Svetasvatara Upanishad Lecture 11 on 08 April 2023

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

Om Jananim Sharadam Devim Ramakrishnam Jagadgurum Adha Padme Tayo Shritva Pranamami Mohur Moho Om Sahana Bhavatu Sahanao Bhunaktu Sahaveeryam Karavavahai Tejasvinavaditamastumavidvishavahai Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Hare Om Om May Brahman protect us both. May Brahman bestow upon us both a fruit of knowledge. May we both obtain 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. By God's grace we have been able to complete the first chapter of the Shweta Shwetra Upanishad which contains 16 marvelous mantras and the main theme of this first chapter, other chapters, every Upanishad, Gita, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is to teach us that the one and only Purushartha, goal of life is to realize God. There is nothing else excepting this. The story goes, there were some seekers, they were termed as Brahmavadins, just like a medical student is also called a doctor because very soon he is going to master medical knowledge and is going to be a practicing doctor. So these Brahmavadins, that means who speak of Brahman, Brahmavadins, who know Brahman alone is the truth and these people, they do not wish anything else. They came together, some of them, we don't know how many of them and they started finding out the only way to get liberation is to know the ultimate cause because of the invariable law that the effect cannot be other than the cause. So who is the cause? Then is Brahman the ultimate cause? Where from have we come? Where are we going? And what makes life worthwhile? What happens after death and what laws govern joy and sorrow and what is that which impels every action of ours? Thought, speech and physical activity. So they took certain created things into consideration, time, kala, swabhava, nature, niyati, that is law, idrucha, that is chance, then five elements, then jivatma and found them wanting. They cannot be the final cause because they are all effects. Now what to do? They came, all of them together to this conclusion, we must meditate and they meditated and then they found out the supreme reality is called Brahman. Instead of saying Brahman is the supreme reality, we have to put it the other way round. The ultimate cause, the supreme reality is called Brahman. One may choose to call it by any other name, God, Father in Heaven, Samadhi, Satori, Shanti, Maunam, anything. Then they realized. Then the explanation comes, what was the method they followed? Prayer is the first method and yogic practice combined with prayer, that is the only method. That is to say, first of all we must be focused. I have only one Purushartha, Moksha. Secondly, how to attain it? We have been given, we have been equipped with only two instruments, body and mind. So let this body and mind be made the fittest instruments. In very Upanishads, only details these things in different ways. And why do we study so many Upanishads, so many scriptures? Not because every scripture is teaching a new truth. No, the truth is only one, Brahma Satyam and Brahman is the Purushartha and there are methods to reach Brahman, to know Brahman, to become Brahman. There is nothing else. But every devotee will never be satisfied by only thinking about one aspect of God. He wants to hear about God. He wants to talk about God. He wants to think about God. He wants to sleep about God. He wants to connect every activity, breathing, etc. with God. So different scriptures are enjoyed by a devotee of God. But it is not necessary for the realization of God. Even one sentence, one Mahavatya, Tattvamasi, Aham Brahmasmi, that is more than adequate. But you know, we want varieties. Ramakrishna used to give an example that a lover of food is never satisfied with one particular dish. He put it in a different way at every temple. Especially in North India, we have two instruments playing. One is called Nada Swara and along with that there will be another to keep the Shruti, what we call the tune. So the tuned fellow will be only sounding one particular note. But the Nada Swara person, various ragas, goes up, goes down and wants to exhibit everything. Ramakrishna said, some people are like that first fellow, only one harping on one. But I would like to enjoy God in so many ways. As man, as woman, as with form, without form, beyond form and formlessness, as Narayana, as Shiva, as Shakti, as everybody, as any number of, as a child and as an adult, as God himself, I want to play with all of them. So this is why we are enjoying. This is the answer if somebody raises. If one scripture is enough, why do we need so many scriptures? If we are short of time, one scripture will do. But if we have time, it is everybody's nature to enjoy God in so many varieties, infinite ways. That is called Bhavas. So coming to the second chapter, this second chapter of the Shweta Shatra Upanishad, which belongs to the Taittiriya Shaka of the Krishna Yajur Veda, which contains 17 mantras. While in the first chapter, the cause of the entire creation has been discovered as Brahman and these people have, through meditation etc., they have attained. They want to detail to other people how did they attain to that highest reality. For that purpose, in the second mantra, one has to do Sadhana, spiritual practice. And rest of the chapters, whether it is contemplating Omkara or doing prayers or doing Japam or hymning the Lord, various methodologies are there. And in this second chapter, the first seven mantras, this chapter as I mentioned contains 17 mantras of which 7 mantras are prayers. Prayers addressed to the Divine Lord in the form of one particular manifestation which is called Savita or which is called God or Surya Deva we call it. Remember, in the Krishna Upanishad also, Hiranyagarbha had Prajapati, had created first the Sun, then the Moon. Only a different name is given, Rai, but here directly it is Savita, prayer. Why? Because this is what highlights human life, every life, every form of life on this earth. What is it? The Sun is the creator, the Sun is the maintainer, and the Sun is the absorber. Srishti, Sthiti and Laya, all these three are done only by the Sun. How does he do it? In the form of the Sun and Moon in the sky, he provides energy. That energy is distributed through the plants and every other creature excepting plants. They eat plants. Plant is nothing but energy. We call it food. Food is nothing but energy and this is a psychological fact. It is a scientific fact. It is a physiological fact. So we want to make it sweet, sour, khatta, metha, all those things. What is the purpose? Because we want to enjoy it. But more important is, I call this masala, piston, a piston to push the food inside the stomach. That is their main purpose. And of course, every being enjoys certain taste. Sweet is the most favorite, not certainly South Indian Kara. So this goes on like that. So without Sun, it is impossible. So in the form of plants, we are sustaining life and because of energy, creation is going on. We are creating, reproducing, becoming immortal through reproduction and this is how the Sun is in the sky. अद्धे उष्णामि जोऽषदी सर्वाह सोमो भोत्वा प्रसात्मकाः In the form of the Sun and Moon, I am sustaining every form of life on earth. In the form of fire, he makes the facility of making it more easy, digestible. But he himself is providing food and without his help, we cannot convert it back into energy. Energy is needed for living life. Life means activity and therefore the energy comes by digesting the food provided by Surya Deva. And who is digesting? Jatara Agni, fire in the sky, fire on earth for cooking, etc. Fire to reconvert eaten food into energy and in the form of Pancha Prana, distributing it equally throughout the body. That is why Surya Deva is called Pratyaksha Deva, Pratyaksha Brahma. He is Brahman whom we cannot see. But here is Surya Deva and every form of energy is a Pratyaksha Deva. So in the ancient times, Surya Deva was the greatest manifestation, representation of Brahman. That is why the very Gayathri Mantra, looking at the Sun, either the rising Sun or at the setting Sun, because that is the only time we are able to look directly into the face of the Sun and how beautiful the Sun is. Every time there is some heavy rain and rains are caused by the Sun only, let us not forget. So every time we see the Sun, if there is heavy rain for days together, the entire world is covered with darkness, thick darkness and one day the rain stops, the Sun breaks out, out of the clouds and how heart, heartily, joyfully we welcome the Sun. It is a most natural phenomenon. So these first seven mantras are addressed because He creates us and He sustains us and He renews us and He also again gives us a chance. This is called punar janma or reincarnation until we know the truth who is the real Sun. The Sun that we see is only an external manifestation of Brahman, but within that Savitru Narayana is meditated upon like that. That Narayana is none other than this Savita, the very word Savita means Srishti Karta, Srijana Karta is called Savita. That is why the Gayatri Mantra Indirectly, without understanding, we are only praying to that being who is manifesting in the form of the Sun, who is the Antaryami within the Sun, without whom Srishti, creation, sthiti, maintenance, sustenance and laya, another what is called refilling, the recycling. It is impossible for people to progress in life and life is meant to become evolutionary, ultimately going back from where we have come. So seven mantras, this all, what is the