Chandogya Upanishad 4.14 Lecture 144 on 05 October 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.
Recapitulation of Previous Class
In our last class, we completed the 13th section. We also completed the 14th section, wherein the three fires taught Upakośala 12 aspects of Brahman.
The Twelve Aspects
What are they? Pṛthvī, Agniḥ, Annam, Āditya, Āpaḥ, Diśaḥ, Nakṣatrāṇi, Chandramā, Prāṇaḥ, Ākāśaḥ, Vidyut, Vāyu.
The fires also taught Upakośala the result of this upāsanā. We have seen his life becomes the most happy life, fulfilled life, meaningful life. He lives up to the brim, every millisecond of his life, until the body passes away.
And after the body passes away, the very fires, which are nothing but Adhiṣṭhātṛ Devatās, they conduct him to the higher worlds as deserved by him because he contemplated, did upāsanā. Here in the Upaniṣad, it uses the word: Upakośala served the fires.
Understanding Service and Contemplation
The fires themselves use the word, "He attended to us. He served us." What we need to understand is not bringing some firewood and adding and keeping the fire going on. No, it means he started contemplating.
And what is contemplation? Superimposing a higher idea upon something visible and lower. For example, a stone image of Viṣṇu called Śāligrāma—superimpose the very attributes of Viṣṇu, Nārāyaṇa. On Śiva Liṅga, you attribute and superimpose all the attributes of the infinite Lord.
So even whenever, wherever we see a Śiva Liṅga, emblem of Śiva, below there would be the mother, symbol of fertility. What does it mean? It means Śiva and Śakti are one and the same, two aspects. But if we look upon it in one way—that is, without being active—the same Śiva will appear as Parabrahma. But when he is looked upon as the creator, maintainer and reabsorber, he will be called Saguṇa Brahma. This is the symbolism.
Swami Vivekananda's Commentary on Upakośala Vidyā
So here, Swami Vivekananda also had some comments, beautiful commentary for us to understand what is this Upakośala Vidyā. This vidyā was taught by the fires as well as by his own ācārya, Satyakāma. At the end, the whole thing is called Upakośala Vidyā—a knowledge, a particular special contemplation called Upakośala contemplation. Because he contemplated in this particular way, it came to be known as Upakośala's contemplation, Upakośala Vidyā.
The Twelve Manifestations
And then we have seen in our last class, I very briefly mentioned to you: what does it mean? All these twelve things that we see—you open your eyes and you open all the other sense organs, every sense organ, mind. What do we perceive?
And this creation can be divided into, or we can say this creation is the manifestation of all these twelve. It is for the sake of contemplation. What does it mean? It means like Rājapratinidhi. Every country sends its ambassador to other countries and that ambassador represents the whole of that particular country. Similarly, these represent Parabrahman.
But because of our inability to understand at this stage, slowly we need to be lifted up. For that purpose, you look at this earth and we are on this earth. Without earth, we cannot survive and we go back. That's what the Christian burial ceremony or sermon says: "Dust unto dust..."
So we are born of the earth and we are sustained by earth and we go back to earth. Similarly, Agni—without fire, without heat, without light—and this fire, the sun and the stars, the moon and the lightning, all these things are interrelated. The earth and then the annam, the food, the prāṇa and the ākāśa, they are all related.
The Interconnectedness of Creation
And all these diśaḥ, the four quarters, directions, ākāśa, space and Dyau. Dyau represents all the worlds whereupon we sustain, we are supported. So all these are nothing but the sṛṣṭi, sthiti, laya aspect of Parabrahman called Saguṇa Brahma or Īśvara or Śakti.
So the fires themselves said, "Wherever you see these twelve aspects, you are seeing each one of us—four, four, three fires into four aspects. And we are the residing deities of this entire creation." That means you will not exist without us. Nobody, no creation can exist without us.
The Purpose of Upāsanās
Now here the very special purpose of the Upaniṣad is to make us free. For that purpose certain upāsanās are there. It is like intermediate classes—the beginning with what we call the kindergarten, nursery school, middle, high school, then college, then university, etc. Like that we progress.
