our experience not the other part by seeing one part of the fact we infer the other fact and that is called anumāna pramāṇa.

For that very important to understand so we must have experience of both things together invariably suppose you see fire no smoke so this inference becomes invalid no every time we see a fire there is a wisp of smoke even from the driest firewood and that is called vyāpti means universally applicable observable so we see only part of it which is called smoke and therefore wherever there is fire there would be smoke so if you see the smoke only we infer there is fire that is.

==== 3. Upamana (Comparison/Analogy) ====
The third is called upamāna—comparison or analogy. What is this? This is knowledge gained by identifying any unknown object based on its similarity to a known object.

For example you know a person he is such and such but his brother is somewhere in America you have never seen and one day suddenly you encounter this person he looks almost like the person you know and you observe carefully and say "Oh I heard sometime back my friend telling me that his brother is coming back from America" that knowledge will come but even without knowledge this person looks like a person I have already known very well and therefore this person must be related somehow to that person whether it is cousin, brother etc.

The famous example given in Vedanta is we all know what is a cow but suddenly in the forest we see another animal almost resembling like a cow called gavaya then we understand somebody told us there is a animal you might see in the forest it is called wild ox and it resembles our cow in great way great extent and as soon as you behold that immediately you find out so this must be that animal which was described to me.

So seeing resemblance and inferring this must be that particular animal that is called upamāna pramāṇa.

==== 4. Arthapatti (Postulation/Presumption) ====
Then fourth is called arthāpatti. Arthāpatti means artha means meaning that is reasonable inference. Seeing a person famous example is you know or many people know a person and nobody seen has seen him eating during day time but he is growing fatter and fatter everyday.

What is the inference? Nobody can grow without eating and nobody can grow fat without eating oily substance fatty substance so this person must be gobbling up oily foods plenty of it more than he can digest at night where nobody can see him.

So by seeing an effect and you don't see any what is called contrary contradictory reason so you guess this person must be doing this thing secretly at night so to resolve this contradiction not seeing him eating and still growing we postulate that he must be eating at night not only eating plenty not only plenty most unhealthy subjects that is called arthāpatti.

==== 5. Anupalabdhi (Non-Perception) ====
And fifth I already mentioned anupalabdhi. You kept a book always you keep a book in a particular place one day it is missing and at night eleven o'clock after closing all your doors you kept there next morning it is not there so that absence of that object leads us to infer that book must have been taken by somebody to another room if it is not in this room it must be in the other room.

And all the time we use this arthāpatti where is the officer "oh we saw him just entering into the office" so you rush to the office but he is not there in his chair that is you don't see him can you guess he must have gone to some other room to inspect or to ask or to have a cup of coffee or toilet whatever it is this is called anupalabdhi or non perception of an object.

=== Proper Application of Pramanas ===
And all of us use them wonderfully well all these five pramanas are useful applicable and they must be applied meticulously if we want right knowledge but they only apply to sensory knowledge.

But with regard to supersensory knowledge we require another type of pramana which is called Veda pramāṇa, śabda pramāṇa. So we will discuss about it in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Introduction Lecture 03 on 31 January 2026

2026-05-24T13:24:55Z

Shekhar: /* Three Main Divisions (Kandas) */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् । पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते । पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥ ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥'''

'''Oṁ pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṁ pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate, pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate. Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ.'''

''(Simplified phonetic reading: Om poornam-adah poornam-idam, poornaat poornam-udachyate; poornasya poornam-aadaaya poornam-eva-avashishyate. Om shaantih shaantih shaantih.)''

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

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

== Introduction to Brihadaranyaka Upanishad ==
Of all the Upanishads, this Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is not only the biggest, it is the most important. And that's why Shankaracharya had written an elaborate commentary upon it. Earlier, I have given some introduction.

=== The Author and Origin ===
Who was this author, the writer or the manifester of this Brihadaranyaka Upanishad? The real author is only God, Brahman. But Brahman had revealed this Upanishad to Yajnavalkya through the deity called Surya Deva, the Sun God. And that is why it came to be known as Shukla Yajurveda.

The entire Shukla Yajurveda was a kind, graceful revelation of this highest spiritual truth to Yajnavalkya because he prepared himself to receive it.

=== The Nature of Prayer and Grace ===
Many times we do not understand what is the meaning of prayer. And even more important, why prayers are not answered.

It is just like an analogy: Two persons go to the ocean. One person goes with a small glass. Another person goes with a huge tanker. And then both of them receive water. But the person with a glass complains, "Why are you bestowing so much upon the other person? Whereas you have given me only a small glass full."

Of course, the ocean will not reply. But common sense will tell us that it is not that the ocean refuses to give you. But you are not ready to receive it. Or whatever capacity of reception you have, that much you got full.

This is what Sri Ramakrishna used to call, "The breeze of God's grace is always blowing. But you have to unfurl your sails." That means you should be ready to receive the grace, which has not started at a particular point of time, but forever it is blowing. Here grace means knowledge.

=== Sadhana and Mental Purification ===
And if we do sadhana, gradually increase our capacity of our mind, then we will be able to receive as much as our mind is ready to receive.

Imagine there is a room full of objects. And you want to buy something huge and put it there. You cannot because there is no space. So you will have to throw out, remove many objects, sufficient at least to keep that newly bought object.

In the same way, our mind is full of thoughts about the world—mithya jagat, avidya world. Sadhana is not meant to receive the grace of God. I repeat, sadhana is not meant to receive the grace of God. Sadhana is meant to make our minds pure. Purity means emptying the mind of all thoughts.

And just like space, as soon as a place is vacant, immediately it becomes available. That is, the space becomes available. You can keep whatever you want there. God's grace, you don't need to invite. You don't need to pray.

=== Yajnavalkya's Realization ===
So Yajnavalkya completely removed all thoughts. That is called purification of the mind. That is called destroying all attachments instantaneously. As soon as a place is vacant, space enters there. Rather, it is already there. Now it becomes more manifest.

This is the clear concept of what is called receiving the grace of God. And Yajnavalkya received it to the full. That means he removed 100% of his mind. Then what remained was Brahman. And that's why he was called Brahmavid (ब्रह्मविद्).

And Brahmavid (ब्रह्मविद्), as we saw in the Taittiriya Upanishad, āpnoti param (आप्नोति परम्) — he attains everything. He becomes Satyam Jñānam Anantam Brahma (सत्यं ज्ञानम् अनन्तं ब्रह्म).

=== The Setting for Study ===
So in the introduction, we have seen this is the biggest of the Upanishads. And it is usually taught to renunciates in the forest. Forest means a place where one can pursue the spiritual studies, spiritual sadhanas.

Spiritual study and spiritual sadhana are not two separate things. Just like a scientist: Scientific knowledge is not a dry knowledge. It is first thought about, then experimented upon. It becomes a provable knowledge. Proven knowledge becomes forever provable knowledge. Take the same steps, one should get the same result. Brahma jñānam is no exception to it. That is the real meaning.

=== Benefits of Forest Environment ===
So where there is no distraction, the mind also, because of the absence of distractions, can also remain equanimous, more calm. We have not developed so much that we can afford to be in this, what is called huge storm on the ocean, and remain in that ocean called Samsara Sagara, and expect to be calm and quiet.

So we have to help ourselves by going into solitude, which Ramakrishna used to call nirjanasthāna. Do not depend upon anything. Everything is perishable, non-dependable. Only God is dependable. That is called solitude.

And it is for the solitude, and there is also another thing: A forest is the most natural expression of nature. And to be in contact with nature itself is extraordinarily calming.

=== The Importance of Pure Food ===
So when a person starts to live and enjoy the bounty of the forest—fruits, roots, etc.—without contamination by artificial fertilizers, etc., the mind of a person becomes very, very pure.

Whereas we are all living cultivated with fertilizers and pesticides, etc. How much harm is being done? Now scientists are astonished how much plastic is going into the fishes, into the animals, into our own bodies. God alone knows.

And when the food is impure, when āhāra is not sāttvic āhāra, śuddha āhāra, then our remembrance of who we are also will be affected by it. That is why the Vishishtadvaitins, advaitins and the bhaktas, is so much of importance for food.

==== An Incident About Food Purity ====
I have narrated an incident: Once Holy Mother bestowed her grace upon one of her disciples and asked him not to eat food in anybody's house excepting at the Jayrambati, Holy Mother's prasada, or the next best choice, the cooking of one's own mother.

The devotee disobeyed it, thinking that after all I am taking food from a devotee's house. Instantaneously his mind came down, fallen, and he received a shock. Then Mother must have told him, "Why did you disobey me? You should have come back here." Such is the effect of food.

Sri Ramakrishna could not touch the food, let alone cooked, even touched by impure people.

=== The True Meaning of Forest ===
So forest affords us natural food, healthy food, and also healthy environment. And there distractions are very, very less. If distractions are not less, that's not a forest, even if it is a forest. We have to understand the inner meaning.

Forest means where a person's mind can remain naturally, without effort, calm and quiet, equanimous. That is a real forest. A house also can be like that.

There is a beautiful Sanskrit verse: So one's own home, svagṛham, itself can become the greatest ashrama, provided the environment is kept like that. Sri Rama's home became such a heaven of peace.

=== Students of the Upanishad ===
Anyway, we already introduced Brihadaranyaka, and people used to study. Two types of people used to study there. One is the vanaprasthis, householders, and then another is monks who renounced.

After living for some time as a vanaprastha ashrama, then when he becomes ready, some of them don't—they occur robe, but not necessary. Sannyasa, vanaprastha ashrama, are not physical external stages. They are development of the purity of the mind. That's what we might discuss in the future.

== Three Main Divisions (Kandas) ==
This Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is mainly divided into three parts: Madhu Kanda, Muni Kanda (also known as Yajnavalkya Kanda), and Khila Kanda. Kanda means a chapter (or section).

=== 1. Madhu Kanda (The Honey Chapter) ===
Madhu Kanda means the chapter called honey. Honey means everything is interconnected. Why is everything interconnected? Because the source, the ultimate cause is Brahman, and everything comes out Brahman. Like many children of the same parents are interconnected, blood related. That is how it is called Madhu Kanda.

If we do not realize it, that I am separate, you are separate, I can do whatever I like with you, so also you can do, and that brings disastrous results. So it is called Madhu Kanda.

=== 2. Muni Kanda (Yajnavalkya Kanda) ===
Then the second part is called Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda, because there are marvelous discussions about the highest knowledge and also about many of the important contemplations called upasanas.

Yajnavalkya explains everything to his challengers and he also becomes the guru of Janaka Maharaja and he also becomes the teacher of his own, one of his own wives called Maitreyi, and most marvelous teachings are there.

=== 3. Khila Kanda (Miscellaneous Chapter) ===
The last Kanda is Khila Kanda. This is what we call appendix or appendicitis or whatever, where various distorted things, disconnected things, kept together, some of them are marvelous things.

So these are the three important divisions of his Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. And again each Adhyaya or Kanda is subdivided into two, so three into two, total there are six chapters.

And then some of them are repetitions, especially the conversation between Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi repeated in another section. And there is also remembrance of lineage, spiritual lineage, guru parampara system, that also is there.

=== Comparative Understanding of the Three Kandas ===
In Madhu Kanda, the primary teaching is upadesha of Brahma jñāna. Therefore it is called also Upadesha Kanda. And second, this is compared to śravaṇa because that is our goal.

Second is Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda. In this second chapter, the teachings given are supported by logic. Logic or upapatti is used. That is why it is called logical explanations of these real teachings are given in the first chapter.

And the person who explains such with superb intelligence and clarity is none other than Yajnavalkya himself. So if the first Kanda can be compared to śravaṇa, the second Kanda, Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda, Upapatti Kanda can be compared to manana. That is deeply churning, thinking.

Manana means churn the mind, keeping all the acquired knowledge and all the dirt, dust and unnecessary things are removed. Pure, what is called, butter is distilled from there. And Ramakrishna often uses this: There is no harm after being churned. If butter is kept in what you call buttermilk or water, it never mixes. But without that, the milk can get spoiled.

So this is the second chapter and the main guru is Yajnavalkya, Khila Kanda. That is what is called a miscellaneous chapter. In this part, various kinds of upasanas, that is contemplations, various types of rituals are found.

=== The Logic of This Division ===
Why are they found? It doesn't seem logical. First there should be what is called rituals and contemplations. Then logical explanations about Brahma jñāna. And lastly, pure Brahma jñāna.

No, sir. First the goal is explained. Then it is made to be understood with various logics, etc. Supported by logic, the teachings become much more acceptable. But to transform them into practical Vedanta, we have to start from where we are standing or even sitting or even lying down and move forward.

So this is the very logical way of dividing.

== Etymology of "Upanishad" ==
Now we will talk about what is the meaning of the Upanishad. In many of the Upanishads we have explained, but it is very necessary to go through it. First, because of our memory. Second, because repetition only drives deep the meaning into our subconscious and unconscious minds. That is what we need to understand.

This word Upanishad, according to Shankaracharya, is divided into three small words: Upa, Ni, Sad. And Upa and Ni are prefixes. The real word is Sad.

=== Meaning of "Sad" ===
Sad means, according to Shankara himself, that which destroys. What does it destroy? Sad means knowledge. What does knowledge destroy? Knowledge always destroys, only ignorance, nothing else.

Ignorance in Vedanta is called avidya. So Brahmavidya is that which destroys ignorance. If one attains Brahmavidya, then Brahman-ignorance, ignorance of Brahman is destroyed. They are simultaneous process. As soon as we bring light, darkness disappears, things are revealed, stand revealed.

==== Avidya as the Cause of Bondage ====
So according to this scripture, our Vedas, the cause of our bondage, called worldly existence, samsara, is ignorance of Brahman. If Brahmavidya, that is true knowledge, about whom? About our own nature, who am I?

So Brahmavidya destroys the very cause of worldly existence, which is called avidya. And when the cause ceases to exist, the effect of the cause also will be destroyed. As soon as you come to know that this is a rope, not a snake, the fear, the palpitation, will be automatically destroyed.

Not only so, destruction of the false knowledge, but the result of the effect of the false knowledge will also be destroyed. Brahma-avidya-nāśa, its effect, samsara-nāśa, that's what happens.

==== The Problem of Samsara ====
Why should we destroy samsara? If anybody is doubting, worldly existence, samsara means problems arising from gaining, loss, everything. Many times, gaining also causes great sorrow. How does it cause? If somebody is promoted, a hundred or thousand eyes will be glaring at him, scorching him. "What right have you got to get what you got? Each one of us should have got that."

Whoever rises to that position will get the same looks. How many people are waiting to kill the presidents, prime ministers, in every country? Worldly existence means problems. Problems means sorrow. Sorrow is opposite our nature.

How do we know? Because we never lift even a small finger to what is called destroy happiness. But the moment even the slightest sorrow comes, immediately, automatically, we want to get rid of it.

==== The Three Sources of Sorrow ====
And according to Vedanta, all sorrows come from three factors. What is that? This external world represented by gross body, internal world, our mental reactions caused by what is called the mental world. And the root cause of both is karana, cause, causal world.

So, gross body, subtle body, causal body. Any sorrow comes only from these three.

So there is another way, explanation also is there. So that which causes sorrow from our body and external world is called adhyātma. But that which comes from God is what is called from the external world, earthquakes, or lack of rain, or occupation by other people, people who cheat, or punish to people's savings, etc. And that also because of one's own prarabdha actually.

So, there is a third: God or Brahman, also is not only creator, but he is also a supporter, sustainer. And if we do not recognize, if we are not grateful what we are receiving for, then great destruction will come. They will send what is called too much rain, too less of rain, unseasonal rain, earthquakes, or wars, pestilences, or germ warfare.

All these things come. Unfortunately, we blame them on other people, not knowing we are the other people. Our government is nothing but our representation. Collective representation is called our government.

==== Liberation from Samsara ====
So, world existence means problems arising from tapa, sorrow, tapatraya. Liberation from world existence is moksha. Cessation from sorrow. Brahmavid, you know the supreme. So, along with Brahman, he enjoys everything.

Brahmavidya gives two fruits. It destroys ignorance and it grants liberation. There is no separate thing called liberation. To know that I was, I am, I will be ever free, that is, to know that is called liberation.

=== Second Meaning of "Sad" ===
That is one meaning of the word sad. There is another word. It means that which leads us to the right goal. So, what does lead us? Sad means knowledge of self, Brahman. Brahmavidya, where does it lead us?

So, Brahmavidya leads to Brahman. It means what? Leading means what? It means it makes us completely become one with Brahman. Or to know there are no Brahman and me, only one thing and that is Brahman. I am that Brahman. That is why it is said Brahmavid āpnoti param.

So, one meaning of sad is destruction of ignorance. Second meaning is that which leads us to Brahman. And what is the good of it? The nature of Brahman is what? Sat, Cit, Ānanda. Ānanda means bliss.

So, sad means that which leads each one of us to Brahman which means to bliss, which means to counter death, which means complete knowledge, all consciousness, I am Brahman. Thus, attainment of Brahman means I am ānanda svarūpa.

So, we have seen both.

=== Meaning of "Ni" ===
Then, we have to see what is the meaning of Ni. Ni is a prefix and niśaśena nāśayati. We have to presume that meaning. That means there would be not even a little bit remnant of avidya completely. That which eradicates, destroys, so uproots the samsara vṛkṣa.

That is called—that what does it mean? What does it do? Who does it? Sad. So, Ni means there would be a little bit of samsara, a little bit of Brahman. No. Completely.

==== The Problem of Mental Conflict ====
So, what is the problem? Sad. Whatever knowledge we have, that is our problem. Knowledge is received by the mind, developed by the mind. But then, mind means there is also intellect.

So, our mind, our understanding, buddhi and manas are ever at conflict. I know aham brahmāsmi. But, my mind says, "You idiot, you liked this sweet very much. Now, get to work and enjoy that sweet."

This ever opposing force, that is why it is called dvandva, is haunting us ever since creation. So, therefore, mere knowledge will not do. Our identity with the body, our identity with our possessions, our identity with the family and our hatred of other people, both of them lead to bondage only.

That's why it is said, pāpam is also gives us sorrow. Puṇyam also gives us more sorrow. How come? Because if pāpam is like a person who falls a little bit down, from a short height. Puṇyam, you go to the Svarga Loka, the pāpa, you fall down, which is extraordinarily painful.

That's why we must rise beyond both virtue and vice. But in the beginning, get rid of the vice. Later on, we have to get rid of virtue also. We must go beyond that. So, we must go beyond dharma, beyond artha, beyond kāma, then only moksha is possible.

==== Obstacles to Knowledge ====
So, in spite of knowledge, we have got passions, hatreds, aversions, desires, kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, mātsarya. These are called obstacles to right knowledge.

So, these feelings have not only come from the past birth, but in this birth also, unfortunately, we reinforce them instead of cutting them down. So, all these things are sure to affect the mind, but Vedanta knowledge also arises in the intellect. Doubts also arise in the intellect until definitive knowledge arises.

If the mind is not kept under control, śama, dama, ādi, ṣaṭ, sampatti, this knowledge does not really work. That is why, even when we understand intellectually Vedanta, we are unable to keep serene and quite equanimous in the face of ups and downs of life. And this is the problem of all humanity.

Only just a selected few manushya, nāma, sahasreṣu try to jump out of the net, as Ramakrishna gives the analogy of the fish, and only a few succeed in it.

==== The Path Through Dharma Shastra ====
That is why, we have to start our life in having faith not in Vedanta Shastra, but in Dharma Shastra. What does Dharma Shastra do? Like a spiritual doctor, like a physical doctor, this is a spiritual doctor, it says, if you want physical health, mental health, every type of health, then you will have to stop doing these things and start doing these things.

They are called niṣedhāda, do not even think of doing them, or if, because we have already done, then slowly try to reduce them by replacing them with what should be done. That is called vidhi.

So, only when one leads a dharmic life, these obstacles of vidhi or misconception will become absent, it takes time gradually. So, that knowledge which arises in an intellect free from all doubts and in a mind free from the obstacles of misconception or jñāna, that is called in Vedanta, Sanskrit knowledge of the absence of all the obstacles.

==== The Process of Learning ====
So, to remove misconceptions, how do we do that? So, as I said, first we have to go to a guru and then what does the guru do? He first prescribes rituals and then contemplations. First rituals, then contemplations and then when the guru finds a fit person, he starts giving us what is called upadeśa, teaching and that teaching is called śravaṇam.

