Svetasvatara Upanishad Lecture 08 on 26 March 2023

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

OM JANANIM SHARADAM DEVIM RAMAKRISHNAM JAGAD GURUM PADHA PADME TAYO SRIDHVA PRANAMAMI MUHURMUHU OM SAHANA VAVATO SAHANAO BHUNATTO SAHAVIRYAM KARVA VAHAI TEJASVI NAVADHITAM ASTUMA VIDVISHAVAI OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI HARE OM OM May Brahman protect us both. May Brahman bestow upon us both the fruit of knowledge. May we both obtain the energy to acquire knowledge. May what we both study reveal the truth. May the teacher and the students cherish no ill will towards each other. OM Peace, peace, peace be unto all. We have been studying the first chapter of the Shweta Shatra Upanishad. In our yesterday class, we have been studying how can a Jeevatma, that is all of us, can attain Mukti and it has been categorically published in great words and loudly proclaimed that only by knowing Brahman, by knowing Brahman in the form I am Brahman, such people they become forever free from this Samsara Chakra, Brahma Chakra, devotion of Samsara. This is what we have studied. UDGEETAM ETAT PARAMAM TU BRAHMA It is loudly proclaimed by whom? By those who have realized the truth. And what is the name of the truth? PARAMAM BRAHMA, the supreme reality known as Brahman. And by the way, we all must know by now, Brahman is not the name of any object. Brahman is the title for everything, what we call in English language, everything. In Sanskrit, that is called Brahman. So UDGEETAM ETAT PARAMAM TU BRAHMA There is a reality and it is the highest truth. It is called Brahman. And TASMIN TRAYAM SUPRATISTHA AKSHARAM CHA So in that, Akshara, in that, Jeeva, Jagat and Maya, all the three putti. They know here, they know object and the knowledge. KARTHA KARMA KRIYA, the doer and the object of doing and the Karmaphala. Everything is within that supreme reality called Brahman. And these knowers of Brahman, BRAHMAVIDAHA, knowers of Brahman, ATRA ANTARAM VIDITVA They have understood the inner meaning, the essence of life. What is it? God alone is, nothing else is there. That is ANTARAM, that is the innermost essence of all scriptures. BRAHMAVIDAHA VIDITVA Then what happened? As soon as they came to know that we are Brahman, BRAHMANI LEENAH They became merged in Brahman. And as soon as a river comes to know, I am not the river. River means I am Ganga, I am Yamuna, I am Saraswati, I am Kaveri, Tungabhadra, Krishna, various names, various forms, various tastes and various colors. No, I am just water. Similarly, in a huge ocean, there will be bubbles, there will be small waves, there will be big waves. And the ocean also says, I am the ocean. But ocean is not the ocean, waves are not the waves, bubbles are not the bubbles. All of them, they are nothing but only water, water, water, water. So, VIDITVA is knowers of Brahman, know that everything is God. Then they became merged in God, BRAHMANI LEENAH, TATPARAH. But who are they? They are completely desirous of Brahman. They cannot think anything else excepting Brahman. And Brahman, they surrendered themselves to Brahman. Their whole sadhana consisted of complete mergings in Brahman. And what happened? They became merged in Brahman. And once they become merged in Brahman, nobody will think, I am the body, I am the mind, I am one among billions of objects in this world. And they become free from Ajnana. Ajnana and that is called YONI MUKTAHA. Muktaha means they became completely free. Free from what? Yoni Muktaha. Yoni means the cause, the cause of bondage. What is the cause of bondage? Ajnanam, ignorance. What is ignorance? I am not Brahman, I am the Jeevatma. Jeevatma means I am a little bit of consciousness and I am caught in this net. I am the body, I am the mind, I am the possessions, I am the world. And that is called Ajnanam. This Ajnanam completely is destroyed. And they come to know, I am not a Jeeva, I am Atman, I am Brahman. This is called Yoni Muktaha. Free from Ajnanam. Ajnanam appears as this world. Ajnanam is called Maya, Prakruti. And this Maya consists of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. And Srishti, Stithi, Laya are the result of that one. Just as we go into dream, we create all these three things with a special power, which God had endowed to us. It is called Nidra Shakti. If God is thought of as the creator, He has got what is called Maya Shakti. If the same God is thought of as a Jeevatma, then He has got Nidra Shakti. And that Nidra Shakti produces what you call the dream world and also the dreamless world, also the waking world and that is called bondage. But here by surrendering and that is their sadhana, people became knowers of Brahman and they came to know everything is Brahman, Vishwam, Vishnohu. There is nobody else other than Brahman, Sarvam, Kalvidam, Brahma. They became merged. Merged means yesterday I explained, not that they were really separate, only a cognitive process. In thinking only, just like a dreaming person thinks, I am in a jail and he wakes up terrified and then he finds that he is being in the jail and he is being tortured and he is getting up and becoming free. Everything is only a thought process and this is called merging. And merging means they just know we are Brahman, I am Brahman, everything is Brahman. So this is proclaimed loudly to be verily the supreme truth or Brahman. In it, the triad exists. What triad? Waking, dream and deep sleep. Karta, karma, kriya, what is called triad of knower, object and knowledge and knowing. Everything is nothing but manifestation of maya and maya is the power of God. And by surrendering to that God, the maya, what we call before realization, maya is called avidya and after surrendering, she becomes divine mother called vidya maya. And she as if removes herself and says look, you, there is no you, I and Brahman, we are all one. So the knowers of truth, understanding its inner essence and remaining absorbed in it, get merged in Brahman and become free from rebirth. So this truth is to be realized by everybody at the very inner self of seeker. Every seeker must know that I am Brahman and when every seeker merges in Brahman, there would be no plural called seekers, only one, he understands it. So again the same idea is presented to us in Mantra 8. In what form, what is the cause of bondage and what is the knowledge that liberates us from this bondage? And what is bondage and what is the cause of the bondage and what is that knowledge which can liberate us? Just like a patient goes to a doctor, doctor first goes through all the tests, determines the cause and then only he will give the appropriate medication and diet and exercise and everything and the patient should be able to recover. It is an analogy. So Mantra 8 tells us what is the cause of bondage and what is the way to become freed from that bondage. A divine Lord, here the divine Lord means Brahman, nourishes this universe and this universe consists of a combination of the Kshara and Akshara, perishable and imperishable, the manifest and the unmanifest and as long as Jeeva does not know the Lord, he is under the spell of Maya and the Jeevatma is powerless and he gets bound by the sense, by the knowledge. I am a Jeevatma, I am the enjoyer, I am separate from all the objects I am enjoying but the same Jeevatma, when it comes to know, there is no enjoyer, there is no enjoyed, there is no feeling of enjoyment, when this same Jeevatma surrenders himself to God and by God's grace comes to know that I am Brahman, then that Jeevatma becomes freed from all bondages and the sense is very very clear, the whole universe is sustained, is created, is nourished, is sustained and again goes back. So here two separate ideas are presented to us. Pishwa means this universe. What is this universe consisting of? It is a combination of Kshara, Akshara, Vyakta and Avyakta. What does it mean? So one point we know already but we have to be reminded of it, there is nothing called destruction, there is nothing called death. What is it? Something remains unknown, unmanifest, that becomes manifest, that becomes known and again this process, it comes from the unmanifest, it becomes manifest and goes back to the unmanifest. This complete circle, that is why Jeevatma is called Hamsaha. Hamsa means what? One who moves about in a circle is called Hamsa. Surya is called a Hamsa and Sadhus are also called Hamsas. Hamsa really means Aham Brahmasmi and if we do not know Aham Brahmasmi, then that word Soham becomes Hamsa. Hamsa means Jeevatma. But when the same Jeevatma comes to know, I am not a Jeeva, I am just Atman, then the word Hamsa is reversed, Soham, I am that, I am He. So this whole universe, it is Bharate Ishwarena, Ishaha, the Divine Lord, Bharate, He sustains. How? Just like a rope sustains the snake, remove the rope, there would be no possibility of mistaking and thinking there is a snake. You remove the dry sand and you will come to know that there is no water at all. So the whole universe is sustained by the Divine Lord. That is why Vishnu's first name is among the thousand names, Vishnusasanaama, Vishwam. The whole universe is nothing but God. So this whole universe consists of triad, earlier we have seen. What is the triad? The experiencer or the knower, the known and the knowledge. This is called three putting, that means triad. The whole universe is that, Kyagra, Swapna, Sushupti, whatever be our state, there is an enjoyer, there is something enjoyed and there is the knowledge. I am the waker, I am experiencing the waking world and I am the enjoyer or experiencer of good and evil, happiness and unhappiness. Similar thing in the dream, similar thing also but much less unhappiness in the deep sleep state. Why? Because the idea that I am separate from this world temporarily, that is removed. That is why it is called poor man's Advaita knowledge and where there is no reality, separation, that person becomes absolutely free and that freedom is called happiness. So a deep sleep state gives us complete happiness, that is why it is called Anandamaya Kosha. And again coming back to this Mantra 8, The Divine Lord, just as we in the dream state, we create the dream world and the dream world consists of three things, just like in the waking state, in the dream state also, we can be discussing the waking state, the dream state, the dreamless state, we can be experiencing it, we can be discussing about it, we can be attending classes in the dream state also. But upon waking up, I was the teacher, I was the student and I was acquiring that knowledge, which is according to me, it is a beautiful dream, dream often that you are attending classes, that shows good tendencies. So the whole universe is consisting of manifested things, unmanifested things. Three things actually, first it will be unmanifest. What is the meaning of manifest and unmanifest? When we say something is manifest, unmanifest, our sense organs will not be able to access it. That is why it is called Avyakta or unmanifest. When the same thing becomes manifest, that means becomes available to be experienced by all our five sense organs and also by all our five karmendriyas, senses of action. So this is the normal process. So yaktam and avyaktam. And when this manifested something goes back into the unmanifest, then that is called Aksharam. When it is in the manifested state and it is constantly changing, that process is called Ksharam. Ksharam means literal meaning perishable. Aksharam means imperishable. But truly speaking, energy cannot be created, energy cannot be destroyed, but energy can be transformed into matter and this is continuously going on. Avyakta state is energy. Vyakta state is matter and matter is produced out of energy and energy can be called Akshara, Avyakta. Matter can be called Kshara and Vyakta. There is no real death. And that is why even our Hindu Samskaras, what is the Samskara? This is called Shraddha. Whenever a Hindu does this Shraddha, what does he do? He will offer prayer to the Pitru Purushas and that has three symbolisms for us. The first symbolism is my ancestors, the dead people are not really dead, they have gone to some other Loka and wherever they are, it is my duty to offer prayers to them. That is the first symbolism to be reminded. And second is death is inevitable to everybody. Whatever is born is going to die. But death is only transiting from something known to something else, known as something else. Purva Janma we don't remember and next Janma we don't know. But since we don't know, we call it Akshara, we call it Avyakta, but definitely it is there. So to remind us that constantly keep the idea of death and it can come at any time. Here is the effect of Maya. There is nobody in this world who says I do not think I am going to die or I know some people are not going to die. It is impossible. Everybody knows everybody is going to die including oneself. But the Maya is death is not going to come now, it is going to come much much later. Maybe at the end of 100 years, 105 years, 120 years, but not immediately. And our scripture tells us death can come at any time because the person who is offering Shraddha, when he really becomes a thoughtful person, says the people have not died at 120, some of them died at 30, some at 50, some at 80, even some children also might die. And so we have to offer prayers on behalf of the children also, not only to elders, ancestors, even we have to offer prayers even to children also. So this is the second thing, death is inevitable. So what is the third symbolism? That the people who died, we know they have not led a good life, they have lived a negligent life, caught in the meshes of Brahma Chakra, Maya, but by offering prayers, I know it is inevitable and only God can look after me, let me better turn towards the scriptures and lead a good life. That is the most important thing that we have to think about. So this Mantra 7, what is it telling? The whole universe is nothing but the manifestation of Eshwara, but in what form? Ksharam, Aksharam, Yaktam, Avyaktam. And you cannot separate Ksharam from Aksharam. That is why it is called Sanyuktam. You cannot separate Yaktam and Avyaktam. We cannot separate cold from heat. We cannot separate happiness from unhappiness. We cannot separate life from death. These pairs, that is called Dwaitam. That is what is called Dwandvam. So we have to remember, the Divine Lord has divided Himself, the subject and object, the knower and the known, the experiencer and the experienced, and whatever we experience assumes two forms, the vyakta, manifest, and the avyakta. Continuously it is going on. So Ksharam is equated to Yaktam. Aksharam must be equated with Avyaktam. And both of them are sustained, just like any number of pots are sustained by clay, because clay is the only thing. There is no separate object called pot. So vyakta, avyakta, kshara, akshara, that means the entire universe is none other than the Divine Lord Himself. So, and then, if this is the case, what happens, the Jeevatma doesn't know that. So he becomes padhyate, becomes bound. How does he become bound? By Ajnana. How does Ajnana manifest? In the form of Goktru Bhavat, I am the experiencer, everything else is experienced. I am the Kshetra Jna, everything is a Kshetra. But Anishascha Atma, this Atma, here Atma means Jeevatma, all of us, individual souls, Anishaha, we are helpless. Helpless means we are under the thumb, under the rule of somebody else. Earlier we have seen, under the thumb of whom? Under the power of whom? What is called Prakruti? What is called Maya? That is why we are called Anishaha, Anishwaraha. And the Srishti Karta, Saguna Brahma is called Eshwaraha. He is the master of everything. We are the slaves of everything in this world. Slaves of the body, slaves of the mind, slaves of every sense organ, slaves of every sense object. That is why we feel that bondage very deeply. And this is called Bhadhyate, we are bound. And all these are manifestations of Ajnana. Ajnana says I am the knower, I am the enjoyer, I am the experiencer and that is what binds us. The moment I say I am the knower, I have to assume, presume that I am separate from everything that is known, everything that is experienced. This division is what is called individual self. This is called Ajnana or ignorance. But then after suffering a lot, through millions of births, one day he wakes up and then what happens? Uttishthata, Jagratha, Prapyavarana, Nibodhata. Then he turns towards God. And that is beautifully said, that there are some people, Dheeraha, what does he do? Aavruta chakshuho amrutatvam ichcham. A Dheera, a buddhiman, this same Jivatma, after millions of births of experiences, ultimately finds, he finds, he cannot get what he is seeking. And what is he seeking? Only three things. He is seeking, let there be no death, let there be no unconsciousness, let there be no suffering. But he will not find it, because everything in this world is limited. The limited can never give the unlimited. Then what can give unlimited? Only the unlimited can give the unlimited. So that unlimited is called God, Ishwara. He turns and here he is called Devam. So Gnatva, so Bhoktru Gnatva, he awakens, he understands, I am bound and then I must get released. And there is only one way. What happens? He surrenders himself to God and this idea of surrender is most prominently displayed in this Shvetashvatara Upanishad. That's why it is one of my most favorite Upanishads and this is the most favorite Upanishad of all Ramanuja, Madhva, what we call Vaithins. So this Jivatma, Devam, that eternal reality, that pure consciousness, that he who gives knowledge and he who sustains everything, that Ishwara, Gnatva, slowly surrenders himself. When the surrender, the act of surrender becomes complete, then he understands. Devam Gnatva, he knows. I thought there was a difference but there is absolutely no difference. I am he and he is me. Then what happens? With that knowledge, as soon as that knowledge dawns, Sarva Pashaihi Mucchate, he becomes freed from all Pasha. Here Pasha means bonds. Bond means here thoughts. What thoughts? I am an individual, I am helpless, etc. And what is this? What is called Jivatma and what is Paramatma, what are their characteristics are beautifully outlined in coming shlokas, mantras. We will come to know about that. So this universe is consisting of the Vyakta and Avyakta, manifest and unmanifest or the Kshara and Akshara, that is the perishable and the imperishable or to put it even in a plain language, a subject and object. This is the simplest way of understanding. The whole universe is nothing but the Jivatma things and the subject and every Jivatma things, I am a subject and every Jivatma things, like me there are billions of Jivatmas, billions of subjects, as many conscious beings, so many subjects and everything is an object. Not knowing, when I look at you, you are an object and I am the only subject. But when you look at me, you are not looking at my consciousness, you are looking only at my body and mind and body and mind are Jadas and therefore they are what is called objects of experienced, experienceable objects. So the Lord God nourishes, sustains and protects the whole world. And as I explained earlier, so the same idea beautifully explained in the Bhagavad Gita. I am just quoting so that we know. When we read Bhagavad Gita, this is the same idea that is about birth and death. The Lord declares in the second shloka, Oh Arjuna, why are you weeping? You are thinking Bhishma and Drona are going to die. No, no my son, all created beings are unmanifest before birth. But after birth they become manifest and again at the time of death they give up this body-mind and go back to that unmanifest. So this is an inevitable process, inescapable process. So why grieve for something upon which you have no power? And then in another shloka, 15th mantra he says, This 15th chapter is called Purushottama Yoga. But actually what is he telling? Why to reverse the word Purushottama? Uttama Purushaha. Who is Uttama Purusha? I sustain everything that is perishable in the form of Prakruti, all these Jada Padardhas. I also sustain all the Jivatmas. Just as we sustain our individual self in the dream, all other people that my own mind has created, I am the sustainer of the dream world, dream objects, where there is subject and objects are there. I am Uttama. I sustain everything. I am well known. Both in the scriptures and also by people who know about me. I am known as Purushottamaha or Uttama Purushaha. Why? Because I sustain the body-mind, which is called Kshara. I sustain the Jivatma, which experiences this body and mind, but unfortunately gets identified. That is called being caught in the net. But actually the subject and object, they are opposite. Like darkness and brightness. Completely opposite, the subject and object. But I sustain both of them. I am transcendental to the perishable world of matter and even to the imperishable soul, Jivatma. Hence I am celebrated both in the Vedas and the Smritis and by the sages as the supreme divine personality. And then he says, Oh Arjuna, I am unravelling the secret to you because you are my dear Priyosi. That is why I am telling you the highest of the secrets. What is the secret? There is nothing other than me. Hey Dhananjaya, Just as there is a necklace of pearls and all the pearls are threaded. It could be gold. It could be cotton. It doesn't matter. Like pearl necklace. Everything is threaded. And I am like that Sutra. I am sustaining the Jivatmas as well as all the Kshetras also. And that is the idea presented in the Shweta Kshetra. But remember, Shweta Kshetra is an Upanishad. Bhagavad Gita is the borrowed ideas from all the Upanishads but predigested. Like a cow predigests food, turns it into milk and then feeds the child. We are the children. That is why, So, The Jivatma gets bound by his compulsive desires to enjoy and he thinks, I am the enjoyer. Everything is enjoyed. We are separate. And desperately he is going on doing this one for many, many, many births after birth. After millions of births, right from the inorganic matter until enlightened, awakened human birth. And then he gets awakened and then he says, Now I know that this world can never be giving me any satisfaction. There is only one way. By surrendering to the Divine Lord, I can become free. Jivatma can only do. That is why, this very idea in the Shweta Kshetra Upanishad is put in the last chapter, 6th chapter, 20th verse. That is, without surrendering oneself to the Divine, it is impossible to be freed from the bonds of Samsara. But they put it through beautiful Upama analogy. Very peculiar way of expression. What is it? When advancing technology allows us to roll the space like man can roll a small object called mat. You know, we all use the mat and then put it in a corner and then we spread it if we want to lie down upon it and then again roll it up and put it. And if man advances to such an extent that one day he will be able to roll up the whole sky like we normally roll up a mat, then he will be free. That is a negative way of putting. It is impossible for man to roll up the sky. Just as it is impossible to roll up a sky, it is impossible for man to become free from the bonds or accepting he takes refuge in God and by the grace of the God he will be drawn helplessly. This is called destruction. This is called attainment. And that is the reason. So then in this ninth mantra, both these are beautifully expressed. What are those? Jna and Ajna. He who knows and he who doesn't know. Who are they? One is the individual soul and one other is the universal soul. One is Jeevatma, another is Paramatma. What is the difference? And what is called? Where is oneness? Between the individual and God is explained hereafter. SANSKRIT It's a very beautiful idea but slightly complex words. There are three things. There is the Jeevatma and there is the Eshwara. But what is the connection? There is something which made Brahman divide as if divided, not really divided. That is called Devatma Shakti. Earlier we have seen that Devatma Shakti is called Prakruti by Sankhyas. It is called Maya by Advaitins and it consists of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. This is called three strands. And through this it creates Jagrat, Sapna, Sushupti and it creates the three putti, Triad, the knower, the object of knowledge and knowledge, the enjoyer, object of enjoyment and enjoyment, the knowledge of enjoyment. So these three are there. All the three, in fact, are nothing other than Brahman. If we are ignorant, we see three. If we are not ignorant, then we see only, we know there is only one. What is that? I am Brahman. Not Brahman sees like that. I am Brahman because I will not exist. And this is what Swami Vivekananda marvelously explained in his Jnana Yoga lectures. And there he says, what is this world? It is Brahman looked through the prism of mind which is consisting of time, space and causation. Imagine you take a prism and look at the shining sun in the sky and before that we see only one light, white light. But when we look through this prism, we see all the seven colors in different ways. And this is why we are seeing different colors in so many objects. Some objects absorb one particular color and then we see that color there. Some absorb many colors, so we see many colors. And that color which is not absorbed by any object in this world, we won't be able to see. We just see some white light there. This is the scientific explanation of colors. But here it is said there are three things. And what are the three things? What we call this world, what we call samsara, what we call maya consists of three things. What are the three things? The experiencer and the experienced and maya. But all the three are manifestations of Bhagawan. And that creator, remember creator is a concept from the viewpoint of the Jivatma. From the viewpoint of Paramatma, there is no Ishwara. Ishwara or Jaganmata, Sri Ramakrishna used to call Shakti and they are called creator or creatrix, whatever name you want to use. Now coming back to this. Gna means one who knows, all-knowing, knowledge itself. Agna, who is the Gna? Ishwara. Who is the Agna? And he is Jivatma. Dvau, Ajau, both are unborn. Remember, both are unborn. Ishwara also doesn't have any birth. Jivatma also has no birth. You may be surprised. I will come to a little bit of example for us to understand. Ishv and Anishv. That is, one is the master, another is the slave. And eka bhoktru bhogya arthayukta. And there is a power called maya which divides that bhokta and bhogya and the result of these two which is called bhoga. Bhokta, bhogya, bhoga. Karta, karma, kriya. Gnata, gneya, gnanam. This is called triputi. This is called triad. We dealt with it earlier. Now here, the difference between Ishwara and all of us. Who we are considering. Who are you? I am so and so. Meaning really, I am a conscious being limited by the body and mind technically called jivatma. I am the jiva. I am the atma. But this atma, when it becomes caught or identifies itself because of ignorance caught in the net of body and mind the same paramatma is now called jivatma. So unless there is a body-mind there is no jiva at all. So what is the difference? There are two. Ishwara is the creator so he knows everything. We are the jivatmas. We know very little. Not that we are completely ignorant. Our knowledge is very less. God's power is infinite. Our power is alpashaktimaan and he is sarvashaktimaan and God is everywhere and we are only bound to any particular place at any given time. These are all the completely opposite qualities there. We are manifesting. So both of us jivatma is also unborn. Ishwara is also unborn. That is the point. I think I have got birth. There is no birth. I think there is a body as a birth. Body also doesn't have a birth. As I mentioned earlier what is birth? If something becomes manifest it is called birth. If something goes back to that avyakta unmanifest that is beyond the ken or power of our sense organs where we can no longer understand what it is it goes beyond then we call it avyakta unmanifest etc. But really speaking vyakta goes into avyakta avyakta goes into vyakta so this play is going on so birth from death after death what happens? This body-mind and everything goes back to its constituent elements and again it becomes mixed up and then it comes back we call it a baby is born he stays for some time he grows up, becomes old or he dies and goes back to that what is called unknown, unmanifest there is nothing called death when there is no death there is no birth that is why it is said both of them are ajau jaya means to be born ajau means they are not born both of them have no birth at all that means they are eternal but there is something a third one is added what is it? It is called maya it is called prakriti and that is what it makes that prakriti has a special power very peculiar power where it divides jiva-atma from the body-mind and as if Ishwara is there like rope like semi-darkness compared to maya this semi-darkness creates the illusion that there is a snake but even for it to create that illusion a rope must be there also brahman must be there to create this illusion that there is Ishwara and there is also jiva-atma srishti karta jiva-atma and maya all these three they come together they go together they go back together they are coming from avyakta they stay for some time go back into again avyakta what does it mean? when a soul is supposedly born then he is created by somebody and he is made to come into this world and again the division between the subject and object will come into play so this is called the process of samsara and again when he goes back after realization of god he goes beyond vyakta and avyakta and then he understands this is leela, this is being done so anantasya-atma truly speaking there is only one atma and it is infinite and vishwaroopa that infinite atman is manifesting in the form of this vishwaroopa means manifesting as everything and he is akarta he doesn't do any activity why doesn't he do the activity? because activity is meant to obtain something to obtain pleasure we desire an object desire means I don't have something I don't have something means nobody is bothered about an object this is a very important point we are not after any objects we are what the objects we think can give us which is happiness we are after happiness we are after life this object can give me life a sick person can say this object can make me healthy, make me healthy and I can live for a long time so this is no person wants an object, husband doesn't want wife, wife doesn't desire husband, nobody desires anybody, bhakta doesn't desire god, god also doesn't desire any bhakta any bhakta says I desire god is not for the sake of god but god is an instrument for attaining that infinity eternity, that changeless and what is called sat, chit ananda, that's all any god by mistake comes and tells I am pleased with you but I cannot give you sat, chit, ananda you must do something else immediately we will give birth to such a god and go somewhere else in search of it so gatha when this person comes to know I am also birthless and everything is me and this maya is only making me think that I am an individual, now I know only brahman alone is the real substratum yadavindate, when he awakens to that fact and then what does he say sarvam kalvidam brahma, I am brahman, everything is brahman this is the meaning, these two ishwara and jiva are respectively all knowing and ignorant, almighty and powerless but both of them are unborn not only that, a third factor prakriti, maya is also unborn and it is prakriti who brings about the union between the enjoyer and the object of enjoyment but what is the truth, it is everything is really brahman and the self brahman is infinite, in infinity there cannot be any small or big bound or unbound of the form of the whole universe the whole universe is nothing but brahman and it is a non-doer, non-doer because as I mentioned doing comes into play only when we desire something since I am everything there is nothing for me to desire I am also paramananda therefore I don't need to do anything, this is a very fine point action is meant to obtain something which I don't have and we want to obtain something not for its own sake but for the sake of only the sat, chit and ananda, so when one comes to know that I am that infinite I am that brahman and I myself am playing with myself I am dividing myself into ishwara, jiva atma and also this maya then I become liberated and this is what I said, one becomes liberated then one knows the three, ishwara jiva and prakriti and this can be done only by sadhana sadhana means get rid of ahankara and when we get rid of ahankara then what remains is brahman sarvam kalvidam brahma, this is the truth, there is nothing else and now in the tenth mantra ishwara and prakriti they are described the difference and oneness between god and his divine power is further elaborated upon, this is not a new idea, same idea that we have discussed in the tenth mantra once we come to know that what is called this prakriti is nothing but a manifestation of god and it is sustained, it is created, it is sustained and it is removed by god only, then once we come to know about it then the person turns he will meditate upon god he will come to know god and he will come to know that I am god and then ante, when that knowledge comes, vishwa maya nivruti, here maya nivruti, the entire maya becomes destroyed and when we understand this whole universe I am mistakenly seeing as separate from god separate from myself it is not really separate from either bhagwan or from myself, it is none other than Vishnu only, matter is perishable but brahman is imperishable and immortal he, brahman the only god, rules over the perishable matter and the individual soul, same idea we discussed in the ninth mantra, there is no separation by repeatedly but what should I do from the scriptures, from the guru's mouth, I come to know that I am not jivatma and this world is not also world, this both this problem is created by maya and I have to overcome that maya maya means ignorance that ignorance can be destroyed by knowledge and that knowledge is only brahman alone is and nothing else and for that purpose I have to do sadhana, what is the sadhana that I have to surrender myself, get rid of myself, remove the second, when second is removed, only one remains, you don't even at that time call it one, this is the essence of this, by repeatedly meditating on him by uniting with him and by realizing his essence at the end, all illusion that there is a universe, I am part of universe and there are things other than me and I am running after them, all this ignorance will come to an end and in the form of the universe comes to an end, the ideas to take away from here, everything in this world is perishable, jiva atma in a way of speaking is perishable because that jiva bhava will be destroyed that subject is destroyed, object is destroyed, everything is destroyed and the waking state is destroyed the dream state is destroyed and the deep sleep state is destroyed, when are they destroyed, when I enter into dream state both waking and deep sleep are destroyed when I am in the dream state waking and deep sleep are gone when I am in the deep sleep waking and dream are gone when I am in the waking state, dream and deep sleep are gone continuously they are destroyed, moving from one state to the other is destroying that particular state, so everything in this world is called ksharam that is called perishable and this is the nature of the whole nature the whole world, similarly the enjoyer the jiva atma is also perishable so long as he thinks that I am the jiva atma that is a wrong idea but when he comes to know I am not jiva atma but I am param atma then automatically he has that knowledge, I am imperishable I am indestructible, I am vadmit brahman and that brahman, in this particular tenth mantra is called hara, hara means hari hara, both have the meanings the destroyer of ignorance, the word signifies it could be shiva it could be rudra, it could be vishnu etc and that paramatma who is now known as hara is alone worth knowing and must be realized essentially that I am he pursuing this path if somebody constantly meditates on him, keeping himself always united with him by meditation, by smarana by memory and realizing his identity with him eventually attains him, having known the unity between the individual self and the supreme self then alone it transcends the maya is relation with this illusory world and it is cut off permanently, this identity or this knowledge with paramatma with hara is called aham brahmasmi or I am atma brahma in mandukya upanishad or tattvamasi guru says this liberating knowledge about this brahmanam or she says with the death of the ego infinite self shines forth in its pure pristine glory spontaneously in the heart most marvelous thing with this we have completed the tenth mantra we will just start our next class with the mention of this tenth mantra and proceed to the rest of the first chapter Om Jananem Haradam Devim Ramakrishnam Jagadgurum Pada Padmetayoh Sritva Pranamami Mohur Mohur May Ramakrishna Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti Ramakrishna