Svetasvatara Upanishad Lecture 34 on 25 June 2023

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

We have been talking about how to obtain this knowledge, where from to get this knowledge and what would be the result. This is beautifully explained in the mantra number 6, the 5th chapter of the Shwetashvatara Upanishad. TAD VEDA UHYA UPANISHAD SU GODAM TAD BRAHMA VEDA TE BRAHMA YONIM E PURVAM DEVA RISHAYASCHA TAD VEDOHU TE TAMAYA AMRUTAHAVAI BABHO OHU This truth about God is hidden, deeply hidden in the Upanishads and the Upanishad is also deeply hidden in the Vedas. But how did it come? How did it manifest itself? Bhagawan, that is Brahman, interchangeably we have to use the word God, Bhagawan, Creator, Brahman, etc. or Ishwara. So that Bhagawan, what did He do? He created Brahma and He also taught everything to Brahma. And what does Brahma mean? Creator is one meaning, Vedas is another meaning. This is not Brahma, this is Dheergha Brahma, Creator. Brahma means Nirpuna, Nirakara, Nirvisesha, Advaita, Brahma. But if it is Dheergha, Akara, Brahma, that means He is the source, He is what we call Ishwara. What we call Ishwara in Advaita Vedanta is roughly calculated to be Narayana. And what we call Hiranyagarbha is again roughly equated with Brahma. So this Brahma is also called Padmanabha, Navi Kamala. From the navel of Narayana He came. Simply to indicate He is the first manifestation of Saguna Brahma called Ishwara. And He started creating. Now I want to discuss two very important points with regard to this. But I will come to that in a second. Ae Poorvam, this knowledge had been coming to us through Guru Parampara. How do we know? Because in the Mundaka Upanishad the very first mantra says that Brahma is the first person who obtained this knowledge and he passed it to his disciples Atharvana etc. So we know that through Guru Parampara unbroken through Gaudapadacharya, Govindapadacharya, then Shankaracharya, then Totapuri, then Sri Ramakrishna, then Swami Vekananda, Swami Brahmananda etc. etc. This unbroken Guru Sampradaya through that the knowledge is passing. And what about this is from the Advaita point of view. What about the others Narayana? Narayana has passed it on to through His incarnations like Garuda etc. through Ramanujacharya or through Madhvacharya etc. etc. They may slightly differ from our manifestation from Advaitic viewpoint. The goal is the same. The sadhana is the same. It is only the philosophical, the intellectual wranglings. That is where because the sannyasins had lot of time. Scholars also had lot of time. So they started to pass their time uselessly. That is why Sri Ramakrishna did not like. Very simple words he had used. Now what is important? The first point I wanted to convey that this Guru Parampara system is very important. And as a corollary it is important. Don't study any of these scriptures independently. Whether you are following Dvaita, Visishta Dvaita or Advaita. It doesn't really matter. But follow somebody in whom you have faith. And follow that what the Guru told you. Acharya had told you. So with Shraddha we all reach the same goal. That is being said. Devas means what? People like Indra, Agni, Vayu. That we get mentioned in the Kena Upanishad. Innumerable Rishis. Not only in Hinduism. In Islam. In Christianity. In Buddhism. In Sikhism. In Jainism. In Judaism. In Avarism. Thousands and thousands and thousands of realized souls are there. But really a great soul has no time to quarrel with. Because he doesn't have Ahamkara. Any quarrel comes only because of Ahamkara. That is being explained later on. But what I wanted to tell you is if somebody follows this Sampradaya, prays wholeheartedly, practices all the qualities required, then they will obtain Atma Jnanam, Brahma Jnanam. Tat Viduhu. Tat means Brahman. Viduhu. What is the form of the knowledge? Aham Brahmasmi. Even if the dualists, the Sista Advaitins, Advaitins may say out of either ignorance or Ahamkara that they don't believe in Nirguna Brahma. It doesn't really matter. Because Ishwara, who knows a person, is very sincere. He has devoted his whole life. He will not withhold the highest from him. Like a mother never withholds even the very scarce sweet. Even if she gets, my child doesn't know. If I don't give it to him, if I swallow it myself, he will not know. I am happy, he is happy. No ordinary mother even will think like that. What to speak about Ishwara, who is Sarva Matru Bhava. All the motherly feelings combined together. So, Tat Viduhu. What do they become? Tanmayaha. They have forgotten their individuality and became one with Brahman. As a result, Amrutaha Babuhu. Tanmayaha Babuhu. Amrutaha Babuhu. Why means certainly, without the least bit of doubt. Now, two points I wanted to tell. We are talking Brahma, creator. But actually we have to understand, not as an individual, but knowledge. Even a creator, a potter, can create a pot, only through knowledge. A carpenter, through knowledge. A goldsmith, through knowledge. A computer scientist, through knowledge. Einstein, through knowledge. A poet, through knowledge. So, Brahma means knowledge. And that knowledge is called Veda. Veda means, in fact, yesterday I gave the definition, that knowledge which cannot be obtained by the ordinary means, that means five sense organs, is obtainable only through the Vedas. Veda means, Athi Indriya Jnanam. Knowledge beyond the sense organs. So, that is what we have to understand. This is the first point. Let us not identify. There is an individual sitting there. He has got four heads. And how many hands he has got, God alone knows. Because if he has got, his heads are aching. Our two hands are not enough to scratch our heads. And if he has got four heads, and Bhagavan Vishnu is having Sahasrara Sirsha, then imagine, how much problem they will have. These are all for the sake of Upasana, not to be taken literally. What is the point? There is no individual. Knowledge produces knowledge. Creation is knowledge. Creator is also knowledge. That is what we need to understand. What is the second point? Who is the creator of the Vedas? Really not creator. God's other form is knowledge. Just as I said, Brahma is knowledge. Knowledge is Brahma. So, Brahman is knowledge. Knowledge is Brahman. And that knowledge is there in the form of the four Vedas. Vedas are what is called Anadi. Anadi means beginningless. Then, in some scriptures we say, how do some scriptures talk about, in the same breath, Vedas are beginningless, but God created the Vedas. It is just like Samsara. Samsara is Anadi. And Brahma starts somewhere. That is, only he manifests. Not that there is a new creation, but that which is unmanifested state, now becomes manifested. This is the meaning of creation. So, why should we believe in these scriptures? Because they are none other than God himself. That is what, yesterday we saw the definition of the Veda, Pratyakshena Anumityava. Pratyaksha means direct experience. Anumitya means through inference. And all inferences are dependent only upon Pratyaksha Anumana. Yastu Upayaha Navidhyate. There is no way we are going to get that eternal knowledge, through temporary instruments, non-eternal instruments. Navidhyate, impossible to obtain. Evam, therefore, is there any way? Yes. Vidhante Vedena. There is another way. Just to look at the scriptures, and then we also come to know. For example, this Svetashvatara Upanishad, not to speak of all the other Upanishads, we have already completed. This Svetashvatara is conveying. What is it conveying? Other than God, nothing exists. What is this world? That is also God. Who am I? You are part of the world. And so, if the whole world is Brahman, you are also none other than Brahman. What about my body? That is also Brahman. What about my mind? That is also Brahman. How do you say so many bodies, so many minds? Well, you, the one maker, is capable of creating so many universes with innumerable people. Akhanda, Anantakoti, Brahmanda. In your dream, because in your dream also, you can be a great scientist, astronomer, and you have the knowledge. There are billions and billions and billions of galaxies, and we don't know whether there are other earth-like and other human beings somewhere. We don't know, much less those who are in the Svarga, Naraka, etc. So, Brahma Sutras is to reconcile all the seemingly contradictory statements we obtain in the Upanishads, different Upanishads. The contradiction is not in the meaning. Contradiction is because of the language used. And the language used depends upon the times of the Rishi and the type of disciples and in which culture he has done, etc. etc. We have to understand. So, the first Sutra, the first four Sutras, that is why the whole Samadhiya, this same chapter, containing these four, all that Samanvaya Adhyaya. The first chapter, of course, tells us that you have done enough of Samsara. There is not even some Sara in Samsara. It is Nisara. But you are searching for Sara and that Sara is obtainable only in the Upanishads. So, turn to the Upanishads, otherwise called Shastras. Believe in them. And as a beginning, as a hypothesis, later on, as you progress, your own realizations confirm the truthfulness of the Vedic statements. That comes later on. By the way, Swami Saradhanandaji tells us the incarnation of Sri Ramakrishna is because people of these days, us, have lost faith in the Vedas, Upanishads, scriptures in general. So, Sri Ramakrishna wanted to be born as an illiterate, lest some psychologists may find fault and say, Oh, you have studied and you are imagining they are real, like we imagine some Buddha, etc. and get affected. Your brain is also affected. There is no truth to it. That is why, specifically, as a person who never went to any school, and that should not be an ideal for us, because the first person to be affected, if you take that policy, is me. So, Sri Ramakrishna deliberately avoided formal academic education, so that through wholehearted prayer, he can prove everything that is written in these scriptures is absolutely true. Just to recollect, the first time Sri Ramakrishna did sadhana is without the help of any scripture, any guru, any external help. How did he do? Through intense prayer, completely surrendering himself to the Divine Mother. Okay. Later on, he adopted scriptures, gurus, implements, materials, etc. But that is for the sake of ordinary people also again. Now, coming back, the first Brahma Sutra tells us Atha Now, that means what? You have done whatever the first part of the Veda has told. And if you have done it properly, your heart should have been purified. You must have become an Adhikari, a fit person, to go to the next part of the Vedas, which is called Jnana Kandam. So sadhana, Chatursthaya, Sampatti has been obtained. You have become an Adhikari. Now alone, so Atha Now. And then, what should be done? Make an enquiry, Atha. So, you make an enquiry into the Brahman. Who is Brahman? Who is me? What is the relationship between me and Brahman? That is the first Sutra. I am only telling very briefly, but this is the absolute essence. Second Sutra tells, Janma Adhyase Athaha The whole creation has come from him. And Veda Vyasa doesn't indicate to us that what is the basis of his Sutra, because they are all based upon the Upanishads. This particular second Sutra, that Janma Adhi, creation etc. etc. means creation, sustenance, and dissolution. All the three are included. Everything in the world is subject to these three. Janma, and then Sat, sometime, living, Ayu, and then Prithyu. Shraddh. In fact, we say Shraddh Vikara. Sixfold changes. But these three include all the other six. Birth, and sustenance. Creation, sustenance, and dissolution means death. So, from whom the entire universe has been coming again, and again, and again, and again, and again. Yathaha, from whom? From whom? This Sutra is based mainly upon the third chapter of the Taittiriya Upanishad, called Bhrigu Valli. There was a young spiritual aspirant. He was the son of a Brahmagnani, which proves to go, householders also can become Brahmagnanis. They do their duties, but they are Brahmagnanis. No, it's a Brahma. And the father tells, From whom the entire universe creation had come out, in whom it lives and is sustained, and unto whom again everything returns, that cause from whom the effect has become manifest and stays for some time and goes back into the unmanifest, that is Brahman. Through Tapasya, deep thinking, that is called Tapasya. Seek that Brahman. This is the verse. Then a third one says, That is, two meanings are given. That is, who is talking about God? Scriptures are talking about God. But who created the scriptures? God has created the scriptures. The scriptures tell us about God. That is the first meaning. God alone is manifesting in the form of the scriptures. This is the second meaning. That word, Yoni, is a very beautiful word and which is samasa to use. That depends upon it. So, Shastra Yoni means Brahman's origin, Brahman's existence is proved because of the scriptures. That is one meaning, Yoni. Scriptures are the real teaching cause of our belief in God, etc. Because we come to know that God exists. He is having this nature and we are all coming from Him and we go back to Him. So, all this information we can't get through science. Science tells nature. Nature is blind and scientists themselves contradict themselves saying that nature is blind. Blind means God is unconscious. So, from unconscious nature, the entire conscious living beings have come out. Stupid fellows don't seem to understand what they are talking about. Whatever is potentially not there is never going to come out. It is impossible for it. Anyway, that is the first meaning we come to know. But then, the other meaning is God is the Yoni of the scriptures. God is the creator of the scriptures, the revealer of the truths. Scripture means truth. So, what I wanted to tell you that it is very difficult. We have no other choice. But then, we have a choice. What is the choice? Suppose, I am not learned. I don't know about Vedas or I don't know Bible. I don't know Tripitaka. I don't know all the scriptures of other religions. But don't worry. There will be, find out a saintly person. Observe his life. And if he is leading a pure spiritual life, then he is following only the scriptures. And whatever he says will not contradict the scriptures. We may not know the scriptures. So, the greatest example is teachings of Sairam Krishna. Don't worry if you have not studied Gita or this or that. Simply follow and Saral Kothai Shekhali. Very simple words. Simple language. And even the linguistic usage of Sairam Krishna is highly appreciated by not only Swami Vivekananda but all the contemporaries. That it is something like American English. British English is a Queen's English, King's English, bombastic language. Whereas Americans want to come directly to the point. What the hell! They don't use it. Do you want to say? So, their text books are ideal text books. We are going to teach you physics. What is physics? How do we know? They will not waste one millisecond of your time running here and there. Running, what they call beating about the bush. Beating the bush is possible also. Somebody beat the bush also. Somebody remarked once bush becomes the president so anybody could beat him because he was such a bad fellow. Anyway, beating about the bush means going round and round and round which is called tangled meanings. No, straight away. What did Saral Krishna teach? God exists and God is the only goal of life and God has also arranged the pathways and therefore Bhakti, Karma, Jnana, Yoga follow any one of them a combination of them and God will not see which path you are following. He will only see how sincere you are and you will be taken to that. So, what I wanted to say very important Brahma is not an individual. He is nothing but a manifestation of knowledge. Similarly, God also Sathyam, Jnanam, Anantam, Brahma. So, from him, about him we come to know from the scriptures because the scriptures have been created by God only. So, this is what I wanted to add. What we have studied yesterday, there were many people thousands of people, that is what Kabir Das moans goes on complaining Kahata Kabira, Suno bhai sadho, Para utar gaye, Sant janare. There is a beautiful song by Kabir Das starts with Beetu gaye din, bhajana binare Your whole life has been wasted in not thinking about God. Bhajana means not singing, in not thinking about God, in not transforming your life into a spiritual life. And in three beautiful Dohas, and the last Doha says and this is the signature of the poet. Kahata Kabira means composed by Veera. Tyagaraja Vinata means composed by Tyagaraja. Purandara Vithala composed by Purandara Dasa and nothing to do with Vithala. So, you have to be very careful about it. But, it is all coming because of Vithala only. So, the signature is there. Kahata Kabira Suno bhai sadho Listen, who? Not Tom, Dick and Harry Bhai sadho The brothers sadhos spiritual aspirants and beautiful word Sadho means what? A person who is a gentleman Who is a gentleman? Not who dresses properly Not who speaks impeccable language, whichever language it is and speaks so beautifully for hours together He is not a gentleman. A person who is gentle, who is truthful who follows dharmic life and he has firm faith in God He will never harm, hurt lie to anybody who will sacrifice his all for the sake of serving God in the form of other human beings. He is a perfect gentleman That is why Swami Brahmanandaji very often used to say when sadhakas approach Swami Brahmanandaji he used to say they approach him for some spiritual instructions. What does he do? He simply says first be a gentleman learn how to be a gentleman. A perfect gentleman is one whom anybody can trust even animals also trust first to become like that then only the next step is to become spiritual So there were so many people that is sufficient proof and what is the other proof? If we are fortunate to come across even a little bit advanced spiritual sadhaka then we can see in him he is not affected by what? Sita and Vishna cold and heat mana and apamana respect or reverence or insult by gain and loss by somebody insults him somebody praises him no not at all does it help me to move towards God or does it obstruct me? That is the only criteria This is what I wanted to tell Now we will move on to the next mantra Now until now in this fifth chapter this was describing the nature of Brahman beginning with the very first mantra of this fifth chapter earlier chapters also that is called tat padartha shodhana deep enquiry about the nature of Brahman and now tvam padartha shodhana directly until the end of this fifth chapter which has got fourteen mantras that means eight mantras seven to fourteen mantras the nature of Jeeva and we are all very familiar with this Jeeva so what is the Jeevatma once I will give you a short summary and then it will be easier for us to move forward first of all let us say I am born I am born in a particular family and I am born with certain what is called samskaras I am born with a particular body, particular parents particular class particular health and three things affect me all because of my purva janma karma phala what is the first thing jati jati means in which species I am born human species, dog species because if some just imagine somebody is married and whole life is barking like a dog towards his parents, towards his family, towards his children towards the neighbours you will see so many dogs if somebody is keeping one dog usually you will have to say there are two dogs living there because they become like dogs only, the way they bend down and kiss the dog and all those things, I don't want to go into the description you know better than me what is important here that according to why am I born here because of what I did and I have to experience the results of what I did and as a result of it I will have to get an appropriate body completely 100% suitable for the experience of what I need to experience Sukha or Dukha and it could be, best body could be a bull, a donkey a horse, a mosquito etc. I remember I hope you remember my joke there were some devotees initiated devotees of Sri Ram Krishna and whenever they visit the ashrama, they go on gossiping and they go on criticising other people, they do that at home in the streets everywhere they do it, ashrama they are samadarshis they don't see any difference between ashrama and other places they do the same thing they just go and pay their respects to Thakur, after that they start their own business so a devotee who observed this asked one of our senior Swamis, Swami how come they are initiated, they are human beings they are devotees and they come here and they go on criticising other people, finding fault Swami replied beautifully see, these fellows in their past were mosquitoes and Sri Ram Krishna's time, he had no attached bathroom, much less mosquito repellent, so he used to go to what you call pine grove and there he used to do what is called answering the calls of nature etc. and come back whether it is shining, raining or whatever it is now, these mosquitoes had a grand opportunity to become devotees of, he was a saint, especially most of the time he used to be in samadhi so they will go on sucking his blood to their heart's content and they give the greatest certificate because he never lifts his hand to drive them away, if there is any holy man on earth, this is the holiest man on earth, so as a result of drinking Sri Ram Krishna's blood they became devotees but their mosquito nature abiding each other that has not come and so samskara, both samskaras mosquito samskara and man's samskara both are being manifested side by side, anyway what am I trying to convey to you they are all chati, second is ayu, how long are we going to be, very important for every devotee to believe in the scripture that we are born at a particular time fixed by us, it is like buying a return ticket and then we have to return until we attain mufti, so to the very second time is calculated, Yamadharma Raja has the barcode, he knows that the shelf life is over he will come and just pull us he has got a magnetic barcode reader and it will take us like Satyavan so life has been taken out by Yamadharma Raja now what is the point and then the amount of sukha, dukha that we obtain is all because of one's prarabdha karma and that has to be exhausted karma has to be done through body, mind and the world karma has to be exhausted through the body, mind and through the world so to put it in short sentences, we are all born in a particular place, particular society to exhaust each other's karma, husband's karma by the wife wife's karma by the husband, children's karma by the parents, parent's karma by the children etc. so if anybody believes accidentally somebody died or through covid or whatever people died, that means that person has not understood anything about life when a person is being is born, when the person is being is going to die completely fixed it has nothing to do exceptional cases are there where by the grace of a great spiritual personality for some time death can be postponed but can never be avoided how does a person postpone? because he will take the karma that needs to be exhausted by this person into himself, he will suffer but he will give what you call an opportunity for this person with this short background let us proceed on, so what is the nature of the jiva? extremely easy with the background that we have discussed so endowed with qualities, he the jiva is the performer of actions that lead to results and he himself becomes the enjoyer of their results he has many forms, he has three qualities and he has the choice of three paths, he is the master of the vital force and moves due to his own actions, a little bit details will come so the whole universe is the result of prakriti, prakriti's nature is what? three gunas, sattva, rajas and tamas I explained also yesterday, anything that we see in this world, a dog can be a sattvika dog, a rajasika dog, a tamasika dog, you kick it and it will not even open its eyes sattvika dog so soulful eye that if it looks at you you just melt like ice cream in the hot summer day and become a slave forever to that there are some breeds of dogs are like that, so we can be slaves to anything like that so endowed with the gunas, how many gunas? sattva, rajas and same thing it is said later on so so we are experiencing through birth through growth, through schooling etc. the results of what we did but who is responsible? this jiva phala karma karta he is the agent because of what he did in the past, now he is experiencing phala karma means karma phala in the form of the karma phalas and that is reinforced in the second half of the line kritasya, whatever this jiva had done that means in the past as a result of that karma that person alone, not anybody else, upabhokta he is the enjoyer, now I want to insert, bhokta means enjoyer but what Sanskrit bhokta means what we understand English language as enjoyer is no correlation bhokta means more appropriate experiencer not enjoyer only a saint will enjoy whether let it be happiness, let it be suffering, he will enjoy it in his case that is just like watching a cinema, he watches his own life as a cinema but all of us we are deeply enmeshed in this body mind complex so BM complex see BMC body mind complex and chaitanya that is enmeshed in BMC is called jivatma it is not really enmeshed appears to be enmeshed just like oil and water do not mix together, so jivatma, chaitanya can never mix with the body mind bodies change all the time changing, our minds also change but chaitanya will be eternal sakshi all the time so he alone, jiva alone whatever activities he had actions he had done in the past are doing now, that will be rectifying in the future called agami bhokta means he is the experiencer so vishwaroopaha means vishwa means many many many many forms perhaps in the same life also, first he is a child, then he is a first he is a baby then he is a child, he is an adolescent he is a youth, middle aged person, old age and then very old and then dead person, these are all vishwaroopas and when he is some unfortunate event happens, he is disappointed he is distressed he is disconsolate or he is a very happy person, he is a fulfilled person these are all different roopas, that is called vishwaroopa and again it is the idea, tri gunaha endowed with gunas and what does he do, he has got three choices, three parthma, parthma means path, three paths a popular interpretation is karma yoga bhakti yoga jnana yoga, three paths what about raja yoga because raja yoga is a part of bhakti yoga, karma yoga, jnana yoga, that yoga is there yoga means practical way of leading one's own faculty that is called yoga actually, so it is all included there, tri vartma he has got these three pathways and again it is also interpreted that first every human being will be in tamasic dominant will be more tamasic, in fact every baby is a tamasic like kumbhakarna what is the job of kumbhakarna, eating and sleeping that's all, nothing else, so every baby that is the appropriate thing for a baby, it is a good movement, sa guna for the, very good guna for the baby, but if a grown up person wants to do the same thing that's not good, this is the one, then slowly he progresses towards raja guna and then he takes up various activities, enjoys suffers and becomes wiser and after 84 lakhs of births then he slowly gets a human body and then he progresses further, then he practices dharmic life and then he becomes an adhikari then slowly he is developing sattva guna all the while and sattva guna he develops further through upasana and he will get out of all the three gunas in the end that is called tri tri vartma, not tri vartma tri vartma and pranadhipaha this prana, even though one, is subdivided into five categories according to the activities within the body as well as mind prana, jnana apana, udana samana, and what does he do? swakarma vihe experiencing the result of past karmas and creating new karmas so that they can be fructified in future called agami sancharati, he lives the life and it is not difficult, this is what we need to understand so this is a most wonderful siddhanta, that is each one of us have to be happy or unhappy because of our praradha karma and this is the famous karma siddhanta what I call the fourth pillar of Hinduism, so the karta they do here, alone becomes the bhokta, the experiencer and this karma siddhanta each one of us may be even in the same family at the same time some members of the family are enjoying, some members of the family are deeply distressed because of either physical or mental whatever problems but it is all nothing to do with family all because of one's own praradha karma fructifies at the exact right time and for that God is necessary, so it is called karma phala adhyaksha there is no other way now there is a very interesting episode just to reinforce we all know there is Valmiki Ramayana there is Adhyatma Ramayana there is Yoga Vasishta Ramayana but in India, in the North India the most famous Ramayana is Ramcharitmanas we know the story of Ramayana and Dasaratha was forced to send out Rama and he wanted to go alone but Sita and Lakshmana were pestering him that we also want a company we cannot live without you and he had to consent though he did not want to so all the three were going and they had to cross their kingdom, they came to the Ganges river and Saryu river and they want to go to the other side of the Saryu river Bohaka was the what is called the person who runs the boating business carrying the passengers from this side to that side, that side to this side and when he came to know about this, especially when he was seeing this Rama, Sita that they were sleeping on the ground with only a deer skin and so comfortably they were living earlier, now they are subjected to any kind of tramps life and he got so angry, he was blaming Kaikeyi, then Lakshmana he was very very wise person even wiser than Rama I would say, Lakshmana is consoling Goa, what is he telling dear brother, no one is responsible for our joys and sorrows, we all enjoy or suffer as the result of what we have done in the past and Tulsi Dasa was the author of the Ramcharitmanas Manasa means the lake Manasa, that is to say infinite number of beings they swim and enjoy so this story of Rama is unending and purifying like Manasa and uplifting like Manasa and giving so much of joy like Manasa etc. In that, there is a when he was about to cross and when he expressed his grief, then Lakshmana was telling in inimitable language, inimitable Tulsi Dasa is expressing Bhole Lakhana Mathura Mridu Bani Gyana Viraga Bhakati Rasa Sani Kahuna Kovu Sukha Dukha Kara Data Nija Krita Karma Bhoga Sabu Bhata, so Lakshmana is telling so the translation goes like Tabu Lakshman Ji Iragya Aur Bhakti Ke Rasa Sani Hui Meethi Aur Komal Bani with words dripping in knowledge in pronunciation in Bhakti and full of joy swimming in the ocean of nectar and with such sweet words he is telling nobody on this earth is the giver of either happiness or unhappiness to anybody else we know the idea but I wanted to enjoy it because of this quotation so this is the meaning that we are only because of the very very karmas that we have done our bodies, our minds, our social situation our past, our present our future, everything is because of that what is most important for us to understand here, when devotees used to come to Ramakrishna he used to first so understand by seeing the body, oh these are the characteristics, then secondly he will observe how a person behaves, every person, every individual behaves in a different way Ramakrishna sharp eyed hawk eyed, even though half closed yogi's eyes nothing can escape from the very beginning of his birth he used to observe everything and he used to mimic mimicry requires greatest observation power otherwise nobody can really do mimicry so he used to observe and then confirm what he has understood by observing the formation of the body called phrenology and then thirdly if he finds here is a person and he could be helped how, what things are there and when they are going to fructify, he will use his yogic power and see his past, present and also future, accordingly he will guide him, but the most important thing is let us not blame anybody because we are the result of what we have done there is no other way, that is the meaning of mantra 7 we enter into mantra 8 angusta matra pravitulya roopaha sankalpa ahankara samanvithah yaha uddheh gunena atma gunena chaiva aragra matro khyapa roopi drishtah similarly 9th mantra also valagra shata bhaagasya shata dhaha kalpidasya cha bhago jiva savignehya sacha anantya e kalpate what it means is of the size of a thumb and bright like the sun associated with wistful thinking and individuality and also with the qualities of the intellect, the mind and the body, the jiva is seen as if different like the tip of a gourd the jiva, the size of the tip of a hair, imagined to be divided into a hundredth of its hundredth part is capable of infinity and is to be known as such. What does it mean? Every jiva is single, small individual, alpagna very little knowing, alpashaktimaan very little full of kama, praudha, lobha moha, madha, matsarya and full of imaginations full of desires, full of expectations and he is moving today I have done this tomorrow I will be going on doing this and I will do so many other things going on planning not knowing maybe next second Yamadharma Raja's bar code will come and take that person away this is what is being introduced. There is really speaking nothing new we have seen earlier also angushta matraha is in the very Svetasvatra Upanishad as seen earlier, I do not remember the mantra number angushta matraha sada jananam hridaye sannivistaha so in the form of the angushta that is of the size of a thumb what does it mean? It means it is convenient to imagine God in the cave of the heart because if your heart is so small our thinking power is so small, our understanding power is so small within that power when we try to imagine Bhagawan, He will naturally appears to be only small as we grow we break the bonds of the imagination, limitations of the imagination even then mind can never understand intellect can never understand that is why namo namo prabhu vaakya mana atheta and yet without Him nothing is possible this is indicated angushta matraha but what does it matter ravitulya roopaha is brilliantly shining like the sun there is no correlation between angushta matraha the form of a thumb, at the same time He is more shining kot is surya sama prabha while singing the glories of Ganesha kot is surya sama prabha so He is not even a billion billion suns will ever come, what are we talking about pure consciousness because even the sun cannot reveal anything unless we are aware of the sun himself if I close my eyes, my mind the sun will not be there the moon will not be there, nobody will be there only when I take notice everything exists that is the meaning, ravitulya roopaha in spite of being so small is none other than just like a spark of fire is no less than the flagrant fire, blazing fire and what is endowed with sankalpa ahankara sankalpa means lot of imaginations what He had done, what He is doing, what He is going to do and that is the activities of the buddhi and mind but accompanying them will be I am imagining, I did this, I am doing this I will do this that I which is called ahankara must always be there, minus ahankara jiva will not be there so ahankara samanvitaha and then what is it, buddher gunena atma gunena jiva that is He is bound how, first of all buddher gunena that means all the samskaras, what is the gunas of the buddha that means buddhi that is all the samskaras that we are accumulating from janma janmantra because remember they are only guiding us only the tip of an iceberg that means an infinitesimal part of our samskaras are manifesting in this present life how much like the huge mountain is there iceberg is there, how much it is hidden, what we see of a jiva is only in this life that is called a tip of the iceberg in this life even in this life what we understand from outside including our own selves about ourselves is so small that is what is buddhena gunena then atma gunena here atma means not the soul not the self paramatma, here it means body atma gunena so however buddhimans we are like Stephen Hawkins even such a great physicist was bound by his neuromotor disease, he could not speak everything has to be done by a computer, we are terribly bound and this body could be what you call blind it could be deaf it could be having infinite number of problems including autism but even that severely limits a jiva's experience and it differs from person to person, from animal to animal, from mosquito to mosquito, you see some mosquitoes quickly you can kill but some mosquitoes you cannot do anything the moment you are even thinking they read your mind and fly away so we are all bound by our body and mind that is what is said here aaragra matru aaragra means tip of a gold, let us say tip of an ice cream and that is what we say of a jiva but nobody says what is it api drishtaha who is seen paraha, not paraha not the supreme the bound, the small the individual, alone is seen and he is not seen in his real form this is a beautiful depiction of every one of us, we will talk a little bit about it but the idea is very clear, we will talk about it later on