Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.3 Lecture 15 on 14 March 2026
Full Transcript (Not Corrected)
Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: Lecture on the Third Section of the First Chapter
Opening Invocation
OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH
OM
That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.
OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.
Review: Progress in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad
We have been studying the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. The first chapter itself — we have completed two sections. The first chapter has got six sections, of which two sections have been completed by us.
First Section: Adhyāropa, Apavāda, and the Purpose of Upāsanā
In the first section, the beautiful description of what is called Adhyāropa and Apavāda is being given. In order to know that each soul is potentially divine — therefore I am also divine — but at this moment, I think I am not divine. How to attain to that? My own infinite, eternal truth: Satyam, Jñānam, Anantam Brahma.
For that purpose, sādhanas are prescribed. First, the Vedas prescribe rituals and external worship. Gradually, the Vedas introduce part of the external rituals — some of what we call nowadays mental worship, Mānasika Pūjās. The purpose of these Vedas is gradually to wean away small children from these concrete aids and slowly make them turn inward. And so, they very gradually introduce contemplations called Upāsanās. Upāsanās can be part of the external rituals at the beginning, but later on they can be exclusively mental.
So: Karmakāṇḍa, Upāsanākāṇḍa — and which makes the mind fit to enter into the final ascent — which is called Jñānakāṇḍa. That is the process.
Here, let us not forget: Brāhmaṇa means a section. Chapter means Adhyāya; Brāhmaṇa means a section. So, the first section has got only two mantras, wherein is prescribed what we just now were talking about — Upāsanā. The highest type of contemplation: I am not an individual; I am Virāṭ Brahma; I am Hiraṇyagarbha; I am not merely a body-mind complex; I am the entire universe.
For that purpose, in those days, they used to do many types of sacrifices called Yajñas or Yāgas. One of them is called Aśvamedha Yajña. And only — as I mentioned — Kṣatriyas can do them, because it is a very costly ritual. But anyone — everyone — can perform it mentally. And for that purpose, the first two mantras in this first section of the first chapter prescribe Virāṭ Upāsanā.
But we must have some kind of support for that. Like a baby requires a wooden or a wax apple, a horse is taken. In those days, the horse was as popular as today's car; everybody used to travel, excepting poor people. So, since everybody is familiar with the horse and with all the parts of the horse, now do not look upon the horse as a mere animal. But take each part of the horse as representing one part of the universe. We had discussed that point.
Second Section: Agni Brāhmaṇa and the Origin of Agni
Then we came to the second Brāhmaṇa. So, the first section prescribes Aśva Upāsanā as Virāṭ Upāsanā — Aśva is only an ālambana, a support. And the second section deals with Agni Upāsanā, the Agni Brāhmaṇa.
For that purpose, a confusing statement has been made: "How did this Agni — fire — originate?" Here Agni means Virāṭ Agni, not everyday fire, but Agni Devatā. How did this Agni Devatā originate? Because creation is an effect, and every effect must originate. So, the entire creation is looked upon as Agni — Agni Devatā — and this Agni is none other than Virāṭ, or Hiraṇyagarbha, or even Īśvara.
So here it says: before creation — that is how the second section starts — a confusing statement — because there was nothing before creation. In order to elucidate, Śaṅkarācārya has taken up an elaborate argument to establish that Brahman is the original cause and that Brahman is invisible and unmanifest. And as far as we are concerned, anything that is unmanifest and invisible is as good as non-existing.
A Note on the Ācāryas
For that purpose, our philosophers — Ācāryas — and there is a great difference. We should not call them merely philosophers, because there are so many philosophical professors out there whose lives are, most of the time, bound. They are bound creatures. Whereas these Ācāryas — whether it is Nimbārkācārya, Vallabhācārya, Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, or Śaṅkarācārya — they were the greatest spiritual sādhakas who attained illumination and were commanded by God to propagate certain types of philosophical views. Not because everything is absolute — the final truth — but like a child: a teacher teaches a child in one particular way. When the child starts growing up, the same teacher or even different teachers start explaining things in a subtler and higher sense. This is how man is taken from the lowest understanding to the highest understanding.
What is the lowest understanding? I am an individual. I am just a small person. What is the highest understanding? I am everything. Satyam, Jñānam, Anantam — I am the infinite. I am the pure consciousness. And I am the only truth. In order to bring about this understanding, all these Upāsanās, Karmakāṇḍa, Vidhi Niṣedha — everything is prescribed.
The Ghaṭābhāṣyam: Proving Brahman as the Primordial Cause
Now, in our experience, we know that everything has an origin. I am the outcome of my parents; they are the outcome of their parents. If you see an ornament, its cause is gold. If you see furniture, its cause is wood. If you see a pot, its cause is clay. Of course, we have to understand this intellectually. We can see the clay; we can see the wood; we can see the gold. But we cannot see the final cause, because it has neither any name, nor any form, nor any utility.
Therefore, it says there are two types of manifestations. I gave the example: if someone comes to you and says, "Do you have butter?" — truthfully, you have to say, "Yes, I have butter." "So, can you lend me some?" "No. Unfortunately, it is there in the milk. I have milk; butter is there." Everybody knows about it, but it has to be brought out. Unbrought-out, unmanifest butter is not useful for transactions. Only the manifest effect is useful for dealing with. Therefore: Vyavahāra — transactional; Avyavahāra — not fit for transactions, non-transactional. Whatever is unmanifest is not fit for transaction. Whatever is manifest alone is fit for transaction.
Now, the second part of the argument: if you see something existing, existence cannot come out of non-existence. In order to prove that, Śaṅkarācārya took up a beautiful intellectual analysis, because there are some rival schools of philosophy that actively deny this. They say: there was nothing; everything has come out of something. "How do you say so, sir? Because your own Upaniṣad, in the second Brāhmaṇa, says — 'Agre,' meaning before the creation of the universe, nothing was there, not even a little bit.' So that is the proof: nothing was there. And from where did this effect come out?" For that, they weave a lot of webs, like a spider weaving a web. That is their belief. I don't know that they believe in them, but they are more intellectual than spiritual.
So, for that purpose, Śaṅkarācārya takes the small example of a pot. If you see a pot, there must be clay. Apply it: if you see this universe, there must be an invisible, unmanifest cause. This marvellous commentary is called Ghaṭābhāṣyam — Ghaṭa meaning pot — because this word Ghaṭa, or pot, is used many times over, and therefore somebody else — not Śaṅkarācārya — has named it Ghaṭābhāṣyam.
What was the conclusion? The second section deals with the origin of fire — Agni Sṛṣṭi — and it is created from Hiraṇyagarbha. So, one meditating on this fire as Virāṭ — the physical body of Prajāpati or Hiraṇyagarbha — becomes one with Virāṭ. For that purpose, Upāsanās are prescribed.
What it means is: before the creation, this very universe — of which I, you, and we are all a part — existed as invisible, because it was unmanifest. Hiraṇyagarbha, or the cosmic mind, just as a pot before it is shaped exists as clay. What is manifestation? That which is not fit for transaction is made to be fit for transaction.
Clay, as pure clay — don't take this too literally, just as an illustration — is practically useless. But the same clay, with some help of an instrument and some intelligence, can be made into very useful objects: small pots, big pots, square pots, round pots, oblong pots. If you look into the household, you will understand: glasses are made — some for drinking water, some for drinking wine. Peculiar types of glasses are made. The glass which can be used to drink water can as well be used for drinking wine, but no — they want something very elegant, very thin, very beautiful looking. So they will be hanging there in a wooden rack upside down. I have seen that. I was shocked — surprised and shocked! But you see, that is the way of the world, and we think it will add to the taste. Nothing adds to the taste. So, whether you drink water or wine, it is nothing but water and wine only. But some people think it adds to the taste.
Like in the costly restaurants: beautiful plates. But sometimes the roadside hotel-wālā can prepare much tastier food than these big hotels. They charge very high for the waiters with immaculate special dress and for the plates in which the food is served, but the food itself may not be that great, actually. Anyway, it is just a small illustration.
So, we make something to suit our daily transaction — that is called a manifest effect. But every effect must have a cause. So, we have seen the Ghaṭābhāṣyam. What is the summary? Everything is Brahman. Everything came out of Brahman.
And there are a few people who say: "We are not intellectuals. We don't want the Ghaṭābhāṣyam. Your very Upaniṣad — the Bṛhadāraṇyaka in this case — tells that there was nothing. And you consider this Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, every Upaniṣad, as the supreme authority — straight from the mouth of God, Śruti. So, where is the need? There is nothing. If the Upaniṣad says there is nothing, there is nothing."
We have to understand. "Don't get angry. Don't confuse me." For that, Śaṅkarācārya says: "You are a stupid, idiotic fool. You are only quoting the first line of the mantra. What does the second line of the mantra tell? First it tells: nothing was there. Second, what is it telling? This entire universe, which it called nothing, was covered by death. Death means the original cause."
So, what is the logic of this covering? Suppose you say, "I am going to cover this object" — say, a pot. Like children reading comics: the parents want to check, and no one is there. When they open the door suddenly, immediately the boy or girl hides the comic inside the blanket and brings out — they are very expert — the textbook. The parent is very satisfied. Sometimes the parents are also intelligent. How did they become intelligent? Because they were doing the same thing when they were children! So they come and yank out the blanket and find — not one, but plenty of different types of comics. Of course, they know, because they are ridden with guilt: "This is what we had been doing — cheating our parents." So, they have no option now but to cover it up and just pat the child. "Maybe pay attention to your textbooks — examination is coming near."
So, Śaṅkarācārya says: Mṛtyu means death. That "nothing" which was declared by the same Upaniṣad in the first sentence is actually "covered by death" — covered by the cause. Mṛtyu means cause. Mṛtyu means Hiraṇyagarbha. Mṛtyu means Virāṭ. Mṛtyu means Īśvara. Another meaning of death is "unmanifest." That is why when a person dies, we say he is dead. But according to Hindu philosophy, he is not dead. He just gave up this covering because this dress has become worn out — not useful anymore, because of old age, disease, and lack of energy. So, he will be provided with a new piece of dress for further development, which will be very useful. For cooking, you need one kind of dress; for sports, you need another kind of dress; for attracting somebody, you need another kind of dress or undress, whatever it is.
So, covering requires two existing things: one thing that should be covered, and another thing with which we cover it. A non-existent part cannot be covered by a non-existent cause. What is the conclusion? Both the cause — herein called Mṛtyu or Kāraṇam — and the effect, this universe, existed before the creation. The unimaginable, indescribable Brahman alone existed before creation. That Brahman alone is manifesting as this universe. This is the essence of the Ghaṭābhāṣyam.
So, here ends the second section.
Overview of the Three Upāsanās in the First Chapter
Now, we are entering into the third section. As I mentioned earlier, I am not going to go mantra by mantra, but I will definitely give you the very essence of each section, so that even without going through the mantras, we know the very essence of every section of every chapter. If it is just mere description — there are some sections like that — especially in the Khelakaṇḍam, I will indicate that, covering it up very quickly.
So, earlier I mentioned that three types of Upāsanās are mentioned in this first chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. The first was Aśva. The second was Agni. Both of them have to be treated as Virāṭ. The third is Prāṇa — and a marvellous idea is behind it.
Third Section: Prāṇa Upāsanā
We are all called Prāṇins. Prāṇī means a living creature. A living creature means there is a body, there is a mind, and there is consciousness. These three in combination are called a living body. It is technically called reflected consciousness — Cidābhāsa. Just like there is a bright light, or the sun shining outside, and the light of that sun is percolating through a small corner of a hole into the room — but a clever person has placed a mirror there, and that mirror is reflecting that entire sunlight, illuminating the whole room, however big it is.
You know, all the electricity, light, and heat come only from our sun. That is why the sun is called Brahmaloka or Ādityaloka. He is called Saguṇa Brahma in every Upaniṣad, practically. That is why every devotee has to pray both standing in front of the rising sun and the setting sun — the famous Gāyatrī Mantra. "May you give me a right understanding. In fact, may you use me as your own instrument." Dhiyo Yonaḥ Pracodayāt — literally, "Drive me, because I do not understand. I don't know the past. I don't know the future. And when I don't know the past and future, the present also is complete ignorance only."
So, the third section is called Prāṇa Upāsanā — contemplation on the Prāṇa. Without Prāṇa, there would be no life. If I am able to speak in this class, if you are able to listen in this class, it is all because of the Prāṇa. Just imagine your Prāṇa has become exhausted and very weak — immediately you feel like lying down and restoring the energy by taking rest, and that happens automatically. But sometimes, when you have rested enough, you are full of enthusiasm and full of life: "I want to do something." And that "doing" means the manifestation of energy — that is called the manifestation of Prāṇa.
That Prāṇa comes to us in the form of food. Food is nothing but Prāṇa. And the digestion of food means converting that food back. The sun's energy becomes gross — for people like us — and comes to us in the form of food. And we have to reconvert that food back by digesting it properly — that is called energy. Whether it is physical or intellectual, both require energy, and tremendous energy, depending upon how much we are doing it. Even a donkey requires a tremendous amount of energy for carrying such a huge burden.
So, the Prāṇa Upāsanā — these are all Upāsanās meant to tell us: we are dependent upon the Virāṭ; we are part of the Virāṭ; we are manifestations of the Virāṭ.
A Note on Synonymous Terms for Saguṇa Brahma
Many times when I am speaking, I use these words: Virāṭ, Hiraṇyagarbha, Mahat, Prajāpati, as well as Āditya — the Sun — and Īśvara and Saguṇa Brahma. You have to understand these synonymously; these are all synonymous words. Even though a slight distinction is made, they are all one and the same — Saguṇa Brahma. We can only think of God with attributes. Without that, it is not possible to know about Him, to think about Him, or to describe Him. It is not possible.
The First Mantra of the Third Section: Devas and Asuras
So, just let me introduce. The very first mantra in this section says that Brahmā — the first creation — has given birth to both the gods and the demons.
What we have to understand: gods means those who are endowed with good qualities, and Asura means those who are endowed with the opposite, or in the words of this particular third section. Some are born with selfishness, and some are endowed — very rarely — with unselfishness. And unselfishness is preferred. Only unselfish people will really attain the highest happiness. So, the equation is: selfishness and unhappiness are one and the same; unselfishness and happiness are one and the same.
Many times I have given you the example — I will give you just two. I want to make the essence of these Upaniṣads as crystal clear as possible.
Suppose there is a mother, and let us imagine she has got four or five children. She bestows — if she is an ideal mother — she bestows her attention equally upon everybody. Not only that: a mother pays more attention to a sick child rather than to a healthy child. Why does she do it? Not because her love for the sick child is greater than for the healthy child — no. She wants to make the sick child healthy so that he requires less attention.
Similarly, when we are doing sādhana, it requires a tremendous amount of effort to become unselfish. But selfishness is so natural — we can just let ourselves go. Like climbing down a hill: with great speed we can fall down. But to climb up, it requires tremendous energy, effort, persistence, willpower, and above all, complete faith: "If I can reach the top, then my joy will be proportionate, unequalled." That kind of conviction should be there.
The Story of Devas and Asuras: The Struggle for Mastery
So, what it really means is the very first mantra, the plain translation of the verses: there are many mantras there. In fact, there are 28 mantras in this section. So I am not going to recite them, because neither I remember them nor you. It is not necessary. We want to come to the gist of this third section.
Because we have already seen: the gist of the first section is that you must strive to become universal by giving up the individual. The second is Agni Upāsanā. And taking that as a cue: there is this universe, and it is called an effect; every effect must have a cause; and the final, ultimate cause is Brahman. That is why the same idea is expressed in Swami Vivekānanda's language. As Swami Vivekānanda says, "Each soul is potentially divine." Why? Because we are divine. In the eyes of God, a mother knows: "These are my children." But then we have to recognise: "This is my mother, and she loves us. We have come from her. We must identify with her." That is called getting rid of the debt. If I consider my own parents as myself — just as instinctively, unthinkingly, we all serve ourselves — we do the same thing when we identify with our parents. And that process should not stop there. It should extend to the entire creation. That is called spiritual progress.
Now, let me first read out the translation, and then a little bit of explanation.
There were two classes of Prajāpati's sons. Prajāpati here means Saguṇa Brahma. Why Saguṇa Brahma? Because according to Advaita Vedānta, we cannot talk about Sṛṣṭi from Brahman. Even though we are using that word, finally it is Brahman. But really, the visible Brahman is called Saguṇa Brahma — Brahman with attributes. And just as we can see our parents and our grandparents but beyond that we cannot see — so it is Saguṇa Brahma alone we know. Prajāpati means Saguṇa Brahma, Hiraṇyagarbha, Virāṭ — whatever name you choose, it doesn't matter.
So, Prajāpati had two types of sons: the gods — the Devas — and the demons — the Asuras — naturally. So beautifully, the Upaniṣad recognises: the gods were only few, but the demons are many.
And then what is the problem? It is a fight between the good and the evil. What is life? It is a fight between the good and the evil. A life and death. A happiness and unhappiness. Everything is a Yuddha — a Kurukṣetra Yuddha — between the good and evil. Until we cross over the Māyā, it is a Kurukṣetra war between the selfish and the unselfish. And ultimately, unselfishness. And then our struggle will be over. Like Vidyāmāyā has to conquer the Avidyāmāyā. And as soon as we become identified with Vidyāmāyā — right knowledge — we know who we are, and all struggles end, because there is no evil at all. Until that time, we perceive evil, thinking it as real — that is the real Māyā.
So, there were two classes of Prajāpati's sons: the gods and the demons. Naturally, the gods were very few — that means the unselfish people are very few; that means the spiritual people are very few. And the others are many. And then they struggled with one another for mastery of these worlds. What does the selfish person want? "I want to be the master of the whole world, as much as possible." What does the unselfish person say? "There is no need for any fight, because I am everything."
Now, you remember this story of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: when his disciples forced him to pray to the Divine Mother to let a little food go inside. Food gives energy; energy gives strength to struggle with the disease; maybe he could even overcome it. Even though Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa knew it, to teach his disciples a lesson, he went into Samādhi. After some time, he came back and said, "You see, I am ashamed to tell you. When I prayed, 'Let a little bit of food go through this' — my Mother showed me: 'Are you not eating through all these mouths?'"
And that is how a spiritually advanced person, like the loving mother — even if she is deprived of good things — her happiness will be a hundredfold when she watches joyfully how her children are enjoying. Suppose a mother has cooked a dish. Just imagine: the quantity is very less, but it has come out extraordinarily tasty. And her children were asking again and again: "Give me a second helping; give me a third helping." And the mother's joy was increasing because the children were enjoying so much. It is rarely that the children appreciate their mother's cooking. So anyway, this is the example. Every unselfish person derives tremendous joy.
So now we have to understand: higher joy and unselfishness are one and the same, and more suffering and selfishness are the same. If by God's grace we can understand this, we would have advanced in spiritual life a great lot.
So naturally, the demons are more powerful — that means by nature we are more selfish. Therefore, being overwhelmed by the demons, the gods said: "Well, let us overcome the demons at the sacrifice called Jyotiṣṭoma, by means of singing praises of God called Udgītha." Gīta means to sing; Ud means loudly. "Let us loudly chant."
The Organs as Gods and Demons
So, this third section — consisting of 28 verses — describes the origin of the gods and demons. Both are called children of Prajāpati, because we are all children of the same Brahman — Saguṇa Brahma — and his organs. When the organs — that is to say, our five sense organs of knowledge, five organs of action, and the mind — these eleven, when they act in a righteous manner, they are called gods. When they act in the opposite manner, they are called demons.
According to another Upaniṣad which we also covered — the Aitareya Upaniṣad — Prajāpati first projected out of himself the various physical planes. Next, wishing to create their protectors or guardians, he created from the five elements a cosmic person — Virāṭ — in the shape of an egg. Soon after, the different organs separated out of the egg. A tremendous description of this Sṛṣṭi has started, but I don't want to go into that.
The main essence of this section is: how can we really understand the essence of this third section? So what happened? These organs started fighting. There is a small story invented by the Upaniṣad, and it is a Māruḷa story — very well known. So let me narrate it to you in as simple a manner as possible.
So, there was this unforeseen — what is called invisible fight — always between selfishness and unselfishness, which is indicated by the fight between the Devas and the Asuras. That is why the 16th chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā is very aptly named Daivāsura Sampat — Sampat meaning treasure or wealth — of both the gods and the demons. Starting first with the treasure of the Gods:
Abhayaṃ Sattvasaṃśuddhiḥ Jñānayogavyavasthitiḥ, Dānam Damasya Yajñasya Svādhyāyas Tapa Ārjavam — wonderful qualities have been described. Please go back to my explanation of the 16th chapter, which is available online.
So these organs are really inert, but then consciousness first reflects in the mind, and these organs borrow that consciousness from the mind. Or in other words, it is the mind alone which, after borrowing the reflected consciousness called Cidābhāsa — as if "I am consciousness" — fails, and it divides itself into ten parts: five organs of input — knowledge — and five organs of output. Whenever we get knowledge, we also require how to use that knowledge.
That is why somebody creates a tremendous wave of AI — Artificial Intelligence — and immediately there are people showing how to put it to use, posting their understanding on YouTube: how to create an image, how to rewrite your writings, how to correct your essays, how to transcribe your talks. Plenty of uses: prediction of the future, financial status, even how to aid the doctors. All these things we are seeing now are absolutely nothing compared to what is to come. I can tell you, within the next year or two, every PC will be equipped with tremendous power of this AI, by which you yourself can understand a lot of things — things are made very easy by that. Anyway.
The Contest of the Organs: The Fable of Prāṇa
So, here the story goes: both the Devas and Asuras — gods and demons — want to control. As mentioned earlier, the gods are very few and they are weak, and the demons are plenty and united. That is the beauty of it. These fellows — the gods — go on quarrelling with each other; they cannot tolerate each other. But the demons understand the psychology very well: "Divided, we will be defeated. United, we can defeat anybody, anything." So, like some religions — whether rational or irrational — they become united.
Now, coming back: the Devas wanted victory. What was their strategy? "There are certain mantras. If we can chant them together — that is called Udgītha — then we can get sufficient strength to overcome these demons."
But the organs, as I just now said, cannot unite. They started quarrelling. The eye, the ear, the nose — the nostril — and the skin, and the tongue: five organs of knowledge. They can never unite. So then they said: "I am great, I am great, I am great." How do you know you are great? So they decided on a test. What is the test? One organ takes leave for one year, goes away from this body, and if life goes on as usual, that means that organ is not important. But if, without that organ, life becomes impossible, then that organ is really the most important organ.
So the eye said, "Let me see how you can live without me." So it went, took leave — and gleefully thinking within itself, "Without me, nobody can see, and they will fall victim." And it was shocked after returning, after one year, that life was going on very well, quite well. Then it asked, "How could you live without me?" Then they all said: "Yes, there was some defect. So we could not be as effective as when you were here. But then, with some small inconvenience — there are blind people, and they are living quite well. Some of them have extraordinarily great talents: singers, players, writers, poets — of course saints also, like Sūradāsa." So anyway, life was going on.
So the story goes: the years went by. Śrotrendriya — first Netrendriya, then Śrotrendriya, the ears — same story. "How did you live without me?" "Well, it was a bit inconvenient, but then we found out other ways and have come up to live happily."
The Primacy of Prāṇa
And then finally, the time of the Prāṇa came — the Mukhya Prāṇa. So that Prāṇa said, "I am important. Oh, let us see." When it was about to take leave — as if huge trees were being uprooted to the very last bit of that with which they were sticking — then they understood. Without Prāṇa, the eye cannot function; the ears cannot function; the tongue cannot function; the nostrils cannot function; the skin cannot function. A dead body cannot function at all. Prāṇa is most important.
So this is the story. And then, that is why: Prāṇa Devatā. Without Prāṇa, creation is meaningless. Who is to recognise there is a creation? Who is to take classes? Who is to listen to classes? Who is to strive? Who is even to understand whether I am selfish or unselfish? Without Prāṇa — the Buddhi, the intellect, and the power of understanding — nothing functions.
So: Prāṇa Upāsanā. Prāṇa is Brahman. Brahman is pure consciousness. Pure consciousness is manifesting in the form of Prāṇa, lending itself to the entire personality; and that personality's main part is the mind, and this Prāṇa reflects in that mind in the form of Cidābhāsa. It is the Prāṇa only — consciousness as Prāṇa, Prāṇa as this Cidābhāsa — and then the mind thinks, "I am." The very existence of the mind and the existence of every other organ are deeply related to this. This is why Prāṇa Upāsanā is so very important, and there are a few very interesting points out there. We will talk about them in our next class.
Closing Prayer
Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum
Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh
May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.
Jai Ramakrishna!