Śravaṇam is not merely listening to a lecture like this. For that, we have to be ready and then whatever is received must be made firm through the process of churning the mind until the last vestige of doubt is totally removed and when that happens, then we have to fight with the old samskaras, bring in new samskaras and that is called nididhyāsana means remove the unspiritual samskaras, replacing them with spiritual samskaras until we reach the doorway to Brahman.

So, Ni means definitive knowledge.

=== Meaning of "Upa" ===
Upa, what is Upa means method of attaining self-knowledge and there is only one path. Upa means near.

==== First Meaning: Approaching the Self ====
First meaning of Upa is we have to approach the self who is within every object in this world, living or non-living.

In the non-living, it is in the form of existence. In the living, it is in the form of not only existence sat but cit and ānanda but even this cit and ānanda are very very minimal, miniscule at the beginning as the soul evolves further, it evolves its brain. Brain means the ability to understand an appropriate body and mind and it culminates in human body and even then the human body has to go through three steps of rajoguna.

==== The Three Gunas and Human Evolution ====
First it would be enveloped with tamoguna. Tamas means darkness. Then slowly like a train approaching the ground, traveling in the tunnel, a faint glimpse of light comes and that is where rajoguna comes out.

Then after the rajoguna as the progress is made, the light becomes more and more and when we come out it becomes perfectly clear which is called sattvaguna. That is how Hinduism divides people into śūdra, vaiśya, kṣatriya and brāhmaṇa but even in a Brahmin's life and that includes other varnas also.

==== The Four Ashramas ====
So life is divided into four as you all know very well, should know very well: learning process, experimenting and experiencing process and being disappointed with the results attained thus slowly turning our face away from the external into the internal which is called vanaprasthāśrama and finally trying to abide with the self in the self called sannyāsāśrama.

So that is the only process and we see this in several of the Upanishads since we have discussed what we call Chandogya Upanishad in the 7th chapter that great learned person who knows everything but whose mind was not under control. He approaches Sanatkumara without guru that is called approaching guru. Approaching guru in Sanskrit is called upasadanam.

==== Guru Upasadanam ====
Guru upasadanam—you stay with the guru and then serve him: tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā. So gradually one learns to surrender to the guru. Guru means right knowledge so that right knowledge as much as we surrender right knowledge penetrates into the depths of our darkest unconscious lights up destroys old samskaras slowly reveals the self that is abiding there not reluctantly but with the greatest eagerness.

==== The Three Meanings of "Upa" ====
That is the three meanings of the Upa finally the Near. Upa means Near and the nearest thing to us is our own true self or God and approaching him just as a dry straw as soon as it approaches blazing fire it becomes completely burnt out becomes fire itself or like the clarified butter ghee poured into blazing fire it only feeds the fire so one becomes completely one with one's own true nature not becoming somebody else Brahman is our own true nature.

These are the three meanings of Upa:

# A deep desire to approach God
# Follow the teachings of a guru by surrendering and guru tells him first you do this second you do that any number of steps that are needed and that is what is called rituals then contemplations finally śravaṇa, manana, nididhyāsana
# So Upa means Brahma vidya

This is the primary meaning of the word Upanishad.

== Pramanas: Valid Means of Knowledge ==
So now we have discussed but just a brief recollection just to recollect what are these in Indian philosophy particularly within the school of Advaita Vedanta. Pramanas are the valid means through which we acquire accurate valid knowledge of the world and the self.

Note down we are not only talking about self or God we are talking about the world what is the condition of our present knowledge. God may or may not exist but the world definitely is existing and therefore it is real therefore we should act and react according to this concept.

What does Vedanta teach? Brahma satyam jagan mithya. It goes completely opposite to what we know.

A sincere student has to and will question the teacher, "Sir, my experience shows this world is real your Vedanta teaches this world is unreal God alone is real my knowledge is just the contrary complete 100% opposite how come?"

=== Two Categories of Pramanas ===
Anyway for that purpose knowledge or the means of knowledge called pramanas are divided into two categories.

The first category of pramanas should give us valid knowledge about this world and we employ five means and the first means that we employ is called direct experience called pratyakṣa pramāṇa and based upon this pratyakṣa pramāṇa another four subsidiary pratyakṣa pramāṇas are added so you can say one pramāṇa or you can say one plus four five pramāṇas.

The second category of pramāṇa is called śabda pramāṇa because there is the knowledge of things of which we have absolutely no knowledge because they are not pratyakṣa they are not directly experienceable.

For example that there is life after death there are other worlds and there are higher worlds and lower worlds and there is also a God and we are all experiencing the results of our own past lives these are not available for any scientific knowledge.

So science employs and we also consciously and most of the time unconsciously experience five types of this means of acquiring knowledge and most of the time we don't employ them properly and that's why our knowledge will be not only defective knowledge but positively harmful knowledge.

=== The Five Pramanas (First Category) ===
But to go briefly so first category is and only category really speaking is called:

==== 1. Pratyaksha (Direct Perception) ====
Pratyakṣa—perceptual knowledge. This is a knowledge gained directly through the five sense organs. So sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch and combined with the mind. Mind is the internal perception of emotions like joy or pain happiness unhappiness.

So as a simple example you see a blue book on a table your eyes our eyes perceive the color and shape directly giving us the valid knowledge that here is a blue book and that also separates by the adjectives what is the adjective it is a book therefore it is not a table it is not a tree and it is blue so it excludes all other colors that is called pratyakṣa pramāṇa.

And as a derivative of this pratyakṣa pramāṇa there are another four pramāṇas briefly we will discuss in today's class and go to the śabda pramāṇa in our next class.

==== 2. Anumana (Inference) ====
The second is called anumāna—inference. So what is the inference? This knowledge reached by using a reason to arrive at a conclusion based on a previously known universal relationship also called vyāpti.

For example this is a famous example there is a hill in front of you and one day you see smoke arising from behind the hill and you don't know what causes the smoke but you have observed in day to day life when you lit a fire and then smoke arises so smoke will not come unless there is a fire therefore even though we do not see the fire we infer that some fire is going on and the result will be the smoke.

Smoke is definitely caused by fire therefore we infer but for this universally we observe wherever there is fire there is smoke that is very necessary that is called vyāpti.

Apply this to all these inferences therefore when you see one part of our experience not the other part by seeing one part of the fact we infer the other fact and that is called anumāna pramāṇa.

For that very important to understand so we must have experience of both things together invariably suppose you see fire no smoke so this inference becomes invalid no every time we see a fire there is a wisp of smoke even from the driest firewood and that is called vyāpti means universally applicable observable so we see only part of it which is called smoke and therefore wherever there is fire there would be smoke so if you see the smoke only we infer there is fire that is.

==== 3. Upamana (Comparison/Analogy) ====
The third is called upamāna—comparison or analogy. What is this? This is knowledge gained by identifying any unknown object based on its similarity to a known object.

For example you know a person he is such and such but his brother is somewhere in America you have never seen and one day suddenly you encounter this person he looks almost like the person you know and you observe carefully and say "Oh I heard sometime back my friend telling me that his brother is coming back from America" that knowledge will come but even without knowledge this person looks like a person I have already known very well and therefore this person must be related somehow to that person whether it is cousin, brother etc.

The famous example given in Vedanta is we all know what is a cow but suddenly in the forest we see another animal almost resembling like a cow called gavaya then we understand somebody told us there is a animal you might see in the forest it is called wild ox and it resembles our cow in great way great extent and as soon as you behold that immediately you find out so this must be that animal which was described to me.

So seeing resemblance and inferring this must be that particular animal that is called upamāna pramāṇa.

==== 4. Arthapatti (Postulation/Presumption) ====
Then fourth is called arthāpatti. Arthāpatti means artha means meaning that is reasonable inference. Seeing a person famous example is you know or many people know a person and nobody seen has seen him eating during day time but he is growing fatter and fatter everyday.

What is the inference? Nobody can grow without eating and nobody can grow fat without eating oily substance fatty substance so this person must be gobbling up oily foods plenty of it more than he can digest at night where nobody can see him.

So by seeing an effect and you don't see any what is called contrary contradictory reason so you guess this person must be doing this thing secretly at night so to resolve this contradiction not seeing him eating and still growing we postulate that he must be eating at night not only eating plenty not only plenty most unhealthy subjects that is called arthāpatti.

==== 5. Anupalabdhi (Non-Perception) ====
And fifth I already mentioned anupalabdhi. You kept a book always you keep a book in a particular place one day it is missing and at night eleven o'clock after closing all your doors you kept there next morning it is not there so that absence of that object leads us to infer that book must have been taken by somebody to another room if it is not in this room it must be in the other room.

And all the time we use this arthāpatti where is the officer "oh we saw him just entering into the office" so you rush to the office but he is not there in his chair that is you don't see him can you guess he must have gone to some other room to inspect or to ask or to have a cup of coffee or toilet whatever it is this is called anupalabdhi or non perception of an object.

=== Proper Application of Pramanas ===
And all of us use them wonderfully well all these five pramanas are useful applicable and they must be applied meticulously if we want right knowledge but they only apply to sensory knowledge.

But with regard to supersensory knowledge we require another type of pramana which is called Veda pramāṇa, śabda pramāṇa. So we will discuss about it in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Introduction Lecture 03 on 31 January 2026

2026-05-24T13:19:16Z

Shekhar: /* The Importance of Pure Food */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् । पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते । पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥ ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥'''

'''Oṁ pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṁ pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate, pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate. Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ.'''

''(Simplified phonetic reading: Om poornam-adah poornam-idam, poornaat poornam-udachyate; poornasya poornam-aadaaya poornam-eva-avashishyate. Om shaantih shaantih shaantih.)''

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

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

== Introduction to Brihadaranyaka Upanishad ==
Of all the Upanishads, this Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is not only the biggest, it is the most important. And that's why Shankaracharya had written an elaborate commentary upon it. Earlier, I have given some introduction.

=== The Author and Origin ===
Who was this author, the writer or the manifester of this Brihadaranyaka Upanishad? The real author is only God, Brahman. But Brahman had revealed this Upanishad to Yajnavalkya through the deity called Surya Deva, the Sun God. And that is why it came to be known as Shukla Yajurveda.

The entire Shukla Yajurveda was a kind, graceful revelation of this highest spiritual truth to Yajnavalkya because he prepared himself to receive it.

=== The Nature of Prayer and Grace ===
Many times we do not understand what is the meaning of prayer. And even more important, why prayers are not answered.

It is just like an analogy: Two persons go to the ocean. One person goes with a small glass. Another person goes with a huge tanker. And then both of them receive water. But the person with a glass complains, "Why are you bestowing so much upon the other person? Whereas you have given me only a small glass full."

Of course, the ocean will not reply. But common sense will tell us that it is not that the ocean refuses to give you. But you are not ready to receive it. Or whatever capacity of reception you have, that much you got full.

This is what Sri Ramakrishna used to call, "The breeze of God's grace is always blowing. But you have to unfurl your sails." That means you should be ready to receive the grace, which has not started at a particular point of time, but forever it is blowing. Here grace means knowledge.

=== Sadhana and Mental Purification ===
And if we do sadhana, gradually increase our capacity of our mind, then we will be able to receive as much as our mind is ready to receive.

Imagine there is a room full of objects. And you want to buy something huge and put it there. You cannot because there is no space. So you will have to throw out, remove many objects, sufficient at least to keep that newly bought object.

In the same way, our mind is full of thoughts about the world—mithya jagat, avidya world. Sadhana is not meant to receive the grace of God. I repeat, sadhana is not meant to receive the grace of God. Sadhana is meant to make our minds pure. Purity means emptying the mind of all thoughts.

And just like space, as soon as a place is vacant, immediately it becomes available. That is, the space becomes available. You can keep whatever you want there. God's grace, you don't need to invite. You don't need to pray.

=== Yajnavalkya's Realization ===
So Yajnavalkya completely removed all thoughts. That is called purification of the mind. That is called destroying all attachments instantaneously. As soon as a place is vacant, space enters there. Rather, it is already there. Now it becomes more manifest.

This is the clear concept of what is called receiving the grace of God. And Yajnavalkya received it to the full. That means he removed 100% of his mind. Then what remained was Brahman. And that's why he was called Brahmavid (ब्रह्मविद्).

And Brahmavid (ब्रह्मविद्), as we saw in the Taittiriya Upanishad, āpnoti param (आप्नोति परम्) — he attains everything. He becomes Satyam Jñānam Anantam Brahma (सत्यं ज्ञानम् अनन्तं ब्रह्म).

=== The Setting for Study ===
So in the introduction, we have seen this is the biggest of the Upanishads. And it is usually taught to renunciates in the forest. Forest means a place where one can pursue the spiritual studies, spiritual sadhanas.

Spiritual study and spiritual sadhana are not two separate things. Just like a scientist: Scientific knowledge is not a dry knowledge. It is first thought about, then experimented upon. It becomes a provable knowledge. Proven knowledge becomes forever provable knowledge. Take the same steps, one should get the same result. Brahma jñānam is no exception to it. That is the real meaning.

=== Benefits of Forest Environment ===
So where there is no distraction, the mind also, because of the absence of distractions, can also remain equanimous, more calm. We have not developed so much that we can afford to be in this, what is called huge storm on the ocean, and remain in that ocean called Samsara Sagara, and expect to be calm and quiet.

So we have to help ourselves by going into solitude, which Ramakrishna used to call nirjanasthāna. Do not depend upon anything. Everything is perishable, non-dependable. Only God is dependable. That is called solitude.

And it is for the solitude, and there is also another thing: A forest is the most natural expression of nature. And to be in contact with nature itself is extraordinarily calming.

=== The Importance of Pure Food ===
So when a person starts to live and enjoy the bounty of the forest—fruits, roots, etc.—without contamination by artificial fertilizers, etc., the mind of a person becomes very, very pure.

Whereas we are all living cultivated with fertilizers and pesticides, etc. How much harm is being done? Now scientists are astonished how much plastic is going into the fishes, into the animals, into our own bodies. God alone knows.

And when the food is impure, when āhāra is not sāttvic āhāra, śuddha āhāra, then our remembrance of who we are also will be affected by it. That is why the Vishishtadvaitins, advaitins and the bhaktas, is so much of importance for food.

==== An Incident About Food Purity ====
I have narrated an incident: Once Holy Mother bestowed her grace upon one of her disciples and asked him not to eat food in anybody's house excepting at the Jayrambati, Holy Mother's prasada, or the next best choice, the cooking of one's own mother.

The devotee disobeyed it, thinking that after all I am taking food from a devotee's house. Instantaneously his mind came down, fallen, and he received a shock. Then Mother must have told him, "Why did you disobey me? You should have come back here." Such is the effect of food.

Sri Ramakrishna could not touch the food, let alone cooked, even touched by impure people.

=== The True Meaning of Forest ===
So forest affords us natural food, healthy food, and also healthy environment. And there distractions are very, very less. If distractions are not less, that's not a forest, even if it is a forest. We have to understand the inner meaning.

Forest means where a person's mind can remain naturally, without effort, calm and quiet, equanimous. That is a real forest. A house also can be like that.

There is a beautiful Sanskrit verse: So one's own home, svagṛham, itself can become the greatest ashrama, provided the environment is kept like that. Sri Rama's home became such a heaven of peace.

=== Students of the Upanishad ===
Anyway, we already introduced Brihadaranyaka, and people used to study. Two types of people used to study there. One is the vanaprasthis, householders, and then another is monks who renounced.

After living for some time as a vanaprastha ashrama, then when he becomes ready, some of them don't—they occur robe, but not necessary. Sannyasa, vanaprastha ashrama, are not physical external stages. They are development of the purity of the mind. That's what we might discuss in the future.

== Three Main Divisions (Kandas) ==
This Brihadaranyaka Upanishad mainly is divided into three parts: Madhu Kanda, Muni Kanda, Khila Kanda. Kanda means a chapter.

=== 1. Madhu Kanda (The Honey Chapter) ===
Madhu Kanda means the chapter called honey. Honey means everything is interconnected. Why is everything interconnected? Because the source, the ultimate cause is Brahman, and everything comes out Brahman. Like many children of the same parents are interconnected, blood related. That is how it is called Madhu Kanda.

If we do not realize it, that I am separate, you are separate, I can do whatever I like with you, so also you can do, and that brings disastrous results. So it is called Madhu Kanda.

=== 2. Muni Kanda (Yajnavalkya Kanda) ===
Then the second part is called Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda, because there are marvelous discussions about the highest knowledge and also about many of the important contemplations called upasanas.

Yajnavalkya explains everything to his challengers and he also becomes the guru of Janaka Maharaja and he also becomes the teacher of his own, one of his own wives called Maitreyi, and most marvelous teachings are there.

=== 3. Khila Kanda (Miscellaneous Chapter) ===
The last Kanda is Khila Kanda. This is what we call appendix or appendicitis or whatever, where various distorted things, disconnected things, kept together, some of them are marvelous things.

So these are the three important divisions of his Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. And again each Adhyaya or Kanda is subdivided into two, so three into two, total there are six chapters.

And then some of them are repetitions, especially the conversation between Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi repeated in another section. And there is also remembrance of lineage, spiritual lineage, guru parampara system, that also is there.

=== Comparative Understanding of the Three Kandas ===
In Madhu Kanda, the primary teaching is upadesha of Brahma jñāna. Therefore it is called also Upadesha Kanda. And second, this is compared to śravaṇa because that is our goal.

Second is Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda. In this second chapter, the teachings given are supported by logic. Logic or upapatti is used. That is why it is called logical explanations of these real teachings are given in the first chapter.

And the person who explains such with superb intelligence and clarity is none other than Yajnavalkya himself. So if the first Kanda can be compared to śravaṇa, the second Kanda, Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda, Upapatti Kanda can be compared to manana. That is deeply churning, thinking.

Manana means churn the mind, keeping all the acquired knowledge and all the dirt, dust and unnecessary things are removed. Pure, what is called, butter is distilled from there. And Ramakrishna often uses this: There is no harm after being churned. If butter is kept in what you call buttermilk or water, it never mixes. But without that, the milk can get spoiled.

So this is the second chapter and the main guru is Yajnavalkya, Khila Kanda. That is what is called a miscellaneous chapter. In this part, various kinds of upasanas, that is contemplations, various types of rituals are found.

=== The Logic of This Division ===
Why are they found? It doesn't seem logical. First there should be what is called rituals and contemplations. Then logical explanations about Brahma jñāna. And lastly, pure Brahma jñāna.

No, sir. First the goal is explained. Then it is made to be understood with various logics, etc. Supported by logic, the teachings become much more acceptable. But to transform them into practical Vedanta, we have to start from where we are standing or even sitting or even lying down and move forward.

So this is the very logical way of dividing.

== Etymology of "Upanishad" ==
Now we will talk about what is the meaning of the Upanishad. In many of the Upanishads we have explained, but it is very necessary to go through it. First, because of our memory. Second, because repetition only drives deep the meaning into our subconscious and unconscious minds. That is what we need to understand.

This word Upanishad, according to Shankaracharya, is divided into three small words: Upa, Ni, Sad. And Upa and Ni are prefixes. The real word is Sad.

=== Meaning of "Sad" ===
Sad means, according to Shankara himself, that which destroys. What does it destroy? Sad means knowledge. What does knowledge destroy? Knowledge always destroys, only ignorance, nothing else.

Ignorance in Vedanta is called avidya. So Brahmavidya is that which destroys ignorance. If one attains Brahmavidya, then Brahman-ignorance, ignorance of Brahman is destroyed. They are simultaneous process. As soon as we bring light, darkness disappears, things are revealed, stand revealed.

==== Avidya as the Cause of Bondage ====
So according to this scripture, our Vedas, the cause of our bondage, called worldly existence, samsara, is ignorance of Brahman. If Brahmavidya, that is true knowledge, about whom? About our own nature, who am I?

So Brahmavidya destroys the very cause of worldly existence, which is called avidya. And when the cause ceases to exist, the effect of the cause also will be destroyed. As soon as you come to know that this is a rope, not a snake, the fear, the palpitation, will be automatically destroyed.

Not only so, destruction of the false knowledge, but the result of the effect of the false knowledge will also be destroyed. Brahma-avidya-nāśa, its effect, samsara-nāśa, that's what happens.

==== The Problem of Samsara ====
Why should we destroy samsara? If anybody is doubting, worldly existence, samsara means problems arising from gaining, loss, everything. Many times, gaining also causes great sorrow. How does it cause? If somebody is promoted, a hundred or thousand eyes will be glaring at him, scorching him. "What right have you got to get what you got? Each one of us should have got that."

Whoever rises to that position will get the same looks. How many people are waiting to kill the presidents, prime ministers, in every country? Worldly existence means problems. Problems means sorrow. Sorrow is opposite our nature.

How do we know? Because we never lift even a small finger to what is called destroy happiness. But the moment even the slightest sorrow comes, immediately, automatically, we want to get rid of it.

==== The Three Sources of Sorrow ====
And according to Vedanta, all sorrows come from three factors. What is that? This external world represented by gross body, internal world, our mental reactions caused by what is called the mental world. And the root cause of both is karana, cause, causal world.

So, gross body, subtle body, causal body. Any sorrow comes only from these three.

So there is another way, explanation also is there. So that which causes sorrow from our body and external world is called adhyātma. But that which comes from God is what is called from the external world, earthquakes, or lack of rain, or occupation by other people, people who cheat, or punish to people's savings, etc. And that also because of one's own prarabdha actually.

So, there is a third: God or Brahman, also is not only creator, but he is also a supporter, sustainer. And if we do not recognize, if we are not grateful what we are receiving for, then great destruction will come. They will send what is called too much rain, too less of rain, unseasonal rain, earthquakes, or wars, pestilences, or germ warfare.

All these things come. Unfortunately, we blame them on other people, not knowing we are the other people. Our government is nothing but our representation. Collective representation is called our government.

==== Liberation from Samsara ====
So, world existence means problems arising from tapa, sorrow, tapatraya. Liberation from world existence is moksha. Cessation from sorrow. Brahmavid, you know the supreme. So, along with Brahman, he enjoys everything.

Brahmavidya gives two fruits. It destroys ignorance and it grants liberation. There is no separate thing called liberation. To know that I was, I am, I will be ever free, that is, to know that is called liberation.

=== Second Meaning of "Sad" ===
That is one meaning of the word sad. There is another word. It means that which leads us to the right goal. So, what does lead us? Sad means knowledge of self, Brahman. Brahmavidya, where does it lead us?

So, Brahmavidya leads to Brahman. It means what? Leading means what? It means it makes us completely become one with Brahman. Or to know there are no Brahman and me, only one thing and that is Brahman. I am that Brahman. That is why it is said Brahmavid āpnoti param.

So, one meaning of sad is destruction of ignorance. Second meaning is that which leads us to Brahman. And what is the good of it? The nature of Brahman is what? Sat, Cit, Ānanda. Ānanda means bliss.

So, sad means that which leads each one of us to Brahman which means to bliss, which means to counter death, which means complete knowledge, all consciousness, I am Brahman. Thus, attainment of Brahman means I am ānanda svarūpa.

So, we have seen both.

=== Meaning of "Ni" ===
Then, we have to see what is the meaning of Ni. Ni is a prefix and niśaśena nāśayati. We have to presume that meaning. That means there would be not even a little bit remnant of avidya completely. That which eradicates, destroys, so uproots the samsara vṛkṣa.

That is called—that what does it mean? What does it do? Who does it? Sad. So, Ni means there would be a little bit of samsara, a little bit of Brahman. No. Completely.

==== The Problem of Mental Conflict ====
So, what is the problem? Sad. Whatever knowledge we have, that is our problem. Knowledge is received by the mind, developed by the mind. But then, mind means there is also intellect.

So, our mind, our understanding, buddhi and manas are ever at conflict. I know aham brahmāsmi. But, my mind says, "You idiot, you liked this sweet very much. Now, get to work and enjoy that sweet."

This ever opposing force, that is why it is called dvandva, is haunting us ever since creation. So, therefore, mere knowledge will not do. Our identity with the body, our identity with our possessions, our identity with the family and our hatred of other people, both of them lead to bondage only.

That's why it is said, pāpam is also gives us sorrow. Puṇyam also gives us more sorrow. How come? Because if pāpam is like a person who falls a little bit down, from a short height. Puṇyam, you go to the Svarga Loka, the pāpa, you fall down, which is extraordinarily painful.

That's why we must rise beyond both virtue and vice. But in the beginning, get rid of the vice. Later on, we have to get rid of virtue also. We must go beyond that. So, we must go beyond dharma, beyond artha, beyond kāma, then only moksha is possible.

==== Obstacles to Knowledge ====
So, in spite of knowledge, we have got passions, hatreds, aversions, desires, kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, mātsarya. These are called obstacles to right knowledge.

So, these feelings have not only come from the past birth, but in this birth also, unfortunately, we reinforce them instead of cutting them down. So, all these things are sure to affect the mind, but Vedanta knowledge also arises in the intellect. Doubts also arise in the intellect until definitive knowledge arises.

If the mind is not kept under control, śama, dama, ādi, ṣaṭ, sampatti, this knowledge does not really work. That is why, even when we understand intellectually Vedanta, we are unable to keep serene and quite equanimous in the face of ups and downs of life. And this is the problem of all humanity.

Only just a selected few manushya, nāma, sahasreṣu try to jump out of the net, as Ramakrishna gives the analogy of the fish, and only a few succeed in it.

==== The Path Through Dharma Shastra ====
That is why, we have to start our life in having faith not in Vedanta Shastra, but in Dharma Shastra. What does Dharma Shastra do? Like a spiritual doctor, like a physical doctor, this is a spiritual doctor, it says, if you want physical health, mental health, every type of health, then you will have to stop doing these things and start doing these things.

They are called niṣedhāda, do not even think of doing them, or if, because we have already done, then slowly try to reduce them by replacing them with what should be done. That is called vidhi.

So, only when one leads a dharmic life, these obstacles of vidhi or misconception will become absent, it takes time gradually. So, that knowledge which arises in an intellect free from all doubts and in a mind free from the obstacles of misconception or jñāna, that is called in Vedanta, Sanskrit knowledge of the absence of all the obstacles.

==== The Process of Learning ====
So, to remove misconceptions, how do we do that? So, as I said, first we have to go to a guru and then what does the guru do? He first prescribes rituals and then contemplations. First rituals, then contemplations and then when the guru finds a fit person, he starts giving us what is called upadeśa, teaching and that teaching is called śravaṇam.

Śravaṇam is not merely listening to a lecture like this. For that, we have to be ready and then whatever is received must be made firm through the process of churning the mind until the last vestige of doubt is totally removed and when that happens, then we have to fight with the old samskaras, bring in new samskaras and that is called nididhyāsana means remove the unspiritual samskaras, replacing them with spiritual samskaras until we reach the doorway to Brahman.

So, Ni means definitive knowledge.

=== Meaning of "Upa" ===
Upa, what is Upa means method of attaining self-knowledge and there is only one path. Upa means near.

==== First Meaning: Approaching the Self ====
First meaning of Upa is we have to approach the self who is within every object in this world, living or non-living.

In the non-living, it is in the form of existence. In the living, it is in the form of not only existence sat but cit and ānanda but even this cit and ānanda are very very minimal, miniscule at the beginning as the soul evolves further, it evolves its brain. Brain means the ability to understand an appropriate body and mind and it culminates in human body and even then the human body has to go through three steps of rajoguna.

==== The Three Gunas and Human Evolution ====
First it would be enveloped with tamoguna. Tamas means darkness. Then slowly like a train approaching the ground, traveling in the tunnel, a faint glimpse of light comes and that is where rajoguna comes out.

Then after the rajoguna as the progress is made, the light becomes more and more and when we come out it becomes perfectly clear which is called sattvaguna. That is how Hinduism divides people into śūdra, vaiśya, kṣatriya and brāhmaṇa but even in a Brahmin's life and that includes other varnas also.

==== The Four Ashramas ====
So life is divided into four as you all know very well, should know very well: learning process, experimenting and experiencing process and being disappointed with the results attained thus slowly turning our face away from the external into the internal which is called vanaprasthāśrama and finally trying to abide with the self in the self called sannyāsāśrama.

So that is the only process and we see this in several of the Upanishads since we have discussed what we call Chandogya Upanishad in the 7th chapter that great learned person who knows everything but whose mind was not under control. He approaches Sanatkumara without guru that is called approaching guru. Approaching guru in Sanskrit is called upasadanam.

==== Guru Upasadanam ====
Guru upasadanam—you stay with the guru and then serve him: tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā. So gradually one learns to surrender to the guru. Guru means right knowledge so that right knowledge as much as we surrender right knowledge penetrates into the depths of our darkest unconscious lights up destroys old samskaras slowly reveals the self that is abiding there not reluctantly but with the greatest eagerness.

==== The Three Meanings of "Upa" ====
That is the three meanings of the Upa finally the Near. Upa means Near and the nearest thing to us is our own true self or God and approaching him just as a dry straw as soon as it approaches blazing fire it becomes completely burnt out becomes fire itself or like the clarified butter ghee poured into blazing fire it only feeds the fire so one becomes completely one with one's own true nature not becoming somebody else Brahman is our own true nature.

These are the three meanings of Upa:

# A deep desire to approach God
# Follow the teachings of a guru by surrendering and guru tells him first you do this second you do that any number of steps that are needed and that is what is called rituals then contemplations finally śravaṇa, manana, nididhyāsana
# So Upa means Brahma vidya

This is the primary meaning of the word Upanishad.

== Pramanas: Valid Means of Knowledge ==
So now we have discussed but just a brief recollection just to recollect what are these in Indian philosophy particularly within the school of Advaita Vedanta. Pramanas are the valid means through which we acquire accurate valid knowledge of the world and the self.

Note down we are not only talking about self or God we are talking about the world what is the condition of our present knowledge. God may or may not exist but the world definitely is existing and therefore it is real therefore we should act and react according to this concept.

What does Vedanta teach? Brahma satyam jagan mithya. It goes completely opposite to what we know.

A sincere student has to and will question the teacher, "Sir, my experience shows this world is real your Vedanta teaches this world is unreal God alone is real my knowledge is just the contrary complete 100% opposite how come?"

=== Two Categories of Pramanas ===
Anyway for that purpose knowledge or the means of knowledge called pramanas are divided into two categories.

The first category of pramanas should give us valid knowledge about this world and we employ five means and the first means that we employ is called direct experience called pratyakṣa pramāṇa and based upon this pratyakṣa pramāṇa another four subsidiary pratyakṣa pramāṇas are added so you can say one pramāṇa or you can say one plus four five pramāṇas.

The second category of pramāṇa is called śabda pramāṇa because there is the knowledge of things of which we have absolutely no knowledge because they are not pratyakṣa they are not directly experienceable.

For example that there is life after death there are other worlds and there are higher worlds and lower worlds and there is also a God and we are all experiencing the results of our own past lives these are not available for any scientific knowledge.

So science employs and we also consciously and most of the time unconsciously experience five types of this means of acquiring knowledge and most of the time we don't employ them properly and that's why our knowledge will be not only defective knowledge but positively harmful knowledge.

=== The Five Pramanas (First Category) ===
But to go briefly so first category is and only category really speaking is called:

==== 1. Pratyaksha (Direct Perception) ====
Pratyakṣa—perceptual knowledge. This is a knowledge gained directly through the five sense organs. So sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch and combined with the mind. Mind is the internal perception of emotions like joy or pain happiness unhappiness.

So as a simple example you see a blue book on a table your eyes our eyes perceive the color and shape directly giving us the valid knowledge that here is a blue book and that also separates by the adjectives what is the adjective it is a book therefore it is not a table it is not a tree and it is blue so it excludes all other colors that is called pratyakṣa pramāṇa.

And as a derivative of this pratyakṣa pramāṇa there are another four pramāṇas briefly we will discuss in today's class and go to the śabda pramāṇa in our next class.

==== 2. Anumana (Inference) ====
The second is called anumāna—inference. So what is the inference? This knowledge reached by using a reason to arrive at a conclusion based on a previously known universal relationship also called vyāpti.

For example this is a famous example there is a hill in front of you and one day you see smoke arising from behind the hill and you don't know what causes the smoke but you have observed in day to day life when you lit a fire and then smoke arises so smoke will not come unless there is a fire therefore even though we do not see the fire we infer that some fire is going on and the result will be the smoke.

Smoke is definitely caused by fire therefore we infer but for this universally we observe wherever there is fire there is smoke that is very necessary that is called vyāpti.

Apply this to all these inferences therefore when you see one part of our experience not the other part by seeing one part of the fact we infer the other fact and that is called anumāna pramāṇa.

For that very important to understand so we must have experience of both things together invariably suppose you see fire no smoke so this inference becomes invalid no every time we see a fire there is a wisp of smoke even from the driest firewood and that is called vyāpti means universally applicable observable so we see only part of it which is called smoke and therefore wherever there is fire there would be smoke so if you see the smoke only we infer there is fire that is.

==== 3. Upamana (Comparison/Analogy) ====
The third is called upamāna—comparison or analogy. What is this? This is knowledge gained by identifying any unknown object based on its similarity to a known object.

For example you know a person he is such and such but his brother is somewhere in America you have never seen and one day suddenly you encounter this person he looks almost like the person you know and you observe carefully and say "Oh I heard sometime back my friend telling me that his brother is coming back from America" that knowledge will come but even without knowledge this person looks like a person I have already known very well and therefore this person must be related somehow to that person whether it is cousin, brother etc.

The famous example given in Vedanta is we all know what is a cow but suddenly in the forest we see another animal almost resembling like a cow called gavaya then we understand somebody told us there is a animal you might see in the forest it is called wild ox and it resembles our cow in great way great extent and as soon as you behold that immediately you find out so this must be that animal which was described to me.

So seeing resemblance and inferring this must be that particular animal that is called upamāna pramāṇa.

==== 4. Arthapatti (Postulation/Presumption) ====
Then fourth is called arthāpatti. Arthāpatti means artha means meaning that is reasonable inference. Seeing a person famous example is you know or many people know a person and nobody seen has seen him eating during day time but he is growing fatter and fatter everyday.

What is the inference? Nobody can grow without eating and nobody can grow fat without eating oily substance fatty substance so this person must be gobbling up oily foods plenty of it more than he can digest at night where nobody can see him.

So by seeing an effect and you don't see any what is called contrary contradictory reason so you guess this person must be doing this thing secretly at night so to resolve this contradiction not seeing him eating and still growing we postulate that he must be eating at night not only eating plenty not only plenty most unhealthy subjects that is called arthāpatti.

==== 5. Anupalabdhi (Non-Perception) ====
And fifth I already mentioned anupalabdhi. You kept a book always you keep a book in a particular place one day it is missing and at night eleven o'clock after closing all your doors you kept there next morning it is not there so that absence of that object leads us to infer that book must have been taken by somebody to another room if it is not in this room it must be in the other room.

And all the time we use this arthāpatti where is the officer "oh we saw him just entering into the office" so you rush to the office but he is not there in his chair that is you don't see him can you guess he must have gone to some other room to inspect or to ask or to have a cup of coffee or toilet whatever it is this is called anupalabdhi or non perception of an object.

=== Proper Application of Pramanas ===
And all of us use them wonderfully well all these five pramanas are useful applicable and they must be applied meticulously if we want right knowledge but they only apply to sensory knowledge.

But with regard to supersensory knowledge we require another type of pramana which is called Veda pramāṇa, śabda pramāṇa. So we will discuss about it in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Introduction Lecture 03 on 31 January 2026

2026-05-24T13:13:02Z

Shekhar: /* Yajnavalkya's Realization */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् । पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते । पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥ ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥'''

'''Oṁ pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṁ pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate, pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate. Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ.'''

''(Simplified phonetic reading: Om poornam-adah poornam-idam, poornaat poornam-udachyate; poornasya poornam-aadaaya poornam-eva-avashishyate. Om shaantih shaantih shaantih.)''

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

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

== Introduction to Brihadaranyaka Upanishad ==
Of all the Upanishads, this Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is not only the biggest, it is the most important. And that's why Shankaracharya had written an elaborate commentary upon it. Earlier, I have given some introduction.

=== The Author and Origin ===
Who was this author, the writer or the manifester of this Brihadaranyaka Upanishad? The real author is only God, Brahman. But Brahman had revealed this Upanishad to Yajnavalkya through the deity called Surya Deva, the Sun God. And that is why it came to be known as Shukla Yajurveda.

The entire Shukla Yajurveda was a kind, graceful revelation of this highest spiritual truth to Yajnavalkya because he prepared himself to receive it.

=== The Nature of Prayer and Grace ===
Many times we do not understand what is the meaning of prayer. And even more important, why prayers are not answered.

It is just like an analogy: Two persons go to the ocean. One person goes with a small glass. Another person goes with a huge tanker. And then both of them receive water. But the person with a glass complains, "Why are you bestowing so much upon the other person? Whereas you have given me only a small glass full."

Of course, the ocean will not reply. But common sense will tell us that it is not that the ocean refuses to give you. But you are not ready to receive it. Or whatever capacity of reception you have, that much you got full.

This is what Sri Ramakrishna used to call, "The breeze of God's grace is always blowing. But you have to unfurl your sails." That means you should be ready to receive the grace, which has not started at a particular point of time, but forever it is blowing. Here grace means knowledge.

=== Sadhana and Mental Purification ===
And if we do sadhana, gradually increase our capacity of our mind, then we will be able to receive as much as our mind is ready to receive.

Imagine there is a room full of objects. And you want to buy something huge and put it there. You cannot because there is no space. So you will have to throw out, remove many objects, sufficient at least to keep that newly bought object.

In the same way, our mind is full of thoughts about the world—mithya jagat, avidya world. Sadhana is not meant to receive the grace of God. I repeat, sadhana is not meant to receive the grace of God. Sadhana is meant to make our minds pure. Purity means emptying the mind of all thoughts.

And just like space, as soon as a place is vacant, immediately it becomes available. That is, the space becomes available. You can keep whatever you want there. God's grace, you don't need to invite. You don't need to pray.

=== Yajnavalkya's Realization ===
So Yajnavalkya completely removed all thoughts. That is called purification of the mind. That is called destroying all attachments instantaneously. As soon as a place is vacant, space enters there. Rather, it is already there. Now it becomes more manifest.

This is the clear concept of what is called receiving the grace of God. And Yajnavalkya received it to the full. That means he removed 100% of his mind. Then what remained was Brahman. And that's why he was called Brahmavid (ब्रह्मविद्).

And Brahmavid (ब्रह्मविद्), as we saw in the Taittiriya Upanishad, āpnoti param (आप्नोति परम्) — he attains everything. He becomes Satyam Jñānam Anantam Brahma (सत्यं ज्ञानम् अनन्तं ब्रह्म).

=== The Setting for Study ===
So in the introduction, we have seen this is the biggest of the Upanishads. And it is usually taught to renunciates in the forest. Forest means a place where one can pursue the spiritual studies, spiritual sadhanas.

Spiritual study and spiritual sadhana are not two separate things. Just like a scientist: Scientific knowledge is not a dry knowledge. It is first thought about, then experimented upon. It becomes a provable knowledge. Proven knowledge becomes forever provable knowledge. Take the same steps, one should get the same result. Brahma jñānam is no exception to it. That is the real meaning.

=== Benefits of Forest Environment ===
So where there is no distraction, the mind also, because of the absence of distractions, can also remain equanimous, more calm. We have not developed so much that we can afford to be in this, what is called huge storm on the ocean, and remain in that ocean called Samsara Sagara, and expect to be calm and quiet.

So we have to help ourselves by going into solitude, which Ramakrishna used to call nirjanasthāna. Do not depend upon anything. Everything is perishable, non-dependable. Only God is dependable. That is called solitude.

And it is for the solitude, and there is also another thing: A forest is the most natural expression of nature. And to be in contact with nature itself is extraordinarily calming.

=== The Importance of Pure Food ===
So when a person starts to live and enjoy the bounty of the forest—fruits, roots, etc.—without contamination by artificial fertilizers, etc., the mind of a person becomes very, very pure.

Whereas we are all living cultivated with fertilizers and pesticides, etc. How much harm is being done? Now scientists are astonished how much plastic is going into the fishes, into the animals, into our own bodies. God alone knows.

And when the food is impure, when āhāra is not sāttvic āhāra, śuddha āhāra, then our remembrance of who we are also will be affected by it. That is why the sister of the Vaishnavas, Vaishnavas' bhaktas, is so much of importance for food.

==== An Incident About Food Purity ====
I have narrated an incident: Once Holy Mother bestowed her grace upon one of her disciples and asked him not to eat food in anybody's house excepting at the Jayrambati, Holy Mother's prasada, or the next best choice, the cooking of one's own mother.

The devotee disobeyed it, thinking that after all I am taking food from a devotee's house. Instantaneously his mind came down, fallen, and he received a shock. Then Mother must have told him, "Why did you disobey me? You should have come back here." Such is the effect of food.

Sri Ramakrishna could not touch the food, let alone cooked, even touched by impure people.

=== The True Meaning of Forest ===
So forest affords us natural food, healthy food, and also healthy environment. And there distractions are very, very less. If distractions are not less, that's not a forest, even if it is a forest. We have to understand the inner meaning.

Forest means where a person's mind can remain naturally, without effort, calm and quiet, equanimous. That is a real forest. A house also can be like that.

There is a beautiful Sanskrit verse: So one's own home, svagṛham, itself can become the greatest ashrama, provided the environment is kept like that. Sri Rama's home became such a heaven of peace.

=== Students of the Upanishad ===
Anyway, we already introduced Brihadaranyaka, and people used to study. Two types of people used to study there. One is the vanaprasthis, householders, and then another is monks who renounced.

After living for some time as a vanaprastha ashrama, then when he becomes ready, some of them don't—they occur robe, but not necessary. Sannyasa, vanaprastha ashrama, are not physical external stages. They are development of the purity of the mind. That's what we might discuss in the future.

== Three Main Divisions (Kandas) ==
This Brihadaranyaka Upanishad mainly is divided into three parts: Madhu Kanda, Muni Kanda, Khila Kanda. Kanda means a chapter.

=== 1. Madhu Kanda (The Honey Chapter) ===
Madhu Kanda means the chapter called honey. Honey means everything is interconnected. Why is everything interconnected? Because the source, the ultimate cause is Brahman, and everything comes out Brahman. Like many children of the same parents are interconnected, blood related. That is how it is called Madhu Kanda.

If we do not realize it, that I am separate, you are separate, I can do whatever I like with you, so also you can do, and that brings disastrous results. So it is called Madhu Kanda.

=== 2. Muni Kanda (Yajnavalkya Kanda) ===
Then the second part is called Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda, because there are marvelous discussions about the highest knowledge and also about many of the important contemplations called upasanas.

Yajnavalkya explains everything to his challengers and he also becomes the guru of Janaka Maharaja and he also becomes the teacher of his own, one of his own wives called Maitreyi, and most marvelous teachings are there.

=== 3. Khila Kanda (Miscellaneous Chapter) ===
The last Kanda is Khila Kanda. This is what we call appendix or appendicitis or whatever, where various distorted things, disconnected things, kept together, some of them are marvelous things.

So these are the three important divisions of his Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. And again each Adhyaya or Kanda is subdivided into two, so three into two, total there are six chapters.

And then some of them are repetitions, especially the conversation between Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi repeated in another section. And there is also remembrance of lineage, spiritual lineage, guru parampara system, that also is there.

=== Comparative Understanding of the Three Kandas ===
In Madhu Kanda, the primary teaching is upadesha of Brahma jñāna. Therefore it is called also Upadesha Kanda. And second, this is compared to śravaṇa because that is our goal.

Second is Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda. In this second chapter, the teachings given are supported by logic. Logic or upapatti is used. That is why it is called logical explanations of these real teachings are given in the first chapter.

And the person who explains such with superb intelligence and clarity is none other than Yajnavalkya himself. So if the first Kanda can be compared to śravaṇa, the second Kanda, Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda, Upapatti Kanda can be compared to manana. That is deeply churning, thinking.

Manana means churn the mind, keeping all the acquired knowledge and all the dirt, dust and unnecessary things are removed. Pure, what is called, butter is distilled from there. And Ramakrishna often uses this: There is no harm after being churned. If butter is kept in what you call buttermilk or water, it never mixes. But without that, the milk can get spoiled.

So this is the second chapter and the main guru is Yajnavalkya, Khila Kanda. That is what is called a miscellaneous chapter. In this part, various kinds of upasanas, that is contemplations, various types of rituals are found.

=== The Logic of This Division ===
Why are they found? It doesn't seem logical. First there should be what is called rituals and contemplations. Then logical explanations about Brahma jñāna. And lastly, pure Brahma jñāna.

No, sir. First the goal is explained. Then it is made to be understood with various logics, etc. Supported by logic, the teachings become much more acceptable. But to transform them into practical Vedanta, we have to start from where we are standing or even sitting or even lying down and move forward.

So this is the very logical way of dividing.

== Etymology of "Upanishad" ==
Now we will talk about what is the meaning of the Upanishad. In many of the Upanishads we have explained, but it is very necessary to go through it. First, because of our memory. Second, because repetition only drives deep the meaning into our subconscious and unconscious minds. That is what we need to understand.

This word Upanishad, according to Shankaracharya, is divided into three small words: Upa, Ni, Sad. And Upa and Ni are prefixes. The real word is Sad.

=== Meaning of "Sad" ===
Sad means, according to Shankara himself, that which destroys. What does it destroy? Sad means knowledge. What does knowledge destroy? Knowledge always destroys, only ignorance, nothing else.

Ignorance in Vedanta is called avidya. So Brahmavidya is that which destroys ignorance. If one attains Brahmavidya, then Brahman-ignorance, ignorance of Brahman is destroyed. They are simultaneous process. As soon as we bring light, darkness disappears, things are revealed, stand revealed.

==== Avidya as the Cause of Bondage ====
So according to this scripture, our Vedas, the cause of our bondage, called worldly existence, samsara, is ignorance of Brahman. If Brahmavidya, that is true knowledge, about whom? About our own nature, who am I?

So Brahmavidya destroys the very cause of worldly existence, which is called avidya. And when the cause ceases to exist, the effect of the cause also will be destroyed. As soon as you come to know that this is a rope, not a snake, the fear, the palpitation, will be automatically destroyed.

Not only so, destruction of the false knowledge, but the result of the effect of the false knowledge will also be destroyed. Brahma-avidya-nāśa, its effect, samsara-nāśa, that's what happens.

==== The Problem of Samsara ====
Why should we destroy samsara? If anybody is doubting, worldly existence, samsara means problems arising from gaining, loss, everything. Many times, gaining also causes great sorrow. How does it cause? If somebody is promoted, a hundred or thousand eyes will be glaring at him, scorching him. "What right have you got to get what you got? Each one of us should have got that."

Whoever rises to that position will get the same looks. How many people are waiting to kill the presidents, prime ministers, in every country? Worldly existence means problems. Problems means sorrow. Sorrow is opposite our nature.

How do we know? Because we never lift even a small finger to what is called destroy happiness. But the moment even the slightest sorrow comes, immediately, automatically, we want to get rid of it.

==== The Three Sources of Sorrow ====
And according to Vedanta, all sorrows come from three factors. What is that? This external world represented by gross body, internal world, our mental reactions caused by what is called the mental world. And the root cause of both is karana, cause, causal world.

So, gross body, subtle body, causal body. Any sorrow comes only from these three.

So there is another way, explanation also is there. So that which causes sorrow from our body and external world is called adhyātma. But that which comes from God is what is called from the external world, earthquakes, or lack of rain, or occupation by other people, people who cheat, or punish to people's savings, etc. And that also because of one's own prarabdha actually.

So, there is a third: God or Brahman, also is not only creator, but he is also a supporter, sustainer. And if we do not recognize, if we are not grateful what we are receiving for, then great destruction will come. They will send what is called too much rain, too less of rain, unseasonal rain, earthquakes, or wars, pestilences, or germ warfare.

All these things come. Unfortunately, we blame them on other people, not knowing we are the other people. Our government is nothing but our representation. Collective representation is called our government.

==== Liberation from Samsara ====
So, world existence means problems arising from tapa, sorrow, tapatraya. Liberation from world existence is moksha. Cessation from sorrow. Brahmavid, you know the supreme. So, along with Brahman, he enjoys everything.

Brahmavidya gives two fruits. It destroys ignorance and it grants liberation. There is no separate thing called liberation. To know that I was, I am, I will be ever free, that is, to know that is called liberation.

=== Second Meaning of "Sad" ===
That is one meaning of the word sad. There is another word. It means that which leads us to the right goal. So, what does lead us? Sad means knowledge of self, Brahman. Brahmavidya, where does it lead us?

So, Brahmavidya leads to Brahman. It means what? Leading means what? It means it makes us completely become one with Brahman. Or to know there are no Brahman and me, only one thing and that is Brahman. I am that Brahman. That is why it is said Brahmavid āpnoti param.

So, one meaning of sad is destruction of ignorance. Second meaning is that which leads us to Brahman. And what is the good of it? The nature of Brahman is what? Sat, Cit, Ānanda. Ānanda means bliss.

So, sad means that which leads each one of us to Brahman which means to bliss, which means to counter death, which means complete knowledge, all consciousness, I am Brahman. Thus, attainment of Brahman means I am ānanda svarūpa.

So, we have seen both.

=== Meaning of "Ni" ===
Then, we have to see what is the meaning of Ni. Ni is a prefix and niśaśena nāśayati. We have to presume that meaning. That means there would be not even a little bit remnant of avidya completely. That which eradicates, destroys, so uproots the samsara vṛkṣa.

That is called—that what does it mean? What does it do? Who does it? Sad. So, Ni means there would be a little bit of samsara, a little bit of Brahman. No. Completely.

==== The Problem of Mental Conflict ====
So, what is the problem? Sad. Whatever knowledge we have, that is our problem. Knowledge is received by the mind, developed by the mind. But then, mind means there is also intellect.

So, our mind, our understanding, buddhi and manas are ever at conflict. I know aham brahmāsmi. But, my mind says, "You idiot, you liked this sweet very much. Now, get to work and enjoy that sweet."

This ever opposing force, that is why it is called dvandva, is haunting us ever since creation. So, therefore, mere knowledge will not do. Our identity with the body, our identity with our possessions, our identity with the family and our hatred of other people, both of them lead to bondage only.

That's why it is said, pāpam is also gives us sorrow. Puṇyam also gives us more sorrow. How come? Because if pāpam is like a person who falls a little bit down, from a short height. Puṇyam, you go to the Svarga Loka, the pāpa, you fall down, which is extraordinarily painful.

That's why we must rise beyond both virtue and vice. But in the beginning, get rid of the vice. Later on, we have to get rid of virtue also. We must go beyond that. So, we must go beyond dharma, beyond artha, beyond kāma, then only moksha is possible.

==== Obstacles to Knowledge ====
So, in spite of knowledge, we have got passions, hatreds, aversions, desires, kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, mātsarya. These are called obstacles to right knowledge.

So, these feelings have not only come from the past birth, but in this birth also, unfortunately, we reinforce them instead of cutting them down. So, all these things are sure to affect the mind, but Vedanta knowledge also arises in the intellect. Doubts also arise in the intellect until definitive knowledge arises.

If the mind is not kept under control, śama, dama, ādi, ṣaṭ, sampatti, this knowledge does not really work. That is why, even when we understand intellectually Vedanta, we are unable to keep serene and quite equanimous in the face of ups and downs of life. And this is the problem of all humanity.

Only just a selected few manushya, nāma, sahasreṣu try to jump out of the net, as Ramakrishna gives the analogy of the fish, and only a few succeed in it.

==== The Path Through Dharma Shastra ====
That is why, we have to start our life in having faith not in Vedanta Shastra, but in Dharma Shastra. What does Dharma Shastra do? Like a spiritual doctor, like a physical doctor, this is a spiritual doctor, it says, if you want physical health, mental health, every type of health, then you will have to stop doing these things and start doing these things.

They are called niṣedhāda, do not even think of doing them, or if, because we have already done, then slowly try to reduce them by replacing them with what should be done. That is called vidhi.

So, only when one leads a dharmic life, these obstacles of vidhi or misconception will become absent, it takes time gradually. So, that knowledge which arises in an intellect free from all doubts and in a mind free from the obstacles of misconception or jñāna, that is called in Vedanta, Sanskrit knowledge of the absence of all the obstacles.

==== The Process of Learning ====
So, to remove misconceptions, how do we do that? So, as I said, first we have to go to a guru and then what does the guru do? He first prescribes rituals and then contemplations. First rituals, then contemplations and then when the guru finds a fit person, he starts giving us what is called upadeśa, teaching and that teaching is called śravaṇam.

Śravaṇam is not merely listening to a lecture like this. For that, we have to be ready and then whatever is received must be made firm through the process of churning the mind until the last vestige of doubt is totally removed and when that happens, then we have to fight with the old samskaras, bring in new samskaras and that is called nididhyāsana means remove the unspiritual samskaras, replacing them with spiritual samskaras until we reach the doorway to Brahman.

So, Ni means definitive knowledge.

=== Meaning of "Upa" ===
Upa, what is Upa means method of attaining self-knowledge and there is only one path. Upa means near.

==== First Meaning: Approaching the Self ====
First meaning of Upa is we have to approach the self who is within every object in this world, living or non-living.

In the non-living, it is in the form of existence. In the living, it is in the form of not only existence sat but cit and ānanda but even this cit and ānanda are very very minimal, miniscule at the beginning as the soul evolves further, it evolves its brain. Brain means the ability to understand an appropriate body and mind and it culminates in human body and even then the human body has to go through three steps of rajoguna.

==== The Three Gunas and Human Evolution ====
First it would be enveloped with tamoguna. Tamas means darkness. Then slowly like a train approaching the ground, traveling in the tunnel, a faint glimpse of light comes and that is where rajoguna comes out.

Then after the rajoguna as the progress is made, the light becomes more and more and when we come out it becomes perfectly clear which is called sattvaguna. That is how Hinduism divides people into śūdra, vaiśya, kṣatriya and brāhmaṇa but even in a Brahmin's life and that includes other varnas also.

==== The Four Ashramas ====
So life is divided into four as you all know very well, should know very well: learning process, experimenting and experiencing process and being disappointed with the results attained thus slowly turning our face away from the external into the internal which is called vanaprasthāśrama and finally trying to abide with the self in the self called sannyāsāśrama.

So that is the only process and we see this in several of the Upanishads since we have discussed what we call Chandogya Upanishad in the 7th chapter that great learned person who knows everything but whose mind was not under control. He approaches Sanatkumara without guru that is called approaching guru. Approaching guru in Sanskrit is called upasadanam.

==== Guru Upasadanam ====
Guru upasadanam—you stay with the guru and then serve him: tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā. So gradually one learns to surrender to the guru. Guru means right knowledge so that right knowledge as much as we surrender right knowledge penetrates into the depths of our darkest unconscious lights up destroys old samskaras slowly reveals the self that is abiding there not reluctantly but with the greatest eagerness.

==== The Three Meanings of "Upa" ====
That is the three meanings of the Upa finally the Near. Upa means Near and the nearest thing to us is our own true self or God and approaching him just as a dry straw as soon as it approaches blazing fire it becomes completely burnt out becomes fire itself or like the clarified butter ghee poured into blazing fire it only feeds the fire so one becomes completely one with one's own true nature not becoming somebody else Brahman is our own true nature.

These are the three meanings of Upa:

# A deep desire to approach God
# Follow the teachings of a guru by surrendering and guru tells him first you do this second you do that any number of steps that are needed and that is what is called rituals then contemplations finally śravaṇa, manana, nididhyāsana
# So Upa means Brahma vidya

This is the primary meaning of the word Upanishad.

== Pramanas: Valid Means of Knowledge ==
So now we have discussed but just a brief recollection just to recollect what are these in Indian philosophy particularly within the school of Advaita Vedanta. Pramanas are the valid means through which we acquire accurate valid knowledge of the world and the self.

Note down we are not only talking about self or God we are talking about the world what is the condition of our present knowledge. God may or may not exist but the world definitely is existing and therefore it is real therefore we should act and react according to this concept.

What does Vedanta teach? Brahma satyam jagan mithya. It goes completely opposite to what we know.

A sincere student has to and will question the teacher, "Sir, my experience shows this world is real your Vedanta teaches this world is unreal God alone is real my knowledge is just the contrary complete 100% opposite how come?"

=== Two Categories of Pramanas ===
Anyway for that purpose knowledge or the means of knowledge called pramanas are divided into two categories.

The first category of pramanas should give us valid knowledge about this world and we employ five means and the first means that we employ is called direct experience called pratyakṣa pramāṇa and based upon this pratyakṣa pramāṇa another four subsidiary pratyakṣa pramāṇas are added so you can say one pramāṇa or you can say one plus four five pramāṇas.

The second category of pramāṇa is called śabda pramāṇa because there is the knowledge of things of which we have absolutely no knowledge because they are not pratyakṣa they are not directly experienceable.

For example that there is life after death there are other worlds and there are higher worlds and lower worlds and there is also a God and we are all experiencing the results of our own past lives these are not available for any scientific knowledge.

So science employs and we also consciously and most of the time unconsciously experience five types of this means of acquiring knowledge and most of the time we don't employ them properly and that's why our knowledge will be not only defective knowledge but positively harmful knowledge.

=== The Five Pramanas (First Category) ===
But to go briefly so first category is and only category really speaking is called:

==== 1. Pratyaksha (Direct Perception) ====
Pratyakṣa—perceptual knowledge. This is a knowledge gained directly through the five sense organs. So sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch and combined with the mind. Mind is the internal perception of emotions like joy or pain happiness unhappiness.

So as a simple example you see a blue book on a table your eyes our eyes perceive the color and shape directly giving us the valid knowledge that here is a blue book and that also separates by the adjectives what is the adjective it is a book therefore it is not a table it is not a tree and it is blue so it excludes all other colors that is called pratyakṣa pramāṇa.

And as a derivative of this pratyakṣa pramāṇa there are another four pramāṇas briefly we will discuss in today's class and go to the śabda pramāṇa in our next class.

==== 2. Anumana (Inference) ====
The second is called anumāna—inference. So what is the inference? This knowledge reached by using a reason to arrive at a conclusion based on a previously known universal relationship also called vyāpti.

For example this is a famous example there is a hill in front of you and one day you see smoke arising from behind the hill and you don't know what causes the smoke but you have observed in day to day life when you lit a fire and then smoke arises so smoke will not come unless there is a fire therefore even though we do not see the fire we infer that some fire is going on and the result will be the smoke.

Smoke is definitely caused by fire therefore we infer but for this universally we observe wherever there is fire there is smoke that is very necessary that is called vyāpti.

Apply this to all these inferences therefore when you see one part of our experience not the other part by seeing one part of the fact we infer the other fact and that is called anumāna pramāṇa.

For that very important to understand so we must have experience of both things together invariably suppose you see fire no smoke so this inference becomes invalid no every time we see a fire there is a wisp of smoke even from the driest firewood and that is called vyāpti means universally applicable observable so we see only part of it which is called smoke and therefore wherever there is fire there would be smoke so if you see the smoke only we infer there is fire that is.

==== 3. Upamana (Comparison/Analogy) ====
The third is called upamāna—comparison or analogy. What is this? This is knowledge gained by identifying any unknown object based on its similarity to a known object.

For example you know a person he is such and such but his brother is somewhere in America you have never seen and one day suddenly you encounter this person he looks almost like the person you know and you observe carefully and say "Oh I heard sometime back my friend telling me that his brother is coming back from America" that knowledge will come but even without knowledge this person looks like a person I have already known very well and therefore this person must be related somehow to that person whether it is cousin, brother etc.

The famous example given in Vedanta is we all know what is a cow but suddenly in the forest we see another animal almost resembling like a cow called gavaya then we understand somebody told us there is a animal you might see in the forest it is called wild ox and it resembles our cow in great way great extent and as soon as you behold that immediately you find out so this must be that animal which was described to me.

So seeing resemblance and inferring this must be that particular animal that is called upamāna pramāṇa.

==== 4. Arthapatti (Postulation/Presumption) ====
Then fourth is called arthāpatti. Arthāpatti means artha means meaning that is reasonable inference. Seeing a person famous example is you know or many people know a person and nobody seen has seen him eating during day time but he is growing fatter and fatter everyday.

What is the inference? Nobody can grow without eating and nobody can grow fat without eating oily substance fatty substance so this person must be gobbling up oily foods plenty of it more than he can digest at night where nobody can see him.

So by seeing an effect and you don't see any what is called contrary contradictory reason so you guess this person must be doing this thing secretly at night so to resolve this contradiction not seeing him eating and still growing we postulate that he must be eating at night not only eating plenty not only plenty most unhealthy subjects that is called arthāpatti.

==== 5. Anupalabdhi (Non-Perception) ====
And fifth I already mentioned anupalabdhi. You kept a book always you keep a book in a particular place one day it is missing and at night eleven o'clock after closing all your doors you kept there next morning it is not there so that absence of that object leads us to infer that book must have been taken by somebody to another room if it is not in this room it must be in the other room.

And all the time we use this arthāpatti where is the officer "oh we saw him just entering into the office" so you rush to the office but he is not there in his chair that is you don't see him can you guess he must have gone to some other room to inspect or to ask or to have a cup of coffee or toilet whatever it is this is called anupalabdhi or non perception of an object.

=== Proper Application of Pramanas ===
And all of us use them wonderfully well all these five pramanas are useful applicable and they must be applied meticulously if we want right knowledge but they only apply to sensory knowledge.

But with regard to supersensory knowledge we require another type of pramana which is called Veda pramāṇa, śabda pramāṇa. So we will discuss about it in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Introduction Lecture 03 on 31 January 2026

2026-05-24T13:12:27Z

Shekhar: /* Yajnavalkya's Realization */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् । पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते । पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥ ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥'''

'''Oṁ pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṁ pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate, pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate. Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ.'''

''(Simplified phonetic reading: Om poornam-adah poornam-idam, poornaat poornam-udachyate; poornasya poornam-aadaaya poornam-eva-avashishyate. Om shaantih shaantih shaantih.)''

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

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

== Introduction to Brihadaranyaka Upanishad ==
Of all the Upanishads, this Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is not only the biggest, it is the most important. And that's why Shankaracharya had written an elaborate commentary upon it. Earlier, I have given some introduction.

=== The Author and Origin ===
Who was this author, the writer or the manifester of this Brihadaranyaka Upanishad? The real author is only God, Brahman. But Brahman had revealed this Upanishad to Yajnavalkya through the deity called Surya Deva, the Sun God. And that is why it came to be known as Shukla Yajurveda.

The entire Shukla Yajurveda was a kind, graceful revelation of this highest spiritual truth to Yajnavalkya because he prepared himself to receive it.

=== The Nature of Prayer and Grace ===
Many times we do not understand what is the meaning of prayer. And even more important, why prayers are not answered.

It is just like an analogy: Two persons go to the ocean. One person goes with a small glass. Another person goes with a huge tanker. And then both of them receive water. But the person with a glass complains, "Why are you bestowing so much upon the other person? Whereas you have given me only a small glass full."

Of course, the ocean will not reply. But common sense will tell us that it is not that the ocean refuses to give you. But you are not ready to receive it. Or whatever capacity of reception you have, that much you got full.

This is what Sri Ramakrishna used to call, "The breeze of God's grace is always blowing. But you have to unfurl your sails." That means you should be ready to receive the grace, which has not started at a particular point of time, but forever it is blowing. Here grace means knowledge.

=== Sadhana and Mental Purification ===
And if we do sadhana, gradually increase our capacity of our mind, then we will be able to receive as much as our mind is ready to receive.

Imagine there is a room full of objects. And you want to buy something huge and put it there. You cannot because there is no space. So you will have to throw out, remove many objects, sufficient at least to keep that newly bought object.

In the same way, our mind is full of thoughts about the world—mithya jagat, avidya world. Sadhana is not meant to receive the grace of God. I repeat, sadhana is not meant to receive the grace of God. Sadhana is meant to make our minds pure. Purity means emptying the mind of all thoughts.

And just like space, as soon as a place is vacant, immediately it becomes available. That is, the space becomes available. You can keep whatever you want there. God's grace, you don't need to invite. You don't need to pray.

=== Yajnavalkya's Realization ===
So Yajnavalkya completely removed all thoughts. That is called purification of the mind. That is called destroying all attachments instantaneously. As soon as a place is vacant, space enters there. Rather, it is already there. Now it becomes more manifest.

This is the clear concept of what is called receiving the grace of God. And Yajnavalkya (याज्ञवल्क्य) received it to the full. That means he removed 100% of his mind. Then what remained was Brahman (ब्रह्म). And that's why he was called Brahmavid (ब्रह्मविद्).

And Brahmavid (ब्रह्मविद्), as we saw in the Taittiriya Upanishad (तैत्तिरीय उपनिषद्), āpnoti param (आप्नोति परम्) — he attains everything. He becomes Satyam Jñānam Anantam Brahma (सत्यं ज्ञानम् अनन्तं ब्रह्म).

=== The Setting for Study ===
So in the introduction, we have seen this is the biggest of the Upanishads. And it is usually taught to renunciates in the forest. Forest means a place where one can pursue the spiritual studies, spiritual sadhanas.

Spiritual study and spiritual sadhana are not two separate things. Just like a scientist: Scientific knowledge is not a dry knowledge. It is first thought about, then experimented upon. It becomes a provable knowledge. Proven knowledge becomes forever provable knowledge. Take the same steps, one should get the same result. Brahma jñānam is no exception to it. That is the real meaning.

=== Benefits of Forest Environment ===
So where there is no distraction, the mind also, because of the absence of distractions, can also remain equanimous, more calm. We have not developed so much that we can afford to be in this, what is called huge storm on the ocean, and remain in that ocean called Samsara Sagara, and expect to be calm and quiet.

So we have to help ourselves by going into solitude, which Ramakrishna used to call nirjanasthāna. Do not depend upon anything. Everything is perishable, non-dependable. Only God is dependable. That is called solitude.

And it is for the solitude, and there is also another thing: A forest is the most natural expression of nature. And to be in contact with nature itself is extraordinarily calming.

=== The Importance of Pure Food ===
So when a person starts to live and enjoy the bounty of the forest—fruits, roots, etc.—without contamination by artificial fertilizers, etc., the mind of a person becomes very, very pure.

Whereas we are all living cultivated with fertilizers and pesticides, etc. How much harm is being done? Now scientists are astonished how much plastic is going into the fishes, into the animals, into our own bodies. God alone knows.

And when the food is impure, when āhāra is not sāttvic āhāra, śuddha āhāra, then our remembrance of who we are also will be affected by it. That is why the sister of the Vaishnavas, Vaishnavas' bhaktas, is so much of importance for food.

==== An Incident About Food Purity ====
I have narrated an incident: Once Holy Mother bestowed her grace upon one of her disciples and asked him not to eat food in anybody's house excepting at the Jayrambati, Holy Mother's prasada, or the next best choice, the cooking of one's own mother.

The devotee disobeyed it, thinking that after all I am taking food from a devotee's house. Instantaneously his mind came down, fallen, and he received a shock. Then Mother must have told him, "Why did you disobey me? You should have come back here." Such is the effect of food.

Sri Ramakrishna could not touch the food, let alone cooked, even touched by impure people.

=== The True Meaning of Forest ===
So forest affords us natural food, healthy food, and also healthy environment. And there distractions are very, very less. If distractions are not less, that's not a forest, even if it is a forest. We have to understand the inner meaning.

Forest means where a person's mind can remain naturally, without effort, calm and quiet, equanimous. That is a real forest. A house also can be like that.

There is a beautiful Sanskrit verse: So one's own home, svagṛham, itself can become the greatest ashrama, provided the environment is kept like that. Sri Rama's home became such a heaven of peace.

=== Students of the Upanishad ===
Anyway, we already introduced Brihadaranyaka, and people used to study. Two types of people used to study there. One is the vanaprasthis, householders, and then another is monks who renounced.

After living for some time as a vanaprastha ashrama, then when he becomes ready, some of them don't—they occur robe, but not necessary. Sannyasa, vanaprastha ashrama, are not physical external stages. They are development of the purity of the mind. That's what we might discuss in the future.

== Three Main Divisions (Kandas) ==
This Brihadaranyaka Upanishad mainly is divided into three parts: Madhu Kanda, Muni Kanda, Khila Kanda. Kanda means a chapter.

=== 1. Madhu Kanda (The Honey Chapter) ===
Madhu Kanda means the chapter called honey. Honey means everything is interconnected. Why is everything interconnected? Because the source, the ultimate cause is Brahman, and everything comes out Brahman. Like many children of the same parents are interconnected, blood related. That is how it is called Madhu Kanda.

If we do not realize it, that I am separate, you are separate, I can do whatever I like with you, so also you can do, and that brings disastrous results. So it is called Madhu Kanda.

=== 2. Muni Kanda (Yajnavalkya Kanda) ===
Then the second part is called Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda, because there are marvelous discussions about the highest knowledge and also about many of the important contemplations called upasanas.

Yajnavalkya explains everything to his challengers and he also becomes the guru of Janaka Maharaja and he also becomes the teacher of his own, one of his own wives called Maitreyi, and most marvelous teachings are there.

=== 3. Khila Kanda (Miscellaneous Chapter) ===
The last Kanda is Khila Kanda. This is what we call appendix or appendicitis or whatever, where various distorted things, disconnected things, kept together, some of them are marvelous things.

So these are the three important divisions of his Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. And again each Adhyaya or Kanda is subdivided into two, so three into two, total there are six chapters.

And then some of them are repetitions, especially the conversation between Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi repeated in another section. And there is also remembrance of lineage, spiritual lineage, guru parampara system, that also is there.

=== Comparative Understanding of the Three Kandas ===
In Madhu Kanda, the primary teaching is upadesha of Brahma jñāna. Therefore it is called also Upadesha Kanda. And second, this is compared to śravaṇa because that is our goal.

Second is Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda. In this second chapter, the teachings given are supported by logic. Logic or upapatti is used. That is why it is called logical explanations of these real teachings are given in the first chapter.

And the person who explains such with superb intelligence and clarity is none other than Yajnavalkya himself. So if the first Kanda can be compared to śravaṇa, the second Kanda, Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda, Upapatti Kanda can be compared to manana. That is deeply churning, thinking.

Manana means churn the mind, keeping all the acquired knowledge and all the dirt, dust and unnecessary things are removed. Pure, what is called, butter is distilled from there. And Ramakrishna often uses this: There is no harm after being churned. If butter is kept in what you call buttermilk or water, it never mixes. But without that, the milk can get spoiled.

So this is the second chapter and the main guru is Yajnavalkya, Khila Kanda. That is what is called a miscellaneous chapter. In this part, various kinds of upasanas, that is contemplations, various types of rituals are found.

=== The Logic of This Division ===
Why are they found? It doesn't seem logical. First there should be what is called rituals and contemplations. Then logical explanations about Brahma jñāna. And lastly, pure Brahma jñāna.

No, sir. First the goal is explained. Then it is made to be understood with various logics, etc. Supported by logic, the teachings become much more acceptable. But to transform them into practical Vedanta, we have to start from where we are standing or even sitting or even lying down and move forward.

So this is the very logical way of dividing.

== Etymology of "Upanishad" ==
Now we will talk about what is the meaning of the Upanishad. In many of the Upanishads we have explained, but it is very necessary to go through it. First, because of our memory. Second, because repetition only drives deep the meaning into our subconscious and unconscious minds. That is what we need to understand.

This word Upanishad, according to Shankaracharya, is divided into three small words: Upa, Ni, Sad. And Upa and Ni are prefixes. The real word is Sad.

=== Meaning of "Sad" ===
Sad means, according to Shankara himself, that which destroys. What does it destroy? Sad means knowledge. What does knowledge destroy? Knowledge always destroys, only ignorance, nothing else.

Ignorance in Vedanta is called avidya. So Brahmavidya is that which destroys ignorance. If one attains Brahmavidya, then Brahman-ignorance, ignorance of Brahman is destroyed. They are simultaneous process. As soon as we bring light, darkness disappears, things are revealed, stand revealed.

==== Avidya as the Cause of Bondage ====
So according to this scripture, our Vedas, the cause of our bondage, called worldly existence, samsara, is ignorance of Brahman. If Brahmavidya, that is true knowledge, about whom? About our own nature, who am I?

So Brahmavidya destroys the very cause of worldly existence, which is called avidya. And when the cause ceases to exist, the effect of the cause also will be destroyed. As soon as you come to know that this is a rope, not a snake, the fear, the palpitation, will be automatically destroyed.

Not only so, destruction of the false knowledge, but the result of the effect of the false knowledge will also be destroyed. Brahma-avidya-nāśa, its effect, samsara-nāśa, that's what happens.

==== The Problem of Samsara ====
Why should we destroy samsara? If anybody is doubting, worldly existence, samsara means problems arising from gaining, loss, everything. Many times, gaining also causes great sorrow. How does it cause? If somebody is promoted, a hundred or thousand eyes will be glaring at him, scorching him. "What right have you got to get what you got? Each one of us should have got that."

Whoever rises to that position will get the same looks. How many people are waiting to kill the presidents, prime ministers, in every country? Worldly existence means problems. Problems means sorrow. Sorrow is opposite our nature.

How do we know? Because we never lift even a small finger to what is called destroy happiness. But the moment even the slightest sorrow comes, immediately, automatically, we want to get rid of it.

==== The Three Sources of Sorrow ====
And according to Vedanta, all sorrows come from three factors. What is that? This external world represented by gross body, internal world, our mental reactions caused by what is called the mental world. And the root cause of both is karana, cause, causal world.

So, gross body, subtle body, causal body. Any sorrow comes only from these three.

So there is another way, explanation also is there. So that which causes sorrow from our body and external world is called adhyātma. But that which comes from God is what is called from the external world, earthquakes, or lack of rain, or occupation by other people, people who cheat, or punish to people's savings, etc. And that also because of one's own prarabdha actually.

So, there is a third: God or Brahman, also is not only creator, but he is also a supporter, sustainer. And if we do not recognize, if we are not grateful what we are receiving for, then great destruction will come. They will send what is called too much rain, too less of rain, unseasonal rain, earthquakes, or wars, pestilences, or germ warfare.

All these things come. Unfortunately, we blame them on other people, not knowing we are the other people. Our government is nothing but our representation. Collective representation is called our government.

==== Liberation from Samsara ====
So, world existence means problems arising from tapa, sorrow, tapatraya. Liberation from world existence is moksha. Cessation from sorrow. Brahmavid, you know the supreme. So, along with Brahman, he enjoys everything.

Brahmavidya gives two fruits. It destroys ignorance and it grants liberation. There is no separate thing called liberation. To know that I was, I am, I will be ever free, that is, to know that is called liberation.

=== Second Meaning of "Sad" ===
That is one meaning of the word sad. There is another word. It means that which leads us to the right goal. So, what does lead us? Sad means knowledge of self, Brahman. Brahmavidya, where does it lead us?

So, Brahmavidya leads to Brahman. It means what? Leading means what? It means it makes us completely become one with Brahman. Or to know there are no Brahman and me, only one thing and that is Brahman. I am that Brahman. That is why it is said Brahmavid āpnoti param.

So, one meaning of sad is destruction of ignorance. Second meaning is that which leads us to Brahman. And what is the good of it? The nature of Brahman is what? Sat, Cit, Ānanda. Ānanda means bliss.

So, sad means that which leads each one of us to Brahman which means to bliss, which means to counter death, which means complete knowledge, all consciousness, I am Brahman. Thus, attainment of Brahman means I am ānanda svarūpa.

So, we have seen both.

=== Meaning of "Ni" ===
Then, we have to see what is the meaning of Ni. Ni is a prefix and niśaśena nāśayati. We have to presume that meaning. That means there would be not even a little bit remnant of avidya completely. That which eradicates, destroys, so uproots the samsara vṛkṣa.

That is called—that what does it mean? What does it do? Who does it? Sad. So, Ni means there would be a little bit of samsara, a little bit of Brahman. No. Completely.

==== The Problem of Mental Conflict ====
So, what is the problem? Sad. Whatever knowledge we have, that is our problem. Knowledge is received by the mind, developed by the mind. But then, mind means there is also intellect.

So, our mind, our understanding, buddhi and manas are ever at conflict. I know aham brahmāsmi. But, my mind says, "You idiot, you liked this sweet very much. Now, get to work and enjoy that sweet."

This ever opposing force, that is why it is called dvandva, is haunting us ever since creation. So, therefore, mere knowledge will not do. Our identity with the body, our identity with our possessions, our identity with the family and our hatred of other people, both of them lead to bondage only.

That's why it is said, pāpam is also gives us sorrow. Puṇyam also gives us more sorrow. How come? Because if pāpam is like a person who falls a little bit down, from a short height. Puṇyam, you go to the Svarga Loka, the pāpa, you fall down, which is extraordinarily painful.

That's why we must rise beyond both virtue and vice. But in the beginning, get rid of the vice. Later on, we have to get rid of virtue also. We must go beyond that. So, we must go beyond dharma, beyond artha, beyond kāma, then only moksha is possible.

==== Obstacles to Knowledge ====
So, in spite of knowledge, we have got passions, hatreds, aversions, desires, kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, mātsarya. These are called obstacles to right knowledge.

So, these feelings have not only come from the past birth, but in this birth also, unfortunately, we reinforce them instead of cutting them down. So, all these things are sure to affect the mind, but Vedanta knowledge also arises in the intellect. Doubts also arise in the intellect until definitive knowledge arises.

If the mind is not kept under control, śama, dama, ādi, ṣaṭ, sampatti, this knowledge does not really work. That is why, even when we understand intellectually Vedanta, we are unable to keep serene and quite equanimous in the face of ups and downs of life. And this is the problem of all humanity.

Only just a selected few manushya, nāma, sahasreṣu try to jump out of the net, as Ramakrishna gives the analogy of the fish, and only a few succeed in it.

==== The Path Through Dharma Shastra ====
That is why, we have to start our life in having faith not in Vedanta Shastra, but in Dharma Shastra. What does Dharma Shastra do? Like a spiritual doctor, like a physical doctor, this is a spiritual doctor, it says, if you want physical health, mental health, every type of health, then you will have to stop doing these things and start doing these things.

They are called niṣedhāda, do not even think of doing them, or if, because we have already done, then slowly try to reduce them by replacing them with what should be done. That is called vidhi.

So, only when one leads a dharmic life, these obstacles of vidhi or misconception will become absent, it takes time gradually. So, that knowledge which arises in an intellect free from all doubts and in a mind free from the obstacles of misconception or jñāna, that is called in Vedanta, Sanskrit knowledge of the absence of all the obstacles.

==== The Process of Learning ====
So, to remove misconceptions, how do we do that? So, as I said, first we have to go to a guru and then what does the guru do? He first prescribes rituals and then contemplations. First rituals, then contemplations and then when the guru finds a fit person, he starts giving us what is called upadeśa, teaching and that teaching is called śravaṇam.

Śravaṇam is not merely listening to a lecture like this. For that, we have to be ready and then whatever is received must be made firm through the process of churning the mind until the last vestige of doubt is totally removed and when that happens, then we have to fight with the old samskaras, bring in new samskaras and that is called nididhyāsana means remove the unspiritual samskaras, replacing them with spiritual samskaras until we reach the doorway to Brahman.

So, Ni means definitive knowledge.

=== Meaning of "Upa" ===
Upa, what is Upa means method of attaining self-knowledge and there is only one path. Upa means near.

==== First Meaning: Approaching the Self ====
First meaning of Upa is we have to approach the self who is within every object in this world, living or non-living.

In the non-living, it is in the form of existence. In the living, it is in the form of not only existence sat but cit and ānanda but even this cit and ānanda are very very minimal, miniscule at the beginning as the soul evolves further, it evolves its brain. Brain means the ability to understand an appropriate body and mind and it culminates in human body and even then the human body has to go through three steps of rajoguna.

==== The Three Gunas and Human Evolution ====
First it would be enveloped with tamoguna. Tamas means darkness. Then slowly like a train approaching the ground, traveling in the tunnel, a faint glimpse of light comes and that is where rajoguna comes out.

Then after the rajoguna as the progress is made, the light becomes more and more and when we come out it becomes perfectly clear which is called sattvaguna. That is how Hinduism divides people into śūdra, vaiśya, kṣatriya and brāhmaṇa but even in a Brahmin's life and that includes other varnas also.

==== The Four Ashramas ====
So life is divided into four as you all know very well, should know very well: learning process, experimenting and experiencing process and being disappointed with the results attained thus slowly turning our face away from the external into the internal which is called vanaprasthāśrama and finally trying to abide with the self in the self called sannyāsāśrama.

So that is the only process and we see this in several of the Upanishads since we have discussed what we call Chandogya Upanishad in the 7th chapter that great learned person who knows everything but whose mind was not under control. He approaches Sanatkumara without guru that is called approaching guru. Approaching guru in Sanskrit is called upasadanam.

==== Guru Upasadanam ====
Guru upasadanam—you stay with the guru and then serve him: tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā. So gradually one learns to surrender to the guru. Guru means right knowledge so that right knowledge as much as we surrender right knowledge penetrates into the depths of our darkest unconscious lights up destroys old samskaras slowly reveals the self that is abiding there not reluctantly but with the greatest eagerness.

==== The Three Meanings of "Upa" ====
That is the three meanings of the Upa finally the Near. Upa means Near and the nearest thing to us is our own true self or God and approaching him just as a dry straw as soon as it approaches blazing fire it becomes completely burnt out becomes fire itself or like the clarified butter ghee poured into blazing fire it only feeds the fire so one becomes completely one with one's own true nature not becoming somebody else Brahman is our own true nature.

These are the three meanings of Upa:

# A deep desire to approach God
# Follow the teachings of a guru by surrendering and guru tells him first you do this second you do that any number of steps that are needed and that is what is called rituals then contemplations finally śravaṇa, manana, nididhyāsana
# So Upa means Brahma vidya

This is the primary meaning of the word Upanishad.

== Pramanas: Valid Means of Knowledge ==
So now we have discussed but just a brief recollection just to recollect what are these in Indian philosophy particularly within the school of Advaita Vedanta. Pramanas are the valid means through which we acquire accurate valid knowledge of the world and the self.

Note down we are not only talking about self or God we are talking about the world what is the condition of our present knowledge. God may or may not exist but the world definitely is existing and therefore it is real therefore we should act and react according to this concept.

What does Vedanta teach? Brahma satyam jagan mithya. It goes completely opposite to what we know.

A sincere student has to and will question the teacher, "Sir, my experience shows this world is real your Vedanta teaches this world is unreal God alone is real my knowledge is just the contrary complete 100% opposite how come?"

=== Two Categories of Pramanas ===
Anyway for that purpose knowledge or the means of knowledge called pramanas are divided into two categories.

The first category of pramanas should give us valid knowledge about this world and we employ five means and the first means that we employ is called direct experience called pratyakṣa pramāṇa and based upon this pratyakṣa pramāṇa another four subsidiary pratyakṣa pramāṇas are added so you can say one pramāṇa or you can say one plus four five pramāṇas.

The second category of pramāṇa is called śabda pramāṇa because there is the knowledge of things of which we have absolutely no knowledge because they are not pratyakṣa they are not directly experienceable.

For example that there is life after death there are other worlds and there are higher worlds and lower worlds and there is also a God and we are all experiencing the results of our own past lives these are not available for any scientific knowledge.

So science employs and we also consciously and most of the time unconsciously experience five types of this means of acquiring knowledge and most of the time we don't employ them properly and that's why our knowledge will be not only defective knowledge but positively harmful knowledge.

=== The Five Pramanas (First Category) ===
But to go briefly so first category is and only category really speaking is called:

==== 1. Pratyaksha (Direct Perception) ====
Pratyakṣa—perceptual knowledge. This is a knowledge gained directly through the five sense organs. So sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch and combined with the mind. Mind is the internal perception of emotions like joy or pain happiness unhappiness.

So as a simple example you see a blue book on a table your eyes our eyes perceive the color and shape directly giving us the valid knowledge that here is a blue book and that also separates by the adjectives what is the adjective it is a book therefore it is not a table it is not a tree and it is blue so it excludes all other colors that is called pratyakṣa pramāṇa.

And as a derivative of this pratyakṣa pramāṇa there are another four pramāṇas briefly we will discuss in today's class and go to the śabda pramāṇa in our next class.

==== 2. Anumana (Inference) ====
The second is called anumāna—inference. So what is the inference? This knowledge reached by using a reason to arrive at a conclusion based on a previously known universal relationship also called vyāpti.

For example this is a famous example there is a hill in front of you and one day you see smoke arising from behind the hill and you don't know what causes the smoke but you have observed in day to day life when you lit a fire and then smoke arises so smoke will not come unless there is a fire therefore even though we do not see the fire we infer that some fire is going on and the result will be the smoke.

Smoke is definitely caused by fire therefore we infer but for this universally we observe wherever there is fire there is smoke that is very necessary that is called vyāpti.

Apply this to all these inferences therefore when you see one part of our experience not the other part by seeing one part of the fact we infer the other fact and that is called anumāna pramāṇa.

For that very important to understand so we must have experience of both things together invariably suppose you see fire no smoke so this inference becomes invalid no every time we see a fire there is a wisp of smoke even from the driest firewood and that is called vyāpti means universally applicable observable so we see only part of it which is called smoke and therefore wherever there is fire there would be smoke so if you see the smoke only we infer there is fire that is.

==== 3. Upamana (Comparison/Analogy) ====
The third is called upamāna—comparison or analogy. What is this? This is knowledge gained by identifying any unknown object based on its similarity to a known object.

For example you know a person he is such and such but his brother is somewhere in America you have never seen and one day suddenly you encounter this person he looks almost like the person you know and you observe carefully and say "Oh I heard sometime back my friend telling me that his brother is coming back from America" that knowledge will come but even without knowledge this person looks like a person I have already known very well and therefore this person must be related somehow to that person whether it is cousin, brother etc.

The famous example given in Vedanta is we all know what is a cow but suddenly in the forest we see another animal almost resembling like a cow called gavaya then we understand somebody told us there is a animal you might see in the forest it is called wild ox and it resembles our cow in great way great extent and as soon as you behold that immediately you find out so this must be that animal which was described to me.

So seeing resemblance and inferring this must be that particular animal that is called upamāna pramāṇa.

==== 4. Arthapatti (Postulation/Presumption) ====
Then fourth is called arthāpatti. Arthāpatti means artha means meaning that is reasonable inference. Seeing a person famous example is you know or many people know a person and nobody seen has seen him eating during day time but he is growing fatter and fatter everyday.

What is the inference? Nobody can grow without eating and nobody can grow fat without eating oily substance fatty substance so this person must be gobbling up oily foods plenty of it more than he can digest at night where nobody can see him.

So by seeing an effect and you don't see any what is called contrary contradictory reason so you guess this person must be doing this thing secretly at night so to resolve this contradiction not seeing him eating and still growing we postulate that he must be eating at night not only eating plenty not only plenty most unhealthy subjects that is called arthāpatti.

==== 5. Anupalabdhi (Non-Perception) ====
And fifth I already mentioned anupalabdhi. You kept a book always you keep a book in a particular place one day it is missing and at night eleven o'clock after closing all your doors you kept there next morning it is not there so that absence of that object leads us to infer that book must have been taken by somebody to another room if it is not in this room it must be in the other room.

And all the time we use this arthāpatti where is the officer "oh we saw him just entering into the office" so you rush to the office but he is not there in his chair that is you don't see him can you guess he must have gone to some other room to inspect or to ask or to have a cup of coffee or toilet whatever it is this is called anupalabdhi or non perception of an object.

=== Proper Application of Pramanas ===
And all of us use them wonderfully well all these five pramanas are useful applicable and they must be applied meticulously if we want right knowledge but they only apply to sensory knowledge.

But with regard to supersensory knowledge we require another type of pramana which is called Veda pramāṇa, śabda pramāṇa. So we will discuss about it in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Introduction Lecture 03 on 31 January 2026

2026-05-24T12:52:50Z

Shekhar: /* Opening Invocation */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
'''ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् । पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः ॥'''

''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते । पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥ ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥'''

'''Oṁ pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṁ pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate, pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate. Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ.'''

''(Simplified phonetic reading: Om poornam-adah poornam-idam, poornaat poornam-udachyate; poornasya poornam-aadaaya poornam-eva-avashishyate. Om shaantih shaantih shaantih.)''

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

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

== Introduction to Brihadaranyaka Upanishad ==
Of all the Upanishads, this Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is not only the biggest, it is the most important. And that's why Shankaracharya had written an elaborate commentary upon it. Earlier, I have given some introduction.

=== The Author and Origin ===
Who was this author, the writer or the manifester of this Brihadaranyaka Upanishad? The real author is only God, Brahman. But Brahman had revealed this Upanishad to Yajnavalkya through the deity called Surya Deva, the Sun God. And that is why it came to be known as Shukla Yajurveda.

The entire Shukla Yajurveda was a kind, graceful revelation of this highest spiritual truth to Yajnavalkya because he prepared himself to receive it.

=== The Nature of Prayer and Grace ===
Many times we do not understand what is the meaning of prayer. And even more important, why prayers are not answered.

It is just like an analogy: Two persons go to the ocean. One person goes with a small glass. Another person goes with a huge tanker. And then both of them receive water. But the person with a glass complains, "Why are you bestowing so much upon the other person? Whereas you have given me only a small glass full."

Of course, the ocean will not reply. But common sense will tell us that it is not that the ocean refuses to give you. But you are not ready to receive it. Or whatever capacity of reception you have, that much you got full.

This is what Sri Ramakrishna used to call, "The breeze of God's grace is always blowing. But you have to unfurl your sails." That means you should be ready to receive the grace, which has not started at a particular point of time, but forever it is blowing. Here grace means knowledge.

=== Sadhana and Mental Purification ===
And if we do sadhana, gradually increase our capacity of our mind, then we will be able to receive as much as our mind is ready to receive.

Imagine there is a room full of objects. And you want to buy something huge and put it there. You cannot because there is no space. So you will have to throw out, remove many objects, sufficient at least to keep that newly bought object.

In the same way, our mind is full of thoughts about the world—mithya jagat, avidya world. Sadhana is not meant to receive the grace of God. I repeat, sadhana is not meant to receive the grace of God. Sadhana is meant to make our minds pure. Purity means emptying the mind of all thoughts.

And just like space, as soon as a place is vacant, immediately it becomes available. That is, the space becomes available. You can keep whatever you want there. God's grace, you don't need to invite. You don't need to pray.

=== Yajnavalkya's Realization ===
So Yajnavalkya completely removed all thoughts. That is called purification of the mind. That is called destroying all attachments instantaneously. As soon as a place is vacant, space enters there. Rather, it is already there. Now it becomes more manifest.

This is the clear concept of what is called receiving the grace of God. And Yajnavalkya received it to the full. That means he removed 100% of his mind. Then what remained was Brahman. And that's why he was called Brahmavid.

And Brahmavid, as we saw in the Taittiriya Upanishad, āpnoti param—he attains everything. He becomes Satyam Jñānam Anantam Brahma.

=== The Setting for Study ===
So in the introduction, we have seen this is the biggest of the Upanishads. And it is usually taught to renunciates in the forest. Forest means a place where one can pursue the spiritual studies, spiritual sadhanas.

Spiritual study and spiritual sadhana are not two separate things. Just like a scientist: Scientific knowledge is not a dry knowledge. It is first thought about, then experimented upon. It becomes a provable knowledge. Proven knowledge becomes forever provable knowledge. Take the same steps, one should get the same result. Brahma jñānam is no exception to it. That is the real meaning.

=== Benefits of Forest Environment ===
So where there is no distraction, the mind also, because of the absence of distractions, can also remain equanimous, more calm. We have not developed so much that we can afford to be in this, what is called huge storm on the ocean, and remain in that ocean called Samsara Sagara, and expect to be calm and quiet.

So we have to help ourselves by going into solitude, which Ramakrishna used to call nirjanasthāna. Do not depend upon anything. Everything is perishable, non-dependable. Only God is dependable. That is called solitude.

And it is for the solitude, and there is also another thing: A forest is the most natural expression of nature. And to be in contact with nature itself is extraordinarily calming.

=== The Importance of Pure Food ===
So when a person starts to live and enjoy the bounty of the forest—fruits, roots, etc.—without contamination by artificial fertilizers, etc., the mind of a person becomes very, very pure.

Whereas we are all living cultivated with fertilizers and pesticides, etc. How much harm is being done? Now scientists are astonished how much plastic is going into the fishes, into the animals, into our own bodies. God alone knows.

And when the food is impure, when āhāra is not sāttvic āhāra, śuddha āhāra, then our remembrance of who we are also will be affected by it. That is why the sister of the Vaishnavas, Vaishnavas' bhaktas, is so much of importance for food.

==== An Incident About Food Purity ====
I have narrated an incident: Once Holy Mother bestowed her grace upon one of her disciples and asked him not to eat food in anybody's house excepting at the Jayrambati, Holy Mother's prasada, or the next best choice, the cooking of one's own mother.

The devotee disobeyed it, thinking that after all I am taking food from a devotee's house. Instantaneously his mind came down, fallen, and he received a shock. Then Mother must have told him, "Why did you disobey me? You should have come back here." Such is the effect of food.

Sri Ramakrishna could not touch the food, let alone cooked, even touched by impure people.

=== The True Meaning of Forest ===
So forest affords us natural food, healthy food, and also healthy environment. And there distractions are very, very less. If distractions are not less, that's not a forest, even if it is a forest. We have to understand the inner meaning.

Forest means where a person's mind can remain naturally, without effort, calm and quiet, equanimous. That is a real forest. A house also can be like that.

There is a beautiful Sanskrit verse: So one's own home, svagṛham, itself can become the greatest ashrama, provided the environment is kept like that. Sri Rama's home became such a heaven of peace.

=== Students of the Upanishad ===
Anyway, we already introduced Brihadaranyaka, and people used to study. Two types of people used to study there. One is the vanaprasthis, householders, and then another is monks who renounced.

After living for some time as a vanaprastha ashrama, then when he becomes ready, some of them don't—they occur robe, but not necessary. Sannyasa, vanaprastha ashrama, are not physical external stages. They are development of the purity of the mind. That's what we might discuss in the future.

== Three Main Divisions (Kandas) ==
This Brihadaranyaka Upanishad mainly is divided into three parts: Madhu Kanda, Muni Kanda, Khila Kanda. Kanda means a chapter.

=== 1. Madhu Kanda (The Honey Chapter) ===
Madhu Kanda means the chapter called honey. Honey means everything is interconnected. Why is everything interconnected? Because the source, the ultimate cause is Brahman, and everything comes out Brahman. Like many children of the same parents are interconnected, blood related. That is how it is called Madhu Kanda.

If we do not realize it, that I am separate, you are separate, I can do whatever I like with you, so also you can do, and that brings disastrous results. So it is called Madhu Kanda.

=== 2. Muni Kanda (Yajnavalkya Kanda) ===
Then the second part is called Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda, because there are marvelous discussions about the highest knowledge and also about many of the important contemplations called upasanas.

Yajnavalkya explains everything to his challengers and he also becomes the guru of Janaka Maharaja and he also becomes the teacher of his own, one of his own wives called Maitreyi, and most marvelous teachings are there.

=== 3. Khila Kanda (Miscellaneous Chapter) ===
The last Kanda is Khila Kanda. This is what we call appendix or appendicitis or whatever, where various distorted things, disconnected things, kept together, some of them are marvelous things.

So these are the three important divisions of his Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. And again each Adhyaya or Kanda is subdivided into two, so three into two, total there are six chapters.

And then some of them are repetitions, especially the conversation between Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi repeated in another section. And there is also remembrance of lineage, spiritual lineage, guru parampara system, that also is there.

=== Comparative Understanding of the Three Kandas ===
In Madhu Kanda, the primary teaching is upadesha of Brahma jñāna. Therefore it is called also Upadesha Kanda. And second, this is compared to śravaṇa because that is our goal.

Second is Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda. In this second chapter, the teachings given are supported by logic. Logic or upapatti is used. That is why it is called logical explanations of these real teachings are given in the first chapter.

And the person who explains such with superb intelligence and clarity is none other than Yajnavalkya himself. So if the first Kanda can be compared to śravaṇa, the second Kanda, Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda, Upapatti Kanda can be compared to manana. That is deeply churning, thinking.

Manana means churn the mind, keeping all the acquired knowledge and all the dirt, dust and unnecessary things are removed. Pure, what is called, butter is distilled from there. And Ramakrishna often uses this: There is no harm after being churned. If butter is kept in what you call buttermilk or water, it never mixes. But without that, the milk can get spoiled.

So this is the second chapter and the main guru is Yajnavalkya, Khila Kanda. That is what is called a miscellaneous chapter. In this part, various kinds of upasanas, that is contemplations, various types of rituals are found.

=== The Logic of This Division ===
Why are they found? It doesn't seem logical. First there should be what is called rituals and contemplations. Then logical explanations about Brahma jñāna. And lastly, pure Brahma jñāna.

No, sir. First the goal is explained. Then it is made to be understood with various logics, etc. Supported by logic, the teachings become much more acceptable. But to transform them into practical Vedanta, we have to start from where we are standing or even sitting or even lying down and move forward.

So this is the very logical way of dividing.

== Etymology of "Upanishad" ==
Now we will talk about what is the meaning of the Upanishad. In many of the Upanishads we have explained, but it is very necessary to go through it. First, because of our memory. Second, because repetition only drives deep the meaning into our subconscious and unconscious minds. That is what we need to understand.

This word Upanishad, according to Shankaracharya, is divided into three small words: Upa, Ni, Sad. And Upa and Ni are prefixes. The real word is Sad.

=== Meaning of "Sad" ===
Sad means, according to Shankara himself, that which destroys. What does it destroy? Sad means knowledge. What does knowledge destroy? Knowledge always destroys, only ignorance, nothing else.

Ignorance in Vedanta is called avidya. So Brahmavidya is that which destroys ignorance. If one attains Brahmavidya, then Brahman-ignorance, ignorance of Brahman is destroyed. They are simultaneous process. As soon as we bring light, darkness disappears, things are revealed, stand revealed.

==== Avidya as the Cause of Bondage ====
So according to this scripture, our Vedas, the cause of our bondage, called worldly existence, samsara, is ignorance of Brahman. If Brahmavidya, that is true knowledge, about whom? About our own nature, who am I?

So Brahmavidya destroys the very cause of worldly existence, which is called avidya. And when the cause ceases to exist, the effect of the cause also will be destroyed. As soon as you come to know that this is a rope, not a snake, the fear, the palpitation, will be automatically destroyed.

Not only so, destruction of the false knowledge, but the result of the effect of the false knowledge will also be destroyed. Brahma-avidya-nāśa, its effect, samsara-nāśa, that's what happens.

==== The Problem of Samsara ====
Why should we destroy samsara? If anybody is doubting, worldly existence, samsara means problems arising from gaining, loss, everything. Many times, gaining also causes great sorrow. How does it cause? If somebody is promoted, a hundred or thousand eyes will be glaring at him, scorching him. "What right have you got to get what you got? Each one of us should have got that."

Whoever rises to that position will get the same looks. How many people are waiting to kill the presidents, prime ministers, in every country? Worldly existence means problems. Problems means sorrow. Sorrow is opposite our nature.

How do we know? Because we never lift even a small finger to what is called destroy happiness. But the moment even the slightest sorrow comes, immediately, automatically, we want to get rid of it.

==== The Three Sources of Sorrow ====
And according to Vedanta, all sorrows come from three factors. What is that? This external world represented by gross body, internal world, our mental reactions caused by what is called the mental world. And the root cause of both is karana, cause, causal world.

So, gross body, subtle body, causal body. Any sorrow comes only from these three.

So there is another way, explanation also is there. So that which causes sorrow from our body and external world is called adhyātma. But that which comes from God is what is called from the external world, earthquakes, or lack of rain, or occupation by other people, people who cheat, or punish to people's savings, etc. And that also because of one's own prarabdha actually.

So, there is a third: God or Brahman, also is not only creator, but he is also a supporter, sustainer. And if we do not recognize, if we are not grateful what we are receiving for, then great destruction will come. They will send what is called too much rain, too less of rain, unseasonal rain, earthquakes, or wars, pestilences, or germ warfare.

All these things come. Unfortunately, we blame them on other people, not knowing we are the other people. Our government is nothing but our representation. Collective representation is called our government.

==== Liberation from Samsara ====
So, world existence means problems arising from tapa, sorrow, tapatraya. Liberation from world existence is moksha. Cessation from sorrow. Brahmavid, you know the supreme. So, along with Brahman, he enjoys everything.

Brahmavidya gives two fruits. It destroys ignorance and it grants liberation. There is no separate thing called liberation. To know that I was, I am, I will be ever free, that is, to know that is called liberation.

=== Second Meaning of "Sad" ===
That is one meaning of the word sad. There is another word. It means that which leads us to the right goal. So, what does lead us? Sad means knowledge of self, Brahman. Brahmavidya, where does it lead us?

So, Brahmavidya leads to Brahman. It means what? Leading means what? It means it makes us completely become one with Brahman. Or to know there are no Brahman and me, only one thing and that is Brahman. I am that Brahman. That is why it is said Brahmavid āpnoti param.

So, one meaning of sad is destruction of ignorance. Second meaning is that which leads us to Brahman. And what is the good of it? The nature of Brahman is what? Sat, Cit, Ānanda. Ānanda means bliss.

So, sad means that which leads each one of us to Brahman which means to bliss, which means to counter death, which means complete knowledge, all consciousness, I am Brahman. Thus, attainment of Brahman means I am ānanda svarūpa.

So, we have seen both.

=== Meaning of "Ni" ===
Then, we have to see what is the meaning of Ni. Ni is a prefix and niśaśena nāśayati. We have to presume that meaning. That means there would be not even a little bit remnant of avidya completely. That which eradicates, destroys, so uproots the samsara vṛkṣa.

That is called—that what does it mean? What does it do? Who does it? Sad. So, Ni means there would be a little bit of samsara, a little bit of Brahman. No. Completely.

==== The Problem of Mental Conflict ====
So, what is the problem? Sad. Whatever knowledge we have, that is our problem. Knowledge is received by the mind, developed by the mind. But then, mind means there is also intellect.

So, our mind, our understanding, buddhi and manas are ever at conflict. I know aham brahmāsmi. But, my mind says, "You idiot, you liked this sweet very much. Now, get to work and enjoy that sweet."

This ever opposing force, that is why it is called dvandva, is haunting us ever since creation. So, therefore, mere knowledge will not do. Our identity with the body, our identity with our possessions, our identity with the family and our hatred of other people, both of them lead to bondage only.

That's why it is said, pāpam is also gives us sorrow. Puṇyam also gives us more sorrow. How come? Because if pāpam is like a person who falls a little bit down, from a short height. Puṇyam, you go to the Svarga Loka, the pāpa, you fall down, which is extraordinarily painful.

That's why we must rise beyond both virtue and vice. But in the beginning, get rid of the vice. Later on, we have to get rid of virtue also. We must go beyond that. So, we must go beyond dharma, beyond artha, beyond kāma, then only moksha is possible.

==== Obstacles to Knowledge ====
So, in spite of knowledge, we have got passions, hatreds, aversions, desires, kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, mātsarya. These are called obstacles to right knowledge.

So, these feelings have not only come from the past birth, but in this birth also, unfortunately, we reinforce them instead of cutting them down. So, all these things are sure to affect the mind, but Vedanta knowledge also arises in the intellect. Doubts also arise in the intellect until definitive knowledge arises.

If the mind is not kept under control, śama, dama, ādi, ṣaṭ, sampatti, this knowledge does not really work. That is why, even when we understand intellectually Vedanta, we are unable to keep serene and quite equanimous in the face of ups and downs of life. And this is the problem of all humanity.

Only just a selected few manushya, nāma, sahasreṣu try to jump out of the net, as Ramakrishna gives the analogy of the fish, and only a few succeed in it.

==== The Path Through Dharma Shastra ====
That is why, we have to start our life in having faith not in Vedanta Shastra, but in Dharma Shastra. What does Dharma Shastra do? Like a spiritual doctor, like a physical doctor, this is a spiritual doctor, it says, if you want physical health, mental health, every type of health, then you will have to stop doing these things and start doing these things.

They are called niṣedhāda, do not even think of doing them, or if, because we have already done, then slowly try to reduce them by replacing them with what should be done. That is called vidhi.

So, only when one leads a dharmic life, these obstacles of vidhi or misconception will become absent, it takes time gradually. So, that knowledge which arises in an intellect free from all doubts and in a mind free from the obstacles of misconception or jñāna, that is called in Vedanta, Sanskrit knowledge of the absence of all the obstacles.

==== The Process of Learning ====
So, to remove misconceptions, how do we do that? So, as I said, first we have to go to a guru and then what does the guru do? He first prescribes rituals and then contemplations. First rituals, then contemplations and then when the guru finds a fit person, he starts giving us what is called upadeśa, teaching and that teaching is called śravaṇam.

Śravaṇam is not merely listening to a lecture like this. For that, we have to be ready and then whatever is received must be made firm through the process of churning the mind until the last vestige of doubt is totally removed and when that happens, then we have to fight with the old samskaras, bring in new samskaras and that is called nididhyāsana means remove the unspiritual samskaras, replacing them with spiritual samskaras until we reach the doorway to Brahman.

So, Ni means definitive knowledge.

=== Meaning of "Upa" ===
Upa, what is Upa means method of attaining self-knowledge and there is only one path. Upa means near.

==== First Meaning: Approaching the Self ====
First meaning of Upa is we have to approach the self who is within every object in this world, living or non-living.

In the non-living, it is in the form of existence. In the living, it is in the form of not only existence sat but cit and ānanda but even this cit and ānanda are very very minimal, miniscule at the beginning as the soul evolves further, it evolves its brain. Brain means the ability to understand an appropriate body and mind and it culminates in human body and even then the human body has to go through three steps of rajoguna.

==== The Three Gunas and Human Evolution ====
First it would be enveloped with tamoguna. Tamas means darkness. Then slowly like a train approaching the ground, traveling in the tunnel, a faint glimpse of light comes and that is where rajoguna comes out.

Then after the rajoguna as the progress is made, the light becomes more and more and when we come out it becomes perfectly clear which is called sattvaguna. That is how Hinduism divides people into śūdra, vaiśya, kṣatriya and brāhmaṇa but even in a Brahmin's life and that includes other varnas also.

==== The Four Ashramas ====
So life is divided into four as you all know very well, should know very well: learning process, experimenting and experiencing process and being disappointed with the results attained thus slowly turning our face away from the external into the internal which is called vanaprasthāśrama and finally trying to abide with the self in the self called sannyāsāśrama.

So that is the only process and we see this in several of the Upanishads since we have discussed what we call Chandogya Upanishad in the 7th chapter that great learned person who knows everything but whose mind was not under control. He approaches Sanatkumara without guru that is called approaching guru. Approaching guru in Sanskrit is called upasadanam.

==== Guru Upasadanam ====
Guru upasadanam—you stay with the guru and then serve him: tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā. So gradually one learns to surrender to the guru. Guru means right knowledge so that right knowledge as much as we surrender right knowledge penetrates into the depths of our darkest unconscious lights up destroys old samskaras slowly reveals the self that is abiding there not reluctantly but with the greatest eagerness.

==== The Three Meanings of "Upa" ====
That is the three meanings of the Upa finally the Near. Upa means Near and the nearest thing to us is our own true self or God and approaching him just as a dry straw as soon as it approaches blazing fire it becomes completely burnt out becomes fire itself or like the clarified butter ghee poured into blazing fire it only feeds the fire so one becomes completely one with one's own true nature not becoming somebody else Brahman is our own true nature.

These are the three meanings of Upa:

# A deep desire to approach God
# Follow the teachings of a guru by surrendering and guru tells him first you do this second you do that any number of steps that are needed and that is what is called rituals then contemplations finally śravaṇa, manana, nididhyāsana
# So Upa means Brahma vidya

This is the primary meaning of the word Upanishad.

== Pramanas: Valid Means of Knowledge ==
So now we have discussed but just a brief recollection just to recollect what are these in Indian philosophy particularly within the school of Advaita Vedanta. Pramanas are the valid means through which we acquire accurate valid knowledge of the world and the self.

Note down we are not only talking about self or God we are talking about the world what is the condition of our present knowledge. God may or may not exist but the world definitely is existing and therefore it is real therefore we should act and react according to this concept.

What does Vedanta teach? Brahma satyam jagan mithya. It goes completely opposite to what we know.

A sincere student has to and will question the teacher, "Sir, my experience shows this world is real your Vedanta teaches this world is unreal God alone is real my knowledge is just the contrary complete 100% opposite how come?"

=== Two Categories of Pramanas ===
Anyway for that purpose knowledge or the means of knowledge called pramanas are divided into two categories.

The first category of pramanas should give us valid knowledge about this world and we employ five means and the first means that we employ is called direct experience called pratyakṣa pramāṇa and based upon this pratyakṣa pramāṇa another four subsidiary pratyakṣa pramāṇas are added so you can say one pramāṇa or you can say one plus four five pramāṇas.

The second category of pramāṇa is called śabda pramāṇa because there is the knowledge of things of which we have absolutely no knowledge because they are not pratyakṣa they are not directly experienceable.

For example that there is life after death there are other worlds and there are higher worlds and lower worlds and there is also a God and we are all experiencing the results of our own past lives these are not available for any scientific knowledge.

So science employs and we also consciously and most of the time unconsciously experience five types of this means of acquiring knowledge and most of the time we don't employ them properly and that's why our knowledge will be not only defective knowledge but positively harmful knowledge.

=== The Five Pramanas (First Category) ===
But to go briefly so first category is and only category really speaking is called:

==== 1. Pratyaksha (Direct Perception) ====
Pratyakṣa—perceptual knowledge. This is a knowledge gained directly through the five sense organs. So sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch and combined with the mind. Mind is the internal perception of emotions like joy or pain happiness unhappiness.

So as a simple example you see a blue book on a table your eyes our eyes perceive the color and shape directly giving us the valid knowledge that here is a blue book and that also separates by the adjectives what is the adjective it is a book therefore it is not a table it is not a tree and it is blue so it excludes all other colors that is called pratyakṣa pramāṇa.

And as a derivative of this pratyakṣa pramāṇa there are another four pramāṇas briefly we will discuss in today's class and go to the śabda pramāṇa in our next class.

==== 2. Anumana (Inference) ====
The second is called anumāna—inference. So what is the inference? This knowledge reached by using a reason to arrive at a conclusion based on a previously known universal relationship also called vyāpti.

For example this is a famous example there is a hill in front of you and one day you see smoke arising from behind the hill and you don't know what causes the smoke but you have observed in day to day life when you lit a fire and then smoke arises so smoke will not come unless there is a fire therefore even though we do not see the fire we infer that some fire is going on and the result will be the smoke.

Smoke is definitely caused by fire therefore we infer but for this universally we observe wherever there is fire there is smoke that is very necessary that is called vyāpti.

Apply this to all these inferences therefore when you see one part of our experience not the other part by seeing one part of the fact we infer the other fact and that is called anumāna pramāṇa.

For that very important to understand so we must have experience of both things together invariably suppose you see fire no smoke so this inference becomes invalid no every time we see a fire there is a wisp of smoke even from the driest firewood and that is called vyāpti means universally applicable observable so we see only part of it which is called smoke and therefore wherever there is fire there would be smoke so if you see the smoke only we infer there is fire that is.

==== 3. Upamana (Comparison/Analogy) ====
The third is called upamāna—comparison or analogy. What is this? This is knowledge gained by identifying any unknown object based on its similarity to a known object.

For example you know a person he is such and such but his brother is somewhere in America you have never seen and one day suddenly you encounter this person he looks almost like the person you know and you observe carefully and say "Oh I heard sometime back my friend telling me that his brother is coming back from America" that knowledge will come but even without knowledge this person looks like a person I have already known very well and therefore this person must be related somehow to that person whether it is cousin, brother etc.

The famous example given in Vedanta is we all know what is a cow but suddenly in the forest we see another animal almost resembling like a cow called gavaya then we understand somebody told us there is a animal you might see in the forest it is called wild ox and it resembles our cow in great way great extent and as soon as you behold that immediately you find out so this must be that animal which was described to me.

So seeing resemblance and inferring this must be that particular animal that is called upamāna pramāṇa.

==== 4. Arthapatti (Postulation/Presumption) ====
Then fourth is called arthāpatti. Arthāpatti means artha means meaning that is reasonable inference. Seeing a person famous example is you know or many people know a person and nobody seen has seen him eating during day time but he is growing fatter and fatter everyday.

What is the inference? Nobody can grow without eating and nobody can grow fat without eating oily substance fatty substance so this person must be gobbling up oily foods plenty of it more than he can digest at night where nobody can see him.

So by seeing an effect and you don't see any what is called contrary contradictory reason so you guess this person must be doing this thing secretly at night so to resolve this contradiction not seeing him eating and still growing we postulate that he must be eating at night not only eating plenty not only plenty most unhealthy subjects that is called arthāpatti.

==== 5. Anupalabdhi (Non-Perception) ====
And fifth I already mentioned anupalabdhi. You kept a book always you keep a book in a particular place one day it is missing and at night eleven o'clock after closing all your doors you kept there next morning it is not there so that absence of that object leads us to infer that book must have been taken by somebody to another room if it is not in this room it must be in the other room.

And all the time we use this arthāpatti where is the officer "oh we saw him just entering into the office" so you rush to the office but he is not there in his chair that is you don't see him can you guess he must have gone to some other room to inspect or to ask or to have a cup of coffee or toilet whatever it is this is called anupalabdhi or non perception of an object.

=== Proper Application of Pramanas ===
And all of us use them wonderfully well all these five pramanas are useful applicable and they must be applied meticulously if we want right knowledge but they only apply to sensory knowledge.

But with regard to supersensory knowledge we require another type of pramana which is called Veda pramāṇa, śabda pramāṇa. So we will discuss about it in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Introduction Lecture 03 on 31 January 2026

2026-05-24T12:51:20Z

Shekhar: /* Opening Invocation */

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

== Opening Invocation ==
''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

'''ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते । पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥ ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥'''

'''Oṁ pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṁ pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate, pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate. Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ.'''

''(Simplified phonetic reading: Om poornam-adah poornam-idam, poornaat poornam-udachyate; poornasya poornam-aadaaya poornam-eva-avashishyate. Om shaantih shaantih shaantih.)''

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

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

== Introduction to Brihadaranyaka Upanishad ==
Of all the Upanishads, this Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is not only the biggest, it is the most important. And that's why Shankaracharya had written an elaborate commentary upon it. Earlier, I have given some introduction.

=== The Author and Origin ===
Who was this author, the writer or the manifester of this Brihadaranyaka Upanishad? The real author is only God, Brahman. But Brahman had revealed this Upanishad to Yajnavalkya through the deity called Surya Deva, the Sun God. And that is why it came to be known as Shukla Yajurveda.

The entire Shukla Yajurveda was a kind, graceful revelation of this highest spiritual truth to Yajnavalkya because he prepared himself to receive it.

=== The Nature of Prayer and Grace ===
Many times we do not understand what is the meaning of prayer. And even more important, why prayers are not answered.

It is just like an analogy: Two persons go to the ocean. One person goes with a small glass. Another person goes with a huge tanker. And then both of them receive water. But the person with a glass complains, "Why are you bestowing so much upon the other person? Whereas you have given me only a small glass full."

Of course, the ocean will not reply. But common sense will tell us that it is not that the ocean refuses to give you. But you are not ready to receive it. Or whatever capacity of reception you have, that much you got full.

This is what Sri Ramakrishna used to call, "The breeze of God's grace is always blowing. But you have to unfurl your sails." That means you should be ready to receive the grace, which has not started at a particular point of time, but forever it is blowing. Here grace means knowledge.

=== Sadhana and Mental Purification ===
And if we do sadhana, gradually increase our capacity of our mind, then we will be able to receive as much as our mind is ready to receive.

Imagine there is a room full of objects. And you want to buy something huge and put it there. You cannot because there is no space. So you will have to throw out, remove many objects, sufficient at least to keep that newly bought object.

In the same way, our mind is full of thoughts about the world—mithya jagat, avidya world. Sadhana is not meant to receive the grace of God. I repeat, sadhana is not meant to receive the grace of God. Sadhana is meant to make our minds pure. Purity means emptying the mind of all thoughts.

And just like space, as soon as a place is vacant, immediately it becomes available. That is, the space becomes available. You can keep whatever you want there. God's grace, you don't need to invite. You don't need to pray.

=== Yajnavalkya's Realization ===
So Yajnavalkya completely removed all thoughts. That is called purification of the mind. That is called destroying all attachments instantaneously. As soon as a place is vacant, space enters there. Rather, it is already there. Now it becomes more manifest.

This is the clear concept of what is called receiving the grace of God. And Yajnavalkya received it to the full. That means he removed 100% of his mind. Then what remained was Brahman. And that's why he was called Brahmavid.

And Brahmavid, as we saw in the Taittiriya Upanishad, āpnoti param—he attains everything. He becomes Satyam Jñānam Anantam Brahma.

=== The Setting for Study ===
So in the introduction, we have seen this is the biggest of the Upanishads. And it is usually taught to renunciates in the forest. Forest means a place where one can pursue the spiritual studies, spiritual sadhanas.

Spiritual study and spiritual sadhana are not two separate things. Just like a scientist: Scientific knowledge is not a dry knowledge. It is first thought about, then experimented upon. It becomes a provable knowledge. Proven knowledge becomes forever provable knowledge. Take the same steps, one should get the same result. Brahma jñānam is no exception to it. That is the real meaning.

=== Benefits of Forest Environment ===
So where there is no distraction, the mind also, because of the absence of distractions, can also remain equanimous, more calm. We have not developed so much that we can afford to be in this, what is called huge storm on the ocean, and remain in that ocean called Samsara Sagara, and expect to be calm and quiet.

So we have to help ourselves by going into solitude, which Ramakrishna used to call nirjanasthāna. Do not depend upon anything. Everything is perishable, non-dependable. Only God is dependable. That is called solitude.

And it is for the solitude, and there is also another thing: A forest is the most natural expression of nature. And to be in contact with nature itself is extraordinarily calming.

=== The Importance of Pure Food ===
So when a person starts to live and enjoy the bounty of the forest—fruits, roots, etc.—without contamination by artificial fertilizers, etc., the mind of a person becomes very, very pure.

Whereas we are all living cultivated with fertilizers and pesticides, etc. How much harm is being done? Now scientists are astonished how much plastic is going into the fishes, into the animals, into our own bodies. God alone knows.

And when the food is impure, when āhāra is not sāttvic āhāra, śuddha āhāra, then our remembrance of who we are also will be affected by it. That is why the sister of the Vaishnavas, Vaishnavas' bhaktas, is so much of importance for food.

==== An Incident About Food Purity ====
I have narrated an incident: Once Holy Mother bestowed her grace upon one of her disciples and asked him not to eat food in anybody's house excepting at the Jayrambati, Holy Mother's prasada, or the next best choice, the cooking of one's own mother.

The devotee disobeyed it, thinking that after all I am taking food from a devotee's house. Instantaneously his mind came down, fallen, and he received a shock. Then Mother must have told him, "Why did you disobey me? You should have come back here." Such is the effect of food.

Sri Ramakrishna could not touch the food, let alone cooked, even touched by impure people.

=== The True Meaning of Forest ===
So forest affords us natural food, healthy food, and also healthy environment. And there distractions are very, very less. If distractions are not less, that's not a forest, even if it is a forest. We have to understand the inner meaning.

Forest means where a person's mind can remain naturally, without effort, calm and quiet, equanimous. That is a real forest. A house also can be like that.

There is a beautiful Sanskrit verse: So one's own home, svagṛham, itself can become the greatest ashrama, provided the environment is kept like that. Sri Rama's home became such a heaven of peace.

=== Students of the Upanishad ===
Anyway, we already introduced Brihadaranyaka, and people used to study. Two types of people used to study there. One is the vanaprasthis, householders, and then another is monks who renounced.

After living for some time as a vanaprastha ashrama, then when he becomes ready, some of them don't—they occur robe, but not necessary. Sannyasa, vanaprastha ashrama, are not physical external stages. They are development of the purity of the mind. That's what we might discuss in the future.

== Three Main Divisions (Kandas) ==
This Brihadaranyaka Upanishad mainly is divided into three parts: Madhu Kanda, Muni Kanda, Khila Kanda. Kanda means a chapter.

=== 1. Madhu Kanda (The Honey Chapter) ===
Madhu Kanda means the chapter called honey. Honey means everything is interconnected. Why is everything interconnected? Because the source, the ultimate cause is Brahman, and everything comes out Brahman. Like many children of the same parents are interconnected, blood related. That is how it is called Madhu Kanda.

If we do not realize it, that I am separate, you are separate, I can do whatever I like with you, so also you can do, and that brings disastrous results. So it is called Madhu Kanda.

=== 2. Muni Kanda (Yajnavalkya Kanda) ===
Then the second part is called Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda, because there are marvelous discussions about the highest knowledge and also about many of the important contemplations called upasanas.

Yajnavalkya explains everything to his challengers and he also becomes the guru of Janaka Maharaja and he also becomes the teacher of his own, one of his own wives called Maitreyi, and most marvelous teachings are there.

=== 3. Khila Kanda (Miscellaneous Chapter) ===
The last Kanda is Khila Kanda. This is what we call appendix or appendicitis or whatever, where various distorted things, disconnected things, kept together, some of them are marvelous things.

So these are the three important divisions of his Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. And again each Adhyaya or Kanda is subdivided into two, so three into two, total there are six chapters.

And then some of them are repetitions, especially the conversation between Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi repeated in another section. And there is also remembrance of lineage, spiritual lineage, guru parampara system, that also is there.

=== Comparative Understanding of the Three Kandas ===
In Madhu Kanda, the primary teaching is upadesha of Brahma jñāna. Therefore it is called also Upadesha Kanda. And second, this is compared to śravaṇa because that is our goal.

Second is Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda. In this second chapter, the teachings given are supported by logic. Logic or upapatti is used. That is why it is called logical explanations of these real teachings are given in the first chapter.

And the person who explains such with superb intelligence and clarity is none other than Yajnavalkya himself. So if the first Kanda can be compared to śravaṇa, the second Kanda, Muni Kanda, Yajnavalkya Kanda, Upapatti Kanda can be compared to manana. That is deeply churning, thinking.

Manana means churn the mind, keeping all the acquired knowledge and all the dirt, dust and unnecessary things are removed. Pure, what is called, butter is distilled from there. And Ramakrishna often uses this: There is no harm after being churned. If butter is kept in what you call buttermilk or water, it never mixes. But without that, the milk can get spoiled.

So this is the second chapter and the main guru is Yajnavalkya, Khila Kanda. That is what is called a miscellaneous chapter. In this part, various kinds of upasanas, that is contemplations, various types of rituals are found.

=== The Logic of This Division ===
Why are they found? It doesn't seem logical. First there should be what is called rituals and contemplations. Then logical explanations about Brahma jñāna. And lastly, pure Brahma jñāna.

No, sir. First the goal is explained. Then it is made to be understood with various logics, etc. Supported by logic, the teachings become much more acceptable. But to transform them into practical Vedanta, we have to start from where we are standing or even sitting or even lying down and move forward.

So this is the very logical way of dividing.

== Etymology of "Upanishad" ==
Now we will talk about what is the meaning of the Upanishad. In many of the Upanishads we have explained, but it is very necessary to go through it. First, because of our memory. Second, because repetition only drives deep the meaning into our subconscious and unconscious minds. That is what we need to understand.

This word Upanishad, according to Shankaracharya, is divided into three small words: Upa, Ni, Sad. And Upa and Ni are prefixes. The real word is Sad.

=== Meaning of "Sad" ===
Sad means, according to Shankara himself, that which destroys. What does it destroy? Sad means knowledge. What does knowledge destroy? Knowledge always destroys, only ignorance, nothing else.

Ignorance in Vedanta is called avidya. So Brahmavidya is that which destroys ignorance. If one attains Brahmavidya, then Brahman-ignorance, ignorance of Brahman is destroyed. They are simultaneous process. As soon as we bring light, darkness disappears, things are revealed, stand revealed.

==== Avidya as the Cause of Bondage ====
So according to this scripture, our Vedas, the cause of our bondage, called worldly existence, samsara, is ignorance of Brahman. If Brahmavidya, that is true knowledge, about whom? About our own nature, who am I?

So Brahmavidya destroys the very cause of worldly existence, which is called avidya. And when the cause ceases to exist, the effect of the cause also will be destroyed. As soon as you come to know that this is a rope, not a snake, the fear, the palpitation, will be automatically destroyed.

Not only so, destruction of the false knowledge, but the result of the effect of the false knowledge will also be destroyed. Brahma-avidya-nāśa, its effect, samsara-nāśa, that's what happens.

==== The Problem of Samsara ====
Why should we destroy samsara? If anybody is doubting, worldly existence, samsara means problems arising from gaining, loss, everything. Many times, gaining also causes great sorrow. How does it cause? If somebody is promoted, a hundred or thousand eyes will be glaring at him, scorching him. "What right have you got to get what you got? Each one of us should have got that."

Whoever rises to that position will get the same looks. How many people are waiting to kill the presidents, prime ministers, in every country? Worldly existence means problems. Problems means sorrow. Sorrow is opposite our nature.

How do we know? Because we never lift even a small finger to what is called destroy happiness. But the moment even the slightest sorrow comes, immediately, automatically, we want to get rid of it.

==== The Three Sources of Sorrow ====
And according to Vedanta, all sorrows come from three factors. What is that? This external world represented by gross body, internal world, our mental reactions caused by what is called the mental world. And the root cause of both is karana, cause, causal world.

So, gross body, subtle body, causal body. Any sorrow comes only from these three.

So there is another way, explanation also is there. So that which causes sorrow from our body and external world is called adhyātma. But that which comes from God is what is called from the external world, earthquakes, or lack of rain, or occupation by other people, people who cheat, or punish to people's savings, etc. And that also because of one's own prarabdha actually.

So, there is a third: God or Brahman, also is not only creator, but he is also a supporter, sustainer. And if we do not recognize, if we are not grateful what we are receiving for, then great destruction will come. They will send what is called too much rain, too less of rain, unseasonal rain, earthquakes, or wars, pestilences, or germ warfare.

All these things come. Unfortunately, we blame them on other people, not knowing we are the other people. Our government is nothing but our representation. Collective representation is called our government.

==== Liberation from Samsara ====
So, world existence means problems arising from tapa, sorrow, tapatraya. Liberation from world existence is moksha. Cessation from sorrow. Brahmavid, you know the supreme. So, along with Brahman, he enjoys everything.

Brahmavidya gives two fruits. It destroys ignorance and it grants liberation. There is no separate thing called liberation. To know that I was, I am, I will be ever free, that is, to know that is called liberation.

=== Second Meaning of "Sad" ===
That is one meaning of the word sad. There is another word. It means that which leads us to the right goal. So, what does lead us? Sad means knowledge of self, Brahman. Brahmavidya, where does it lead us?

So, Brahmavidya leads to Brahman. It means what? Leading means what? It means it makes us completely become one with Brahman. Or to know there are no Brahman and me, only one thing and that is Brahman. I am that Brahman. That is why it is said Brahmavid āpnoti param.

So, one meaning of sad is destruction of ignorance. Second meaning is that which leads us to Brahman. And what is the good of it? The nature of Brahman is what? Sat, Cit, Ānanda. Ānanda means bliss.

So, sad means that which leads each one of us to Brahman which means to bliss, which means to counter death, which means complete knowledge, all consciousness, I am Brahman. Thus, attainment of Brahman means I am ānanda svarūpa.

So, we have seen both.

=== Meaning of "Ni" ===
Then, we have to see what is the meaning of Ni. Ni is a prefix and niśaśena nāśayati. We have to presume that meaning. That means there would be not even a little bit remnant of avidya completely. That which eradicates, destroys, so uproots the samsara vṛkṣa.

That is called—that what does it mean? What does it do? Who does it? Sad. So, Ni means there would be a little bit of samsara, a little bit of Brahman. No. Completely.

==== The Problem of Mental Conflict ====
So, what is the problem? Sad. Whatever knowledge we have, that is our problem. Knowledge is received by the mind, developed by the mind. But then, mind means there is also intellect.

So, our mind, our understanding, buddhi and manas are ever at conflict. I know aham brahmāsmi. But, my mind says, "You idiot, you liked this sweet very much. Now, get to work and enjoy that sweet."

This ever opposing force, that is why it is called dvandva, is haunting us ever since creation. So, therefore, mere knowledge will not do. Our identity with the body, our identity with our possessions, our identity with the family and our hatred of other people, both of them lead to bondage only.

That's why it is said, pāpam is also gives us sorrow. Puṇyam also gives us more sorrow. How come? Because if pāpam is like a person who falls a little bit down, from a short height. Puṇyam, you go to the Svarga Loka, the pāpa, you fall down, which is extraordinarily painful.

That's why we must rise beyond both virtue and vice. But in the beginning, get rid of the vice. Later on, we have to get rid of virtue also. We must go beyond that. So, we must go beyond dharma, beyond artha, beyond kāma, then only moksha is possible.

==== Obstacles to Knowledge ====
So, in spite of knowledge, we have got passions, hatreds, aversions, desires, kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, mātsarya. These are called obstacles to right knowledge.

So, these feelings have not only come from the past birth, but in this birth also, unfortunately, we reinforce them instead of cutting them down. So, all these things are sure to affect the mind, but Vedanta knowledge also arises in the intellect. Doubts also arise in the intellect until definitive knowledge arises.

If the mind is not kept under control, śama, dama, ādi, ṣaṭ, sampatti, this knowledge does not really work. That is why, even when we understand intellectually Vedanta, we are unable to keep serene and quite equanimous in the face of ups and downs of life. And this is the problem of all humanity.

Only just a selected few manushya, nāma, sahasreṣu try to jump out of the net, as Ramakrishna gives the analogy of the fish, and only a few succeed in it.

==== The Path Through Dharma Shastra ====
That is why, we have to start our life in having faith not in Vedanta Shastra, but in Dharma Shastra. What does Dharma Shastra do? Like a spiritual doctor, like a physical doctor, this is a spiritual doctor, it says, if you want physical health, mental health, every type of health, then you will have to stop doing these things and start doing these things.

They are called niṣedhāda, do not even think of doing them, or if, because we have already done, then slowly try to reduce them by replacing them with what should be done. That is called vidhi.

So, only when one leads a dharmic life, these obstacles of vidhi or misconception will become absent, it takes time gradually. So, that knowledge which arises in an intellect free from all doubts and in a mind free from the obstacles of misconception or jñāna, that is called in Vedanta, Sanskrit knowledge of the absence of all the obstacles.

==== The Process of Learning ====
So, to remove misconceptions, how do we do that? So, as I said, first we have to go to a guru and then what does the guru do? He first prescribes rituals and then contemplations. First rituals, then contemplations and then when the guru finds a fit person, he starts giving us what is called upadeśa, teaching and that teaching is called śravaṇam.

Śravaṇam is not merely listening to a lecture like this. For that, we have to be ready and then whatever is received must be made firm through the process of churning the mind until the last vestige of doubt is totally removed and when that happens, then we have to fight with the old samskaras, bring in new samskaras and that is called nididhyāsana means remove the unspiritual samskaras, replacing them with spiritual samskaras until we reach the doorway to Brahman.

So, Ni means definitive knowledge.

=== Meaning of "Upa" ===
Upa, what is Upa means method of attaining self-knowledge and there is only one path. Upa means near.

==== First Meaning: Approaching the Self ====
First meaning of Upa is we have to approach the self who is within every object in this world, living or non-living.

In the non-living, it is in the form of existence. In the living, it is in the form of not only existence sat but cit and ānanda but even this cit and ānanda are very very minimal, miniscule at the beginning as the soul evolves further, it evolves its brain. Brain means the ability to understand an appropriate body and mind and it culminates in human body and even then the human body has to go through three steps of rajoguna.

==== The Three Gunas and Human Evolution ====
First it would be enveloped with tamoguna. Tamas means darkness. Then slowly like a train approaching the ground, traveling in the tunnel, a faint glimpse of light comes and that is where rajoguna comes out.

Then after the rajoguna as the progress is made, the light becomes more and more and when we come out it becomes perfectly clear which is called sattvaguna. That is how Hinduism divides people into śūdra, vaiśya, kṣatriya and brāhmaṇa but even in a Brahmin's life and that includes other varnas also.

==== The Four Ashramas ====
So life is divided into four as you all know very well, should know very well: learning process, experimenting and experiencing process and being disappointed with the results attained thus slowly turning our face away from the external into the internal which is called vanaprasthāśrama and finally trying to abide with the self in the self called sannyāsāśrama.

So that is the only process and we see this in several of the Upanishads since we have discussed what we call Chandogya Upanishad in the 7th chapter that great learned person who knows everything but whose mind was not under control. He approaches Sanatkumara without guru that is called approaching guru. Approaching guru in Sanskrit is called upasadanam.

==== Guru Upasadanam ====
Guru upasadanam—you stay with the guru and then serve him: tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā. So gradually one learns to surrender to the guru. Guru means right knowledge so that right knowledge as much as we surrender right knowledge penetrates into the depths of our darkest unconscious lights up destroys old samskaras slowly reveals the self that is abiding there not reluctantly but with the greatest eagerness.

==== The Three Meanings of "Upa" ====
That is the three meanings of the Upa finally the Near. Upa means Near and the nearest thing to us is our own true self or God and approaching him just as a dry straw as soon as it approaches blazing fire it becomes completely burnt out becomes fire itself or like the clarified butter ghee poured into blazing fire it only feeds the fire so one becomes completely one with one's own true nature not becoming somebody else Brahman is our own true nature.

These are the three meanings of Upa:

# A deep desire to approach God
# Follow the teachings of a guru by surrendering and guru tells him first you do this second you do that any number of steps that are needed and that is what is called rituals then contemplations finally śravaṇa, manana, nididhyāsana
# So Upa means Brahma vidya

This is the primary meaning of the word Upanishad.

== Pramanas: Valid Means of Knowledge ==
So now we have discussed but just a brief recollection just to recollect what are these in Indian philosophy particularly within the school of Advaita Vedanta. Pramanas are the valid means through which we acquire accurate valid knowledge of the world and the self.

Note down we are not only talking about self or God we are talking about the world what is the condition of our present knowledge. God may or may not exist but the world definitely is existing and therefore it is real therefore we should act and react according to this concept.

What does Vedanta teach? Brahma satyam jagan mithya. It goes completely opposite to what we know.

A sincere student has to and will question the teacher, "Sir, my experience shows this world is real your Vedanta teaches this world is unreal God alone is real my knowledge is just the contrary complete 100% opposite how come?"

=== Two Categories of Pramanas ===
Anyway for that purpose knowledge or the means of knowledge called pramanas are divided into two categories.

The first category of pramanas should give us valid knowledge about this world and we employ five means and the first means that we employ is called direct experience called pratyakṣa pramāṇa and based upon this pratyakṣa pramāṇa another four subsidiary pratyakṣa pramāṇas are added so you can say one pramāṇa or you can say one plus four five pramāṇas.

The second category of pramāṇa is called śabda pramāṇa because there is the knowledge of things of which we have absolutely no knowledge because they are not pratyakṣa they are not directly experienceable.

For example that there is life after death there are other worlds and there are higher worlds and lower worlds and there is also a God and we are all experiencing the results of our own past lives these are not available for any scientific knowledge.

So science employs and we also consciously and most of the time unconsciously experience five types of this means of acquiring knowledge and most of the time we don't employ them properly and that's why our knowledge will be not only defective knowledge but positively harmful knowledge.

=== The Five Pramanas (First Category) ===
But to go briefly so first category is and only category really speaking is called:

==== 1. Pratyaksha (Direct Perception) ====
Pratyakṣa—perceptual knowledge. This is a knowledge gained directly through the five sense organs. So sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch and combined with the mind. Mind is the internal perception of emotions like joy or pain happiness unhappiness.

So as a simple example you see a blue book on a table your eyes our eyes perceive the color and shape directly giving us the valid knowledge that here is a blue book and that also separates by the adjectives what is the adjective it is a book therefore it is not a table it is not a tree and it is blue so it excludes all other colors that is called pratyakṣa pramāṇa.

And as a derivative of this pratyakṣa pramāṇa there are another four pramāṇas briefly we will discuss in today's class and go to the śabda pramāṇa in our next class.

==== 2. Anumana (Inference) ====
The second is called anumāna—inference. So what is the inference? This knowledge reached by using a reason to arrive at a conclusion based on a previously known universal relationship also called vyāpti.

For example this is a famous example there is a hill in front of you and one day you see smoke arising from behind the hill and you don't know what causes the smoke but you have observed in day to day life when you lit a fire and then smoke arises so smoke will not come unless there is a fire therefore even though we do not see the fire we infer that some fire is going on and the result will be the smoke.

Smoke is definitely caused by fire therefore we infer but for this universally we observe wherever there is fire there is smoke that is very necessary that is called vyāpti.

Apply this to all these inferences therefore when you see one part of our experience not the other part by seeing one part of the fact we infer the other fact and that is called anumāna pramāṇa.

For that very important to understand so we must have experience of both things together invariably suppose you see fire no smoke so this inference becomes invalid no every time we see a fire there is a wisp of smoke even from the driest firewood and that is called vyāpti means universally applicable observable so we see only part of it which is called smoke and therefore wherever there is fire there would be smoke so if you see the smoke only we infer there is fire that is.

==== 3. Upamana (Comparison/Analogy) ====
The third is called upamāna—comparison or analogy. What is this? This is knowledge gained by identifying any unknown object based on its similarity to a known object.

For example you know a person he is such and such but his brother is somewhere in America you have never seen and one day suddenly you encounter this person he looks almost like the person you know and you observe carefully and say "Oh I heard sometime back my friend telling me that his brother is coming back from America" that knowledge will come but even without knowledge this person looks like a person I have already known very well and therefore this person must be related somehow to that person whether it is cousin, brother etc.

The famous example given in Vedanta is we all know what is a cow but suddenly in the forest we see another animal almost resembling like a cow called gavaya then we understand somebody told us there is a animal you might see in the forest it is called wild ox and it resembles our cow in great way great extent and as soon as you behold that immediately you find out so this must be that animal which was described to me.

So seeing resemblance and inferring this must be that particular animal that is called upamāna pramāṇa.

==== 4. Arthapatti (Postulation/Presumption) ====
Then fourth is called arthāpatti. Arthāpatti means artha means meaning that is reasonable inference. Seeing a person famous example is you know or many people know a person and nobody seen has seen him eating during day time but he is growing fatter and fatter everyday.

What is the inference? Nobody can grow without eating and nobody can grow fat without eating oily substance fatty substance so this person must be gobbling up oily foods plenty of it more than he can digest at night where nobody can see him.

So by seeing an effect and you don't see any what is called contrary contradictory reason so you guess this person must be doing this thing secretly at night so to resolve this contradiction not seeing him eating and still growing we postulate that he must be eating at night not only eating plenty not only plenty most unhealthy subjects that is called arthāpatti.

==== 5. Anupalabdhi (Non-Perception) ====
And fifth I already mentioned anupalabdhi. You kept a book always you keep a book in a particular place one day it is missing and at night eleven o'clock after closing all your doors you kept there next morning it is not there so that absence of that object leads us to infer that book must have been taken by somebody to another room if it is not in this room it must be in the other room.

And all the time we use this arthāpatti where is the officer "oh we saw him just entering into the office" so you rush to the office but he is not there in his chair that is you don't see him can you guess he must have gone to some other room to inspect or to ask or to have a cup of coffee or toilet whatever it is this is called anupalabdhi or non perception of an object.

=== Proper Application of Pramanas ===
And all of us use them wonderfully well all these five pramanas are useful applicable and they must be applied meticulously if we want right knowledge but they only apply to sensory knowledge.

But with regard to supersensory knowledge we require another type of pramana which is called Veda pramāṇa, śabda pramāṇa. So we will discuss about it in our next class.

== Closing Prayer ==
''Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum''

''Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh''

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.

'''Jai Ramakrishna!'''
[[Category:Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]