Chandogya Upanishad Lecture 108 on 01 June 2025

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

OM JANANIM SHARADAM DEVIM RAMAKRISHNAM JAGADGURUM PADAPADMETAYOH SRIDHVA PRANAMAMI MUHURMUHU OM APYAYANTUM AMANGANIVAKPRANASYAKSHUH SHROTRAMADHU BALAMINDRIYANICHA SARVANI SARVAM BRAHMAHU PANISHADAM MAHAM BRAHMANIRAKURIYAM MAMA BRAHMANIRAKARO ANIRAKARANAM ASTVANIRAKARANAM ME ASTU TADATMANI NIRATE YAUPANISHADSU DHARMAH TE MAI SANTU TE MAI SANTU OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI HA RE HE OM May my limbs, speech, vital force, eyes, ears, as also strength and all the organs become well developed. Everything is the Brahman revealed in the Upanishads. May I not deny Brahman. May not Brahman deny me. Let there be no spurning of me by Brahman. Let there be no rejection of Brahman by me. May all the virtues that are spoken of in the Upanishads repose in me. I am engaged in the pursuit of the Self. May they repose in me. OM PEACE PEACE PEACE BE UNTO ALL In our last class, we started to enter into the 7th section of this 8th chapter. And this is the most important chapter and especially sections from 7 to 12 are most important. 13, 14 and 15 sections are dealing with some type of contemplations or Upasanas. Now, we have seen earlier from section 1 to section 6. It is all about how one should prepare in order to become one with the Saguna Brahma. And that Saguna Brahma has been beautifully described which we will enter very soon. Bhagwan Krishna says, what is the purpose of any Bhakta, any Upasaka? He says, one must remember me at the very end. So, a person who remembers God intensely, feelingly, doesn't want anything, he will attain Bhagwan. But it will not come. So, when doctor declares that you are about to die and then I start thinking, now it is the time I will remember God. That's never ever going to happen. Therefore, Bhagwan Krishna prescribes this. So, therefore, if you want only to remember me and nothing else, Sarvesu Kalesu, in the waking state, in the dream state and in the deep sleep state, all these states, Maa Manusmara, go on remembering me and then Yudhyacha. That is, this is the context. The context is battlefield. But it means whatever action you are doing, attaining patience, cooking, cleaning, talking with somebody, necessarily, whatever be the action, you say, I am doing it for the pleasure, for the satisfaction of the Divine Mother, Divine Lord, for the sake of Vishnu. As brother Lawrence says, I will not pick up even a straw if it is not for the pleasure of the Lord. So, that is called Yudhya. Yudha doesn't always mean only that physical Yudha. That happened to be the context at that time. But really speaking, every single millisecond of our life is a Yudha. Yudha with whom? Yudha with Maya or Agnana. Our potential divinity wants to know that I am divine. But this Maya says, no, no, no. Who told you you are divine? You are just a mere body and mind, a puny little less than an insect. But our very nature, innate nature, rebels. That is the real Yudha. Whole life is a Kurukshetra and we must start with developing certain good activities and contemplations which will slowly develop all the spiritual qualities. Without good worldly qualities, no real spiritual quality will ever develop. There is no such division, discrimination between world and God. When we use the same good qualities in the world, they are called good qualities in the world. But these very qualities, when they are redirected towards God, then we call them spiritual qualities. So, that is absolutely fine. It leads for Krama Mukti until the sixth section. And especially in the sixth section, Rishi was talking about certain spiritual channels called Nadis. And anybody, any Upasaka, whose whole mind is fixed upon Saguna Brahma will be breaking open a Brahmarandra, the opening at the very top of our head. And from there, symbolically, the rays of the sun take him to Aditya Mandala, Aditya Loka, the world of the sun. And that is the gateway to different various Lokas. So, sometimes when you are flying from the foreign countries, so you come to a central airport, maybe Calcutta, and from there you divert yourself. Some people go to Hyderabad, some people go to Kerala, some people go to Delhi, some people go to Assam. So like that, Surya Mandala, Aditya Mandala is the hub, central hub, from where according to different people's development, they reach their own Krishna Loka or Brahma Loka etc. and having become more enlightened, they will not come back. But they take some time to attain Nirguna Brahma. So that was the essence of sections from one to six. Now the Rishi wants to continue. There are some people, they are not very happy with Krama Mukti. They want Sadyo Mukti, instantaneous liberation. And for that purpose, so Nirguna Brahma Jnanam, certain disciplines for attaining to the highest supreme reality called Nirguna Brahma. And from section seven, as I mentioned, to section twelve, it's all about the knowledge of Nirguna Brahma. So this Rishi, for the facility, easy understanding of people like us, creates a story as if there is a Guru, a Jagat Guru, and he proclaims something and those who want, they should come and receive this knowledge. But an advertisement is put. An advertisement is inescapable because if we do not know such and such a object is available, a beautiful, very powerful PC or TV, things like that, we will not have desires. Prior knowledge of objects is absolutely necessary and there are so many people who do not have that knowledge. So for that purpose, advertisements are often we consider as trying to lure innocent people like us to buy things. But both sides of the views we have to accept. There are genuine products. If we do not know about them, we will be missing them. And there are companies who try to lure, that is also true. But here we are concerned with a Jagat Guru. We Jagat Guru, the person who creates this world, alone is fit to be a Jagat Guru. Sri Ramakrishna can be considered as a Jagat Guru. How? Because I am a devotee of Sri Ramakrishna? No, because Sri Ramakrishna never said, I am teaching. He said, My Divine Mother, who created this world, that whom I call Kali, Shakti, she only teaches through me. And Bhagavan Krishna confirms it because long after the Kurukshetra was over, Arjuna recalled, Krishna had given me some Upadesham. What did he say? What did he say? For God's sake, I do not remember. So he asked, Bhagavan, you gave such high teachings. But in the heat of the war, I have forgotten. Krishna declares then something marvellous. He says, Oh Arjuna, I was in a very high state of Yoga at that time. That is, I was in my Swaroopa of Saguna Brahma. Why do I say Saguna Brahma? Because Nirguna Brahma does not teach. Nirguna Brahma does not know that there are so many people who are ignorant and who are longing to come to me. He does not even know that there is a world. He does not know there is a creation. He does not know there are some people suffering. He does not know there are some wise people and they want to get out of this suffering permanently. They do not know anything. It is only the Saguna Brahma. All Avataras, Acharyas come or descend only from the Saguna Brahma. So this Jagat Guru is a Jagat Karta. Otherwise, it is called Brahma Dirgha. Brahma Krasva is called Supreme Reality. Brahma, the long vowel A represents the creator. He has many names. He is also called Sutratma. He is also called Hiranyagarbha. He is also called Eshwara. In Sri Ramakrishna's words, he is called Shakti. But here the word Prajapati is used. So this Prajapati declaration, proclamation comes first in this seventh section. So the story goes like that. Once Prajapati in a divine meeting, he proclaimed that there is something called Atman and one who knows, who has the knowledge of the Atma. Atma Gnanam. What is Atma Gnanam? I am the Atman. I am Brahman. That is called Atma Gnanam. All his desires will be fulfilled. And what type of Brahman? We have seen in the very first section, Apahatapapma, Pijaraha, Vishokaha, Vijigatsaha etc. etc. We will come to that shortly. So that about whom? A Upasaka was advised to contemplate in the very first section of this eighth chapter itself saying there is a Brahmapura meaning each one of our physical body. Within that there is a heart, a purified mind and within that there is a Chidakasha and that Akasha is none other than that Atman, Brahman who is birthless, soul deathless, therefore suffering less, Pijaraha, Vimrutyu, Vishokaha, therefore and there are no unfulfilled desires, therefore there are no activities, therefore Punyapapa. So Apahatapapma and Satyakamaha, Satya Sankalpaha etc. that is being reminded. Now Prajapati repeats the same thing because the message of the Upanishad says I know that Purusha who is beyond all darkness, beyond all ignorance and knowing him only one can go beyond this darkness, dark night of the soul and be forever blissful. That is the meaning. So that is first he declares and he made sure this declaration or proclamation spreads throughout the three worlds Bahu, Bhuvaha and Swaha and both Gods and demons heard it and then they understood. What did they understand? If we can somehow have obtained this knowledge of the Atman, all our desires will be fulfilled. As a baby says if I realize Atman unending supply of gingerbreads will come to me. A person after money I will be a veritable Varuna or Kubera. So if a person is after physical enjoyment I will be a second Manmatha. Like that whatever desires, any number of desires, every desire will be fulfilled all at once and forever. That is the speciality. So common So that is the big mantra says all at once a realized soul enjoys every single enjoyment not one after the other like us. First we have soup, afterwards some appetizer, after that rice, after that dal, after that curry, after that something else, something else, something else and in the end Madurai and Samapai some desirable sweet and then comes which is called dessert. Many times I was wondering who created that word dessert and then I came to my own conclusion. The host expects all the guests to dessert after the dessert is served, eaten. So every desire will be fulfilled and then there are only two sorts of people in this world Gods and Demons. Satpurushas and Papatmas. So both Gods and Demons heard about it. It is a fact. It is a reality. This world is like that and then all the people gathered. It says for all of us to go it is not possible. We will choose one intelligent representative like the ambassador of every country being sent to each one one ambassador to one one foreign country like that. We will send the best representative of ours. So the Gods had chosen Indra. That is how he becomes enlightened. That's why he became one of the most adorable. Similarly Kena Upanishad he became adorable. Here we are not talking about the mythological Indra but the spiritual Indra and then the Demons. There was a king called Virochana extremely intelligent but at the same time he was a Demon. He was endowed with only demonic qualities. These Demons are called Asuras. Who is an Asura? A person who delights in his body that means sense organs. Asushu means Praneshu in the Pranas. Pranas means sense organs. Sense organs means five Gnanendriyas. Shabda, Sparsha, Rupa, Rasa, Gandha. The ears, then the eyes, the nose and then the skin and the taste. So his mind, these people's minds are fixated on it and they revel in it and whatever makes them physically happy and they don't want to go beyond that even if somebody tells them there are higher types of happiness. Recollect I have divided Ananda into five categories. Vishayananda, Medhananda, Kalananda, Dharmananda and Brahmananda. So the best enjoyment of coming into contact with objects and deriving temporarily some amount of happiness is called Vishayananda, objective happiness. Then Medhananda, intellectual happiness. Then Kalananda, aesthetic enjoyment. Then Dharmananda, the pure joy that comes from following an ideal life, a moral life and that leads us only to the highest reality which is called Brahmananda. So these demons do not know anything excepting pure gross worldly happiness. In other words what the tantras describe Muladhara, Swadhishtana and Manipura. Their minds are completely fixated moving along the two Nadis, Ila and not Sushumna, Pingala. So both of them decided. So both of them were very happy. Somehow if we can obtain the Atmic knowledge, knowledge of the self then the results will come. They are after the results but as the story conclusively proves later on, Indra alone was after Atma Gnanam. The demon called Virochana, he was after only uninterrupted physical happiness, bodily happiness but he could not, he did not have that sharp intellect to understand because this is the rule in this world. This world is called duality. Goodness is followed by evil, happiness is followed by unhappiness, cold is accompanied by heat, respect is always accompanied by disrespect and they always are together. So if somebody is having bodily happiness, they have to pay enough price. For example, if you want to enjoy some good happiness out of eating, you have to pay in the form of hunger and hunger will not come like that. Lying down on a cosy water bed, we are not going to get hungry. We have to do hard physical labour where the body will be tired, sweating, thirsty and weak. Then the hunger, terrible hunger, terrible thirst, terrible tiredness, then the food that follows, the drink that follows and the rest that follows will be co-equal to the percentage of what we pay. This understanding was lacking in this person. So the Gods led by Indra and the demons represented by Virochana decided to go to Prajapati for training in the knowledge of the Atma and both of them approached. But they were intelligent enough to know how disciples have to approach the teacher. So Indra and Virochana, arch enemies, unaware of each other's intentions, travelled to Prajapati's abode as humble disciples carrying sacred firewood, Samit Panihi, that much tradition they knew. Here I have to insert a note, at the beginning probably a demon Virochana is making a plan, I will go, I will get this knowledge, then my desire will be fulfilled and what is one of the desires, I must smash the head of Indra and probably Indra was also thinking like that. But Indra through living 105 years of austere life, purified his mind, got rid of all these unworthy desires, became a fit Adhikari and he alone obtained or understood what the Guru was trying to teach him. So they approached Prajapati and he understood. They have come after hearing this proclamation. So he simply told them, we will get that when we get into the mantras, that before I give you any teaching, you must live here for 32 years, both of you practicing Brahmacharya, which includes maunam, silence, austerity, tapas, self-discipline, gaining control over the body and mind, that is sadhana, chatustaya, sampatti, demonstrating their commitment to spiritual perception. If they are not happy with this, then it shows that they are not really after Atma Jnana. And this 7th section has got only 4 mantras. And in these 4 mantras, as I said in the introduction, like Mandukya Karika, this particular section of the Chandogya wants to analyze that our concept of Atman is what we see in this world. So I see you, you are real. And I see an object and either it draws me near or it makes me run away. Shankaracharya is one of his Bhashyams, is a very beautiful example. All animals do like that. He gives an example of a cow. There is a person who is tending the cow and then he approaches the cow with a big bunch of green, tender, succulent grass. As he is approaching, the cow looks at it, understands, my master wants to feed me lovingly. It runs towards the person to receive that green grass. But if the same person or some other person is seen approaching with a big thick stick, the cow runs away, understanding, my master wants to beat me. So how do we know that the cow has become so intelligent? Because these acts have been repeated many times in the past, so it associates. This is called carrot and stick type of training. So if an animal does something according to the instructions of the trainer, it is rewarded. And if it is otherwise, then it will be given some pain. This is what they call Pavalo's method of training through what is called action and reaction. That is called conditioning. So with this background, we will enter. As I said, there are four mantras only, but then Prajapati starts quoting the very third section, fourth mantra. He says, Esa Atmaiti Uvaca, Etad Amrutam Abhayam Etad Brahmeti. This one who is fully serene, rising up from this body and reaching the highest light, where in the state of Sushupti, remains established in his true nature. As long as that experience of Sushupti, Sushupti continues. And then in that fourth mantra, third section, this is the Self, this is the mortal, this is beyond all fear and its name is Brahman. This is what was taught earlier. So how is this Brahman to be known, to be realized? Not to be seen like we see a tree or a house, but to be known as this Brahman, I am. There is no Brahman and me, two objects. Only one, just as a pot, a wise pot might awaken one day that I am clay. There is no such separate object called pot. I am pure clay. So every Jivaatma is bound to attain that. You may have some doubts. Oh, it may take billions of years. You see, when you reach that state, you understand, billions of years is absolutely nothing, not even one trilly second. Just as if you have a long dream, you may live your whole life in that dream of 60 years and yet not know that the whole thing had passed only within two or three minutes. Time is very subjective. That is what some people, they make fun of Einstein. According to Einstein, time is relative and I don't think he quoted this, but some wise Akar had created this. If an old ugly woman is sitting in the lap of a man, you can convert it the other way if you wish. Every passing billy second appears as one Yuga, but even an old man and a beautiful Miss Universe is sitting in his lap, every Yuga passes like a Kshana. Radha says to Krishna, Kshanamapi Yugayate, with your Viraha, separation from you, even one second looks as if aeons have passed. Sri Ramakrishna used to pray every towards the end of each day, oh mother, another day has passed and when we hear that word another day, it is only 12 hours, but for him, oh my mother, how since how many Yugas I have been praying to you, we have to understand that. So to elucidate who is that Brahman, this teaching is going to be given to us in this story which we were just mentioning and as I said all stories like Ramayana and Mahabharata are for illustrating the highest Vedic truths. This story however is meant for revealing the injunction about the process of receiving and imparting knowledge because we will very soon come to this that as soon as these disciples, they had the desire, no doubt, but they don't know why they had the desire, but the teacher immediately said, he must have understood, you are not yet ready, you have not risen beyond the dualities of mutual hatred, mutual desire to annihilate each other and therefore he says, you must be ready because even if I teach, it will go from one year to the other year, so therefore 32 years and that too to receive the basic truth about a waking state and so we will discuss, wonderful points are there, so it is meant also for the eulogy, praise of Brahma Vidya, that is why Sarva Vidyanam Brahma Vidya, that is the very foundation, Sarva Vidya Pratishtha, Brahma Vidya is the Pratishtha, what does it mean? Pratishtha means foundation, what does it mean? It means Brahma Vidya is the ultimate goal of every other Vidya, you learn computer science and you get a first class job, you earn a lot of money, you get married and then you get a lot of blows and then you understand every worldly happiness is severely limited followed by even more severe Dukkha and that is the foundation, then I want unbroken happiness, I want happiness without its opposite and only Brahma Gnanam can give that one because every Ananda that we receive here is limited by time, space and object, we discussed it elaborately, these are the limitations, so now the section 7 mantra 1, we are entering, once we have grasped what I told you the introduction, even today what I told you it should not be very difficult for us to proceed, here goes the very first mantra 8 marvelous characteristics of what is called Brahman, so we will discuss the meanings in brief because we have discussed it so many other times, this is the first mantra, once upon a time Prajapati declared in a divine assemblage the self which is free from sin, free from old age, free from death, free from grief, free from hunger, free from thirst, whose desires always come true and whose thoughts are fixed only on what is the truth, that it is which should be searched out, that is the Atman and that Atman is the highest goal of life which should be searched out, that it is which one should desire to understand, he who has known the self from the scriptures and from a Sadguru, a realized soul and understood it, what would be the result, he obtains all the worlds and all desires, earlier also we have seen and he who has some desires, I want to see my mother and father who are long dead or my great grandma and grandfather or I want to see some beautiful women, I want to hear some beautiful music, I want to taste beautiful foods, beautiful drinks etc., whatever desires come, instantaneously they are fulfilled but I also explained if you still recollect that one who has become Brahman, he has no desires, why doesn't he have any desire, for two reasons, there is no object other than Brahman and there is no happiness which is remaining to be experienced because he is called Ananda Swaroopa, Sat Swaroopa, Chit Swaroopa, Ananda Swaroopa, so this was the declaration of the Prajapati. Brief meanings for those who are interested in this mantra, we have seen this mantra in the very first section, in the very first mantra has been Brahma Pura, so one should be meditated, Upasana, same thing Prajapati is repeating now because now he wants to take the seeker to that highest level, Yeha Atma, that Atma about which you have already been taught in the very first mantra of the first section of the Saith chapter is Apahatap Atma, there is no sin, is derived, what is called, he is devoid of any sin, Vijarah, he doesn't suffer from old age, Vimrutyahu, he doesn't want to die, Vishokaha, so he never grieves or suffers, Vijigatsaha, he never suffers from hunger, Apipasaha, never suffers from thirst, Satyakamaha, Satya Sankalpaha, so when we say Vishokaha, Satyakamaha, Satya Sankalpaha, they belong to the mind, Vishokaha means grief, the body doesn't know what is grief, it is only the mind which knows, oh I don't like this object, I wish I had some other object etc., so why is this Atman free? Apahatap Atma, so we have to first understand he is Vijarah, devoid of old age, why? Because he is never born, whatever is born that has to go through the six Shat-Urmi waves, Asthi, Arjan, Jayate, Asthi, Ipparindamate, so all those six, he is born and he goes on living and he becomes old, young, old, then decrepit and he suffers from various diseases, elements of the body, finally he dies, no, this person is never born and therefore body is not there, when the body is not there, where is the question of Vijarah, old age, where is the question of Vimrutyu, death, where is the question of Pijigatsaha, that is hunger, there is no hunger, or Pipasa, that is he doesn't have what is called Pipasa, a desire to drink, quench thirst, so all these will come and Apahatap Atma doesn't have any evil because he doesn't have any desires, when there is desire there is an appropriate action and the actions can be good or evil and accordingly a person may obtain Punyam, Virtue or Vice, Apam, but this person doesn't do any activity because he doesn't have any desire, because all his desires are completely fulfilled and if at all any desires, so long as there is a mind, Satyakamaha, he will only think about God, Satyakamaha means desirer of the truth and Satyasankalpaha, once he decides I want God, he will get God and Vishokaha, his whole life is Kushi, O Kushi, Ananda, Dheva, Kalvimani, Bhutani, Jayante, Anandena, Jeevanti, Anandam, Prayanti, Abhisam, Vishantithi, so beautiful mantra which we have to do everything, so if you don't remember in the very fifth mantra, first section in this eighth chapter, we saw earlier Mahitaha, Esha, Eshaatma, Apahatapapma, Ijaro, Imrutyo, Vishokaha, Bijigatsaha, Apipasaha, Satyakamaha, Satyakampal, Sankalpaha, such is the Brahman which is there in the Dharakasha, in that Pundarekha, in that Brahmapuri, so from here the teaching is all about Nirguna Brahma Jnana and I have to tell you something here, Shri Ramakrishna's teachings we have to remember and he asked him which aspect of God you like to meditate upon, oh I like to meditate on Nirvikara, Nirupa and then Shri Ramakrishna said that is good, good, good, but he taught on that occasion God is with form, without form, beyond form, here we are talking about not without form but beyond the form, beyond the mind, that is called Nirguna, so through this story the dialogue between the Guru and the disciple is there, so the Upanishad presumes that those who approach for this knowledge has become an Adhikari and whom did they approach? Sakshat Srishti Karta Brahma and who are the disciples? Indra, the representatives of the Gods and Virochana, the representatives of the demons and they have seen that Prajapati's declaration they had heard, he made sure that people will come to know about it, so like Microsoft they force advertisements on your, if you are running windows or any of the apps that you are using, they make sure that it is made by Microsoft and empty number of advertisements, everything will come only to remind you, so and every now and then in case you forget they repeat it endlessly, so from this Prajapati Brahma made sure that everybody heard it because that was repeated everywhere, advertised many times, so we saw all these qualities Ashta, Pidha, Puna, Saguna, Brahma, Upasana in the very first chapter in the Dharakasha Upasana fifth mantra in the first section, so Brahman is beyond Punya Papa, is Satya Kama, Satya Sankalpa, is Nirguna Brahma, so he is beyond old age, disease, death, thirst, hunger, and Anvestavyaha, if at all we have to fix a goal he alone has to be sought, he alone has to be known, echoing Vrihataranyika Upanishad which is Yajnavalkya Maitreyi Samvadaha, Are Atma Trashtavyaha, Mantavyaha, Shrotavyaha, Nidhidhyasitavyaha, so the same thing Prajapati or Brahma is making sure and then what is the result of knowing this Nirguna Brahma, remember knowing Nirguna Brahma not like knowing, I see a house, I know all about it, I see a tree, I know all about it, no, I am Brahman, that is the knowledge called Brahma Gnanam, what results you will get, Sarvamcha Lokam Apnoti, if whatever enjoyments are there, he understands in that state, there are only infinitesimal manifestations of Ananda which is myself, so for making the poor brains like us understand, oh you want gingerbread, you become Atman, you will get, how do you get, because you don't get a gingerbread, you become every gingerbread in the world, you become everything, every object in this world, you become the cars, you become the women, you become the men, you become the TVs, you become the YouTubes, you become everything and so you realize in that state two things, first thing is I am after the object, I am really not after the object, I am really after the expected happiness, pleasure from this object and second is after this knowledge, it is like saying I am that object and therefore I don't need to run after the object because I am myself and that object, so that is the most wonderful thing we have to understand and Sairam Krishna has his own unique way of expressing this one, it is just to make our understanding of this last point, supposing a person who is once you know he tasted the best sweet in the world, na bhoto na bhavishyati, perhaps he will never come across such a sweet in the whole life but one time he came across and he knows and he will be enjoying that kind of sweets all the time and one day he is walking down the street, there is a sewage canal and so many things are rotting there for years together and there is the packet of sweets prepared by a very roadside shop and it is floating in that sewage water and unbearable foul stench, the person is forced to close his nostrils, now a person who is going to get any number of sweets anytime he wants, will he even think once, oh what a marvellous sweet, I would like to have it, this would be the state of a brahmajnane, everything becomes tuchcha, om jananim sharadam devim, ramakrishnam jagad gurum, pada padme tayo sritya, pranama me muhurmuhu, may sri ramakrishna holy mother and swami vikananda bless us all with bhakti, hey ramakrishna