Taittiriya Upanishad Lecture 126 Conclusion on 14 October 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

Upāsana of Brahman as the Destructive Agent

We are summarising the third chapter called Bhṛguvallī in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad. In the last class we were summarising some of the upāsanas, and one particular upāsana was described as Brahman as a destructive agent.

The Prayer

What is it? "O Lord, please see that no thought of enmity, dislike, hatred, can ever arise in my mind. Only by Your grace it is possible." This is called Brahmanaḥ parimara iti upāsīta – Brahman as the destructive agent.

Brahman Cannot Destroy Anything

In fact, Brahman cannot destroy anything, because destruction of oneself by oneself is impossible. Bhagavān Śaṅkarācārya, in his beautiful commentary on the second chapter, sixteenth verse, crystal‑clearly says: one cannot have any action with regard to oneself. It is only when there is something else.

Why We Act

Are we not doing actions? Yes – because we are in ignorance. What is ignorance? We divide: "This is me, and this is everything else." So only when there is a combination of truth and untruth – Satyam and Mithyā – then any action: "I am the doer, this is the object, and this is the instrument."

Nobody Can Speak of Brahman

Brahman by itself can never be done. That is why nobody can speak of Brahman, because it can be experienced. Even that word "experienced" should not remind us of what we experience through our mind – there would be neither body nor mind there. So Kṛṣṇa tells us in the Gītā, in the twelfth chapter, who is really a good devotee: adveṣṭā sarva‑bhūtānāṃ maitraḥ karuṇa eva ca.

The Mahāvākya

And then in our last class also we have come across a great Mahāvākya. Vākya means a sentence. Mahāvākya means a great sentence.

What Is a Great Sentence?

What is a great sentence? By uttering, by listening, by understanding – no more words will ever be uttered by such a person. That would be the last sentence, last words.

Aham Brahmasmi

What is that Mahāvākya? There are many, but of all the Mahāvākyas, the greatest is Aham Brahmasmi. Even the word Tat tvam asi – "You are that," "Thou art that" – is also indirectly indicating that as if it is somewhere else.

Tat and Aham

In common parlance, when we are using language, we always say "this" means that which is nearby, "that" means which is further away. So Tat, "that," is only a theory. But when a person understands there is no near or far, there is no above or below, there is neither one nor many – then that is the true realisation: Aham Brahmasmi.

Even These Three Words

Even these three words, Aham Brahma Asmi, is also because I am talking to you and you are talking to me, so that can be used. Like deep sleep – you do not say "I am in deep sleep and this is the superior state called Samādhi."

Brahmananda Anubhūti

So that is what we need to understand. What is this Mahāvākya? It indicates Brahmānanda Anubhūti. It indicates our complete oneness: sadeva saumya idam agra āsīt – Sat eva, pure existence alone was there, is there, will be there.

Beyond Time

We should not even use the word "was there," because anything that was will not be now. But to indicate to us that Brahman is beyond time, space, and causation, we use words like "He is beyond time, He is beyond space, He is beyond any object." That means it is indescribable. But when we use the word "indescribable," we may not be able to understand it properly. So for the facility of understanding, we are given: so you become one with Brahman and you become everything. Aham Brahmasmi means what? I am everything. Brahman bṛhat. That is the understanding.

The Mahāvākya of the Bhṛguvallī

So what is this Mahāvākya that we are getting? Earlier we have seen how Yājñavalkya was teaching to Maitreyī: ātmā vā are draṣṭavyaḥ, mantavyaḥ, śrotavyaḥ, nididhyāsitavyaḥ. So here is that Mahāvākya: sa yaś cāyam puruṣe, yaś cāsāv āditye, sa ekaḥ – the consciousness that is seen within the individual, and the consciousness that is seen in that Āditya.

Āditya as a Substitute

Here Āditya is only a substitute word for Brahman. We have seen Āditya Upāsana, contemplation. In our last class I had described vividly: no sun, there would be no moon, there would be no stars. Why there would be no stars? Because there would be no person to cognise there are stars. Without sun there is no life at all.

The Teaching

Then what does the Upaniṣad, this Taittirīya Upaniṣad, Bhṛguvallī, want to indicate? Excepting that pure consciousness, nothing really exists. But to convey that meaning to us, it says: you know, you should realise your consciousness, and then you should realise that everything is consciousness.

The Realisation

So the sādhaka realises that the consciousness in oneself, because of which one knows "this is me," is the same as the consciousness that made the sun, the moon, the stars. So that is what is called Aham Brahmasmi experience.

Living Examples – Swami Brahmananda

So, for inspiration we also require some living examples. Let us remember Swami Brahmanandaji. Two examples, two incidents I will narrate.

The Himalayan Meditation

It was a deep summer. The heat is unbearable, at least at midday. One brahmacārī was trying to fan, but even that movement of the fan is giving more hot air than cool air. Then Brahmanandaji looked at him and said: "Let us meditate on the Himalayas, the ice caps of the Himalayas." And within a few seconds he was absorbed.

The Brahmacārī's Experience

But being a Sadguru, he wanted to convey some deep meaning. So the brahmacārī also sat, closed his eyes, but he could not concentrate – because of the heat, of course, because of the condition of his mind. Then suddenly Brahmanandaji said: "You touch my back." And the brahmacārī obeyed, touched the back of his Guru. He was astonished. The whole back was like iceberg – absolutely frozen, cold, frozen ice. He understood.

Living Examples – Swami Akhaṇḍānanda and the Buddhist Lama

And another incident comes to my mind. I did not intend to tell that one. Swami Akhaṇḍānandaji, whose birthday we celebrated on the Mahālaya day. We celebrate on Mahālaya because he was extremely fond of the Divine Mother, and he used to recite the Caṇḍī in a most charming manner. Many people were charmed. Anyway, he was a great devotee of the Divine Mother.

The Lama

So he was very fond of roaming all over the Himalayas. One day he met – it was severely cold – he met a Buddhist lama sitting absolutely naked, and all the ice was completely melting away. Probably it was even warm to the touch – I do not know; this is my imagination. And the lama was quite conscious. He said: "Touch my body." And it was warm. In fact it was hot, quite hot.

The Explanation

Then Akhaṇḍānandaji was wondering: how did this happen? Then he said: "Nothing miraculous. There is a particular posture, Āsana, and a particular – probably prāṇāyāma. I do not know what other conversation had taken place. If anybody who practises it, his body becomes so heated, it will be protected from all the cold surrounding him. Not only that – the heat of the body even melts the frozen ice surrounding this person's body. Do you want to learn?" I think Swami Akhaṇḍānandaji did not want to get into all this. So he narrated later on this experience.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Experience of Pure Consciousness

Then we know what happened to Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. He became one with consciousness. The first great experience Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had, he described vividly, which comes to us from The Great Master – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, the Great Master by Swami Śaradānandaji.

The Ocean of Consciousness

One day suddenly he said: "An ocean of consciousness surrounded me on all four sides – like a huge tsunami, wave after wave of pure consciousness came over me and it wants to make me unconscious. I struggled not to become unconscious." Then he became absolutely unconscious. After a long time he came out of that state, and then he declared: "That day Mother had given me what it is to become one with pure consciousness."

The Paradox

The funny thing is that the waves of this consciousness were rolling over him to absorb him into themselves or itself. But he says: "I was struggling not to become unconscious." Can consciousness make one unconscious? What does it mean? I think it means that the individual consciousness wants to be retained. We do not want to merge in the great. We are frightened.

Even Śiva

Even Rāmakṛṣṇa's description – even Śiva takes only one handful of the drinks, one handful of that Sat‑Cit‑Ānanda Sāgara, and he becomes unconscious. What does it mean? His individual consciousness – "I am Śiva, I am Nārada, I am Śukadeva" – that individuality simply completely merges in the ocean.

The River and the Ocean

Just like a river entering into the ocean: yathā nāma‑rūpe vihāya ekī bhavati. So just as any river, any drop of water, immediately it becomes an ocean. Even one drop falling from the sky in the form of rain, it becomes the ocean immediately. It was never different from the ocean, but it appeared to be separate from the ocean. But now it regained back its true nature. We are all like that – drops – or in the very old analogy, we are like infinite number of waves on the surface of the ocean – small wave, big wave, etc.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Contemplations

So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, while contemplating on Mother Kālī, became Kālī; while contemplating on Rāma, became Rāma; while contemplating on Kṛṣṇa, became Kṛṣṇa or even Gopāla.

Sarvadevatā Svarūpa

So any devotee can see his or her chosen deity in the form of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. That is why when we worship Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, we offer flowers: sarvadeva‑devī‑svarūpāya śrī rāmakṛṣṇāya svāhā. So he is the embodiment of all gods and goddesses. He is Saguṇa Brahma. One Saguṇa Brahma, he assumes different forms – not just like that, according to the choice of the devotee who delights because of some old impressions, family impressions or previous life's impressions – and Hinduism recognises it and then accepts it. But they are nothing but nāma and rūpa. Remove names, forms, qualities – you cannot describe anything. That is what it is.

Holy Mother at Vṛndāvana

One day at Vṛndāvana, Holy Mother was meditating on Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and she became literally Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. Her voice had changed. The way she was preparing betel nut had also changed, and soon after Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa attained Nirvikalpa Samādhi for the second time – after Totāpurī Mahārāja came and initiated him into sanyāsa and gave him this Mahāvākya.

The Mahāvākya of the Rāmakṛṣṇa Order

By the way, for the Rāmakṛṣṇa Saṅgha, the Mahāvākya is Aham Brahmasmi. That is the Mahāvākya that belongs to the Sringeri Maṭha, one of the four major maṭhas established by Bhagavān Śaṅkarācārya.

Holy Mother Becomes Rāmakṛṣṇa

So Holy Mother was at Vṛndāvana. She was so intensely meditating and she became like Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. Everybody recognised that Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is manifest in the form of Holy Mother.

Varuṇa as Supervisor

So we presume that Varuṇa was not simply instructing him – he was supervising. "Go and perform tapasyā." What is tapasyā? To make the teaching as one's own experience is called teaching – Satguru and Sat Śiṣya. This is what happens.

Transcending the Pañcakośas

So we have seen in the last how etam annamayam ātmānam upasaṅkramya, etam prāṇamayam ātmānam upasaṅkramya, etc. – Bhṛgu had transcended all the pañcakośas. Then he did not return to his father and then ask, "Teach me further about Brahman." But because once he goes beyond the pañcakośas, he realises "I am Brahman." So he did not come at all.

Saya Evaṃ Vit

Sa ya evaṃ vit – whoever – Bhṛgu is only one in the infinite number of souls that had been recognising themselves "I am Brahman", and that tradition is going on all over the world, practically in every religion.

Christianity and Islam

So even in Christianity, there were famous teachers who were teaching pure Advaita Vedānta, non‑dualistic philosophy – like Meister Eckhart. And Greek philosophers were there. They also had, I think, a great glimpse into this non‑dual state. Not to speak of so many Sufi saints – the famous story of An al‑Ḥaqq: "I am that, I am the Lord" – and he was burnt because the fools, the mullahs, did not understand what he was talking about.

Hinduism's Tolerance

In Hinduism, you can abuse Hinduism, Hindu gods and goddesses. We do not care, because if anybody spits into the sky, only that spit falls on their own faces. So do you think if you abuse Kṛṣṇa, he will get angry with you? No, never – because he knows: first of all, this person has the capacity to abuse Me only because I gave him the power, only because I inspire him to do that.

Who Suffers?

But if we do not realise that – "Oh, I hate religion, I hate gods and goddesses" – then who is going to suffer? Only oneself is going to suffer. So this is also a great Līlā. God created Himself as enemies of Himself: Rāvaṇāsura, Hiraṇyakaśipu, Hiraṇyākṣa, Kumbhakarṇa, Śiśupāla, Dantavaktra, Kaṃsa, Pūtanā, and so many demons. It is all His Līlā. He wants to play a solitaire game: khelicho ā biśva brahmāṇḍa niye anamone śiśu rāmothān. Beautiful Bengali bhajan is there.

The State of the Jīvanmukta

So what happens? Sa ya evaṃ vit – one who reaches this stage: what stage? Aham Brahmasmi. What happens? That he reached that stage. How did he reach? Asmāl lokāt pretya – he transcended the limitations of the Annamaya Kośa, then transcended the limitations of the Prāṇamaya, Manomaya, Vijñānamaya, Ānandamaya. So he transcends all these things: etam annamayam ātmānam upasaṅkramya.

Repetition in the Second Chapter

We get the same thing in the second chapter also. That is being repeated here as a practical instruction for us.

Transcending by Including

Then the seeker thus transcends all limitations and remains identified with Brahman. "Transcending" means including everything, expanding oneself – which includes the Annamaya; Prāṇamaya includes Annamaya; Manomaya includes Prāṇamaya, etc. Then Ānandamaya, that is Brahman, includes all the five Kośas, all the three bodies, all the three states of experience. Everything is included, nothing can be excluded.

No Form, No Name

What does it mean? It means there would be no form, there would be no name, there would be no qualities – which is one without a second. And such a person is called a Jīvanmukta. He is free even while living.

Rebirth and the Jīvanmukta

And a person who experiences Brahman as one's own self – whether he retains his body and mind. Remember: when an ordinary person dies, then he only gives up an old worn‑out body to accept another suitable new body. But then a person who experiences "I am Brahman" – not merely body – there is no rebirth for him. He becomes completely free from every type of Kośa.

What Is Body?

What is body? Annamaya Kośa. But the other four, they are in subtle form. So all those four, they are carried by the soul, the jīva.

The Need for the Physical Body

"I am now having four. I cannot do any spiritual practice without the fifth, which is the physical human body. So he appropriately chooses one according to which is most suitable – to experience what he did and to strive further to reach his chosen goal."

Not a Biological Act

It is not that parents get married and then they get children as a biological act. No – so it is only to exhaust both our good and evil deeds, and that which facilitates our future growth. That is how we take bodies.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Physiognomy

That is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa – he knew physiognomy. By studying a person's body, he can understand whether that person is going to progress in spiritual life or not. So this is a most marvellous science.

The Jīvanmukta and Karma

So thus as a Jīvanmukta – what? And that too, as I said, if God wills, "I would like to remain for some time, use this physical body and these instruments called the subtle body, causal body, for the good of the world" – because he has nothing to choose.

Transcending All Karma

And a Jīvanmukta alone transcends all the bonds of karma – prārabdha karma, sañcita karma, and āgāmi karma – every type of action. He is free, because he never says "I am the body."

I Am vs. I Have

Here Jīvanmukta is fully conscious: "I am not the body, I am not the mind – but I have the body, I have the mind." There is a vast difference between "I am the body and mind" and "I have a body and mind." I have a house, I have a car. I am separate from house, car, etc. "I am the house, I am the body, I am the mind" – that is, I am limiting myself. That "I" becomes limited to these puny things, small things – that is called bondage, and that is due to the power of Avidyā or Māyā.

The Living Free Jīvanmukta

Now follow the description of which Jīvanmukta is living free. So a Jīvanmukta becomes, or knows, "I am Brahma." Even this expression in language is only for the facility of speaking. There is nobody to say – just like in deep sleep, we do not say to somebody: "I am now in deep sleep, do not disturb me."

I Am One, I Am Many

So a Jīvanmukta knows "I am so" – one way – "to the second I am one." But I can manifest as the many. For a Jīvanmukta, sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ brahma. He does not say "I alone am Brahman." He says there is nothing except Brahman – but Brahman with names, forms, and qualities. And there is no one excepting me. I am Sat‑Cit‑Ānanda. I am satyam jñānam anantam brahma.

Roaming for the Good of the World

And then what does he say? As if a Jīvanmukta is roaming joyfully all over the world for the good of the world. And if there are students, disciples who are just fit persons, the teachings of these great souls aids them.

When the Field Is Ready

Somehow when the field is ready, the seed also will come to it. That is what Swami Vivekananda had said. "Field" means our fitness. When we are fit, the teaching, the seed of the teaching, will be sown and it becomes fructified in no time.

Scientific Revelation

And this takes place not only in the spiritual life, in practically every way. And that is described by so many scientists in a peculiar way. A scientist, for example, is trying his level best to reach, to know, some truth, and he is working day and night. And then one night suddenly the whole revelation comes to him – maybe in a dream, maybe as an idea.

The Snake Dream

So there was a scientist who wanted to find out, I think, the nature of an atom or something like that. He dreamt that a snake was swallowing its own tail, and that is how he came to know about the secret. Actually I forgot – some great scientific revelation had come to him in that form.

Āścaryavat

And then what does this person do? Āścaryavat paśyati kaścid enam, āścaryavad vadati tathaiva cānyaḥ, āścaryavac cainaṃ śṛṇoti kaścid – in the Bhagavad Gītā, in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad, in both Upaniṣads we have this one.

For People Like Us

That is when it is described, some other person – so even the same person – "This is what, this is what – this wondrous thing I have never ever beheld in my life." As if all this description is for people like us, so that we get interest. There is nothing else.

The Wondrous

So āścaryavat paśyati kaścid enam. Some people who have this experience – it is wondrous.

The Ocean and the Village

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa gives a beautiful analogy. There was a village, and it is far away from the ocean. So one of the villagers somehow went to that ocean, saw it, came back, and the villagers wanted to know how the ocean looked like. He opened his mouth and said, "Ahhh!" What else can he say? Because none of them had ever experienced it.

Description Is One Millionth

And not only that – even the smallest experience we cannot describe. Description is only one‑millionth of conveying what one experienced. Nobody can convey.

The Sugar Example

Take a simple example. So you have eaten sugar, and somebody who never tasted sugar comes to you and says: "What is that material, sugar? How does it taste?" "Oh, it is very sweet." "So it is like the sweetness of a mango, sweetness of an apple, sweetness of a strawberry, sweetness of a peach." He goes on – "Some sweetness is there. Or a cake or an ice cream?" How do you say? Of course, I should not use the word "ice cream," because there also sugar will be there.

One Grain of Sugar

So a person who never knows what sugar is – how are you going to describe to him? But take one grain of sugar, put it in his mouth, then he knows one hundred percent the nature of the sugar – and how it was in the past, present, how it is going to be in the future, because that nature will always be like that only.

Even a Jīvanmukta Cannot Describe

So how is one going? So even a Jīvanmukta cannot describe what Brahman is. If at all any description, it should be through the experience of the person who is eager to know what type of experience it is. So the experienced – the experience of the experienced – is the only measurement through which what was never experienced can be expressed.

Mahāpuruṣa Mahārāja's Regret

So this person he goes on telling. It is said that Mahāpuruṣa Mahārāja used to regret later on in his old age: "I do not know why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa has left this old drum. It is full of holes, and even now Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is playing the drum." And then he said: "To whom can I open my mind? Rājā was there, and Bāburām Dā was there, so many others were there. I could express, and we could express with each other. They know what I am talking about; I know what they are talking about. Nowadays, with whom shall I share my experiences?" Because even a Brahmajñānī wants the company of another Brahmajñānī.

Parasparam Bhāvayantaḥ

So always teṣāṃ satata‑yuktānāṃ bhajatāṃ prīti‑pūrvakam, parasparaṃ bhāvayantaḥ. So they want: "You tell me, I will listen; I will tell you, you listen." This is their greatest delight in the world. But very few people are there.

Aham Annam, Aham Annādaḥ

So what does he go on doing? Aham annam, aham annam, aham annam, aham annādaḥ, aham annādaḥ, aham annādaḥ, aham ślokakṛt, aham ślokakṛt, aham ślokakṛt, aham asmi prathamajā ṛtasya.

I Am Everything

What does he say? I am the annam. I am the enjoyed. I am the enjoyer. I am the instrument of enjoyment. I am everything.

The Dream Example

Just like in our dream, I eat food. I take a spoon, I eat food. So what is that food? Me only. I only became myself, transformed myself into that food. Nobody else has come, no other food is there. Who was enjoying? I was enjoying. And what is the instrument? Maybe I cooked myself. Maybe I took a plate, filled it up, and I am scooping it up and then putting it in my mouth.

Subject, Object, Verb

So the enjoyer, the enjoyed, and the instrument which brings together these two – this is called subject, object, and verb. Everything is me, and that is expressed here. I am the enjoyed, I am the object – aham annādaḥ, aham annādaḥ, aham annādaḥ. Anna means enjoyed; annāda means one who enjoys. I am the subject. I am the object. I am the knower. I am the known. I am the experiencer. I am the experienced.

Aham Ślokakṛt

Not only that: aham ślokakṛt, aham ślokakṛt, aham ślokakṛt. I am the creator of this entire universe. I am the universe. Aham asmi prathamajā ṛtasya. I was before creation, during creation, after the creation. So I am the firstborn when the creation came. I became ṛtam, I became the dharma. I alone am everything – the perceiver as well as the perceived creation.

The Scientific Experiment

And then not only that – whoever follows me and practises tapasyā – means practice, intense practice. Whoever practises what I practised attains the same result, like a scientific experiment. Anybody who follows the steps – first this one, second this one, third this one – gets exactly the same result.

The McDonald's Example

You can take as an example – may not be very appropriate – McDonald's recipes all over the world. When McDonald's serves whatever food they serve – onion ring or chicken nuggets – everybody has to follow a set of formula, and that is why they taste exactly the same thing.

The Closing of Bhṛguvallī

So the Upaniṣad closes with the prayer offering thanks to God for creating the desire for a spiritual life, for bringing the right teacher, for the intellect which is endowed or equipped with complete faith – śraddhā, bhakti, and medhā. This is the Bhṛguvallī Samāptā. Thus we have come to the end of the Bhṛguvallī.

Bhārgavī Vāruṇī Vidyā

So this great science called Jñāna is called Bhārgavī Vāruṇī Vidyā. So at the end it says this is called Bhārgavī Vāruṇī Vidyā. Vidyā means knowledge. Always we must remember: when we are talking about knowledge in Vedāntic terms, nowhere is it a theoretical science.

Practical Experience

Morality or ethics is a theoretical science. So somebody is learning how to cook properly. He wants to become a great chef. It is all theoretical until he practises it himself. But this science – every footstep is a practical experience – from Annamaya Kośa to Prāṇamaya Kośa, to Manomaya Kośa, to Vijñānamaya Kośa, to Ānandamaya Kośa.

Why Bhārgavī Vāruṇī

And who taught it? Varuṇa. That is why it is called Vāruṇī. And then Bhārgavī – Bhṛgu. So the Guru called Varuṇa taught this great knowledge to a fit disciple, not a son. We must forget father‑and‑son relationship.

Guru and Śiṣya

Like when Yājñavalkya was teaching, he was not the husband, Maitreyī was not a wife – they are Guru and Śiṣya. Similarly, when Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa became a Guru, he was teaching even how to trim a wick to Holy Mother, how to behave in the society, how to develop relationships, with whom one should mix, and all these things – everything Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa taught.

The Kuṇḍalinī Teaching

There was a time when Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had described vividly how the Kuṇḍalinī rises to the Sahasrāra – not only what we find in the Gospel of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, but especially to Holy Mother when they were alone. And then later on Holy Mother used to remember it and say: "Had I known how to write, I would have noted all those things down."

Holy Mother Understood

But do not think Holy Mother did not understand it. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was not an ordinary person. He will, in a conversational way, just describe something and leave it at that. He knows that Holy Mother will be guiding.

Holy Mother as Guide

In fact, she guided people – how much she guided, in what ways she guided, what highest secrets she bestowed upon her fit disciples! Nobody is going to come and tell us "Holy Mother had taught me this one," etc. Only very few ordinary incidents. Some devotees blurted out, and that is what we get here. Not really.

Varuṇa's Supervision

So the Bhṛgu taught this – not merely verbal instruction. He specifically asked: "Go and do tapasyā" – tapasā brahma vijijñāsasva. So he went, then he must have supervised.

Totāpurī's Example

How do we know? What did Totāpurī Mahārāja do? After giving sanyāsa, he initiated Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa into that Mahāvākya called Aham Brahmasmi, and then he said: "Now you sit and then you go on meditating, contemplating on this Mahāvākya." But unfortunately he never understood who Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was.

Not the First Time

Of course we have to keep in mind: this is not the first time Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was experiencing Nirvikalpa Samādhi just after Totāpurī Mahārāja came and initiated him. No – Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had experienced this Nirvikalpa Samādhi so many times before, long before any of the Gurus had come.

Twice Practised

Many times I told you Rāmakṛṣṇa had practised spiritual sādhanā twice: first without the help of any Guru, purely depending upon the Divine Mother and his intuitive mind. And then he said: "My Divine Mother taught me everything, and She even made me experience Nirvikalpa Samādhi." He said long afterwards the teachers came, and that second‑time practice with the help of the teachers is for the sake of people like us – because we do not understand, we are not fit to follow that intuitive method, but we require an external teacher.

How Much Do We Follow?

That too, how much we follow the external teacher, God alone knows. Only people show emotional response, make frustrations, and listen also. But how many people understand? How many people try to understand? How many people really practise? Only God alone knows.

Bhṛgu's Progression

So this Bhṛgu – tapasā brahma vijijñāsasva – and then he must have supervised. We have to guess, we have to fill up the gaps. He must be supervising all those things.

Annamaya to Ānandamaya

And then he saw that Bhṛgu had expanded his identity with the entire physical world. That is called Virāṭ, that is called Virāṭ as Anna Brahma – Anna Brahma, Virāṭ, one and the same. And then he thought he attained Brahman. But very soon he realised that there is a doubt. Where there is a doubt, then the person has not reached the highest.

Returning to the Guru

That is why he returns and says: "I did this one." Varuṇa must have asked: "What did you realise?" – annaṃ brahmeti vyajānāt. Then he says: "You teach me Brahman." And then same thing – Varuṇa also repeated: yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante – that is all the Pañcakośas one after the other.

Merging the Kośas

So what is the next Kośa after Annamaya Kośa? Prāṇamaya Kośa. So he saw that Annamaya Kośa was merged in Prāṇamaya, Prāṇamaya in Manomaya, Manomaya in Vijñānamaya, Vijñānamaya in Ānandamaya – and then he had risen beyond any Kośa. Kośa means limitation. And then he never came back after that.

For Our Sake

But later on all these things are for our sake. What did he do? This was what Varuṇa must have taught to Bhṛgu: all the Ādhyātmika Upāsanas, Ādhibhautika Upāsanas, Ādhidaivika Upāsanas that we discussed so far. Only then the sādhanā will be complete.

Aham Annam, Aham Annādaḥ – The Final Realisation

And then he understood: aham annam, aham annam, aham annam, aham annādaḥ, aham annādaḥ, aham annādaḥ. I am the enjoyed. I am the enjoyer. There is nothing besides me.

I Am the Creator

Similarly: I am the creator. I am the creation. Aham ślokakṛt, aham ślokakṛt, aham ślokakṛt. With this, the Bhṛguvallī is complete.

Bhārgavī Vāruṇī Vidyā

But the Upaniṣad tells: it is called Bhārgavī Vāruṇī Vidyā. Vidyā means that which removes, destroys Avidyā and reveals the nature of one's own true identity. And because this is a dialogue between Varuṇa and Bhṛgu, so it is called Bhārgavī Vāruṇī Vidyā. It goes by that name.

The Guru-Śiṣya Paramparā

So this teacher‑student relationship, this Guru‑Śiṣya Paramparā, is absolutely necessary. Why is this? Because time and again Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, every realised soul, says: it is almost impossible to realise God excepting following the footsteps of the Guru.

The Rare Boons

That is why even the great Śaṅkara, he says: durlabhaṃ trayam evaitad devānugraha‑hetukam – mānuṣyatvaṃ mumukṣutvaṃ mahāpuruṣa‑saṃśrayaḥ. It is only by God's grace that one obtains this rare human birth and the desire for liberation. That is also īśvarānugrahād eva puṃsāṃ mokṣa‑icchā advaita‑vāsanā. And it is only God's grace which gives us the teaching in the form of the teacher. That is what is called Mahāpuruṣa Saṃśrayaḥ – the company of the holy people.

Bhrigu Becomes Blessed

And so Bhṛgu became blessed by this realisation, and therefore again we have to remember: may the teacher – so may Brahman protect us both, the teacher and the student. 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.

The Śānti Pāṭha of the First Chapter

Only I have to add that in the first chapter we have got the peace chant śaṃ no mitrāḥ śaṃ varuṇaḥ – so prayer to every manifestation of God in the form of the presiding deities, the sun and all the other gods. Mitra means the sun, Bṛhaspati, Indra, etc. Remember – not the Paurāṇik Indra, but the Kena Upaniṣad Indra, who was one of the greatest knowers of Brahman by the grace of the Divine Mother again.

Conclusion

So we have to remember that, and they bestowed their grace. As a result, this person became fit to receive that sacred knowledge, and his body‑mind became a fit instrument by their grace. And then he was able to successfully complete the journey from Avidyā to Vidyā, so to say, and he realised Aham Brahmasmi, Aham Sarvam, Sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ Brahma.

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!