Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.4 Lecture 32 on 10 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.
Recap: The Tenth Mantra and the Essence of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad
We have completed the tenth mantra in the fourth section of the first chapter of the Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. And this is one of the — I would say — the very essence of the entire Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, of all Upaniṣads, of all the scriptures in this world. And the rest is elaboration.
As I mentioned earlier, the first chapter is called Madhukāṇḍa. It is also called Upadeśakāṇḍa. Madhu means honey, because God is like honey to all of us. Honey means the dearest, the nearest, the closest. And we are not really separate from him. That is expressed in this beautiful mahāvākya which occurs in this tenth mantra of the fourth section: ahaṃ brahmāsmi.
Three Primary Truths of These Mantras
So through these mantras, the Upaniṣad wants us to understand three primary truths.
First: Universal Unity — Samāṣṭi Bhāvanā. Everybody in this world, everything in this world — living, non-living, all social roles, professions, and deities — are but different expressions of the same Brahman. Just as we are the only one in our dreams, even though it appears to be an uncountable number of objects in our dream — they are all nothing but me, the one "I," as it were, getting reflected, like one sun getting reflected in a million, billion mirrors. So sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ brahma, in other words.
Second: Nothing is Truly Separate. And following this truth, the second truth is: nothing is truly separate. What is our condition now? We are under the spell of avidyā, ignorance. What is ignorance? First, to think that I am not Brahman. Second, to think that everything in this world is separate from everything else in this world — my hands are separate from my legs, my fingers are separate from my hand, not to speak of another person, another living creature, another non-living object. So nothing is truly separate. I am everything.
So we were discussing the social systems called caste systems. It is nothing but a division for the welfare of the world. But its inner truth is oneness. Just to illustrate — I love to illustrate until I am satisfied that the point I want to make is clear, as far as I can do that — see, eyes are most important in a human body, in any body actually, whether it is an owl, whether it is a tiger, whether it is a deer. Eyes give us the closest knowledge of things. Then comes the ears, hearing. Then comes the smell, etc. So everything has got its division.
There are four castes wherever you go. How many castes are there in this world? Not one, not three, but exactly four. The thinkers, the law-upholders, the so-called business people who move things from where they are available in plenty to where they are needed — so from one place to another place things are brought — that is the third division called vaiśyas. And then of course workers are needed.
And as I mentioned yesterday, these divisions are divided according to the dominance of a particular quality. Please note that all three guṇas work simultaneously. But which dominates most of the time, and which dominates for a particular type of action to be performed efficiently — that makes it whether a person is a brāhmaṇa or a kṣatriya or a vaiśya or a śūdra: philosophers, warriors, business people or merchants, and workers.
The same person can be all four at different times. When I am thinking, I am a brāhmaṇa. When I am enforcing something, upholding something, I am a kṣatriya. When I am trying to buy something, or to sell something, or to supply something, I am a businessman or merchant, a vaiśya. And when I am doing physical activity — all four have to be done by all four castes. Nobody can simply sit and say, "I will only think; I will not eat food, I will not move," etc. But one particular faculty is more dominant throughout the day, throughout life. So if a person is more of a thinking type, he does activity in the form of upholding, in the form of supplying, in the form of working — but the dominant part is sattvaguṇa, which is thinking.
So we can apply the same thing to different castes. But nothing is truly separate, because whole life is nothing but evolution. So the idea is: from the lowest guṇa — from the lowest of the lowest guṇa, because there are several degrees, almost infinite degrees of each guṇa — to move up higher through experience, through understanding. That is called evolution, until we realise our true nature, until we know everything is nothing but Brahman, sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ brahma. Therefore nothing is truly separate. And as we progress, this separation becomes less and less, until we understand: "I am everything, everything is me."
So the social division cannot be removed — it is for the welfare of the world. But its inner truth is oneness. That is the second truth.
Third: The Supremacy of Dharma. That is why: satyaṃ vada, dharmam cara. And we have also seen that dharma is also called satya, and satya is also called dharma. True, right understanding is satya, and expressing our understanding through physical activity is called dharma. And this dharma is popularly known as vidhi and niṣedha — do this, do not do this. And not only in spiritual life, but in every sphere, every field of activity. In the health field, for example: eat this, do not eat this; do this exercise, do not do that exercise. So: speak this, do not speak something else; read this, do not read something else; think this way, do not think that way.
So what is the point here? The supremacy of dharma. This is the point: dharma is higher than authority. So what does dharma do? It rules all the castes. And everybody has got his own dharma. A śūdra, a worker, has his own dharma and his own adharma. The merchant has his own dharma and his own adharma. A warrior, or the kings, or the rulers — the presidents, the prime ministers — have their own dharma and adharma. And the brāhmaṇas have their own dharma and adharma.
That is the third truth. The Upaniṣad wants to convey that it is not that you are incomplete and you do something and you are going to become complete. No — you are already complete. But we feel incomplete because of the misunderstanding called avidyā. But by understanding that life is meant to manifest our potential divinity, and that there are definite pathways called Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Rāja Yoga, Jñāna Yoga — we can manifest.
So in a sense, these mantras want to lead me, you, everybody from the vyaṣṭi, the individual, to the samāṣṭi; from external activity, broadly called rituals, to internal rituals called upāsanā, and ultimately to ātmajñānam. So: rituals, then contemplation or upāsanā, and jñānam or self-knowledge — these are the three steps.
In This Background: Mantras 11 to 17
In this background, let us briefly discuss the mantras from 11 to 17. I am not going to read the Sanskrit mantras — anyway you can read them separately. But I will read the translation and, where necessary, briefly comment.
So there was only Brahman — Brahman alone was there in the beginning. And that Brahman wanted to manifest himself, grossify himself. So that is called creation. And creation started.
First — just I am reminding you of the background which we already discussed — he created this entire universe, living and non-living. That is called sṛṣṭi. Having created, it then has to be run properly. For that purpose, Brahman has manifested himself as Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara. Brahmā's role is to create — that's it, his duty is over. But Viṣṇu has to do pālana; sthiti means he has to sustain, he has to uphold the dharma.
For that purpose, Brahman first created four castes, as we elaborately discussed. First, deva-brāhmaṇa — among the gods, Agni was the brāhmaṇa. Then other kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, śūdras have come. That is what the next several mantras elaborate. That is the essence of how Brahman, the sthiti, is now being put into action.
And then, exactly as Brahman became the deva-brāhmaṇa, etc., similarly from the deva-brāhmaṇa he became manuṣya-brāhmaṇa, from the deva-kṣatriya he became manuṣya-kṣatriya, from the deva-vaiśya he became manuṣya-vaiśya or human vaiśya, and from the deva-śūdra he became manuṣya-śūdra. That is what he wanted.
So he — meaning Brahman, being one — did not flourish, because the sṛṣṭi is done but it has to be maintained. So what did he do? He projected further an excellent form: kṣatriya-hood.
Mantra 11: The Deva-Kṣatriyas and the Honour Due to the Brāhmaṇa
First he created kṣatriyas among the gods: Indra, Varuṇa, Soma, Rudra, Parjanya, Yama, Mṛtyu, and Īśāna. These are the deva-kṣatriyas. Therefore there is no one higher than the kṣatriya. Thus, at the rājasūya sacrifice, the brāhmaṇa sits below and worships the kṣatriya.
And a beautiful definition is given. Why does the brāhmaṇa sit? We have to presume: how does this king really perform the rājasūya sacrifice? How does he know? There is a sacrifice called rājasūya — we have to presume that the brāhmaṇa had already taught him that such a one exists, and that if you perform it properly, then you will get wonderful results; you will be able to enjoy your life. And then the king starts performing.
Now the description we have to understand. The kṣatriya, the warrior, is performing this ritual called rājasūya yajña. But since he is performing, he will be sitting higher, and then the priests — the brāhmaṇas who have to perform — they sit below. And does it mean that the brāhmaṇa is inferior to the kṣatriya? No. What he wants to say is: the brāhmaṇa supports all the time. Just like a baby being taken up on the shoulders of the father — without the father taking him up, the baby will fall down, cannot move. This way, the king cannot perform anything in this life unless he is supported from above through knowledge, from below, helping the king perform his proper duties. Then he confers that glory on kṣatriya-hood below — a brāhmaṇa confers.
But nevertheless, the brāhmaṇa is the source, the support of the kṣatriya. Therefore, even though the king is exalted at the sacrifice, at the end of it he resorts to brāhmaṇa-hood as his source. He bows down: "By your grace I have been able to complete it."
So the Upaniṣad wants to tell us: respect the brāhmaṇa. We are not talking about birth-brāhmaṇas. We are talking about guṇa-brāhmaṇas — by qualities, by sattvaguṇa. And as I quoted yesterday, only a person who is godly, who has become god through behaviour, is a real brāhmaṇa. So one should always respect brāhmaṇas — not the caste brāhmaṇas, not the birth brāhmaṇas, but those who are superior in knowledge and conduct.
And whoever slights a brāhmaṇa — that we can also translate as: whoever slights one's own Guru, thinking "I am greater than the Guru." Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is the greatest example of how he used to respect his several Gurus, whether it was Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī, or Totāpuri, or the Sufi Guru, or Govinda, or the one who initiated him into the Rāma mantra. To all these people he showed the highest respect.
And what is the greatness of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa? The disciple knows: "My realisation is far higher, far superior to all his Guru's realisations." If you study the life of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, you will come to know about it. And yet he never became proud. He said, "I am so grateful because the Divine Mother alone brought them to me." So therefore it is being described here: always respect the brāhmaṇa. A true brāhmaṇa is the jagadguru, because from whom right, true knowledge descends — he is a brāhmaṇa.
And the foundation for our happiness is called in Hinduism varṇāśrama dharma. According to our quality, according to our stage in life — if we fall into those four caste categories, it is called varṇa-dharma. And if we fall into what are called the stages of life — the student's life, the married life, the withdrawal life, and the renunciation's life — this is called āśrama-dharma. Āśrama belongs to life; varṇa belongs to the caste. We are not talking about caste by birth, but caste by guṇas.
And as I quoted yesterday: without this caste system, society will fall into chaos. To give a simple example — a war is going on now. So there are people who think and create the weapons, and there are people who are trained in using them properly, and there are people who have to manufacture and supply them, and there are people who have to carry them together, put them together, screw them together, check that they are done properly. And after testing — "Yes, you are ready" — then the soldiers, the real kṣatriyas, will do the thing. So therefore the caste system is marvellous.
On Agni as Deva-Brāhmaṇa
And here we have to understand: who is the deva-brāhmaṇa? Agni is called deva-brāhmaṇa. Why is Agni considered a deva-brāhmaṇa, a divine brāhmaṇa? Because the whole Ṛg Veda starts with a particular mantra. It goes like this: "I adore Agni, the priest of the sacrifice, the divine minister of the ritual, who bestows treasures." So Agni devatā is considered the brāhmaṇa among the gods. He is also called purohitaḥ — puraḥ means "just in front of us," Agni, fire — because in the olden days everything used to be offered by lighting a fire, sitting behind it, and then going on pouring all your oblations mixed with clarified butter — ghī — whether it is bilva leaves or many other materials. So that is why Agni devatā — Agni was the first manifestation according to this Upaniṣad.
And yet he cannot do anything, because he requires kṣatriyas, warriors; he requires vaiśyas; he requires śūdras. And that is what it says. And who are the kṣatriyas? So they were given: the deva-kṣatriyas are given ruling authority even among themselves. But primarily, for all of us, they are ruling. That is why — if you remember Vedantasāra — every limb of our human body is ruled by somebody. For example, the eyes are ruled by Sūrya devatā, the sun. The mind is ruled by Candra, the moon. The hands are ruled by Indra. The famous story of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: a brāhmaṇa killed a cow and the sin — he did not want to accept it — and he said, "Since Indra is the residing deity of the hand, let this go to him." You can recall that story.
So here the Upaniṣad says: Indra, Varuṇa, Soma, Rudra, Parjanya, Yama, Mṛtyu, and Īśāna — these are called deva-kṣatriyas. So that is what we have to understand.
Mantra 12: The Deva-Vaiśyas
Similarly, vaiśyas are there. So this Upaniṣad is not satisfied. Kṣatriyas are okay, but kṣatriyas have to be assisted by the vaiśyas. And so the next creation will be deva-vaiśyas. This is mentioned in the twelfth mantra of the fourth section.