So the whole thing is nothing but progress. Progress where? In the manifestation of our own consciousness. That is what is called in some tantric works as chakras.
Understanding Lokas as States of Consciousness
Chakra is not a fixed location. Lokas, the worlds are not some kind of residing places but they are all states of consciousness. And depending upon these states of consciousness, it has nothing to do with geographical location.
I gave many examples. Even if somebody, for example Indra, is in heavenly world but his mind is fixed on some woman on earth—where is he? Where is his consciousness? This is what I said. A vulture's way of looking and what the vulture does after locating the rotting corpses.
So if a man is living in the very hell but for him God himself will manifest if he is a devotee. Example: Bali Chakravarti. God put his stamp with his own feet. "I will forever reside in your head and you go to Naraka. I will be your door keeper."
Now tell me, here is the person and God himself. He says, "I will protect you and I will look after you. I will supply everything that you need. And 24 hours, I am a billion eyes. I am going to look after you. Nobody can touch because I am the protector of not only you but of the entire universe."
The Story of Bali
Now tell me, Bali was pushed back to Pātāla according to Bhāgavata story. But Lord not only put his stamp on his head by placing his lotus foot as the third foot, that is Vāmana Avatāra, incarnation as a dwarf. And then he gave the boon, "I will be with you forever."
When God is there inside, that is on the head means what? Inside. And as the door keeper means what? Outside. Then where is this devotee really living? Is he living in a hell or is he living in God himself? And God is beyond even Brahma Loka or Satya Loka.
These are the inner findings. We will have to contemplate and meditate.
Practical Vedanta According to Swami Vivekananda
Anyway, Swami Vivekananda unfolds, lets us into the secret of these upāsanās. That's why I will be reading out. So these fires also taught him. Not only they taught, they taught the contemplations on these 12 aspects.
That is, whenever you experience any of these 12 aspects and we all do it—not only Upakośala, not only Satyakāma, all of us—then it should remind that it is Brahman himself, God himself who is manifesting in the form of these 12 aspects. It is like slowly taking the hand of a small child and guiding him step by step to a higher arena.
The Results of Upāsanā
Now having taught these upāsanās, the fires also taught him the result of these upāsanās. He becomes a famous person. He lives a full life. No accident will befall him and he will never be unhappy because we will guarantee that there would be no cause for any unhappiness.
No event will take place and even if such events take place and must take place—because summer, winter, fall, sometimes it is hot, sometimes it is cold, this cannot be avoided even by knowers of Brahman. But they will not care because the Lord is in their hearts. Nobody can disturb, nobody can take away even an iota of their happiness.
So this will be the result and death will not make him go down. These very deities take him from one place to another place. That explanation is going to come in the last śloka, we will see it.
The Final Teaching
But the point is God is manifesting, God himself through the fires has himself taught and then they told him that now after instructing, "Now we have instructed you how you can be a fit person for the final leap to becoming one with Brahman and that your own teacher will teach you. Soon he is going to return." So the fires instructed him to learn the rest.
Rest means how he could become identified with Brahman and proclaim naturally, "I am Brahman."
The Return of Satyakāma
So his teacher, Upakośala's teacher was Satyakāma Jābāla and then this brahmachāri must have been extremely happy. Soon the teacher returned from his journey and he was expecting it, not that it was a surprise.
Just as Satyakāma Jābāla's teacher cognised, "Your face is shining like a knower of Brahman," he saw his own disciple's face, Upakośala's face shining and asked him, "Who taught you?" That means, "Who made you so fit for this final leap to Brahman?"
Then Upakośala indicated the fires and said, "These are the fires. In your absence, rather I would consider that you have taught me in the form of these fires and made me come up to this standard whereby I've become a Sadana chatushta sampanna, a fit person. Now I am ready for Shravana, Manana and Nidhidhyasana."
Swamiji's Teaching on Practical Vedanta
Now I am going to read out to you what Swami Vivekananda had to say about this incident in the life of Upakośala. And then he says, what is Swamiji going to talk about? He says Vedānta must be practical. After śravaṇa, remove the doubts and make it practical. That is called practical Vedānta.
And then Swamiji is expressing that idea. And this is the real practical side of Vedānta. It doesn't destroy the world but it explains it. It doesn't destroy the person but explains him. It doesn't destroy the individuality but explains it by showing the real individuality.
Understanding Mithyā
What does Swamiji mean? So if anybody unfit for study of the Advaita Vedānta—if he studies any works of the Advaita Vedānta—and I have unfortunately come across many of them, Swamiji himself had come across many of them who were ranting, "Jagat Mithyā! God alone is real, everything is unreal."
But Swamiji said this is not correct. This is what I tried to explain in my last class about our concept of Mithyā. Mithyā is not to be equated either with illusion, delusion or unreal. No, Mithyā has to be understood because this is severely limited and any limited thing can only give limited thing. It cannot give what is beyond it.
The Limitation of Objects
So simple example I want to give. Supposing somebody puts one gram of sugar in a sweet—how much sweet does the sweet meat become? Only one gram. Suppose somebody puts two grams or five grams then it will be even more sweet.
So any limited thing—that is, the very word indicates limited thing—can give only limited thing. Any object, every object, they are all limited. Therefore to expect from a limited object more of happiness or experience—that is pure delusion, that is pure illogicality and what is called irrational. No, that is not going to happen. This is what Swamiji says.
Vedānta Explains, Not Destroys
No, what does every upāsanā do? This kind of upāsanās—remember this is with regard to Agni's three fires' teachings to Upakośala—doesn't deny the world, doesn't deny the person, doesn't destroy the individuality but it explains by showing, rather by taking the person by hand to higher and higher regions and finally leading him to his real individuality.
The word individuality, Swamiji used to make a bit fun of it. So individuality means indivisible. Are you indivisible now or are you 50 personalities? As a husband, as a wife, as a teacher, as a nurse, as an advisor—so many personalities and every personality is vying with other personalities to dominate. No, you are not real individuals.
So yes, Swami Vivekananda. But in the end you will become really indivisible and that which is indivisible is also called Anantam. That is called Brahma. Satyam, Jñānam, Anantam, Brahma.
The True Nature of the World
So everything that we see in this world is not unreality but it is limited. Limited Satyam, limited Jñānam and limited expression. That's all.
Now I will continue Swamiji's teachings. That's what he means. It doesn't show that this world is vain or doesn't exist. But it says: understand what this world is so that it may not hurt you. If you don't understand, it will hurt you. If you understand, it will make your life blissful, blessed, fulfilled.
The voice did not say to Upakośala that the fire which he was worshipping or the sun or the moon or the lightning or anything else—all those 12 aspects, there may be many many more aspects—was all wrong. No. But it showed him that the same spirit, same Chaitanya which was inside the sun and the moon and the lightning and the fire and the earth was in him so that everything became transformed as it were in the eyes of Upakośala.
Commentary on Transformation
What is my commentary? The same pure consciousness which is in the sun, moon, lightning, fire, earth, all the quarters, etc., etc. So everything becomes transformed. Now we see them with a new light, light of Brahman.
So the change occurs in our perception because outside things do not become suddenly God. They are already God. But because we are wearing these tinted glasses of Sattva, Rajas and Tamo Guṇas, they appear to be like that.
The Three Guṇas as Glasses
And remember, whenever I use the word glasses, tinted glasses, I have to understand that they are the three Guṇas. Glasses are to be equated with Guṇas. When we look at the same tree through Tamo Guṇa, it becomes something to be cut, to be enjoyed, to be burned.
When I look with Rāja Guṇa, so I want to worship it, propagate it and then see the benefit because every plant is an auṣadhi, medicine. We have to discover how it is going to help us. And through prayer, through meditation, contemplation, we can discover it.
If a person puts on the glasses called Sattva Guṇa, he is a Sāttvika person, what does he see? He sees everything as manifestation of Īśvara only. Finally, when he throws off all these glasses, he will have complete, full, open picture: Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma. This is the explanation.
Swamiji's Beautiful Commentary
Swamiji continues: A fire which was merely a material fire before, before the contemplation, in which to make oblations, assumed a new aspect and became the Lord. Now it became Devatā, Agni Devatā. The earth became transformed. Light became transformed. The sun, the moon, the stars, the lightning, everything became transformed and deified. That means it became God. The real nature was known. This was Swamiji's beautiful commentary.
Understanding the Gopīs' Devotion
And unfortunately, some of the people are hanging only on this Upaniṣadic, Advaitic teachings. They never even—the Advaita followers—never even glimpsed what Rāmānujācārya was telling, what Madhvācārya was telling. And to understand the essence of what Rāmānuja and Madhva were telling, we have to turn to Bhāgavatam, 10th Skandha, and therein we have to turn to this Rāsa Pañcādhyāyī, wherein even these so-called village maidens—they are not maidens, it doesn't mean only unmarried people.
Gopīs are not—every Gopī was not unmarried. There are so many Gopīs who were married, who had children, who had husbands, who had brothers, and they had some property. And Kṛṣṇa used to go and steal.
Kṛṣṇa the "Thief"
And lovingly, devotees go on doing bhajan: "Kṛṣṇa is a chara (चर), immoral. Kṛṣṇa is a chora (चोर). He is also a thief."
But we do not understand, Kṛṣṇa never enters to steal anything from the house of a non-devotee. He will only enter into the house of a devotee who is praying longingly, "O Lord, please come, by whatever guise you come."
And he enters, and then he will steal something. What does it mean? That stealing means he steals the very heart, like Yamadharma Rāja's Mṛtyu Pāśa. Kṛṣṇa, he spreads the net of his love, his grace, in the form of capturing the very heart through these very acts.
The Story of Gopāla's Mother
Remember, how do we know that this is all poetic, emotional outburst? How do we know it is not the truth? How do we know it is the truth? We have to refer to Gopāla's mother. Thirty-three years she meditated upon Bāla Gopāla, like Yaśodā.
So, what was the result? God appeared to her, exactly in this way. She was contemplating upon him, and he started, "Mā, I want butter." And she was a poor lady. She was telling, "Baba, I would have given you cartloads of butter, but I don't have money. I am a poor woman. And you are asking, how can I say no? But how can I say yes? Now, you take these dry coconuts. This is all I have. This is all I was offering to my living Gopāla, who was Ramakrishna."
And grumbling, he accepted. That very grumbling. And Gopāla's mother will be contemplating, "My Gopāla, he got angry with me. My Gopāla, he scolded me. My Gopāla, he had frightened me."
The Deeper Meaning of Kṛṣṇa's Actions
What do you think Kaṁsa was doing? Why do you think that divine proclamation had come? "The eighth child of your sister's womb is going to be your destroyer."
What does Bhāgavatam mean? If Kaṁsa is destroyed by Kṛṣṇa, what was Kṛṣṇa's teaching? If a person thinks, "I am going to be a killer," and if another person thinks, "This person is coming to kill me, I am going to be killed"—both are profoundly ignorant. There is no killer. There is no killed. Because there is only one Ātman. That is the symbolism.
What Does Kṛṣṇa Really Kill?
So did really Kṛṣṇa kill Kaṁsa? What can Kṛṣṇa kill? What does Kṛṣṇa mean? What do we mean by Kṛṣṇa? Kṛṣṇa means God. God means what? Satyam, Jñānam, Anantam.
What can Satyam kill? Only Asatyam. What can Jñānam kill? Only Ajñānam. What can Anantam kill? What is opposite of Anantam? Sāntam, Sa Antam-that which is limited.
So in the Incarnation, Hiraṇyakaśipu was killed and a small light came out of him—that is called Jīvātmā, limited consciousness before. Now became one with Narasiṁhamūrti.
God's Beloved Devotees
Similarly, when Kaṁsa was killed, in fact, Kaṁsa prayed. We have to understand, God doesn't come and kill every Tom, Dick and Harry. Otherwise, we could have wholeheartedly prayed, "O Lord, come to America and kill such and such a person. He is causing lot of visa problems." No.
God kills only His most beloved devotees. What can He kill? Pañcakośas. He kills only the three bodies. Why? Because God cannot tolerate any separation—everybody, everything, separates even God Himself from His devotee. No mother would ever want to hug the child with fifty dresses upon her. And I don't want to be touched by my child and I also don't want to touch my child.
The Greatest Devotees
These are the Paramarahasyas we have to understand. So, Bhayāt Kaṁsaḥ, Kāmāt Gopya, Veṣāt Śiśupāladaya—these are all greatest devotees of God.
Pūtanā. She wanted to give poison. Supposing somebody asks Pūtanā, "O Pūtanā, you wanted to feed God Himself. You knew that Kṛṣṇa was God and then you wanted to kill Him. Why did you go and try to kill Him?"
Then she would have said, "What else can I give? I want to feed Him amṛtam but I don't have amṛtam. He has given me poison and I can only offer what He has given."
Offering Our Gifts to God
If God has given you the gift of singing, offer it to God in the form of singing. If He had given you the gift of nicely speaking, use it to serve Him. If He has given you the gift of blabbering, chatting, then you keep quiet. That is the greatest gift you can offer to the Bhagavān's feet. He doesn't care. Even water you give with devotion.
Even if it is—if a crocodile has to offer water, what type of water do you think it will offer? In fact, Gajendra Mokṣaṇa, we get that incident.
Everything Happens for Our Good
So what are we talking about? That everything that happens in this world is for the good of us. But if we are devotees, God Himself will give us that intelligence. And one of the best ways of evolution is to practise this kind of contemplations.
The Gopīs' Contemplation
What do you think the gopīs were doing? As soon as they came to know about Kṛṣṇa, you just spread your imagination and say, what do you think? Whether it is daydream, night dream, everything. While milking and milking, "When does my Gopāla come? When can I feed him?"
So even feeding the cow, "If I feed the cow, then it will give milk and that milk will be offered to my Gopāla." Everything, tanu, mana, danā, and any type of vibhūti, talent, the whole thing should be offered. Yat karomi tad akhilam Śambho tava ārādhanam.
The Results of Sincere Contemplation
So what I wanted to tell you, these are all preparations. Contemplations purify us, as we discussed, make our heart concentrated, make our heart expansive, produce intense longing for higher realisation. These are the inevitable results of contemplations, sincere contemplation, any type of contemplation.
The Final Preparation
So Upakośala indicated, "These fires prepared me for your final teaching, just as Satyakāma Jābāla also was prepared by the same fires." And then they told, "Your teacher will come, because finally, as Nārada said, in this very Chāndogya, though I had the knowledge of all these sciences, I heard, real peace can be had only after realisation. And realisation can be had only when taught by a worthy, competent, God-realised soul."
And that Guru Paramparā, Ācārya Paramparā, is coming down. And that is what Satyakāma Jābāla found out, because his teacher also told him. And this is a continuation in a more elaborate way.
The Promise of the Fires
And then the fires told him, "Your teacher will take you finally to Brahman. You will become Brahma Jñānī." They foretold him. And we have to understand the anticipation, anticipatory mood of Upakośala. Because by this time, through this experience, he absolutely believed what the fires have told him. That śraddhā abhiveśa!
And then, in time, the teacher came. In time means what? At the very right time. And he asked, "Your face is shining like a knower of Brahman. And who taught you?"
"These very fires taught me. But they also told me, we only showed you higher aspects of consciousness, higher stages of consciousness. But your teacher will remove all these distinctions between higher and lower. And that only he can do."
And then the Satyakāma, he told, "Yes, they are right. I am going to teach you."
Section 15: The Teacher's Final Instruction
So that is what we have to discuss actually. This long introduction is to make us only understand what is contemplation, how it helps us, and what would be the result of this contemplation. And ultimately, the purpose of every contemplation is to make us realise our true nature and shed all the upādhis, all the limitations, and become one with our own true nature, which is called Jīva Brahma Aikyatā.
Third Mantra of the 15th Chapter
Then we will read in the 15th chapter—we are going to read this 14th chapter itself, third mantra. The teacher came and he was pleased. And then he addressed Upakośala. He did not say Brahman. I put it in the brackets, parenthesis, for our understanding.
And then he says, "What happens if Brahma Jñānam is attained?" That was the teaching of the teacher. Then Upakośala was rejoicing, rejoiced.
The Meaning of the Teacher's Words
Now what is the meaning of it? The teacher addressing his worthy disciple is telling, "My dear boy, I love you because you are ready." Ramakrishna loved Narendra. Te means the fires. Avachan means they instructed you.
What did they do? They only taught you how a person can reach higher worlds. Loka means world. But beautiful Vedāntic definition of what is Loka - Lokyate iti Lokah. What we experience, that is called Loka.
Understanding Loka as Consciousness
If a person's mind, let us say, is on this earth, in the same world that we are all living—even he may be attending here, she may be attending the class and something is worrying that person—that is a state of consciousness. And then nothing really is understood by that person or misunderstood more likely.
But if that person is pure, he will understand it. Like Swami Vivekananda one day, he heard the proclamation of Sri Ramakrishna after coming down from samādhi. "Who are you to show compassion to the world? You are like a worm and you dare to claim I am going to uplift the world. You yourself are in the most miserable condition. No, no. Not compassion but service to Nārāyaṇa, service to Śiva. Śiva Jñāne Jīva Sevā."
The Harmony of Yogas
Many people heard this proclamation. Swami Vivekananda, future Swami Vivekananda, Narendranath came out and he said, "Today I heard one of the grandest harmony between Karma, Jñāna, Bhakti and Yoga. If God gives me a chance, I will spread this message to the four corners of the earth."
The others said, "We also heard it but what do you mean by greatest truth?" And he had to explain to them the conflicts that was going on between devotion, Yoga and the path of knowledge, dry knowledge and the path of Yoga, etc.
Now this teaching of Sri Ramakrishna brings a perfect harmony and in fact one Yoga alone can never be practised. Just like if there is a four lane motorway, all of them ride side by side but they are meant for four different types of people or cars or ability to drive—so also every path takes one to the same destination and this simile is not very good simile because there is a fast lane. Somebody can reach very fast but not in that sense.
The Fast Lane of Spirituality
Fast lane means a person who is more pure, more concentrated, more having intense yearning for God realisation—that is called faster lane. But the person who says, "I will do my rituals slowly, slowly, I will progress"—that is called the slow lane, slowest lane—only in that sense we have to take.
So here loka means a person's mind in which state of consciousness it is. So if he is in heavenly world and thinking of naraka thoughts, thoughts of naraka, he will be living—his body may be in heaven but he will be really experiencing only naraka. On the contrary, like Bali, if he is in pātāla loka, naraka loka and he is thinking only of God, contemplating on God, he will be living in the svarga loka. That is how we have to understand.
The Story from Mahābhārata
Mahābhārata is a marvellous scripture. There Brahmā himself was there—Brahma loka—and one day King Śantanu and mother Gaṅgā both of them were also there and they looked at one another and they fell in love, they desired each other. And Brahmā immediately noticed—because there Brahmā knows everything intuitively—said, "Even after you are here in this Brahma loka, in my loka, satya loka, but you are only—your minds are in asatya loka, mithyā loka—that is, you are bound by the bodily consciousness, bodily desires. You better go where your desires can be fulfilled."
That is the beginning of this Mahābhārata—excellent story.
The Teacher's Final Teaching
Now the teacher is telling: All these purifiers have prepared you. Loka means higher state of consciousness. Now you have learned how to look upon everything you experience in this life in a higher light as manifestation of God's consciousness. But now this is not the highest goal. I have to take you to the highest goal.
The Promise of Brahma Jñānam
Aham tu te tat Brahma vakṣyāmi—"I am going to take you, teach you about Brahman." Te tat Brahma—so with regard to that Brahman, Brahma Jñānam I am going to teach you. That is, I am going to complete your sādhana by my teaching.
And what happens if any person reaches Brahman or knows "I am Brahman"?
The Lotus Leaf Analogy
Yathā—just like puṣkara palaśa. Puṣkara means in a lake. Palāśa means a small lotus leaf. So the leaf will be all the time in the water, above the water, but āpaḥ na sliṣyante—that it will never be made wet, it is protected.
Just like that, wherever this person stays—in naraka loka, svarga loka, bhū loka, any one of the 14 worlds, in America, in Australia, in Mars, in India—wherever, he will not be contaminated, he will not be attached.
Freedom from Karma
Evam evaṁ vidvān—whoever knows thus—pāpam karma na sliṣyante. Pāpam here means direct translation is sin, but indirect translation is impurity. So whatever this person does, he thinks pure thoughts, therefore his actions will be only pure actions.
And he does it how? So yajñāya ācarataḥ karma, so'navadhyate as Bhagavad Gītā says. So if a person performs every action, every duty as a yajña, that very yajña will release him from all bonds one day. Karma na sliṣyante—he will not have any karma, he will not have to do any karma.
And why should not he do any karma? Karma always follows desires. Because this person has no desire, why does this person not have any desire? Desire is always for happiness. This person has become one with Brahmānanda, Ānanda.
The Nature of Ānanda
Another meaning of Anantam is Ānanda—unbroken happiness, bliss. So he has not—he is not experiencing Brahmānanda, he becomes one with Brahmānanda. He knows, "I am Brahmānanda."
And one's nature can never separate oneself from our nature. It is impossible. You can't say to gold, "Now I will make you silver." Gold will be gold, whatever be the external, outside incidental circumstances.
Upakośala's Response
"I am going to teach you about Brahman." And hearing this, Upakośala replies. What does he say?
Bhagavān—he addresses. You are Guru Brahmā, Guru Viṣṇu, Guru Devo Maheśvaraḥ, Guru Sākṣāt Param Brahma. Bhagavān—it implies all this. May God be in your form, be very gracious to me, let him teach me.
And now the disciple is ready. You see, even at the end of the Bhagavad Gītā teaching, so he says Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa tells to Arjuna, "I told you without hiding all the truth. Now you think over it, having pondered deeply on this teaching, whatever you want to do, tathā kuru—you do that, what you think is best."
The Teaching of Akṣara Vidyā
So now the Satyakāma found his apt disciple. Tasmai ha uvāca—he started giving the teaching. And what he is going to teach is Akṣara Vidyā—that is, there is a Puruṣa behind the body, behind the nerve currents, behind the mind, beyond all the three bodies, beyond all the Pañcakośas. That Brahman is there.
"I am going to teach you and you are, I find, a fit disciple to hear this. Then you will have to listen and with faith. And then if any doubts are there, get rid of them and then become one with Brahman."
Śravaṇam, Mananam, Nididhyāsana.
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!
Summary and Key Teachings
This discourse on the Chāndogya Upaniṣad, sections 14 and 15, reveals the profound journey of Upakośala from a sincere student to a prepared disciple ready for the highest knowledge. The key teachings include:
- The Twelve Aspects of Brahman: Earth, Fire, Food, Sun, Water, Directions, Stars, Moon, Prāṇa, Ākāśa, Lightning, and Wind—all representing the manifestation of Parabrahman.
- The Nature of Contemplation: Not mere ritual service, but the superimposition of higher divine ideas upon visible lower objects, transforming our perception of reality.
- Practical Vedānta: As taught by Swami Vivekananda, Vedānta doesn't destroy the world but explains it, showing that everything is a limited expression of the infinite Brahman.
- Understanding Mithyā: Not unreality or illusion, but limitation—everything in creation is real but limited, capable of giving only limited experience.
- Lokas as States of Consciousness: Heaven and hell are not geographical locations but states of mind; where God is, there is heaven, regardless of physical location.
- The Three Guṇas as Tinted Glasses: Our perception of reality is colored by Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas; removing these reveals the true nature of all as Brahman.
- The Lotus Leaf Teaching: Just as a lotus leaf remains untouched by water, the knower of Brahman remains unaffected by the world, living in it but not attached to it.
- The Ultimate Goal: Through systematic practice—Śravaṇam (hearing), Mananam (reflection), and Nididhyāsana (meditation)—one attains Jīva Brahma Aikyatā, the identity of the individual soul with Brahman.
This teaching demonstrates how contemplative practices prepare the aspirant for the highest knowledge, transforming perception from seeing multiplicity to recognizing the One Reality manifesting as many.