View source for Svetasvatara Upanishad Lecture 12 on 09 April 2023

== Full Transcript(Not Corrected) ==
OM JANANIM SHARADAM DEVIM RAMAKRISHNAM JAGAD GURUM
PAHADA PADME TAYO SHRITVA PRANAM AMI MUHUR MUHUR
OM SAHANA VAVATO SAHANAO BHUNAKTO
SAHA VERYAM KARVA VAHAI TEJASVI NAVADHITAM
ASTUMA VIDVISHA VAHAI OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI
HARIHI OM OM
MAY BRAHMAN PROTECT US BOTH MAY BRAHMAN BESTOW UPON US BOTH
THE FRUIT OF KNOWLEDGE MAY WE BOTH OBTAIN THE ENERGY TO ACQUIRE KNOWLEDGE
MAY WHAT WE BOTH STUDY REVEAL THE TRUTH MAY WE CHERISH NO ILL WILL TOWARDS EACH OTHER
OM PEACE PEACE PEACE BE UNTO ALL
We have been studying the second chapter of the Shweta Shatra Upanishad
in which we have, in our last class yesterday, completed the fourth mantra.
Now, the first chapter tells us Tattva, Purushartha, and from the second chapter onwards,
most of the chapters explain to us Hita.
In case you are wondering what is this particular word, Tattva means what is the reality,
what is the truth, Brahman is the reality and we are all Brahman, potentially,
because we do not know, only from the scriptures we come to know.
Then, what should be the goal of life? We are all searching for that state
which would be changeless, deathless, and Paramananda Swaroopa, of the nature of complete bliss.
That should be the goal, simply stated, Moksha, but what is the way?
That is called Hita. Purushartha is what should be desired by every man capable of thinking.
Every man is capable of thinking, doesn't mean he thinks,
but most of the time we think that we think, that is the tragedy, but we do not.
So what should be the goal? That to know who we are, that is called liberation,
and Hita means what is the pathway to attain to that goal, and that is what will be described in detail.
This is called Sadhana, this is called Yoga, so many other names are there,
and that is going to be described, already it has been described in brief,
but it is going to be described in elaboration, how to practice Sadhana,
and how to know whether we are progressing, what are the signs of progress,
using the yogic language, we will discuss those things when it comes in this fourth mantra,
which we discussed yesterday, we have to pray to the Divine.
So it is said here,
युञ्जते मन पुत युञ्जते धियो विप्राह विप्रस्य वृहतो विपस्चितः विखोत्रा दधे वयुणा विदेख इन्मही देवस्य सवितुः परिष्टुति
Mainly what it meant is, the highest manifestation of God that we can perceive through our body and mind is the Surya Deva.
He is the creator, He is the sustainer, and He is also the recycler.
There is no death, but when a person tries to understand, why am I born?
As Sri Ramakrishna says, we are born to realize God.
Waste, pain is the life which doesn't strive to realize God.
That is what Swami Vivekananda addressed.
Here we get in the next mantra also,
I have to surrender myself and only then I can go.
That word surrender, I know Him.
But how did you come to know Him?
Because I took refuge.
This is expressed in the Isavasya Upanishad.
Not in this particular mantra.
Here I know the Purusha, and that Purusha is beyond all darkness.
Darkness is a symbol of ignorance, not knowing who I am, what life is for, and what I have to do in life,
what is my goal of life, and what is the pathway to progress in life.
All these things I am totally ignorant.
That is called darkness, and there is no other way.
That means spiritual life is not an option.
There is no option.
There is only one choiceless choice.
That is what J. Krishnamurti used to say.
Spiritual life is a choiceless choice, whether we know it or not,
whether we are humans or non-humans,
we are striving only for that one,
to know that I am the ultimate reality.
So for that, prayer is necessary.
And this is an advice to pray.
So those Vipras, those Brahmanas, those Sadhakas, those seekers of Brahman,
who try to control their mind, to yoke their mind,
and to control their sense organs,
and to direct all these both sense organs and the mind
towards the blissful Self or Paramatma,
which is known as Yoga, as Dhyana, as we have seen earlier,
should first pray, praise the Sun God, pray to Him.
Who is He? He is all-pervading.
He is the greatest. He is omniscient.
He is the knower of Maya, because we are in Maya,
and we want to get out of Maya.
Who can take us out of Maya?
Only the master of Maya.
Who can be the master of Maya?
The knower of Maya.
And He is how many?
Only one, non-dual.
And He has already shown us the pathway
through certain rites and rituals,
what you call Vaidika Karma Kanda,
which in this mantra is called as Yoga Marga.
So prayer is very important.
I mentioned it.
Sri Ramakrishna's spiritual life started with a prayer.
It progressed in prayer, and it ended also in prayer.
What do I mean by it ended in prayer?
After realization, Sri Ramakrishna never used to say,
I am teaching you, I am talking to you.
In fact, he used the word I very rarely.
What was he telling?
I don't know anything.
I eat, I drink, I make Mary like a child.
My mother knows.
Ramakrishna used to manifest two personalities.
One personality is of a child.
When Ramakrishna was talking about normally,
he is not teaching, he is reminiscing, etc.
He will be in the mood of a child.
But when he is required to teach something,
something takes over.
He is not speaking.
It is the Divine Mother who is speaking.
And this would always be the process.
It was the process in the past.
It is the process at present.
It will be the process in future.
That is why a Guru is a tap, a channel, a conduit
through which God's grace comes.
Ramakrishna used to compare it like the roof of a house.
In order to collect the rainwater,
they will have to direct it so that it will all fall through one pipe.
And sometimes it will be lion's face, elephant's face, etc.
And children not knowing water is coming from the lion's face,
mouth, or elephant's mouth,
or sometimes human mouth,
not knowing it is all coming from God.
That is what we need to understand.
So this fourth mantra emphasized the need for prayer.
Not only that, without prayer there is no other way.
So after reiterating the necessity for the prayers to make the mind inward,
this mantra makes a reference to the learned sages.
How did they become learned?
Here learned sages are not pandits.
Learned means realized souls.
They have been able to unite their minds and organs with the Self.
How? By the grace of God.
And how did the grace of God come?
Only through prayer, through Sharanagati.
So these vipras offer abundant praise to the Sun God as Paramatma,
as all-pervading, all-knowing, all-witnessing,
and one without a second, non-dual,
who has granted them their prayers to bestow them Self-knowledge.
What is Self-knowledge?
There is no difference between you and me.
And the sadhaka will come to know.
Whatever you are, that is what I am.
And forever remains united with the Self.
Now we will proceed with this background to the fifth mantra.
But let us keep in mind, what is it?
That prayer is the way to unite ourselves with God.
Sincere prayer and transformation of character through the practice of yoga or sadhana,
they are the means.
Simply prayer will not do.
Prayer, so many people will do.
In fact, every upper-class person doing Gayathri,
so may you guide me, but they want to guide God.
You don't know what I want, so these are the things I require.
In case your buddhi is not sufficient to understand what I want,
when I want, how much I want, I am here to assist you.
But Shri Ramakrishna said,
Oh Mother, make me do what you want me to do.
Make me speak what you want me to speak.
And make me think what you want me to think.
In other words, you don't make me do anything.
You simply sit, this body-mind belongs to you,
and you work through them,
and I will be just eating, playing, making merry.
With this background, mantra five.
YUJE VAM BRAHMA PURVYAM NAMO BHIHI VISHLOKA ETU PATHYEVA SUREHI
This is the first part.
Second part, with which we are all familiar,
because Swami Vivekananda had initiated thousands of people,
because the words that come are mantras.
Any word that comes out of a rishi's mouth, a realized soul,
is called a mantra.
Whether they are called rishis, whether they are called saints,
sages, sadhus, realized souls.
For example, Shri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother,
direct disciples, Rama, Krishna, Chaitanya,
Ramana Maharshi, people like that,
they are realized souls.
And realized soul means only God is using their instruments,
so when they speak, it is not they.
They do not exist any longer.
It is only God who works through them,
and they enjoy.
And that enjoyment is also possible by God's will only.
So we have to keep in mind,
when Swami Vivekananda uttered these words,
not only these words,
he spoke, and I am quoting him,
he said,
I spoke nothing but the Upanishads,
and of the Upanishads only two ideas,
fearlessness and identity with Brahma.
This is the highest truth.
And I have not spoken anything else.
And he also used to say,
I have not spoken,
I am his master's voice, H.M.V.
I am only an instrument.
This body has been used by Shri Ramakrishna.
So who spoke?
Shri Ramakrishna spoke.
You ask Shri Ramakrishna,
are you speaking?
He says, no.
My mother is speaking.
My Divine Mother is speaking.
And who is this Divine Mother?
Ishwara.
Ultimately, Saguna Brahma.
And God only creates,
God only sustains.
Part of that sustenance is the manual he gives us
in the form of the Vedas.
And he reminds us,
in case we do not understand the manual,
a quick start,
how to use it properly,
and slowly you learn other things later on if necessary.
And that is accomplished by all realized souls.
The Divine Mother is spreading her own message
through each one of them.
The point we have to note down,
whatever comes out of the mouth of such realized souls
is nothing but a mantra.
They are all Rishis.
A Rishi by definition,
Rishati, Janati is a Rishi.
He who knows the truth,
he is a Rishi.
And a Rishi does not know by inventing something,
he just realizes what was already there.
And how did he realize?
By the grace of God.
And how did he get the grace of God?
By practicing Yoga.
And what did Yoga do?
It transformed their lives.
It gave them Viveka,
what is right, what is wrong,
that knowledge.
And then it gave them the sufficient willpower
to give up what should be given up
and to take up what should be taken up.
That is called Vairagyam.
And perfect control over the body,
over the mind.
Shama, Tamadhi, Shatka, Sampatthi.
All because they have developed
their only goal in life,
Mumukshatva,
intense yearning,
in the words of Ramakrishna.
So, in this fifth mantra,
again this prayer is uttered.
What prayer?
I have a body.
Body means sense organs.
Sense organs are ten.
Five are of knowledge or input.
And five are of action called output.
The whole body is nothing but
these ten sense organs.
All of them are individual.
They only gather only a particular
branch of knowledge.
For example, the eyes can see,
ears can hear,
ears cannot see,
the eyes cannot hear, etc.
But this knowledge is taken in
and harmonized, collated, harmonized
and made into meaningful whole
by that inner sense organ called mind.
And it produces different types of feelings,
different types of understandings,
different types of emotions
and all those things are going on.
But when a person surrenders himself to God
through these intense prayers,
sincere prayers,
Ramakrishna says,
God will certainly listen to the sincere prayer of a devotee
but it should be sincere.
And God understands what is sincere
and what is not sincere.
So, in this it is said
that one has to pray.
What is the meaning?
Simple meaning.
As I said, I am not going into the Sanskrit meanings of the words
because some of these words,
some of them are very, very tough.
Unless there are commentators,
we would not have understood the individual meaning of these words
much less the unified meaning.
What exactly are they trying to convey?
What message are they trying to convey?
So, here we have got body,
we have got mind,
we have got sense organs,
we have got the mind.
And according to Vedanta,
totally borrowed from the Sankhya school of philosophy,
every particular sense organ
has a presiding deity.
For example, the Sun God
is the deity of the eye.
What does the Sun do?
He is called Adhishtatra Devata,
presiding deity.
What does he do?
He, after creating the world,
God has become three,
Panchabhutas, one,
Adhishtatra Devatas, first.
Then this world consisting of Panchabhutas
and within this world,
every living creature
having these eleven sense organs,
five of knowledge,
five of action
and one is mind.
All these sense organs are presided over
and this is our deep faith
by Adhishtatra Devata.
As I was mentioning,
without the Sun,
Sun in the form of light,
there cannot be life.
So, because of the Sun,
I am existing, you are existing,
animals are existing,
insects are existing
and they need to sustain themselves.
And that food is made available
in the form of the world
and that is called Adhibhuta.
And whatever we are,
that is called Adhyatmika.
Adhyatmika is individual.
Adhibhutika is what we have to interact with.
Adhidaivika is what illumines
both the Adhyatmika and Adhibhutika.
So, it is an inviolable,
inseparable triangle
and so we have to pray
so that our senses will be working,
functioning properly,
our body will be healthy,
strong and our prana will be full of enthusiasm,
our mind will have the right understanding,
right resolve, will power,
our buddhi,
after understanding what is right,
takes the right decision
and implements it
and all this will give us ultimately,
suppose it to give us ananda.
And thus we go on experiencing
more and more ananda
and finally we go even beyond the ananda.
What is the point?
Point is prayer.
I have to pray to the adhishtatra devatas,
presiding deities.
I have to pray to all of them.
That is the first meaning
of this fifth mantra
in this second chapter.
Second is,
once God has given,
made every sense organ
healthy, strong,
ready to serve us,
we should have that discrimination,
that buddhi to use them properly.
So here,
a very beautiful psychological fact
is inserted by the rishis
and they are telling,
not only we have to pray to the adhishtatra devata
and they are giving us also,
listening to our prayers,
granting our prayers,
fulfilling our prayers,
giving us good sense organs,
everything,
but we also have to use them properly.
Obtaining them
by the blessings of the
presiding deities
is first part of the job,
but using them properly
so that we can progress
and gradually know who we are
or realize God
or become one with Brahman.
That is the second part.
For everything, prayers, grace,
prayers means grace,
is necessary.
What is important here
and very beautifully put here,
we have to pray to each sense organ,
O I,
let me,
you only don't see,
God has given you that power to see,
see what will be beneficial to you,
not what will be merely pleasant to you,
but beneficial to you.
Can we have both,
both beneficent as well as pleasant?
Certainly we can have.
We can have pleasant
and also non-beneficial.
We can have unpleasant
and also non-beneficial.
We can have pleasant
also beneficial.
That is why even the other Shanti Pathas,
with these help of the body
and with the sense organs,
so long as God has allotted me a life span,
let me use it to worship you,
to pray to you,
to surrender to you
and steadily to meditate upon you
and move forward towards you.
This is the prayer.
But here,
instead of turning the attention
to the presiding deity,
it says we have to pray also
to the sense organs.
O I,
God has given you this blessing,
my friend,
my darling,
my honey.
Do not misuse it.
Do not go on seeing
what may be temporarily pleasant,
but in the long run,
what is a terrible loss.
Do not do it,
even if it is unpleasant.
And many things,
unfortunately,
good things are unpleasant.
So for meditation,
O my God,
how long?
One hour.
What?
One hour meditation?
All right.
One second.
You are talking sense now.
Not so much.
So,
we may not be saying that,
but that is our feeling is
how long am I going to sit for meditation?
Like that.
Study the scriptures.
How much time you want to study?
And Swami,
you go on and on
in so many classes
and I tell them,
so you are doing great punya
and if you don't listen to me,
you will go to Brahma Loka
and there you have to attend
classes conducted by Brahma.
Brahma.
And do you know
what is the time span of Brahma?
Your one hour here
will be one yuga there.
I don't know what you are going to do.
Better,
if you want to avoid classes in Brahma Loka,
attend my classes.
Comparatively,
very, very, very short time.
Okay.
So,
address the presiding deity,
address each sense organ
and it is psychologically
very beneficial
because when we address,
Oh mind,
please listen to me.
Don't go here and there.
Think of God,
my dear.
It's very good for you.
It has an effect.
And some of our Swamis
have spoken about it
in a slightly different way.
For example,
Turiyanandaji Maharaj
used to live here.
Where he used to live,
from my room,
is only two and a half minutes walk.
And there,
many devotees used to come
and especially Sadhus and Brahmacharis.
And one such aspirant,
he must have put,
my mind is very restless.
It thinks of a lot of things.
And then he said,
that when you sit for meditation,
put out a notice outside,
class is going on,
observe silence.
No, no.
That is what I am doing.
What he said is,
put out a notice
that no entrance
for any other thought.
I will deal with you
after meditation is over.
But at this time,
you have no entrance.
And be very strict,
very firm about it.
And that is what
Latu Maharaj also
exactly reflected,
that no entrance to any other thought.
But say,
I don't want to think anything bad.
That is not going to work out
at this stage.
So we have to say,
okay,
I will think about you.
I will deal with you.
But at this time,
for God's sake,
because I am going to think about God,
so please do not disturb me.
And this will also work,
not only physical board,
not only mental board,
because there are so many elements.
Devotees can be obstruction.
And in fact,
devotees and others
are greatest obstruction in the world.
So put out a notice
and try.
Whether it is 5 minutes,
10 minutes,
15 minutes,
I will not think anything else.
Make a Sankalpa.
And that will help.
So here,
this is what it means.
O senses,
O sense organs,
and also the presiding deities
of the sense organs,
with many salutations,
and by your grace,
with your blessings,
we are able to absorb our mind
in that ancient truth, Brahma.
If we are able to succeed in our meditation,
it is all because of your grace.
And what is my prayer meant for?
It is not to get your grace,
but to be able to receive,
to be able to retain
what you are bestowing so compassionately upon me,
all our prayer, meditation,
everything is to be a fit receptacle.
And may this hymn of praise,
Stuti,
verily spread everywhere in the path of the seers.
Why is this inserted?
Because my friends,
I have been suffering from this disease
and I have taken this medicine.
Somebody suggested this medicine
and none other than my Guru suggested this medicine
and it really worked for me.
And those of you who are suffering from the same problem,
I am sure we can get a relief from that disease.
So, this is also part of my spiritual prayer.
Whatever we have learned,
we should be able to tell others,
not that we will go and catch hold of their throat
and try to push down their throat.
No.
What it means is,
if we find somebody who is exactly in the same position
where I was before
and I know the remedy,
it is my bounden duty to spread this.
This is the meaning.
May this hymn of praise, Stuti,
verily spread everywhere in the path of the seers.
That is why I interpreted
in the path of the seers
means those seekers
who want to become Rishis,
and who are striving,
they require this.
And not only that,
this person who is declaring this,
what did you get
by following this path?
Well,
Vedaham etam purusham mahantam
Adityavarnam tamasah parastat
and
Categorically,
with absolute confidence,
the Rishi is declaring,
I know that ancient Purusha,
ancient means unchanging Purusha.
You see, some of the religions
try to depict God as a human being
with pure white beard.
And if I don't think
he is really a God,
because even a child knows
how to dye the white hair
and he is not dying his white hair
and trying to appear young.
So such an ignorant God
must be totally ignored by all of us.
So,
ancient, no,
that is not the...
Ancient means what?
Unchanging.
Puranaha, that is the word we use.
Even though he is ancient,
he never becomes ancient.
He is ever new,
because new and old,
past and present
is all within the realm of time.
And he is beyond time.
Creation is within time, space and causation.
But Ishwara is beyond
time, space and causation.
That is why
he is called Mayadhisha,
Lord of the Maya,
Lord of the Time, Mahakala.
So, this mantra is describing
the final stage of evolution of the seeker.
The final stage is Samadhi.
And the coming down
to the relative plane of existence,
once Samadhi is attained,
this is called Jeevan Mukti.
What is Samadhi?
It is a state where the seeker
becomes one with Brahman.
And here the seeker
salutes the sense organs
in this mantra five
and their presiding deities
by whose grace alone
he is able to concentrate
and attain Brahman.
I mentioned yesterday also
in my last class
that without God's grace
we might receive
the grace, we might even know
but we cannot retain.
Receiving power,
retaining power,
remembering power
and using it at the
appropriate time to the
most benefit and with
the right attitude.
All these five powers
are implied in that word
Diyo Yonaha Prajodayat.
That Gayathri is
none other than Mahavakya.
What is it?
That I am none other than you.
And that final
knowledge can come only
by your grace.
That is why three words
we already discussed but I am reminding
you. What is the first one?
We want to know.
Every Gayathri
mantra will have
that one.
So we want to know.
That is why
we want to know what is the way
we surrender
ourselves to you. Di Mahi means
surrender.
And then if the surrender
is complete, the individual
will not exist.
Only the Supreme exists.
That is called Prajodayat.
This is a Mahavakya.
We want to know.
We will meditate for that purpose.
We surrender ourselves
and you will become one
with us. That is the meaning of
you guide my understanding means
you be me.
That is the real meaning
of it. So this Gayathri
is a Mahavakya
saying you Jeevatma do not
exist. What exists
is only Paramatma.
So for that purpose
the senses must be tranquil.
Mind must be tranquil.
So with that tranquility
the Sadhaka can
feel that the whole universe
is the manifestation of Brahma.
This is the stage
after the man knows
who he is and by
God's grace, if his
mind comes down,
he is not the old man.
He is Esheche Nutan Manush
Degh Bijade Ay Chale
We sing this song
especially on 1st January
that is a new man has
come and if you want to see
this new man who is
always
moving with two bags
on his right and left shoulder
Viveka Vairagya
Ardui Jhuli
There are two
bags. One is called Viveka
another is Vairagya
Sada Jhule always.
So he is a new man.
If you go to him, then
you will understand the teachings
of the scriptures.
Saral Kothai Shekhale
You taught them in the
simplest of words, the highest
of the truths.
So come. So who is
the new man? This new man
is a Jeevan Mukta.
His body appears
to be the same but
body is new
and the mind also is new.
Are you surprised?
Body is new?
Yes, body is new.
Whether you are Jeevan Mukta
or not Jeevan Mukta,
your body is not the same body.
Whether it is what last minute
some cells have
died, some new cells
have come, perhaps by this time
they are also dead.
It is not exactly the same body.
So we must, this person
who knows the truth
he is categorically
declaring. I know
that highest truth
Edaham etam purusham mahaantam
Aditya varnam
is pure consciousness
and beyond
all darkness. There is no
ignorance. And then
if you want really
your life to be fulfilled
Tamevaviditva
Atimrityum eti. One can transcend
these rounds
of births and deaths
only by knowing him.
Is there any other way?
Na anya pantha
vidyate ayanaya
No other path excepting
becoming one with Brahma
excepting realizing
God. This is
what Ram Krishna in simple
words without using
these hard Vedantic words
is trying to tell us.
Therefore, the body must be
made tranquil, mind must be
made tranquil and they can
become tranquil only by the
grace of the Adishtana Devatas
and directly addressing
these senses, the two
senses. God has blessed you.
Now, what
you are created
so that you can progress
towards God. That is your
goal in life. This is the only
goal in life and you can
get real meaning of life
only by following this path.
So, please do not
waste your time, your energy
here and there and for that
we are also reminded
not only address the
presiding deities, address
the sense organs also.
So, at the beginning of course
we all realize
the oneness or the eminence of God
because of our
feeling of Bhakti. Every
bhakta knows God is everywhere.
Vishwam Vishnur Vashatkaro
Bhuta Bhavya Bhavat Prabhu
Bhuta Krut Bhuta Brut Bhavo
Bhuta Atma Bhuta Bhavanaha
We know that
but it is not a realization.
It is through faith. Faith
because of our devotion.
But when we directly
perceive the Lord, the Truth,
Brahman, then
this very mind and senses
become calm. Then
every seeker
realizes the transcendental aspect
of God. He goes beyond
all names and forms
and only that knowledge
can liberate us.
So, we should be very
tranquil and that is the meaning
of Prasada. Whatever
we offer to God, after that
we enjoy it. It is called
Prasada. Forgetting the meaning
of Prasada, what is it?
Prasade Sarva Dukkha Naam
Haani Rasya Upajayate
Prasanna Chetaseha
Ashu Buddhi
Pariyava Tishthate
The Buddhi, our understanding
capacity, is able to
understand only because
of the Prasada. Prasada means
the grace of God.
So, body becomes pure,
fit. Senses
become pure and fit.
What does it mean? It means
body automatically,
naturally
turns towards God.
The eyes do not want to see
anything that may
be present, but they
want to see only God.
And all the sense organs,
the ears, only
want to hear about God.
The nostrils
want to have fragrance
of the incense
or flowers
which are offered to God.
And the tongue wants
only to take Prasada.
And that gives the highest joy.
Remember, when Naga Mahasaya
was offered Prasada on a leaf plate,
even that leaf was also
taken and you think he is
eating leaf. He is not
eating leaf. He was not such a foolish person.
He was eating Prasada
and the leaf touched
the Prasada. Whatever Prasada
touches
also becomes Prasada.
Whatever fire touches
also becomes fire.
So, that is the
first part of this fifth mantra.
The second part
Shrunvantu Vishwe Amrutasya
Putraha Aye Dhamani
Divyani Tastu
This is one of the most important
mantras of all Upanishads
addressed to the entire
human race. Everybody
Amrutasya Putraha
Every human being
Swami Vivekananda
gave a
rejoinder there. According
to Christianity, man
is a born sinner.
And he proclaimed
loudly at that very place
organized by these Christian
religions. It is a
standing label
to call human being a sinner.
It is a sin
to call a human being
a sinner. No.
He is Amrutasya
Putraha. Yes. He doesn't
know it. Yes.
He misbehaves.
That is all true. His nature
is not sinfulness.
Man is not a born
sinner means man's
nature is not sinful
nature. He is Amrutasya
Putraha. But he might
do because of misunderstanding
and the responsibility
lies squarely on
God's head only.
Because he only created this Maya
and he wants to play with
himself. So
this is a most marvelous
rejoinder that Shunvantu
Vishwa. Everybody is Amrutasya
Putraha. Not only that
even science declares
that everybody, what
potential it is, a just
born baby has
within him or her.
Nobody knows. When you
look at baby Einstein
and unable to
even wash himself,
passes stool and urine on the bed
or in mother's lap,
who could have imagined
one day he will be revered all over
the, throughout the world
as one of the brightest
most fertile brains
so far as physics is
concerned, science is concerned.
Who could do that? And who
could have predicted
seeing anyone
of the children, a Beethoven,
a Shakespeare,
a Kalidasa, a Max Planck?
Who could have
predicted? Who could have seen
George Washington Carver
born as a
child of a slave?
Who could have imagined
he would have been one of the greatest
scientists of the 19th century?
Nobody knows.
But we all have that
potentiality, not only
potentiality of divinity,
potentiality of
talents. We must
make this distinction.
Talents used in the proper
way leads us to
spiritual progress. But same
talents used in a worldly
way will definitely bring
us money, wealth,
name, fame, etc.
So this Swami Vivekananda
elaborated this mantra.
I would say every
lecture that Swami
had given is only an elaboration
of this mantra which
the first time the West was
hearing and I think first time
Indians were also
reminded of it, even
though its origin is India.
So this mantra is important
for many reasons.
Every human
being is a potential
divinity, not only that.
आये धामानि
दिवियानि तस्तु
That is, there are beings
who are in the
Svarga Loka, Prajapati Loka,
Brihaspati Loka,
Brahma Loka.
Even though they are
enjoying higher type of
happiness in higher
worlds, doesn't mean
they are better than
human beings. No.
They could be as ignorant
as anybody else.
Earlier I mentioned
sin is of three types.
The first sin is evil action.
Papa.
The second sin is punya.
Because that is
karma. Punya is karma
phala and if there is karma
phala, it must
rebirth. Human being
has to be reborn to
reap, to enjoy.
What happens when you enjoy
something, most likely
you will get stuck with it.
That is going to be elaborated
in the very second, next mantra.
Next mantra itself. Sixth mantra
itself. We will come to that.
So the third manifestation
of this papa is
the root cause of the papa.
Root cause of samsara is
called avidya agnana.
So we have to
first progress,
eliminate evil deeds,
progress to good
deeds. From papa karma,
we must progress to punya karma.
This is the process of
evolution. And from
punya karma,
we have to go beyond the
punya karma. And Mundaka Upanishad,
I think in the seventh mantra,
it is emphasizing
this fact. Whatever
we have talked about, karma
kanda in the past mantras,
rapsa, etat, sarvam,
everything is absolute
truth. It is not that they are
not true. But what is the problem?
etai sarvaha
adhridaha
plavaha. They are like rafts
which are absolutely
unreliable. They may
drown you right in the middle
of an ocean. They cannot.
What is the one raft
that can take? In fact,
that word raft
is used in this
Shweta Shatra Upanishad.
Very soon, we will come to
that also in the second chapter itself.
So, here
it is said that
all of us are
potentially divine. That is the
tattvam. And it is our
bounden duty to
manifest the divinity. That
is called purushartha.
And how to manifest
that in the form of
four yogas, that is called
purushartha yoga. So,
this is a note
of hope to everybody.
Nobody can be excluded.
Everybody is divine.
And how many religions proclaim
that everybody is a child of
God. And Hinduism
proclaims that not
only every human
being, even non-human
beings, even insects,
they are on the way to God realization.
There is a story
that once Narada,
a realized soul,
during his wanderings, came
across an insect slowly
crawling from one leaf to
the other and
one glanced at it. He felt
pity. Oh my God!
And this creature
has to go through what Hindus
call churasi lakh janam
84 lakhs of
millions of births.
And then he will become a human being
and he will progress
from the 4th to the 3rd
to the 2nd and 1st
state called Brahmanas and
then after several births he
will finally attain to Narayana.
He will obtain Moksha.
He took pity and
he blessed it. May your progress
be sooner. As soon as he
said that, immediately it died.
It was reborn in a
higher being. Immediately it
died. It will be born, it will die.
It will be born, it will die.
Within a short time
it became a human being. It died
and again became a higher human being
and in no time
whether Narada was watching
it or not, I don't know.
So it became a realized
soul by the blessings of
that great sage.
We have to take note of it.
All of us, everybody,
even the person who is
suffering and doesn't know what
is called hope,
what is called depression,
severe depression,
these are all temporary stages
but God will not allow us to be there.
That is the message of
Shranvant Vishwa Amrutasya Putra.
This is what Sri Ramakrishna
reiterated again and again.
This is what Holy Mother
in her simple village
language, she says,
My child, nobody will be left
without food. Mother will
provide. Perhaps some people,
bright children, they come to
Mother running and immediately
they get. But some people
are absorbed in play, they come
a little bit late. But if
some child doesn't come,
Mother will go there, kick
all the playthings, drag
them and feed them,
put the child to sleep
so that he can have sufficient
rest and that is what the
Divine Lord gives. This is
the most hopeful message
that we can ever get.
Now, for that
we have to start our journey
with Karma Kanda.
Karma Kanda is
the beginning whether you want
worldly things, you want
spiritual things, Karma Kanda
is the way. Now Karma
Kanda, I will talk
about it in my next
class, is extremely
important. Some of
the so-called modern
teachers, they degrade,
they criticize Karma Kanda
not understanding
that they have a legitimate
place in the development
of everybody, even
for a baby to play
and to be absorbed in
the play. What is called
Kumbhakarna state, eating
and sleeping. And
eating and sleeping is
an appropriate stage
for the baby. You don't
expect him certainly to attend
my Shweta Shweta Upanishad
classes, definitely. So
even if you bring him,
you know what he does it.
And he is doing it exactly like
that. He sleeps, he gets
up and then he
suckles mother's milk
and again he goes. But
after some time, he himself
will say, I want to play with mother,
I want to play with brothers and
sisters, I want to play with
my neighbor children.
So slowly, from that
Kumbhakarna state, he will come
to Ravanasura state. And then
he will be chasing worldly
things. This is the natural
development. And if
anybody says, no, no, I have never
gone through those stages, I am
a very exceptional cases,
I have fallen straight from the sky,
then he deserves
to be really treated very well
by psychiatrists.
There is no other way.
Everybody has to go. Some have
already gone through. That is
why Bhagwan Krishna himself
Shani Shani, you know
How many
Aneka Janma Samsiddha
Tato Yati Param Gatin
Vasudevah Sarvamiti
Samahatma Sudurlabaha
We are only seeing, comparing
in one life.
But how many lives the person
had gone through. The only
exception is an avatar
purusha. Avatar purushas
they are not born of karma
phala. They are born, what is
called, they have got a mission
in life. That is why
they are not karma
jivis. They are called
karana jivis.
They have a mission to fulfill.
They are already free. They will
never be bound. But they pretend
to be bound. But when
they pretend to be bound, really
they pretend. They forget themselves.
Otherwise you think these nice
fellows, they know what they are
and they are giving all this upadesham
and they don't know
what we are going through. No.
Definitely they go through, all of us.
But then Swami Shardanji
makes a remarkable statement.
He says,
it is like a person,
suppose there are two persons.
One person is
bound hand and foot by
somebody else and his
eyes are completely covered
and thickly covered.
There is no way he can open
his eyes and see what is happening.
But the other person,
he binds like a magician
his own eyes, his own
head and it looks as
though he is helpless like
the other person. But he knows inside
any second that I want
with one pulling
the whole bandage
or bondage will
come down. So Avatar
Purushas, they self cover
themselves but be
very careful. They are not pretending.
They actually go
through all our emotions,
through depressions and through
happiness, unhappiness,
everything.
But they have got that mission
very quickly.
What other people achieve
through millions of births,
they all achieve
within the span of
just a few years. That is
the speciality of it.
Vedic Karma Kanda,
about which I will talk in my next class,
is very important.
But one point we have to
remember here that
Vedic Karma Kanda can also
bind us because
etat satyam. If you do
putrakamesti yajna, you will get
putrakamesti.
That is why it is said Dasaratha
wanted only one son.
He prayed to God. He did not specify.
He simply said, I want
children, putra.
And then God said,
buy one and get three
more free. So he got
four actually. So be careful.
If you want only one,
this God sometimes
is not very intelligent.
Specify, I want only one
not even a twin.
Okay, what am I talking about?
That we should
not be attached to
any of this Karma Kanda.
They have their place
and without them we cannot progress.
But having fulfilled,
having enjoyed a little bit
with the discrimination
and you move forward,
do not become attached.
This is the warning given in this
sixth mantra about which we will
talk in our next class.
Om Jananim Sharadam
Devim Ramakrishnam
Jagadgurum Pada Padme
Tayo Sritva
Pranamame Mohan Mohoho
May Ramakrishna,
Holy Mother and
Swami Vivekananda bless us
all with Bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna.