Chandogya Upanishad 5.3.6 Lecture 161 on 06 December 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 to Pañcāgni Vidyā
We are studying the Pañcāgni Vidyā, a most wonderful piece of knowledge. Vidyā means contemplation, and this contemplation is given to us to indicate that the whole creation, sustenance and dissolution is nothing but a grand yajña going on.
Recollect in our last talk: Puruṣa, Brahman himself has become the animal that is to be sacrificed. That means he himself had become his entire universe. And to make that idea, concept understandable, the Śruti itself gives the example of a dream.
The Concept of Dream as Divine Play
What is the concept of a dream? That one single person called waker, gathering some of his thoughts from a vast storehouse of his mind—just a few of the thoughts, desires—imagines himself, creates the whole universe. He becomes the universe.
He becomes everything in the universe. He becomes the inert as well as that which is with consciousness, with life, without life, small, big, infinite number of manifestations himself. Like a person standing in front of a thousand mirrors and every mirror reflects him only.
But depending on the type of the mirror—concave mirror, convex mirror, small mirror, big mirror and different coloured mirrors—then the reflections will vary. And that is the beautiful analogy given to understand how God himself is dreaming. God's dream is called the creation.
That has been described here. That is the first point. This every Sṛṣṭi, Siddhi, Laya—creation and maintenance and dissolution—is a grand yajña.
And everybody, just like in our dream, is none other than myself. So every action done by everything in this universe is nothing but the Lord manifesting his own sportive Līlā. Everything is Brahman doing yajña all the time.
And the concepts I, you, we, other things—nothing exists as separate, as distinct from Brahman. So for that, we have given the analogy of the dream.
The Purpose of This Contemplation
Now what are we supposed to learn from this contemplation? First of all, there is no birth, no death.
It is no real birth, no real death. It is all a play. We come from the unmanifest and remain as manifest for some time and go back into the non-manifest.
And that non-manifest is none other than God. That means we are all God. But that power of delusion—again, that is part of the Līlā, sportive play of the Divine Lord.
As if one closes one's eyes with one's own hands and proclaiming loudly, "I am blind, I cannot see anything." So we are people like that, as if we have forgotten our real nature. So there is no birth, there is no death.
It is a continuous process of manifestation and non-manifestation. Once we understand it, convinced of it, fear of birth and death will go. In fact, the whole Saṃsāra will come to an end.
Participating in the Universal Sacrifice
So for that purpose, we have to become participants, as it were, in this universal sacrifice. And what is that participation? Everything that we do is not me, not me. Who is eating? Not me.
God is eating. And that is the idea we find. For example, when some devotee thanked Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said, "I know nothing. I only eat and drink, but it is my Divine Mother who speaks." And that is the idea conveyed here, which Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was living. Every action of his is very birth.
Why do we say? Because he was Nityamukta. He is Nityamukta, not was. He is Nityamukta. He is ever free. But voluntarily, he takes up a body, identifies voluntarily, "I am the body." All the time knowing that "I am not the body, I am not the mind. God alone is the body and mind." But that I has been created voluntarily by himself to participate in this grand Līlā. That is why Swami Vivekānanda hymned him.
Converting Actions into Yajña
So we have to convert every action that we do into a Yajña. And what does this Yajña do? What result it will give? If we do every action as participants in this universal sacrifice, we become free from ignorance. Ignorance means bondage. Bondage means suffering. And forever we realise that we are none other than that same Divine called God. That is called destruction of the ignorance.
And what is the root cause of this ignorance? That small I, Ahaṃkāra. So that is why, what is the real sacrifice? The English word sacrifice is a beautiful word. I sacrifice.
But in this spiritual concept, what is it that is sacrificed? Supposing I am eating. So this person wants to progress in spiritual life. What should he say? "I am not eating. God is eating. God has provided food in the form of the sun and moon. God is cooking food in the form of the fire outside. And God is digesting that food in the form of the hydrochloric acid. And this cultivation, gathering of the crops and preparing it for cooking—all these are done by the body and mind. And this body and mind are also nothing but God."
The Five Sheaths and Brahman
How do we know? Because parallelly, we are also discussing the Taittirīya Upaniṣad wherein it is said Annamaya Kośa is to be merged in Prāṇamaya. Prāṇamaya into Manomaya. Manomaya into Vijñānamaya. Vijñānamaya into Ānandamaya. Ānandamaya into Ānanda.
Please note this difference. Ānandamaya Kośa is part of the ignorance. Ānanda is another name for Brahman. That is why this Ānanda and Brahman, both words are used. Priya, Moda, Pramoda fall into the category of limitation—Ānandamaya Kośa, part of the Ānandamaya Kośa.
But the rest too of the formation of a human body—that is the backbone and the support. That is, both of them, they belong to the Brahman, description of Brahman.
The True Meaning of Sacrifice
So, that is the purpose: what is sacrifice? I give up the idea of me, I. "I am doing." No, it is God. Everything is God. God is doing everything. And I do not exist. That removal of Kāra, Aham, limitation—that is called Yajña, sacrifice.
And then, Upaniṣad also, in this section, especially through this knowledge called knowledge of the five fires—Pañcāgni Vidyā—it is an Upāsanā, contemplation, for removing our ignorance and gradually revealing, everything is done by God. Everything is God. If everything is God, I am also God. You are also God. Everything is God. Everything includes I, you, we, living, non-living, everything. That is the idea.
The Mystery of Birth and Death
And especially, in this section of the Pañcāgni Vidyā, a few things are highlighted. What are the things? That a baby—we do not know where from a baby comes. Why he comes with that particular body? Particular mind? Particular Saṃskāra? Particular way of acting and reacting? We do not know. And the baby grows up, lives for some time, and then departs. Where from is he coming? Where is he going?
And if a person is not freed from delusion, this eternal cycle—really not eternal, but seemingly eternal—goes on for a long time. Even that idea, long time, is also a concept of the mind.
I told you, just I want to remind you: Brahmā's one day is billions and trillions and trillions and trillions of years. Brahmā's night is exactly the same. During the day, he does what he is supposed to do. During the night, he also attains like us into deep sleep state. That is called Brahma Pralaya.
The Three Categories of Action
So, when he is awake, he starts his duties. And what we are doing? Earlier I mentioned: every creature does action. And all actions fall under three categories—create, sustain and dissolution.
As an example, I gave you: person is hungry. He wants to eat. So, he has to create food. So, either he buys created food, or he cultivates himself and creates food. So, that is the concept. Then he cooks it. And he eats it. And he lives for some time. Then that food has to be digested. And that food is converted into energy. And after some time, that energy becomes exhausted.
So, creation of the food, digestion of the food and exhaustion of the food or energy. And again creation. Every single action of ours.
Another example: we breathe in. That is creation. And we use that prāṇa-vayu, oxygen for some time. That is sustenance. And then we throw out. That is dissolution.
So, for every single millisecond, trillisecond, Sṛṣṭi-Sthiti-Laya. Every action. There is a beginning of happiness or unhappiness. Sustenance. Continuation of happiness or unhappiness. And dissolution of happiness or unhappiness. Every single action. Until we become free. Continuous cycle of Sṛṣṭi-Sthiti-Laya—creation, sustenance, dissolution is going on.
The Problem of Ego
What is the problem? We think, "I am the creator. I am the sustainer. And I am the dissolver." That idea of I or what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa calls, scriptures call, Ahaṃkāra, has to be totally eliminated.
And that process of elimination—not me, not me, you, you, not I, not mine, thou and thine, in Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's words. So, "Let thy will be done." That statement of Jesus Christ contains the whole essence of every single scripture.
So, that is what is the background. And every time I take a class, I only repeat this so that we understand what we are discussing.
The Story of Śvetaketu
So, we read the original mantras and we were dealing with the third section, fifth mantra, in our last class.
Śvetaketu's Pride
Śvetaketu somehow wanted perhaps to exhibit his scholarship. He went into the kingdom of this king, Pravāhaṇa Jaivali, and then wanted to exhibit. And then the king very respectfully, because the king was a Kṣatriya, and Śvetaketu was a Brāhmaṇa boy—so, he seated him honourably and questioned him.
"So, it looks you have been very well instructed." Of course, Śvetaketu, without any hesitation or modesty, says, "Yes, I am completely instructed."
The King's Five Questions
Then the king, he wanted to remove that Ahaṃkāra. He must have detected that Ahaṃkāra, that egotism. He said, "So, let me put you five questions and if you can answer, then I know you have been completely instructed."
That shows the king's wisdom that if anybody knows the answers to these questions, his egotism becomes completely crushed. And then he understands, "I am not the body, I am not the mind. I am none other than Brahman." That is the purpose of every Upāsanā, Vidyā. Upāsanā is also called Vidyā. In English, it is called deep thinking.
And the purpose is to gradually remove the curtains, the net which has bound us and slowly go to the highest cause, the causeless cause. Then we become free. Then there is no world. There is no God. Whatever is there, remains there.
Śvetaketu's Failure
So, Śvetaketu could not answer. The essence is this: where from a person comes in the form of a baby and where does he go? And how does he go? How does he come? And what happens? Do you know there are two paths by which path one goes up and also comes down? Do you know about that? And why are not the world completely filled? Pūrṇam. That means finiteness always remains finite only. It never can become infinite.
But put in this way, why is not the upper world filled? Even though so many people are dying, why is not this world filled? Even though so many people are being born. Not of one species, but countless species.
And Śvetaketu could not answer a single question. Then the king puts as it were a rod into the raw wound and says, "You have boasted that you have been very well instructed. That means you know everything."
At least if Śvetaketu had said, "Sir, my father instructed, but I do not know whether I know everything or not," that would have become humility. Humility. The more we become learned, the more humble we become. But instead, with great egotism, "I know everything." In Hindi, we call it "Haṃsā jāntā" [I know everything].
So that is not a good attitude. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to say, "Even I have to learn. So long as the last, until the last breath, I go on learning." If such a person could declare, make such a statement, what to speak of people like us.
Śvetaketu Returns in Anger
So Śvetaketu became hurt. Instead of deep thinking—that why am I not able to understand? So why did my father say he instructed me? So that means, even maybe there are things which my father does not know. Surely he loved me and he would not withhold anything from me. He would have instructed in whatever he knew because I am his beloved son. But instead of all that, he was puffed up with ignorance.
Therefore, pride hurt. Pride always hurts. Pride always brings down a person.
So he returned in a huff and challenged his father that, "Why did you—you are the cause of my getting insulted. You told me that you have instructed me and you said I have been well instructed. But this third class king"—he uses a derogatory word, Rājanya Bandhu, very bad word. That means "this idiot, this fool," etc.—"He asked me five questions. I went there to exhibit my learning and get the appreciation and thankfulness and rewards. Instead, I had to come back bending my head, as they say, putting the tail in between the legs and you are the cause for that because you told me you have instructed everything."
Gautama's Humility
The father did not say "I know everything." He was a very humble person. What he must have said was, "My son, whatever I know, I have instructed without hiding anything," and that should have been more than enough because vidyā dadāti vinayam—knowledge gives humility. He should have understood it but he did not.
He challenged, he insulted his father as it were, "You are an ignorant person and you boasted that you instructed me in everything." We have to read in between the lines and this is what he came back and this is what we have read.
Gautama's Response (Mantra)
Pañca mā rājanya bandhuḥ praśnān apṛcchat, teṣāṃ na ekaṃ ca na aśakam ivyaktam iti. Saḥ, saḥ means pitā, ha uvāca: yathā mātvaṃ tadā etān avadhāḥ, yathā ahaṃ eṣāṃ na ekaṃ na vedāḥ. Yadi aham imān avediṣyam, kathaṃ te na avakṣyam iti.
See, look at this humility of the father and he said—what did he say? The father said, "Even as you have spoken to me about them"—that is, he must have asked what questions did the king ask you, and then Śvetaketu must have repeated them. He was a good student. He had memory, he had intelligence, but pride is something different. So many people who are intelligent, who are superior in so many ways, who have talents—that's a separate issue. Egotism is a separate issue.
So the father very humbly said, "Even as you have described to me what questions the king had asked you, I do not know even one of them. Just how can you know about it? Because I was the teacher, you were the student and you are my son and I loved you, I love you. If I had known them, if I had known all the answers to all those, that knowledge of the Pañcāgni Vidyā, why should I have withheld it from you? Surely I would have taught you about them."
Gautama's Decision to Learn
Then what happened? Gautama, the father of Śvetaketu, realised that there are things which are very important, without which he would not be able to progress in spiritual life. He became even more humble. He said, "Even I am ignorant."
To accept one's ignorance, confess one's ignorance, accept it—is the first step to open the door to further knowledge. But instead what Śvetaketu did...
So the Gautama said, "This is a very important piece of knowledge. I did not know, I do not know anything about it. So I must learn, because so long as I don't learn, even I remain ignorant and ignorance means bondage, bondage means limitation, limitation means suffering. I cannot get out of this suffering. That means I cannot get out of this circle of birth and death, transmigratory net. I cannot get out."
So he said, "Let us go to the king, sit humbly at his feet, because one can learn knowledge, one can receive knowledge even from the highest—not only highest person, even from the lowest person, from a caṇḍāla." Innumerable examples are there.
Examples of Learning from the Humble
Śaṅkarācārya and the Caṇḍāla
First example itself was—I have to tell you—first example was, you see how our great Śaṅkarācārya, he had to learn great lesson from a caṇḍāla. He wrote books, he wrote commentaries and he was guru and he was teaching his disciples and that was intellectual knowledge. But when he confronted a low caste man, he looked contemptuously at him and said, "You get away from me, remain at a distance. What happens when I come near to you?" "So you will get polluted, is it sir?"
Then the caṇḍāla had to open his eyes. One story, this is one event—whether it is true or not is not the point, but that should teach us a great lesson.
The Brāhmaṇa and the Butcher
Second, Swami Vivekānanda quotes this story from Mahābhārata in his Karma Yoga—I think third lesson in the third chapter, probably, I would remember.
So there was a butcher. He used to kill animals, sell it. There was a brāhmaṇa. He did intense tapasyā and sincerely he did it. We know that he was very sincere. So one day he looked up angrily and a crow which had discharged its filth upon him instantaneously became burnt. He puffed up with pride. "Oh, I am a great knower of knowledge. I am a great man. I have great power."
How can such stupidity enter into the mind? Power and knowledge they can be different. A man of knowledge can be powerful, but if the knowledge doesn't bring humility and sincerity and more devotion to God, that is totally useless.
The Householder Lady's Lesson
So he went back and then he went for bhikṣā. Then there was a householder lady who was not at all learned, but she understood, "Serving my husband is serving God." So when he stood and asked for alms, the lady answered, "My son, please wait a little. I am serving my husband. As soon as I complete, I will come."
This man heard these words and then he became angry, agitated. "How dare this woman give more importance to her husband? I am a brāhmaṇa and I am a brahmacārī, almost a saṃnyāsī, and I have this power. Just now I saw what was my power—a crow was burned." He was thinking, he was not saying anything.
After sometime this lady came out, granted him, gave him the alms and then looked at him and said that, "Please do not get angry. I am not a crow that you can kill me with your thought glance."
He was shocked. He thought nobody knew about this secret. He asked, he became humble. "Mother, how do you know?"
She said, "I don't know. I have no special power. I serve my husband as God. That is my entire spiritual practice and as a result of it, God lets me know—not I but God."
And immediately he became humble. Then not only that, she said, "You have to progress in spiritual life. You can't progress this way. You go to such and such a village, meet such and such a person. Then only you will progress."
By this time he was humble enough to realise that there are things which he should acquire, qualities he should acquire. He became humble, unlike Śvetaketu.
Meeting the Butcher
So he went to the next village. Upon enquiry he came to know, "He is a butcher." And then he was agitated, perturbed. He went near this butcher's place, stood at a distance. "Am I to learn from this person who is a butcher, who kills animals, cuts them to pieces, sells them, lives by them? And I, a brāhmaṇa, has to learn from this person?"
So as he was thinking, the butcher looked up and said, "Sir, oh you have been sent by such and such a lady, isn't it?" And this brāhmin youth was shocked even more. Even this butcher knew who sent him.
He said, "Sir, let me complete my job, my duty here, then we can have a talk."
By this time the brāhmaṇa was completely convinced that he has a lot more to learn. Many things must have happened. He must—his eyes—what I see, whether a person is a householder or he belongs to the lowest caste, it doesn't really matter. What matters is they have progressed. How did they progress?
So he waited patiently. Then after closing, this butcher took this brāhmaṇa saṃnyāsī to his home, asked him to sit down and wait, and he had old parents. He started serving them and only after he perhaps cooked food, fed them and then massaged their feet and saw that they went to sleep, to take rest, then he came and then there was a conversation, beautiful conversation.
The Butcher's Teaching
And then what the butcher said is that by the performance of one's own duties, one can also progress in spiritual life. That is, that was what Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa also told: so by sva-vṛtti, by one's own duties, sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcya siddhiṃ vindati mānavaḥ. Wherever we may be born, let us discharge our duties in accordance with what we have been given, appropriated and worship God.
Think what is worshipping God? I am not the doer. I am only an instrument. And then exactly that is what Arjuna also categorically said: "You command me. I will do whatever you command me, because you are for me God in front of me."
So that should be the attitude.
Gautama Approaches the King
Gautama, he had that attitude. So he decided, "I require that knowledge if I want to progress in spiritual life." So he came to this king Pravāhaṇa Jaivali and the king got up very respectfully, reverentially. He received him because he knew, "This is a Brāhmaṇa—not only Brāhmaṇa, he was a very humble Brāhmaṇa, very spiritual person, without egotism and ready to receive knowledge." He knew, he could intuit why this Gautama had come.
But when Gautama, before starting said, "Śvetaketu my boy, I do not know, let us go to that king," Śvetaketu refused to come. Second time same thing—story we get in the Chāndogya also. When his father questioned him about spiritual life, Śvetaketu arrogantly replied—if you recollect that—"My teacher was ignorant. Had he known, he would have taught me."
And then the father said, "Alright, I will complete but then he"—something happened there—"that I will teach you," and he taught. That is what we have also seen. But he said, "Had my teachers known, they would have taught me."
In this case, Śvetaketu was blaming his father. In the other case, Śvetaketu was putting all the blame on the teacher. Both were teachers only. We have to remember this one. What a marvellous stories.
The Importance of Humility and Faith
So first we have to be very humble, completely have faith. Then only the knowledge will come. Without that śraddhā, knowledge will never come. So here also see what happened. Just as in the other case in the Chāndogya that we have discussed in the 6th chapter, "So why don't you go? Perhaps you have not asked your teacher. Perhaps he knows, so if you ask him specifically, he might teach you."
"No, no, no, I will not go." That pride, that egotism prevented him. "You teach me."
Many things must have happened. So by that time Śvetaketu's egotism must have been smashed, otherwise his father would not have taught him. As the Rāmakṛṣṇa says, water will not accumulate on high places, only in low places.
So in this case also, that same Śvetaketu, or it may be XYZ—we don't need to take great trouble to find out whether both Śvetaketus are one or different. The point is, if we are not humble, then we will not have a desire to receive, we cannot receive. First of all, we must have the desire, and desire must say, "I am ignorant, I do not know." That itself is a great qualification. Then only, "I am eager because this will help me, by this I become a better person." That knowledge should be there. He failed. So only Gautama came.
The King's Reception
And this king received him very respectfully. He must have intuited why this Gautama came, because he must, might have known perhaps, "This is the father of Śvetaketu, the boy who came to you, to whom you have put five questions and then he could not reply and he came and accused me, and I told him sincerely I also do not know and really I do not know, but I am eager to know sitting at your feet. You may be a king, you may be low caste person, I don't care, but you be my teacher."
And then that was not the tradition. Brāhmins teaching others was the tradition, but lower caste people teaching Brāhmins was not the tradition. Even today many people are like that, though society has changed.
The King's Test
So the king, he did not outright say, "No, it is not right. I will not give you," because he understood, "This person is fit to receive this knowledge." So he wanted, like Yamadharma Rāja testing Naciketas, he said, "You take rest. Tomorrow we will talk about it."
And then next morning he asked that, "What brings you here?" And then Gautama straightforward he says that, "You asked my son some questions. I could not even answer—he could not answer because I did not teach him because I did not know. I want to."
But perhaps the king was testing, perhaps he was hesitant. He said next morning that, "Oh sir, whatever help, whether it is money or cows or gold or something else, anything that human wealth—not spiritual wealth—human wealth you want, you please ask me, I will give you."
Gautama's Single-Minded Purpose
And then just like Naciketas, he said, "Oh king, so this human wealth, let it be yours only. I am not satisfied, I did not come, I did not lack anything. I have everything that I want, therefore I don't need."
Here also we have to understand: Gautama could have said, "I am—the king has offered me, he doesn't know what I have, what I do not have. So if I accept some more things, then it would have, it would add to my wealth. Now I have sufficient, I don't need them. What I need, that is what I want." Fixation upon a particular goal—that is the only way for us to move forward.
So he said, "Let all this human wealth be yours only, but whatever you asked my son, I am also eager to learn that knowledge—where from people come and where do they go and how do they live on this earth in between." That is also implied question. "You please answer me."
Breaking Tradition
And then after hearing this request, the king he became a little bit perturbed. Why did he become perturbed? Because the first time a king, a kṣatriya had become a teacher and then a brāhmaṇa had become a student. This is completely against the prevailing tradition.
Not that the king was afraid, "Let the knowledge be with me." Any person who has got this kind of knowledge will be eager, like a cow which has given birth to a new calf—its whole attention is fixated upon the calf. "When is my child going to be hungry? I must be ready to supply." So every person who is eager, that brings the grace of God in the form of knowledge.
Knowledge and Wealth
So everything is in the form of knowledge only. A poor person wants riches and then God, out of his grace, either directly or indirectly grants him. Imagine what is this knowledge? Now the poor man knows, "I am a rich man, I don't need to worry." And it is seen in many cases the poor man doesn't change his lifestyle. He goes on eating the same thing, wearing the same things, staying in the same house. Many of them are seen, but that feeling of insecurity has disappeared.
What makes this feeling of insecurity disappear? That knowledge that I have something. So the king—we should not misunderstand that the king became perturbed because he has to give up, impart this knowledge to somebody. "So this other person also will get knowledge, then I lose my importance as the knower of this knowledge, possessor of this knowledge." This thought should never enter into our mind.
The Sixth Mantra - Narrative
In this, this is the purport of this sixth mantra. Then Gautama went to the king's place. When? When his son told him. And then Gautama understood, "I did not have this knowledge, but I require this knowledge. I want that knowledge. I cannot live without that knowledge." And he came to this king's place.
When he arrived, the king made reverential offerings to him as was the tradition. Every kṣatriya has to pay reverence to upper caste people, brāhmaṇa.
In the morning, when this Gautama presented himself to the king, when the king was in the assembly, the king again must have paid his reverence, said to him, "Oh reverend Gautama, please ask for a boon of human wealth."
And Gautama replied, "Oh king, let the human wealth remain with you. Tell me those words which you spoke to my boy." What does he mean? "The king was perturbed after hearing this one. What were those words?" That means, "You bring out those very same questions and I do not know the answer to those five questions and I am eager to learn." Because always possession of some knowledge in humility opens the doorway always: "I want more, I want still more," until we reach God. That is the nature of true nature of knowledge.
So this is what happened.
The Mantra Text and Explanation
Now we will say: Saḥ Gautama, after this conversation with his son, this Gautama brāhmaṇa, rājña artham—that is the assembly or the sabhā of rājña—he came, he reached. And then the king saw him, seeing this Gautama who had entered into his assembly hall.
So that Pravāhaṇa Jaivali worshipped him accordingly, paid reverence accordingly, and then must have asked him—the mantra doesn't tell—"Sir, you must have been tired, please, I have arranged a place for you to live, to have food, have bath, have food, have rest. Tomorrow morning we will talk." And this is exactly what happened.
Saḥ prātaḥ sabhāgā udayāya. So saḥ means Gautama. Prātaḥ means in the morning. That sabhām udayāya—he came and sat in the [assembly] there. Then the king saw him. Seeing him, the king addressed him.
Tam ha uvāca. Tam Gautamam rājñaḥ uvāca. The king said, "Paṇḍit," he said, "Bhagavan, oh reverend sir, manuṣyasya vittasya varaṃ vṛṇīta iti." "Hey Gautama, oh Gautama, manuṣyasya vittasya varaṃ vṛṇīta iti." If you require anything in the form of money or gold or cows or lands or in any other form—that is to say, not spiritual wealth, but normal wealth, worldly wealth—vṛṇīta, please choose. You ask me, whatever you ask me, I am ready to give you.
Saḥ uvāca. And that king—no, this Gautama—saḥ Gautama ha uvāca. "Paṇḍit," he said, when he was offered the worldly wealth, he said, "Tava eva rājan. Hey rājan, manuṣyaṃ vittam tava eva bhavatu." The word bhavatu we have to add there—it is not there. So let this worldly wealth or human wealth be yours only. I have not come for that, I don't need it.
So yam eva kumārasya ante—when my son approached you—vacam abhāṣathā—in the form of the five questions, that knowledge—I myself do not know, I want to know. Tam eva me brūhi iti. Ask me those very questions and I do not know the answer, you explain to me your own questions, the answers to your own questions.
And hearing this, sa means this king, kṛcchrī babhūva—he became perturbed. Why? Because that was not tradition, it was breaking a tradition.
Concluding Reflections
Beautiful concepts we will talk about them in the next class.
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 Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna!