Aitareya Upanishad Lecture 16 on 24 September 2023

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

In our last class yesterday, we have been talking about a great Rishi and this Rishi was called Vamadeva and even while still he was in the womb of his mother before coming out of the mother's womb he had declared I have become a realized one. I know the truth. I have become an Amrita Putra. I have realized that I was, I am and I will be an Amrita Putra. So this was the statement and then this is the response of a realized soul and that is said in this second chapter of the Aitareya Upanishad. There is only one section or one Adhyaya. Third also has only one Adhyaya. So this is the statement that is it is said when we study the life of Gautama Buddha as soon as he attained Bodhi on Vaisakha Purnima day he started he was so joyous he could not contain the tremendous bliss he was experiencing. For 14 days he was going round and round that Bodhi Vriksha and at the end of the 14th day he decided I will enter into Mahaparinirvana but Brahma the creator appeared and said no you must not give up this body. You must live and teach. Then Buddha said who really requires my teaching? Who is longing for my teaching? I don't see anybody. Then Brahma replied that no all human beings can be divided into three parts. Most of the people they have no faith in God, no desire to attain Mukti. They are completely ignorant. They are striving only to get more and more of this worldly happiness. And there are very few people who have already realized God but in between there are quite a number of Sadhakas who do not see the proper light. They are traveling in darkness. It is for them your teachings will be useful. These Madhyastha Purushas, Sadhakas who are striving their best to realize God to know their own true nature but they are not able to find out what is the right way for them your teachings will be applicable. So we can also apply the same condition state to Vamadeva Rishi. What is he telling? I realized the truth. If a Jeevan Mukta even after he says that I am a Jeevan Mukta very few people really understand him. But those who have some faith when they start staying with him and seeing him day and night they have no option but to believe he must be a Jeevan Mukta because all the characteristics that are described in every scripture practically are completely manifest, naturally manifest, without effort to manifest in this person's life. So this Vamadeva was one such Jeevan Mukta. By this statement in the fifth mantra of the second chapter of Aitareya Upanishad we also come to know that he will be reborn soon from the mother's womb. He will be living and God had destined him to be a Jeevan Mukta. Shri Ramakrishna explains that once a person enters into Samadhi, Samadhi is not a special type of posture. It is not like as we most of us try to imagine person sits and then he becomes unconscious of the all outside world. No, no it is not like that. Samadhi is the realization I am Brahman and there is nothing else besides Brahman. Everything is Brahman. That knowledge through experience is called Samadhi. That's why Ramana Bhagwan used to talk about it. If you say Samadhi is a posture then people think when a great Yogi is in that kind of unconscious state, ah now he is in Samadhi. But if he is talking and especially joking then people will feel that this man can never have cannot have realized God because joking and realizing God they don't go together. It is far from truth. Shri Ramakrishna was making fun of everything. Swami Vivekananda used to tell both vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian jokes and Swami Brahmananda used to play jokes on everybody. These well-known, well-recorded incidents are there because they are Anandamaya Purushas, blissful persons. So they want to express their joy but another thing also there were Maharshis like Durvasa Maharshi. He was a realized soul. Then why does he get so angry? He doesn't get angry because your Prarabdha brings that anger and you are cursed or you are sometimes tested like Krishna Bhagwan. Durvasa Maharshi once came. It is there. This story is there. I don't remember either in Bhagavatam or Mahabharata and wanted Krishna and Rukmini to draw the horse carriage. Carriage is there to be drawn by horses. No, Krishna and Rukmini will be the horses and he was whipping them go forward, stop etc. But no reaction was found either in Krishna or in Rukmini and then at the end Durvasa said I want to give you a boon and he gave boons to both of them. But how do you take this incident? Like Bhrigu Maharshi had tested Lord Narayana by kicking him. That story alone brings the Venkateshwara's Mahatmya greatness. So here also when a Durvasa Maharshi is trying to so-called insulting, cursing Krishna and Rukmini, they know who they are. I am Narayana and you are Mahalakshmi. But who is this Durvasa? He is our child. Don't you see? When a child is being suckled by the mother, he goes on kicking the sweeter the milk, the more the milk, the more energy and the more the kicking. But how sweet that kicking will be? I suspect sometimes the mother wants this kind of kicking because probably the husband doesn't message her body and this is a beautiful message, just the right type of message. So for them everything is Brahman only. Durvasa otherwise you call him Maharshi and you call him the greatest angry man in the whole world. They don't go together. We have to apply our Karma Siddhanta. What is it? In this world nobody can give us happiness or make us suffer. It is only our karma phala. Everybody else is only what is called an instrument. I mentioned earlier in one of my classes, I don't remember which class, there is a beautiful story in the Anushasanika Parva of Mahabharata. A young woman widow has a son and he was bitten by a serpent and there was a beautiful dialogue. Who really caused it? The essence was that it was the karma phala of the baby. He was not destined to live more than that time. Whether it is Kala, Yamadharma Raja or the serpent, snake, all these are only instruments. Anyway, coming back, once a person enters into Samadhi, there can be two states. Some people never come back. Ramakrishna says after 21 days their body like a dried fruit just falls down and they cannot come back. But for some divine purpose, God keeps some people, that means he himself enters into that body-mind complex of that former sadhaka and he is called Jeevan Mukta. His Vamadeva Rishai is one of those Jeevan Muktas. And he is talking, he is issuing a statement after becoming a Jeevan Mukta. That means Paramatma himself is issuing a statement. But we don't know Paramatma. We only recognize him by the dress which was Vamadeva's dress. Every body, every mind is just two types of dresses. A kind of gross kind of dress and subtle type of dress, Vesham. Everything is, even an incarnation's body is also just a dress. That is why Shankaracharya says Jatai Vaha, Sambhavai Vaha. So as if it has been born. That is called Leela. Leela means as if real but not real. Like a drama, like a cinema. So here is a statement by the Rishi Vamadeva regarding the suffering of the ignorant Jeeva in Samsara of endless births and deaths and his liberation through self-knowledge. So this fifth mantra has two messages that every Jeeva is a Paramatma but every Jeeva, because of some mysterious power called Maya, thinks he is a bound soul but all the time he was standing on a moving escalator called evolution and in course of time whether he wills or not, he is going to reach. That escalator will leave him only in his own state which is Paramatma's state. But the Jeeva has to go through many many births. There is nobody who is going to remain unbound. That is who will never attain Mukti. Such a thing cannot happen. That is why Swami Vivekananda's statement, who himself was a Rishi like Vamadeva, he declared Shranmantu Vishwe Amrutasya Putraah. So this is what is being said. We have already praised this mantra in our last yesterday's class. Here it goes. What did this Vamadeva Rishi say? He said that I have gone through innumerable births and I have suffered. I was born in so many wombs beginning from amoeba until the highest Brahmana's body and then I have gone through every type of suffering, every type of happiness and one day I awoke and I approached or the grace of God came in the form of a Parama Karunika Guru and by God's grace, I was able to surrender myself to Him and out of His infinite compassion, the Guru had guided me and never rested until I realized God, He was always with me, holding me up, holding me in His arms, supporting me when I am about to stumble, giving the right advice at the right time and His duty finished only after my realizing that I am Brahman. And what happens to the Guru? Guru is none other than Brahman only. That is why in one of our peace chants, Shanti Mantras, there is Garuda. So let Tarkshya give me peace of mind. Who is Tarkshya? Garuda. Garuda is the Vahana of Narayana. Garuda is the symbol of Guru because what does the Garuda do? He carries Bhagawan Narayana to every devotee who is in distress and He who carries God for us, He is called a Guru. So Garuda is a Guru. That is why we have to salute Him before. Now, what is this Rishi? Tat Rishina Uktam. This Vamadeva Rishi, He said, Aham Garbhenu, son, even while I was lying, how Shayanaha, lying down in the womb of my mother, Esham Devanam Vishwa Janimani Anu Avedam. Esham Devanam. Here Deva means the body-mind complex. This is called the Sharira Sanghata. Sanghata means a collection of both body-mind, what we call human birth, body and mind. Here Devanams, we should not mistake it as Devas. Aham Jani, Aham Vedam. I know fully well what Vishwa Janimani. Janimani means births. Vishwa means innumerable births, countless births. Shatam Ma Pura Ayasi Rakshan. How many hundreds of times, but Ma, Maam, Puram, Pura. Pura means Navadwari, Puredehi, Naivakurva, Nakarayan. Bhagawan enters into this Puram. Every human personality is called Puram. Not only the body, but also the mind. Both combined together are called cities and this city has got nine doors and through the nine doors the Jeeva goes out, tries to enjoy the world just as a person or persons go out of the city through different routes in Eastern, Southern, Western, Northern, any direction he wants. There are many doors. How many? Nine doors. What are those nine doors? The eyes, the ears, the nostrils, the mouth, the Navi and what is called the reproductive organ and also the refreshing organ or that which cleans our inside, throwing out undigested food material. So, all these are called Navadwara. So, how many Puras? Shatam means countless. How? I was completely imprisoned. Ayasi means like very powerful metal cage. Rakshan means they will not allow me. They are like tremendous watchmen. They will never allow me with a thousand eyes. They are watching me in case I want to get out of this body-mind. That means tremendous attachment to this body and mind, tremendous attachment to whatever we think is going to give happiness to both our body and mind. We will discuss about it very soon. But what can they do? Many, many, many births I have suffered. One day I woke up. I said enough is enough. Then I woke up and I heard the clarion call. And I was endowed like Hanuman. I became a Divya Vahana, like a beautiful bird, Garuda, like a powerful, most powerful Garuda. I simply destroyed all the iron bars. How? Through my tremendous strength, I broke them open. This is how, even while lying down in the womb of his mother, Vamadeva declared this after his realization. What is the essence? Vamadeva was a Rishi who realized God. Then why was he declaring this while lying in mother's womb? Mother's womb means birth. Birth means ignorance. Well, our inevitable Anandagiri who adds notes to Shankaracharya's commentaries because whenever Shankaracharya tells us something or his words are not that clearly understood and at the same time sometimes he thinks we understand. So like myself when I am talking so many times and I refer to something past, I hope you remember it. That means I also don't remember sometimes, not really. I do remember but it is a reminder to you. So like that this Vamadeva, why was he lying? Yoga Brashtaha. For some obstruction, he was not able to get out in the last birth. So he had to take a birth. But as soon as he entered into this, by God's grace, by Guru's grace, he became enlightened and then he looked out. And then I also told you, yo, in the Buddhism, there is a concept of Bodhisattva. Who is a Bodhisattva? He had already attained Bodhi, realization. At Aham Brahmasmi, that is what Bhagwan Buddha calls Maha Nirvana, Maha Pari Nirvana. Nirvana means complete extinction, extinguishing this great fire of Samsara. That means self-knowledge. What we call Mukti, that is called Maha Nirvana in Buddhistic literature. Having attained, most people, they don't want to even look back. Like the Ramakrishna story, some people were walking in a solitary place, suddenly they came across a huge enclosure and wonderful sounds of music, dance, etc. People singing joyously. They wanted to find out. So they procured a ladder and one of them said, I will just climb, peep in and I will let you know what is happening. And he peeped in and he forgot everything. He jumped in. Second fellow did the same. Third fellow did the same. Fourth person was about to jump down. But he remembered, there are so many people, they will be missing this mark of joy. So he came down, he ran to the nearby places and started declaring, it's a beautiful place, come ye all. So such a person, Sri Ramakrishna mentions, as an Avatar, he also doesn't feel like coming out, but with great difficulty, for the good of many, for the welfare of many. He will want to make other people also enjoy what he knows, the highest blissful state. That's what Sri Ramakrishna, that's what Swami Vivekananda, all of these great Jivanmuktas, what Sri Ramakrishna used to call Ishwara Koti. They were all Jivanmukta Mahapurushas. Later on, after Sri Ramakrishna passed away, many of his direct disciples have also attained that same state, like Swami Thuri Ananda, etc. Now coming back, some obstruction was there. That is what Anandagiri, he notes that add to the clarity of Shankaracharya's Bhashyam, gives for this particular mantra. But as soon as he entered, he understood, again, no, then he understood, no, I am here by the will of God so that I can proclaim this truth, I am a Jivanmukta. That is what his notes tell and it looks very rational for all of us. So what is he telling? That even while lying down in the womb of the mother, that I can see millions and millions of births I had. And also we have to remember, sometimes there would be some obstruction and the person is trying his level best, but he is unable to break open or overcome the obstacle. Then he prays earnestly, surrendering himself to Guru and God. By Guru, Guru and God's grace, what happens, you know, he remembers the last moment, all the births, millions and millions of births right from the beginning and then the last attachment. Obstacle means nothing but desire, attachment, nothing else. So he remembers how many times I have eaten sweets, bitter things and everything. Like the Mundaka Upanishad describes, there were two births, two births. Both of them, Dva, Suparna, Sayuja, Sakaya, Samane, Vrikshe, Parishasva Jataha, Tayor Anyaha, Pipalam Swadhu, Atti. Sweet and bitter fruits, bitter and sweet fruits. How many times I became a husband, how many times I became a wife, how many times I became a mother, how many times I have become a father, how many times I have become a dog. At last, I have become God. So, this is called Jati Smaratva, remembering all the past births. And if you can remember, even I or you or anybody, even two, three births, then you understand, Oho, I have gone through the same rigmarole so many times and again forgetting everything, I have fallen into the trap. But unfortunately, this Jati Smaratva, it comes only to people who are at the very door of Brahman, knocking it by God's grace. So, this is how we have to understand by God's will, this realized soul has to be reborn again so that he can declare the highest truth of the Upanishads, Upanishad Satsara called Vedanta to the world through Guru Parampara system. So, this was the declaration. I have gone to how many millions of births. Here Devanam means millions and millions of body-mind complexes. Vishwa means countless. Janimani means births. That means birth and death. Death is accompanied by birth. Birth is accompanied by death as Sukham is accompanied by Dukham and Dukham is accompanied by Sukham. Day is accompanied by night. Night is accompanied by day. Seasons roll on one after the other, year after year until we give up this body. So, I know everything now by the grace of my Guru. Jati Smaratvam has come. Aham Avedam. And then all this time, all these bodies, what type of bodies? Each one of us have got five bodies. This is called in Vedantic language Panchakosha, Annamaya Kosha, Manomaya, Pranamaya Kosha, Manomaya Kosha, Jnanamaya Kosha, Anandamaya Kosha. And if I can become a little bit detached from the lowest Kosha, the higher Kosha binds me. And if I somehow can pull myself out, the higher, still higher Kosha. So like that, like the Varuna, after teaching his son and they advised him, go and do Tapasya. So this Bhrigu, Annam Brahmeti Vyajanat, Prano Brahmeti Vyajanat, Mano Brahmeti Vyajanat, Vijnanamaya Dvanoti Brahmeti Vyajanat, Anandamaya Brahmeti Vyajanat and then he gets out of all these Panchakoshas. These are the ones which are referred as Devanam. What did they do? They became my watchman, lest I should get out. They bind me in the form of Maya. Desire is nothing but Maya. Maya is nothing but desire. But a time has come. The grace of God and Guru, Shrenaiva, like a huge kite, Javasa, with a tremendous force, Niradiyam, what? Ayasihipuraha, is iron barred as it were. Iron means what? Very strong body, attachment to body and mind. I just destroyed that attachment and then I realized Aham Brahmasmi, and now everybody is Brahman, Sarvam Kalvidam Brahma. This was the declaration by Rishi. Why was he telling? Because he is also telling, because it is a kind of encouragement. When we are looking, Lord, is there any way out for me? Yes, yes, my son. So at one time, I also have gone through all these things and you also will go through all these things. When young men used to come and then ask the advice of Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna used to tell, Yes, yes, I understand your problems. How? Because at one time, I also briefly had to overcome those problems. What did I do? This is what I did. And you also do exactly the same thing and you will also get. Now this kind of declarations, like Vamadeva's declaration, we get in several other places. The greatest example will be the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. There are several sections in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, where Sri Ramakrishna narrates to him and other devotees. His experiences, personal experiences, how he was longing, what type of visions he had, what states of consciousness he had gone through, that itself forms a marvellous subject matter. And for what purpose? Not to declare his greatness, but to encourage all of us that if you are earnest, sincere and with tenacity, pursue your sadhana. In this birth or next birth or next birth, you are sure to attain success. That is, you are sure to know who really you are. So some things are quoted here. We get in the Taittiriya Upanishad, two types. There was a great soul called Trishanku and he is not the Trishanku of that king. By Vishwamitra's grace, he wanted to go to heaven and then Trishanku Swarga. Not that Trishanku. Here is a great Jeevan Mukta. What does he say? Aham Vrikshasya Re Riva Keerthi Prishtam Girhe Riva My fame has surpassed even the topmost peaks of the highest mountains. Aham Vrikshasya Re Riva I have broken this Vriksha. What Vriksha? Ashwathya Vriksha. What is Ashwathya Vriksha? This Samsara Vriksha, which we get in the 15th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Purushottama Yoga. Here, the very first thing itself, Urdhva Moolam Adhashyakam Ashwatham Prahura Vyayam Chandamsya Yasyaparnani Yatham Veda Sa Veda Vita This is what he is telling. I know this Samsara Vriksha. I have destroyed it. I have completely broken it, burnt it and then my Keerthi. Everybody will salute me. Khandana Bhava Bandhana Jaga Bandhana The whole world salutes me because they all salute God. When I drink, when I eat, when I breathe, when I seek warmth and when I am moving, I have to thank God. That is because of the Pancha Bhutas, I am able to move forward. In the same, Taittiriya Upanishad, in the third chapter, we get again, that is called Brihvali. This great soul, realized soul, what does he do? Etat Samagayan Nasthe He goes on singing this Samagayan out of sheer joy, unbearable, irrepressible joy. Aham Muktaha I become free. How does he do that? How does he sing? Aham Annam Aham Annam Aham Annadaha Oham Annadaha Aham Sarvagataha Aham Brahmasmi What a marvelous thing. Singing the glory of the Atma, that means, myself means what? I am the Atman, not this other I. Similarly, so many people, every incarnation tells it for the encouragement of all of us. So, it goes without saying, that this Brahmadeva, He did not attain after entering into His mother's womb, but innumerable, that is what we discussed earlier, Aneka Janma Sansiddhaha Tato Yati Param Gatim Bahunam Janmanamante Gnanavan Mam Prapadyate Vasudevaha Sarvamite Sa Mahatma Sudurlabaha It will take time, but what is the time? We are going to get, because that is our birthright. We are divine beings. That is the essence of this mantra, fifth mantra. Now, the last mantra in the second chapter is going to come. So, the Upanishad concludes this second chapter in the Aitareya Upanishad by talking about, Alright, there are people who do sadhana and they understand all the problems, sufferings, limitations, bindings, that is experienced by all of us, life after life. And you are advising me to get Atma Gnanam, but what do I get out of it? Gnanasya Phalam Kim Mukte Phalam Kim What do I get if I become Mukta? Will I become like a big stone? This is a big problem according to Advaita Vedanta. So, what is it that I don't see, I don't hear, I don't eat, I don't smell, I don't touch. Then do I become a big stone? A stone also we know doesn't feel it. So, am I going by becoming Brahman? Am I going to become like that? And to add, to rub salt into the deep injury, many learned people quote. What do they quote? The deep Sushupti state. So, what is the Sushupti state? That Sukham Aham Aswapsham, I slept very happily. Nakinchit Avedisham, what is the problem? When I am eating a sweet, I am conscious I am eating a sweet and I get happiness. But when I am in Sushupti, I don't even know that I am in Sushupti. And when do I say I am happy? I don't say I am happy. I was happy. I did not do anything. I did not know that I was a happy person. And much less, I make many other people also very happy. That is for sure. Proof is there. So, if Sushupti state itself is like that, where we don't know, only after waking up and if we don't wake up, we don't know what happens. What happens again will be even another chance to suffer and to come to God. Every birth, remember, is a tremendous chance. Either you come to me or you are going to suffer. There is no other way. So, what is called Prayaha and Srayaha. There are only two pathways are there. Sreyascha, Prayascha, Manushyamethat, Tau Sampareetya, Vivinatya Dheeraha. Kata Upanishad tells beautifully about it. So, what is the result? What do I get? You don't get anything because to get something, whatever we get from some other source is going to get out also, get away also. So, if you mix two things, both things will separate at some point of time. But if I am everything and I don't get Ananda, I become Ananda. This is called being mode, not having mode. We transit permanently from the having mode to the being mode. I am having happiness. Whatever we have, I have a body, it will go. I have a mind, it will go. I have a brain, it will go. I have teeth, they will go. And everything will go. But I will not go. So, that whatever is me, that will be there for eternity. That real Atman, that is the goal of all evolution. And even the modern evolutionists, physicists, they have never discovered the truth. They were only explaining, not even explaining, but only describing the process of evolution, etc. So, what is the response of a Jnani? That is being said, that is to say, what does he become? That is being said in the last sixth mantra of the second chapter. Sa evam idvan asmat serera vedat odham utkramya amusmin svargya loke sarvan kaman atva amrutah samabhavat amrutah samabhavat So, it is repeated twice to indicate the highest state, definitely to emphasize and also to say that this particular chapter is over. Many times we see in this, especially our Indian scriptures, when something is repeated twice, it indicates the end of the chapter of that particular chapter. And here also, amrutah samabhavat amrutah samabhavat. So, thus endowed with knowledge, he means he who was a sadhaka and he progressed like Vamadeva Rishi and at last he entered into Samadhi. That means he obtained pure Self-knowledge, he knew who he was and becoming one Brahma with Brahmaiva Bhavati. Becoming one with the Supreme Self and showering a loft on the dissolution of the body, that means after death, that means Hridaya Mukti, that means he will never return to the Samsara again. And what happened? He obtained all desires in the heavenly world and became immortal. Yeah, he became immortal. amrutah samabhavat amrutah samabhavat So, very marvelous thing. And this type of statements we have seen, a person overcomes mrityu, Samsara is equated to Maya. Maya is equated to Samsara. This Samsara is equated to limitation. Another name for limitation is suffering. What is suffering? I want air, I am not getting sufficient air. If you ever, any one of you suffer from asthma, then you will understand what it is. And when stomach goes bad, you understand what is the limitation. When your tooth starts aching, you understand the limitation. But when we become old, we understand the limitation, our longing for experiencing, squeezing pleasure has not died out. On the contrary, it goes stronger day after day, it becomes stronger and still stronger. And yet our capacity to enjoy, it will be going down. This is our experience. But then what happens, this person, what does he become? sarvan kaman aapthva He attains all desires. How can a person attain all desires? We will discuss about it. So, this person's all desires in the heavenly world, he becomes immortal. We have to understand it properly, not that all the billions of varieties of sweets are present, like your ghatot gaja, eating in the veneration, what is that? Subhadra Purnim Yes, I think Subhadra Purnim, where he goes on eating all the preparations. No, no, no, no. That means what? What happens when we have a desire, I want to eat a sweet, that is a desire. What happens? I procure as nice a sweet as possible. Everybody cannot get the same quality or quantity. And supposing I am very lucky, I get the best sweet and sufficient quantity. What happens? Not the sweet, it is the pleasure, it is the trishti, it is the satisfaction that I get after eating. There was a desire. So, what does it mean really? A desire has been destroyed. The destruction of the desire brings us to what we were before the desire arose. That means we are just going back to our own state, not that we are getting anything. Supposing you are walking or you are running and you are tired. And then you are feeling a great sense of suffering. And then somebody offers you hospitality. You sit here and you lie down on the bed. First I will give you cool drinks and then you just lie down. And then they bring food after half an hour. And then you lie down for 3-4 hours. All your tiredness is completely gone. Then what happens? You become a very happy person only in that regard because you are suffering. And that suffering has been removed. Before you started suffering, you were a happy person. And after your suffering was removed, you are the same person. Nothing new is added. That is the important point for us to understand. So what happens to this person? We will do the visration, the dissection. And then the sense becomes very clear. Evam pidvan. Evam means thus. Pidvan means knowing. Getting endowed with knowledge. Obtaining knowledge. What knowledge are we talking about? Vamadeva's knowledge. What was Vamadeva Rishi's knowledge? I was born umpteen number of times. I enjoyed, I suffered. And I had to go through all those experiences. And looking now, I understand all of them are unbearable suffering now that I look back. At that time, some experiences seemed to be very very desirable. And many of them never proved to be desirable at all. So this person, he approached a Guru. Obtained Mahavakya. And then he started Shravana. Then Manana. Nainidhiti Jasana. Transformed his life. And ultimately by God's grace, he obtained that realization that I was never born. There is no birth for me. I am free. He realizes that state. And that's why Vamadeva declared, I woke up. I realized I am free from all that. I have broken all the iron bars, iron bonds. Now I know who I am. That Atma Jnanam, he who knows, he is called Vidvan. Vidvan means he who had obtained like Vamadeva. And all of us have to go through the same state of Vamadeva. Many many lives. Then what happens? He becomes a Videhamukta. That is being described here. Saha. Sache Vidvan. Who knew what he had to know. That is Aham Brahmasmi. Asmat Sereera Bhedat. Asmat means this last birth. Sereera. Last birth. Last Sereera. Why? Because he already knows I am not the body. So long as we think we are the body, body brings an attachment, and mind and other instruments help us, we have to be reborn again and again. What is the way? I am not the body, I am not the mind. That is the only way. So Sereera Bhedat. Bhedat here means when I become separated from the body. Bhedat means separation. Distinction. Then what is that Bhedat? When this body falls from me, the mind also falls from me. Urdhvaha. And what remains then? Only I remain. I the Atman. Pure Satyam Jnanam Anantam, Sat Chit Ananda, Chaitanyam alone will be there. So that is called Urdhva. So Utkramya. Having got out of this ignorance, not out of the body, out of this ignorance. Having broken the cage. Having come out. Utkramya. Sarvan Kaman Aapthva. Having obtained. What was the body doing? It has infinite number of desires. But its capacity is severely limited. Both time wise as well as space wise. Vastu. Desha Parichcheda. Kaala Parichcheda. Vastu Parichcheda. So but here, there are what is called all desires are fulfilled. How can all desires be fulfilled? There is only one way. That is you become everything. You become all objects. You become every subject. You become every object. And this is beautifully described in the second chapter called Anandavalli, called Brahmanandavalli or Brahmavalli. Three names. Brahmavalli, Brahmanandavalli or Anandavalli. This is the second chapter of the Taittiriya Upanishad. What is the first chapter called? Sikshavalli. That is learning all the Vedas etc. And how to pronounce properly. How to do contemplation etc. Samhita. Concentration. And what is the third chapter? Taittiriya Upanishad has only three chapters. What is the third chapter? It is called Bhrigu Valli. Bhrigu is how a sadhaka called Bhrigu and practiced Vedanta practice, Dhyana Margam and instructed by another Mukta Purusha. So from the Purali point of view, he was his own father. As soon as the son approaches, son becomes transformed into an earnest disciple, Seshya. And father becomes an affectionate guru. No longer father-son relationship. That is called bondage. No bondage is there. And then he instructs about Panchakoshas. The Panchakosha Vivarana so beautifully has been hinted at in the second chapter also of the Taittiriya. But more elaborately said with Sadhana. And then we quoted it earlier. After getting out of his cage called body-mind complex, Utkramya, where does he go? He doesn't really go anywhere. He cannot go anywhere because he is Ananta. He says, I am Ananta. Where can Ananta go? He cannot go anywhere. That means what? He gets the highest Ananda, which is called Brahmananda. What is Brahmananda? Unbroken, infinite happiness. Eternal happiness. Our Ananda is. It is finite. It is broken. And it is only for a short time. That is why it is called Kshanika Ananda. But this one is Amrutananda, Brahmananda. What happens? Amushmin. That means this Svarga Loka. Amushmin means this. This means there is a special meaning. Usually when we say, do you want to go to heaven? Yes. And where do you think heaven is? Looks up and say there. Heaven is somewhere up there. But here for a realized soul, Svarga Loka means self-knowledge. Aham Brahmasmi. And where is it? It was in the past. It is in the present. It will be in the future. And it is all the time there. It has never been lost. Amushmin means here itself. When a person obtains knowledge, he sees Brahman everywhere. When everywhere Brahman is seen, you can't say here and there. The words here and there, lose their very meaning when something is everywhere. That is called Svarga Loka. Remember, somebody does extraordinary Punyam, some Punyam, he will go to Svarga Loka. What is Punyam? Getting more happiness. Squeezing more happiness. So I explained, Punyam is the ability to squeeze happiness under any circumstances. If a person had obtained Punyam, even if he is eating, like many Bihari poor people eat called Chhatu, in that burning sun, they just sit under their cycle rickshaws and they are obtaining Brahmananda. Why? Because they are ravenously hungry and hunger is the best sauce. So that is Svarga Loka means what? A state of higher happiness. But here we are not talking limited higher happiness, but unlimited Brahmananda. And that is called Svarga Loka. Where is it? It is everywhere. Why? Brahman and Brahmananda are not different. Brahma Gnanam and Brahman are not different. Svarga Loke, Amrutaha Samabhavat. That means he became one with Amruta, he became one with Amruta, Samabhavat. And beautiful example is given by Sri Ramakrishna. One day, he wanted to convince. It is a very interesting episode. The great Rishi, who came in the form of Swami Vivekananda, at that time Narendranath, he could not accept these knowledge teachings of Sri Ramakrishna. So Sri Ramakrishna adopted a very clever method. He said, you know, I have a problem in reading. So you read for me a book. What is that book? It is Ashtavakra Gita, Avadhuta Gita. Both are highly what is called Advaithic work. To the extreme Advaithic work. And Swami Vivekananda said, it is blasphemy to say that I am Brahman. And then Sri Ramakrishna said, I am not asking you to follow it. I am only asking you, you read the book so that I can enjoy. I want to enjoy it. But what can Narendra do? He started reading. And when anybody starts reading, you don't hear, you don't understand. It is impossible, especially for a person like Narendranath. Of course Sri Ramakrishna granted him by touching him. Brahman is everywhere. Even long before Nirvikalpa Samadhi, he gave him that knowledge. So what happened? After this realized soul has given up the body, he attains Brahman. Attains means he is not newly attaining. Previously he did not know I am Brahman. Now he knew I am Brahman. Not only he knew he is Brahman, he knew everything is Brahman. Nothing else exists excepting Brahman. And Brahman is what is called Sat, Chit and Ananda Swaroopa. That Ananda, Sarvan Kamanatva, Swarga Loke, Amrutah Bhavati. Amrutah means subject to limitation, birth and death. Amrutah means no more rebirth. That is Amrutah Samabhavat. Amrutah Samabhavat. With this, there are a few more points we will talk about in our next class. Om Jananim Sharadam Deivim Ramakrishnam Jagat Gurum Pada Padmetayo Saritva Pranamami Muhurmoho May Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti. Ramakrishna