Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.4 Lecture 34 on 17 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.

Invocation and Peace Chant

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते |

पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ||

Om. Pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṁ pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate |

Pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate ||

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ||

Om. Śāntiḥ, śāntiḥ, śāntiḥ ||

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.

Discussion in the Gurukula

There was a great discussion in a sacred Gurukula. The students, real seekers of Brahman, have started a discussion. What is Brahman? What did our Āchārya teach us, and how can we implement and progress and realise that I am Brahman?

Recap: Duties of a Householder (Seventeenth Mantra, Fourth Section)

So in our last class, with regard to that, in the seventeenth mantra, the last mantra in the fourth section, we were discussing about what are the duties of a householder. That is to say, who is a householder? Anybody who thinks "I am the body and mind" is a householder. Such a person's desires will be confined only to the satisfaction of the body and of the mind, and at best, he wants to have higher happiness by going to higher lokas called svargalokas. Varieties and degrees of happiness are described there of such the six higher lokas according to Hindu division. Hindus have divided every state of experience anybody can go through into fourteen lokas, starting with this earthly world, bhūloka. There are upper six lokas. Six lokas plus our earth where we are form half of the world, and below us there are six lokas, or seven lokas are there. Total fourteen lokas are there.

Now the point is we are very fortunate to live in this earthly world, because this is called karma bhūmi. Other worlds, higher or lower, are considered only to exhaust our karma phala, either puṇyam or pāpam. We will be going to those lokas either to experience higher happiness and thereby exhaust our puṇyam, or go to the lower lokas and exhaust our pāpams. But one has to come back to this earthly world to do sādhanā.

Two Types of Desires

So here is a person who is involved, who has also evolved into a human being—not an uncouth, uncultured human being, but one who has awakened to some higher faculties, and he realizes human life is precious. Such a person can cherish two desires.

One: "I want to be happy in this world or higher lokas." But after experiencing for some time again and again through a lot of labor, such a person realizes what I want is not temporary, which is ephemeral, which is lasting for only a very short time. "I want permanent happiness." That is the second category of people, of which the Gita beautifully describes: out of a million people, perhaps one person awakens to the fact that spiritual life, godly life, is the only life worth living.

The Prescription for the Householder

So there is such a householder, and he thinks "I am the body and mind." He has faith in the scriptures, and the scriptures describe higher lokas. So he says, "I want to be happy in this world as well as in the higher worlds." For such a person, the scriptures prescribe certain things, actions to be done according to one's caste (though it is not a good word, actually) and according to one's stage in life: varṇa dharma and āśrama dharma.

The Five Required Items (pāṅktam)

So we presume this person is a good person, and he goes to the teacher, spends several years, learns all about life, comes back, and he has unfulfilled desires pertaining to the body and mind. Such a person performs, he desires, "I want to perform this ritual." For that, the Vedas tell us that you require five things. What are the five things?

First, he himself should be of young age, capable age, capable of undertaking this yajña ritual. He must have his wife. (You may be wondering why such a person should require a wife. Because a person imbued with worldly desires will be thinking, "If I get a woman, a wife, then not a free life?" But a duly married wife, then the rightful actions can be discharged, duties can be discharged.) So he requires five items. This is called pāṅktam. Pāṅktam means a group of five.

So through that, he has to discharge his varṇa dharma, āśrama dharma, which have to be discharged through the proper performance of pañca mahāyajñas, five great remittals of debts, which we have discussed in the past and yesterday also.

The Five Constituents

So first is himself, called yajamāna. Second is wife, called patnī. Third is the son. Fourth is called human wealth: money, animals, servants, and many other objects for the performance of yajña, yāga, etcetera. And he must have control of mind, a deep faith in God, etcetera. So that is called divine wealth. So yajamāna (the performer, sacrificer), his wife, his son, human wealth, and divine wealth. All these five are indispensable if a person wants to properly discharge all the pañca mahāyajñas.

Evolution and Awakening

We presume such a person does it throughout life, throughout many lives, and he slowly awakens, he becomes evolved. Then amṛtatvamicchan. So:

Uttiṣṭhata jāgrata; approach learned ones, sit humbly at their feet and serve them, please them, ask them, "What type of life should I lead?"

तद्विद्धि प्रणिपातेन परिप्रश्नेन सेवया |

उपदेक्ष्यन्ति ते ज्ञानं ज्ञानिनस्तत्त्वदर्शिनः ||

Tadviddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā |

Upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninastattvadarśinaḥ ||

From External Ritual to Upāsanā

So this evolved person says, "I have done physically all those things. Now from external ritual I want to progress into higher action, that is called upāsanā."

So such a person now turns his mind, and the Upaniṣad or the Veda tells us. But the Upaniṣad also tells us that as wrong as a person doesn't get married, doesn't get a son or sons, performs all the yajñās, yāgās, he cannot evolve. That is why I mentioned yesterday the appropriate duties apportioned to one's own caste and to one's own stage of life. They are called āśrama dharmas, and due discharge of these dharmas inevitably does certain things. Due performance, proper performance of these duties is called karma yoga. Karma yoga, in other words, is nothing but getting rid of our debts to these five beings: our ṛṣis, gods (presiding deities), our ancestors, every other human being, and everything in this world—nothing is left out. When we are grateful for our life, for our health, for our happiness, for our fulfillment for everything, we have to give them back. Giving them back what we receive. And this is a continuous process, constant process every second. For example, breathing in borrowing oxygen from the vaiśvadevatā, and we have to give back what is helpful to other creatures like the trees, etcetera, through the proper giving away of carbon dioxide, etcetera.

Citta Śuddhi and Its Results

So when a person properly discharges the duties, his mind becomes pure. This is called citta śuddhi. The result of karma yoga is citta śuddhi. What does citta śuddhi do? First of all, it purifies the mind. Secondly, it generates puṇyam. Puṇyam is the ability to squeeze happiness irrespective of any circumstance

Closing Prayer

ॐ जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुम् ।पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः

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!