Aitareya Upanishad Lecture 01 on 5 August 2023

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

OM JANANEM SHARATAM DEVEM RAMAKRISHNAM JAGADGURUM PADAPADME TAYO SHRITVA PRANAMAMI MUHURMU OM VAMME MANASI PRATISTHITA MANOME VACHI PRATISTHITAM AVIRAVIRMA YEDHI VEDASYAMA ANISTHAH SHRUTAMME MA PRAHASIH ANENADHITEN AHO RATRAN SANDADHAMI RITAM VADISHYAMI SATYAM VADISHYAMI TANMAM AVATO TAD VAKTARAM AVATO AVATO MAM AVATO VAKTARAM AVATO VAKTARAM OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI HARI OM OM May my mind be fixed in my speech. O self-luminous Brahman, be manifest to me. O mind and speech, may you bring me the meaning of the Vedas. May what I study from the Vedas not leave me. I shall unite day and night through this study with Brahman. I shall think of the right. I shall speak of the right. May Brahman protect me. May Brahman protect the teacher. May Brahman protect me. May Brahman protect the teacher. Om, peace, peace, peace be unto all. By the grace of God, we have completed the Shweta Shwetra Upanishad. Today onwards, we are starting a new Upanishad called the Aitareya Upanishad. It is one of the very important Upanishads. And this Upanishad, along with Kaushitaki Upanishad, belongs to the Rig Veda. As we know, Vedas are divided into four parts. There are four Vedas, and all the four Vedas can be divided into four parts. Samhita are a collection of mantras. Second, Brahmana. Third, Aranyaka. Fourth, Upanishad. And very often, the Upanishads come in the Aranyaka, sometimes in other parts also. But generally, in the Aranyaka part. So this Aitareya Upanishad forms the fourth, fifth, and sixth chapters of the second book of the Aitareya Aranyaka. Aitareya Upanishad discusses three important philosophical themes. First, that this world that we experience, and all living creatures, non-living creatures, men, women, they're all the creation of the Atman, manifestation of the Atman, manifestation of Brahman. Second, that the theory that the Atman undergoes threefold birth. What that is? We will talk about a little later on. Third, that consciousness is the very essence of Atman. Shuddha Chaitanya. And this is one of the ancient Upanishads. The first English translation of Aitareya was published in 1805. That means almost 218 years back by an Englishman called Colebrook. And later on, Max Muller was there, Paul Deussen, Charles Johnston, then our own Swamis, Swami Nikhil Ananda, Swami Gambhir Ananda, Swami Sarvananda, Patrick Olivelle, and so many others are giving talks. And also, so many are translating it into easily understandable language. And he said Aitareya Upanishad is a very important Upanishad. Why is it called important? Because this is one of the 10 Upanishads chosen by Shankaracharya for his Bhashya commentary. What are those 10 Upanishads? This is beautifully mentioned in one of the smaller Upanishads. Isha, Kena, Katha, Prashna, Munda, Mandukya, Tittiri, Aitareya, Chandogya, Brihadaranyaka, Tatha, 10. And this is one of the 10. And this is a very important Upanishad because Rig Veda doesn't have many Upanishads, just a few. Of them, this Upanishad is most important because Shankaracharya had chosen this to write his commentary. And there is another Upanishad called Kaushetaki, which is also a very nice Upanishad. But Shankaracharya did not write any commentary upon it. But we have to take it for granted. The essence of every Upanishad is to let us know that Brahma Sathyam, Jagat Sathyam, and we are none other than Brahma. Brahma Sathyam usually, then they add Jagan Mithya. But that is only for the beginners. The truth is there is no such thing called world. So when Brahman without name and form is Brahma Sathyam. Brahman with name and form, that is the second Sathyam. And everything in this world, including living as well as non-living, cannot be anything other than Brahma Sarvam Kalvidam Brahma. So any philosophy, any scripture, should be able to deal with some important topics. And these topics can be classified as three or as six. If we say, what are the three? This is the contribution of Brahman actually. Tattva, Purushartha, and Hita. Tattva means what is the reality. It includes subdivisions. Who am I? Am I also God? Etcetera. Then the second is, what is the goal of what should be? What should be the goal of life? That is called Purushartha. That must be that which must be desired by every right-thinking human being, because non-humans are automatically excluded from it. So this is called Purushartha. The third is, what are the ways, possible ways, how we can attain to that Mukti or Moksha? This is one way of looking. What is the other way? I said the same thing can be rephrased into six ways. Who is the Jivatma? That is, every living creature is a Jivatma. But then, especially we are talking about human beings. And is there any Ishwara? If so, what is his nature? And what is the nature of the Jagat? First Jiva, second Ishwara, third Jagat. Fourth topic is, what is called bondage? Fifth is, what is called Mukti? And sixth is, what is the way to get Mukti? So you see, this is what Jiva, Ishwara, or one, is called Tattva. And what is the nature of this world? And is it binding or not? And if it is binding, what should we do? These three comprise what is called the Purushartha. And then, what is the way to attain to that Moksha? Every scripture, whether they take the three-statement model or six-statement model, it must deal with these things only. And this Aitareya Upanishad, belonging to the Rig Veda, there is an important Mahavakya. In our past classes, we have dealt with. We will deal again also. What is a Mahavakya? That statement of the Upanishad or Veda, where Jiva, that means each one of us, is equated with the Paramatma. Jiva, Paramatma, Ikea statement is called Mahavakya. And in this Aitareya, there is a beautiful, in the third chapter, second mantra, this Mahavakya, Prajnanam Brahma. But there are four Vedas. That is, Veda Vyasa had collected all the Vedic knowledge, which is scattered here and there, which was enormous. And he divided so that people can learn it a bit easier and named them as Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, and Atharvana Veda, and then taught them to four of his disciples and asked them to pass this knowledge on to his disciples. So in this, how many Upanishads? Thousands. Many have been lost. Now at present, around approximately 200 Upanishads are considered to be authentic Upanishads. Later on, so many additions have come in the name of the Upanishad. For example, Allah Upanishad. Somebody must have written that one. But so long as even this Allah Upanishad talks of Allah as a Parabrahman, that is absolutely fine. We will not quarrel with anything, even Nama also. If Brahman can be called Allah, we have no problem. But if somebody insists Brahman should be called only Allah, that is when we have got problems. Same problem, Brahman is called Narayana or Shiva or Shakti. Only Vishnu, Shiva, and Shakti, we have a problem. Why you call it by whatever name? It doesn't matter. So these are the, from each Veda, have got their own number of Upanishads. And from each Veda, for the sake of convenience, only four Mahavakyas have been taken. So from the Rig Veda, Prajnanam Brahma. That is what we have taken. That is why this is also very wonderful. Prajnanam means pure awareness or consciousness. And pure awareness or consciousness is nothing but Brahman. And Brahman is the Jagat Karanam. That is why it's very important why the Upanishads are talking about Srishti, creation. And this Aitare Upanishad, most of it is only about creation. And since we have discussed this creation so many times in the past Upanishads, we will not dwell upon it for a long time. We know. So the question is, why is the Upanishad discussing about creation? After all, we are supposed to discuss about Brahman. The reason is the world in which we are part, it is a daily experience from birth to death. We are experiencing this one. We are all, if we find in this world something created, we automatically presume, since there is an object, somebody must have created it. What about a mountain? What about a river? Everything is created. So ultimately, the Upanishads tell, Brahman or God is the creator. But there are some scientists who say nature is created. And who created the nature? That they cannot answer. It is self-existing. That is what they say. Now, some scientists are also questioning themselves and say, but how can nature, which was inert, which is inert, can really create, et cetera? If the time comes, we can discuss about it. But this prajnana means pure consciousness. If somebody has to create something, then there must be consciousness manifesting in the form of intelligence. When this consciousness is reflected in the instrument called, popularly known as mind, specifically, we have to know that it is buddhi. The mind, if it is pure, acts like a mirror and reflects this consciousness. And this consciousness gets associated with the mind, with the buddhi, and then with the sense organs, with everything. And it goes out, and it grasps. It understands there is an object there. And that is called knowledge. That knowledge is another form of consciousness. So the original thing is Brahman only. And it is called jagat karanam because we see this vast world, not only vast, even though scientists are telling it is only 14 billion years. Vedanta doesn't agree with that statement. According to Vedanta, creation is eternal, anadi. And it will go on, anadi, beginningless, ananta, endless. But some of us, through sadhana, can get awakened, and we can struggle. And by the grace of God or Brahman, we can get out of this world. What is getting out of the world? To know that this world is nothing but Brahman, to know that, whether living or non-living, everything is Brahman. What happens when we have this particular knowledge? Then this world lasts only so long as the body lasts. And with the end of the body, the mind also becomes dissolved in Brahman, both body and mind, which are the manifestations of pancha-bhutas, both gross as well as subtle, called tanmatras. They all came from Brahman, and they all become dissolved in Brahman. And only Brahman remains. That is called mukti, and that is what happens. But the samsara, the world as it is, it will go on and on and on. So this is what is called the essence of it. This is what every upanishad tells, prajnanam brahma, as soon as you become aware that I'm an intelligent creature, wherefrom have I come, through certain disciplines, finally I realize that I have come from Brahman. You have come from Brahman. The whole universe has come from Brahman. Everything has come from Brahman only. Nothing has come from anything else, because only Brahman is there all the time. There is no second thing other than Brahman. And this knowledge, which will make us understand that we are each soul, we are souls, and each soul is potentially divine. And the goal of life is to manifest our divinity and know that I am Brahman. For that, many yogas are there, especially four yogas are there. And if we practice, with the grace of God, we will have that knowledge, aham brahmasmi, I am Brahman. So this is the essence of every Mahavakya. So in Mandukya, we get I am Atma, Brahman. So like that, every upanishad has got. Now this Aitareya Upanishad is a part of the Aitareya Aranyakam, Brahmanam, Aitareya Brahmanam. And why is it named as Aitareya? There are certain stories going around. There was a rishi. He was called Aitareya. Therefore, the teaching of that Aitareya rishi, like Shweta Shwetara rishi, that is why the Upanishad was called Shweta Shwetara Upanishad. Here, the rishi is Aitareya Rishinaprabhutam. Like Katopanishad also, there is the work of Kataka rishi. And who is this Aitareya rishi? And what is the meaning of Aitareya? There are many stories. So that is why it is said in the Vedas, nadi molam, rishi molam should not be deeply inquired into. Don't ask where from this nadi comes. I will not drink the water, even if I am dying of thirst, until I know where from this river is coming. Similarly, don't think a rishi is a Brahmana, is a Shudra. These questions are not only irrelevant, complete waste of time. So do not ask. What should we ask? It is enough if we say, he is a rishi. And who is a rishi? Rishi is called mantra drashta, a seer of truth. Mantra means truth. That's why they say, know the truth, and the truth will make you free. Freedom means mukti. That is all. A mantra, mananat trayate iti mantraha. Through going on, dwelling upon it, thinking about it, contemplating upon it, the knowledge will come that I was free, I am free, I will ever remain free. I need not become free. I was only thinking I was not free, just as in our dream, we think we are kept in jail, et cetera, et cetera. So aithareya rishi. And then how did this name aithareya come? Very interesting. This is only purely of academic interest. So aithareya, if we derive derivative process, then he is the son of ithara. Ithareya putraha aithareyaha. What is the meaning of ithara? Ithara means the other one. So there are also many stories. Ithara can be the name of this aithareya's mother, or it can also mean this aithareya rishi's father, perhaps has married a second time or third time, whatever it is. Remember, in the olden days, rishi means most of the rishis were householders, and they were completely conscious that marriage is not the enjoyment, is not the goal of life. But to propagate, even to pass the knowledge, is such a marvelous thing, even to contemplate. Many of them, they had precious things to convey. Sometimes, perhaps, nobody cognizes them, and there is no way. One way is, if they get married, usually they will have children, especially men, male. But in this Upanishad, it is also said that even this knowledge, brahmagnyanam, can be passed on to women also, ladies also. And we get concrete evidence of it in Breda, in the Upanishad. Maitreyi herself was a great brahmagnyani. And then we also get Gargi, the name of the Gargi. So there were women, maybe few, and men also were few, but women were also allowed. How do we know? I will come to that point shortly. So Ithara might be the name of the mother of this rishi. So Ithara's son is called Aithareya. The other one is that Ithara means not first wife. It can be the second wife, the other wife. If she is the other wife, second wife, then whatever it is, Ithara is the name. Ithara's son is Aithareya. So we need only to ask, does he know Brahman, a rishi? That's all. How do we know? Because nowadays, when we hear the word brahmana, vaisya, kshatriya, and shudra, it has become an affair of the birth family, gotra, not the true meaning. Here is a beautiful verse. Sometimes I quoted it. Janmana jayate shudraha. Karmana, there are versions are there. Samskarat is another version. Karmana dvija vichyate. Veda pathena iprahasyat brahmano brahma vedanat. This is one version. Janmana jayate shudraha. Samskarat dvija vichyate. Veda dhyayat vipro bhavati. Brahma janatiti brahmanaha is the other version. So the moment a person comes to know I am Brahman, that moment he will become a brahmana. Even if a child is born in a Brahmin family, if he doesn't know that he is Brahman, he should be considered only as a brahmana. He cannot be even considered as a vipraha. This verse is the most marvelous verse. By birth, everybody is a shudra. Who is a shudra? A person who is ignorant is called a shudra. And then if the parents are good, they teach him how to behave. That is called samskarat. Or he will approach a guru and learn all the worthwhile things. And that is why it is called samskarat or karmana by his behavior. He becomes twice born as it were. But if he, in a proper manner, approaches a guru, studies the scriptures under the guidance of an enlightened guru, he is entitled to be called as a vipraha. But however scholarly a person may be, only that person, through personal exertion, sadhana, realizes that there is nothing else excepting Brahman. Therefore, everything is Brahman. Therefore, I am also Brahman. So brahma janati iti brahmana. This is the most marvelous way of understanding, not by the birth. There will be, why am I talking about it? Because nowadays, it is in the name of caste. Caste means a person is born by birth. It can be a religious denomination, like a Vaishnava, Shakta, or Shaiva. Or it could be Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra. And so many divisions are coming. And if you watch the news, you will see that so much of conflict, murder, burning, so many things are going on, all in the name of fight about the caste system. That is why one of the greatest things, that even Shankaracharya seems to have fallen a victim to this illusion of who is a chandala. So it is said in Varanasi, he encountered one day in a narrow path a chandala. And that seeing, without thinking, what came the injunction from the mouth of Shankaracharya, dhoram apasarare chandala, you move away from me. Then that person, whether he is a Shiva, or it doesn't really matter. Because after this encounter, Shankaracharya had composed the most marvelous sthoti, which we had done that one. What is that one? That manisha sthotram. And in that, says manisha panchakam, we did it. I hope you remember still. So after this encounter, the chandala, he asked, whom are you addressing that you move away from me? Are you talking about the blood body? There is no difference between your body and my body, your flesh and my flesh. Perhaps my flesh is more preferred than your flesh. When a tiger sees both you and me, it will say, I don't want this fellow. Hardly, it is not even 1 4th of breakfast. It will not be sufficient. But when it looks at me, oh, it will be very happy. A full stomach I will get. So if you are thinking about blood, blood type, I am also having positive. And you are also having positive only, perhaps. Or perhaps I have my own doubts. You may be having negative. I don't know. Negative type. So chandalastu, satudrijyastu, gururtyesha, manisha, mama. This much I have understood. That he who knows that he is Brahman, he may be called by many people as chandala, or he may be called a Brahmana. It doesn't matter. Whoever has that Brahman knowledge, he is mama, guru, ityesha, manisha, mama. This is my understanding. He is the guru of the entire world because satchidananda, as Sri Ramakrishna says, alone is the guru. So this Aitareya Rishi, he had attained to that realization. And definitely some people must have come because, as Sri Ramakrishna says, as soon as the lotus blooms, the honeybees come of themselves. There is no need to send an invitation because what we seek, we get. And this is a marvelous statement. So this is Aitareya Rishi and his composition or his teaching. Therefore, it is called Aitareya. And now we know what is called Upanishad. Especially, we have discussed it in the Katha Upanishad because Shankaracharya had given a very elaborate explanation of what is called Upanishad. In brief, this word, Upanishad, contains actually two upasargas, upa and ni. Upasarga means prefixes. And one root word, sat. What is the essence of it? That upa means near. Ni means, without any doubt, completely. Nisesha Upena, it breaks our ignorance. It loosens our bondage. And it makes us realize that you are none other than Brahman. All the three meanings. First, it loosens all our bonds. Then it completely destroys the ignorance. Automatically, the remaining knowledge will be Aham Brahmasmi. And any scripture, any teaching that leads to this realization, that is called Upanishad. But traditionally speaking, some thousands of years back, some of our great people, they have stopped and said, let us demark here and say whatever came earlier can be called Upanishad. Later on, it is called Smriti, Shruti, and Smriti. But as I mentioned many times, even Sriram Krishna's words, Swami Vivekananda's words, they can also be called Upanishad only. Because even Swami Vivekananda said, I have not spoken anything excepting Upanishads. And that too, I have not spoken elaborately about Srishti, Krama, and Karmapala, and Svarga, and Naraka, all those what is called secondary texts. I have not spoken at all. Straight only I have spoken about Brahman. That too, he said, only about the Atman, about fearlessness. That is what I have spoken. Sriram Krishna's gospel is nothing but pure Upanishad. Bhagavad Gita is the very essence of the Upanishads. Sarva Upanishado Kaavo. But the very speciality of Bhagavad Gita is, Sri Krishna, he had milked. If all the Upanishads can be compared to cows, different cows, Sri Krishna had milked all of them and mixed all that milk so that there would be no controversy, which is what that Upanishad is. Milk is different. This Upanishadic milk is different. And then only wise people, Sudhi Bhokta. What about Arjuna? Arjuna is only a medium through which the milk flows from the udder of these cows. That is called the Upanishad. Sudhi Bhokta. What is the teaching of Bhagavad Gita? Dugdham, Gita Amritam Ahat, that which leads to Amrita, that which destroys the bondage totally and restores our knowledge to the right knowledge, that is called Gita Amritam. That is called Upanishad Amritam, whatever it is. So this Upanishad is divided into three chapters. And each, all together, it is a small Upanishad. There are only 33 mantras. And the first chapter has got three sections, also known as khandas. The second chapter has got one section, and the third chapter only one section. Thus 3 plus 2, 5, totally 5 sections, 33 mantras. What is the essence? Because this is called introduction. In this introduction, if we understand, what are we going to expect in this Aitareya Upanishad? In the first chapter, the Advaitiya Brahman, that is the one Brahman, is revealed through the point of Srishti. Why talk about Srishti? Because Srishti means creation. Creation means multiplicity. Creation always means multiplicity. And then that is called effects. And every effect, by the very usage of the word effect, must be called karana, there must be a cause. If the cause is one, the effect also will be one only. Then what is the example? Suppose somebody makes 10 ornaments out of gold. And all the ornaments are of different types, suitable to be worn by different parts of the body. But they are nothing but gold, one gold only. Their essence is one gold, one gold appearing with different sizes, different forms, different names. And that doesn't make it a reality. Nama, rupa, guna, prayojana, that doesn't make, that is not a second object. Object is only one, but the same object in different names. And that is what we are unable to separate them. Nama, rupa doesn't make reality. They're only for the sake of practical, day-to-day transaction, affair, that's all. And why this rishi? Because we have forgotten. Why we have forgotten? Because of maya. So for whatever reason, it is impossible to understand what maya is. Sat, asat, it is neither sat nor asat. Sat, asat, vilakshanam, completely separate. That is why, except first, this srishti, that is called adhya rupa, yes, yes. So Bhagawan had created. And then, slowly, when the person, oh, yes, this person is talking to me, I understand what this person is talking. Because my experience is there is something in front of me. I am also produced. A tree is also produced, et cetera, et cetera. And that is why we say this is called adhya rupa, means assuming temporarily in order to enlighten the student later on, after gaining his confidence. This is actually a psychological method. This is what is called the psychiatrist. And the patient, they must become, come, that's called rapo. Rapo means they trust each other, and especially the patient. And my psychiatrist, he understands my problem. So he will help me to gain that faith in the psychiatrist. That is called rapo. And that is what takes longest time to accept him. And otherwise, a madcap, one of the main characteristics, prime characteristic of a madcap is that he suspects everybody is mad. He thinks he's the only one right. He'll let anybody even look at him. He says, this madcap, he's looking very peculiarly at me, so he must be a madcap. So this is called adhya rupa. That is deliberately the teacher says, yes, but you are in effect. But if you are in effect, you should come. You should have a real cause from where you have come. From where have you come? From your parents. Correct. And where from your parents have come? From their parents. Go on tracing, ultimately it will be pancha bhutas. And from pancha bhutas, it will be atman. This is called adhya rupa. And later on, when the student becomes fit to receive the harsh truth, apavada, deny. There is absolutely no creation. Creation means what? A second reality. There is no second reality. There is only adveti ekameva advetiyam. One Brahman only. That is called apavada. That is why a beautiful sloka is there. Adhya rupa apavada abhyam nishprapancham prapanchate. So that which is this prapancha, which we are experiencing, it will be completely elevated to that oneness, ekameva advetiyam. That why is this methodology accepted? Sisyanam sukha-bodhartham tatvagney kalpita-tramah. So they invented a methodology. If we simply say the truth, you won't be able to understand. And actually, every day, that's what we are doing. 2 plus 2 is 4. 3 plus 3 is 6. This is the foundation. And slowly, later on, more and more abstract ideas are introduced. But we all require very, very concrete awakenings. That is why Zen Buddhism, the Zen master, employs certain assistants who will be carrying a very powerful stick. And early morning, when the disciple's head bends a little bit, even in humility, what comes the blow, and sometimes these people become completely enlightened by that. They are very famous for this. This methodology has to teach the student what he can understand, and later on, gradually wean him away and teach him, tell him, so that he understands the truth, the real truth that is called adhyaropa apavada krama. This is what the first chapter of this Aitareya Upanishad. And in the second chapter, we get various stages of a jiva right from garbha onwards. A lot about gynecology, how this sisu is born, and what stages it goes through, et cetera, et cetera. And then not only that, there is a saying there in the Upanishad itself. It says, abhakramantu garbhinyaha. If there happens to be some pregnant woman in my class, let them take leave and go home. Why? Because this would be a very embarrassing type of open, what is called, physiology class. But what does it show? It shows that even women also, because if a woman is not attending, let pregnant women get away from this class who would not have been used. By these words, we understand what was the situation earlier. So in Chandogya Upanishad, we get that even the example given, even a nail pairer, nail cutter. The name comes nail cutter. And then what does it mean? That means they were aware of a nail cutter. And some people, they fashioned a small instrument for neatly cutting the nails, et cetera. So by these words, we can understand some of the facts. So as I said, there were many women who are called brahmavadinis. Swami Vivekananda wanted every woman also to strive to become a brahmavadini. What is Brahman? Truth. What is the truth? Everything is God only. That is called the truth. But only when it comes to Karmakanda, most of these women were not allowed there. That is why it is there, even in Shiva aparadha kshamapana stotram. Adau karma prasangat kalayati kalisham. Matra kukshau sthitammam. Vin motra medhyamadhye vatayati nitaram jatharo jatavedaha. Yad yadvai tatra dukkham yathayati nitaram shakyate kena vaktum. Therefore, kshantavyomi aparadhaha shiva shiva shiva go shri mahadeva shambho. What it means is the fetus, as it were, how much I have suffered in my mother's womb and so much of suffering. But I don't have the words, I don't have the means to convey how much I have been suffering there. I only have to shut my mouth and put up with all that tritapa there. Who can describe how much I have been suffering? So where is the question of my thinking about you, my praising you? You have kept me in such an unbearable, inescapable situation. Therefore, oh Shiva, you please pardon me for not being able to think about you. And in fact, if you wake up and then you are responsible for all my troubles, and therefore I am forgiving you, so at least I forgive you and you also forgive. Why? So there Shankaracharya, this hymn was composed by Shankaracharya. Which hymn? Shiva aparadha kshama apana stotram says garbhavasa. And why? Because, you see, our troubles start from the garbhavasa itself. And therefore, we have to at least for that sake, OK, I suffered. Now wake up. That's what Sri Ramakrishna also says. Don't you see? Children are born. They die. But the parents do not stop producing them en masse. And India is a production factory for these children. I think how many billions Indians have produced God alone knows. What for? Shankaracharya is describing so that we can get a little bit of dispassion so that we can turn towards God. This is the second chapter. And this has got only one section. But in the essence, it tells us all about the three stages, how this fetus, through garbhavasa, passes, et cetera. Then the third chapter, a very small section. There are only four mantras are there. And in this third section, second mantra, we get this mahavakya called prajnanam brahma. So what is the essence of the third chapter? It is mahavakya, the revelation of the identity that Jiva is none other than Paramatma or Ishwara. Ishwara is none other than Jiva. There's absolutely no difference between them. This is how we get three chapters. And first, the srishti krama, then description of various stages of the Jiva. But finally, to leave all this is terrible suffering only. Samsara means bondage. Samsara means suffering. So there is no happiness in samsara. That is why somebody remarked this Sanskrit word samsara, which we all borrowed in our Indian languages. So in samsara, there is not even some sara, not even a little bit of ara is there. This is the brief introduction, which we will discuss in the course of time. But every Upanishad also has a shanti patha. And we have also discussed what is the significance of shanti patha. Every Veda has got its own specialized shanti patha. So this belongs to Rig Veda. What is the main purpose of the peace chant? Shanti patha means peace chant. Why? So first of all, let all obstructions be removed. It is a prayer to God, oh Lord, out of your infinite grace, you see that all the obstacles for my progress towards you be totally destroyed so that I can become you. I can come to you. And all the sufferings come from three sources, adhyatmika, adhibhautika, and adhidaivika. So every Veda has got its own shanti patha. I also mentioned earlier that shanti patha also sometimes is the essence of the Upanishad itself. But mainly it tells there must be a rapport, a very closer loving bond between the teacher and the taught. And that is one. And then also, as I said, the removal of all obstacles. But to give those qualities which are conducive for my spiritual progress, for each one's spiritual progress, and sometimes the shanti patha itself, for example, purnamadaha, purnamidam. If we really analyze that, we don't need to study any Upanishad. That itself is more than sufficient. So Krishna Yajur Veda has got sahanavavatu. Shukla Yajur Veda has got purnamadaha, as I was just mentioning. Sama Veda has got apyayantumamangane. Atharvana Veda has got badramkanyavehi. So this Rig Veda has its own special, which I chanted at the beginning of this class. But are they? VAGME MANASI PRATISTHITAH MANO ME VAJI PRATISTHITAM AVIHI AVIHI MA EDI VEDASYA MA ANISTHAH SHRUTAM ME MA PRAHASEHI ANENA ADHITENA AHORATRAN SANDADHAMI PRITAMMUDISHYAMI TATYAMMUDISHYAMI TANMAM AVATO TADVAKTARAM AVATO AVATUMAM AVATOVAKTARAM AVATOVAKTARAM Twice. OM SHANTEH SHANTEH SHANTEH So we will be discussing in today's class a little bit of it. And it is most marvellous Shanti Patha. Even if I can understand this Shanti Patha, we will be so much better people for understanding that one. It is a prayer to Brahman, but addressed to Ishwara, because Nirguna Brahma is not available for prayer. Because from the viewpoint of Nirguna Brahma, there is no Samsara, there is no teacher, there is no thought, there is no bondage, there is no liberation, there is no Sadhana, there is no Siddhi, nothing is accepted. That was what Gaudapada was trying to give us in the 32nd Karika of the 3rd Chapter of the Punishad. Now here, this we will take up in today's class, these two. VAGME MANASI PRATISTHITA MANO ME VACHI PRATISTHITAM AVEHI AVEHI MA EDI This we will discuss later on. VAGME MANASI What are the two instruments that are the main ingredients of obtaining knowledge and also propagating that knowledge? What is the speciality of human beings? What is it that separates human beings from all other species? Even ants, they say, scientists tell, they have language, they have at least 27 or 28, there may be more, at least 28 discernible sounds, the scientists have found out. There is food. So there is a way, suppose an ant has foraged and it had found out a source of food and it must convey it to its entire community because they all live in huge communities of thousands and thousands of ants. So that is one and there is a danger to warn them. Then there is, it is a season for some floods are coming so we have to go to a safe place, etc. Marvellous things are there. Then when the mating season comes, that also for every type of thing there is a word but because they are such lowly insects so they require for their life to be comfortable, to be happy. They have evolved certain number of words, it may be more than 27 or 28, we don't know but they are adequate because they are not thinking about God, they are not thinking about Sargaloka, they are not thinking about AI, they are not thinking about many other things. So for their comfortable living, God has given them sufficient. Similarly, dolphins have got, chimpanzees have got, sharks have got, elephants have got, dogs have got, every creature has got its, what is it, means of communication. But human beings are, as I mentioned, very special. For us, there are two things. Our brain has evolved so much but brain is not important, it is the mind which is important, buddhi is what is important, that is why we pray to the Goddess of what is called wisdom, Mother of Wisdom, Divine Mother. May you drive us, because that means may you grant us their right understanding. That is what Bhagawan also confirms. I grant them whomsoever I want to uplift, I want to grant them right knowledge. As soon as right knowledge is granted by me, they understand. We are all caught in this net of Mahamaya, we must get out and the only way we can get out is the grace of God. To obtain the grace of God, we have to develop certain spiritual qualities and when we develop those qualities, we become fit receptacles to receive, retain, remember, use them and use them with a particular attitude. I discussed about it in Medha Sukta class. What is it? The five different aspects of Medha. To understand rightly, to retain it, to be able to recollect it, to use it at every given situation and with a particular attitude. Five Shaktis only the Divine Mother can give. So when we have that kind of mind and then the mind, the thoughts, right understanding, knowledge, it has to be expressed and that expression can be done only in the form of speech. That is why all the Vedas are called Shruti and how important they are, we will be discussing in next class tomorrow.