Mandukya Karika Lecture 102 on 10-May-2023
Summary
In the ninth and tenth Karikas of the Mandukya Karika, Gaudapada explains the concept of Advaita (non-duality) and the nature of the Atman (the Self). He uses examples to illustrate the changelessness and indivisibility of the Atman, comparing it to space (Akasha). Gaudapada emphasizes that the Atman is not subject to birth, death, or any changes, just as space cannot be divided or stained. He also states that everything in the world, including the body and mind, is an assemblage (Sanghata) and not the true Self. The world is compared to a dream, where objects appear different but are all created by the mind. Gaudapada concludes that the Atman is pure consciousness and not a product of assemblages or appearances.
In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, there is a section called Madhukanda, which discusses the concept of "Madhu," which means honey. However, in this context, it refers to something marvelous rather than literal honey. The idea conveyed is that everything we experience in the world is like honey to us because it brings us happiness. We may love objects, people, or experiences because they provide us with happiness, but in reality, we love them as instruments for obtaining happiness, which is our true nature.
However, the same person who loves and enjoys objects can become an object of enjoyment for others. Just as a person becomes honey for someone else, they can also become a bhogya vastu (enjoyable object) for others. This is illustrated by the example of a person being pursued by a hungry tiger. In this case, the person becomes the bhogya vastu for the tiger. This concept is further expanded to include the relationship between humans and devatas (gods).
According to the Upanishad, all human beings are devanam pashu, meaning animals or creatures belonging to the gods. The devatas do not want humans to progress spiritually and realize their true nature as the Atman (self), because once a person realizes their identity as the Atman, the devatas lose control over them. Therefore, they try to prevent humans from realizing their true nature by offering various temptations and distractions.
However, if a person seeks liberation (moksha) and practices spiritual disciplines, the devatas will try their best to obstruct them. But once a person attains realization, they become the Atman of the devatas themselves, transcending any control or influence. These realized souls are referred to as jivanmuktas, liberated while living.
The Upanishad also highlights that everyone in the world is both a subject and an object. The world becomes an object of our happiness, and we become objects for others' happiness. In this way, we are pashus (creatures) for the devatas, who do not want to lose us. We become slaves to anything we are dependent upon, whether it is a material object, a season, a stage of life, or even death itself.
Gaudapada, the commentator on the Upanishads, emphasizes that these divisions and identifications are based on ignorance. The Atman is neither a slave nor an object of enjoyment but the underlying reality that makes all experiences possible. Just as we mistakenly identify different stomach sizes with the space within them, we also mistakenly identify the individual self (jeevatma) with various roles and identities. In truth, the Atman remains unchanged and unaffected by these distinctions.
This understanding will be further elaborated in the upcoming classes by Gaudapada, discussing the divisions made from ignorance and emphasizing that the Atman is beyond any roles or identifications.
Full Transcript
We have been studying the explanation of what is Advaita in the third chapter of the Mandukya Karika by Gaudapada.
I will quote the Karika number 9.
maraṇe saṃbhave caiva gatyāgamanayor api
sthitau sarvaśarīreṣu ākāśenāvilakṣaṇaḥ
In this ninth Karika, Gaudapada wants to establish the Atman is Advaitam. One of the characteristics of that which is one is it never changes. Because change always takes place only when something comes into contact with something else. For example, there is metal, and it comes into contact with some wetness, atmosphere, then it becomes rusted. But if there were to be no atmosphere, no dust, no stain, so we can apply this one to every example. Something falls into the food, something stains. For example, a screen can be stained. Always what is the rule? That by itself one cannot be stained and it must be having a second object. Part of this understanding is that it must happen, a first thing must come into contact with a second thing. That means time factor is there. And for both of them to come into contact, Akasha is needed, a third factor is there. And there must be some cause why they come together. That is the fourth factor. There are many other factors. So, everything in this world is what is called different. That difference with difference, every object is different from every other object. Everybody is different from every other body. So, everything is different from everything else and that is why it is called an object and that is why it is subject to change. And that is what is indicated by birth, growth, old age, disease, death, happiness, unhappiness. Everything is changing from one to the other. And Akasha doesn't change. That is the example given whether the Akasha is enclosed by a pot, by a house, by a hall or by whatever, it cannot be divided. Here is another profound point we have to understand. When something is consisting of parts, then only it can be parted. You know we use that expression in English language, two friends parted from each other, husband and wife parted from each other, brother and sister or enemies or any two objects, there must be two, they must be separate. So, this is one part, that is another one part. But that which is part less and Akasha is part less and that is why Akasha, space. Space is what in English language is called emptiness. Emptiness cannot be divided because how are you going to if something is full, you can divide it. Something is empty, how are you going to make it empty? So, this is a marvellous example, we have to deeply meditate even to grasp the idea of emptiness, what is space.
For most people, this idea of space is not understandable. Why? Because there is so much of space inside and outside us. So, it is very important for us, Atman is like that. Earlier he has given Ghatakasha and Mahakasha. Who is telling it? Akasha is not telling. We are telling, we look at the pot and say this is pot space. And we look, when there is no pot, this is Mahakasha, inside outside. No, space cannot be divided. At least keep it as an important statement. Now what happens? Atman is like that. Therefore, for Atman to come and to go, that is called change. Coming and going is part of the understanding called change. Coming and going can happen only in time and in space and with regard to other objects. So, this is the example given. Like Akasha can never be divided, Atma cannot also undergo any change. And that which is changeless, you cannot call Atma is born, Jeevatma is born, Jeevatma is dead. No, Atman is not born, Atman is not dead. Just as pot space is born, though it is not born, we say because of ignorance, as soon as pot is created, pot space is also created. So as soon as we see a body, immediately we say this Atman has entered into this body-mind complex and it is called Jeevatma. That's what Gaudapada wants to say, Marane, whether the body goes out. Because Marana cannot happen to the Atman, it can happen to only body. And not only it can happen, it will happen. Not only it will happen at one particular time of which we take cognizance, like what we call death, every millisecond, everything is changing in this whole world. That is why the very name of the world is Jagat, Gati, continuously moving in a flux like a river. So Sambhava means Janma, Gati, Agamana, Urapi. That is to say, an unborn baby is born, a born baby becomes a child, a child becomes, this is called coming and going and continuous change it means. So, whether we say birth or death or moving about in time, space and causation, but this Atman, Sarvasarireshu Stithaha, called Jeevatma, Akashena Avilakshanaha, it is completely to be understood like the Akasha, that means no coming, no going, no change takes place.
Ekam eva advithiyam
ajo nityaha shashvataha ayam puranaha na hanyamane na hanyate hanyamane sharire
This is what Bhagavan Krishna is condensing and this is what Gaudapada Acharya, who comes much much later than Sri Krishna, is also telling. This is the highest teaching. Even if we may not understand it now, this is the highest truth. Atman in regard to its birth, death, going and coming, that is transmigration and reborn in another and undergoing Shadurmi, sixfold changes and its existence in different bodies. Why is this cited? Because I think your Atma is my Atma is different. We mistakenly identify what we call persona, personality. My personality, your personality are certainly different, but my awareness and your awareness are not two different things. So, this Atman is comparable, similar to the Akasha. Therefore, there is no birth, no death. That means Jeeva is never born. Not only that, body also is never born. That means neither Jeeva is born nor Jagat is born.
Karika 10
saṃghātāḥ svapnavatsarve ātmamāyāvisarjitāḥ
ādhikye sarvasāmye vā nopapattirhi vidyate
That is the point Gaudapada wants to tell. And he is giving another illustration. In my last class, I was trying to explain. In Advaita Vedanta, this word Sanghata has a very special meaning. Sanghata means a number of parts coming together to work. For example, a house is a very common example. There are doors, there are windows, there is a roof, there is a floor, and there are walls, and there are small rooms, big rooms, almirahs, everything is there. So, what is the point? The point is anything that is an assemblage is called Mithya, appearance not having any awareness or consciousness. That is the first point, they are called Jada Vastu. Our body according to Vedanta is a Jada Vastu. Our mind also is a Jada Vastu. But the Atman, your body and mind are different from my body and mind. Your body is an assemblage. My body is an assemblage. Everything in this world is an assemblage. Another example I will give you. A tree, it consists of roots, trunk, branches, leaves, flowers, fruits. Everything is totally different. Why do we say they are different? Because if they are not different, we would have given only one name. But what are we telling? Root, trunk, branch, leaf, blossom, flower, sweet or bitter, green colour, yellow colour. So many names we are giving. That means they are different parts, and they can be separated. Like a house can be separated, like a car can be separated, like a clock can be separated. And anything that consists of parts is not one and it is an object. It is a Jada Vastu. Secondly, everything, every object in this world is called a Sangata. There is nothing which is all by itself a singular. Everything is a combination. And anything that is a combination is not meant for itself but for somebody else. For example, a car which is consisting of so many parts is not meant for the car. No car ever says, I want to go to the mall, I want to buy. Only what is called an aware person, a conscious being alone can take decisions. I want to use my body to go there and to grab it and to eat it or to get rid of it. Get it or get rid of it all this is possible only for a conscious being. And every assemblage is meant only for a conscious being. What is the point? The point is Atman is not a Sangata. Atman is part less like Akasha. Therefore, Atman is only pure consciousness.
And that is what the Gaudapada wants us to understand. So, everything, he gives an example here, Swapnavat. So first let me give the word meaning, then it will become very clear. So, everything in this world is Sangata. And they are like a world created by each one of us in our dream world. And Atma Maya Visarjita, they are all created by our mind, by imaginations. Atma Maya means my own Maya and I create every second. Not only in the dream state, but even in the waking state also, I am creating. Every second, millisecond, billisecond, I am creating my own world. I am creating, that means I am also destroying. The moment my mind moves from one thought to another, all the objects associated with the previous thought are also created before that. And they are maintained for some time and they are kicked out. Visarjita means created. And for that Gaudapada gives an example. But first of all, what happens in the dream world? We go to dream, we create. You enter into a, for example, into a cinema hall. And you will see hundreds of people and everybody is different. The person on the left, person on the right, person in front, person behind, and the people who are working there, the persons who come to visit. Everybody is different from everybody else. And then some people, you know, like VIPs, when a VIP enters, especially in India, when a VIP enters into any town, the whole town is disrupted for several days. Everything is gone. These rascals, they should be shot dead because their only business seems to be to disrupt the normal life of people. Especially if it is like Varanasi, the people visit again and again and again, and Hare Rama, Hare Krishna! So, everything, we see somebody is great, somebody is small, somebody is rich, somebody is poor, somebody is knowledgeable, somebody is ignoramous, in the dream, exactly like our waking state. ādhikye sarvasāmye. Sometimes this whole class is a servant class, this whole class is an officer class, this whole class is a doctor's class, or a women's club. So, like that, in the dream also, we make so much difference. But all those things have been made by whom? By one Atma Maya. What is that called? Nidra Shakti. By our power called Kalpana Shakti, that is called Nidra Shakti, we create all the difference, but like the light which appears on the cinema screen, as different objects, both endowed with life and without life. Same thing happens in the dream also. So Swapnavat, like the dream, Sarve Sangataha, every object is an assemblage, and there is so much of difference between one assemblage and another assemblage, even between two hairs, they say, it is all different. But as soon as we wake up, we say, me, the one, I have not changed. But I have been thinking, this is all my creation.
Similarly this whole world is called Paramatma's dream. And that is, instead of saying Paramatma is dreaming, a lot of questions will come, why should he dream? Can he not be without dream? Can he have bad dreams, nightmares? Yes, he will also have nightmares. When Ravanasura came and kidnapped Sita, it is a nightmare. But we don't call it Bhagawan's dream. We call it Leela. Leela means what? Let me imagine like this and enjoy it. Let me imagine like this and enjoy it. So, he is becoming the hero, he is becoming the villain, he is becoming the heroine also. So, the fight is like the same actor acts a double role, both hero and villain, and then goes on fighting with each other. So, the whole universe, the differences that we see, they are all created by Kalpana Shakti. What does it mean? It means when we wake up, we see there is no reality or the dream. And when we wake up, from this Maya Shakti, called this waking state, because remember, this Jagradha avastha is in a way created by the Divine Lord Himself. Actually no, it is created by each Jeeva separately.
So just for the sake of easier understanding, okay, God created, it is all just like a dream, that means there is no reality. What does it mean? It means Jeeva is never created, Jeevas are never created, Jagat is never created, but we are seeing it. Yes, you are seeing because you are stupid. So, I am using the word stupid, but Vedanta is very polite, it says you are an Agnani, you are a Bala, you are a child sometimes, you are a Mandabuddhi. That is in Mandabuddhi, the direct translation is the bereft of understanding, that is what is called stupid. Okay, this is the meaning of tenth. What is the point? We have to take away, as we call it, everything in this world, including our body-mind, is a Sanghata, is an assemblage, first point. Second point is every assemblage is for the sake of somebody who is conscious. Because every assemblage is an object. An object is bereft of consciousness, and it is always changing and there is so much of difference between not only two objects, but between the same object. Yesterday's rose flower and today's same rose flower are not one and the same. Yesterday's payasam, you keep it outside today, you understand what it is. So, what is the purpose? The purpose is, there is no Jeeva, there is no creation, that's what Gaudapada wants to convey. But we are experiencing it and that experience is because of ignorance and when we get rid of this ignorance, then we don't experience anything. Don't we experience the Atman? No, you don't experience the Atman, because strictly according to Vedanta, experience always takes place between subject and object. When there is no object, subject will disappear. When there is no Jagat, this Jeeva also will disappear. Then who remains? Paramatma. Does he not experience himself? We don't call it experience, simply for our easier understanding, God is Sat. That is what is called Absolute Existence, Absolute Knowledge and Absolute Bliss. That is how Swami Vivekananda had translated it. I hope Gaudapada Karika is making some meaning. Just remember, that temporarily, because of ignorance, we are experiencing all this what is called Jeeva, Jagat, me, I, you, they, it, etc. I am born, and you are born, I am growing, you are growing, I am old, you are old, of course, I am going to die, nobody will say I am dead. Remember, to say I am dead, you should be alive. So, I am going to die, and you are also going to die. That gives me great joy, because I cannot tolerate if I die and you are alive. That is intolerable. So, what is it? Though appearances are there, reality is not there. Again, for that, Advaita Vedanta gives, of course, dream is a best example, and then seeing, or mistaking, or superimposing a snake upon a rope is another example, and seeing a huge body of cool water in summer season is another example, and seeing silver on a seashell is another example, and sometimes seeing beautiful flower garlands in the sky, that is another example. Any number of examples, but the essence is that Brahman is never born, and is not going to be born. But so far as we are concerned, we are born, so, take it as a temporary reality. Temporary reality. That is the idea.
And then, Gaudapada doesn't want simply to say that don't think that I am saying this, and I might be mistaken. No, I am only echoing what the scriptures are telling. Shruti Pramana. That's what he is going to give in the next few Karikas.
Karika number 11.
rasādayo hi ye kośā vyākhyātāstaittirīyake
teṣāmātmā paro jīvaḥ khaṃ yathā saṃprakāśitaḥ
The individual Jeeva, which is nothing other than the non-dual Supreme Brahman, is the Self of the five sheaths, such as the physical, the mental and so on, which have been exhaustively described in the Taittiriya Upanishad, both in the second chapter called Ananda Valli, and much more elaborately in the third chapter called Bhrigu Valli. Valli means a chapter. So, the Supreme, Paramatman, is like the total space, has already been described earlier. teṣāmātmā paro jīvaḥ. Now, a little bit. I will give you the essence so that we can understand it easily. Those who have studied Taittiriya Upanishad, there was a great soul. He was a Brahmavadin. That means he wants to realize Brahman. His name was Bhrigu. And where should he go? He should approach a teacher because this Bhrigu was an Adhikari. Sadhana Chatushtaya Sampanna Adhikari. What did he do? He looked around. Then he said, how blessed I am! I don't need to go anywhere. My own father is the greatest Brahma Jnani. And truly so. Like Maitreyi need not have gone anywhere. Like Holy Mother need not have gone anywhere. Sri Ramakrishna was the Supreme Guru. Yajnavalkya was the Supreme Guru. And here Varuna, the father of Bhrigu, was the Supreme Guru. So, he approached and said, Revered Sir, Bhagavan. Bhagavan means you are God. Bhagavan. So please teach me about Brahman. And then nobody can point out this is Brahman. It is impossible. But we can show like a pointer, like symbols on the wall, where you sign, like signs on the wall. This is the way to toilet. This is the way to such and such, what is called departure gate, etc. So, I will only give you the hints. What did he tell? That from where the entire universe has come and by which the entire universe is being sustained and ultimately the whole universe returned unto which.
yato va imani bhutani jayante yena jatane jivante yat prayanty abhisamvisanthi
So, now you meditate upon it. You can only realize God, or your own true nature, through Tapasya. And Tapasya is the only way. So, Bhrigu got the instructions, Mahavakya. That is why it is called Mahavakya. Where from we are coming? From God. Where are we living? In God. And where are we going to return back? It is only words. We are not going to go to some other place. It is only realizing, all the while, we are Brahman. We were Brahman, we are Brahman, we will be Brahman. But we thought, we are not Brahman. And then this is called temporary madness. And that madness, or Ajnana, will be removed by doing Sadhana, following properly the teachings of Sadguru. And that is what Bhrigu had done. Now, in this third Valli, or chapter, so, every Paramatma, it is wrong to say every Paramatma. Paramatma, when He puts on different dresses, things like when we put on, when we don't have minimum amount of dressing, we are at house. When we put a particular dress, we are players in the playground. When we go to the hospital, putting on a special white coat, and a stethoscope, we will be called doctors or officers. Like that, it is the dress, it is the duty, it is the position, which makes the person being called by different names. But it is the same person.
Like that Paramatma is only one. But for the sake of leading a Sadhaka, an earnest, sincere Sadhaka to that reality, my friend, so, you are thinking, because of your ignorance. And what are you thinking? That I am the body. This identity with this physical body, in which this body, in technical language is called Annamaya Kosha. Annamaya means that which is born from food, made up of food, that is called born from food, and it is sustained by food, and it also becomes food. I dealt with these thoughts elaborately in many classes. I am repeating because repetition is necessary. So, parent from parent's body, which is made up of food. If they don't eat food their bodies will not be sustained. So that food becomes, what is called Jeevakana, the living cell. And that two living cells, combined together, and our body is born. Remember only body is born. The mind and the Karana Sharira, they come from Janma Janmantra. It is only the body which changes frequently. Frequently means every few years. Even 100 years is nothing. So, it is born of food. And whatever is born of whatever, that is sustained only by that something. For example, a golden ornament, can be sustained only by gold. A wooden furniture can be sustained only by wood. So, this body made up of food called Annamaya Kosha. Kosha means that which houses my true self. Everybody's true self. This true self is covered by five dresses called five bodies. What is the outermost dress? This physical body. And then Varuna instructed him, go and think. What do you think? That I am not this Annamaya Kosha. How come? Because whatever I can experience is not me. I am experiencing this body from birth to death. Therefore, I am not the body. That is why everybody says I see this body, I hear this body, I experience this body. So, whatever we experience is not the experiencer. That is the most fundamental Advaita Vedantic principle. Therefore, since I am experiencing the physical body all the time, I am not the physical body. I am the witness of the subject of the physical body. So, I, the subject is the Atma, and whatever I am experiencing is the object.
And then Bhrigu, after understanding this comes and tells, but something tells me this realization is not complete, teach me further. And then again Varuna says, go and do Tapasya. And then it made Bhrigu think and he went and did Tapasya. He said, no, what is it that really rules the body? Prana. And then, immediately he says, I am Prana. Prana becomes the Atma, and Annamaya Kosha body becomes Anatma. And then, after some time, he does more Tapasya. Then he says no, what is it that controls the Prana? The mind, the thoughts. That is why when you hear your favourite, what is called cinema is coming or your favourite actor is acting, even if you are feeling like dead, then you want to go and see it as soon as possible. So, a cricket lover as soon as he hears and he wants to sleep only, but he comes out to life. Somebody comes at 12 o'clock, I brought some Rasagullas for you. And immediately even a dead body will wake up, eat and becomes dead again. Literally, that is what we are having. It may take some time. That is what is happening, going to happen. So, this Bhrigu did Tapasya knows what controls the Prana is the thoughts. That is called mind. That is called Manomaya Kosha. I am the Manomaya Kosha, and then I am controlling this Pranamaya Kosha. So, when Bhrigu identified himself with the Pranamaya Kosha, Pranamaya Kosha became his Atma, that is, I am Pranamaya Kosha. Body became an object. When the same Bhrigu progressed further and identified himself with the mind, and then the Pranamaya Kosha becomes the object, Manomaya Kosha becomes the Atma, and he went further. Then what controls the mind is firm decision, a strong will, a great strong desire, that is called Vijnanamaya Kosha. So, when he identified with Vijnanamaya Kosha, all the other Koshas become objects, especially the Manomaya Kosha. Then what is the Atman? He thinks that I am the Vijnanamaya Kosha. Then he finds a defect in it. And then he moves further through Tapasya. He comes Anandamaya Kosha. That is, he is being said Rasadaya means Anandamaya Kosha Dhyaha. So, that Anandamaya Kosha. At first he is happy, I am Anandamaya Kosha. Then he finds that again he will wake up. That is why the deep sleep, Sushupti Avastha is called Anandamaya Kosha. You know that. That is Annamaya Kosha. It is Jagrat Avastha, Sthula Sharira. Anandamaya Kosha is compared to the Sushupti Avastha or Pragnya. And in between the three that comes, Pranamaya, Manomaya, Prana, Manas and Vijnanamaya forms the Sukshma Sharira. So, when you are identifying with Sukshma Sharira, then gross body becomes object and Sukshma Sharira becomes the Atma. When the person goes into Sushupti he identifies himself as the Atman, that is Anandamaya Kosha. And both the gross and subtle bodies become the objects. But then he falls down as it were by waking up. Then he says, this is also not complete. That is why I experience the Anandamaya Kosha. That is why it is called Kosha. Then, what is Kosha? Kosha means a sheet. What is this sheet housing? Ananda. I am not Anandamaya Kosha. I am Ananda. I am Ananda Swaroopa, Sat Chit Ananda. That Ananda is called the Atma. That is what, as an authority for what I am telling I am quoting from the scripture, Shrutis, and this is the quotation from the Taittiriya Upanishad. That is what Gaudapada is referring to in this eleventh mantra. Rasadaiyohi e Kosha, those Koshas, Pancha Koshas, like Anandamaya Kosha, Taittiriya Upanishad, Yakhyatha, so beautifully elaborated and commented upon, Tesham Atma. So, the Koshas are not the Atma, but he who is using those Koshas, identifying with them, and then experiencing the good and bad, the happiness and unhappiness, and he is Paraha. Para means separate, that Jeeva. That Jeeva means until now, whichever Kosha he is identifying, he is entitled as Jeeva. The moment he says I am the experiencer of all the five Koshas, or I am the experiencer of what is called Avasthatraya, waking, dream and dreamless. Then I know, I am separate from this Sthula Sharira, Sukshma Sharira, Karana Sharira. So Atma Paro Jeevaha, and how Kamyatha Sanprakashithaha, so it is like this space, as we have described, whether you create pot space, etc. The space is indivisible, and thoughts come and go, but Akasha is permanent. Atman is permanent. Bodies come and go. Only in this state of ignorance, we identify ourselves with whichever body we are. Look at this one. When I was a baby, what was I telling? Who are you? I am a child. When I become a young man, oh, I am a young man. When I become old age, I am an old person. So, tell me, why are you changing your words? Three times I asked you, and three different replies. You must be really mad. Yes, yes, I am a mad man. So, this madness is called Agnana. So, whoever is telling, I am the Sukshma Sharira, that is called madness. But I am the experiencer of the Sukshma Sharira, Sthula Sharira, Karana Sharira, that is called Paramatma.
Gaudapada gives a very funny example. This Akasha, supposing you imagine ten people are there. One is like Bhima Sena and another is like that Sudama. So, they have stomachs. Sudama's stomach, what Akasha? Dina Akasha, Garib Akasha, because it is a small stomach. Bhima's stomach, big Akasha. So big Akasha, medium sized Akasha, small Akasha and all these differences are made. Does it make any difference in the Akasha? No. Stomach is big. So, we call it stomach Akasha. Bhima's stomach Akasha. Why do we call it Bhima Akasha? Because I think, I suspect, he is mostly identified only with the stomach. The whole cart load of food meant for Bakkasura had finished. And then the more he was eating, the more ravenously hungry he was becoming. You have to understand that. So, all those people were identified with the stomachs. That is why after eating so many Tirupati Laddus, you don't find any Bakka Asura in the Tirupati priesthood. In any priesthood, huge stomachs are hanging out. Swami Vivekananda used to say, once he gave a very marvellous talk and then, all about God Realization. And somebody asked him, Swami, are you a God Realized soul? By that time his stomach is walking in front of him at least two feet. So, he looked at his stomach and said, do I look like a Realized soul? He evaded the question. But what is meant is, that we only see, every person is identified only with this physical body. What is beauty? Physical body. What is celebrity? Physical body. If there is no body, who is the celebrity? Without body, there is no celebrity, there is no bad person, there is no good person. It is only body related.
So, this is what he is telling, that we are all like the Akasha. And this Akasha, may be different in a child's stomach, a young man's stomach, in a diseased person's stomach, in Bhima Sena's stomach, Bakkasura's stomach. Akasha doesn't differ. It is only the Koshas, that is called the stomachs. From the stomach point of view, big Akasha, small Akasha, big pot space, small pot space, etc. So, Gaudapada is giving, that every Kosha is what is called Anatma. He who is experiencing that pure consciousness, like Akasha, is the only Atman. That means it cannot be divided, etc. etc. Then, he is further quoting, from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, in the 12th Karika.
dvayordvayormadhujñāne paraṃ brahma prakāśitam
pṛthivyāmudare caiva yathākāśaḥ prakāśitaḥ
So, this is what is called, I forestalled, by telling about this Udara that comes in this 12th Karika. There are four chapters in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. In the second chapter, there are so many sections, and the fifth section is called Madhukanda. Madhu means honey, but it has nothing to do with honey. But what is meant is a marvellous thing. Everybody is a Madhu for everybody else. That is to say that when I see a first-class honey, then that honey becomes really honey. When a young man sees a young woman what does he call her? Honey. And when the same fellow, after many years of marriage forgets her name, what does he call her? Honey. So, some fellow was surprised, you still call your wife honey? Yes, yes, because I forgot her name long back. What is meant is whatever we experience that is called honey. So, I love honey. I love sweet. I love any object. Shabda sparsha roopa rasa gandha. Whatever gives me happiness I love it. Really I don't love the object. I love the object because that becomes an instrument for me to obtain happiness which is my own nature. But the point here is that when the same person, after eating nicely, and he becomes madhu himself, and aspired by a hungry tiger what does this fellow become? He becomes a madhu, a bhogya vastu, for the tiger. That is why there is a beautiful, marvellous discussion. I cannot describe how wonderful it is. That is, every human being is devanam pashu. This is the first statement. That is, no devata wants any human being to become progressing in spiritual life and know that I am the atman. Because, once a person comes to know I am the atman, the devatas will have absolutely no control over that fellow. It is a beautiful discussion. But then, devanam pashu. Pashu means an animal. The example is given. Suppose there is a man. He has got ten cows. And one cow is gone missing. Then, he will be searching for that one cow. Why? Not because he loves the cow. Because it gives such a beautiful, sweet milk. And that cow he does not want to miss. Anything that gives us happiness we do not want to miss. If wives are giving happiness they should not be missed. If husbands are giving happiness they should not be missed. But you have to understand the opposite also. So, if they are not giving happiness they should be deliberately missed. So, that is the understanding. Like that, every human being, he becomes a pashu. Like a cow, like a goat, like any other animal, or like even a servant. If you have got a first class cook, and your rich neighbour comes to know that his cook is a horrible cook and your cook is a most marvellous cook. Secretly he will make a double or triple salary and then he will steal. One company steals other people's office workers and even their secrets also. This is the open secret. So, like that if we miss anybody who is contributing for our happiness that object is called a pashu. And if we miss even one pashu we become highly unhappy, agitated, want to go in search of that pasuhu. Similarly, all human beings are pashus because they offer pujas, they offer sthuthis, they offer pilgrimages. They offer pujas, they do everything for the devatas. And then you are Indra, you are Chandra, they want to hear it all the time. They are not also free. So, they don't want to lose you. And how do they lose you? Because, when you say I am Paramatma, these devatas become like pashus for Paramatma. We are like pashus, our pashus, we have pashus, and they are pashus for us. We are pashus for the devatas, and devatas are pashus for God. Sarve Devaah Balimavahanti.
So, this is what is said in one of the Upanishads. So, like that, it is given that the whole world, everybody in this world is both subject and an object. The whole world is the object for my happiness. Then I am able to experience it. And when the world is able to experience me I become an object. And that object, as just now I mentioned, is called a pashu. Pashu means, a means, an instrument, of one's own benefit. Some laba is there. So, in the beginning the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says in some other place that all manushyas are devata naam pashu. This is among the animals. So, devatas don't want, they put obstructions, they will give you more salary, they will construct a house, they will send you Rambha, Urvashi, Tilottama. So, don't go on offering for us. But if somebody says these are all I have seen, I am not satisfied, I want to become mukta, free, from this pashrutva. Therefore, I want to practice, pray, then they will try their level best. But once a person realizes that person will not be, they will not be able to do, because he becomes. You know what a realized soul becomes? From devata naam pashu, he has become devanaam atma. So, their own atma. Nobody can hurt, harm, or become, transcend their own atma. So, all these jeevan muktas, they become atmas of the devatas themselves. Devatas are still ignorant people, because they are in samsara. They are like upper class people. They may be enjoying but they are bound souls only. Now what is said in this 12th Karika. There is the 2nd chapter, 5th section is called madhu brahmana. Every section is called brahmana. This is called madhu brahmana. That is to say every object in this world is madhu to every object in this world. And surprisingly, we are not only deva naam pashu, we are manushya naam pashu, we are pashu naam pashu, we are bhogya vastus, including for the mosquito we are the bhogya vastu, including for our cows. Because as soon as the cow comes what do you do? You fellow, you go there and then pour water for them, rub their backs, massage their backs, and protect them, and see that they are okay, and then they are being served by you. So, every object in this world becomes one's own bhogya vastu, enjoyable object. And so we also become enjoyable objects for the servants also. How? Because we don't want to lose the servants. Why? Because we are dependent upon them. And whenever we are dependent upon anything, immediately we become slaves for that particular object. So, if I like a sweet, I am a slave of the sweet. Who rules over me? That sweet. So, every human being, every being, prani, both become a bhogya kartha, bhogta, and also bhogya. That means we are pashus in every way, all the time, for everybody else. We are pashus for the, what is called, summer season, winter season, rainy season, every season. We are pashus for the childhood, youth, we are slaves to the youth, we are slaves to the old age, we are slaves even to death. There is nobody who is free. This marvellous idea not only we are devanam pashu, but we are pashus. That means bhogya vastu, enjoyable objects for everybody is beautifully enlarged in this madhu brahmanam. So, Gaudapada is telling there are two things are there, the adhyatmika, adhidaivika, the jeevatma, paramatma, and many examples of many pairs are given which we will talk in our next class.
But what is important is, that all these are divisions made purely from ajnana. The atman is not a slave to anybody. It is neither the bhogta, nor the bhogya, but that which makes this possible. And that is what he wants to say by quoting. And as I mentioned earlier that there are different sized stomachs, and we say this person's stomach is big. That means the akasha in his stomach is big and the baby's stomach is very small, and because of some disease it is shrunk. Therefore, the akasha in this particular sick child's stomach is very small. Small stomach, big stomach, medium sized stomach, infinite number of sized stomachs, all these we are identifying with the akasha, which is totally an ignorant thing to do. Like that we are making the same mistake with regard to the Atma. This jeevatma is a small servant, this jeevatma is a master, this jeevatma is a scientist, this jeevatma is a doctor. Actually speaking it has nothing to do with the atman. Atman is exactly the same thing. It is a marvellous idea. I would like to elaborate a little bit, and in our next class I will do it.