Taittiriya Upanishad Lecture 118 Summary on 19 August 2026

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

Opening Prayer (Śānti Pāṭha)

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

Oṁ jananīṁ śaraḍhāṁ deveṁ rāmakriṣṇam jagad-gurum

pādapadmetayosritvā pranamāmi-muhurumuhu

ॐ सह नाववतु ।

सह नौ भुनक्तु ।

सह वीर्यं करवावहै ।

तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै ।

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥ हरि ॐ

OM SAHANAVAVATO SAHANAV BHUNAKTO SAHAVIRYAM KARAVAVAHAI TEJASVINAVADHITAMASTUMA VIDVISHAVAHAI OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTIHI HARIHI OM

OM May Brahman protect us both. May Brahman bestow upon us both the fruit of knowledge.

May we both obtain the energy to acquire knowledge.

May what we both study reveal the truth. May we cherish no ill feeling toward each other.

OM PEACE PEACE PEACE BE UNTO ALL

Introduction: The Essence of Śikṣāvallī

In our last class we have studied the very essence of the first chapter of the Taittirīya Upaniṣad, called Śikṣāvallī or Śikṣāvallī. What is the essence? That the goal of life is to know what is one's true nature, which is Brahman. Everyone has to realise "I am Brahman." For that purpose, preparations have to be done. It is like a journey – even though, really speaking, it is not a journey. It is like a person lying on his own bed, dreaming that he had been dragged away to some torturous place and being tortured. Somehow he escaped, he made his way back home, and then he feels: "Now I am at peace." In fact, excepting the journey in the form of horrible imagination – which technically is called avidyā-māyā – really nothing has happened. So to imagine that "I went to a place where I was suffering" and again imagining "I made my way back" – both are delusions only, thought processes only. But upon waking up, the person realises: "I had not gone anywhere; I had never suffered, and I am absolutely happy, free, safe person – and there was no cause for real fear. This is all my notional thinking."

The Goal of Life

So the whole first chapter is for this realisation of Brahman. What does Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa say? The goal of life is realisation of God. But one has to prepare to bring about this change in the thought process: "I am not Brahman – I am an individual separate from Brahman." Even though we all say to God, "Your very name is Ananta – infinite" – but at the same time, we also feel "I am separate, You are separate." These contradictory views cannot be really upheld, but because of our lack of clear thinking, we do make such a distinction.

Good and Evil – A Wrong Notion

Another distinction, by this time all of us must know, is that there are some good people in this world, evil people also in this world, and the evil people are torturing and smothering and appropriating everything for themselves. That is also a very wrong notion. So this is how the spiritual journey starts: "I am not Brahman" – but it looks as though I am Brahman through the words of the Guru and the scripture – but my actual day‑to‑day experience shows I am an infinite distance away from the Infinite. Illogical, but experiential.

The Training – Śikṣā

Now coming back: the whole first chapter is called Śikṣā – training – training the person, training the mind, the body, everything that a person possesses, to convert them into appropriate instruments so that the person can move forward without any obstruction, and feel that there is no separation between "me" and Brahman. It is all a wrong notion. That is why it is called ajñāna – wrong knowledge. Ajñāna is not ignorance; ajñāna is wrong knowledge.

The First Chapter Ends with Gratitude

So if somebody had faith and followed this first chapter and transformed his life, acquired divine qualities – then all this can happen only by the grace of God. So the first chapter ends again with the same peace chant: śaṃ no mitraḥ śaṃ varuṇaḥ, śaṃ no bhavatv aryamā – "O Lord, I prayed to You earnestly, and You graciously protected me, and You have brought me to this higher stage. Now I am ready to surrender. I am ready to practise the art of surrendership."

Surrender Through the Guru

But before I can surrender myself to You, I will have to learn how to surrender properly – and that is through the Guru. Without this attitude of surrender, the Bhagavad Gītā would not have come into existence. Arjuna categorically, as you can recall, says: śiṣyas te 'haṃ śādhi māṃ tvāṃ prapannam. And when a person comes to that state, then Kṛṣṇa Himself – God Himself – will teach. In the case of the Bhagavad Gītā, Kṛṣṇa has acted both as Brahman as well as a teacher, and the teacher's teaching.

The Chariot Allegory

Teacher comes to every disciple follower in the form of teaching – and that is called the chariot. The whole Bhagavad Gītā is an allegory. In that allegory, the body, the mind – our life here – is a field of action. What is the purpose? To fight with our enemies, with our wrong notions, with ajñāna. And what is this ajñāna? "That I am the body, I am the mind, I am the possessions." Śrī Kṛṣṇa's deep meaningful words – nāhaṃ, nāhaṃ – tu hu tu hu – indicate exactly this meaning.

