Purusha Suktam Lecture 01 on 25-May-2023

Summary

The Narayana Suktam is a powerful hymn found in the Rig Veda Samhita. It is one of the many Suktams, which are hymns containing profound truths and powerful mantras discovered by the ancient Rishis. The essence of the Narayana Suktam is that Narayana, who is the Parabrahma (Supreme Reality), is both the transcendent and immanent form of God. He is the creator, sustainer, and destroyer of the universe. The Suktam also emphasizes the oneness of the individual soul (Jeevatma) and the Supreme Soul (Paramatma). It states that all divisions between individuals are false, and there is only one ultimate reality. The Purusha Suktam, another important hymn, highlights the concept of sacrifice and the manifestation of the divine Purusha as the universe. It explains that the entire creation is a result of the sacrifice performed by the Purusha, who becomes everything in the universe. The Purusha Suktam is found in the Rig Veda, and it is considered one of the Pancha Suktas, along with the Narayana Suktam, Vishnu Suktam, Sri Suktam, and Purusha Suktam. These Suktams are often chanted together for auspicious occasions. The purpose of both the Narayana Suktam and the Purusha Suktam is to help individuals realize their true nature and the underlying unity of all existence. They are seen as elaborations of the Mahavakya, the great statement that reveals the identity between the individual self (Atman) and the Supreme Self (Brahman).

Full Transcript

As I mentioned in my introduction to the Narayana Suktam. Su Uptam, great truth. Su means well said. Uktam means that which has been said. Rishis had found out marvelous truths. Those truths are called Suktams. And they are also very powerful mantras. As an example I mentioned, somebody wants to acquire Medha. They should recite with great sincerity, faith, regularity and bhakti. Then they will get by mother's grace Medha. Even Gayatri Mantra is a Suktam because it is a mantra. Every Suktam is also a mantra. That is why everything in the Vedas, especially the first part, Samhitas, they are called mantras. A collection is called Samhita. A collection of great discoveries by the Rishis are called Samhita. That is the first part. How many Suktams are there? I mentioned literally hundreds of them. Some of them became very popular. I mentioned a few, just a few. Sri Suktam, Medha Suktam, Narayana Suktam, Purusha Suktam, Rathri Suktam, Nakshatra Suktam, Durga Suktam, Pavamana Suktam. Like that plenty of Suktams are there. And devotees believe that if chanted with devotion, faith and concentration, they will yield a result. And we just completed Narayana Suktam. What is the essence of Narayana Suktam? He is the Parabrahma. He is the Nirguna Brahma. He is also the Saguna Brahma. He is also the Brahma Srishti Kartha. He is the Creator. He is the Maintainer. He also is the Withdrawer or Recycler or Destroyer. That is the first level of understanding. Second level of understanding, He is not creating anything. He is becoming everything. As we become everything in our dream state, Bhagawan becomes everything. That is very clearly indicated in Narayana Suktam. And strangely many people consider Narayana Suktam as a beautiful commentary on Purusha Suktam. So the essence of Narayana Suktam is that He is everything. Sarvam Kalvidam Brahma. When we look at that Brahma, Brahman with the mind, purified mind, we see Him as the Creator, Maintainer. But when we merge in Him, we feel our identity with Him. That is the essential Mahavakya, Jeevatma and Paramatma. Those two divisions are completely false divisions. Whatever is there, only one Atma. That is the essence of Mahavakya. Now, the speciality of Purusha Suktam. Remember, this word Purusha is a very popular word. We have seen in Krishna Upanishad, we have seen in Shweta Shatara, we have seen, especially in the Bhagavad Gita, the 15th chapter, Purushottama Yogau Nama Panchadashodhyaya. Purushottama, what is it? Everything is Purusha. Uttama Purusha. And Bhagavan Himself gives a beautiful definition of what is Uttama Purusha. I am beyond the Prakruti. I am also beyond all the Jeevatmas. That's why I am called Purushottamaha. Reversed Uttama Purushaha. That is Uttama Purusha means the only one. There is nobody else. What is the meaning of Purusha? Purisethe, He who is the inner dweller, inner controller, Antaryami, in everything in this world, in the form of Sat, Chit and Ananda. That is one meaning. Purayatidam Vishwam Iti Purushaha He who infills the whole universe. In other words, who himself is appearing to ignorant people as this body, mind and the entire world. He is called Purusha. And it has nothing to do with male or masculine gender. That reality which alone is inside, outside and manifesting as everything, that is called Purusha. And this speciality of this Purusha Suktam is that Bhagawan Himself, first of all, He is the both causes, intelligent cause called Nimitta Karana and Upadana Karana, the material cause. He is everything. So wherefrom, how is He manifesting Himself? He is the material cause. And how is He manifesting in different ways? Through His intelligence, Nimitta Karana. So both Nimitta and Upadana, intelligent as well as material cause, is nothing but He. Our Vedic Rishis want us to understand that Purusha, creating this universe, is performing a Yagna. What do we do? An Yagna, a sacrifice, precisely that is the word. Sacrifice. Sacrifice everything. So one seems to have become many and He Himself has become everything. So interesting equations also spread in our mind. When we see somebody is suffering, especially if we are suffering, why am I suffering? That idea will come. This question was asked of Shri Ramakrishna. Why did God create this universe? In fact, Swami Vivekananda's greatest fight with God, he passed a rye remark and he called me as his advisors before creation. I would have given him nice ideas so that we need not have this much of suffering at all. I would have eliminated suffering from this creation and that is a very unintelligent idea because creation means duality. Duality means we will not have knowledge of what is what unless we have knowledge of the opposites. Many times I mention this idea if I have no knowledge of cold, I will not know what is called hot. If I don't know what is darkness, I will not know what is light. If I do not know what is evil, I will not know what is good. So also, if I do not know what is death, I will not know what is life. If I do not know what is suffering, I will not know what is enjoyment, etc. So it is a great sacrifice. The one who is Ananda Swaroopa, voluntarily he makes himself. I am helpless, I am small, I am many. The one thinks I am many. The happy Ananda Swaroopi thinks that I am riding the waves of happiness and unhappiness. And he who is changeless is continuously changing in the form of creation. He who is what we call Shashwatha, eternal, as if only temporarily he is living. How do we know? Because of the three Abhyaroha mantras Asato Ma Sadgamaya Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya Rutyor Ma Amrutangamaya So we have to be extremely careful that it is a great sacrifice. So the Purusha sacrificed himself in the form of manifesting as these two divisions. The knower, the known. The experiencer, the experienced. The doer and what he is doing. That division is called sacrificing himself. And also the idea that all human beings are categorized into four divisions. The misunderstood, popular division called Jati, Shudra, Vaishya, Kshatriya and Brahmana. So from the head, the head became the Brahmanas and the shoulders or the two hands became the Kshatriyas. From the middle part came the Vaishyas. From the lowest part came the Shudras. Leading to the misleading idea that why did God create some people like this? It is not the creation of the caste. It is the conception of gradual evolution. If we do not understand it, then we miss a lot. So this whole Purusha Suktam is all about sacrifice. And this Purusha Suktam, where does it come? So it comes in the Rig Veda Samhita, Mandala 10, Astaka 8, Sukta from I think 90 onwards. So first of all it is seen in Rig Veda as the 19th Suktam of the 10th Mandalam. How many Anuvakas or Mantras are there? 16. Later on, we see that the same Purusha Suktam in different forms, slightly different words, slightly different versions. We see in Shukla Yajur Veda, we see in Taittiriya, we see in Krishna Yajur Veda, we see in Sama Veda, Atharvana Veda with some modifications. But these Suktas, there are 5 Suktas, these are called Pancha Suktas. In South India, these are chanted together before any auspicious activity is done, either receiving a Sannyasin or entering into the temple or for Shanti Kriya at the house. These are very popular. What are they? These are Purusha Suktam, Vishnu Suktam, Sri Suktam, Narayana Suktam, all these are generally chanted together. And why is it called Purusha Suktam? Because like Narayana Suktam, instead of Narayana, the word Narayana is substituted as Purusha. So that equation is famously we have to know. And what is the purpose of this like Narayana Suktam? It is an elaboration of Mahavakya. What is Mahavakya? As we know, the Vedas were divided into 4, Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, Dharvana Veda and every Veda has several Upanishads to its credit. That is why Upanishads are called Vedanta. Vedanta means that which comes at the end part of the Ananyaka Upanishads or it also popularly the very essential teachings of the Vedas and the whole Upanishads are condensed into one sentence. So wherever we see a sentence or a number of sentences or the entire text chapters indicating that thou art that. For example, in the Chandogya, 6th chapter, 1st section, we see the father of Shweta Ketu. 9 times it is repeated, Tatva Masi Shweta Ketu. Thou art that Shweta Ketu. So the entire chapter is a Mahavakya. Tatva Masi, but only we say Tatva Masi we have taken. So what is a Mahavakya? Vakya means a sentence. Mahavakya means great sentence. This is the common meaning. But the inner meaning is that sentence by hearing which a person becomes awakened to his own true nature and realizes that what I was thinking about myself is incorrect, false, Mithya, but my true nature is Aham Brahmasmi. So as we know, four Mahavakyas are there, but in fact Mahabharata is a Mahavakya. Bhagavad Gita entire, Bhagavad Gita is a Mahavakya. How do we know? Because at the end of the 18th chapter, Shri Krishna, he asks Arjuna, Have you heard what I taught you properly, with attention and understood it? If you have understood it, then you should, your Moha, Moha means delusion. Wrong identification would have been cleared. You will know who you are and as soon as that knowledge comes, your Vishada, your grief, Tapatraya, will come to an end. And of course, we all know the famous reply of Arjuna, Nashto Mohaha, all my delusion is gone. Smriti Labdha, that word Smriti is the most important word. What is the Smriti? Aham Brahmasmi. 24 hours that Smriti is trying to manifest in the form of our natural breathing in and breathing out. Soham, Soham, Soham. This is also popularly known as Ajapa Japa. We are not consciously doing, but the purpose of Pranayama is to make it conscious. It is not breath control, but it is to find out who is really breathing and what is he breathing. Soham, I am he, I am he. When a person comes to know I am the Purusha. Interestingly, Sankhya Yoga also says that until then, everyone of us are thinking I am the Prakruti. Purusha plus Prakruti, a combination. But as soon as I come to know who I am, I will say I am the Purusha. Tadad Rashtruswaroope Avasthanam. So a Mahavakya can be one single sentence, many sentences, entire books. The essential part of any of these Upanishads is Mahavakya. That the, what, that. But you know, we have got four, just choosing so that our Rishis knew the capacity of our memory power. Even then, they were very generous to choose only four. So here, Tattvamasi is associated with Sama Veda, Shweta Ketu. Tattvamasi, Shweta Ketu, Chandogya Upanishad. Aham Brahmasmi is the Preahadarnika Upanishad. So it is in the Shukla Yajur Veda. Then Prajnanam Brahma in the Aitareya Upanishad which is from the Rig Veda. And then I am Atma Brahma, Atharva Veda. What is that Atharva Veda? Those who are attending Mandukya Upanishad, the very second mantra of the Mandukya Upanishad, Natakarika. You know, I am Atma Brahma. So what is the purpose of this Mahavakya? Is to know who am I. So what does the Purusha Sukta talk about? It is telling, Yasmaksharamati Itoham, Aksharad Apichottamaha. Atah, therefore, I know I am the Purushottamaha. Loke Asmi Prathitah Purushottamaha. So I am Uttama Purusha. That is the Purusha about which this Purusha Sukta is talking or reverse way, this is the Purusha that is being explained in the 15th chapter. So who is that Purusha? He is both beyond the manifest and unmanifest. Parama Purusha, Purushottama, Narayana, Rata Purusha. And He is the source of all creation. And the whole creation is nothing but Him. That is going to be described. That is why, like Narayana Suktam, Sahasra Sirsha Purushaha, Sahasraksha Sahasrapa, Sabhumim Vishvato Ritva, Atyatishta Dashaamulam. So this entire Jagat that we experience are coming only from Him or that is a lower understanding. Coming from Him. Like a potter creating a pot. No. He, it is Himself only. That is why dream is a best example. So this Purusha Sukta describes this form of Purusha having countless heads, eyes, legs manifested everywhere and also beyond the scope of any limitedness. Atyatishta Dashaamulam. All creation. In another place, it is said is but a fourth part of Him. So only in this Purusha Sukta we get it. Tripatha Urdhvai. Only three fourths of it Urdhva. Unmanifest. We don't know. Whatever we see is one fourth. That means it is not one fourth. You take a knife or a vessel and measure it. That is three fourth. This is one fourth. That is twelve anas. This is four anas. Not like that. It means Purnamadaha, Purnamidham. So what is the point? Point is whatever we see, wherever you see a head, wherever we see a hand, wherever we see a leg, wherever we see any being, living, non-living, it is all manifesting in the form of Sat, Chit and Ananda. It is everything. So to know that Purushottama is all. He is the Karana. He is the Karya. He is the cause. He is the effect. As well as Karya, Karana, Adhita. He is beyond both the cause and effect and he is indescribable. So that is what beautifully said. What is the essence of this Purushottama? Sarvam Kalvitam Brahma. Everything is Brahma. But put in other words, in Narayana Suttama, Sarvam Kalvitam Narayana. In Purushottama, Sarvam Kalvitam Purushaha. So this is the background. This is re-ancient one. And whenever great people are received in temples, especially what is called famous Sannyasins, this Purushottama is a must chanting. So this is coming from Rig Veda and there is a beautiful Shanti Patha. Why Shanti Patha? Because whenever we start any endeavor, whether somebody is starting to give a talk, somebody is starting to write a book, somebody is starting a new enterprise, somebody is entering into a house, whatever a person is doing, that action should be, cannot be complete without God's grace. So God's grace is very necessary. That is the one Shanti Patha. Then this Purusha Sukta, also I mentioned, is all about sacrifice. And this aspect, that entire life has to be converted into a sacrifice. Igna. Igna dhat karmano anyatra. Loko yam karma bandhanaha. Bhagwan Krishna is teaching Arjuna, O Arjuna, convert your whole life as Igna. Otherwise, this very world, that means whatever we do, without having the idea of Igna, sacrifice, karma bandhanaha, it binds us more and more and more. The funny part of it is, each one of us, every living creature, how much sacrifice it is doing. I will just give a few examples, the vastness, the immensity of it. See, how much parents sacrifice for their child. How much a real king or a real official should sacrifice. They may not do, that is a different issue. But they have to do much more than common persons. So, you know penguins, they live in very cold places. So the male goes, nearly for 2-3 months, he goes on eating. And many times it gets caught and killed and eaten by itself. The sharks and so many other preying animals, it becomes an object of prey, an animal of prey, preyed. But if it survives, it comes back. And it has to trudge nearly 60 or 70 kilometers to reach the place where its partner, spouse is awaiting. By that time, the chick has already come out. Because of the intense cold, even a few seconds, the chick will get frozen. What do you call all this? It is all nothing but tremendous sacrifice, even at the cost of its life. What are birds doing whenever they have chicks? 24 hours a day, the father bird, mother bird, are just hunting food. They have to survive. But even if they are hungry, if they could get only a slight amount of food, they do not eat it. First priority is for the chicks. And many times you must have seen how these chicks, it looks to me as if they are nothing but pure stomach and beak, huge beaks. And the parent birds go on feeding, more, more, more, more. They never seem to close, except for swallowing. And the parent birds, they do not know that they are sacrificing so much. So, here is a person, he gets married, and he becomes a donkey. Previously, a potential donkey, now he becomes a real donkey. Until his death, with every breath, he is working for his wife, for his children, for his grandchildren, and for accumulating everything. This is what most people are doing, undergoing so much of trouble. I am astonished seeing some of our so-called devotees. They have so much money, so much wealth, millions and millions, and yet they do not want to open their fists, tight-fisted people. And all for this, how many devotees I have told, that you are working in the Western countries, that is absolutely fine, but when you become old, then husband and wife, or whoever is there, they must come back to India. You can live a much easier life, instead of your own scrubbing, and washing, and cleaning, and cooking, and everything. You can lead a very happy life. You get Satsanga, you must enter into Vanaprasthashrama. This is one of the important teachings of Ramakrishna. But no, what are they doing? Tremendous sacrifice. But are they converting their lives into Yajna? Not at all. Why? Because it is all for my happiness. My happiness is closely tied with my children's happiness. I cannot get rid of it. They may not care for you, but you care for them. Caught in the net, that is why there is a beautiful Bengali saying, caught in the net of the five Bhutas, even Brahman weeps. Weeps means undergoes troubles. Then what is the Purusha Suktam is trying to tell us? Bhagawan Himself is sacrificed, just as every parent. As soon as the child is born, their whole life becomes a sacrifice for the protection, nourishment, and improvement of the child. But there it stops. There are few fortunate souls who will recognize it, don't want to be caught, and they have dedicated their lives. Like Swami Vivekananda, etc. In fact, every Sanyasin is a glowing example, whether they realize it or not. The ideal at least is shown, even if they do not lead a perfect life. So, let us convert our whole life into a sacrifice. Why should we do? Because Bhagawan Himself is not only doing, not only did, He is doing continuously. How is He doing? He is providing in the form of space. He is working tirelessly without holiday in the form of the wind, air. If He takes holiday for a day, then our life is gone. Then in the form of the fire, in the form of the sun, in the form of the moon, in the form of the stars, He is providing light and heat. He is manifesting in the form of the sun in space, in the form of fire on earth, in the form of digestive power, Vaishwana Ragni, within each one of us. From what time to what time? 9 to 5? 24 hours a day without. So, all the Panchaputas, they have created us, they are working to nourish us, to keep us healthy and so that we can realize that we all belong to the Divine Lord. Each soul is potentially Divine. How do I manifest it? Only through Yagna. Every Yoga is a Yagna. What is the Yagna? That I do not work for Prakruti, I work only for the Purusha. I don't want anything to do with what is called Prakruti. Prakruti means Jagat. But yet, I do good to the world because that is part of my Sadhana. Jagat Hitayacham. So, let us convert our whole life as a Yagna. What is the example? Bhagwan Himself, Purusha Himself. If we understand this, then we have to pray to Him. Oh Lord, please make me worthy. By Your grace, give me understanding, give me the strength to move towards You and finally remove all obstacles and make me one with You. That is the prayer. So, as I mentioned, this Purusha Suktam also has a Shanti Mantra because it belongs to the Rig Veda. What is the Shanti Mantra? The whole life is a sacrifice. This Shanti Patha is all about sacrifice. Let us first see the general meaning, then we will go into slightly detailed meaning. Om. Of course, whenever we open our mouth, we should tell Om. That will remove all impurities and make us progress towards God. We desire, we pray, we want. This is our greatest desire. What is the greatest here? Tat. That Divine Reality called Purusha, called Brahman, called Narayana. Shem. Let Him bestow the highest bliss upon all of us in the form of Upakaranas. First of all, the very healthy body, healthy mind. Then, the environment should be absolutely fine. In fact, our attainment of the human birth itself is called the Grace of God by Shankaracharya. That is why He said that even to be born as a human being is an extremely rare thing. Everybody doesn't get this one. So, we want Shem everywhere. We are praying and only who can give? Only God can give. And then, if we grant it, what are you going to do with your life? Alright, your life is free from dangers and it is supplied with all necessities. You have a human body, but human body alone is not enough. You have a human body, you have a desire to progress and the environment is very favorable. So, it is not an obstacle. Ramakrishna beautifully describes, perhaps there are two brothers, a younger one and an elder one. The younger one has a spiritual desire, desire to progress spiritually. He doesn't want to get married. Parents are there. They have to be looked after. Perhaps the elder brother takes all the responsibility. So, the younger one is free. My brother is there. So, I don't need to worry about my parents. And without worry, he can devote his life to God. That is called favorable environment. Or maybe there is an ashram. Or there are marvelous spiritual people whom we recognize leading an ideal life. And they are available. It is a very rare thing for any one of us to get such a thing. So, what are we doing? Gautam Yagnaya We want to perform the sacrifice. So, we want to sing. Gautam means, literally, Gautam means to sing. Yagnaya, that means we want to have Vedic chanting, Samagana, etc. But that is not the only meaning. Gautam means, in whatever way we have to do, impeccably, perfectly, without the least bit of deviation, we should be able to do so that we should be able to please you by the performance. That strength, O Lord, please grant me. That is part of the Sham. Sham means Sukham. Sham means favorableness. Sham means the grace of God. So, Gautam Yagnaya, Gautam Yagnapataye. So, we want to praise, we want to think, we want to meditate. Whom? Yagnapati. And who is this Yagnapati? There are two meanings here. In earlier days, when Yagnas and Yagas were done, there would be some rich kings and they would sponsor. This Yagna, I will sponsor because it used to require tremendous amount of money. I will also come to the meaning, Yagna doesn't need money also. That can be done. I will give some examples also. So, somebody used to sponsor and therefore I am only a priest. I should be able to perform, it can be done only by your grace. But when I am capable of doing and really perform this Yagna, the result should go to whom? Yagnapati. Yagnapati means the organizer, the king or the rich person. And Brahmins also can be rich persons. So, I would like to pray for his welfare. That is why at the end, when Homa is done, Yagna Ahuti with the word Swaha, Indraya Swaha, at the end of it, we have to remind the Gods. So, please don't think I am doing it on my own. No, no. Na Mama. This result should not come to me. Then it should go to the Yagnapati. Whoever organized that Yagna, that person should get the result. This is one meaning. But the other meaning is an even better meaning. There is a beautiful Sanskrit saying in our Upanishads. Yagna vai Vishnu ho. What is Yagna? Vishnu Himself. And He is the Pati. Without His grace, without His support, without His help, nothing can be done. No activity can be done. So, may I sing the glories of the Divine Lord when I am performing this Yagna, so that my own life can be transformed into a living Yagna. Remember, the devotees of Sairam Krishna singing every day, the Khandana Bhava Vandana, Pranarpana Jagata Tarana, Pranarpana, the whole, the very descent, the birth, and the living, and even the death of every Avatar is for the welfare of the whole world. Pranarpana means whole life has been offered as a sacrifice. That is the way we have to transform ourselves. And this is possible only by the grace of Lord. Therefore, we are earnestly praying to God. Daivihi swasthi rastu naha swasthihi naha swasthihi astu So, naha, all of us, take note of the plural number, not the singular number. So, all of us, because I cannot do alone any sacrifice, any activity in fact. That is why, according to Hinduism, every human being that is born is indebted to five beings, the Rishis, the Adhishthatru Devatas, the Pitrus, other human beings, and everything non-human being, including forests, mountains, etc. Only now we are able to understand how, when the ice melts in northern regions, how much adverse effect it can have. And if they are not melting, how much good they are doing to us. Only now, scientists are able to unravel and place before us. Everything, the whole world is nothing but helping each other. Everything is, what is called, dependent upon everything else. I mentioned in my other Upanishadic class, Madhu Brahmana, that is, interdependence of everything. I cannot live without others, others cannot live without me. We are all dependent upon each other, but especially, we are dependent upon God in the form of Panchabhutas, and that includes all the environmental issues, and everybody in this world, including, what you call, mosquitoes have a tremendous role, only if we understand, nothing is redundant. Mice have a wonderful role. Every created object in this world has its appropriate role towards the general welfare of the entire unit. That is why, we are obligated, May we obtain Divine Swasthi. Swasthi means, everything that helps us to evolve further towards God, and the ultimate Swasthi is, that we become merged in the Brahman and become one Brahma. That is why, see, how this Panchayat is performed. Swasthi Manushya Ipyaha, every human being, including our enemies. You may wonder, how do enemies help us? How are they? Because enemies create difficulties, and if anybody doesn't undergo any difficulty, that person is not going to certainly grow up. It is only the dukkhas, sufferings, miseries, difficulties, that develop our character, both physically, and also intellectually, and also spiritually. It is possible only when there are dukkhas. That is why, God has created this dukkha, not as a curse to humanity, but as a stepping stone for getting united with Him. Everything has a meaning in this life. So, Swasthi Manushya Ipyaha, and these human beings, let God bless every human being. Even enemies are needed, as just now mentioned, but irrespective of whether they do good to us, or they do not do good to us, we become, everybody can progress in spiritual life. That means, our mind becomes strong. Strength means, not being shaken by either praise, or criticism, or by good or evil, or by happiness or unhappiness, or by cold or heat. Bhagavan Krishna, beautifully outlines this. They are all very good. We cannot avoid them, because God created. Why did God create them? Because, for our own training. These are all very necessary. So, let us pray, that not only me, not only my family, not only my community, not only my religion, everybody should be blessed. Because, what is the purpose of... I can perhaps see God in my mother and father, and my beloved teacher, and it is much more difficult to see God, especially in one's own family. But, we should be able to see, whether they are compatible, incompatible, etc. It is a different issue altogether. I should be able to see God in my neighbors. I should be able to see God in my enemies. So, why are they behaving like that? A profound philosophy is there. For example, some countries are unbelievably inimical towards India. They are trying to pull India down in every way. The first question every spiritual aspirant should ask is, are these countries doing it? What do you mean by country? Is every person living in that country our sworn enemy? Not at all. Then what do we mean by that? Even the political leaders, they are doing it. They have nothing to do. They are not interested in India. They are not interested in their own country. They are not interested in anybody. They are only interested in Swartha. So, this is a propaganda issue. We hate India. We create problems. So long as your attention is drawn outside, then you will not pay attention to us. So, we will be safe. This is what is called a normal, low intelligent idea. What is the real idea? Why the Muslims had come? Why the Turks had come? Why the British people had come? Not only in our country, in most of the other countries, whether it is Africa, Tibet or China, why did they come? Because there is a great lesson to be learned. It is our own karma phala. Very hard for us to accept that one. But that is the truth. So, let us pray. O Lord, You are manifest in everything in this world. Sahasra, Sirsha, Purushaha. Simple example. Sirsha means head. That means whenever we see any body, is it only human body? No. Non-human body. When you see a mosquito, who is coming? Narayana, who is coming? A poisonous snake, who is coming? Narayana. Who is telling? Sri Ramakrishna is telling. You see, there is water. Some place it is very clean and pure. Fit for drinking. Somewhere it is not so pure. It is good for cooking. Whatever little impurity is removed in the process of heating and cooking. And there is some water which is good for cleaning the cloths, vessels, etc. There is some water which should never be touched by anybody excepting crocodiles. So, different. But everything is manifestation of Narayana. Apo Narayana. So, everywhere Narayana is there. Every event that is happening by the will of God. So, there is a beautiful saying. Even a leaf will not fall excepting by the will of God. And those who realize, they affirm it, they confirm it. But for us, it is a natural phenomenon. It has become old. It has become yellowed. And the trees are shedding. No, sir. It is happening only by the will of God. Sri Ramakrishna gives a beautiful example. It is a general law of gravitation that the lightning strikes the highest point. If there is a huge building, it should strike first because it is the nearest. And everybody believed it as gospel truth. Sri Ramakrishna, he said, No, I have seen with my own eyes. There was a small hut by the side of a huge building and the lightning struck there. And immediately the modern educated person, he came to defend his view, scientific view. But that is an exception. And Sri Ramakrishna was more rational than any one of us. He said, If there is one exception, that proves that there is nothing called general rule. And it is absolutely true. And earlier, you remember, we had an argument with Mathur Babu. A red colored hibiscus plant can never produce a pure white flower. And the very next day, Sri Ramakrishna saw on the same branch, he cut off the same branch. Otherwise, you would say, You are clever enough, Baba. You have brought from two separate places and then put. No, he brought. Then Mathur Babu said, Accepted. I cannot argue with you anymore. Whether he accepted it or not, we don't know. But he bowed down his head because Prateksha Pramana is there. But the point for us is, everything is happening. Creation came from him. Maintenance means what? How this world has to be run and how different people quarrel. They come together. They quarrel. And then they separate. Countries, not only individuals, come together. They splinter. And then they become enemies. They come to wars. The whole history, according to the West, is what has happened in the past. A narrative of facts that happened. According to Vedanta, it is not history. It is His story. It is the divine will manifesting. Some of the historical philosophers have accepted this view. It is the will of the divine God. That is what we call history. And our Rishis knew about it. And that is what we need to understand. So, Shastir Manushebhya But, human beings cannot live. They have to depend upon so many things. On the clouds, on the rain, on water, on fire, on everything. So many things. So, what is the way? That we depend upon mainly food. Food comes from the plants. Whether directly we eat plants or we consume food indirectly, it doesn't really matter. But it is all coming only from the Sun. Energy, plants, they process the energy directly. We cannot. And so, we have to eat the plants and reconvert it. That is why Bhagawan manifests within the stomach of each person as a digestive power. Aham Aishwanaro Bhootva So, all the plants, what type of plants? That which can remove our, first of all, disease. That which nourishes and endows us with strength. That which purifies even our minds. How? There are some plants like Tulsi, etc. They say, there are marvellous stories that there are some plants if we eat, then it grows. What is called Satvaguna grows. So, the plants must grow. Where? Urdhvam Jigathubheshajam Bheshajam means the medicinal plants. Every plant is a medicinal plant. And they are there for what? As the Upashama, that which brings relief from disease. Makes a person, makes a prani healthy. That is called Bheshajam. Urdhvam Jigathubheshajam. Without any obstruction, let them grow up towards the sun. The better it grows, the better it is stronger. The better it grows, more energy it can absorb and it distributes helplessly or unselfishly to everybody who eats. So, getting eaten by other creatures is also part of the creator's idea. Who is eating whom? He is eating himself in the final sense. Not only that, Shanno Astu Dweepade Dweepada means two-legged. So, even birds, most of the birds have got two legs. And some, what is called, human beings are having two legs. So, any prani that is having two legs, Shanno Astu, may good befall, may God's grace befall upon these two-legged ones. But, what about the four-legged ones? What about hundred-legged ones? You know centipede, we call it. What about it? Everything is included in the next prayer. Sham chatushpate. Chatuh means four. Pada means legs. Four legs. So, every four-legged creature, let it also live a happy life, healthy life. Let it flourish through proper nourishment. But, life is a sacrifice. So many sacrifices are done. And if we can understand that the whole universe has come out of sacrifice and it is being maintained only through sacrifice. And finally, the Maha Yagna, that is, I sacrifice what I used to call me and mine and become one with the Divine. That is called Maha Yagna. And that is beautifully expressed in fourth chapter, twenty-fourth shloka of the Bhagavad Gita. Brahmaarpanam brahmahavi Brahmajnao brahmanahutam Brahmaiva kantavyam Brahma karma samadhinah Brahma karma samadhi What a marvelous thing it is! So, that is Brahma Yagna. And we have to convert our whole life. And what is the first step? That pray that not only me, but every created thing in this world, I would even say, non-living, let the mountains be peaceful. Prithvi shantihi, Dhyahu shantihi, Antarikshan shantihi I will deal, if I remember, in the next class. That is one of the greatest recognition of what is called environmental purity. And for that we have to pray to God. Today, if we are suffering from so many diseases, it is all because we have not only not praying, it is not mere words, but how we live our life, respecting nature is a marvelous subject. I will talk in the next class. So, it is a prayer, O Lord, please grant me, make me a very healthy person, physically, mentally, spiritually, in every way. Let me understand what is the purpose of life. That is to know that I have come from You, I live in You, I go back unto You, I am You. For that purpose, let everything be bestowed with Your grace. Let everything be happy, healthy and useful. Let everybody also become, move towards You in the form of evolution. This is a marvelous prayer. Then, as usual, Om Shanti He, Shanti He, Shanti He. So, everything, there should be three kinds of peace. That means, let there be very less of Adhyatmika Tapa, Adhibhautika Tapa, and Adhidaivika Tapa. Tapa is inevitable, but let it be a helpful Tapa. And there are a few more points, we will talk about it in my next class.