Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.6 Lecture 38 on 31 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.
Overview of the Sixth Section
We have almost come to the end of the first chapter. We are in the sixth section of the first chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. In this sixth section, the Upaniṣad is condensing and summarising, giving the very essence of the entire Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, by reducing the whole world into three experienceable components: names, forms, and action — Nāma, Rūpa, and Karma.
Nāma, Rūpa, and Karma
As we discussed earlier, Nāma means sound — Śabda Brahma. Rūpa means the material from which every conceivable form can arise. Wherever there is Nāma and Rūpa, there would be a prayojana — a utility, an action — whether by others or by oneself. We have to take both into consideration. For example, when I see a glass and feel like drinking water, I use that glass for the action of filling it with water and drinking. Of course, the glass never feels thirst, but it has a definite, actionable purpose.
The Uktha Brāhmaṇa
This sixth section is also called the Uktha Brāhmaṇa. Brāhmaṇa here means section, not a person belonging to a particular caste. Sanskrit words can carry many different meanings. For example, ātma can mean the body, the mind, the ego, itself, or Brahman. Every essence can also be called ātma — sweetness is the ātma, the very essence, of sugar or of anything sweet.
Here, Uktha means origin — that undifferentiated universal substance, or material cause, from which the whole universe emerges. That is called Uktam, and all three — Nāma, Rūpa, and Karma — are called Uktams. The whole universe is nothing but a combination of these three. That is why it can be thought of as a triangle: you cannot remove one angle without the triangle collapsing. Remove Nāma from this triangle of Nāma-Rūpa-Karma, and the world vanishes. Remove Rūpa, and the world vanishes. Remove Karma, and what remains will have no name and no form — but this is not destruction. It is a merging back into the unmanifest form, which is Brahman Ātma.
The Triangle of Experience
Gross and Subtle Experience
This section tells us that wherever we experience anything — whether it is the gross physical or the subtle thought — it must contain Nāma, Rūpa, and Karma. When we experience a person and remove the Rūpa, the name will automatically disappear, and with the name gone, the action also disappears. These three are present in subtle form as well, and that is what we call a thought. The moment we think of Rāma, the form of Rāma, the name of Rāma, and the character of Rāma — the summation of every activity — arise together.
Our assessment of a person's whole character comes to us only through the experience of karma. Karma means character; character means our idea of a person, our estimate of them. And every single experienceable object can be separated from the infinite number of objects in this world. This is not Kṛṣṇa; Kṛṣṇa is a very good person, but this person is not so good.
The Origin of Each Component
What is the point the Upaniṣad is making? Nāma means Śabda — that is Brahman. Rūpa is Brahman when it is removed of its specific form. In this sixth section, a peculiar name is given to the Uktam of form — the original cause of every form — and that is Cakṣu. Although Cakṣu ordinarily means the eye, the sense organ through which we experience forms, the origin of all forms is not the Cakṣu as such. Here, Cakṣu means origin, Uktam — the cause from which all forms arise. And all forms can arise only from a formless aspect. From the nameless origin, any name can come out. From Śabda, any name can come out. From formlessness, any form can come out.
What is the Uktam, the origin, of Karma? Prāṇa — energy. The sum total of energy, not individualised energy, but universal energy, is called Īśvara, Hiraṇyagarbha, Saguṇa Brahma. These are all different names for it. So what is this whole universe? It is nothing but Śabda Brahma, Rūpa Brahma, and Prāṇa Brahma — and they are all unmanifest. Only when Brahman manifests in the form of sound does it become names. When Brahman manifests as forms, they become different forms, experienceable externally and also in the form of thoughts.
If you analyse your dream state, everything you see is nothing but name, form, and action. And this Prāṇa is not called Prāṇa in the absolute sense; it is called Brahman. Only when it manifests through a particular instrument is it called Prāṇa. Otherwise it is called Prāṇadevata, which is another name for Brahman.
Bondage Through Nāma, Rūpa, and Karma
The Nature of Distinction
Why does this section tell us all this? Because it wants to tell us what it is that binds us — this Nāma, Rūpa, and Karma. We see a person, and that person has a particular form distinguishable from every other person, and a particular name to distinguish them. If, for example, there are three Rāmas in the same family, we must call them Rāma number one, Rāma number two, Rāma number three. The function of a name is to distinguish every form from every other form. And about everyone, through their actions, we form an idea of what that object or person is.
But if you remove Nāma, Rūpa, and Karma — merging them back into their original cause — what remains is pure Brahman. As Vidyāraṇya puts it in the Pañcadaśī: what is the world? Sat-Cit-Ānanda plus Nāma plus Rūpa. What is Brahman? Sat-Cit-Ānanda. Or, the world without Nāma-Rūpa is simply Sat-Cit-Ānanda — the origin, the Uktam, which is called Brahman.
Two Levels of Bondage
The Upaniṣad warns us: this bondage operates at two levels. The first is our bondage to the body. Everybody's body — my body, your body, anybody's body — has a particular form, a particular shape, a particular colour, height, weight, and so on, totally distinguishable from everything else in this world. No two objects are exactly alike. Between a billion hairs, one can clearly distinguish one hair from another. When snow falls, there will be billions of snowflakes, and every snowflake has its own specific signature — Nāma-Rūpa. What a marvellous creation it is! No two people's eyes are alike. No two people's thumb impressions are alike. Everything is unique.
Our body, as a form with a name and certain characteristics created by our actions, is powered by Prāṇa or energy. These three things form both the physical body, the sthūla śarīra, and the subtle body, the sūkṣma śarīra.
Satyam and Amṛtam
In the fifth section, the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad gives a beautiful name to the physical body: it is called Satyam. For the subtle body — the mind — it gives another name: Amṛtam, immortality.
We may wonder why the Upaniṣad uses the word Satyam here, when only Brahman — Sacchidānanda — truly deserves that name (Jñānamanantaṃ Brahma). But for us, at this stage, the body and the physical world are the only truth available. That is why it is called Satyam, and we are enormously attached to it. This attachment prevents us from going back to our Uktam, our original cause.
Why should we realise our original cause? Because our identity with this particular personality is preventing our identity with every other object in this world. If we seek the truth, every object has the same name, form, and Prāṇa — energy. These are the effects, and every effect must have a cause. The manifested effect must have an unmanifested cause. But we are caught in it, and this emphasis on separating ourselves from everything else — this bondage of individual identity — creates tremendous suffering.
The Path Toward Universal Identity
Identifying Beyond the Individual
How does separation create suffering? If I can identify with my brother, my sister, my parents — even if I am suffering, but they are enjoying happiness — then I will be happy, because identity means that the other person's experience becomes my experience. That is why a mother gives more sweets to her children and is happier for it, because she is completely identified with them. As she says: "This is me, but I am eating through the body of my child." Yet the same mother will not experience it when the neighbour's child is eating. That is the interesting thing.
So the Upaniṣad tells us: practise sādhana, spiritual practice, and slowly go back to your origin. Surprisingly, you will discover that every name is your name, every form is your form, and every karma is your karma — every object is none other than you.
The Illustration of Śukadeva
This is beautifully illustrated in the Bhāgavatam. Śukadeva, the son of Advaita-Vyāsa, was a full jñāna Brahman from birth. As soon as he was born, he started walking away. His father, who was attached, ran after him, calling: "Oh my son! Oh my son!" And do you know what miracle took place? Śukadeva was completely unaware that someone was following him, because he was absorbed in his nature as Brahman — and Brahman is this world. Therefore, the whole world started responding. Every tree, every creature replied: "Yes, Father! Yes, Father!" What a marvellous illustration we find in these beautiful scriptures.
The Nature of True Joy
Oh man, after all, what is it you are seeking? You strive twenty-four hours a day: "I want to be happy." But you can never find lasting happiness — perhaps a little, for a very short time. But if you can identify yourself with one person, with two people, with a hundred, with a thousand, with everybody — then when a tiger succeeds in hunting a deer and begins enjoying its meal, that ānanda will be yours, because you are identifying with the tiger. Wherever there is happiness, you will be happy, and where there is happiness, there is no place for unhappiness, because these two opposite thoughts cannot stay in the mind at the same time.
A person who identifies with the whole universe will be the happiest person in this world. That is one way of understanding the question the Divine Mother posed to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: "Why are you not eating through all these mouths?" That is the message: your very unconscious is striving to break the bondage of identity with your individuality and to become the real you, who is the universal.
The Illustration of the Mango Fruit
One more important point: you cannot separately and independently merge name into Śabda, form into formlessness, and action into Prāṇa or Īśvara or Hiraṇyagarbha or Saguṇa Brahma. Either all three will merge together or all three will be separated, because they are one and the same. Consider a ripe mango fruit — fragrant, sweet, and soft. The moment it is destroyed, everything disappears together: the flavour, the fragrance, the sweetness, the soft texture. We are one in three, three in one. That is the lesson this sixth section wishes to convey.
The Illustration of Clay and Gold
Clay Pots
The summary is that we are all one in Brahman. What makes us think we are separate is form, name, and action. If we can succeed in merging them, there is nothing separate remaining.
Take the example of clay. Suppose a hundred pots are made from clay, and all hundred pots must be given separate names: this is a glass, this is a plate, this is a cooking pot, this is a storage pot, and so on. What is the karma — the Prāṇa-function — of the cooking pot? Cooking. What is the karma of the glass? It fulfils the function of drinking. What is the function of the plate? Keeping food so we can eat. The names — plate, glass, cooking pot, storage pot — are different. Their forms are different, their functions are different: Nāma, Rūpa, Karma. All are different. But if you merge them back, the cooking pot becomes clay. As soon as it becomes clay, it loses its particular form, name, and function. Apply the same to the glass, the plate, the storage pot, any number of pots whatsoever.
Golden Ornaments
Take another example: golden ornaments. Make any number of ornaments — the names are different and the functions are different. This golden ornament is called an earring, meant to be worn in the ear. This is called a nose ring, meant to be worn through the nose. This is a bangle, meant to be worn on the arm. Each has a separate function, a separate form, a separate name. Then melt one — and Nāma, Rūpa, and Karma disappear together into gold. That is how we have to understand it.
Vairāgyam: Dispassion as the Way
The Meaning of Vairāgyam
What is the way for us to achieve identity with the universe? By removing the attachment to Nāma-Rūpa. That is called vairāgyam. Vairāgyam means dispassion — not necessarily giving up, but removing the attachment. That is called Nāham Deham — "I am not the body." The moment you affirm this, the form of the body, the name of the body, and the function of the body cease to affect that particular mind.
Satyam Reconsidered
The Upaniṣad calls this body — consisting of a particular form, name, and function — Satyam. But Satyam here should not be taken in the ultimate sense. It means our Satyam, our perception: "This is the only truth." The scripture knows this is not the ultimate truth, because that which perishes, that which changes, that which is dependent — that is not truth. What is independent, not dependent upon anything, and can neither grow nor diminish — that is Satyam. Trikālābādhitaṃ Satyam.
The form is changing, and according to the form, the name changes too. This is a child, this is a youth, this is a middle-aged person, this is an old person, this is a dead person. With every change, the name changes, the function changes, and Prāṇa too varies. So we suffer from these limitations.
Ascending Through the Kośas
How do we get out? At least the first stage is: "I am not the body." To say "I am not the body" — to say "I am not the Annamaya Kośa" — I must identify with the Prāṇamaya Kośa next, the subtler form, the cause of annam. Only then will I say: "This is anātma." Anātma means asatya — that is not the truth — which means I am not attached to it and it does not affect me.
We have seen this in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad, how Bhṛgu gradually overcame each level of identity — from effect to cause, and that cause in its turn becomes the effect whose further cause must be found. The cause of Prāṇa is mind; the cause of mind is intellect; the cause of intellect is ānanda; and the cause of ānanda is Brahman.
The Relative Immortality of the Mind
The Upaniṣad tells us that the mind is called Amṛta — immortal. This is relative immortality. The duration of the physical body is very short; we change every day. But the duration of the mind is longer. Therefore, if a person can succeed in identifying themselves with the mind, they can relatively achieve immortality. Detach yourself from the body. When you realise that which changes every millisecond cannot be Satyam — but you want Satyam — seek it at a higher, subtler level: the mind. And here by "mind," all four inner kośas up to the Ānandamaya Kośa are included. These four kośas — the antar-indriya — persist until liberation itself. That is what this sixth section wishes to convey: slowly and gradually, ascend.
The World as Body: Bondage and Freedom
The Body as the World
This is beautifully explained by St. John of the Cross in the form of a small poem, "The Dark Night of the Soul." Until the soul is totally identified with the body, it thinks it is in full light — because for it, the world is nothing but the body.
There is a world outside — but how do we know there is a world outside? Only through this body. The world consists of five elements experienced through five sense organs: sounds, colours, fragrances, tastes, and touches. Suppose somebody is blind. Their world now consists of only four things, because the world of colours and forms has totally disappeared. Suppose they are also deaf — their world consists of only three. Suppose they lose taste — only two. Suppose they lose the ability to smell — four-fifths is gone. Suppose they cannot even experience touch. Then where is the external world? A person's so-called world is totally gone.
Just imagine that a person born blind or born deaf will never be able to understand this — though the Eastern, Hindu view holds that in past lives they were not like that, that all five sense organs functioned fully, so the impressions remain in the mind and they can still dream of seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and touching. But that is an entirely different subject matter. The point is: this body is the instrument through which we infer and assume there is an external world. Minus this body, there is no external world at all. What a marvellous psychological truth. Our whole world is nothing but our body — and that is the greatest bondage.
The Way Out: Identification with the Origin
What is the way? Let us identify not only with this particular body but with every body. Before we can do that, we must go back to the origin and identify with the origin of these three: Śabda, then formlessness (Arūpa), and Prāṇa — or Hiraṇyagarbha, or Īśvara. Identify with that, because Īśvara represents the origin of all three. Once I identify with it, I can enjoy every form, every name, and every activity. Then it all becomes a Līlā.
What does Līlā mean? Consider: even from the ordinary point of view, as David Attenborough has explained so beautifully, death is not permanent non-existence. Death is only going back to the five elements. The body is made up of five elements and it is only the body that dies. But the other four kośas — the sūkṣma śarīra, including the kāraṇa śarīra — go in search of a new body. Very soon, a new body will be found. All five kośas become complete again, because without interacting with the world, our experience will not be complete. Without the world, we cannot be bound; without being bound, we cannot be released. So the world is an absolute necessity for our growth.
Learning from Experience
Love Without Expectation
Every experience that we get in this world is to be learned from. What is the lesson? "I loved this person, and this person betrayed me." What is the lesson? That person has not actually betrayed you. You were expecting that person to be grateful and to repay you. That is your fault. You are free to love. You are not free to expect. So learn the lesson. Do not stop loving, because if you stop loving, you stop being happy. Love and happiness are one and the same thing, actually. If you say "I am happy," that is love. If you say "I love," that means you are happy. Try to understand this very clearly. We cannot live without happiness. So we have the right to love.
Can we be joyful without the other person responding? In fact, we can be even more happy, because the greater our love, proportionately greater will be our happiness. Suppose you like mystery novels, and there is your favourite author whose every book is a page-turner. Does the book return your love? It does not say, "I also love you." No — you love, you use the book, you read the book. The book never responds, because it is lifeless. But if your love for that type of book is ten percent, your happiness is ten percent. If you love it fifty percent, your joy will be fifty percent. If you love it one hundred percent, you will want to read it again and again, and your joy will be one hundred percent. So love is equivalent to joy.
The Problem of Unrequited Expectation
Our problem arises especially with other living human beings when we feel our love is not returned. That is our mistake. You have a right only to love. You have no right to expect anything. The moment we stop expecting, all the joy that was being blocked will come flooding in.
For example: you love a person, you meet them, you talk with them, and that person also begins showing love for you. Their talk, their smile, their personality enhances your happiness — or so you think. But sometimes, if they do not express it, or if they reduce that expression, you are upset. You have made your joy entirely dependent on another person's reaction. But imagine: "I love this person, but I will not expect anything from them. Whether that person shows love or does not show love, it does not really matter, because I am my own master." If your love is dependent upon another person's reaction, your love — and your happiness — will go up and down, changing all the time. But if it is completely independent — "I do not expect anything, I simply love" — that love is indestructible.
The Illustration of Yudhiṣṭhira
There is a beautiful saying — attributed to Swami Vivekananda, who quotes from the Mahābhārata or from an old wise saying. Once, Yudhiṣṭhira was absorbed in contemplating a beautiful sunrise and sunset. Someone came to speak with him, but Yudhiṣṭhira was so completely absorbed he was unaware. After some time, this person found Yudhiṣṭhira returning to ordinary consciousness. He asked: "Sir, what do you get? I see that you are completely absorbed in it. What profit, what lābha, do you get out of it?" Yudhiṣṭhira was surprised and said: "Lābha? Profit? I am not expecting any. I love. I enjoy seeing the sunrise, the sunset, any beautiful thing. That is it. It gives me the greatest joy. If I expect something, it will definitely break at some point of time."
The Experience of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa
At the age of seven or eight, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was walking in the fields during the rainy season. The whole sky was covered with thick black clouds, and a flock of swans was gracefully flying across. That sight made him so joyous and so absorbed that he fell down unconscious — unconscious to the world, conscious to the aesthetic beauty of that experience. When people were frightened, he said: "No, my health is perfectly all right. In fact, an unhealthy person cannot experience this. Only a perfectly healthy person can experience it."
Conclusion: Sarvatra Sama Darśana
So what are we talking about? When you go to the origin, two things happen. First, you identify yourself with the entire creation. Second, everything that is happening in this universe becomes joyful — somebody quarrelling, somebody opposing you — it is all a joy, like a drama, because it is ultimately unreal.
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa saw Akṣay pass away in front of his eyes. Everybody was weeping. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was laughing, because he saw the Satyam: death is unreal. It is only the body; nothing has happened to the soul. The scabbard has been separated, but nothing has happened to the sword itself. Whether something happens to the scabbard or not, it does not really matter.
So develop that vairāgya. What is vairāgya? Giving up attachment to one individuality and identifying oneself with everything else. That is called true vairāgya, and that is the essence of this section.
Oh man, every experience in this world has something to teach you. Learn it well. Keep it in mind. Reinforce it. Try to identify with everybody else. That is called Sarvatra Sama Darśana — seeing the same Self everywhere.
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!