prayer for? Oh Lord, you are sustaining us, you have created us, you are sustaining us, you have given us body and mind and why did you give? So that through this body and mind, I may progress towards your real nature and I must become one with Brahman, who is your true nature, your true Swabhava. For that purpose, we need your help. In what form? Let there be healthy body, let all the sense organs be healthy and may we have a good mind, a controllable mind, a controlled mind, filled with the highest ideals. Only when you bestow your grace in the form of a healthy body, healthy mind, a spiritual body and a spiritual mind, then only we will be able to progress and that is the purpose of your creation and we turn to you. We are like your children, without you we can never make a progress. This is the essence of these seven mantras and without further ado, we will go to this. So these seven introductory mantras of this chapter invoke the Sun God, Savitru is called Savita and when we look at the Sun, of all the phenomena that we observe, the Sun is regarded with the greatest wonder, admiration and awe. If the Sun sets, there is no life. If the Sun dies, there would be no life. But it is said, there are infinite number of Suns. If one Sun is absent, some other Sun will come. So in the Vedas, the Sun is described as the chief manifestation symbol of Brahman, Asav, Aditya, Brahma. And as I mentioned, Gayathri prayer is nothing but directed to the Purusha, dwelling within the Sun. Natural sunlight is the highest manifestation and it gives us sustenance, gives us vitamins. It also makes our mind very happy. With this, we will start. And these words used here are ritualistic words and not very easy to understand. The Sanskrit words, a few words we can understand. So we will not pay much attention to the formation of the Sanskrit words, but anybody with even a little bit of Sanskrit knowledge can definitely understand some of the words and what is called a rough meaning of these mantras. Remember, these are not called shlokas. Shruti teachings are in the form of mantras. Only Smriti will be called shlokas. Let us dive deep into this first mantra. One caution, when we are studying this Sanskrit language, sometimes these words have to be separated. The Sanskrit is one language. I don't know whether there are any other languages where you can put any words anywhere and yet you can make first class meaning out of it. So here, this is a prayer. May the Sun at the commencement of yoga join our minds and other organs of the body to the Supreme Self so that we may attain the knowledge of reality. May He also support the body, the highest material entity through the powers of the deities who control the senses. So this is the meaning of it. This is a prayer again. O Lord, we are earnestly praying to you, the Sun. But it is as if indirectly, may the Sun God, Surya Narayana, Surya Bhagawan, and remember even Rama, the greatest avatar, when before commencing his battle with Ravana and he was a little bit worried, it is said, it is a little bit worried, then one Rishi, he comes and imparts to him a beautiful hymn. This is called Aditya Hrudayam. And then he said, you just every day look at the Sun and earnestly recite this Aditya Hrudayam and you will conquer the Ramanasura. There is no doubt about it. So this is a prayer. O Sun, Surya Devata, we are about to commence Yoga. Yoga means the journey approaching nearer and nearer to God. Finally, join the God and ultimately become in God. The very word Yoga comes from the Dhatu root, Uj means to join. Here joining means there are three types of joinings are there. When we bring two things together, like we bring two pieces of wood with some amount of glue and they are together, they will be together is one kind of joining. Another type of joining, we take some water or milk or some liquid, add sugar or something else to make it tasty and that is another type of joining. So when we put salt or sugar or whatever it is, then it will not be visible, but it is there all over spreading itself all over. This is much nearer and better type of union, Yoga. But the third type of union is what we are trying to understand. As milk poured into milk, water poured into water, oil poured into oil, there will absolutely be no inside outside difference at all. It becomes absolutely one. You cannot separate one atom of oil from oil. So that is the type of union. One becomes, a Sadhaka becomes complete, attains complete oneness with the divine like a drop of water falling into the sea and becoming completely submerged or as poetically it is said, various rivers originating at various places, they all travel only towards the sea and at last giving up their particular names, particular tastes, particular colors, particular qualities. They become there afterwards, they will be called only Samudra and not a particular like Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati etc. This is the type of union we are talking about here and it is not possible to attain this through any other path. You see what happened to Sri Ramakrishna at the very beginning. He prayed wholeheartedly, Oh mother, here is your Dharma, here is your Adharma, here is your good, here is your evil, here is the happiness, here is unhappiness, here is victory and defeat, everything I offer at your lotus feet. Grant me your unmotivated devotion to your lotus feet. Not only that, Oh mother, I am a fool, I don't know what is good or bad, what I should do or should not. You please occupy, possess this body and mind and you direct it and this possession by the divine, you can call it Guru gives Deeksha, Guru possesses our body and mind and who is possessing the Guru's body and mind? Only God. Ultimately, everything belongs to God and He has become the Srishti, He is doing the Sadhana and He is progressing, ultimately He will progress. This complete surrender to the Sun God, that is what is indicated in these seven mantras. So these Brahmavadins, they understood Brahman is the ultimate goal, Paramapushartha, Moksha. How to progress in our Sadhana? By doing Sadhana. That process of doing Sadhana is called Yoga and Yoga means slowly moving towards the divine Lord and it is not possible unless divine grace makes it possible for us. The desire to go to God, the faith that God exists and the desire to move towards God and the equipment called body and mind and the grace of a teacher to direct us in the right direction, each according to the individual constitution and overcoming the obstacles like Kama, Krodha, Loga, Moha, Mada and Matsarya, everything is possible. Ultimately who reveals? Only God reveals, not because of our Sadhana but because of His infinite grace. This is from beginning to the end a journey undertaken by God, in God and ultimately God realizes Himself and that is why this process is called Sharanagati. Prayer is Sharanagati and even to do Japa, even to do meditation, we require the grace of the Divine Mother because one simple obstacle, as the Holy Mother is apt to say, one single screw, one turn, tight or loose, man becomes mad for several Janmas. So Mother's grace is necessary that is why Shri Ramakrishna emphasizes so much, unless my children Mahamaya bestows her grace and releases you from her grip, nobody can get out of her kingdom. That is why the prayer of our ancient Rishis understood it, though some of the modern teachers have to say what is called we can progress by ourselves, no it is not possible. And how do we know? We know through common sense, we know also through practical examples. Who are the practical examples? Totapuri, he thought he had desire and he obtained Guru, he practiced Sadhana, he progressed, he conquered lust etc. Ultimately he realized he never accepted the existence of even the Divine Mother, that's why he refused to attend even this temple of the Divine Mother at Dakshineshwar. But the Divine Mother will never get angry, you know why? Because even that rebellion against the Divine Mother is also the will of the Divine Mother. So ultimately he revealed the truth that you cannot even commit suicide, you cannot meditate, you can neither be a worldly person nor a spiritual person without my will and my children take refuge at my feet. So this is a prayer, may the Sun restore his grace. In what form? May he make first of all my body and mind fit instruments. Then may the Sun, Surya Devata remove all the contrary ideas, that is disbelief, small belief, oscillating restlessness of the mind, kama, krodha, lobha, moha, madha, matsarya. Let her endow me with all the daivisampad, abhayam, sattva, samshuddhi, jnana yoga, yavasthati, danam, namasthi, ignastha, svadhyaya, sthapa, arjavam, etc. only by her grace, by the grace of the Divine Lord, call it Divine Mother, call it Surya Devata, it doesn't matter. And at one point of time Sri Ramakrishna himself declared there is a very close relationship between me and Surya Narayana. So may Surya Deva also support the body, the highest material instrument through the powers of the deities who control the senses. What does it mean? In Vedanta, Advaita Vedanta, according to Sankhya, it is said we have our bodies. Every body is a combination of several organs, five of sense sense organs of knowledge and five of action. A whole body is nothing but a mixture of five of knowledge and five of action. But it is said that there is a residing deity of the eye, of the ear, of the tongue, of the nostril and of the skin and of the hands, of the legs, etc. All the ten organs. There is nothing which is not given. What about the mind? Mind also has got several aspects and every aspect is controlled by a residing deity and Surya Deva represents a combination of all these deities because he is the Raja, the Raja. He is the manifestation of all these things. So the prayer is, Lord you have given me the desire to, you have given us the knowledge that everything is Brahman and you have given us the desire to realize that Brahman and you have equipped us with body and mind. Now you provide us with strength and with vigor and with awareness so that we can progress towards you and realize you who is none other than Parabrahman. So the first part of the prayer to the Sun starts with an appeal to unite our minds and every other organ, five sense organs and five organs of action in the Supreme Self. But among the organs which is the most difficult, who is the leader and who is most difficult to control? We all know that the mind is the leader and it is the mind which collates, harmonizes every type of knowledge that streams in through the five windows, five sense organs. So the mind functions like a charioteer for controlling the wild journeys of the sense organs and if we do not control what happens, all the calamities of life are the result of oscillation of the mind, restlessness of the mind, incorrect apprehension of the mind, weakness of the mind. So the prayer is, O Savita, Surya Narayana, it is your power alone that is expressing through the mind and organs and besides you there is no other power. So be gracious, restrain the power so that the mind, the sense organs do not dissipate into various useless type of activities. So this prayer is in accordance with the nature of reality which will pacify the mind and give it peace and then concentrate it and direct it towards the Atman so that meditation can take place, spiritual progress can take place. Thus this prayer indicates the Sharanagati, the seeker's surrender. That is why every devotee of Sri Ramakrishna in the second hymn, Tasmatvameva Sharanam Mamadhena Vandhu, third hymn, Sharanagata Dhenartha Paritrana Parayana. So, surrender to the power of all the powers, that power from whom every other power is coming out and what is that ultimate power? Brahman itself. Tasyabhasa Sarvamedham Vibhati. In Vedanta, the physical body represents all the Panchaputas and all the Shabdasparisha Ruparasa Gandha, all the five sense organs in each individual prani and every one of them are presided over by different deities and so there is no option but to pray so that they will bestow their grace and their grace comes in the form of favorableness so that we can strive, that very striving, the necessary resolve to strive, necessary power to continue this strive, everything is possible only by the God. That's why Shankaracharya says, may the Sun take our thoughts away from external things, from unspiritual things in order to concentrate them on the Supreme Self and may He transmit to our organ of speech and other organs that power which lightens all objects and which inheres in Agni and other deities who control the various organs. Through the grace of the Sun, we shall surely attain success in Yoga. So, this prayer is very important. Why? The natural tendency of the mind, subsequently the sense organs, is to be restless, is to be running outward and never focus on the Divine Lord. Therefore, the prayer is, O Lord, so Avrutta Chakshuho, Amrutatvam Ichcham, turn through your grace my mind inside so that their energy is not dissipated. In fact, let the energy be concentrated on the Antaryami who is within. So, our normal life, what we call Maya, Prakruti, is a natural enemy in the form of Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Mada, Matsarya. By praying to the Sun who is none other than Narayana, Aditya Narayana, Adityovayi Asav Brahma, the symbol of cosmic energy, then the restlessness, extrovertedness of the mind is controlled, redirected inward and gets focused. The Sun is the power of all powers. It is the Brahman with Shakti, the power of all Devatas. And we have to squeeze the essence. Prayer is one of the most powerful Sadhanas. In fact, Shri Ramakrishna attained everything only mainly through prayer. Human efforts are good, but even those human efforts depend upon prayer. And so, prayer invokes the infinite grace of God because in Vaishnava literature, God is called having the powers of Nigraha and Anugraha. He can mistow the grace. He can also smash us, but it depends. If we surrender, like a mother taking care of the baby, He will take care of us. If we do not, if we are filled with Ahankara, then He will do Nigraha. He knows how to control us, how to take away, how to make... that is what is called suffering. So the following mantras also not only prayer for the grace of God to descend upon us so that we can move towards Him, but it is also a promise that if you mistow your grace, then I will do my best. This is called Purushakara. So this is the essence of the mantra too. Yuktena Manasa Vayam Devasya Savithu Save Svargyaya Shaktiya Having received the blessings of the Divine Sun and with minds joined to the Supreme Self, we exert ourselves to the best of our power toward meditation by which we shall attain Heaven Brahma. What is the speciality of this mantra? It says, O Lord, in the first mantra we prayed and we have received your grace and your grace made our body, our speech and our mind very suitable for us to progress in spiritual life. Remember, everywhere in the Shanti Patha, Om Padram Kanneve Sunayama Devaha Padram Pashyama Akshave Yajatra Stirai Rangaihe Tustu Agam Sastanovehe Yashema Deva Hitanyadayo Om Sahana Bhavatu. That is another prayer. So Channo Mitraha, Cham Varunaha, Channo Bhavatvaryama, Channa Indro Brihaspatehe, Swasthina Starshiva Arishtanemehe, Swasthino Brihaspate Dadaatu. Everywhere prayer that is grant us the power and definitely God will give us the power. But having got the power, now as we say the ball is in our court. That means what are we going to do? God has thrown the ball into our court. Now Purushakara, the Kripa, the grace of God has been given to us in the form of an appropriate fit body, sense organs, mind. Now this mind, this body has to be directed through our Sankalpa and that is what God expects us to do. That is what Shri Ramakrishna said, when we progress or strive to take one step towards God, He will take ten steps towards us because He says clearly we are striving. So in this second mantra, having received the blessings of the Divine Sun and with mind's joined to the Supreme Self, that means tremendous Mumukshottam, I want nothing else but God and my mind is fit, my speech is fit and my body is also fit. Let them all be three united and turn towards God. Let the body do its best through its sense organs of action to go to the talk, to talk about God and to think about God and to do worship of God, to hymn the God and to enjoy God, to read about God, to visit holy places, etc., etc. So with mind's joined to the Supreme Self, we promise we will exert ourselves to the best of our power towards travelling towards you by which we shall attain Brahman. Here Brahman is called heaven. Different times they use different words but here it is heaven doesn't mean Indra Loka, Brahma Loka but Brahman's Loka. By the blessings of the Sun, the mind gets fixed on Atman and the powers of the various deities who are presiding over various organs, they all become favourable, thereby the body is strengthened. Let us recollect here, Ramakrishna wanted to plunge deep into meditation and then he prayed to the Divine Mother, O Mother, showing the image of Bhairava on the what is called roof of the not mandir or dance hall. There is a very small figure of Bhairava. It is directly opposite to the temple of the Mother Kali and showing, O Mother, make me sit completely still like this stone image of Bhairava. And because his prayer was so sincere, what do we see? The Divine Mother, Sri Ramakrishna was telling, as soon as I finished my prayer, as soon as I sit, somebody inside was locking one after the other, all the joints of my body. And until I finished my meditation, I had no power to unlock them. I cannot move, however painful it is. But very soon Sri Ramakrishna never felt the pain. As soon as his meditation breaks, as if in the same way, somebody unlocks everything so that he can stand up, he can walk, he can do the other things. So the Supreme Self or Brahman here is called Heaven because it alone is the nature of absolute bliss and in which every other bliss or joy is included. With the mind controlled thus, we are under the command of the Divine Sun so that we may have the strength for attaining Heaven or Brahman. Thus the purport of the second mantra is, let us through meditation and obtained by the grace of Savita, strive for that Brahmananda which is the real joy itself and whose mere sparks are the worldly joys. And the same prayer continuing in Mantrati also, Yuktvaya manasa devan suvaryato dhiya divam brihad jyoti karishyataha Savita prasuvati than. As I mentioned earlier, very tough words, Vedic words, even though this Upanishad is considered to be almost a letter Upanishad, even many of these words used are quite difficult to understand. Without the explanation of Acharyas like Shankaracharya, it would have been impossible for us to understand. So Yuktvaya manasa devan suvaryato dhiya divam brihad jyoti karishyataha Savita prasuvati than. First it means, may the Sun bestow favour upon the senses and the mind by joining them with the Self. We have seen this in the first mantra also. So that the senses may be directed towards the blissful Brahman and may His grace reveal by means of knowledge, the mighty and radiant Brahman, not only by the grace of the Paramatma in the form of the Sun, our surrender to the Sun brings down His grace. The act of surrender is like opening ourselves to the reception of the grace God wants to bestow upon us. In fact, Hiranyakrishna issues a wonderful statement. It is not that God is awaiting our prayer. Then only He will think about whether He wants to bestow His grace upon us or not. No. His favourite saying is, the grace of God is blowing all the time like the wind. But self-effort, meaning self-effort, unfurl your sails. Then the boat will take advantage of the wind and it will reach its destination sooner. So it is practically a repetition of the first and second mantras. May the Sun bestow favour in what form? By giving sharp sense organs and sharp mind. And what does it mean? It means the sense organs which so long have been turned outside, seeking non-eternal things, may now discriminate and seek only those things which are good. For example, here is food. I don't want that food. I want prasada. Here are flowers. I don't want flowers. If at all I want, I want to offer them to the Divine Lord. Here are books. I don't want to read any type of trash. I want those books which will be the biographies of saints or the biographies of great yogis of every region, every religion, every saint. Because all saints are travelling only towards the light of the Bhagawan. So, by His grace, let not only the senses be strong, but let them be endowed with that discriminating power so that they have the sufficient strength not to give in to temptations, but on the contrary, let them joyfully move forward towards the Divine Lord. In Vedantic language, the mind also is considered a sense organ only. Anything that brings us knowledge, anything that makes us use knowledge, that is called a sense organ. So, let the sense organs, let the body, let the organs of action and the mind, all these things help me to think only about God and slowly but surely to give up our attachment towards these things. It is possible only by the grace of the Divine Mother, as Shri Ramakrishna says. So, the son is again prayed for turning our minds and the sense organs inward. Let the organs withdraw from the sense objects and turn towards the Self which is within. Unless we turn our minds inward and redirect the course of our thoughts on the external world, we can never hope to know the Self and to become one with the Self. But if our prayer is sincere and prayer will be sincere if our desire is sincere and our desire will be sincere if our Shraddha in the scriptures is sincere and when our faith in the scriptures is very strong, automatically even though our Purva Janma Sanskaras are struggling to divert our mind, but still by the grace of the God and with continuous effort we will be able to inch forward towards the Divine Lord. Once the mind and the sense organs become strong and refuse to be swayed by the external attractions and distractions, we become fit for the experience of Brahman. I hope we can recollect Ramakrishna. Narendranath once wanted money. He prayed to Shri Ramakrishna. Ramakrishna said, I cannot do that but you go and pray to my Divine Mother. It was a Tuesday. So, he sent his beloved Narendra to the Divine Mother. You don't get anything because you don't accept the Divine Mother. Nobody can get either Bhukti or Mukti, either Yoga or Bhoga accepting by pleasing the Divine Mother. What do we get without asking? Only Roga. Yoga and Bhoga is possible only by God's grace. Of course, even Roga is also the grace of God, Divine Mother. Why? Because through Roga, you will come to your senses and you will say what my grandfather said was right, what my father said was right, what my physician says is right. Everybody is right. So, our prayer is to use the body-mind which has been bestowed by us in such a way that we can slowly progress towards Atma Jnanam. So for that, first we have to still the outgoing mind and organs. Now the prayer is that once the mind is turned towards God, again the mind and the sense organs may not slip back to the worldly ways again. That is the prayer. And that is the fourth prayer. As I said, seven mantras are full of the prayers. Essence of the prayer is grant me that power, healthy body, healthy mind. So that is the first prayer. Second prayer is let this healthy body and mind not think of running towards the worldly objects. Third point is let them turn towards God. Fourth point is once they turn towards God, let them not again slip back into the old ways. Everything is possible only through prayer. That is why I say these seven prayers highlight how much even the Upanishads emphasize the role of prayer. Otherwise there is a chance we misunderstand. So many Mahavakyas we go on parroting like we know what we are talking about. But the complete prayer is very necessary and it is said and if the occasion comes I will elaborate perhaps. When Sriram Krishna's mind once thought, I attained everything by myself. And then within a few short hours he was so much obsessed by worldliness that he immediately woke up. He prayed, Oh mother, if this feeling continues, I will commit suicide. And because his prayer was so sincere, so one-pointed and his surrender was so complete, a divine mother immediately withdrew. Why did she give that experience? Not because Sriram Krishna was filled with Ahankara, but because to make him sympathize with people like us. So the fourth mantra goes like this. yunjate mana utha, yunjate dhiyo vipraha, iprasya bhruhato vipaschitaha, vihotra dadhe As I said, hotra is one, vi comes earlier, but it has to be joined to the next, vidadhe. vihotra dadhe, vayunavidhe ka, inmahe devasya savituh parishtuhi I am not going into the word meanings because they are so complicated. So what is the meaning? There are Brahmanas, that is seekers of Brahman. They are called vipras also. They are called sadhakas also. They are called seekers of Brahman. They try to yoke their mind and sense organs to the blissful self of Paramatma. And if they want to do that, if they want to succeed, they should thus sing the mighty praises of the Sun God, who is all-pervading, great, omniscient, the knower of Maya, and who is of the non-dual nature, and who has given the rites and rituals, etc. What is this prayer for? The Lord has made provision for everybody. Because even though the word used is seekers, all the seekers are not exactly at the same place. Some are babies, some are children, some are adolescents in the spiritual world. Some are youth, some are middle-aged, some are old people. You see, once Mahapurush Maharaj, he had a problem with his asthma. He could not breathe properly. It was giving him a tremendous trouble. So whether he wants to recline, half recline, sit and lie down, the agony was terrible. It was terrible agony. What did he do? He said, there is only one remedy. Let me meditate. And later on, after 45 minutes, everything became absolutely restful. And then he smilingly remarked, After all, it is an old man's meditation. You should never, we should never misunderstand. Old man's meditation is not an aged person's meditation. It means a person who has become old by practicing meditation for many, many, many years. He was an expert in meditation. The moment he turned his mind towards meditation because of the past habit, immediately the mind withdrew totally from the body and mind. As soon as that happened, the body and mind became completely restful. That is how Shri Ramakrishna used to get compensation for his lack of sleep. Whenever he goes into Samadhi, it is equivalent to many hours of sleep. And when we sleep, what happens? That is the exact phenomenon. So, God has made arrangements. For some, rituals are necessary. For some, Japa is necessary. For some, Tirtha Yatra is necessary. For some, meditation is very highly suitable. So many steps are there. Patanjali divides all these steps into eight. Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi. Again Samadhi into Savikalpa and Nirvikalpa Samadhi. So, we can only progress stage by stage. And different people, all of us are progressing at different stages, at different situations. So, the Lord must provide for each one of us appropriate help. And that is possible only through prayers. So, this mantra is telling us that, O Lord, help us by opening the pathway to that appropriate to each one of us, wherever we may be. You know about that. So, there are people who offer abundant praise to the Sun as all-pervading, all-knowing, all-witnessing, who is all non-dual and who is ever ready to grant them their sincere prayers, to bestow upon them self-knowledge and unite them with the Self. So, it is addressed to these Brahmins. And God listens to their prayers, blesses them, strengthens their revolve and then removes their obstacles. And ultimately, they will also reach the goal. So, remembering God's glories is therefore an aid to meditation. That is why He is Advaya, He is all-pervading, etc. These, some of the qualifications, characteristics are enumerated here. So, remembering God's glories is definitely meditation. That is why we all do this, what we call Khandana, Bhava, Bandhana, Om Hreem Hritham, etc. And after that, we are supposed to do meditation. The next, fifth mantra is a prayer addressed to the senses and the presiding deities. What it means exactly, we will talk about it in our next class. Om Jananim Sharadam Devim Ramakrishnam Jagadgurum Pada Padmetayoh Sritva Pranamami Moham Moho May Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna