Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.4 Lecture 29 on 02 May 2026
Full Transcript (Not Corrected)
Opening Invocation
ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते
पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः
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.
The Essence of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad
We have been discussing the very essence of the entire Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, which has been condensed, as it were, in the two mantras in the fourth section of the first chapter — mantras 9 and 10.
What is the essence? Ahaṃ brahmāsmi. This is one of the four great Mahāvākyas.
As I mentioned many times, Mahāvākyas are not only four — hundreds and hundreds of Mahāvākyas are there. What is a Mahāvākya? That which tells us that each soul is potentially divine. "Potentially" — that is the word Swami Vivekananda has used.
We have to understand it carefully. Potentiality — if I compare it to a seed, then that conveys the meaning, okay, but not completely. Why do I say that? Because a seed is an effect. It is an effect of a tree, and the tree is again an effect of the seed. But Brahman cannot be defined like that. It is neither a cause nor an effect.
The Advaita Teaching: Brahman and the World
Then what is this? All this we have been talking about for so long — that the entire creation has come out of Brahman, that Brahman is manifesting itself as this entire universe. In Advaita Vedānta — and we are emphasising only Advaita Vedānta — from the viewpoint of Advaita Vedānta, seemingly it has come. Like we mistake a rope for a snake and get scared, but when light is brought, we understand: there was, there is, there would be no snake; there was, there is, and there would be only the rope.
This bold teaching of Advaita Vedānta is the very root of every religion, by whatever name it goes, whether people understand it or do not understand it.
So, to indicate that you are none other than Brahman — and again, the essence of it is that it is not that Brahman had suddenly come under the limitations of time, space, and object. From our viewpoint, we feel everything in this world is different from everything else. Even in this one body, the hands are different from the legs, and so on. The mind, every millisecond — how many different thoughts, and sometimes completely opposite thoughts, are running their course!
So which is real? Only that which is lending consciousness, lending awareness — that consciousness which witnesses the waking, the dream, as well as the deep sleep state — that alone is the reality, and it never undergoes any change whatsoever. It never underwent change, and it will never undergo any change.
But because of our viewpoint — our mind, which comes under the influence of avidyā — it is our thinking about Brahman that Brahman had become the world. And after some time, one realises: "I am suffering. I must get out of suffering. I must realise that I am of the nature of sat-cit-ānanda, or satyaṃ jñānaṃ anantaṃ brahma."
The Spiritual Awakening: Turning Inward
So, only a person who has experienced both the joys and sorrows of this world becomes wiser after millions of births, and then wakes up from that state. "This is not what I really am after. I am not getting what I want from this. So I must get what I want, but I am looking in the wrong place. Therefore," he says, "I have searched here — it is not there. So it must be elsewhere."
Where did he search? In the external world. Now the entire external world has been exhausted in the search, and he did not find it. Then he must search within. He approaches a Guru, or the grace of God comes to him in the form of a Guru, and gives him the right knowledge in the form of śraddhā — intellectual conviction.
Unless a person is ready to believe in what the scripture or the teacher says, he will not be fit to receive. Then we become fit — automatically, as if by magic, the teaching flows into us — of course, through an instrument whom we call ācārya, Guru, and so on. And that is called śravaṇa.
Thereafter, we have to either think for ourselves or with the help of the teacher — the details are to be found in many of the secondary scriptures, smṛtis, and so on. That is how, slowly, through practice, we progress.
The Five Powers of Gāyatrī and the Practice of Manana
I will briefly touch on this as background. So there were some people who were very keen on escaping the bondage of this world. They must have gathered under the umbrella of a teacher in a gurukula, and the Guru must have taught them. Then they were discussing what they were taught. This is called mananam. Mananam does not mean purely that a person closes his eyes — no. Even what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa calls satsaṅga is also a mananam.
If we study the Gospel of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa as an example, it is not that Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was speaking to some people 150 years back. Rāmakṛṣṇa is speaking right to me at the present time, and all his words are addressed to me alone. How do I understand it? I have to pray to him. Because — dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt — only by his grace, not only will I get the essential teaching, but even the methodology of how to understand this teaching properly — that also should come only through the grace of the Divine Mother. Dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt.
I told you about the five powers of Gāyatrī. What is the first? That is samyak jñānam — right understanding. Then samyak smṛti — I must remember what I have understood rightly. Then I have to go on remembering it at the right time. When some danger comes, or some unhappy event takes place, I should be able to recall it — like a student who has memorised everything, but as soon as he enters the examination hall, he hangs all his memories outside on a tree, and his mind becomes blank. As soon as the exam paper is presented, nothing comes to mind. But as soon as he comes out of the hall, all the memories spring back. That is not going to be useful.
So right memory — this is called samayāsphurti: the flashing of right memory at the right time alone can help us. That is the third power. Then we have to put it to good use, but with a right motivation — not with any selfish motive. This is called niḥsvārtha buddhi prayogaśakti. After samayāsphurti, we must be able to apply it all the time. And then the last thing: we must remember it is only by the grace of the Divine Mother that we will be able to succeed in our plan.
So — grace at the beginning, grace in the middle, grace in the end. That is what Totāpurī Mahārāj realised on the last day of his stay at Dakṣiṇeśvar: "I thought, all by myself, I obtained this samādhi." Then the Mother showed him the error of his thinking.
So from the beginning itself we must understand: the grace of God awakens us; the grace of God takes our hand and makes us progress; it is the grace of God which presents the obstacles — so that, like a gymnasium where we can strengthen our muscles through hard effort to overcome obstacles, we gain physical and mental strength and are able to keep our mind focused on God. Then, through God, slowly, higher and higher realisations will come, and finally all realisations will be merged in one final realisation — that there is no you and me, only one reality: satyam, jñānam, anantam, brahma.
The Seekers and Their Discussion
So this was the discussion which is also satsaṅga, which is also equated to mananam. So they were thinking: our teacher retained Brahma-jñāna — what did he become? What did he gain? He became everything. How did he become everything? Only by understanding: "I am everything."
Now the word "everything" is not used by a Brahma-jñānī — it is used by ignorant people like us. Because there is no question of "everything" from the viewpoint of a knower of Brahman. From the viewpoint of Brahman, there is no second — ekaṃ evādvitīyam. So therefore there is no second. Even the very outlook of a jīvanmukta is sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ brahma. That sarvam — "everything" — we have to understand clearly, is only our attribution, our understanding of this world from the viewpoint of the jīvanmukta.
So it is not that the jīvanmukta says: "I have become everything." Just — Brahman means everything; there is no second. But since we are in the world, we cannot cross a limit and then understand what is unlimited. If we want to correctly understand the unlimited, we have to become the unlimited. But until that time, we have to guess — and a sincere, honest, humble guess — that is what these people are discussing.
Since there is only Brahman, God must be everything. Īśvaraḥ sarvabhūtānāṃ hṛddeśe arjuna tiṣṭhati. Īśāvāsyamidaṃ sarvaṃ yat kiñca jagatyāṃ jagat. Excepting Īśvara, there is nothing else.
Vāmadeva's Realisation: Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi
So this was the discussion they were having. Then they understood: what did this realised soul — it can be one's own Guru or somebody else — what did he realise? Ahaṃ brahmāsmi. And as a result of that realisation, what did he gain? He became everything. What does that sentence really mean? It means: I have no death; I am pure, eternal existence; I am all knowledge, infinite knowledge; and I am ānanda-svarūpa.
And that is what has to be expressed. Because we have to keep in mind that until we come across a person who is spiritually progressing, we will not have any right idea about what we are thinking — let alone understanding; even our thinking will not be correct. So we have to cultivate satsaṅga.
What is satsaṅga? Find out a person who is more spiritually advanced than us, and be in his presence — that is called satsaṅga. How do we know this person has advanced spiritually? Anybody who talks about spiritual life, about God, about Upaniṣads — however well the person might speak — that is not satsaṅga. Of course it is a kind of satsaṅga, but not real satsaṅga.
What is real satsaṅga? That which transforms — that which influences, even to some slight degree, our behaviour — that is called satsaṅga as well. If you approach a blazing fire, you feel the heat. If you enter into an air-conditioned room, you must feel the cold breeze. If you say, "I am in the air-conditioned room but I don't feel the cold breeze," either you are unconscious, or you are dead, or you don't know what you are talking about.
Characteristics of a Spiritually Advanced Person
What are the characteristics? I have already discussed so many characteristics — in fact, from the last part of the description of sthitaprajña lakṣaṇa at the end of the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā, from Arjuna's question until the end — it is the description of a realised soul. And such a realised soul is what we are talking about as satpuruṣa.
But we may not get a completely realised soul. For us, it is enough to find out somebody who is one step ahead of us. So don't go on reading books and say, "I must get a sadguru who is a realiser of Brahman" — you may not get him. But find out somebody. How do we know what that somebody is?
First of all, he is always happy, whatever be the circumstances. Secondly, even if there are great problems — whether it is summer heat, political heat, or oppression by enemies — the person will never lose his coolness. Nobody can affect his happiness, because it is not influenced by outside circumstances but is coming from within himself, as a result of his realisation, which comes in the form of unshakeable knowledge. And then he understands: "I am such a happy person" — and we also feel that happiness so long as we are in his presence.
Then we also understand: this person doesn't expect anything from me. Because, remember — when we expect something from somebody, that shows our ignorance: that "by getting this thing from this person or object I will be more happy." That is not the truth. Here, you are getting happiness — you don't need to ask. Just like if you are near a fire, you don't say: "I am a beggar — please give me a little bit of heat." The fire, unconsciously — doesn't even think — it is its nature to distribute itself. To whomever approaches, it is ready to receive — as much as the person is ready to receive.
So this person may not be joyful like a Brahma-jñānī, but he will be much, much, much more joyful than us. How is he able to be joyful? Because he understands: if anything is happening, it is not because of some action — it is purely the grace of God. He feels the presence of God, and God is ānanda-svarūpa. So he says: "Somebody is criticising me — that is the grace of God. Somebody is praising me — that is also the grace of God." He doesn't attribute anything to himself.
So he will be loving everybody equally, because that critic of good and bad is much reduced in such an advanced person. Then there is nothing that a person cannot give you — he will give everything. Why? Because a person can give everything if a person owns an ocean. That person should not have any selfishness: "If I give one thimble full of water to this person, so that much will be less for me." He will be like an ocean: "Take as much as you want, and I will be full only."
And lastly, we have to understand that his only anxiety — if at all you find anxiety — is: "How to help anyone who sincerely approaches me advance towards God? I know what is good for them. How can I help this person? How can I convey this idea?" So what I am trying to tell you is that if anybody is spiritually progressing, one of the signs will be that he will be a joyful person. And when we approach such a person, willy-nilly, unconsciously, we become joyful. That is what we need to understand here.
Vāmadeva and the Expression of Realisation
This is just the background — satsaṅga is very important, and this is the satsaṅga these seekers of Brahman are having.
Then — how do we know that a person becomes everything? The only proof: Brahman doesn't come and say, "I have given realisation to this person; he has become everything." We have to be fortunate to come across some people.
So the mantra continues: there was a Ṛṣi called Vāmadeva, and he realised Brahman, and he understood: "I am everything." And then he is expressing his realisation: "I am the originator" — that means, I am Brahmā; "I am Sūrya." Only two are mentioned, but we have to add by guessing — I am Indra, I am Candra, I am Varuṇa, I am Viṣṇu, I am Rudra, I am the Divine Mother, I am Jesus Christ, I am Buddha.
That is what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was expressing — that he who has come as Rāma and Kṛṣṇa. Don't stop with only Rāmakṛṣṇa. How many millions of times have avatāras come in the past? God alone knows. Even in this yuga itself, how many great people have come. Anybody who is more unselfish, anybody who is more loving, anybody who is dedicating his life to the service of God — such a person has a special manifestation of God. But what we call an avatāra — Christ, Buddha, all these — were included in that word Rāma and Kṛṣṇa.
So Vāmadeva became imbued with that realisation of Brahman. "I am" — he is telling Sūrya — "I am Manu." In other words, he is saying: "I am this, I am you — you are not different from me." But that knowledge only he has. Manu has the knowledge, "I am you," but Manu doesn't have the knowledge, "I am Vāmadeva Ṛṣi." But we have to believe in him — that is also satsaṅga. Belief in the lives of great spiritual people is also satsaṅga.
The Devas and the Spiritually Advancing Soul
So since "I have become everything, I don't need anything, because I am ānanda-svarūpa, I am jñāna-svarūpa, I am ānanda-svarūpa — pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṃ."
Then the next idea: such a person who is sincerely advancing — Gods gladly aid him; they would not put any obstructions. And then the mantra is explaining why they do not put obstructions.
He who thinks, "I am different — God is different" — I have discussed this point in great elaboration in my last class — such a person says, "This person is different from me, and therefore I would like to keep him under my control." We like to do that — like a chicken farmer: where does he raise chickens? He wants to eat, he wants to sell, he wants to make profit. There is no animal, no bird on earth, which man is not using for his selfish enjoyments. Even colourful, feathered birds — in millions and millions — man has honed his skill to make huge factories and farms where, on an industrial scale, we take advantage of them. And how much pāpa we are accumulating through this! That is why when we suffer, we don't understand what is the real cause. Unless we have done something wrong to one or many — usually many, and for a long time — the suffering also will be absolutely equal to the amount of evil we have done. Our happiness will also be equal to what good deeds we have done.
So therefore the Upaniṣad warns us. The Devas really do not want to put any obstruction. What is the wonderful reason the Upaniṣad gives? They also understand you are not different from them. So you have become the Ātmā — their own self — and they understand it. Therefore, just as we do not wish to do any harm to ourselves, we do not wish to create any unhappiness to ourselves — on the contrary, we only wish to promote happiness, however small or however short a time. So the Devas also feel: "May we help this person."
The Story of Viśvāmitra and the Nature of Obstacles
Earlier I gave so many examples of how Indra had put obstructions. Why did he put them? You will have to go back and read this many times. It is not really an obstacle — he is helping Viśvāmitra. "You, person — your intention is good, but your unconscious is rebelling against you. You are hiding so many things. And without gaining knowledge of what you are hiding, without passing the third class, you can't get promoted to the fourth class, let alone to the PhD." Otherwise, your permanent head damage will be there if you attempt prematurely!
And Viśvāmitra — as we can say — first understood his mistake and overcame it. Then a second time he understood his mistake: that his desire had created another obstacle in the form of anger, like Mahiṣāsura. So he overcame that. Then he progressed. That is how slowly he became a Brahmarṣi. And then Vasiṣṭha pronounced him as a Brahma-jñānī, a Brahmarṣi. But Viśvāmitra was not happy, so he said: "If Brahmā comes and certifies, then I will accept." So Brahmā came and said: "Yes, truly and really you have become a Brahmarṣi." Thereafter we see in the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha — Viśvāmitra and Vasiṣṭha became what you call the closest friends. The whole Yoga Vāsiṣṭha Rāmāyaṇa is a marvellous episode — if we get the opportunity in the future, we will select some ślokas and go through them.
Vidyā and Avidyā: The Two Sūtras
But for now — anybody who thinks, "I am everything; I am the Devas; I am the human beings; I am the manuṣyas — everything" — then he has attained sarvam. But if anybody thinks, "I am different from everybody else," that is called avidyā.
So there are two sūtras. A sūtra means a brief teaching. Vidyā-sūtram — and Ahaṃ brahmāsmi is called the vidyā-sūtram. And "I am different" — atha anyadeva devatā, anyaḥ asau, anyaḥ aham asmi — "He is different, I am different." But now what we need to understand here: "Devatam" — if I worship Indra, I will get a lot of things. Are we not doing it in our day-to-day life? Of course we are not worshipping that Indra whom the Upaniṣad mentions here. No. What we are saying is: "If I worship this prime minister, if I flatter this president, if I flatter this chief minister, if I flatter this minister, I get a job" — even the smallest thing, the post of a peon. People are ready to pay black money. Blackening everybody — and every day a new scandal is breaking out. Such a person is under the spell of avidyā or ignorance, because there is nothing else excepting Brahman. If there is only Brahman, there are no many. That is called sarvam.
Sarvam is a special linguistic word we use from our ignorant point of view, because we experience this infinite number of things. Sarvam means — so Vāmadeva realised. Not only Vāmadeva — millions and millions of Ṛṣis, in every religion: Saint Francis of Assisi, and so many Muslim saints. Govinda was one of them — Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa took initiation from him. Mishra was one of them — he had the vision of Jesus Christ. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa blessed him and gave him the vision of Jesus Christ.
And then anybody who follows the same footprints, follows the same pathway, experiments like a scientist in the same way — and what is that experiment? Moving from individuality to universality — that is called virāṭ. Moving from lower kośa to higher kośa. Finally, he overcomes all the five kośas. He overcomes all identification with all three bodies — gross, subtle, and causal — and then he understands: "I am everything."
The Concept of Jīvanmukta
And what is the concept of jīvanmukta? God — out of compassion, Saguṇa Brahma Īśvara — out of compassion, keeps some of the jīvanmuktas for the propagation of śāstra. Actually, śāstra means śruti. Śruti means that which is given little by little to different knowers of Brahman: "You propagate this much." The essence is the same. All essences of every realised soul is only the Mahāvākya: God alone exists; Brahman exists. I, you, anything else — it doesn't exist.
So that is Ahaṃ brahmāsmi. Any person who has this knowledge exhibits certain characteristics in the form of understanding. What are those things?
First — brahma eva avidyayā saṃsarati: Brahman alone thinks, because of ignorance, that "I am coming from Brahman, I am in saṃsāra, I am moving from one birth to another birth." But brahma eva vidyayā mucyate — the same jīvātmā, when Brahman is under the spell of avidyā, is called jīvātmā. And the same jīvātmā, when he acquires knowledge — vidyayā mucyate — mucyate means he becomes liberated. Liberated means: he doesn't attain liberation. It is to say: "My thinking was wrong. I thought I was bound — I was never bound."
Like a king who, after a nice dinner, has a troubled dream where he was dragged to a dungeon and was being beaten black and blue. Suddenly he wakes up — because somebody gives him, in that dungeon, a terribly big blow — and he wakes up and starts smiling: "What a foolish dream! I was imagining I was never in the dungeon. And I am not awake now — I was here only, all the time." So that is what it means.
Śaṅkarācārya's Bhāṣya: Who Is Really in Bondage?
Then there is a discussion. Śaṅkarācārya, as usual, gives a marvellous Bhāṣya — it is called Mahāvākya-Bhāṣya. And then he says: who keeps one really in bondage? Who is in bondage — is it God? Is it kāla? Is it birth?
So what is this discussion for? He says: earlier we discussed that a person who thinks, "I am different from the Gods — of course God also — I am different from God; I am small, he is big; I am having very little power, he has every power; he can help me, so I worship him" — anybody thus dependent becomes a paśu. And I also mentioned in my last class — because it is such an important mantra — we are not only slaves through worship of external Gods. Everything upon which we depend is a devatā. If I cannot function properly without tea or coffee — bed tea or bed coffee — that is my devatā. If I cannot live happily without YouTube, YouTube is my Google devatā. Like that, you can imagine: anything which makes you unhappy when absent — that is the devatā. As soon as that devatā is present — coffee is present, tea is present, YouTube is present, stomachache is removed — that medicine becomes devatā.
So he becomes like a paśu, like a slave — enslaved. What is the essence? Dependence is slavery; slavery means dependence. And a jīvanmukta is one who overcomes this slavery, and then finds out: "There is nobody other than me — it is only my wrong thinking."
Divine Providence and Karma
And this is beautifully given — then: why do people suffer? From our ignorant point of view, who is responsible? Is it the Gods? Is it time? Is it circumstances? No.
That is why in the Bhagavad Gītā we are told: is the body responsible? Is the jīvātmā responsible? Are the sense organs responsible? Are our efforts in the form of many actions responsible for our life here? No — it says only Divine Providence. And what is Divine Providence? That according to the pūrva-janma-karma, the result is allotted to us by vidhātā. And that is called Divine Providence. It is God who bestows whether a person is a happy person or an unhappy person. And it is God who gives — here is a grand musician, here is a grand symphony writer like Beethoven, here is a grand singer like M.S. Subbalakshmi, here is a grand tabla player, a great scientist.
Consider nowadays how AI has become so popular — how these people are using their brain, honing it to the highest degree of sharpness, so that we cannot even think what they are doing. Only after they create it, and then out of that the technologists create various gadgets — then we understand: "My God — if the gadget itself is giving me so much of result, good or bad, how much will be the creator of the gadgets?" Creator means knowledge. So we understand how people get these gifts. God doesn't sit and give them at random, like an American lottery ticket. No — he gives us completely in accordance with our karma-phala only.
So our karma-phala alone is responsible for our bondage; therefore our karma-phala alone will be responsible for our liberation.
The Stages of Spiritual Progress
How does this spiritual progress go forward? First, from deha-abhimāna to ātma-abhimāna. Through the imagery of the three bodies: from deha-abhimāna to mano-abhimāna, from mano-abhimāna to prajña-abhimāna. In other words — from deha-ātma-buddhi to virāṭ, from virāṭ to Hiraṇyagarbha, from Hiraṇyagarbha to Īśvara, and beyond Īśvara, beyond Saguṇa Brahma also.
Or, from the other imagery — the pañca-kośas: from jīva-bhāva to Brahma-bhāva, through the five kośas as we were seeing in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad. So from annamaya-kośa to prāṇa, to mano, to vijñāna, to ānandamaya-kośa. And then: go beyond — ānandaṃ brahma, ānandaṃ brahma — that is not a kośa, that is Brahman. Ānandaṃ.
So the seeker doesn't travel to Brahman, produce Brahman, or become Brahman. He merely discovers — through the destruction of ignorance, or avidyā — that he has never been anything other than Brahman. He was, he is, and he would be Brahman only.
Gauḍapāda's Kārikā: The Absolute Truth
This is the essence that he gives. And this was beautifully summarised by Gauḍapāda in our Māṇḍūkya Kārikā — if you remember, in the second section, the 32nd verse, he summarised this whole thing. What is it?
Brahman is never in bondage. Brahman never becomes jīvātmā. Brahman never realises, "I am bound and I have to get out." Brahman never practises spiritual practice. This is all within the realm of the jīva's thought processes. This is what he says — 2.32:
"This is the highest spiritual truth: there is no dissolution, there is no birth, there is no bondage, there is no aspiring to become Brahman, there is no seeker of liberation, and there is none liberated." This is the absolute truth.
Śaṅkarācārya's Bhāṣya: Karma and Jñāna Cannot Change Brahman's Nature
Now I just want to elaborate on this subject, and then we will go to the next. This one — actually, Śaṅkarācārya has a very tough Bhāṣya on this — 1.4.10, the 10th mantra, Ahaṃ brahmāsmi. And therein he raises many opponents. There was one opponent called Bhartṛprapañca, and he was very powerful.
So all those things we were discussing — that Brahman became jīvātmā, that jīvātmā realised "I am in bondage," that jīvātmā understood "I have to get out of this bondage" and approached a Guru — so he was not Brahman, but through sādhanā he became Brahman — and then Śaṅkarācārya gives some of the most marvellous psychological insights into it.
So what is the first thing he says? That karma cannot change one's nature. Any action you do — any amount of action — the sweetness of sugar will never become bitter. You cannot call it sugar and say it is bitter. Sweet means sweet — that sweetness is its very nature, and no amount of karma can change it.
We have got a beautiful wisdom saying in the Telugu language by a great poet called Vemaṇa, wherein he says: you bring a black-coloured rat and then, through all the processes of first-class soap, first-class powders, first-class scents — do everything — and the skin is not going to become white. It will remain that same — it will not change at all.
So karma doesn't change nature. And what does karma do? It removes all the obstacles.
Then what about jñānam — will jñānam give mokṣa? No — jñānam also will not give mokṣa. The essence of jñāna — knowledge — is not to give liberation or mukti. What does it do? Just like what does light do: when you are mistaking here is a snake and you are terribly scared, then somebody brings the light. Does the light change the snake into a rope? Never. Knowledge cannot change anything. What does it do? Through right knowledge — by bringing light — it destroys all the wrong knowledge. On the contrary, what does wrong knowledge do? It destroys all the right knowledge. But it doesn't change. Avidyā does not make a rope into a snake; light does not make a snake into a rope. Their function only is: making us understand right knowledge as wrong knowledge, or wrong knowledge as right knowledge.
So therefore what he wants to say is: neither karma nor jñāna — both will not help us in realising that we are Brahman. But what does jñānam do? It brings us light. And in the light of that light, we understand: we were Brahman, we are Brahman, we will be Brahman — and that is by nature; it can never change.
The Four Mahāvākyas and Their Progression
So this is one of the most marvellous Mahāvākyas — Ahaṃ brahmāsmi. Just to remind — there were other three chosen out of hundreds, just to represent them. What are they? Prajñānaṃ brahma, ayamātmā brahma, tattvamasi, and then of course ahaṃ brahmāsmi.
So I told you earlier — I will just develop on that. In a way, actually, any Mahāvākya can destroy the ignorance and bring us to know who we really are. But in a way of speaking, there is an order.
Prajñānaṃ brahma — consciousness; be conscious, be aware; cultivate continuous awareness — prajñānaṃ brahma — and that leads to Brahman.
And then what does the consciousness say? Consciousness is not separate from you. Ayamātmā brahma — "I am; my consciousness is Brahma; your consciousness is Brahma; everybody's consciousness is Brahma." Since I am still deeply embedded, caught in the net of avidyā, I am still going on thinking that I am a jīvātmā. But no — in this jīvātmā there are two: jīva — body-mind — and Ātmā — pure consciousness. The separation of these two, where jīva-bhāva is temporary and Ātmā-bhāva is permanent — that is called Ayamātmā brahma. Pure consciousness, which goes through the gross body, waking state, dream state, dreamless state — but never gets involved within it. That is sākṣī-kevalāham. That is called Ayamātmā brahma.
When we progress a little bit — when a seeker goes still further — then the Guru directly points out: tattvamasi — "You think you have consciousness, you think you are not consciousness, but Guru removes that and says: you are not having consciousness — you are consciousness." That is called tattvamasi — "That thou art."
And then through further spiritual efforts, by the grace of God, a person — a seeker — realises: ahaṃ brahmāsmi — "I was Brahma, I am Brahma, I will be Brahma." These are marvellous ideas.
The Methodology of Scripture: Rapport and Guidance
Now, from the next class onwards we will take up a little more of the details. As you understand, I am paying so much attention because this first chapter is called Upadeśa-kāṇḍa. The entire essence of every Upaniṣad is embedded in this first chapter — and especially in this fourth chapter, especially in the mantras 9 and 10. That is why this is the very essence, the sum and sum total of every scripture in the world.
Then — how to attain that? Sādhanā is necessary. That is what comes. So this scripture — what is called the methodology — says: "Yes, yes, yes — Brahman has become the world." Not really agreeing, but just to help us, like a psychologist. A successful psychologist first tells: "Yes, yes, you are right. You have every right. Those other people are the causes of your misery." Then the patient gains rapport. And once that process of rapport is complete, then the psychologist slowly tells: "You can deal with that. You don't need to suffer. You can overcome it, you can rise above it." Then only the real psychological help starts.
Until that time — until rapport is established — what my Guru tells is: absolute true spiritual progress will not come. Beautiful ideas are 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 Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda bless us all with Bhakti.
Jai Rāmakṛṣṇa!