Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch.3.1.3 Lecture 83 on 07 November 2026

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

Opening Invocation

ओं जननीं शारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगद्गुरुं, पादपद्मे तयोः श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहुः.

Oṃ jananīṃ śāradāṃ devīṃ rāmakṛṣṇaṃ jagadguruṃ, pādapadme tayoḥ śritvā praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ.

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते

पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः

OM PŪRṆAMADAḤ PŪRṆAMIDAM PŪRṆĀT PŪRṆAMUDACYATE PŪRṆASYA PŪRṆAMĀDĀYA PŪRṆAMEVA VAŚIṢYATE OM ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTI ŚĀNTIH

OM That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is also infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone.

OM Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

Introduction to Muni Kāṇḍa

So, we are studying the first section of the third chapter of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, and as we discussed earlier, it is called Muni Kāṇḍa[cite: 5]. Muni means the musings of a realized soul. When a person realizes, he is called a muni. It is also called Yājñavalkya because in this story, Yājñavalkya is that muni. It is called Vāda Kāṇḍa, Tarka Kāṇḍa because what has been taught directly as the main teaching of the Upaniṣads is going to be explained in simple words with some illustrations like Sri Ramakrishna does.

Sri Ramakrishna's Illustrations on Saṁsāra

For example, so there was a man who was a clerk. For some reason, he lost his job, and then he started searching for the job, and then he had been jailed actually. So, as soon as he came out of the jail, he started again to search for a job. What was Sri Ramakrishna trying to illustrate? Worldly people, even after bitter experiences, this should be the result of our understanding after meditating upon these illustrations given by Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, etc.

Just to remind you, Holy Mother said the name of God should be going on just as the alarm clock goes on ticking, tick, tick, tick, 24 hours a day, wherever it is kept, on the table, on the kitchen, on the bed, in the pocket, doesn't matter. So also, whatever way we are engaged, but one part of the mind should go on remembering God. What does it mean to remember God? It means death can come at any time to this body and mind also later on. The only place worthy of ascending is God or Brahman.

So, coming back to Sri Ramakrishna's illustration, he means the same thing. Whatever be the condition, we have to seek God only. This saṁsāra is like a jail, but we never come out of this saṁsāra right now. What it means is let our mind, let, let, like this criminal's body and mind is in the jail, but his mind is outside. When am I going to become free? That longing will always be there. And then even if he comes out after some time, hopefully he would learn a lesson. If I do not want to go back to the jail, the only way is to lead a crime-free life.

Are we criminals in this saṁsāra? Yes. God's eye is appropriated as my eye, your eye. God's wealth, this body, this mind, everything is appropriated as my body, my mind, my house, my children, my wealth, my position, my power. So, ahaṅkāra is bad. When kāra is removed from this ahaṅkāra, what remains is God. And that is the meaning of ahaṁ brahmāsmi[cite: 5]. That ahaṁ means when this ahaṅkāra is the kāra part of the ahaṁ is destroyed, what remains is pure consciousness, and there is no distinction, this is me, this is Brahman, and we are in fact one[cite: 5].

It is only to express to people like us through some sentences, some speech we have to use. Just like some objects are presented to the kindergarten child, 'a' for apple, and an apple's representation, wooden apple, not wood apple, some apple made out of wood or plastic. This is banana, this is mango. 'b' for bee is an insect. So, it looks like this. But how long? As soon as the child learns and learns to connect letters as words, learns to connect words as sentences, then you don't need all those aids, artificial apple, artificial bee, etc. So that is the idea here, that we all have to progress in life.

Sri Ramakrishna's Spiritual Foundation

How to progress in life? And remember Sri Ramakrishna, how did he start his spiritual life? First of all, it is a mistake to think that he started his spiritual life only after reaching Dakshineswar. No, even from his childhood, he was singing songs for God, he was attaining states of samādhi, he was going into ecstatic states, and he categorically refused the worldly academic study because how could he remove? Because he had that power of discrimination. All these are anitya, but there is something that is completely nitya, which is God alone.

Only in his own inimitable style, he expressed it. What am I going to do with this education which only brings in food for the body, food for the mind, etc.? But he has used beautiful expression, cālakolā bandhanu vidyā, only that which brings. So like Nārada rejects Ṛg Veda, Yajur Veda, Sāma Veda, Atharva Veda, even though he was an intellectual master of it, as we had seen in the eighth chapter of the Chāndogya Upaniṣad, Nārada-Sanatkumāra dialogue, Sri Ramakrishna rejected.

So whether a man is in the world, outside the jail, or inside the jail, he wants, how can, how can I continue my living and in a better way? That is an illustration. So wherever we are, whether we are householders, monks, brahmacārins, or retired people, let the body be there, let the houses be there, but our mind should only think about God.

The Role of Pūjā in Spiritual Practice

So what is it that I wanted to convey? We were discussing in the Yājñavalkya-Maitreyī dialogue, ātman has to be realized through śravaṇa, manana, nididhyāsana, and we have to attain a state where we are capable of going beyond this śravaṇa, manana, nididhyāsana. For that, we have to approach a guru. For that, we will have to acquire certain fitness. It is called sādhanā catuṣṭaya sampatti, the treasure of fourfold or ninefold qualities, and how to acquire them. And that is the summary of this aśvalāyana brāhmaṇa or the section where aśvalāyana asks the questions, as I elaborately discussed in the last class.

Yajña in the Vedic times, nowadays it is called pūjās, whether it is Durgā pūjā, Kālī pūjā, and daily Sri Ramakrishna's pūjā, it doesn't really matter. But as I explained, every yajña has four parts, that means every pūjā has four parts. First is called purification, citta śuddhi. Second, transfer the egotism, that ism, this is my body, this is my mind, these are my sense organs, these are my limbs of the body, everything by touching specific parts. So the first part is called śuddhi, purification.

The second part, once everything is, the mind attains to a certain degree of purity, it understands there is nothing in this world that can be called mine, and then it is there. So if it is not mine, it must belong to somebody. So who is that somebody? The whole universe belongs to the mother, universal mother. That process is called nyāsa, and once a person dedicates completely, what does he become or she become? Sannyāsa, sannyāsini. Sannyāsa means not me, not me, nāhaṁ nāhaṁ tohu tohu. That should be the development.

Then mānasika pūjā. It is also saddening to think even so many of our devotees, they rejoice and waste a lot of their time in this external worship. Of course, until they transcend and progress in spiritual life, they cannot really leave it behind by just thinking I want to leave it. But then if we had practiced these things properly in the right manner, that knowledge, that faith, that I can worship God mentally, as Sri Ramakrishna says, a sāttvika person's worship, just a little water, maybe a leaf, a fruit, and God accepts them most joyously.

पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति।

तदहं भक्त्युपहृतमश्नामि प्रयतात्मनः॥

patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati |

tadahaṁ bhaktyupahṛtamaśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ ||

So I accept that which is given with the greatest love. Prayatātmanaḥ. I am eager to accept like divine mother Kālī was eager to accept a pūjā of Sri Ramakrishna.

So Sri Ramakrishna's pūjā or spiritual practice, pūjā means spiritual practice, did not start at Dakshineswar. Remember, he was doing, singing songs and going into ecstasies, attending pūjās, etc., and he learned to pūjā, we have to understand, because when his eldest brother Rāmkuṁar brought him to Calcutta, and it was not an accident, it was all part of the script written in the drama of Sri Ramakrishna's life. So his elder brother, eldest brother, he was earning some money, he started a school, but it was not yielding sufficient income because that was only an excuse for the divine mother to bring Rāmkuṁar also to the lotus feet of divine mother Kālī, which by the way this year is tomorrow night. So right now, I wish you all the best. May the divine mother cut the bondage of time.

The Manifestation of Īśvara and Presiding Deities

She who is the embodiment of time, manifestation of time, is called Kālī, and she is the manifestation of Mahākāla, timelessness, eternity. That is why you cannot separate Kālī from Śiva. She is on the body, so-called dead body of Śiva. It is not dead body, it is a body, it is a existence which is beyond our imagination. Deśa, kāla, vastu, atīta. And that is why it looks to us incomprehensible. That is why it is called Śiva. Śiva means pure consciousness, and a bit of that, a very tiny bit of that is manifested as time. Time means deśa, kāla, and energy. We have to understand this clearly. Sṛṣṭi, sthiti, laya, creation, maintenance, and resolving back, all are done in course of time, beginning of time and proceeding in time and going back from where we have come, which is called the unmanifest. Not death is what, going back into the unrecognizable, unmanifest form.

So that should be the understanding, deep understanding. And so when a person understands I am bound by time, space, and causation or deśa, kāla, vastu pariccheda, every pūjā takes us beyond time, space, and causation. How does it do? Earlier I explained, same thing again is being discussed here. Earlier if you recollect, Īśvara, saguṇa Brahman, divine mother manifests as this creation like a triangle. What are the three angles? First is my individuality. Second is me as an individual as part of this creation, which is called ādhibhautika. I am called ādhyātmika. We have to remember I am an individual watching you as the external world, and you are the individual watching me as part of the external world. So we are not separate from the external world. So I am called ādhyātma. The creation is called ādhibhautika. But we should not forget both the creation and the creator can never be separated, like clay cannot be separated from the pots, ornaments cannot be separated from gold. In fact, ornaments do not exist, only gold exists, but with a particular nāma-rūpa, name, form, and function, nāma, rūpa, and prayojana.

Similarly, everything in this world has a nāma-rūpa prayojana. So the whole thing is possible only by the grace of God, and the grace of God manifests as the presiding deity. For example, and I have given this example so many times, supposing I am seeing a tree, how am I able to see? First of all, my eye, there must be an eye, not the letter 'i', then there must be light, then there must be a tree. So the eye should be there, the light should be there, and the object should be there. Not only that, the eye should have the capacity because an artificial eye might look like an eye, but it is pure blindness. No, imagine a first-class capacity of seeing, and an object is there, but if it is dark, nothing can be seen. So the sun represents the light, and the object represents ādhibhautika with form, with color, which is the particular sphere of the eye. And I have the eye, so Sūrya devatā, the presiding deity, is manifesting both as color in the tree and the shape, size, etc. And then the same sun is giving light, illumining both my eye as well as the tree in the external world, and my eye's capacity to perceive that particular format, colors, is also manifestation of the Sūrya devatā. So my eye is ādhyātmika, the object, green tree, red fruit, etc., colors is ādhibhautika, and the light that illumines both the world and my own, gives light for my own eye to function, all these are possible only by the sun. In a sense, what it means is the sun is Īśvara. He is manifesting as light, he is manifesting as my eye, he is manifesting as the colors in this whole world. So these three together, triangle, if one is missing, the knowledge will not be there.

Connecting Senses to Presiding Deities

So why am I referring to this? So this is what wants to say, through this yajña, I am able to see, I am able to hear, I am able to smell, taste, touch, I am able to walk, I am able to grasp, I am able to throw out unwanted materials from my body, from my room, from my country, etc. Yes, you have to understand there are criminals who, if left alone with freedom in the country, so they have to be removed, and it is all because of the prāṇa śakti. So what I am trying to tell, I do not really exist, the external world doesn't really exist, they are only dependent upon the presiding deity who is kindly manifesting as one particular presiding power. For example, the directions, the space is the presiding deity of the ears. My capacity to hear is the manifestation of this ākāśa and the sounds that are coming from the external world. So all the three, my ear can hear, to hear there must be a sound, and that sound is coming from the external world, and for me to understand, to hear this sound, the space must be there without any obstruction. That is why if you are kept in a thick-walled room, very thick wall, what is happening in the next room, you will not be able to hear because ākāśa is enclosed. So you extend your imagination for every sense organ.

That brings us to the very fundamentals of Vedānta. If we divide our body and mind into several parts as functions, then all these functions collectively, they are called my individuality. And these functions are made possible only by the power of the Īśvara in the form of the presiding deities. So this is the triangle, Īśvara manifesting as the sun, as the moon, as the Varuṇa, as Aśvinī Kumāras, all these, we will briefly discuss them, and then all my sense organs as well as the parts of the mind and the external world which are objectified and to be experienced. So Īśvara is manifesting as the external world, Īśvara is manifesting as our individual understanding, perception, ahaṁ, and then as presiding deity, we are part of the presiding deity. So we are able to experience the external world, but the presiding deity is invisible, unmanifest, and that is why we say I am seeing. Nobody says I am able to see because of light, I am able to hear because of space, etc., etc.

And so this leads us to the fundamentals of Advaita Vedānta, that an individual is nothing but different parts of the both body and mind, and all the body and mind, all the parts, every part has its own specialized function, and the collective specialized function is called the presiding deity. Sūrya is the collective power of seeing, Candra is the collective power of thinking. That's why I told you, the presiding deity of mind is called Candra, moon. That is why it is called lunatic means one who is affected too much by moods, doesn't understand what is right, what is wrong, and this lunacy increases and decreases on full moon day, on dark night day, pūrṇimā and amāvasyā, etc. And physically also we can experience it. If you go to Belur Math, we call it the ebb and the flow, so low tide and high tide. So this, they call it bond, means a great, the water is flowing back, and all because of what? Because of the influence of the moon on the ocean. After experiencing, analyzing these things, if still somebody clings to the idea that I am an individual, I am existing separately, then that is called bondage. So these are the points briefly I will go through, these five senses of knowledge that we have very briefly, and you are intelligent students, you will be able to understand very much.

So there is the sense organ within our individuality, and it has a special power, and that power is made possible by the presiding deity. So the collecting power of hearing is called space. The collective power of seeing is called the sun. The collective power of touching is called the Vāyu devatā, and the collective power of tasting is called Varuṇa devatā. The collective power of smelling is called Aśvinī Kumāras. Please do not worry about remembering these names. This much you remember, there are the Collective powers are called presiding deities, and they are manifesting within each individual as the power of seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, smelling. And the same powers are manifesting that which can be seen, that which can be heard, that which can be tasted, that which can be smelled, that which can be touched. That is called saṁsāra or this world.

So according to this Vedānta concept, the ear, which has what it has got, it is the hearing sound. And who is the devatā? Dik or space. And what is its power? What is the ear organ? Śrotra. Śrotra. Śrotrendriya. Then what about the touching? Any, even the smallest insect touches, the air, cold air touches, heat wave touches, immediately we feel it. And even this slightest, smallest speck of dust touches our eyeball, immediately we feel that special power. That is called the organ of touch. Who is the incharge? Vāyu devatā. And what is the function? Experiencing touch. Our eye, as I mentioned, the power of seeing. And the Sūrya devatā means he who is gives us light so that we can see color. Colors cannot be seen when there is darkness. And then the tongue, tasting power. This we call it jihvā or rasanā. There's a rasa can be experienced only by rasanā. Who is the devatā? Varuṇa. Varuṇa is jala devatā. And so what happens when the moment you think of some spicy food, water comes out of, oozes like eternal spring. So our capacity to experience taste, it is called tongue. Similarly, nose, the organ of smell. So what is its power? Smelling. Who is the incharge? Aśvinī Kumāras are incharge.

So you see what is, what the scripture wants to tell us that through this yajña, ultimately you identify yourself that I am nothing, the world is nothing. Both of them are manifestations of the presiding deity. And that presiding deity is only an infinite manifestation of Īśvara. And that Īśvara is none other than Parabrahma. This is the idea. Same, similarly, I will just run like an express. So the power of speech, who is incharge? They call vāk. Agni devatā. That's why when somebody speaks, you go to sleep. When somebody speaks, it is like fire. You are on fire by hearing also. What about hands? Pāṇi. Indra. Grasping and handling. So that is why remember the story of a Brāhmaṇa who bet a cow and the sin was coming to possess him. Remember that. Then hands, that is called pāṇi. Then feet, we have to move. So these are called pādas. Who is incharge? Viṣṇu. That is why he is called trivikrama. That is, he is a very, it is, that is the meaning of it. The whole, all the three worlds are able to move only because of the Viṣṇu. So walking, movement, any movement, you just move your small finger like this. You require that power to move. That is the power of the śakti. But if it is legs, it is called Viṣṇu.

Then there is an organ of excretion. That is called pāyu. What is its function? To eliminate unwanted things. It has a deep meaning. Not merely throwing out feces, not merely vomiting. Any company that is undesirable should be thrown out. Anything that is poisonous to our living, just like poison in our body or food poisoning will eliminate, come, brings to an end our life. So much more important. Our joy will come to an end if we keep company of unholy people, unholy applications, unholy social media, umpteen number of, I told you how much time it eats up. Just I will see this thing and time passes. You don't have time for other things. So then there is a organ of excretion called pāyu. Who is the incharge? Mṛtyu. If it doesn't function, we attain mṛtyu. If poison cannot be eliminated, we will die. So elimination of waste. And as I said, that waste doesn't mean only bodily waste. It can be family waste, social waste, social media waste, everything. Do read newspapers, do look for news, but only what is absolutely necessary.

Then there is another part of our external organ, which is called upastha, generative organ. It does two functions. What is it? Eliminating unwanted liquid form and also the power of procreation. And it gives tremendous amount of incomparable sukha for the moment. And that is why nature, that is how nature extracts or makes use of man and woman to propagate the species. Otherwise, I would not have existed. If that power was not there, my grandparents would never come together, my parents would never come together. As a result, I would not be there. So this is with regard to five organs of knowledge, five instruments of action.

Antaḥkaraṇa: The Inner Instrument

Now we also have inner instrument, antaḥkaraṇa. So it has also four parts. Manaḥ, buddhi, cittaḥ, ahaṅkāra. Mind, intellect, memory, and ego. And each of them have their own presiding deities. So the mind part of it, here in English, when we use the mind, we mean all the four functions together. But according to Vedānta, we have to use this word citta, manaḥ, buddhi, and ahaṅkāra.

So what is this function of the manaḥ? Thinking, doubting, and then wavering. So the ability is this true, is that true? Unable to decide but trying to weigh pros and cons. That particular function belongs to the, that particular part of the mind which is called manaḥ. That is called manas. And who is the deity? Candra is the deity. And all these are going to come. I'm only giving the introduction. Candra devatā. As I explained, that is why the mind is presided by Candra. And if we do not really worship Candra devatā, our mind will not be able to function properly. That means we'll not be able to even to think properly. And most of us, we are not thinkers. So we just go through the saṁskāras, pull us impressions. Oh, that is very pleasant because I have experienced it. We forget in the past when we experienced that object, it became food poison. I have forgotten all these things. Only the temporary pleasure flashes in my mind. And that is how we fall victims to this what is called saṁskāra. So that is the function of the mind. Who is incharge? Candra devatā.

And intellect, buddhi. What is the function of buddhi? When information is presented to the buddhi. And how does the mind present the information? After thinking, suddenly the old experiences are remembered. Oh, I know this person and he did such and such to me, good or bad. And that ability to remember is called citta. Such a fine division. I don't know even whether modern western psychologists do it, probably not. And they don't accept past lives. And that is the greatest stumbling block for progressing in assisting the mentally afflicted people. They're only thinking our mind starts with birth only, this birth only. Past birth, future births both are completely what is called unnecessary.

So the mind is thinking, then suddenly the memories come. And then the memories, yes, I know this person. Sure, now I remember everything, what he did, when he did, when she did. And that part of it is called citta. And who is this incharge of presiding deity of citta, memory? Viṣṇu. That's why he never forgets. That's why he is called Vidhātā. That means he doesn't forget what we did 50 billion, trillion years janmas back. And he remembers. And that is how he is able to determine for this life this person will get this much of happiness or unhappiness is his allotted lot. So to, in order to gain that much happiness or unhappiness, pleasure and pain, this is the best body, this is the best family, this is the best society, this is the best religion. All that is determined. It is not an accidental. A man and male and female met and we are the result. Our scripture doesn't accept that.

And having ascertained when the mind presents these facts to the buddhi, it understands, yes, you are right, this is so and so and these memories are right. So is it desirable? Is she undesirable? It determines. So that discriminating and coming to a first-class decision, right decision. That is the function of the buddhi, the part of the mind. And who is the incharge? Brahmā is the incharge.

What about ego? Ego means to think this is me and this is mine. And that is called ahaṅkāra. Remember, always remember the distinction between ahaṁ and ahaṅkāra. Who is incharge? Rudra. That is why when somebody dies in Varanasi, what does Śiva do? He takes away that kāra. He burns with his śakti, Mahākālī, all the saṁskāras. And Śiva tells you are me.

So these are the four functions, separate functions, beautiful analysis. That is called the division. Every faculty has its own special deities. They are called presiding deities. And remember, never forget all the presiding deities are none other than Īśvara's special manifestation. And Īśvara is none other than nirguṇa, nirvikāra, infinite Brahmā.

The Fivefold Function of Prāṇa

Now the Vāyu devatā is also functioning in us in the form of prāṇa. What we breathe in oxygen, that is called prāṇa. Oxygen is prāṇa. But when it is breathed in, then it divides itself into fivefold function. Prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, udāna, and samāna.

What is prāṇa? That is respiration and what happens inside our body, vital activity. What is apāna? When we breathe in, that is called apāna, downward movement. Also apāna eliminates what is unhealthy, what is poisonous from our bodies and the same function from our mind. If we pray to apāna devatā, please help me to eliminate these undesirable thoughts. That is called spiritual struggle.

Then vyāna is another function of the same prāṇa devatā. So what does it do? It circulation and distribution throughout the body. That is why it is called samāna, sorry, vyāna. So what does it do? The digested food becomes energy. So the eye requires some energy, hands requires energy. If you have to travel long distance, your legs requires more energy. So according to the need, whatever energy is needed, it distributes equally to every part of the body. That is the function of the vyāna.

Then udāna. Udāna is another function of prāṇa. It's upward movement. Speech comes because if the speech doesn't come, it is throwing out energy from the bottom of our lungs. That's why you breathe deeply, your voice also becomes deeper. That is the through prāṇāyāma we are able to do that. So this is called udāna, upward movement. What does it do? Speech comes, speech has to come. That means the air, this udāna should come, travel from the lungs to the bottom of the throat, through the middle of the throat, to the end of the mouth. And that is how a speech is possible. If there is no force, the voice becomes extremely feeble. Not only that, it may be that the person cannot even bring out anything. That's why when he, one is about to die, he wants to convey something but this udāna is not functioning at all.

Then there is another function of the prāṇa called samāna. Samāna means same-sightedness. What does it do? Digestion and converting food into energy. Energy becomes food and food again has to be reconverted into energy. And that has to be distributed equally according to the need.

So these are the things. Every part within us is presided by a particular devatā. So if we go on saying my hands belong to Indra, my legs belong to Viṣṇu, my eyes belong to Sūrya devatā, my mind belongs to Candra devatā and my ears belong to the Ākāśa devatā, then what remains? Individuality is gone. What is gone? Kāra is gone. Individuality means ahaṅkāra. Only the, when we really think about it, this kāra is gone. When kāra disappears, what remains? Pure consciousness remains, which is pure sat, pure cit, pure ānanda, which is satyam, jñānam, anantam brahma.

Satyam Jñānam Anantam Brahma

So what is the resemblance between these two separate statements? Sat, satyam, cit, jñānam, anantam, ānandam. Ānandam means what? Not merely sukha. We use the word sukha, santoṣa, joy, pleasure. So that which is broken by time, that is what is called sukha. And sukha always is in comparison with the lessening of duḥkha. Duḥkha is in comparison with the lessening of the sukha. But in deep sleep, this time division, now I am happy, next moment I am unhappy, that awareness of time is not there, awareness of body is not there, awareness of the mind is not there. And therefore, unbroken happiness, temporary of course, for six hours or seven hours, whatever it is. So this is how we have to understand this particular thing.

The Priests and the Ritual (Yajña)

So now Aśvala, he was a spiritual aspirant. He was devoted to the yajñas, yāgas, pūjās. Let me use the word pūjā from now onwards. And he says somebody organizes a huge Kālī pūjā, Durgā pūjā, is called yajamāna. And in those days, so there are four priests are necessary because four Vedas. All the four Vedas are not separate Vedas. One mass of Vedas was divided according to certain functions as Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, Sāmaveda, Atharvaveda. That's why Caturmukha Brahmā, four-faced Brahmā. Brahmā means knowledge, Veda means knowledge. Brahmacārī means one who is immersed in acquiring knowledge. This is how we have to understand.

So Aśvala was progressing in spiritual life. He is at this stage of the rituals. And then in the rituals, there is somebody who has to organize, pay, is called yajamāna. Then four priests will be there. He who deals with Ṛgveda, who deals with Yajurveda, who deals with Sāmaveda, who deals with Atharvaveda. This priest who is knowledgeable about Atharvaveda is called Brahmā. And this Brahmā is like tantradhāraka in the modern worship. The main pūjārī is there. The tantradhāraka is a master. Then only he will say you do that, after that you do this. And no, no, don't do that. That will not come now. It will come later. So that manager who knows where everything falls into particular sequence and time and place, he is called Brahmā. So all these four priests are necessary.

So they have to chant. And before chanting, there are what is called beginning chants, there are middle chants, there are ending chants. And similarly, there are mantras at the beginning mantras, in the middle mantras, in the end. And if we are stuck with the divided parts, then the person will not get the complete result of what that person wants to, what the yajamāna wants to obtain. The priests also cannot obtain it for the yajamāna. So they have to understand. I may, for example, I want to chant and if I have to chant, remember those days people were not keeping books in front. They all know it by heart from memory. And if the memory has to function, the body has to be healthy. Not only that, the mind should be free from worry. The memory power should work.

The Meaning of the Gāyatrī Mantra

That is why I explained earlier what does Gāyatrī mantra mean. Five powers, understanding rightly, remembering rightly, remembering at the required time rightly and using it with a particular motive and then eliminating all errors, etc. All these five powers, smṛti śakti, samaya sphūrti, all those things are included in the meaning of that doesn't mean give me right understanding. Let me keep it in memory, let me remember it when and where it is necessary, let me use it with the right motive and let me pray for the welfare of everybody.

That is why when we do this Gāyatrī mantra, one very important factor we have to remember is that it is used in plural, not in singular. The word means us. So all of our buddhi because my buddhi may be okay, your buddhi may be okay, the ruler's buddhi is not okay, the president's buddhi is not okay, the opposition party's buddhi is not okay. It can bring terrible disaster for everybody or at least of course it appears. But my take up on that is they who are supposed to suffer, they suffer whatever be the circumstances. And those who are destined to be happy, they will be happy. It depends upon how much puṇyam or pāpam we have accumulated in our past lives.

The Final Destination: Mokṣa

So this is the background. With this background, what is the goal? How can I think through this? I must become part of the presiding deity. And then I will be able to understand this presiding deity is again a manifestation of Īśvara. And then my identity with the Īśvara will be established. And when once I identify myself with Īśvara, I am Kālī, I am Kṛṣṇa, I am Nārāyaṇa. When a person says I am Nārāyaṇa, he is in Vaikuṇṭha. That is the real meaning. And then the last step automatically will come that I am all these but I am also beyond these. That is called ahaṁ brahma asmi. Ultimately, every Upaniṣad wants to point out your final destination is mokṣa. Mokṣa comes when you come to know I was never bound, I am ever free.

Beautiful ideas. We will talk about them in our next class.

Closing Prayer

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

Om Jānānāṃ Śāradāṃ Devīṃ Rāmakṛṣṇaṃ Jagadgurum Pada Padme Tayo Śṛtvā Praṇamāmi Muhur Muhuh

May Rāmakṛṣṇa, Holy Mother, and Swami Vivekānanda bless us all with Bhakti.

Jai Rāmakṛṣṇa!