Only After Surrender

Only after the surrender of Arjuna does Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa open His mouth and give the very first teaching: "You are grieving where there is no place for grieving." And He starts – what is the cause of grief? Ignorance – and how to get rid of ignorance through the practice of any of the well‑known yogas. But the pinnacle, the peak of every yoga, is to bring us to the feet of the Lord and say: "O Lord, I surrender myself to You." Sarva-dharmān parityajya – "I tried, I thought I can realise You, but the finite can never realise the Infinite. But there is no need for realising – it is just to remove the notion." When I am using the word "Infinite", the question of finiteness does not arise, and Infinite cannot be many, and I cannot be separate from God, because God will never allow Himself to be separated from Himself.

The Purpose of Śikṣā

So the essence of Śikṣā is to prepare both the body and mind – and life is an opportunity. And then he is fit to sit at the feet of the same Guru who shaped his life until then. Now he wants to take him away from the objective world to the subjective world – from the effect to the cause.

The Second Chapter – Brahmānandavallī

So that is how we are entering into the second chapter. The second chapter deals with certain concepts very crystal‑clearly. What is the goal of life? To know "I am Brahman." Each soul is potentially divine – the goal is to know that I am divine, Brahman. Only Swamiji used a little bit different words – it means exactly the same. And how do I attain it? Through any of the yogas – or in this particular Upaniṣad, by transcending from where I am, cognising I am at the bottom of the pañcakośas.

The Five Kośas

Here ajñāna or māyā is manifesting in the form of five layers of dress, beautifully called kośa. Kośa means that which limits – is called a kośa. So as if five dresses – the Ātman has been covered with five – gradually the thinnest, a little more thick, still thicker, and even more thick. Finally, this body – annamaya – is the thickest.

The Return Journey

Now as we have gone down from the subtlest to the grossest, we have to again return – our return journey from the grossest we have to ascend to a little bit higher, in the form of merging the effect into the cause. So that is why it is described.

The Main Chapter

Today we will try to summarise this Brahmānandavallī. So the second chapter is the main chapter of the Taittirīya Upaniṣad. As we know, the Taittirīya Upaniṣad is divided into three chapters: the preparatory stage – the instruction and practical stage and refinement of what a person should do in order to make this liberation without any doubt, not to fall down. The first and third chapters are preparatory stages – certain modes of training for the attainment of the knowledge of Brahman. But the second chapter is the main chapter of the Taittirīya Upaniṣad – that alone gives this Vedāntic teaching in the form of a Mahāvākya – we can say Tat tvam asi or Aham Brahmasmi.

The Three Instruments

So the first and third chapters of the Taittirīya Upaniṣad deal with preparations – preparatory disciplines to make the instrument fit – and we have got beautiful instruments: the body, the mind. But there is a third instrument of which we are not aware – the whole creation is that third instrument. Why is the creation? What is the purpose? So we can summarise and put it in a few words: the world should be made into a school where we learn we do not belong to the world. The world also does not belong to itself – it exclusively belongs, like myself, like yourself, like everybody else – we all belong to God and God only. And belonging means not like a child belonging to parents, a friend belonging to a friend – but absolute unity: ekam sat advitīyam – there is no second.

The Three Names of the Chapter

This Brahmānandavallī, like the Śikṣāvallī which contains twelve sections – Bhṛguvallī, the last chapter, contains nine or ten sections – but this has got only nine sections. And this Brahmānandavallī has seen three names actually: Brahmavallī, Ānandavallī, and Brahmānandavallī. And we are extraordinarily grateful to the great Śaṅkarācārya for making things so clear, crystal‑clear – thinking. He squeezes the essence of every Upaniṣad, and not only that, he presents it in a most systematic manner – and that we get here.

Brahmānandavallī – The Meaning

So this middle chapter is called Brahmānandavallī – Brahma and Ānanda combined together. Why is it Brahman? It is also Ānanda. Ānandaṃ brahma – Brahman is Ānanda. So this Brahmānandavallī begins with an aphoristic part – sūtra-bhāga. What is it? Sūtra means aphorism. What is an aphorism? In the shortest possible words to convey the deepest meaning – that is called a sūtra.

The Purpose of Sūtras

So in the earlier days, when writing was not there, recording was impossible – the teacher used to teach maybe months or years and condenses the whole teaching as a mnemonic, as a clue. You know when we create a password – suppose the password is "SUN" and there is a likelihood we might forget – so a clue word is given which we should keep written down: "What is it that rises up early in the morning and gives light?" – something like that. Then there is very little choice for us, very little margin for error. Like that, the sūtra is the very essence – put in very short words, and the disciples (śiṣyas or students) are supposed to memorise them – and it is not difficult to memorise these aphorisms.

Examples of Sūtras

That is why you have come across – you must have heard Brahma Sūtra, Nyāya Sūtra, Sāṅkhya Sūtra, Dharma Sūtra, Yoga Sūtra, etc., etc. But what we should not forget is: an aphorism is the result of hearing maybe days or months or even years – and as soon as a person remembers this aphorism, the whole teaching – the aphorism works like a key to open a huge box in which all the person's memories are safeguarded and kept intact. But unfortunately, because of the passage of long time, we have the aphorisms, but we have lost their explanations.

The Traditional Methodology

So the order is: first explanation, then the aphorism – and then the students will remember for whole life. In those days, people were not distracted by what we call social media and innumerable things as we are distracted nowadays. So their power of memory is also very great, and they were endowed with a lot of śraddhā, so they could remember how many things Śaṅkarācārya remembers – the Mahābhārata, the Rāmāyaṇa, all the Purāṇas, all the Upaniṣads – everything he remembers. Because as he goes on explaining, he brings out "such and such a Upaniṣad at such and such a place says this" – like that we come across – we have to wonder – but not really. There is no need for wondering. He was like Swami Vivekananda – he was endowed with tremendous memory power. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was endowed with this great memory power.

The Levels of Exposition

So sūtra is an aphorism. But generally we are not supposed to understand a sūtra unless it is explained. So the teacher usually follows a methodology. First he tells the sūtra, then he explains it in very short words what it should mean – and that itself clears a lot of doubts. But to be convinced, later on he writes a bhāṣya – a commentary. And as we have discussed earlier in India, not only bhāṣyas – commentaries – are there, but critics of the bhāṣya – the critic is not criticising – the critic is elaborating – like Ānandagiri appends some notes. But Sureśvarācārya thoroughly goes through uktam, anuktam, duruktam – what has been said, what has never been said, and what is not expressed properly – or if he thinks it is not a good understanding, the teacher does not mind to be corrected by his own disciple. So that is what we call now vṛttikāra.

Condensations for Modern Readers

Like that it goes – later on, some people out of pity for people like us – great scholars – they tried to do it. Condensation – like Reader's Digest used to condense many novels and other books into practically one‑third or one‑fourth of its original, without deviating from the same authors' words, but one does not miss anything that is clipped away or stripped away. So some people have written saṅkṣipta – that is, "in brief" – but that will do for people like us. And that is what nowadays ChatGPT, etc., used to call the essence – a summary of these things.

The Sūtra and Its Three Parts

Okay – so sūtra, then bhāṣya, vṛtti, then bhāṣya – that is how it is followed. And then we have to understand that the sūtra-bhāga – first we take the aphorism, and the aphorism is like this: brahmavid āpnoti param. This comes at the very beginning of the second chapter. What is the essence? If a person does not have time – the ṛṣi tells: "One who attains the realisation that 'I am Brahman ' becomes eternal, infinite bliss." Then one has to realise Brahman – that is the goal of life.

The Definition of Brahman

But what is this blessed Brahman? Some definition must be there. If somebody says "Go to such and such a place", the person must be given some description of the place, or the person whom they are supposed to meet and speak about some subject. So that is what is the result. What happens? What is the nature of Brahman? What happens when a person realises Brahman? And what is the result? So that is what – first of all, Brahman is defined. What is Brahman? What is the method of realising Brahman? What is the result of attaining this Brahman? So in Sanskrit, beautifully, it is put: Brahma-lakṣaṇam, Brahma-vidhāna-prakāraḥ, parā-prāpti-phalam respectively. So these are the three parts.

The Definition of Brahman

First – what is the definition of God? Tad eṣābhyuktaṃ – satyaṃ jñānam anantaṃ brahma. So it has been said, it has been described: what is this Brahman of which you want us to reach? That is why it is called Brahmānandavallī. Vallī means a chapter – Śikṣāvallī, Brahmānandavallī, Bhṛguvallī.

Satyam – Pure Existence

What is the definition of Brahman? Satyam jñānam anantam brahma. Where is this Brahman? Yo veda nihitaṃ guhāyāṃ parame vyoman – you do not need to go anywhere. Wherever you are, Brahman is inside you, outside you. But first you have to look inside – then only you will have the capacity to see Brahman outside, everywhere – inside, outside, everywhere in everything. Where is this Brahman? It is deep in the hidden cave of the heart – a purified, pure heart.

The Result of Realisation

And what does a person gain? Sa aśnute sarvān kāmān saha brahmaṇā – "Once a person realises Brahman, along with Brahman, he enjoys the highest bliss." Kāma means what? Desire. What is the essence of desire? "I desire a sweet" – no, that is a wrong way of putting it. Nobody desires a sweet. Nobody desires anything – but through that object, a person wants to gain something else. "I want to meet the Prime Minister" – meeting the Prime Minister is not the real purpose; I want to get something from the Prime Minister – that is the purpose. So what does he get? Ānanda – ananta ānanda – infinite bliss.

Finite Cannot Give Infinite

But to get infinite bliss – who can give infinite bliss? Finite things cannot give infinite bliss, because finiteness means what? That which comes to an end. Limited cannot give the unlimited. So once a person attains this satyam jñānam anantam brahma, then he has nothing to worry about.

What Is Satyam?

What is satyam? That which never changes – pure existence. And what is jñānam? Pure consciousness. I have referred to a very important point: existence – satyam – pure existence, jñānam – pure consciousness – are not two separate things, not two separate qualities, but it is the name for the same experience, depending upon when we look and feel. That there is an external world which includes my body, my mind, my personality, my individuality – that is called existence. But when we understand, and that existence is now transformed into a thought in the mind – vṛtti – that is called jñānam.

Consciousness as Light

So pure consciousness, just like light, becomes an object on the screen – on the screen of my mind, pure consciousness now becomes a tree, a man, etc. So that existence is consciousness – but existence is what we experience objectively outside, and consciousness is what we understand in the form of thought – the same thing. And this Brahman is pure existence, and existence can never become non‑existence by nature. If you say something exists, nothing can make it non‑existent. That is why it is called satyam. Satyam means it cannot become at one moment existent, at another moment non‑existent. No – satyam will remain forever satyam, and asatyam will remain asatyam forever. Non‑existence has never been. That has been beautifully expressed in the sixteenth śloka of the Bhagavad Gītā: nāsato vidyate bhāvo, nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ.

The Three Names of Brahman

So Brahman is pure existence, Brahman is pure consciousness, Brahman is infinite. This is the most wonderful description of Brahman. Next point: they are not three – they are three names for the same reality. If you look from the existential point of view, that is called satyam. If we look from the consciousness point of view – knowledge point of view – it is called jñānam. And if we look from the time point of view – limitation point of view – it is infinite. So ananta satyam, ananta jñānam, ananta ānandam – these are substitute but better words for Sat, Cit, and Ānanda.

Brahman Must Be Realised

This is the brief definition. Now a little commentary should be done. So what does the Upaniṣad say? That this Brahman has to be realised. What does it mean that Brahman has to be realised? If somebody says "You go and meet such and such a person", you have to know that person. Then you go to that person – even after knowing that person, you remain separate; that person also remains separate. No – it is not like that. To have Brahma-sākṣātkāra or Īśvara-sākṣātkāra – realisation of Brahma, realisation of God – means to know that there is no second entity: "I am Īśvara, I am Brahman," etc.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Example

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to feel that "I am Kālī, I am Kṛṣṇa." How can a person be both Kālī and Kṛṣṇa? Because if a person is putting on a white dress, you call it "a person is now wearing a white dress"; another time the same person wears a red dress – but it is the same person. There is no separate person, no two persons.

Where Is Brahman to Be Found?

So where is this Brahman to be found? Guhāyāṃ parame vyoman – "in our inside us there is a heart." Heart means the place where consciousness is manifest, and it is called guhā because like a cave, it is as if Brahman is hidden in the cave. But yo veda – "he who understands" – nihitam – "hidden" – where? "in this guhā" – great guhā – and that guhā or cave is where parame vyoman – "in the highest space."

From Annamaya to Ānandamaya

So if we turn our attention, keep on going inside ourselves – that is called travel from annamaya kośa to ānandamaya kośa. When we reach ānandamaya kośa, this Brahman is hidden in that ānandamaya kośa as what? Ānandam. So we have to be careful: ānandamaya kośa is a cave, but the being who is within that cave is not ānandamaya kośa – He is lighting up the cave, but He is not the cave. So ānandamaya kośa reveals the Brahman within, but it is not infinite – therefore it is not Brahman, but ānandam. We have to be very carefully remember this word: ānandam is another name for Brahman – Sat, Cit, Ānanda. We have to understand.

The Witness Consciousness

What is this guhā? Guhā is the mind, and this consciousness is there illumining – it is both what we call the witness – both the presence of something and the absence of something. So I just give you a brief example – you should be able to understand it. Suppose you are seeing a tree as an example – so there is a tree. That thought arises in the mind, and the sākṣī-caitanyam in the form of sākṣī – it not only illumines whether there is a tree or there is no tree – this light will always be there. So when you move away from the presence of the tree, you do not see any tree. So what is the first thought? When you are in front of the tree, "there is a tree." Now what is the thought? "There is no tree." But the consciousness in the form of sākṣī – it witnesses both the presence of the tree and the absence of the tree – both. And the objects change – so the presence of the tree changes, and the absence of the tree also changes. Then again you come across another tree or the same tree – but the light that is illumining both the presence as well as the absence of the tree – that is constantly, continuously shining.

The Light of Brahman

And that light is another way of understanding what is Brahman. What does light do? Light reveals things. It is not some physical object consisting of some particles. The function of light is to reveal things to us. The function of darkness is to conceal; the function of light is to reveal. And what does it reveal? The sākṣī reveals: "I am eternally present, eternally witnessing what is and what is not. I am Brahman." That realisation – that is called yo veda nihitaṃ guhāyām. So that is the second topic.

The Three Topics

First is definition of Brahman: satyam jñānam anantam brahma. Second – where do I seek that Brahman: yo veda nihitaṃ guhāyām. Now supposing I see that Brahman – "see" means what? I become that Brahman. I know that I do not become Brahman, but I know I am the ever‑existent Brahman – that knowledge will come. And then what is the result? Then sa aśnute sarvān kāmān.

Kāma Means Ānanda

So here kāma means ānanda. As I mentioned earlier, no person wants a sweet – it is for the sake of ānanda that the person expects to get ānanda from experiencing that object – so that is called kāma. Nobody seeks anything in this world – everyone only seeks ānanda. This subject also we discussed in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad – Yājñavalkya's teaching to Maitreyī – "that highest bliss is you yourself."

The Result of Realising Brahman

So this is what do I get by realising Brahman? I will be infinitely happy, because I will exist infinitely, eternally, and I experience what my own nature is. I am not obtaining ānanda and experiencing – I realise I am the very embodiment of bliss, and that knowledge: "I am, and I am a happy person forever." So Sat, Cit, and Ānanda. This is called parā-prāpti – ānanda-prāpti and mokṣa. Then what happens? Bhāra-nivṛttiḥ – all suffering disappears. Not only disappears, we do not even remember, because remembrance requires the presence of time. If I have to remember, there must be past; if I have to plan, there must be future – but there is no past, present – where there is no past and present, the middle called "present" is not available.

The Realised Soul Enjoys

This is called saha – such a realised soul – sarvān kāmān aśnute. Aśnute means "enjoys." But here we must never mistake it like a person enjoying a sweet – he simply knows "I am Ānanda Svarūpa." It is not an experience – it is just to be: "I am Ānanda."

The Explanation Begins

So this is briefly what we have discussed. Then how to understand this? So I am here – it looks as though Brahman is somewhere beyond Brahmaloka. So for that purpose, the Upaniṣad in the second chapter begins some explanation – some kind of explanation, even though it is not a real explanation. But like a child being told "this is called an apple" and "it is written like this" – like that, the elaboration begins next in the very first section itself: Tasmād va etasmāt ātmanaḥ ākāśaḥ saṃbhūtaḥ – we discussed, so I am not going to elaborate that.

The Creation as Explanation

So what is that? "I think I am the body and mind and my possessions. I am an individual – and you come here and declare that I am Brahman. How do you know?" So slowly Brahman – God in the form of the Guru through the words of the scriptures – tries to explain to us: "My child, you have forgotten that you are Brahman. So what happened? You pretended at first: 'I am the space – ākāśa.' Then you pretended: 'I am the vāyu.' Then: 'I am the fire.' Then: 'I am the waters.' Then: 'I am the earth.'"

The Five Bhūtas

The whole creation is nothing but a combination of these five bhūtas, and these five bhūtas – a combination of these five bhūtas, depending upon which element is more. If fifty percent of the grossness is present, that is called earth. And when we go to the subtle part, then it becomes jala – waters. And if we go still higher, the deeper we go, the subtler it becomes, the more my true nature unravels, uncovers itself. So that is why the whole creation is posited not as a real creation but as a way of explaining. This explanation, of course, is from the viewpoint of Advaita only – that is what we need to understand.

The Upāsanas

So this is how the explanation is given, and the student is gradually, according to his capacity, taught certain upāsanas. What is it? "You are not merely this particular individual, limited human being with this limited mind, with this limited possessions – so you are the whole, what is called pṛthvī – entire earth. Whatever objects are there are the manifestations of this Pṛthvī, the earth – everything is you." But we have to look for that from the viewpoint of the Pṛthvī – the kāraṇa, the cause.

The Clay Pots Example

Suppose, as an example, a potter has made five pots from clay – from the viewpoint of the pots, every pot is different. That is our condition – "I am different, you are different – everyone is different from everything else." But the teacher takes us and says: "Look at all the five pots from the viewpoint of clay." Similarly, you look at any number of ornaments which are made up of gold – everything is gold only. There is not even a wee bit of anything other than gold, other than clay. If an ornament is weighing, say, fifty grams, then the gold is fifty grams. If another ornament is weighing one and a half kilograms, then that is the weight of the gold. Nāma-rūpa is nothing to do with the physicality – it is one way of distinguishing one ornament from the other ornament. The form, the name, are really speaking not a part and parcel of the existence – it is our way of cognising to separate one ornament from the other ornament.

The Puruṣa Form

Thus, having given a description – beautiful description – that it is like a human body: it has got two hands, it has got two legs, it has got a backbone, it has got a head – so it has got everything. So in the form of a bird, or later on in the form of a puruṣa – a human body – we have seen that one gradually gives up the identity with the minutest expression called individuality, and goes on identifying.

The Third Chapter – Bhṛguvallī

This is more beautifully elaborated in the third chapter, called Bhṛguvallī: annaṃ brahmeti vyajānāt, prāṇaṃ brahmeti vyajānāt – just as pointers, examples. That means "I am not this particular body only – no – I am every physical gross body. I am only." So if somebody is happy, I should be happy – because it is just like different limbs of my own body. If my left hand is paining, my teeth are paining – "Oh, it has nothing to do with me" – nobody will say that. Just like that, the identification with the larger whole – the entire experienceable physical universe – that is called Anna Brahma Upāsana.

Identifying with the Prāṇa

Apply the same thing: every jīva is a living creature, and that living is prāṇa. That prāṇa is the cause of this physical body. So the effect – which is the body – is merged in the cause, which is the prāṇa – and prāṇaṃ brahmeti – not only my prāṇa. If my prāṇa is weak, then I suffer. If somebody else's prāṇa is weak, that person also suffers. So I should be able to identify with everybody's prāṇa. We discussed elaborately what happens, what is the result – even a person with abundance of prāṇa can heal – that is called prāṇik healing, faith healing.

The Higher Kośas

Then what is influencing the prāṇa? Mind – thoughts are influencing – that also we discussed. So that is called manomaya kośa – manaḥ brahmeti vyajānāt – vijñānaṃ brahmeti vyajānāt – ānandaṃ brahmeti vyajānāt. This is the gradual progress from the lowest cakra, in a way of speaking, to the highest cakra – and then we reach the highest cakra, which is Sahasrāra – that is to say, "I am Brahman." There the consciousness will be only pure – it is not taking shape of either ānanda or vijñāna or manas or prāṇa or anna.

The Purpose of Pañcakośa Vivaraṇa

This is how – this is the reason, this is the purpose – the Pañcakośa Vivaraṇa is given to guide the aspirant slowly from the first ground floor to the roof of the fifth floor. Imagine there are a number of buildings – five buildings are there – so the first building has got five storeys, and then the first storey – ground storey – of the next building starts where the roof of the first building ends. Then he has to climb. Then when he reaches the roof of the second building, then the first floor of the third building starts. That is how ultimately he reaches the roof of the fifth building – then he understands: "I have nothing to do with the five buildings." But soon afterwards, he realises: "I am all the five buildings – sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ brahma."

Conclusion

These beautiful concepts require a little bit of elaboration, which we will see in our next class.

Closing Prayer

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

Oṁ jananīṁ śaraḍhāṁ deviṁ rāmakriṣṇam jagad-gurum pādapadmetayosritvā pranamāmi-muhurumuhu

May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna!