Taittiriya Upanishad Lecture 56 on 11 June 2025

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

भुम् जननीम् शरदाम् देविम् रामक्रिष्णम् जगत् गुर्म् पादपद्मे तयोः स्रित्वाः प्रणमामिमुहुरुमु

ओम् सहनावभतु सहनावु भुनक्तु सहवीर्यम् करवावहे तेजस्विनावधितमस्तुमाविद्विशावहे

ओम् शन्ति, सथी, सथी, हर्ही ओम्

Om. May Brahman protect us both. May Brahman bestow upon us both the fruit of knowledge.

May we both obtain the energy to acquire knowledge. May what we both study reveal the truth.

May we cherish no ill feeling toward each other.

Om. Peace. Peace. Peace be unto all.

We are studying the first anuvaka of the second chapter of the Taittiriya Upanishad called Brahmananda Valli.This second chapter has nine anuvakas or sections.So we have come to the last part of this first section or anuvaka.The mantra goes like this and this is the essence of every scripture of all religions in the past, present or future.The mantra should be very familiar by now. Om. Om. Who knows Brahman? Who realizes I am Brahman? That is called knowing Brahman. Attains supreme. Attains Brahman. On the above mantra, the following rig mantra is quoted to support it. He who knows Brahman and what type of Brahman which is Satyam Jnanam Anantam, which is truth, knowledge and infinity. And where is this? Hidden in the cave of the heart and in the highest akasha. There is this Brahmapuri. Within that there is a heart. That heart is called a cave. Just as we do not know what is hidden in the cave, this Paramatma, as they say in English language, hiding in the view of all.So it is there in the heart and there is a highest akasha called Chidakasha or spiritual space within that heart.

And this Brahman is that akasha only. Chidakasha, Brahman, Atma are not different. He being one with the ancient Brahman, that is the sadhaka who realizes that I am that Brahman through a long process of upasana. I am that Brahman, step by step. Such a person enjoys every desire simultaneously because Brahman is everything. So this knowledge, I am Brahman, means I am everything, means I am infinity, I am full. There is nothing to be desirable. To be desirable, something must be separate from us. But one who realizes Brahman as if I am everything, I am Paripurna, I am the infinite, completely fulfilled. So how does he enjoy? When we try to enjoy anything, the object is different. And we have to use our body, mind as instruments. And when we come into contact with that in the appropriate manner, there results a little bit of the effect. It could be happiness, it could be also unhappiness. For example, if we come into, our tongue comes into contact with bitter gold, or comes into contact with a sweet, or if ears come into contact with a loud sound, or very pleasant music, or very fragrant smell, or very foul smell through each of the sense organs, and sense organ doesn't discriminate, cannot say, I will stop smelling this thing. That experience, the reflected consciousness called Chidabasa experiences, they are all different.The person, the experiencer is different, the instrument of experience is different, and the resultant experience is different. But one who is Brahman, there is no good, there is no evil, there is no happiness, there is no unhappiness. Why? Because Mark, if I am happy, I can't be unhappy. So this happiness has a beginning and will have an end, and unhappiness starts when happiness begins. So Kaala Parichheda, Desha Parichheda, Vasthu Parichheda, of which we have discussed quite frequently so many times.But Brahman is beyond all these things. Therefore his bliss is uninterrupted. Therefore he is Satyam, he is Gnanam, he is Anantham. What does he get? When a person realizes, I am Brahman, along with Brahman. That means not like I enjoy along with my family members, my friends, no, as Brahman.

And Vipashchita means what? That all-knowing Brahman, all-being Brahman, by becoming one with that Sarvajna Brahman, by being one with Brahmananda, I enjoy uninterrupted bliss. Only one point, Ipurva Paksha, or the opponent, which means our own deep-seated doubts. So if Brahman is everywhere, to say that one obtains Brahman as if it is separate from me, is that not illogical? And the brilliant answer given by the Master Shankaracharya is, here gaining, reaching, obtaining, these are the meanings of, so obtaining, Ashnute enjoys. What does it mean? Means even when a sweet is in my pocket, but I am completely ignorant of that fact, and I am going on searching for a sweet, even when my specs, without which I cannot even see one centimeter before. But I am searching, everything crystal clearly I am searching. What am I searching? I lost my specs. All the time it is there. Then somebody points out, then, oh, it is there already with me, so previously I was ignorant, now I know. And this knowledge, this recognition, this obtainment of Smriti, Smritir labdha tad prasadat maya achyuta, as Arjuna replies to Bhagawan's specific question, that is called obtainment. Not in the sense of, I have to go to some other place at some other time, some other object, I have to obtain. This clarification comes when I know what I am seeking is me, and nobody seeks oneself because nobody loses one's own self. For this there is a famous story, we all know it, but just to remind, because when we are discussing Vedanta, Amti number of times, again and again, we have to do the repetition. Mantra naam jamita na asti. Repetition is not a waste of time. Once we know, once we obtain that knowledge, I am what I am seeking, then there is no need for any mantra, for any shastra, for any guru, etc. Sri Ramakrishna puts it very funnily, and Shukadeva approaches King Janaka and asks him,Sir, you teach me Brahman. Janaka says, give me Guru Akshana, but you have not given me, taught me. When I teach you the distinction that you are a seeker and I am the teacher, that will disappear, you will not see any difference, so you may not give me.

So, in the state of ignorance, Guru is Satyam, Sishya is Satyam, world is Anatma, all these are true. After realization, only one truth, Brahma eva Satyam. So, this is the essence of this first mantra. With that, we have completed that part. And the next part of this first anuvaka is, now the scripture wants to tell us, because naturally the question comes, we know who is Brahman, we know what result will come by knowing Brahman, not like knowing I am a tree, I know the tree, I know the house. If you know a car, you do not obtain a car. If you know all about Varanasi, you will not see Varanasi, unless you visit it. But here, knowing means I am that Brahman which I have been seeking from the beginning of creation. From the beginning of creation, that anveshana, that search starts, I don't like to be a creature, I want to be the creator, one with the creator. But once we reach that state, I am the creator, creation also disappears, creator also disappears, and what remains? Not possible. So, a third question has to be answered. What were the previous two questions?

You are telling there is something called Brahman, and one who realizes that Brahman, that person will obtain the highest joy, in fact infinite joy, but how? That is the result. So there is a Brahman, and it is defined by satyam gnanam ananta. And what does one gain? He gets what we are all seeking, sat, chit, ananta, immortality, all-knowingness and unbroken happiness called bliss. But okay, now show me how I can reach or know that Brahman. For that purpose, the second part of this first anuvaka is the Upanishad, or the teacher is telling about the process of creation. And as I mentioned many times, so there is a creator, and a person, a being cannot be a creator unless he creates something. So there is, the creator is called cause, and that which is created is called karya or effect. So the cause and effect, and there is a relationship, just like a child cannot be without parents, and a person cannot be called a parent without children. Similarly, a creator cannot be called a creator without creation, and creation cannot come without a creator. That is the first point. But the second point is most important. A creator cannot, or a cause cannot create anything other than what it is. For example, if we take the example of wood. Wood is the cause. Anything that is made up of wood can only be wood. Anything that is made up of gold can only be gold. Anything that is made up of silver can only be silver. Anything that is made up of clay can only be clay. A bitter gold seed cannot produce a sweet mango. Whatever be the nature of the cause, that alone is known as the effect. What is the difference then?

So the cause is without name and form. The effect, effects rather, effects are with names and forms and utilities, qualities. So Nama, Rupa, Prayojana. Therefore, there is other than this Nama, Rupa, the cause and effect are exactly one and the same. Cause with Nama, Rupa is called effect. Effect without Nama, Rupa is called cause. Brahman is the cause and he doesn't have Nama, Rupa. But the world has full of Nama, Rupas. But the world being a cause cannot come out of nothing. It must come out of something and that something is called the cause. So Brahman is called the cause and generally we see two types of causes, material cause and intelligent cause. Simple example, this is an empty number of repetitions. If you see a chair, the material cause is the wood and the carpenter is the intelligent cause. But before creation, there is nothing except Brahman. So from Brahman this creation has come and therefore Brahman must be both the intelligent and the material cause. Now let us keep that point in mind all the time. An effect is not different from the cause.

The cause without name and form is called cause and the same cause with Nama, Rupa, Prayujana, name, form, etc. is called the effect. Simple. That is the second point, very important point. Now third point, even more important. In our minds we always see that the material cause is different from the effects. For example, a baby is born to a woman. Woman is different, baby is different. That is one view of creation. But when we take this example, gold and ornament, are there two objects? One is called gold, another is called an ornament.

As an example, there is a golden ornament and there is a silver ornament. Nowadays, you know, when weddings take place, people want to show they have very very valuable ornaments. So then I asked one recently married lady, oh, where did you get these immensely costly ornaments? She laughed and said, Swami, they are all fake. So coming back to our example, a silver ornament is different from a golden ornament. Silver is not gold, gold is not silver. But a golden ornament, there is no second object in a golden ornament. Gold is one object, ornament is another object. And you know, if these are two, what funny thing will result? Suppose you take gold to a goldsmith, I want a necklace, please make it. He says yes. So what he will do? If gold and ornaments are separate, he will keep all the gold and he will hand over you the ornament necklace. Did you ever see such a thing? Because golden necklace is only name and fame, name and form of the gold. They are not two objects. Object is only one, that is called gold. So if Brahman, apply this to creation. If Brahman is the cause and this world is the effect, are they two objects? That is Brahman, this is the world. That is where this second valley says Brahma Ananda Valley. No, Brahman is the world. Brahman with name and form is the world and world without name and form is Brahman. This point also is only a repetition. Many, many times I repeated it. But this process is meant for two purposes. The first purpose is to establish that this world is not born out of nothing. First point, point A, this world is not created by some other cause other than Brahman. If we accept this view, then what happens? Brahman cannot be ekam eva advitiyam. It will become advitiyam. There is something called Brahman and it has nothing to do with creation. There is something else other than Brahman and that created this one. So there are two ultimate realities called Brahman and Abrahman or non-Brahman, Atma and Anatma. That is not attainable because Brahman is Anantam. There cannot be two Anantams and everything that is not an Ananta is called Shanta or limited or finite and anything that is finite, it must be many. And even there are many, each is limited by time, space and causation. So therefore they go on. That is the first point. Second, they go on changing. Their spaces will change. One day I am facing you, one day I am by your side, another day I am in some other place. So at different times we can be at different spaces and we are also changing all the time. So that cannot be the definition of Brahman because remember Brahman is defined in the beginning without the least bit of doubt Satyam. Satyam means what? That which never changes. So this world, everything is changing. So Brahman cannot be this world. So that is not attainable because if the cause is one, the effect also must be the same.

If cause is Brahman, then this world is also Brahman. But then we have to understand Brahman with Nama Rupa. Nama Rupas are changing. Therefore we are not seeing the truth rightly, properly as we are supposed to see. And we have got cataract, jaundice. And this jaundice or cataract is caused by our mind. So long as there is a mind. And the mind is called subtle body. And the subtle body becomes the gross body. And the Panchabhutas become the experienced objects with Nama and Rupa. We cannot experience anything that does not have Nama and Rupa. So therefore our perception is wrong. There is no object called world. We are looking at Brahman all the time through the mind. And the mind is made up of time, space and causation. You look at any object through a prism. Swami Vivekananda gives this example in his Gnanayoga talks, I think third or fourth lecture. So Brahman one side, prism another in front of him. And this world that is Brahman, that is he is looking, how do we put it? Brahman is standing, imagine Brahman is standing in front of a mirror called prism. And Brahman is looking at his own reflection in this mirror called prism. And he sees so many things. But a reflection cannot be separate from the reflected, that is the Brahman. Therefore there is no second object called Brahman. So two points I said, point A, causal relationship. Because we are experiencing this world continuously and we think this is the reality. Even though this reality is fragmented into waking, dream and dreamless. And again the same process, Brahma Chakra.

Continuously this field of samsara is moving, going up, going down etc. So even then we are thinking that is the ultimate reality, parama satya. But by definition that which is changing, time is changing, space is changing, the object is changing, that which is changing cannot be satyam. But there is something who is witnessing this changing phenomena. Without changing, that unchanging witness is called gnanam or pure consciousness. We have discussed about it. And when a person realizes that, then he understands I am anantam.

So point A, the whole world is nothing but Brahman with nama and roopa. It cannot be nothing, no other thing other than Brahman. That is the first point. Point A, why the scripture, the upanishad is describing the process of creation. Now the point B is okay, I accept your words, so how do I know that I am Brahman. So a small example, supposing there is a five storeyed building and supposing you go up to the roof and you come down. You left your cloths to dry in the sun on the roof and then you come down to the ground floor. Now after some time you know the cloths will be dry by this time and you will have to reach. So what do we need to do? You will have to climb step by step, story by story. So there are two models as we discussed many times. This is from the sharira, body point of view.

The body point of view is what is called sharira traya viveka or avastha traya viveka or pancha kosha viveka. And why this pancha kosha? Because the atman is as it were put on five types of dresses from the grossest dress to the subtlest dress. And the subtlest dress reflects more and more, reveals more and more that which is putting on the dress, that is satyam jnanam anantam brahma. So where are we? If a sadhaka is at the ground level, that is annamaya kosha, then he has to be taken from there. If a person is on the second floor, he need not go down in order to go up. From second floor he can go to the third, fourth, fifth and finally the roof. Like that different people at different states of consciousness which can be also equated with the chakras, the three chakras beginning, then anahata, then vishuddha, then ajna, then sahasrara. So probably we can equate these pancha koshas or the first one is the first three koshas or the annamaya kosha, then gradually anahata, vishuddha, ajna and sahasrara. We have to accommodate a little bit.

So generally where are we found? We are found with this what we call annamaya kosha. Our body is important. Even if I have got wonderful ideal, I want to serve other people jiva seva or shiva jnane jiva seva, but I need the body. Simply saying I want to serve, I want to serve will not do. I require this body and also some implements. So like that we are deeply identified with this annamaya kosha and then once we are not completely identified with annamaya kosha. We are identified with this particular individual annamaya sarira. So the first step will be I must identify with everything that is called annamaya, that is called annamaya brahma and this identification. In other words with this is the universal physical world is called virat. We have to identify ourselves with the virat. Virat brahma upasana that is herein called annamaya brahma. So that is called spiritual practice. Otherwise the scripture need not say now you identify yourself with your body. No, no, we are already deeply identified with our individual body and a little bit we expand.

For example, when a person is not married, he is identified only with himself, his brothers and sisters, his parents etc. But as soon as a person gets married, he feels a special identification with his wife, with her husband, with the children, especially with the grandchildren, like that the identification. But there it stops. That is why a patriot is one. First he identifies with his family, then he is not a patriot. Then he starts identifying with the village, he becomes a small patriot. Then he identifies with his state, becomes a bigger patriot. Then he identifies with his own country, becomes a bigger patriot. Then he identifies with the entire world, with human beings especially, that is still bigger patriot. But he is not a real patriot. He must identify not only with the entire universe, but with everything, living, non-living, everything. And that is what the supanishad wants to say. Everything that we experience at the grossest physical level, including the living, the non-living, not only the sthavara and jhangama, jhangama means that which moves, sthavara means living, but that which is rooted to one place, all the trees, plants etc. But there are many things like the mountains, rocks, the clay, the earth etc. It is considered as non-living. So we have to consider living, non-living, everything combined we must identify with Brahman. This is the point B. So when we succeed in identifying ourselves with Virat Brahman, then another vision opens. Only then another vision opens. Like a person who knows he is ever in the ground floor and then one day he has never seen the second floor, one day he is taken to the second floor and it is even better than the ground floor or first floor. Then, oh this is marvellous, the view is much better and the place is more comfortable, like that you can imagine. But he is ignorant, there are upper stories are there, third, fourth, fifth and not only fifth, he has to go to the roof also. So this analogy is the roof is identified as Brahman or Brahman as roof and the Panchakoshas are identified with those five layers. Then Vijnanamaya Kosha, then Anandamaya Kosha, then the roof is called Ananda to distinguish from Anandamaya Kosha etc. So that is the process he wants to do. But to know, the very important point is, just now I mentioned, it is not only the living, whether it is rooted like plants or moving like animals, birds, insects etc. But some very important point is there. So the modern scientists say, what is this non-living? The rivers, the mountains etc etc etc. This is called a cloud of earth and a piece of stone, they are non-living or metals, non-living. But just think a little bit, suppose all these so-called non-living things disappear one day, can we live? We cannot live because everything is made up of living and non-living. What about the iron in you? What about the gold in you? What about the minerals in you? What about all these things in plants? For example, green leafy vegetables contain so much of iron. Iron in the form of food, not if somebody puts a nail in your tomato soup, that is not considered iron. So we have to, we cannot live. Iron deficiency, vitamin D deficiency, like that we require what we call the non-living as well. According to scientists, the sun is non-living, it is just nothing but a burning star and there are so many planets, they are mostly dead and the air is non-living, the earth is non-living, water is non-living, air is non-living, air is non-living, space is non-living, but that which is non-living is the root cause of all the living. From inorganic, if there were to be no inorganic, there cannot be any organic. If inorganic has become organic, that means the organ, organic is already potentially there in the inorganic, but only it is not discovered. This marvelous truth, Hindu scriptures teach these five elements, Akasha, Vayu, Agni, Apaha, Abhya, this Prithvi, everything is nothing but manifestation of Brahman from the subtlest to the grossest and at this time we are living completely identified with Prithvi, the grossest element called Prithvi or earth. How it is? So I hope you are getting the trend what the Upanishad wants to tell.

First identify with the root that is Prithvi. Prithvi is also called Annam and why it is called Annam? We will discuss very shortly. This is the background I wanted to give. There is no such division from a spiritual point of view, living and non-living, but scripture doesn't want to tell us, be attached to your body. No, you be attached to the very root of your body, somebody else's body, an animal's body, a bird's body, a plant's body and what is the root? What we call Mother Earth. Earth is the root, the cause for everything living and non-living of this entire cosmos which itself is unimaginable. That is the point and so the same process is carried on. There is some Panchakosha Vyvarana giving the analogy of a bird or the body of a human being. There is a head, there is a left hand, right hand, the trunk, the legs etc.

So for the sake of Vahasana, contemplation, we will come about it later on. So the last part of this first Anuvaka, first section, first section, first part of the first section we have seen that what is Brahman and what is the definition of Brahman and what result a person gets by knowing that one is Brahman and then what would be the enjoyment or result he will get by the knowledge, but now how to gain that knowledge. So the whole description of this creation is first of all as I mentioned to make us understand the cause and effect relationship and second to understand there is no difference between cause and effect. Third to understand the effect is nothing but cause with name and form. So gradually we have to become detached from this Nama Rupa. Then we go to the root cause. Thus gradually from one element and then once we identify with the entire of that gross element, then another Vista opens before us which is called, oh, I thought this was the cause. No, no, but this is also an effect. And what is the effect of this Prithvi which is called Annam, waters, Jalam and then our attempt should be to identify ourselves with that. Then we may get excited, we may dance, oh, I reached the roof. No, no, you are not. This is only second floor. Then third floor is Agni, fourth floor is Vayu, fifth floor is Akasha, but that is also not the one because the roof is, if you stand on the roof you are completely different from all the five stories and that roof is symbolized or Brahman is symbolized as that roof. We will leave these important points and then we will proceed now.

Tasmadvayitasmat Atmanaha Akasha Sambotaha Akasha Advayu, Vayu Agni, Agne Rāpaha, Akhyaprithvi, Prithviya Osadayaha, Osadibhyo Annam, Anāt Purushaha, Tavāyeśa Purusha, Anna Rasamayaha.

From that Atman or Brahman, see very subtly the Rishi has changed. In the first part what did he say? Brahman. He says Brahmavid āpnoti param.Tadeśa bhyukta satyam jñānam anantam brahmā. And that Rishi wants us to move towards Brahman, towards knowing that I am that Brahman and so he gives this description of the Srishti. Now what did he do? Tasmadvayitasmat. He should have said Brahmanaha Akasha Sambotaha. He should have said that. What is he telling? Atmanaha Akasha Sambotaha. Very intimately, very subtly, very intelligently that Brahmana, Brahman, Brahma, because in Sanskrit we don't say Brahman. It is only to distinguish Brahma from Brahma which is supreme reality. We put one, nakara, like Tamilian words, Brahman, so like that. Tasmadvayitasmat Atmanaha. From this Atman, that means he is telling, Atma means me, from your real self only, this whole Panchabhuta Savaka. Akasha Sambotaha. What is the first manifestation? Akashaha. Therefore this Akasha or space is all-pervading. It contains this entire cosmos and that is why it is called infinite, not really infinite. Akasha is not infinite. Any effect cannot be infinite because there was a time when Akasha was not there. There will be a time when Akasha will not be there. Therefore Akasha is also having time limitation. And whatever has time limitation has space limitation. Very subtle, nearest to the Atman. And it is easy to contemplate on Brahman taking this object called Akasha as our example. But that's all.

So Brahma, Atman or Brahman has manifested himself, not created. When you say a potter created a pot, you have that idea, potter is separate, pot is separate and the wheel instrument is separate. Here no. This is called Vivartavada. The pranamavada is milk became the yogurt, curds. Here it is called Vivartavada. The rope appears as name. Nothing happened to the rope. Every change took place only in the mind of the perceiver. That is the idea. The world was not there. It is only because of the mind. Just as we mistake a rope for a snake, similarly we mistake Brahman for this world. That mistake is called maya, agnana, avidya. And the purpose of this description is to help us to remove that agnana. We don't become Brahman. We were or will be Brahman. That I am not Brahman. That wrong notion has to be taken away. So from this akashaad vayu ho, vayu ho agni hi. From this space it manifested, became more gross like vayu, air. And from the vayu it became even more grosser. It is called agni or fire or tejas in Chandogya Upanishad.

Agni hai aapaha. This fire has become waters. That means even more gross. And these waters became prithvi. This earth, prithivyam osha dhayaha. So everything that has come out, the plants, etc., that is the living and nonliving, the waters, the mountains, the forests, everything goes to grow this food. So from this earth, osha dhayaha, we will discuss this point, what is osha, means fire. So udhayaha, that is that which pinches this fire. That is called oshadi. If you have got fever, some medicine you take, it removes, it swallows the fire.

You are suffering from hunger and thirst. Eat food, that is the oshadi, medicine. So oshadi bhyo annam. All these plants, these are called plants. From the plants came the, plants became the annam or food for birds, for animals, for insects, for human beings, for everybody else. And the parents eat this food. And this food, a particular, there is a special process by which this food becomes very finely refined, called the semen and the egg. Egg, semen in the man and egg in the woman, male and female. Not only man and woman, every male and female. So that annat, from that semen and egg, purushaha, human being is born. Why is human being, every animal, every creature? Because this, a mosquito is not going to attend this Taittiriya Upanishad class. An elephant is not going to attend and a dog is not going to attend. It is only this purusha, that is intelligent human, not all purushas. There is a special meaning for this purusha. We will talk about it. Therefore, this purusha, this human being that we see, is nothing but the semen and the seed. And the semen and the seed is nothing but the food. That food is nothing but earth. And therefore, he is nothing but the earth. Earth is nothing but the waters. Waters is nothing but the fire. Fire is nothing but the air. Air is nothing but the space. And the space is other than Brahman. Therefore,

May Sri Ramakrishna Holy Mother and Swami Vivekanda bless us all with bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna.