Chandogya Upanishad 4.10 Lecture 140 on 21 September 2025
Full Transcript (Not Corrected)
Opening Invocation
ॐ जननीं सारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगदगुरुम पादपद्मे तयो: श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहु :
Om Jananim Saradam devim Ramakrishnam jagadgurum Padapadme tayoh shritva pranamami muhurmuhuh.
ॐ आप्यायन्तु ममाङ्गानि वाक्प्राणश्चक्षुः
श्रोत्रमथो बलमिन्द्रियाणि च सर्वाणि।
सर्वम् ब्रह्मोपनिषदम् माऽहं ब्रह्म
निराकुर्यां मा मा ब्रह्म
निराकरोद निराकरणमस्त्व निराकरणम् मेऽस्तु।
तदात्मनि निरते य उपनिषत्सु धर्मास्ते
मयि सन्तु ते मयि सन्तु।
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः॥
oṃ āpyāyantu mamāṅgāni vākprāṇaścakṣuḥ
śrotramatho balamindriyāṇi ca sarvāṇi.
sarvam brahmopaniṣadam mā’haṃ brahma
nirākuryāṃ mā mā brahma
nirākaroda nirākaraṇamastva nirākaraṇam me’stu.
tadātmani nirate ya upaniṣatsu dharmāste
mayi santu te mayi santu.
oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ
Translation
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 who am engaged in the pursuit of the Self. May they repose in me. Om. Peace. Peace. Peace be unto all.
Introduction: Upakośala as a Student
We have started the story of Upakośala Kāmalāyana. Upakośala was a very earnest student like Satyakāma Jābāla, and we also studied the story of Satyakāma Jābāla. I deliberately used the word "studied" because these stories have tremendous meaning for us. As we contemplate, we understand better and more.
So this Upakośala studied under or had chosen Satyakāma Jābāla as his guru, went and joined him, and studied under Satyakāma for 12 years. That shows to us that Satyakāma Jābāla had become an independent guru, and we also know how he got the knowledge of Brahman purely through intuition as if through the instrumentality of the four gods.
The Twelve-Year Period of Study
Under him, Upakośala studied for 12 years, and usually 12 years is the period. Then what happened? Samāvartana—there is a ceremony after 12 years. More or less, the teacher as well as the students understand that their study period is over. They return back and then they settle down. Most of them settle down as householders, married people, and we also saw how they were given excellent guidelines on how to lead a gārhasthya jīvana, a married householder's life—an ideal householder's life.
That ceremony is called Samāvartana. At the end of 12 years, Satyakāma Jābāla called all those who completed the studies, gave them the convocation address, and sent them home. That rite is called the Samāvartana rite.
Upakośala's Exclusion and Depression
But even though Upakośala studied for 12 years, he was not called. Then Satyakāma Jābāla, the teacher, wanted to go on a pilgrimage without instructing Upakośala. So the student became depressed, dejected, and then he stopped eating.
And the wife of Satyakāma Jābāla—that means he also, after returning from his guru, got married. Now some of us might have doubts: after attaining Brahmajñāna, where is the need for marrying? Usually there must be some desires.
Understanding the Marriage of Realized Souls
But we need to understand that once a person realizes God, then it is only God who will make the person do what God wants him to do. God takes over. So not everyone married because of desires.
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa married not because of desire—in fact, just to the contrary. So there were so many ṛṣis. The father of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was considered a ṛṣi even though he had children. But he had attained so many visions of gods and goddesses, and in the end, three times he remembered with full consciousness and then left his body. His life clearly illustrates that even in this modern age, one can live the life of a ṛṣi.
And I am specially mentioning this because we should not compare Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, because Śuddhirāma was an ordinary person—though extraordinary, but not an avatāra. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was an avatāra.
Examples of Ideal Householder Life
He got married to show what is an ideal householder life. And he also asked Nāga Mahāśaya to lead a householder's life, even though Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa knew that Nāga Mahāśaya was more than most fitted to live a pure sannyāsin's life. Even though he was married, he was living a sannyāsin's life only. In order not to be tempted by some of these desires—common desires—Nāga Mahāśaya used to spend most of the nights by climbing a tree. We have to imagine how he could do that.
So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa asked him not to become a monk and purely to lead a householder's life but an ideal householder's life. So there are people who may be householders, but their lives are exemplary.
The Guru's Departure and the Wife's Intervention
So after 12 years of education, the vow of celibacy ends and the students are asked to return home with a convocation address. That is called practical Vedanta. So the guru did it for all the other brahmacārins but not for this particular student. Upakośala waited expectantly for the teacher to call him also, but he did not, and then he was about to depart on a pilgrimage.
The guru's wife took pity upon him and told, "This student led an exemplary student's life. He served the fires—your fires—for 12 years with tremendous sādhana, tremendous austerity. So why are you not teaching him?" Satyakāma Jābāla smiled at her, did not utter a word in answer, and just smilingly left.
The guru, Satyakāma Jābāla, ignored the words and went on a pilgrimage.
Understanding the Guru's Action
Now why did not the guru do it? That is the question that comes. So was he taking revenge on Upakośala? No, because who can know the mind of a student better than a teacher? So Satyakāma Jābāla clearly knew that this child of mine is ready for instruction, just as I had received intuitively though through the instrumentality, as it were—and we have to understand that the same inner voice can come out through the outer some instrument, some form.
So my student need not wait on. He will also very soon be enlightened. Now that also shows why did he give samāvartana to the other students? Because it is my guess that he did not feel the others were right for this Brahmāvidyā. So he did what is usual custom and sent them away.
But he kept this one because by the time he returns, he knew that his student also will be enlightened, and he will be clarifying some points further. But the student is absolutely ready to be instructed exactly like himself through the faces of the fires—the instrumentality of the fires.
The Third Mantra: Upakośala's Mental State
We discussed so far, and now we come to the third mantra. So the brahmacārin, out of mental grief, began to fast. The teacher's wife is more than one's own mother at that time. She knows these children must be terribly missing their own mothers. So she becomes like a grandmother looking after them. Most of the cases it was like that. So she observed he was not eating.
Then she addressed him and said, "Oh brahmacāri, why are you not eating? Why do you not eat?"
He said, referring to himself in the third person—very interesting—"There are in a man like me many desires directed to various objects. I am full of sorrows. I will not eat."
Analysis of Upakośala's Response
"Saha" means Upakośala. Indeed, many mental worries—nothing physical, completely mental. Depression, dejection, low-mindedness, no enthusiasm. He started not eating food.
Addressing him, "Jāyā" means wife. "Brahmacārin, please command it. Why are you refusing to eat? Please command it."
And he replied to this loving cajoling of the gurupatnī: "In this man"—in this person, referring to himself. That means he was aware.
The Awareness of a Spiritual Practitioner
So when a person starts practicing spiritual disciplines, what is the very first result? Every thought that arises is completely known to this person. Unconsciousness doesn't exist for a yogī. Every thought that arises in his mind, as if he is sitting in front of him with wide-open eyes, and then he will be observing it.
Swāmījī beautifully observes: In a real yogī, even before a negative thought, an unspiritual thought—even before it pops out, as if a small seedling is about to break out of the earth—immediately the person becomes completely aware. So then he can kill it. It is very easy to kill something. Once it starts rooting and growing up, the more it grows, the more difficult it is to eradicate.
Not only that, how does a thought grow? Because we are talking about unconscious thought. How does it grow? Unconsciously, it goes on mulling again and again and again. What is worry? Like a broken gramophone record, something goes on and on and on.
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Example of Focused Attention
Most of the time, we may be doing something. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa gives a beautiful example to illustrate this. In a village, there will be what is called grain huskers, and then they also sell. So usually a lady will be there, and there will be a husking rod, and it will be falling. Either some—maybe somebody, some servant—is going. They lift it, and then with quite good force, put it on the grain, which is in a small depression in a stone, like a hole they make.
And this lady has to stir it, so that what is at the bottom comes up, and what is at the top goes down, and then a lot of customers come. And she is talking, and she is doing everything: "How much you want?" and "Last time you owe me so much"—like that, everything is in her head. And she was dealing with lots of people. But her mind, 90% of her mind, is fixed on her hand, which is moving the grain there, because if she becomes negligent, a rod will fall. And that is called yoga.
So a person who is really practicing spiritual disciplines should be aware of these thoughts.
Upakośala's Self-Analysis
And here we see Upakośala—he became completely aware, and he is addressing, he is replying to the gurupatnī: "Asmin puruṣe"—in this person. "Me bahavaḥ ime"—"ime" means these. "Bahavaḥ"—many, many. "Kāmāḥ"—desires. "Nānātayā viṣādhībhiḥ"—very difficult or sorrow-producing thoughts.
"Viṣādhībhiḥ"—he used this word "viṣādhi," diseases. That is mental diseases. And by them, "nānātayā pratipūrṇasmi"—I am full of these things. "Na aśiṣyāmi iti"—I am going on a satyāgraha, I will not be eating, I cannot eat, because my mind refuses to eat. Many depressed people also will have that condition.
Understanding the Nature of These Desires
So what are these kāmas? We have to be very intelligent in interpreting these things. This person, who served the fires for 12 years, can have only higher desires, higher desires, spiritual desires—desires what is called śreyo desires, not preyo desires. So this person must be filled with thoughts like: "Why did my teacher send everybody away? Why did he not send me?" All those things.
So that is what we have to understand. "Saha"—that means this Upakośala—"yad-hīna, naśataṃ tad-dhi." So his mind was very much agitated, disturbed. So he says, "My mind was disturbed." And then he was very frank about it: "How can I eat? Because I am having a higher desire and it was not fulfilled, and my guru went away. I do not know when he is going to come. So I had a desire to learn very many higher things. I am not going to eat." That was his reply.
The Three Sacred Fires
But you know, he served the agnis. This is the reference we get for 12 years. He served guru's agnis, and he was a householder. So there are three agnis there. We have to understand—though I referred briefly—but in some more detail, I will be talking about them right now.
So every upper caste householder, especially Brāhmaṇas and especially orthodox Brāhmaṇas, are supposed to keep up three types of fires. In ancient India, that was a rule.
Gārhapatya Agni
So what are those fires? The first one is called Gārhapatya Agni. It is called Gārhapatya Agni because it is related to the householder. Gṛhastha's agni is called Gārhapatya Agni.
When this person will be married, he will be given a little bit of his father's Gārhapatya Agni. And this young man, after marriage, has to make it his, because previously he was not a gṛhastha. Now he has become a gṛhastha. So he has to tend it, and that fire becomes his personalized fire. So he starts tending it by himself.
So after marriage, the householder lights this fire and it should continue. It should never go out. It should continue to burn as long as he lives. But this fire is extinguished only on two occasions.
When the Fire is Extinguished
When this householder dies, then his body will be burned. So they will put his body on some firewood. But that firewood has to be lit only by the fire taken from this Gārhapatya Agni, not from any other fire—that nityāgni. It will be eternally burning in a small place where there is no wind, and they will be having small attendants. Every now and then they look into it so that the fire is kept burning, and that will be there. The first occasion is when the person is dead.
If he is not dead, the second occasion is when he takes to the life of sannyāsa. You know, in the olden days, according to our Vedas, life is divided into four āśramas: The āśrama for learning and digesting what is called Vedic knowledge, chanting—including chanting śikṣā-valli. Then learning the what is called upāsanās, because for a householder, upāsana is a very important discipline.
Then afterwards, when he comes back, he has to continue those upāsanās until he enters into the second stage—or rather third stage—called vānaprasthāśrama. Then whatever is being done physically, externally, now has to be done mentally, spiritually. That is called upāsana—that is called worship, contemplation.
Because age also will be there, and to perform a lot of rituals, a tremendous amount of energy is needed. Even if energy is there, our ṛṣis have made such provisions. Now you have done your best: you are married, you led a good life, produced offspring, and you brought them up. Now they are also kept on their own feet. Now it is time for you to retire.
As I mentioned earlier, this is Rāmakṛṣṇa's dharmasthāpana. How did he do? This is one of the things: in childhood one has to learn, and then most of the people get married. That is called gṛhasthāśrama, and then you should lead an ideal householder life. And we see in the Gospel of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa that there are certain special chapters advised to householders, even though most of the things are only like that.
Transition to Sannyāsa
So this is one of the fires we are talking about, especially in the families of orthodox Brāhmaṇas: from the father's Gārhapatya Agni one has to borrow, and that would be the son's own treasure, and that has to be maintained until he dies or until he takes to the life of vānaprastha.
As we know, this fire is to be maintained, and when a person takes to sannyāsa—which is mandatory almost after vānaprasthāśrama—even during vānaprasthāśrama he is not supposed to do external rituals. That's why just now I said only what is called contemplations—mental contemplations.
When he progresses further, then he will take to sannyāsa. At that time, we are supposed to do—or each sannyāsin is supposed to do—his own funeral or śrāddha ceremony. Antyeṣṭi is called the last rite, because a sannyāsin is one who is still alive, so he will do with the help of a pūjārī his own last rite. But for a dead person, his sons have to do that, and usually the eldest son has to do it.
So these are the two occasions when a person will not have anything to do with this Gārhapatya Agni. This is the first fire.
Āhavanīya Agni
Then, whenever this householder has to do some special ritual—and in the Vedic times, 20 of these rituals are there—so agnihotra is a most common thing, and for the fulfillment of various desires. For example, Putrakāmeṣṭi, Dhanakāmeṣṭi, or Kṣetruje Kāmeṣṭi—then a person has to do different types of rituals.
Then what he does: he has to usually gather some firewood and light it, and that lighting of the firewood which are meant for the fulfillment of certain desires—that fire has to be borrowed from the Gārhapatya Agni. From there a small firewood is lit, and then with that, usually there is some way of doing it, and the ritual has to be completed with that.
That's why it is called "Āhava"—Āhavanīya. "Āhava" means fetching: one has to fetch from that original fire called Gārhapatya Agni. And when the karma is over, it is added to the original fire again. After that, he will take and again put back to the Gārhapatya Agni. That is the second agni, called Āhavanīya Agni.
Dakṣiṇa Agni
Then there is something called Dakṣiṇa Agni. During certain rituals, the person who is doing these rituals has to face the east, and towards his right hand—which is called southern side—if a person is facing the east, his right side will be the southern direction. Another fire has to be lit for some specific rituals. This is called Dakṣiṇa Agni—Dakṣiṇa Agni, a fire which is to be seen in the southern side, kept to be lit and maintained for offering things now and then.
So two agnis will be there: Āhavanīya Agni in front and Dakṣiṇa Agni by the side. And then sometimes, what is called uncooked rice—raw rice or grains—have to be put into this Āhavanīya Agni. That is why it is also called Anvāhārya Pacana Agni. "Anvāhārya" means uncooked; "pacana," cooked. "Anvāhārya" means uncooked rice that has to be given. That is why the name of the fire itself is called Anvāhārya Pacana Agni.
The Fires' Decision to Teach
So these three fires are discussed. Now Upakośala became dejected and stopped eating. The Upaniṣad abruptly carries on the story. What does it say?
Now, these three fires have been served just like if some servants served us their whole life with the greatest love and tenderness and productiveness. Right from childhood, the children look upon these attendants themselves as their own parents, and then when these children grow up, then they look after these people.
So like that, these Brāhmin children have to have been taught to light the fire and do it. So like the devoted attendants serving the household—especially the children—so the students, the householders, especially the student Upakośala, had served these fires for how long? For 12 years. And there are certain methodologies: where to sit, how to meditate, what to offer, etc., and without deviating even once, with full concentration. And that was the karma yoga.
Just as his own guru did karma yoga—he also was tending the cows—and he also was serving the fires. That's why the fires were pleased. So when the right time came, then they manifested themselves.
Understanding the Divine Nature of the Fires
What are these fires? These fires are not just what you get when you light some firewood and call it a fire. They are none other than the devatās. Adhiṣṭhāna devatā—we have seen Vāyu Devatā, Agni Devatā, Sūrya Devatā, and Prāṇa Devatā. Four fires in the case of Satyakāma Jābāla manifested—that is the intuitive power of Satyakāma now reflected in the form of these external instruments like mirrors. And that is what happened—is going to happen to Upakośala.
Now these three agnis are mentioned here, not four, and then they got together and said, "This student had served us very well. Now we cannot leave him like that. He is depressed because his guru did not teach him, but the devatās"—they only revealed themselves to Satyakāma Jābāla. So they said, "No, we are just as we revealed to Satyakāma Jābāla, even though his guru was there in the āśrama—gurukula—but not in the forest. But here also, the guru was absent, even though he was in the house itself. But the fires were pleased how this Upakośala had served them and decided to bestow their grace."
The Divine Grace Manifestation
What we have to understand is that these fires are none other than the iṣṭa devatā but appearing in the form. Like Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa—he was completely merged in nirvikalpa samādhi for 6 months after his Advaita teacher Totāpurī had left. Completely for 6 months, he was barely conscious of the external world. Six months passed.
We know a holy man—a sādhu—suddenly came from somewhere. "Somewhere" means the Divine Mother only had sent him. How do we know? Because that sādhu could understand that Divine Mother has a purpose for this holy man. "I must see that he keeps his prāṇa to the bare minimum." Though for 6 months—nearly 6 months—this holy man served Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, even often beating his body with a stick for the purpose of bringing Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's mind down.
And whenever he found that the body became a little bit conscious—or Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa became conscious, just barely conscious of the external world—then that sādhu used to keep some cooked food ready, and immediately he used to put that food inside, push like what we call a small ball inside the mouth of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa.
And Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was describing: "Sometimes a little bit used to go inside; sometimes most of the time, most of the food used to only slip down from the mouth. But what reached the stomach was enough to keep his body alive."
But that's not our point. Our point is: at the end of 6 months, he heard a divine voice: "Bhāvamukhe ṭhāku, bhāvamukhe ṭhāku"—remain in the threshold of bhāvamukhā, which is between the absolute and the relative.
Now how did he get the commandment? Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said it was through a woman called Rāmaṇī, and she was not a good woman at all. So Divine Mother appeared in the form of a Rāmaṇī and commanded him, "Bhāvamukhe ṭhāku," because Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was born to propagate dharma, not to be in this nirvikalpa samādhi.
So how did he hear? Through this woman called Rāmaṇī. Exactly in the same way, here also Upakośala—Satyakāma Jābāla—he got in the form of one fire, the sun, and the Prāṇa Devatā and Vāyu Devatā, etc. So two fires, Agni Devatā, Vāyu Devatā, and a swan and a water bird called Madgu. But they were all devatās—four devatās in four different forms.
Here also, the same phenomenon is going to be repeated with one small exception: that in the case of Satyakāma Jābāla, it is four fires, and now it is only three fires, as we discussed just now—that Gārhapatya Agni and Dakṣiṇa Agni and Anvāhārya Pacana Agni.
Satyakāma's Departure and Faith
Now what happened? Satyakāma Jābāla, even though his wife pleaded with him, smiled, did not reply at all. Probably she would not have understood, and he left smiling. Why? Because he had faith. Just as he had been revealed the truth about complete Brahman, the same fires—"I know my child Upakośala attended to these fires beautifully, and I know they are going to teach." With that faith only, he went.
Not that "I will keep this brahmacārin here and let him serve me like a bond slave." No—the brahmajñānī guru, he knows everything. So he just smiled hopefully and he went away. But of course, Upakośala didn't understand it; he became depressed. But the fires now had an emergency meeting and they consulted among themselves.
The Fires' Teaching Plan
So what did these agnis do? So these agnis, they consulted among themselves, and the three fires together taught Upakośala two types of upāsana:
- Hiraṇyagarbha Upāsana (Kārya Brahma Upāsana)
- Īśvara Upāsana (Kāraṇa Brahma Upāsana)
Because if you remember, Virāṭ Brahma is the kārya (effect). Every effect must have the cause. Who is the cause? Hiraṇyagarbha. But in his turn, Hiraṇyagarbha is also an effect. Every effect must have a cause. So who is the cause of Hiraṇyagarbha? Īśvara Upāsana.
So first Hiraṇyagarbha Upāsana, and then the fires taught: First of all, Hiraṇyagarbha is the collective subtle body. Of course, we have to understand that he includes Virāṭ also, who is the collective external world—universal, the whole universe together. And Hiraṇyagarbha is an effect, and he is having the cause from where or whose manifestation Hiraṇyagarbha came. At a lower level, it is called Kāraṇa Brahma—the cause Brahman, as the cause.
In this case, Īśvara is the cause. This is called Kāraṇa Śarīra. Individual causal body is called Prājña; collective causal body—all the causal bodies together—is called Īśvara. This is what the fires first taught—these two—and later on, separately, they have taught: "Each one of them have taught, so this is what had happened."
The Fourth Mantra: The Fires' Teaching Begins
Now we will enter into the fourth mantra, and I have already discussed what we are going to say in the fourth mantra.
"Atha ha agnayaḥ samādhire. Tat-to brahmacāri kuśalaṃ naḥ paryacari. Hanta asmai prabhravāma iti. Tasmai ha ūcuḥ: prāṇo brahma, khaṃ brahma, khaṃ brahma heti."
"Atha ha"—so when seeing this upāsaka called Upakośala upāsaka, the fires "samādhire"—they talked within themselves. What did they talk?
"Agnayaḥ"—three fires, as mentioned earlier. Three fires.
"Atha"—now, seeing Upakośala in that condition.
"Ha"—indeed.
"Agnayaḥ"—all the three agnis together (later on I will teach individually, but here together).
"Samādhire"—they talked among themselves. What did they talk?
The Fires' Decision
"Tat-to brahmacāri"—this brahmacārin, what did he do?
"Kuśalaṃ naḥ paryacari"—"kuśalam" means extraordinarily well, with great śraddhā and carefulness, concentration, devotion. "Naḥ"—us. "Paryacari"—served us. In the right time he lit us up and he maintained us, all with the idea that they are sacred fires, not ordinary things. This brahmacārin.
But now what do we see him? Because the guru had left without teaching him, without giving him what is called samāvartana.
"Tat-taḥ"—mentally. "Tat-taḥ" means literally he is "kukūl"—burnt.
"Hanta"—indeed.
"Asmai prabhravāma iti"—"Let us teach! His teacher might not have taught him, but we will teach him."
"Asmai"—to this brahmacārin who is "tat-taḥ brahmacāri."
The Teaching Commences
As soon as they decided, what did they do?
"Tasmai ha ūcuḥ"—addressed him. They must have addressed earlier—we have seen so with Śraddhā. What is called Satyakāma—every fire was telling, "O Satyakāma!" But here the same thing must have happened: "O Upakośala!" But the mantra doesn't tell us.
"Tasmai ha ūcuḥ"—addressing him, they said. What did they say? Straightaway they started giving:
"Prāṇo brahma, khaṃ brahma, khaṃ brahma"
I think three factors:
- Prāṇa is Brahman - Prāṇa means the individual prāṇa as well as the collective prāṇa. It is nothing but Brahman. Vāyu Devatā, as we have seen, is nothing but Hiraṇyagarbha. He is Brahman.
- Kha Brahma - Then what is the next one? "Kham"—in Vedantic terminology, "kham" means sukham. Any type of objective enjoyment we get, that is called "kham." If we are eating tasty food, smelling a fragrant flower, experiencing beautiful weather—just right spring weather—or we are hearing some very sweet music, or in every way—tasting, smelling, seeing—we are seeing something very, very pleasant, and it gives happiness.
And as I mentioned, how do we know? Because happiness means so long as it lasts, we will not be aware of time. That means we will not be aware of our personality. We become one with that happiness. So that objective happiness—collective happiness—is called Brahman.
- Kha as Ākāśa - And not only that, "khaṃ brahmeti"—"kham" also means ākāśa. Ākāśa means space. Space also is Brahman.
Understanding the Vedantic Terms
So prāṇa is Brahman, sukham is Brahman, space is Brahman. English words do not convey such meaning. In Vedantic terminology, there is nothing which is not pure consciousness. Individually, we are also part of the pure consciousness, or manifestations of a small bit of consciousness. Collectively, the whole external world is collective consciousness. Even that is only a little bit.
How do we know? "Atyatiṣṭhat daśāṅgulaṃ sahasraśīrṣā puruṣaḥ sahasrākṣaḥ sahasrapād. Sa bhūmiṃ viśvato vṛtvā atyatiṣṭhat daśāṅgulam"—having manifested as this world, that Brahman who is called "thousand-headed"—means as many heads, as many hands, as many legs, as many bodies, as many objects—the entire universe is only an infinitesimal part of that infinite. "Atyatiṣṭhati"—He transcends far above. So that is called the Brahman.
And "kham"—ākāśa is often called Brahman.
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Devotee Kṛṣṇa Kiśore
So "khaṃ brahma." If you recollect, in the life of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had a devotee called Kṛṣṇa Kiśore, and he was a practitioner of oṃkāra. Often he used to boast, "I am kham! I am unattached, untouched!" What is the characteristic of ākāśa? Complete detachment, untouched.
Then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is telling: Once, what happened? He did not pay taxes, so the tax collector came and threatened him: "By this time, if you do not pay your taxes, we will take away all your utensils and other things." He was not a rich man—he had very little possessions—"but we will take away all those things also."
Then Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa sometimes used to visit this Kṛṣṇa Kiśore, who was a man of great faith in some way. Because he was thirsty at one time, and he was in Vṛndāvana, and he went to some low-caste people who were drawing water. And Kṛṣṇa Kiśore went and asked, "Give me some water, I am very thirsty."
They said, "We are low-caste people. We will incur sin if we give water to you."
He said, "That is fine. You just utter the name of Śiva, and you become pure. Then I have no objection to drink that water." And they did it, and he drank. He had real faith that by taking God's name, they all became completely pure.
But when the tax collector threatened him, he was worried. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa—he remembers everything, unfortunately even the not-such-good things—so he said, "You often say 'I am kham'—unattached. So let them take away your pans and cooking pots, etc. What does it matter? After all, you are kham!"
Unfortunately, in this Kṛṣṇa Kiśore, though he had the faith, he did not have any... Funny things were there about this Kṛṣṇa Kiśore. Once Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa went there, he found him eating bread soaked in milk. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa smiled—he knew everything. He asked, "What is this you are doing?"
He said, "I am observing Ekādaśī—11th day."
"Oh, what do you mean?"
"I am not eating rice and roṭi. I am just eating this bread soaked..." And not just how many—half a bread, one piece of bread—plenty of pieces! Not only that, he said, "I am keeping some soaked in milk in case I get hungry, then I will be eating."
Rāmakṛṣṇa said and named it "Kṛṣṇa Kiśore's Ekādaśī." He said, "I would like to observe it." And he said, "Once I observed it, and I ate so much of this bread that next day I had to really do Ekādaśī because I got indigestion!"
Anyway, so this is what "kham" means.
Understanding Ākāśa as Brahman
Ākāśa—ākāśa is a product. A product is always kārya—an effect. An effect is always limited. It should not be kham. Therefore, we have to understand in a different way.
Here, "kham" means cidākāśa—pure consciousness. Dhṛdākāśa—we have already seen that dhṛdākāśa. So whatever enjoyment we are having—even though unbeknown to us—it is nothing but manifestation of brahmānanda only. Only because we are thinking it is coming from outside, we say it is enjoyment. But if it comes from within, or as our own nature, that is called brahmānanda.
A marvellous subject—we will discuss about it in future.
Summary of the Fires' Initial Teaching
So these three fires together said: "Not only prāṇa is Brahman, not only every type of enjoyment is Brahman, but this cidākāśa or dhṛdākāśa is also Brahman. Now you will have to contemplate on that and realize Brahman, whether in samādhi or outside samādhi."
Closing Prayer
ॐ जननीं सारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगदगुरुम पादपद्मे तयो: श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहु :
Om Jananim Saradam devim Ramakrishnam jagadgurum Padapadme tayoh shritva pranamami muhurmuhuh.
May Ramakrishna Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna!