Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.1.3 Lecture 19 on 28 March 2026
Full Transcript (Not Corrected)
Opening Invocation
ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते
पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः
Transliteration
oṃ pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṃ pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate
pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate
oṃ 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.
Overview of the First Chapter
We are studying the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. In the first chapter of this Upaniṣad, the first three Brāhmaṇas — sections — speak about Upāsanās:
- Aśva Upāsanā — a horse contemplated as Virāṭ, the universal.
- Agni Upāsanā — fire contemplated as the universal.
- Prāṇa Upāsanā — prāṇa contemplated as the universal.
All three have to be contemplated as Virāṭ or Hiraṇyagarbha, and we will have to identify: "I am the Virāṭ, I am the Hiraṇyagarbha." We are continuing the third section, which is Prāṇa Upāsanā, in which Prāṇa is given a most marvellous praise.
The Allegory of Devas and Asuras
Prajāpati's Two Orders of Children
The section begins with the Upaniṣad telling us that Prajāpati, the creator, had two types of children:
- Devas — the good, righteous, unselfish children, who are very few. They become like light — gaining knowledge and giving knowledge.
- Asuras — the selfish, self-centred, evil children, who are many. They obscure knowledge and bring in darkness to whoever is influenced by them.
We each have a choice: whether to follow the light-giving children or the darkness-leading children.
The Essential Distinction
The essence is this: those who are unselfish are called Gods. Unselfishness means identifying with the entire whole. Selfishness means: "Only this is me — this is my family, this is my religion." Those who bring extreme limits to themselves, their families, their country, their religion — whatever they follow —They become very selfish. As a result, they lose right knowledge and gain wrong knowledge.
This section tells us a beautiful allegory, like a parable: there is a constant fight between the Gods and demons, and that is the fight going on within each one of us. The struggle is to overcome selfishness by increasing unselfishness — and then we become more and more filled with light.
Prāṇa as the Ideal of Unselfishness
Prāṇa has been shown as a bright example of pure unselfishness. It sustains everybody without any partiality — it equally extends its power to a mosquito, to a human being, to an elephant, to everything that is living. That is why it is called Prāṇa: the most unselfish.
Whoever follows this Prāṇa and liberates oneself from selfishness — what happens? Their ignorance ends. Ajñāna, Avidyā, gets destroyed, because Avidyā manifests as selfishness. Destruction of selfishness is equivalent to destruction of Avidyā, which means the manifestation of Vidyā. And thus, they become the Gods.
The Sense Organs as an Illustration
The five sense organs and the mind ;this section gives a few examples — the eye, the ear etc., When these very Gods manifest as selfishness, they become narrow-minded, bound, and they suffer more. But when they struggle to give up this selfishness, they become Gods.
so, it is beautifully illustrated
- When the eye gives up its selfishness, it becomes the Devatā called Āditya.[आदित्य]
- When the ear destroys its selfishness, it becomes the Devatā called Ākāśa dik devata.[आकाश दिक् देवता]
So every organ, when it gives up its selfishness, becomes a God अधिष्ठात्री देवता [adhishtatri Devata]. From the “अध्यात्म”[adhyātma ]— pertaining to individuality — it becomes universal. From the limited, it progresses into the unlimited.
The Saints as Living Examples
Therefore, Prāṇa is an ideal for all of us — like Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and Holy Mother. Why do we adore them and worship them? Because, unlike others, unlike ourselves, they are most unselfish. Holy Mother said, "I am the mother of all." Sri Ramakrishna did not exactly express it this way but he said, he should have said ,Ï am the father of all" and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa bestowed his grace upon everybody who approached him unselfishly..
But it doesn't mean everyone is capable of receiving equally. Selfish persons are like people with a very small vessel. When these vessels approach the ocean, the ocean doesn't restrict and say, "You can take only so much water." But if selfishness makes a vessel very small, the capacity of that vessel to carry water becomes very small.
These universal characters — whether it is Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, Svāmi Vivekānanda, the direct disciples, Ramaṇa Maharṣi, or all the saints and sages produced in any religion — . Islam produced most marvellous saints through its esoteric, mystical sect — the Rahasya — called Ṣūfism They have all become universal. They used to say Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi [अहम् ब्रह्मास्मि] in Ṣūfī language is equivalent to Anā'l-Ḥaqq — "I am Him, I am God." And many people have been butchered mercilessly without understanding what they really meant.
The Question of Vedic Authority
Śaṅkarācārya's Challenge to the Pūrva Mīmāṃsakas
in this connection we have been enlightened by the commentary of Sri Shankaracharya that every word of the Veda; Veda means truth , Veda means knowledge, Veda means God himself .There is no difference between a human being and his knowledge .If the knowledge is selfish knowledge , he is called a demon and if his knowledge is unselfish, he is called a God. For a man is what his knowledge is. Let this knowledge come from books, from company, whatever be the instrument. But what a person believes, that is his knowledge. And if what he believes is selfish, he becomes a demon. But if what he believes in is unselfish, he becomes a God. So Prana has been praised. So Śaṅkarācārya raises a question and tries to enlighten us — and in particular, the school of philosophers known as the Pūrva Mīmāṃsakas, who hold certain peculiar beliefs. They believe in the Veda, but what they mean by Veda is that only certain teachings — specifically those which propel a person to action — are the real Veda. The rest, they say, should not be considered as authoritative Veda.
The central question then becomes: Is the entire Veda pramāṇa — authoritative — or not?
What Does "Authority" Mean?
Before going further, we must clarify what we mean by authority. Any truth must liberate us:
- Scientific truth liberates us from ignorance of scientific facts.
- Aesthetic knowledge liberates us from aesthetic ignorance.
- Culinary (cooking)knowledge must liberate us from culinary ignorance that is how some cooks become experts and very very popular and can really liberate us from the ignorance of cooking by saying ,if you cook this way , you will relish it better and also digest the dish better etc.,
- Medical knowledge should liberate us from health problems , ideally.
So "this is the meaning of the word authority/ authoritative knowledge. So if Veda means knowledge, is it false knowledge or authoritative knowledge?knowledge is authoritative when it helps us progress in life. And what is the progress in life? What biologists call evolution — we will overcome death, overcome every type of ignorance, overcome every type of misery or suffering. That is called Sat, Cit, Ānanda.
Every sentence of the Vedānta, of the Veda, tells us: "Each soul is potentially divine." You are a soul — you are also potentially divine —it is a fact of life , but you will have to have that knowledge. Merely saying, "I am potentially divine," you remain potentially divine but practically ignorant.
So every being knows and unconsciously prays: "Let me become Sat, let me become Cit, let me become Ānanda" — not acquire Ānanda, but become Ānanda.we have seen this both in the Taittiriya Upanishad etc at the end of the Ananda Mimamsa.So the Upanishad inserts श्रोत्रियस्य चाकाम॑हत॒स्य [Srotryasya cha akamahatasya] What we have to understand here is that our existence is not borrowed existence — we are existence. We are not acquiring knowledge — we are knowledge.We are manifesting knowledge gradually through our actions experience. We are embodiment of Ananda. We are not seeking Ānanda — we are Ānanda. We are Ānanda-svarūpa, but we have forgotten that fact.so first of all we have to manifest. we have to manifest our Ananda. so first we must remove our ignorance to manifest our own Ananda.
An analogy: a mirror is dirty, and the more we clean it, the more it shows us what we are. So every object reveals our existence, our knowledge, and our happiness. But we are not satisfied with limited existence, limited knowledge, limited happiness — and so this unconscious prayer springs up from within everybody. Why do we call it unconscious because not consciously but unknowingly what we are doing is to attain these three.
Even a mosquito, when you lift your hand to squash it, tries to run away. It is telling you: "Do not kill me. It has the knowledge that f you squash me, my existence will come to an end, my knowledge of you will come to an end, my bliss will come to an end." These three — Sat, Cit, Ānanda — are not three qualities but one's real nature expressed in three different ways. Expressions change but fact is I am Sacchidananda. I am God I want to become God I know unconsciously I am God. Otherwise, the prayer will never come out. So, now coming back to our discussion;
The Four Types of Vedic Sentences
Śaṅkarācārya raises the point: "O Purva Mīmāṃsaka, do you really accept the whole Veda as Pramana /Authority? This means the whole Veda can give us, liberate us from ignorance , from non-existence, from suffering or do you say only particular actions?" Because Shankara was a master of all these schools of Vedanta; Nyaya, Vyseshika etc.As you know all Indian schools of philosophy were divided into six schools of philosophy, i.e., Nyaya and Vaiseshika, Poorva Mimamsa and Uttara Mimamsa etc.— So these schools have their limitations. But as Man grew these limitations have been overcome and ultimately they all merged into Vedanta. Now there is only Vedanta. but this Vedanta has been again divided into three classes,Dvaita, Visishta Advaita and Advaita". So why do we need to know about these earlier schools?for that, the answer that comes is ,it is intellectually highly stimulating. Once we develop our intellect, we can enjoy things much better.Like I mentioned in my earlier classes ,we progress from Vishayanda to Medhananda which is a much much higher Ananda like From Manushya Ananda to Gandharva Ananda , Dev Gandharva Ananda. Then karma Devananda. Then Devananda , Indra Nanda ,Brihaspatirananda, Prajapatir Ananda Brahmananda. So this is how we have to progress . That progress is called evolution. Otherwise simply physically evolving from an Amoeba to a human Body is not going to be of much help. Real evolution is from a lower Ananda to a higher Ananda. And these Anandas are not geographical locations but states of our mind As the mind becomes gradually purified , it rises itself from a lower chakra [chakra means a state of consciousness] to the next higher state of consciousness. Thus it is described beautifully in the Tantras as the travel of Kundalini from a lower chakra to the Sahasrara through six stages . The Seventh Chakra is not a stage. But it is the ultimate goal ,from Dvaita to Visishta Advaita to Advaita , Advaita is not a stage, but it is the Brahman, the final destination. The two, Dvaita and Visishta Advaita are the stages .So what we are dealing with is highly intellectually stimulating. The first point that Sankara raises objection is , O Purva Mimamsaka, Do you believe in the Vedas?CertainlyI am an Āstika, a believer in the Veda."
so Vedas are classified into three parts;
First part is the ritualistic portions
the second is the Upasanas or the mental contemplations . Contemplation itself means mental concentration only. & then
Jnana Kanda , that section dealing purely with vedantic sentences like Mahavakyas , like I am Brahman, you are Brahman, everything is Brahman and consciousness is Brahman etc.
So the first point that is raised is that you say that every part of the Veda is Non-Authoritative excepting only those parts which goad a person to action.So any thing that is there in the Veda which doesnt propel , inspire or direct a person to do some action; They are called Árthavadas".So according to the Purva-Mimamsakas the whole Veda is divided into
1)called the karma Kanda &
2) the rest is called the Arthavada, it may be eulogies, it may be stories, it may be vedantic sentences. It may be sentences of truth, but they are all useless, unless they are somehow related to some action.
And in that connection we have been tremendously enlightened by Sankaracharya.Of course the Purva Mimamsakas have thought about it and as I said it is a development of mental capacity ,thinking capacity. that We see so many things;there is a first time for seeing any object and we say ,Ï see an object"and you will have to give it a name and that name till it becomes universally accepted , it becomes something.I see something. that becomes its name .until a second person comes and says ,Ï see a second object of which I have first hand experience and that is something. so, between these two somethings , things become muddled up. Therefore we have made a convention , OK let us call this type of thing a tree. Let us call this type of thing a bird. Let us call this type of thing a worm. Let us call this type of things animal.let us call this type of thing an insect. Let us call these types of things trees etc. Let us call these type of things Human Beings.Let us call these type of things a male or as female. Then let us call them , dangerous or harmless. Then let us call them good or evil , enjoyable, non-enjoyable. So every object is called by a word, Rama , Krishna, Jesus Buddha. but then we have the knowledge through these words.So when I see a tree,I say, ,Oh, this is a tree.When I see this tree. It is a Mango tree.When I see this Mango tree , this is a very good fruit bearing tree.when I see this, the fruits of this particular variety are extremely tasty nourishing, enjoyable etc. But then that by itself will not goad me to an action. So words by themselves are pieces of Knowledge , but for us to be goaded into action , words by themselves do not suffice. For e.g.,I am there, tree is there , two words are there. But they do not give me any sensibility in living. So I wiill have to make it into a sentence.And every sentence requires a verb to connect different words into a meaningful order , we require a verb. Not only a verb , there are seven cases in grammar. So the subject has to be connected with the object , so nominative case , objective case, instrumental case , dative case etc., etc.,These are called seven cases ,in whichever language, consciously or unconsciously , we have to use them. But there must be that connection. And what makes a connection is generally called a verb.As I gave the example, Rama , Ravana.It makes no sense. But Rama kills Ravana .Now it makes sense. Rama kills Ravana with the help of an arrow.Rama kills Ravana in Srilanka. Rama kills Ravana in Srilanka for the good of the people. So like that a verb should be there, a case should be there to connect all the words together to give a coherent meaning. And this is how we are using whenever we introduce each other or being introduced to any object, I am so and so ''am'" and you are so and so ,so "'are"". I am and I am happy to meet you. There must be a verb. So, a verb always indicates something to do . A verb according to Purva-Mimamsaka must bring a person , goad a person, inspire a person to an action. Sankaracharya says I agree with you that words alone cannot make meaning in my life. I agree with you that sentence alone makes meaning but I don't agree with you that every sentence with a verb should always goad a person to an action. For e.g.,the Sunrise and the Sunset at this place is very beautiful. Now what is the action we are supposed to do. It is a statement of fact. So here is a good man. It is a statement of fact. It need not lead to any action. This Mango fruit is very tasty, very sweet, very highly flavorful and highly satisfactory. that is a sentence. but then it need not goad me. Ok That is fine, those who want to eat they eat. So a statement of fact need not really goad one to action. So if you say , this is a beautiful flower, it is an Arthavada[अर्थवाद].It is a praise but you don't accept it as a Veda , authority , but then it can lead .
So there are certain sentences. there are four types of sentences according to Vedanta. they are Vidhi, Nisheda , Bhootarthavada & Arthavada.
According to Vedanta, all Vedic sentences can be classified into four types:
1. Vidhi — Injunctions
Vidhi means: "You must do this action." For example: "If you want to go to heaven, then you must satisfy the Gods — you must perform a special type of worship called Yajna."or sacrifice. here you must please Gods like Indra, Varuna etc., I offer this to Indra, I offer these to Varuna. I offer this to Agni. I offer this to Chandra. I offer this to Aditya, Surya or the Sun or Vishnu or Shiva etc., etc., Here, mantras are offered to Indra, Agni, Varuna, Chandra, Āditya, Visnu, Śiva, and so on.
Interestingly, the Pūrva Mīmāṃsakas — though they believe in the Vedas — do not believe in Gods. When asked who gives the result of the Yajña, they reply: the action itself, and the mantra itself, is powerful enough to give the result. Now Sankaracharya raises another question ,supposing you did this action oryou have done this yagna. the yagna is over but the result has not come.Because there is a peculiar rule that some actions give instantaneous result.For example if you put your hand in boiling water ,the result is instantaneous.You take marigold seed and sow it in the ground and pour a little water and protect it from too much of Sun. Within two three days , you will get a seedling. So the result is not immediate but after two or three days. You study , go on attending the college, the school , university, the result will come only after you complete. You take up a job, then the result will come. You take up the seeds of a Banyan tree; even to sprout it may take six months. You are not sure until six months , whether the seeds are really alive or dead .And then when the seedling sprouts you know that the seed has become a seedling. And that seedling's effect can last for a very long time. So the point is , some action can give instantaneous result some actions give delayed, in this very life you can see a Banyan tree , you can get a good job after so many years of hard study etc., But there are some actions, maybe you are not very rich. Maybe you are sharing whatever you have with a beggar or you are donating your money unselfishly to some institution. So as you believe you go on doing but you have never become rich you have never become famous. you may be practicing twelve to twenty hours a day your music lessons and then you may not get any name and fame. Of course you are learning music, but what happens after the death of your body? So, this was the question put, some actions do not bear fruit when you are alive. What happens then? So the Purva-Mimamsakas have a reply for that ready-made reply. They must have thought about it. They are great thinkers. Then he says No, every karma produces an unseen result. They use the technical term Apūrva —it means, result of an action. This Apūrva will not stop when the action comes to an end. As soon as the action is over it produces a result. It is unseen. when it is going to fructify nobody knows. It is called Apoorva, the unseen result of an action that persists even after the action has ended, and which may bear fruit in the next life or in a life thereafter. So, that is their belief. So how does this Apurva or the result of the action really produce result. is it conscious or is it unconscious. They cannot answer it but it gives fruit.
Śaṅkarācārya responds there must be someone who keeps an eye — like a factory manager who notes how many hours a person worked, how well or poorly they performed, He keeps a tab on all these persons and accordingly gives wages. So, there must be somebody and that somebody must be conscious. That conscious entity must be God. According to Hinduism, it is called Vidhivrata or what is called the Vidhi or God has written as a result of our actions done in the next life. There is somebody who is keeping track. So, God does exist.So this Vidhi, means, you must do actions. Then Sankara raises as I said all the Vedic sentences divided into four classes.
2. So the second is called Arthavada
Praises, stories, illustrating passages. we have seen so many stories. We have seen Prana devata .it is a story how prana is devata and do you believe prana is a devata or not? No I don't believe in it. It is just a useless sentence at best it will goad you into action. But we don't believe in it. They are not authoritative.
3.Bhūtārthavāda — Statements of Fact
Bhūtārthavāda refers to statements of facts,
It is a beautiful tree is a statement of fact. So "There is Svargaloka. There is Naraka Loka. There is heaven. There is hell. There are Gods. "These are statements of fact
According to the Purva Mīmāṃsaka, these are useless types of sentences —the only thing is if you want to go to heaven, there is a place called heaven. Acceptable only insofar as they motivate ritual action. But Śaṅkarācārya asks: how did you come to know that your ritual will take you to heaven in the first place? That knowledge is indicated in the Veda. If you want to go to Svargaloka, how do you know that such a world exists? You know it from the Veda's statements of fact. If you do certain wrong things, how do you know you will not go to hell which practically every religion practically believes in? For that the Purva Mimamsakas say the action itself, the Mantra itself has the power to make you a happy person or an unhappy person. Alright, so many actions do not bear fruit in this life. So, if somebody is extraordinarily evil, how do you explain that? Oh, he will have to suffer. but we don't see him suffering. If you open your eyes, you will see all evil people seem to be prospering and getting everything that they want, whereas honest people have to suffer in greater proportion. The result that they get is very little. So Sankara asks do you believe that there is a heaven and hell? He says, yes, I do believe. Wherefrom Sir, did you get this belief. Then, he cannot answer. Not only that, but you will also have to believe that if you want to go to heaven or hell, then death is meaningless. Death means fall of the body. that means the body has fallen, it has burned to ashes. That means you are not the physical body. Similarly, every thought dies and gives birth to a new thought. That means mentally also. What is mind full of thoughts, So one thought is arising and another thought is dying and with the birth of a new thought the old thought is gone. That means with the birth of a new mind the old mind is gone. So physical body is dead. the mind also is dead, and you have no idea what your deep sleep is .and these are three states everyone is experiencing, whether a person is a philosopher or not. So, for that the Purva Mimamsaka cannot reply at all. So that is the understanding we have here. Now we go to another question that we have to ask. That means Shankaracharya says that the Vedas are describing the heavens and hells in graphic detail. Do you accept it as authoritative or you do not? Because the moment you start doing a yagna called Agnihotra in the hope of going to heaven, that means you have knowledge of heaven. Wherefrom did you get this knowledge?It is not the product of any action.It is a statement given in the Vedas called Bhootharthavada, that is statements of facts. Now the Purva Mimamsaka's mouth is firmly shut because if you say accepting rituals everything else is not authoritative, then these words heaven and hell are not authoritative and if they are not authoritative, your very action of performing a yagna becomes meaningless, it is a loss of labor, nothing else but that. That means you believe statement of facts that heaven exists, hell exists etc. and who lives in heaven? whoever lives in heaven is called god, not capital G but small g and whoever lives in hell is called a demon. So gods and demons do exist. and experience the result of their karmas. So, these are the statements in the Vedas. Do you believe it or not? Now he cant say I don't believe. He can't say because he is defeated. Because your very purpose of going to heaven is through this ritual. Suppose you go there do you have the same old body? or will you have a new body? I will have a new body. And will you have the same circumstances? Or improved circumstances? I will have of course what is called uninterrupted bliss. So, you are called a Deva. so, this devatas like Indra, Chandra, Mitra, Varuṇa, Agni, Aśvinī Kumāras, Āditya — all these must exist, because that is what the Veda says. He cannot answer otherwise. His mouth is firmly shut.
The Jñāna Kāṇḍa and Vedāntic Sentences
Then Sankaracharya speaks of the Mahavakyas
The Mahāvākyas The Vedāntic sentences of the Jñāna Kāṇḍa are like:
- Tat tvam asi — "You are That."
- Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi — "I am Brahman."
- These appear in the 3rd part of the Vedas called the Jnana Kanda
The Three Divisions of the Veda
I have divided the Vedas into three
- Karma Kāṇḍa — the ritualistic portion.
- Upāsanā Kāṇḍa — the contemplative portion, which serves as a bridge, converting physical ritual into mental ritual.
- Jñāna Kāṇḍa — the knowledge portion, containing the great Mahāvākyas.
- The orthodox people divide Vedas into only Karma kanda and JnanaKanda
- the vedas in karma kand though not specifically but overtly say that youconvert your physical ritual into mental ritualThat is called upasana kanda.That is available in the ritualistic portion itself. It is like a bridge taking a person across from the ritualistic portion the knowledge portion.
- so when once a person enters the knowledge part of it , then what happens? He learns about your true nature, you are atman and you are Brahman. Atman and brahman is one and the same
- Tat tvam asi — "You are That."
- "Everything is pure Brahman."सर्वं खल्विदं ब्रह्म
- "Consciousness is Brahman."
These are statements about your true nature. You are Ātman — pure consciousness. And Atman and Brahman are one and the same. So if you do not believe in these sentences which the Vedas in the Jnana Kanda are full of and also in the contemplative sections these sentences are there and you will not be able to do even physical actions.
so in Vedas we find another type of sentences called Arthavada; praises, stories. So prana is praised why? because he has become unselfish. He is unselfish. then he has become God. Not only has he become God, having become god through unselfishness, he helps the eye, the ear and other sense organs as well as the mind goads the inspires them to give up their selfishness. and they also can become gods.
As one gives up selfishness and manifests unselfishness, one progresses through progressively higher states of existence:
Manuṣya Loka → Gandharva Loka → Deva Gandharva Loka → Karma Deva Loka → Deva Loka → Ājāna Jñāna Loka → Indra Loka → Bṛhaspati Loka → Prajāpati Loka → Brahma Loka → Brahman
But Brahma Loka is also not the end. One will have to go to Brahman's Loka — not merely Brahma Loka.
so Sankara says the Vedas speak of Vidhi and Nishedha.
Niṣedha means: "Do not do this." For example: "Do not tell a lie."
Shankaracharya questions: if you tell a lie, that is an action. But if you do not tell a lie — is that an action? Clearly it does not fall under the category of action — yet the Purva Mīmāṃsaka accepts it as authoritative. So Śaṅkarācārya says: just as you accept Vidhi as authoritative, you also accept Niṣedha. If this is authority then what right do you have to say, other sentences are wrong. So, accept these. Then accept praises of God. Then Bhootarthavada, there is heaven and hell. Don't dismiss them because the very inspiration for you to do action is because of your belief that heaven exists hell exists higher Lokas exist lower Lokas exist so unconsciously you are accepting the truth and that is what goads you to perform these actions and not only that, these gods keep an eye upon you. it is they who remember what you did what you did not do. what good you did what evil you did and then only accordingly they distribute your future experiences into happiness or suffering.
finally the Vedas also tell us in jnana kanda Śaṅkarācārya says: the Vedas tell us in the Jñāna Kāṇḍa that you do not need to do any action. By simply knowing that you are God, you will get everything without doing anything — and that gives liberation. Knowing "I am Brahman" is not an action; it is a piece of knowledge. Whether liberation comes only through action or through this knowing I am Brahman. Because knowing I am Brahman is not an action . it is just a piece of knowledge. alone — this we will discuss in the next class.
Closing Prayer
Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum
Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh
May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti.
Jai Ramakrishna!