Svetasvatara Upanishad Lecture 42 on 23 July 2023

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

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