View source for Kaivalya Upanishad Lecture 10 on 19 November 2023

== Full Transcript (Not Corrected) ==
A great soul, spiritual sadhaka called Ashvalayana approached Bhagavan Brahma Parameshti. Please help me, teach me so that I can realize my own true nature. And he has been giving instructions. We have been studying the seventh mantra, where for those people who are not capable of contemplating the abstract thoughts about the highest reality, it is unthinkable, unimaginable, inexpressible and it is beyond all limitations. It is one. It is one without a second. It is unborn and it is infinite, etc. Not only that, the highest reality is not born. It is not even giving birth to anything. So it doesn't have a cause and it doesn't also become a cause of something else. Meditate upon that. There are thirteen such epithets. They are not complete. Only just a few. But most of us, we are not capable of contemplating God. That is why even in the meditation on Shri Ramakrishna, Prakruti, Vikruti, Shoonyam, Nityam, Anandamurthyam, Vimala Paramahamsam, Ramakrishnam, Bhajamaha. So these are all completely abstract ideas. Nirkuna, Nirakara characteristics. But at the same time, our teachers or wise people, they realize this is not helpful for lower cadre people. So immediately they said that the same Bhagawan, He takes compassion. Who takes compassion? Saguna Brahma takes compassion. And then He comes down. Jeeva Dukkha Asahishnu. Unable to bear His children's sufferings. Then He takes in the form of an Avatar. Let us meditate on that Avatar. So Jeeva Dukkha Asahishnu. Vimala Paramahamsam. So we have got a beautiful form. Samadhi Staha. Completely oblivious of the external world. With a beautiful smile. Slight smile. Most people don't notice it. If you see Sairam Krishna's, the edge of Sairam Krishna's left-sided lips. A very faint smiling. And in the Gospel, of course, we get beautiful descriptions. That no camera had ever been capable of capturing that beautiful, sweetest smile. When Sairam Krishna used to smile, the only comparison we can give is when a baby is looking at its mother and smiling happily. This beauty hardly any camera can ever capture. So, for the sake of all of us, out of compassion, this what is called Adi Guru, Parameshti, He is giving us, Uma Sahayam Parameshwaram Prabhum Velocanam Neelakantam Prashantam Dhyatva Muni Gacchati Bhoota Yonim Samastha Saksham Tamasaha Parastha By meditating upon Lord Parameshwara, Shiva, by whose side Uma is there to help him. Shakti, the highest lord, the all-powerful lord, the Trilocana, three-eyed lord, the blue-necked, that is Neelakanta, and Prashantam, ever-tranquil, because he knows everything is a drama. A true man of reflection, that is a sadhaka, by meditating upon this Saguna Brahma, Shiva here, not we conceive of Shiva and quarrel, who is great, Vishnu or Shiva. No, Saguna Brahma is only one. That fact is going to come very soon to us. In the very next mantras itself, we are going to get, He is Brahma, He is Vishnu, He is Shiva, He is everybody, He is Indra, He is Agni, etc. These narrow-minded devotees, unable, incapable of understanding that there is only one Nirguna Brahma manifesting as Saguna Brahma, He is only manifesting through various names and forms. In fact, these names and forms are creations of human beings. If I think of Bhagawan as Krishna, in course of time, that vibrations of my thoughts assume the form of Krishna. And whoever is having the same receptive capacity, for him also the Lord will manifest in the heart of hearts like Krishna. The beauty of this imagination is all of them are described exactly with the same epithets. For example, if you take the Sahasranama of Vishnu or Shiva or Lalita Devi or Lakshmi Devi, In fact, every Nama can be also interpreted to suit Shiva Sahasranama, to describe Shiva, describe Vishnu, describe Ganesha, etc. Simple examples I am giving you. Shukla, Ambara, Dharam, Vishnu. So Shukla, Ambara, Dharam, Vishnu. He has got pure white cloths. What is this white cloths? What can cover the infinite Lord? What is the symbolism? Yesterday I mentioned, the whole of the Puranic descriptions are nothing but pure symbolisms, out of which we just explored a little bit of Samudra Mantana, which I propose to carry on right now after this introduction. So what is that Shukla? It means pure, uncontaminated, without any ignorance. That is the meaning of Shukla, Ambara, Dharam, Vishnu. He is very epithet, Vishnu means Yapa Katwa, Sarvatra, He is there, everywhere. Sahasra, Sirsha, Purushaha, Sahasraksha, Sahasrapatha, etc. And where He is not Shiva, He is everywhere. Where He is not Lakshmi, what is Lakshmi? Or rather, what is Shiva? Shiva means auspiciousness. What is auspiciousness? Whenever we are happy, we call whatever event, whatever person, whatever object very auspicious. That which brings us, makes us happy, healthy, that is auspiciousness. That is the event or object which makes us a happy person. That is called Shiva. And Lakshmi, usually thought she is the goddess of wealth. But as I said, told to you that Navalakshmi, nine forms. It can be marvelous, powerful job, beauty, all spreading name and fame, or absolute knowledge, all these things. Very interesting fact in our Puranas. In the past, people used to say that Saraswati and Lakshmi are opposite to each other. Where there is Saraswati, there is no Lakshmi. Where there is Lakshmi, there is no Saraswati. You know in this 21st century, the person who has the mastery of the AI, he becomes the richest person in seconds. Because already some people have invented what is called stock broker AI. And it takes billions of readings and it predicts people are getting richer by this. What do I mean? Where there is more knowledge, there is more money, more power. That is why all these what you call social media, even governments are frightened of them. They can influence the elections. They can elect whom they want, who will be favoring them, etc. But as usual, you know what happens? A wild warfare will break out among them. First, they all like a gang of thieves. But when there is no other person, then they start fighting with each other. And ultimately, there is too much of knowledge. So that person will get destroyed. And that is the fear of most people. Anyway, this is by the way, knowledge is money, knowledge is power, knowledge is wealth. There is no such thing called opposition. But what happened in the past, people of tremendous knowledge, panditas, most of them did not care. They led a simple life, totally dedicated for learning, acquiring wisdom, etc. Even the people, be they poets, be they debaters, etc. Very few people are only looking for worldly benefits. Anyway, coming back to our condition. These are the beautiful hints without the grace of the Divine Mother. And this was adequately, more than adequately proved by Shri Ramakrishna. He did not know Brahman. He did not know Brahma. He did not know Vishnu. He came from the worshippers of Rama. But he totally surrendered himself to the Divine Mother. He felt, I am a child. And who is the nearest to the child? Only the child's mother. Like a small baby. This is the attitude of a young one, of a kitten. Marjara Kishora Nyaya. Not Markata Kishora Nyaya. Kishora means young one. That was the attitude of Shri Ramakrishna. And Divine Mother did everything. And he surrendered completely to the Divine Mother. And he says, without Divine Mother, Shiva cannot function. So he becomes only a Shiva. But when there is Kali, then Kala, Mahakala becomes Kala. Then he becomes active. He becomes Shiva. So, Bhuma Sahayam, Parameshwaram and Prabhum. That is, pure consciousness is the ruler of our true nature everywhere. Trilochanam, that is the eye of wisdom or pure knowledge or self-knowledge. Nilakantam, by drinking poison. What is the poison? All the ignorance that anybody who surrenders to Shiva, O Lord, please come. This ignorance is making me, made me a slave. And then not allowing me to come to you. Immediately he will come. That's why he is also called Trishuli. Shula means a spear. Spear. And three-pronged spear. What for? At the same time, in one stroke, he will kill the, he will destroy the bondage of the Sthula Sharira, Sokshma Sharira and Karana Sharira. So, he is called Trilochanam. And he is doing Srishti, Stithi and Samhara. When he is doing Srishti, the same person is known as Brahma. When he is doing, what is called upholding the law, then he goes by the name Vishnu. And when he has to provide us with a new instrument body, then he is called Shiva. What I call a bit light-heartedly. What is the, what is the called? Recycler. Prashantam. And he is absolutely unrippled, ocean-like. Because he knows the whole thing is a show. Now, this is the meditation. A few of these qualities. And yesterday, how he got this blue neck or blue throat? By drinking poison. What was the poison? The discouragement, depression that we often undergo because we are not able to progress, we fail. Not only in spiritual endeavors, but even in worldly endeavors. Ramakrishna used to say, a newborn calf, how many times it tries to get up to drink the milk of the mother. But every time it gets up a little, it falls. But within a few minutes, it is not only able to stand up, not only able to go to the udder of the mother and drink joyfully, and it is cutting capers, running. So, never get discouraged. Now, this Neelakanta, he is the Bhagawan. He removes all the obstacles. And that is what the Divine Mother did to Totapuri without his knowledge. And so he thought, all with my own effort, self-effort, I achieved Nirvikalpa Samadhi. Later on, he did not have even the power to commit suicide. There was no water at all. Then Divine Mother revealed, your body is mine, your mind is mine. All the good spiritual qualities, I have granted to you. The desire for spiritual life and the attainment of a wise teacher, efficient teacher, proper Sadguru and Upadesha from him. And then your spiritual effort and your overcoming all the obstacles, your progress in spiritual life. Finally, your attainment of Nirvikalpa Samadhi. Everything happened because of my grace. And then Totapuri understood. When a person does not have even the capacity to commit suicide, such a person understands that everything depends upon God. The person who was capable of experiencing the highest Nirvikalpa Samadhi could not meditate even for a few seconds. You just see the miserable condition. Illustrating that beautiful spiritual bhajan. A Divine Mother can grant the position of Brahma to anybody she likes. Even what we call an inimical person, a most wicked person. Because it is her sweet will. Don't ask, this is illogical. And she has no right to give something to our enemies. They are wicked people. Wickedness or goodness, it is all her grace only. But if she pleases, the same person whom she lifted to Nirvikalpa Samadhi can also bring down to the worst state where he cannot even sit. So Totapuri learned the lessons. That's why Ramakrishna's attack from the very beginning was, Ma, I don't know anything, I am a fool. You sit in my heart. Whatever way you want me to speak, I have to speak. Whatever way you want me to dance, I will have to dance. And this complete self-surrender, Divine Mother. She gave Sairam Krishna everything, more than everything. And that is our goal. How we can also follow, imitate a little bit of Sairam Krishna, this is the only way. And this story was only an illustration of what we found in the third chapter of the Kena Upanishad, Uma Sahayam. Now before I go to the next half of this mantra, I will revert back a little bit to yesterday's my talk on Samudra Manthana. The story of Samudra Manthana is not over. So finally Mother Lakshmi comes. She is all power, all joy, all prosperity, all name, all beauty, everything that is considered great in this world. And she went straight to God because God alone can handle without any egotism that this is all the Divine Mother. So now, after that, at the end, what were the gods and the demons aiming for? By churning the ocean like our mothers, sisters used to churn the curds to bring out the butter. What was the butter? Amrita. So Dhanvantari, that is God's grace, you have done enough of this churning and He brings out the Amrita. As soon as He brought, it is said in a small utensil, the Asuras, they already made a plan which they thought nobody knew. But this crafty fellow called Vishnu, He knows everything. And then they snatched it and then they wanted to distribute among them. So they all sat down, kicked out the Devas and were about to drink. And we are so clever, suddenly Bhagawan Vishnu takes the form of Mohini. Remember the name Mohini. That is enchantress. And as soon as she appeared, these are called Asuras, you know, demons means Asuras. Who are the Asuras? They who revel in the bodily enjoyment, Indriyas. Asu means Indriyas, Pranas means Indriyas. Asu means Prana, Prana means Indriyas, Indriyas means sense organ. We all belong to that Asura group. Because we are all Vairochana's descendants. We want to behold beautiful persons, beautiful objects. We want to smell best things, want to hear. You are the greatest person in the world. Even though we know very well, we don't deserve even a teeny-weeny bit of it. And we want to taste beautiful things, tasty things. And we also want to touch. Temperature should be like Bangalore city's air-conditioned temperature. This is called Swarga Loka. That is why Bangalore is called Swarga Loka. Anyway, Swarga Loka also will have Asuras. What has this Bangalore got? Only two Asuras ever possess people in Bangalore and make them suffer. One is called Asthma. Another is called Rheumatism. Very prevalent there, somehow. Anyway, I am just taking a little bit of fun. I know you want a little bit of break now and then. So, these Asuras snatched the Amruta Kalasha. And we don't know what they did with Dhanvantari. He must have run back because he could not stand. Suddenly, this Vishnu, He knew what they were going to do. And He appeared in such a mesmerizing form, enchanting. And then all of them said, See, there also, what happens is, they quarrel. I want more of it. So, it is supposing Bhima Sena was there. And other brothers are also there. So, He will say, half of the Amruta Kalasha belongs to Me. And the rest of it, all six of you. Who are the six? Yudhishthira, Arjuna, Nakula, Sahadeva, Kunti and Draupadi. All of you will get the other portion. Because I am the strongest person. So, they must be having quarrels. And then Vishnu appeared. As soon as they saw, He looked here. So, will you distribute with equalness? So that we all get the same. She said, Rama Rama, I am a public woman. And you know that. And you should never trust public women. And this utterance of Vishnu created even more faith in her. By the Asuras. Which prostitute is going to talk like that? And immediately, she handed over and said, No, we have absolute. So, she said, it is but fair. Your brothers are also there. So, I will distribute. So, then she made two rows. One is all the Devas. Another was all the Asuras. And she was bestowing all her beauty, all her smiles towards the Asuras. And on the left side, she was giving the Amruta only to the Devas. No, what is called mythology of any country can beat the intriguing things that our Puranas etc. present. Purana means mythology actually. So, suddenly two fellows found out. They are called Rahu and Ketu. They jumped out of the queue, sat down. And Vishnu was looking at the other side. Anyway, I will not go into it. But the important point is that the Asuras did not get. Why did they not get? Amruta means self-knowledge. Self-knowledge cannot be obtained by people who are body-identified, attached, mind-identified. In other words, their worldly people, Charvakas, they can never get it. This is the symbolism. But the Devas, their pride has been removed. Because whenever Devas forget, everything is due to God's grace. An Ahankara will come. Immediately, an Asura will come. Or Vishnu will come in the form of the Asura just to teach them a lesson. Same thing happens in our lives also. Whenever we forget God, immediately a rod will come, a heavy rod, heavy blows will come. That is why Holy Mother said, Misery is the greatest gift of God. It reminds us of God. It reminds us of what a wretched life we are leading, etc. So this is how the Divine Mother, that is, even Vishnu had to assume the form of the Divine Mother to bring about justice. How much meaning is hidden in the symbolism of even these stories? As I mentioned yesterday, life is a Samudra. And there are good things, bad things. And if we concentrate, Siddhis will come. Sometimes good, sometimes not so good. But if we forget and accept these small gifts, immediately our Ahankara will grow. Each Siddhi or power increases the Ahankara. But it is all God's grace. If we can use it in the service of God, that is absolutely fine. So there is what is called an addenda, appendix to this story. So Lord Shiva was sitting in the Kailasa. He heard about this story and he became curious. My friend Vishnu, how could he assume that I want to see her? And then he requested. One day they were having a walk in a beautiful garden. And then Shiva said, Hey Vishnu, I heard that you put on the dress of Mohini. So can you show me? I heard a lot about it. Then Vishnu laughed, looked at Shiva and said, Hey, you are a Sanyasi. Why do you want to look at the face of a woman? No, no, no. I am Shiva. I have got knowledge. It doesn't matter. I just want to see. Okay, okay, okay. I will fulfill your desire. But not now. And one day Shiva was taking a walk all by himself. It was a beautiful garden which he had never seen before. First class smell was coming. And all the honey bees were humming. And beautiful musical instruments from like our cinema. The hero and heroine. They will be dancing in a remote garden. And where from these musical instruments suddenly pop out from behind? God alone knows. Like that were coming. Shiva was intrigued. And then he walked with tremendous curiosity. Forget everything. Suddenly he beheld this most bewitching woman. One glance of this Mohini and Shiva lost everything. He went and embraced Lord Vishnu. And he lost what we call his seed. And immediately it became what we call one of his first sons. Shanmukha. And then only came Ganesha. So then Vishnu consoled him and said, I warned you before. This is Vishnu Maya. This is a story purely created by Vishnu Bhaktas to lower the prestige of Shiva. Don't take it. But the power of Mohini, Sri Ram Krishna warned us again and again. You don't know when you can fall. So every spiritual sadhaka, Ram Krishna used to warn, Sadhu, Savadhaan. So the whole story is that every sadhaka, whether he wants worldly greatness, spiritual greatness, aesthetic greatness, intellectual greatness, or spiritual greatness or moral greatness, he must obtain the grace of God. And for that he must do this. Manthana. That is, he must use all the powers. So even an evil thought is a powerful thought. Good thought is also a powerful thought. There should be no dichotomy. Split personality in the mind. The whole mind must become completely united. That is the meaning of Devas and Asuras coming together. So we have to be careful whether any type of wicked thoughts arise in our minds. What does it mean? It means when God is ready to grant us His grace, we may want, give me money, give me power. As we see in the Chendi, three years Suradha and Samadhi. The king, former king, and then former businessman. Both of them performed superhuman tapasyas. And then the Divine Mother appeared. And whatever boons you wish, I will grant you. And look at this. This businessman, he must be extremely good. So what is the best business? To obtain everything, I want to be the owner of everything. That is, if I can become Brahman, I become everything. He said, Mother, give me Atma Jnanam. And whereas this foolish king said, No, I have lost my kingdom. I want it again. Baba, once you have lost, what is the guarantee you will not lose it a second time? Such is the Mahamaya. So you will become a king very soon, after a few days. Your enemies will be defeated by my will. Not only that, next birth also. So you will become a Manu. You will become a Manu in future birth, after dying in this life. So let us give the choice to God. Whatever you think is good for me, O Lord, grant me that. Now, there are lots of meanings there. But I am not going to deviate any further. I will come back. So yesterday we have seen that we have to contemplate Lord Shiva. That is, God only. Not Vishnu, not Shiva, not Divine Mother. But the same Nirguna Brahma, Nirakara Brahma as Saguna Brahma. How? That is, as soon as we say Saguna, Sa-Guna. Along with Maya. That is why Bhagavan Krishna is expressing this very idea so beautifully. This is my Divine Power. And only when you worship me, I will bestow my grace through her upon you. That is Vidya Maya. Vidya Maya will comprise all the powers. There is no split, there is no destruction. All the thoughts will become completely united, harmonious. And all of them will be directed towards God only. So if anybody can understand this and take refuge in Shiva, Parameshwara, who is the only Lord, who is containing the third eye, the eye of knowledge, and who can destroy all our ignorance, as a Neelakanta, the mind becomes absolutely serene. And in that serene mind, Atma Jnanam will rise. Like an Amruta comes after churning this milk ocean. Munihi, such a person who only continuously thinks of God is called Munihi. What does he gain? He gains the Parabrahma, who is described as Bhoota Yoni. The whole world is the effect of that Parabrahman. Not only that, even a Saguna Brahma, he is the Samastashakshim, he is the witness, he knows. Before our birth, all our births, all our future births, whatever we are going to do, everything, he knows. And he is called pure consciousness, Tamasaha Parasthat, by meditating. In other words, he realizes Brahman. In other words, he realizes, what does he realize? He realizes, I am Brahman. We proceed to the eighth mantra. The same thing as I mentioned earlier, Shiva, Vishnu or Devi, many foolish people go on quarreling, who is greater, who is greater. Ramakrishna had incarnated himself to give us that harmony of all bhavas, harmony of all yogas, harmony of all religions, harmony of all, whatever path, every path leads only to that infinity. Because if Bhagawan is infinite, anywhere you turn, that will be only infinity. You cannot make a mistake, you cannot lose your way. So, eighth mantra. In these few words, again, what we have discussed, in the, what we call Purusha Suptam and also Narayana Suptam. Sahasraakshah sahasrapat sa bhoomin vishwato atyatishtat dashaangulam. vritva atyatishtat dashaangulam. That idea is going to come here. He is called Brahma. Why is he called Brahma? When the same power is in the activity of creation, that being, Saguna Brahma, goes by the name of Brahma, Tirga. And when the same being is doing what is called recycling process, activity, because Shiva cannot destroy the Atman, he can only destroy what is called a temporary instrument given for us, lent to us for going forward towards the Lord. When it becomes useless, just like our mother, our father, buys a new toy, when our old toy doesn't function, gives us a new pencil, or a new pen, new table, etc. So, Sashivaha. And then, in the same, Sa Indraha. When he becomes the Adhishtana Devata, presiding deity of strength, he is called Indraha. And he is called Aksharaha. Akshara means that which decays, that which is temporary, that which is under the control of past, present and future. In other words, time. But that which is beyond time, Aksharaha. That is why, very interesting, whenever a Hindu baby is born, one of the first two things, at the age of six months, after six months, is called Aksharabhyasa. What does Akshara mean? Alphabet. No. Akshara means, the alphabet becomes the beginning of learning, and that learning should help us to become, to achieve that status of Akshara. So that is why, Bhagawan is called Aksharaha. And he can never decay, because decay is an effect of time. I was born eighty years back, so eighty years of time has worn out my physical body, not mind. So like that, anything. Ten days back. Oh, old. Etc. And then he is called Paramaha. He is the Supreme. Who is the Supreme? That Consciousness, which is witnessing the birth, I was born, I was growing up, I grew up, I became old, I became diseased, I was suffering, I was happy, and I am going to die. All that awareness, which makes us aware of the condition, objectify this body, which we mistake as myself, that is called Paramaha. Whether it is in the waking state, or dream state, or deep sleep state. Jagrat, Swapna, Sushupti. In all the three states, the Consciousness, now I am in the waking state, now I am in the dream state, now I am in the deep sleep state. Do we have that Consciousness? Absolutely. How do we know? Because upon waking up, what do we say? I was asleep. You don't say, somebody else came and slept for me. I only slept. And how did you know you slept? Because you are experiencing every millisecond, that idea, I am now in deep sleep state. Not only waking and dream, but deep sleep also, we have been experiencing, which we express, Sukham, Aham, Aswapsham. I slept very happily. Nakinchit, Aveditam. I never knew anything of the, either the waking state, or the dream state. I was in a state of bliss. This is called Paramaha. And then a word Swarat. Swarat means what? He is His own. Rat means ruler. Swarat means, He is the ruler of Himself. That means, we are all ruled by somebody else. That is how, Isavasya Upanishad starts, Isavasya medha hum sarvam, etkincha jagatya am jagat. So this whole universe is ruled over. By whom? By that Divine Lord, who is called Brahman. But who rules Brahman? Nobody. Because pure consciousness, there is no division, of subject and object, ruler and ruled, male and female, no Dwandwa is there. Dwandwaatheetam, Gahanasadrusham, Tattvam, Asya, Adi, Laksham, Vimala, Paramahamsa. So He is like that. He is called Swarat. He is His own ruler. But, don't get the wrong idea. Ruler means, like our political leaders, who impose some rules. Ruler means, He who never deviates, from His own nature. And that is called Swarat. And then, continuing again, Saiva Vishnu, when after creation, His creation is looked after, with a stick and carrot. Punishment and reward. Papa and Punya, are upheld. The rewards of Papa, will be stick. That is punishment, suffering. And the rewards of Punyam, is carrot. Carrot means, depending upon, how much Punyam we have done, we can go to higher lokas, we can even enjoy. Even in this world, even if you take, the example of one family, so one of them, may be so happy, such a happy person. And the rest of them are, what we call, castor oil faces. It is quite possible. So, Saiva Vishnu, the ruler of this world, and He rules with an iron rod. For reward, Lakshmi is there. For punishment, Chakra, Gadha, etc. are there. And Sapranaha, He is only upholding us, in the form of, all the Pancha Pranas. What we call, the Prana. That is why, we are called Pranis. Our life itself, is upheld, by the sun, by the moon, by the wind, by the Akasha. All the Pancha Bhutas, they are upholding. One second, if Vaideva takes leave, then, not one creature, will be alive in this world. And, Sakalaha. So, Srishti itself, is, intimately, mixed up with Kala. Desha, Kala, and Nimitta, is the, very hoof and warp, fabric, of this entire Srishti. So, that is why, Mother Kali represents, Srishti, Sthiti, Vinasha, and, Mahakala, that is, timelessness, is represented by, Shiva, underneath. Meaning, time, is a small manifestation, infinitesimally, small manifestation, of that timelessness, and really, not manifestation. Our concept of, timelessness, when we look, through the prism, of our mind, which is consisting, of time, space, and causation, is called, Kalahar. Birth, growth, and death, and this is the story, of whether it is, living, non-living, mountains, rivers, forests, cities, human beings, everything. There is a, time of birth, and it is very interesting, how this, what we call, cosmologies, how, they have traced, they say, nearly, fourteen, and half, billion years back, the Big Bang, and what was there, before Big Bang, there must be something, for the Big Bang to happen, because that, which was existing before, alone, is manifesting, in the form of a Big Bang, that which has become, super small, the point of singularity, and that alone, becomes now, starts to expand, this expansion, Sankocha, and Vikasa, Vikasa and Sankocha, Sankocha and Vikasa, this is, what is called, Brahma's day, is Vikasa, Brahma's night, is Sankocha, the whole thing, folds up, Ram Krishna, had a wonderful vision, one day he said, I saw Mother Saraswati, playing Veena, as she started playing, the birds, the animals, and the human beings, and then the plants, the living, non-living, everything started, to become, to come out, out of that sound, out of that Shabda, Brahma, and expanding, and as she was, slowly, winding up her playing, slowly, the whole world, again came back, merged in that Shabda, and finally when she stopped, that was what we call, in Puranas, in the Puranic language, what is called, Pralaya Kaala Samudra, everything became merged there, that is why when we say, Bhagawan Vishnu sleeps in Samudra, that means, when there was no creation, suddenly, He becomes the Saguna Brahma, that is the birth of the, what we call, Brahma, Chaturmukha Brahma, Chaturmukha means, Chatur Vedas, four Vedas, means all the knowledge, all the knowledge means, all the remembrance of, how previously, He created, just as we, upon waking up, remember, what we did, if there is any problem, how we dealt with that problem now. Slowly, Brahma, already prepares a mould, as it was before, yatha purve akalpayat, yatha purve akalpayat, how He created, exactly same process goes on, so, He is, Brahma, He is Shiva, He is Indra, He is Vishnu, He is Prana, He is Kaala, and He is Agni, if we study, 11th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Vishwaroop Sandarsana Yoga, we get a beautiful idea, that idea is, Srishti, Stithi and Laya, are going on, simultaneously, and Arjuna could stand Srishti, he can also stand Stithi, but he could not stand, the Laya aspect of it, because it was, battlefield, where there will be, 18000 shavas practically, at the end of the 18 days, so, he becomes, Kaalaswaroop, and Bhagawan, could not be recognized by Arjuna, he says, O Lord, who are you? I could not recognize you, and then he says, Kaaloham, Lokakshayakritpravuddaha, my name is Kaala, that when he says, I am, I have taken this avatar, in order to, destroy the worlds, he does not mean only destruction, he means all the three, Srishti, Stithi, as well as Laya, he is Kaala, he is Agni, without Agni, which is produced, of course naturally, by the Sun, by the Moon, etc., this world cannot go on, and it is the, third, of the Pancha Mahabhutas, Agni, he is, he did not say here, but he is the Surya, he is also, Chandramaha, he is the Chandrama, I am manifesting, what is the idea of all this, that if you see at the Moon, O that is Bhagawan, you see at the, fire, that is Bhagawan, and you are aware of time, that is Bhagawan, aware of Prana, I am alive, only because of Bhagawan, and whatever you see, I am the Akshara, I am the Supreme, I am the Self-Ruler, I am the Brahma, I am the Shiva, I am the Indra, look at anything, that must remind us, that this is nothing but Bhagawan, just a small example, see we have seen, that when Sri Ram Krishna was one day returning, he saw a public woman, waiting for customers, this is our vision, our view, ignorant view, but what did Sri Ram Krishna see, he saw Mother Sita, waiting, for Sri Ramachandra, so every customer, this lady, every customer is a Rama, and this lady herself is, none other than, Mother Sita, every mother, is a Divine Mother, so it is a, wonderful, there is a beautiful Bengali song, it starts with, Prathima means image, Durga Puja time especially, Prathima, if you speak that word, Prathima, Prathi and Ma, Ma means, every woman is a mother, so, O Mother, Continuing, the same idea, He, that means, the Brahman, alone is all that was, and all that will be, eternal, knowing Him, one goes behind the sting of death, there is no other way, to reach complete freedom, so, whatever we see, whatever anybody saw, even 14 billion years back, whatever was there, whatever was there, even before that, Sarvam, whatever was in the past, whatever is going to be, experienced in the future, that is Sarvam, only, we see, only that, and after that, Sanatana, Sanatana means, deathless, eternal, Sanatana means, eternal, and, when a person, truly contemplates, on Saguna Brahma, as, indicated in the, previous section, then, he continues it, he becomes a Muni, and what does he do? Having realized Him, realized what? He is me, I do not exist, I do not exist, only He exists, Mrutyam, Atyeti, He overcomes death, because, He, that which is, everything, cannot have any, death, pure consciousness, cannot have any, death, this is called, overcoming death, the same thing will come, in different words, you know, that, Swami Vivekananda's, clarion call, at the parliament of religions, Taveva Viditva, Atimrutyameti, Nanya Pantha, Vidyate Ayanaya, instead of saying, Vidyate Ayanaya, Nanya Pantha, Vimuktaye, so, if you want, if anybody wants, to get out of this, Samsara Sagara, Vimuktaye, Na, Anya Pantha, there is no other way, that means what? Unless, a person, has complete, self-knowledge, and what is that self? Not small, yes, but, central, yes, I am the Atma, I am the Paramatma, once a person, realizes it, only then, a person, need not come, into this world, for him, the bones, are broken, forever, and he becomes, absolutely, marvelous, there are, some quotations, are there, I, would, deal with this, in my, next class, Om, Janani, Him, Sharada, Sharanam, Him, Shardam, Devim, Ramakrishnam, Jagadgurum, Padapadme, Tahyo, Sritva, Pranamami, Mohur, Mohur, May, Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda, bless us all with, Bhakti, Jai Ramakrishna
[[Category:Kaivalya Upanishad]]