So the virāṭ, the creator, did not flourish. He projected the vaiśya caste and the classes of gods who are designated in groups. Who are these vaiśyas, these deva-vaiśyas? The vasus, rudras, ādityas, viśvedevas, and maruts — these are called deva-vaiśyas.
Mantra 13: The Deva-Śūdras
But then the creator is not happy with that. So in the thirteenth mantra we get: still he did not flourish. He projected the śūdra caste — pūṣan. This earth is really pūṣan. The bhū-devatā is the devatā indicating śūdra. Why? Because, like workers working and making our life easier, what is it that we know that makes our life worth living? That is called this earth, this physical earth. But from the godly point of view, it is the divine earth. That is why it is called Pṛthvī devatā. That Pṛthvī devatā manifests in our world as Pṛthvī, and even here she is the earth goddess. That is why everything — our food — we come from this food, and we go back. So dust into dust.
So this earth nourishes everybody. And this is how these four castes have been given.
Mantra 14: The Creation of Dharma
And in the fourteenth mantra, as we already discussed: how to keep all these four castes united, fruitful, and efficient? For that, a divine rule is created. That is called what we call in the Bible the Ten Commandments — do this, don't do this. And that is what Hinduism calls vidhi and niṣedha: you must do this — vidhi is not a choice, you must do — and niṣedha is: you must not do. It is a commandment. And that is called dharma.
So first you have to understand what to do and what not to do. And if we don't follow — what would be the consequences? So therefore it is written there that Bhagavān had created this dharma. That is why: dharmo 'va jayate, dharmo rakṣati rakṣitaḥ. There is a beautiful śloka which says: if somebody observes dharma, that dharma is going to save that person in every way.
What is our problem? Because we are such short-sighted people. We only see what we experience at this moment. We don't have the power to think backwards into the past. We have even less power to see what is going to happen in the future. That's why, since we are like blind people — you know, when horses are tied to carts or vehicles, how does the horse pull? If it is given the freedom to look everywhere, it may not obey the master. So they cover its eyes; only a few feet in front it can see. Dharma is like that — it will guide us in the right way, covering our eyes to all that we should not do.
So therefore Brahman created dharma. And dharma should be put into practice. And dharma manifests as: do this, do not do that. And to know what is dharma, we have to take the help of our Gurus — and it can be a computer Guru, or it can be what we call a spiritual Guru. As Svāmī Brahmānandajī tells: even to become an expert pickpocket, we will have to have a Guru. A Guru is one who imparts us the right knowledge of that particular subject.
So that's why dharma is called God, dharma devatā, Yama Dharmarāja. And he is called kṣatriya. And that is why when Naciketā went there — Naciketā was a brāhmaṇa — and Yama Dharmarāja, even though no era brāhmaṇa, was a kṣatriya, because his duty is to see which person, which jīva, had done what type of dhārmic activities and adhārmic activities — what we call, keep an account — and then accordingly distribute the karmaphala.
And then the mantra goes on to say beautifully that dharma is nothing but satya, and satya is nothing but dharmam — both of them cannot be separated. Like an object cannot be separated from its name: an object is outside, and the thought about that object, the knowledge about that object, is within our mind. They can't be separated. You can't think of a table if you don't have the thought of the table, and if you don't have the thought of the table, you can't recognise what is a table.
So the Upaniṣad is telling: what is it that can save us under every circumstance, all the time, even when we are asleep, unconscious? Only dharma can save. So dharma is satya and satya is dharma. Therefore: speak truth — that means, what you know to be the truth, speak it. And then what is proper, what is the only thing that should be done — you do that.
And the whole — all the four castes, all the four stages in one's life — are based upon this satya and dharma. That's why in the eleventh anuvāka of the Taittirīya Upaniṣad, in the very first chapter called Śīkṣāvallī, we have noted: it is a universal convocation address. The whole life is based upon truthfulness and dharma.
You remember: a relative of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had borrowed some money from somebody, promising he would return the money after some time. But greed overcame him; he didn't want to pay. Then the person from whom he had borrowed threatened: "I will call Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, I will ask him to be a witness." See the faith of that man — who was not a relative of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa — that he knew Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa would never utter any untruth. And Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was present when that person threatened the relative. And Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said, "You better — I know you have taken money. You better give back that money to him. And if you don't, I will go against you; I will tell the truth in the court." And that fellow now had no option.
So probably to have a saint as our close relative may not always be very convenient! So the same rule applies: not only among the gods, but among the four castes also, satya and dharma are the very foundation.
Mantra 15: Satya, Dharma, and the Purpose of the Varṇas
And that is what we have to understand. So from the fifteenth mantra onwards, the virāṭ, or the creator, following exactly the same mould as the four castes of the devatās, created the brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, and śūdra.
And then the mantra goes on to say something very beautiful: how do we know what is dharma, what is satya? For that, we have to study the scripture. What is the scripture? That is God himself telling the truth about himself and about the world — what we call: "This is the truth about the world, and this is your duty, what you have to do in your life."
Then the mantra goes on to say something very beautiful. So if somebody doesn't acquire the satya from a right teacher — so if somebody doesn't study the Veda even though it is available, doesn't study, for example, the New Testament, doesn't study the teachings of the Sufi saints, doesn't study the Imitation of Christ — because the Bible can be extremely confusing, but read the Imitation of Christ and you will get what actually Bhagavān Jesus Christ wants to teach all of us, to transform all of us. Foolish that we are, we think certain external rituals are going to help us. No, they are not going to help us.
So what the mantra here wants to convey to us is that even if you formally study the Veda but really do not think it is true, and therefore you do not put it into practice — but you have a little bit of faith in the scripture, and you may be doing some puṇya karma — so what happens at the end? It will become destroyed. What does it mean?
This is what the Bhagavad Gītā, Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, says in the Gītā: not that puṇya will not give a result, but its result will be very ephemeral, very temporary, for a very short time. And interestingly — why do I say it is short? Because whenever you eat, for example, a sweet, for a small fraction of a minute you forget the entire world; you become one with ānanda, happiness.
So there is a belief that if somebody acquires a lot of merit, puṇyam, he will go to Indraloka, Candraloka, higher lokas, and he will experience happiness for a very long time. I have doubts about this statement — "for a very long time" — because ānanda means to go beyond time. And even if it is from the suffering point of view only that we come to time. So even if a person so-called goes to a higher loka and lives for, let us say, a long time — how does that long time pass? Just like if you have a wonderful holiday — one week, ten days — it looks as though in a minute the whole holiday trip is over, because it gave you so much happiness.
We have to understand and add that. Otherwise, if you went there and the hotel refused to accommodate you, or the aeroplane was cancelled because of some reason, and your whole holiday is ruined — I am not talking about that. Everything went off very well, and one week passed as if only one hour had passed — if at all, not even one minute.
So even if a thousand aeons pass, it will pass as if — because the more happy you are, the more you get out of the limitation of time, space, and causation.
On the Nature of Desire, Imagination, and Ātmajñāna
So what is it we desire? What do we imagine? "I want to be happy forever." When a young man wants to get married, when a young woman wants to get married, what is the hope of this young man and young woman? That as long as we live, we will live very happily. Such a thing is a mistaken notion — it is not going to happen. At best you can say: reluctant acceptance of the facts of life. So therefore we remain unfulfilled.
And what should be done for that? The Upaniṣad has to tell: it is not enough to say that you acquire puṇyam and you will be a very happy person. No, it says you will not be a happy person — you remain unfulfilled, you feel you are very limited, you want unlimited joy. And therefore the Upaniṣad, this mantra, says: you must worship your true God, Brahman — in other words, God. You must realise God.
And what happens? A very interesting word: ātman is compared to a loka, a world. It is called ātmaloka. And when a person — if you go to America, you are in the country called America; if you go to France, you are in a country called France or UK. But what is this ātmaloka? It means: "I know I am Brahman," and that experience is called ātmaloka.
And one who realises, "I am not the body-mind, etc., I am the ātman" — what happens? His karma, that means karmaphala, that is happiness, will never get destroyed, because the nature of the ātman is so. Therefore whatever way this man wants to enjoy — and this is a redundant śloka, actually, or these lines are redundant — that is to say, a knower of Brahman can enjoy anything he wants. What we need to understand is: once a person knows "I am Brahman, I am of the nature of ānanda, bliss," the question of his desiring — "I am incomplete, I am not happy; if I go to Indraloka I will be happy, if I embrace a beautiful angel then I will be happy" — no, such a desire will never come.
But to make ignorant people like us understand — what do I get by realising Brahman? — the Upaniṣad answers: what will you not get? You will get everything. How do I get it? Whatever you desire, that enjoyment will be there instantaneously — you will be able to enjoy.
This is a very wonderful psychological fact. I have given many examples. Suppose you are dreaming. That before you went to bed you had a terrible desire to eat some sweet — as an example. And you went to bed, and then you find yourself in a dream: somebody has invited you to his house, and the very sweets you love have been prepared or bought, and they offer them to you: "Eat as much as you want." And you are eating. Now are you happy or not?
You have to imagine what I am going to tell you. If you have some unfulfilled desires, and if you have got a strong power of imagination — you just imagine: mentally, close your eyes, mentally imagine, "I am eating this first-class sweet." And there is no time limit, there is no counting of the sweets — as many sweets as you want, as long as you want, you can enjoy — provided you have that imagination.
Is this a valid proposition, or just a meaningless statement? Just imagine where was Gopālā's mother when she was absorbed in her Gopāla. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa says: "Her mind is now in the presence of Goloka, in the presence of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa." And she came back to this consciousness and confirmed: "I was enjoying everything in the presence of my darling child Kṛṣṇa." This is called imaginary enjoyment.
In fact everything is imaginary only. Even if you think somebody has brought from a wonderful sweetmeat shop your favourite sweet — how do you know? Suppose this fellow bought it from somewhere and put it in a K.C. Das container, sealed it cleverly, and brought it to you. And because you are under the delusion that anything made by this particular sweetmeat shop will be of a quality sweet — when you are eating, tell me: do you feel it is an inferior sweet or a superior sweet? Of course, if you are a very discerning person, it is possible to discriminate. But for most people, it is the imagination.
A young man looks at a young woman and says, "She is Miss Universe." And as far as he is concerned, she is Miss Universe. Others may judge her differently. The point I want to illustrate is: if we can develop that beautiful power of imagination where we are enjoying things, then at any time, as long as we want, we can enjoy things imaginatively. And imaginary enjoyment — like dream happiness — will not be any less than what we call the waking-state happiness. It will be even much better, without any limitations.
Ātmānam Eva Lokam Upāsīta: Strive to Manifest Your Potential Divinity
Therefore the Upaniṣad continues: ātmānam eva lokam upāsīta — one should strive to manifest this potential divinity, either through work or philosophy, or by psychology, or by selfless activity, or by one or more, or all of this put together — and be free. That is what Svāmī Vivekānanda had said. And such a person's happiness will never come to an end: na hi asya karma kṣīyate, na hi asya karmaphala kṣīyate.
So that is what he says: try to realise God — you will get everything. What happens if a person cannot, or is even not interested in spirituality, not interested in realising God? That is what he says: yathā yathā vedho ananuktaṃ anyad vā karmakṛtam — if a man departs from this world without realising his own true self, and his own true self being unknown does not protect him — just like any knowledge, if it is not put into practical usage, will not give us the result. You may know everything in the world, but if you do not put it into particular action, then it will not help us at all.
And again the Upaniṣad tells: so whoever realises this ātman, his ānanda, his bliss, will never come to an end, because it is infinite, it is one without a second, and most important, it is his own self.
So he who doesn't realise everything will have to come back again and again. Therefore it is better that we wake up: uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata — that is the message of this one.
Conclusion: The Unified Purpose of All Varṇāśrama Dharmas
In this eleventh to several mantras — all the varṇāśrama dharmas have only one purpose: that is to help us evolve towards our own true nature. So from tamas to rajas, to sattva. From student life — what I call: learn about what is life, what is the goal of life — then experiment and experience. Then withdraw, because by this time we know: "I will not get what I am seeking in this world, but I will get what I am seeking from God." Turn to God, face away from the world, turn towards God. And as we progress through contemplation, a time will come when we will be absorbed only in God, and become one with God in the end.
That is the message of this eleventh section and several other mantras also. Beautiful mantras — 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!