Swami Paramarthananda Saraswati

तै त्तिरीयोपत्तिषत्
Swami Paramarthananda Saraswati

तैत्तिरीय उपत्तिषत् Introduction
तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत्
Introduction
ॐ सदाशिव समारम्भाम् िङ्कराचार्य मध्र्माम् अस्मदाचार्य
पर्य न्ताम् वन्दे गुरु परम्पराम् ॐ ॥
The next उपत्तिषत् that we are going to study is तैत्तिरीय
उपत्तिषत् and I will start with a general introduction. And as a
part of this introduction I would like to recollect all the
introductory points that we had seen in the previous उपत्तिषत्s.
There we saw that our basic scriptures are called by the name
the वेदs, the वेदs meaning sources of Knowledge or instruments
of Knowledge. And these वेदs, four in number, are broadly
classified into two portions. The first portion being called
वेदपवू व and the last portion being called वेद-अन्त. And this
वेदपवू व which is more voluminous, which is more big is also
known as कर्व काण्डर्् because it deals with varieties of कर्व s or
activities. All the activities or actions prescribed in the
कर्व काण्ड we classify into three types.
1) कात्तयक कर्ाव त्ति, those actions in which the physical
body plays a predominant role.
2) The next one is called वात्तिक कर्ाव त्ति, verbal actions in
the form of जप, पारायिर्् etc.
3) And the next one is called र्ािस कर्ाव त्ति where we
don’t use the body and speech, we purely use our mind. All
forms of meditations are called र्ािस कर्ाव त्ति and they are also
known as उपासनाशन. So all the उपासिs are र्ािस कर्व s and
they come under the कर्व काण्ड of the वेदs.
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And the scriptures prescribe these three types of कर्व s
for the acquisition of different types of results. कमय फल
प्राप्त्र्र्य म् कमाय शि शवशिताशन, for attaining different types
कमय फलम्s these कर्व s are prescribed. And therefore these कर्व s
– कात्तयक, वात्तिक and र्ािस कर्व s are called in general as
साधिर्् – a means for attaining different types of goals. So
कात्तयक कर्व is one type of साधिर््, वात्तिक कर्व is another type
of साधिर्् and र्ािस कर्व is another type of साधिर््. Thus
कर्व काण्ड prescribes साधि-त्रयर््, three types of साधिs. And
these three types of साधिs can produce different types of goals
or ends. And generally a goal or an end is called साध्यर््. And
these three types of साधिर््s can produce different types of
साध्यर््s or goals for our benefit. And even though there are
different types of goals, in fact countless number of goals, the
शास्त्र classifies all the type of goals into three categories. Thus
we have got साध्य-त्रयर्् which are produced by साधि-त्रयर््.
Now the question is what are those three types of goals that we
can acquire? One type of goal is called उपात्तध प्राशतिः which
means either improving my organs of pleasure like improving
the body, better health, improvement of sense organs,
improvement of the mental faculty like memory power,
intelligence. In fact, a ब्रह्मिारर performs सशमधादानम् purely to
improve memory and receptivity.
र्त्तय र्ेधाां र्त्तय प्रजाां र्य्यत्तनिस्तेजो दधातु । र्त्तय र्ेधाां र्त्तय प्रजाां
र्यीन्र इत्तन्रयां दधातु । र्त्तय र्ेधाां र्त्तय प्रजाां र्त्तय सय
ू ो भ्राजो दधातु
॥
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For improving र्ेधािशि, memory power. And र्त्तय इत्तन्रयां
दधातु. इत्तन्रयिशि means all my sense organs should be bright
and receptive. Thus कर्व s are prescribed for improving physical
health, कर्व s are prescribed for improving sensory health and
कर्व s are prescribed for the improvement of the emotional
health, for िाशन्तशसशधिः, to enjoy a balanced mind and कर्व s are
prescribed for improving the intellectual health in the form of
sharpener.
श्रद्ाां र्ेधाां यशः प्रज्ाां त्तवद्ाां बुत्तद्ां त्तश्रयां बलर्् । आयुष्यां तेज आरोनयां
देत्ति र्े िव्यवािि ॥
A ब्रह्मिारर who regularly does सशमधादानम् he is asking प्रज्ा,
र्ेधा, श्रिः, बलर्् all of them. This is goal number one. You
improve the instruments of living and enjoying. And if you are
not satisfies with the present set of instruments, if you feel that
the body is unimprovable, like when your vehicle is under
repair and you go on changing the spare parts and a time will
come when there is no original part there, every part is a spare,
you can no more repair it, even if you are tired the mechanic is
tired of repairing, then you replace. And also there are
advertisement offerings – exchange offers! Give the old vehicle
and take new one. Similarly the scriptures say if your organs
are unimprovable then we are giving you the rituals for
replacing this body for getting a better body in the next birth.
So that from birth you have got health, memory power,
emotionally balanced mind. Thus उपात्तध प्राशत has two
meanings. Improving the available ones or replacing this one
rituals are prescribed.
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Then the second type of result one can acquire through
साधि-त्रयर्् is improvement of the objects of enjoyment. So in
the previous one you improve your equipments. In the next one
you ask for the improvement of the people around. So let me
have good children so that I need not worry about children. It
requires a lot of पुण्यर््. It is said
प्रीिात्तत यः सुिररतैः त्तपतरां स पुत्रः यद्भतव ुरेव त्तितत्तर्च्छत्तत
तत्कलत्रर्् । तत्तन्र्त्रर्ापत्तद सुखे ि सर्त्तियां यत् एतत्त्रयां जगत्तत
पुण्यकृतो लभन्ते ॥
A child who is very cooperative and a spouse who is
understanding and also a friend to share the experiences in the
family. To get all these things you require पुण्यर््. To get a good
house you require पुण्यर््, to have water you require much more
पुण्यर््. So therefore you do ritual for the sake of possession.
This is called शवषर् प्राशतिः. This is साध्य number two. So साध्य
number one is subjective, साध्य number two is objective.
Then the third साध्यम् you can ask for is, it is not enough
that you have an ideal subject and ideal object, the field in
which the interaction takes place, the environment in which the
interaction takes place that should be conducive, peaceful,
favorable. If there is no environment of peace there is always
quarrel and fight and burglary. And naturally even though you
have a wonderful house and you have got a healthy body if the
ambience, the atmosphere is not peaceful then also you cannot
enjoy life. That atmosphere or environment is called लोकिः. So
लोक प्राशतिः is the third one. In fact a person can be happy only
when these three are favorable. If you have a healthy body but
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things are not there, no water, you cannot enjoy. Surrounding
objects are good but you don’t have a healthy body it is
suffering. And if both are there the atmosphere is not good,
neighbors are quarreling, you can't be peaceful as you overhear
their shouting. Therefore the three साध्यम्s are उपात्तध प्राशतिः,
शवषर् प्राशतिः and लोक प्राशतिः. And when I say लोक प्राशतिः there
also two-fold – either the improvement of the present
atmosphere and if the present atmosphere is unimprovable, the
replacement of the atmosphere. From भल ू ोक to भुवलोक,
भुवलोक to सुवलोक. These are the साध्य-त्रयर््.
Thus कर्व काण्ड deals with साधि-त्रयर्् and साध्य-
त्रयर््, three types of means and three types of end. Even though
a person who is lucky enough to enjoy all of them, if that person
is a discerning human being, if that person is a साशववक
intelligent human being then he will begin to learn lessons from
life’s experiences.
परीक्ष्य लोकाि् कर्व त्तिताि् ब्रह्मिो त्तिवेदर्ायात् ।।
मुण्डकोपशनषत् १-२-१२ ।।
An intelligent person will learn lessons from life’s experiences.
And what is the important lesson that he learns? All these three
goals whether it is उपात्तध, शवषर् or लोक, they are all wonderful,
they will give happiness, they will give security, they will give
fulfilment, all those things are there they are wonderful alright,
but inherent in all of them is some fundamental deficiency.
They are all दोषयुक्त साध्र्ात्ति, they are only relatively good,
they are not absolutely good. They are fine from one angle but
they are equally terrible from another angle. That which is
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relatively good is called प्रेर्िः, which is absolutely good is called
श्ेर्िः. All these three goals are प्रेर्िः alright, but none of them are
श्ेर्िः because they have got intrinsic, inbuilt deficiency. And on
enquiry we find that they have got दोषत्रयर््. And what are the
intrinsic defects we saw?
1) दुःख त्तर्त्तश्रतत्वर्् – they are all mixed with the pain also.
You have to pay the price. In the form of acquisition which
involves pain, preservation involves more pain and finally the
loss of them will be the most painful affair. Therefore they are
all दुःख त्तर्त्तश्रतर््.
2) अतत्तृ िकरत्वर्् – they can never give total fulfilment. So
whatever I accomplish in spite of its quantity and quality I will
be never be totally satisfied because they all have got next
higher grade. Any amount you get there is the next higher
grade. Therefore we will never enjoy what we have but we will
always compare ourselves with what is the next one possible.
And unfortunately there will be always somebody who is in the
next grade. Therefore comparison, complex, jealousy etc.
Therefore अतत्तृ िकरत्वर््, dissatisfaction is the second दोष.
3) बन्धकत्वर्् is the third दोष. When we use them initially
they may come as luxury but sooner or later they will get
converted into necessity, they are all dependence causing
things. It is not that a drug alone that causes dependence but
every object in the creation is capable of causing dependence.
And therefore I will get addicted which means I am travelling
from not dependence to independence but from dependence to
more dependence. And the tragedy is without my knowledge.
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Unknowingly it is happening. So this is called बन्धकत्वर््.
These are the दोषत्रयर््.
And generally most of the people do not think of these
दोषs or even if they think of the दोषs they are of the mediocre
nature that they are satisfied with these limited and defective
goals. Like a slum person who has got used to slum he would
like to live in slum only even if a better accommodation is
given. Even if the government gives a better accommodation
they will rent it out and come to the slum. Similarly a person
who is used to सांसार for a long time he never thinks of the
possibility of freedom. But there are some intelligent people
they begin to explore the possibility of some goal which is free
from these दोषत्रयर््. Is there any goal in life which is free from
these दोषत्रयर््? And when these intelligent people ask this
question then the वेदs give the answer – there is a goal, but it
can never be gained through कर्व काण्डर्् as it is meant to deal
with साधि-त्रयर्् and साध्य-त्रयर्् and therefore कर्व काण्ड will
deal with only प्रेयः. श्रेयस् is out of the scope of कर्व काण्ड. And
therefore if you want श्रेयस्, if you want a defect free goal, you
have to go to the other shop. Therefore this seeker is called a
र्ुर्ुक्ुः. The others are called बुभुक्ुs – who are interested only
in those defective साध्य-त्रयर््s. But this person wants to go
beyond them.
परीक्ष्य लोकाि् कर्व त्तिताि् ब्रह्मिो त्तिवेदर्ायात् िात्तस्त अकृतः
कृतेि ।। र्ुण्डक उपत्तिषत् १-२-१२ ।।
िात्तस्त अकृतः कृतेि means कर्व काण्ड cannot serve me.
Therefore I have to go to ज्ािकाण्ड,
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तत् त्तवज्ािार्व र्् सः गुरुर्् एव अत्तभगच्छे त् ॥ र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत् १-
२-१२ ॥
is shifting the direction from वेदपवू व to वेदन्त. Now I ask the
question to वेदान्त ‘What is that defect free goal?’ वेदान्त says,
ब्रह्मत्तवदाप्िोत्तत परर्् । ॥ तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् २-१-१ ॥
ब्रह्मत्तवत् आप्िोत्तत परर््, that defect free goal is ब्रह्मि्. Otherwise
it is called र्ोक्. Both are synonymous. So it is not mixed with
दुःखर्् and it will never keep you in अतत्तृ ि and it will never
cause addiction or dependence. Such a goal is there. Then our
next question will be ‘Where to find that ब्रह्मि्? Where is it
available? How to go and acquire that?’ Then वेदान्त throws a
bombshell, you can never acquire that ब्रह्मि्. वेदान्त says ब्रह्मि्
is such a goal and when I ask as to how to acquire, it says you
cannot acquire that. Then where is that ब्रह्मि्? उपत्तिषत् says
you cannot acquire that, not because it is not there, but because
तत् ब्रह्म त्वर्् अत्तस. That defect free goal, साध्यर्् is not far away
from you. It is साधकरूपेि साध्यर्् वतव ते. The sought is in the
form of the very seeker himself. That is why it is said that you
cannot acquire it because you fortunately or unfortunately are
That. When the उपत्तिषत् says I am the defect free ब्रह्मि,् even
though I have got great faith in वेदs, great faith in the गुरु, I
find it extremely difficult to swallow this because all through
the life I have looked upon myself as full of दोषs only. In such
a Juncture उपत्तिषत् comes and tells, you are defect free ब्रह्मि्.
So Therefore our problem is we are not able to accept because
our conclusion, self-conclusion and the Upanishadic
revelation, Self-revelation there is a very big gap. If the gap is
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smaller we will be able to adjust. Like you want to buy
something and you have some money in your purse. And you
thought that object is available within that range you can afford
to buy it. But if it is too high then you won’t even attempt to
bargain, you walk of. Because there is a very very wide gulf.
So where am I as I know and where is the I as the उपत्तिषत्
reveals. Therefore I feel like dropping the उपत्तिषत्s and not my
notion because it is so powerful that I can never imagine
dropping my notion, the reinforced notion that I have almost
decided to drop the उपत्तिषत् and the गुरु also. But if I am born
in a culture in which श्रद्ा in the वेद is inherent then I accept the
revelations of the वेदs. That is why श्रद्ा we emphasize so
strongly. Because when the ultimate teaching comes, my
conclusion and Vedic teaching is going to be widely different.
Therefore if I do not have a strong श्रद्ा I will drop the उपत्तिषत्
itself. That is why when a boy gets the उपियिर्् – the four day
ceremony in which the first day उपियिर्् is done, there
afterwards he has to observe some व्रतर्् and on the fourth day
he has to do some special ritual – worship of श्रद्ा देवी. श्रद्ा is
personified as a देवता and ब्रह्मिारर worships that देवता. So that
in due course, in ten years, fifteen years, twenty years regularly
chanting the वेदs, regularly doing िर्स्कारर्् to वेदs,
unknowingly I will imbibe the श्रद्ा – that वेद cannot go wrong.
वेद is valid just as seeing is believing because of my faith in the
eyes. As much faith I have got in िक्ुः so much faith I have got
in the वेदs. If there is a wide difference between my conclusion
and वेदs what is required is not questioning the वेदs but
questioning my conclusion. Have I concluded with proper
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enquiry or is it a wild conclusion, taking for granted. I have
taken for granted that I am finite. I have never questioned that
conclusion. When you make such an enquiry you will come to
know that what is required is reanalysis of my nature to find out
whether my conclusion is right or Vedic revelation is right and
therefore begins Self-enquiry to find out whether my self-
conclusion is reliable and valid. Remember for centuries people
had thought that the Sun is going round the earth. Because that
is our solid experience. Even now we talk about the Sun rising
in the east and setting in the west. Therefore universal
conclusion is Sun is going round the earth. And when one
person came with the conclusion that Sun is not going round
but the earth is going round the Sun. Most of the people rejected
that revelation even though it was valid. And not only that that
scientist was harassed and oppressed also for giving a
knowledge which is counter to a notion. That is why they say
when the lie is repeated several times it appears as truth.
Similarly I have concluded that it is the truth that I am a finite,
limited and mortal being. Therefore I want to find out which is
true. Therefore comes Self-enquiry, आत्र्ात्तविारः.
When I have to enquire into the Self I get into a new
problem. I do not have any instrument for conducting the
enquiry because an appropriate instrument is required. If I have
to enquire into the stars I require a telescope. If I have to enquire
into bacteria I require a microscope. This appropriate
instrument through which an enquiry is made is called प्रर्ािर््.
For the first time I face a serious problem. All the time I have
been enquiring into an objective universe. But for the first time
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I want to enquiry into the enquirer. It is like I want to study my
own eyes. I have got a telescope and also a microscope and I
want to study my own eyes. I keep them in the opposite
direction. I cannot study. And therefore for the first time I
discover the fact that the regular available instruments are
irrelevant and useless for Self-enquiry. The पौरुषेय प्रर्ािात्ति –
all the human instruments being extrovert in nature cannot be
useful for Self-enquiry. It is like I want to see my own eyes. If
the regular ones are not useful and I want to see my own eyes,
then what should I do? I have to use a mirror. With the help of
a mirror I will be able to see my own eyes. In the same way I
require a special type of mirror, an appropriate mirror to reveal
my real eye. And that mirror the वेदान्त points out in the
ज्ािकाण्डर््, the Upanishadic words known as शब्द प्रर्ािर््.
It is a verbal mirror. In fact when I say your eyes have turned
reddish or yellowish, you come to know about your reddish or
yellowish eyes with the help of my words which are able to see
your eyes. Therefore with the help of my verbal mirror you have
come to know that your eyes are yellowish and reddish.
Similarly आत्र्ज्ािर्् requires वेदान्त शास्त्र शब्द प्रर्ािर््. The
Upanishadic words are the प्रर्ािर््, the means of knowledge.
There afterwards we said when I try to study the
उपत्तिषत् by myself I find that I am incompetent to understand
because they have to use a peculiar method for revealing
myself. Because normally the words are used to reveal the
objective universe, an external object, but the उपत्तिषत् has got
a different and difficult job that they have to use the words to
reveal Myself. So they cannot use the normal methods. If they
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use the normal method we will commit a mistake that we will
hear the description and we will conclude that there is a ब्रह्मि्.
We have studied the उपत्तिषत्s, there is a thing called ब्रह्मि्
which I have intellectually understood and I have got an indirect
knowledge now what should I do to come face to face with t
ब्रह्मि्? And how many hours of meditation should I practice so
that ब्रह्मि् will give दिय नम्, smile at me, bless me and go away?
This is called objectification orientation which is the greatest
danger of words. So the उपत्तिषत् should stop our tendency to
objectify so that as even we listen our knowledge should be the
description of ब्रह्मि्; is not the description of some object but
it is the description of my own nature. That is how the श्रविर््
should take place. And it requires tremendous skill of
communication otherwise the student will say I have
understood ब्रह्मि्, I have not experienced ब्रह्मि्. This is the
biggest pitfall in verbal communication. Like saying, ‘I have
understood how र्ािसरोवर is, but I have to go there to
experience it’. This knowledge-experience dichotomy will
come if the teaching is improper. Knowledge-experience
division is not there in Self-knowledge. In all other objective
knowledge, knowledge happens experience happens, this
division is there. In the case of ब्रह्मज्ािर्् knowledge first
experience later this division is not there. Therefore the
उपत्तिषत् uses all the peculiar methods. Therefore if we read the
उपत्तिषत् it will not convey. Therefore we say उपत्तिषत् will
convey only if it is studied under the guidance of a गुरु. गुरु
alone can make the उपत्तिषत् speak to you. And the गुरु has got
the technique of opening the words and giving you the teaching
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in a िस्त आर्लकवत्. What is the method that the गुरु uses?
He has to use the six factors called षड्-त्तलङ्गात्ति to arrive at
the primary teaching. Why do I call it as the primary teaching?
Because so many things are said in the उपत्तिषत.् Which one is
the central teaching? Like in the गीता कर्व or भशि or ज्ािर््
is the primary teaching, how do I know? And different scholars
claim different things. Therefore I have to arrive at the central
teaching which we call as तात्पयव र््. So गुरु will help the student
in discovering the तात्पयव र््, the central teaching. What is that
तात्पयव र््? You are what you want to be in life. You want to be
secure, you are already secure. You want to be full you are
already full. You want to be immortal you are already immortal.
In fact whatever you want to be or become you already are. This
is the central teaching. The गुरु has to consistently teach again
and again until the student nods his head in conviction. As
अजव ुि said in the गीता
िष्टो र्ोिः स्र्त्तृ तलव ब्धा ॥ गीता १८-७३ ॥
It is not to satisfy the गरु
ु out of compassion for him. It should
not be an idea contained in the उपत्तिषत्, but it should be a fact
for me. And this is called वेदान्त त्तविार, वेदान्त र्ीर्ाांसा and
Vedantic analysis. Remember this is not a mere intellectual,
academic exercise for getting a degree or to become a scholar.
Our aim is not academic scholarship. The more I see the शास्त्र
clearly the more I understand Myself clearly. Clarity with
regard to शास्त्र is clarity with regard to Myself. Like when I
look at the mirror if my face has to be clearly seen, the clarity
of my sight depends upon the clarity of the mirror. Therefore
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all analysis whether logic or grammar, none of them are a waste
of time or intellectual gymnastics, every word of the शास्त्र is
clear means the nature of Myself becomes clear to me. So
therefore वेदान्त त्तविारे ि, by Self-enquiry and by Self-
knowledge, and the result will be that my conclusion was
wrong, I am not a mortal, imperfect human being but I am really
the immortal ब्रह्मि.् अिर्् ब्रह्म् अत्तस्र् becomes a fact for me.
Upto this we saw in the last introduction.
Now we have to develop a little bit more further. These
are all very important because if you understand these points
very clearly your approach to regular classes will also be
different. Otherwise let me hear and then afterwards through
meditation I will get the knowledge of ब्रह्मि्. ब्रह्मि् is going to
come in meditation. Meditation is more important. In classes I
can get some ideas. Remember if you don't get knowledge
while listening you are never going to get knowledge by any
amount of meditation. A Knowledge that has not come in
श्रविर्् is never going to come in even hundred crore births of
meditation. Therefore knowledge should happen when the
mirror called वेदान्त is shown by the गुरु. Even though you are
looking into the mirror you are not an extrovert person because
from distance it looks as though you are seeing outside, because
mirror is outside but you are seeing yourself. Similarly, Shastric
study is not an extrovert process because many people argue
like this. I want Self-knowledge which is within. I want to know
the आत्र्ा which is within. And गुरु is showing me a book
which is outside. To know the inside आत्र्ा why should I study
the outside उपत्तिषत्? And therefore Upanishadic study is
15
meaningless they say. Remember study of the उपत्तिषत् is
looking at the mirror. When you are looking at the mirror you
are not seeing the mirror but you are seeing yourself.
This वेदान्त त्तविार otherwise called ज्ाियोग consists of
three stages of साधिा which are known as श्रविर््, र्ििर्् and
त्तित्तदध्यासिर््. This is the next point to deal with. The meaning
of श्रविर्् is not hearing but consistent and systematic study of
these scriptures for a length of time under the guidance of a
competent teacher. So this systematic study with the help of the
षड्-त्तलङ्गात्ति and arriving at the meaning which is with
nothing but the central theme, which is nothing but revealing
my own nature is called श्रविर््. As we are going to do श्रविर््
several doubts will come; at the time of श्रविर्् we don't ask the
doubts, we only keep it aside. Therefore for some length of time
you have to listen without asking any question. This is the first
stage. Then we have to go to the second and third stages, which
we will see in the next class.
ॐ पि ू व र्दः पि
ू व त्तर्दर्् पि ू व र्ुदच्यते । पि
ू ाव त्पि ू व स्य पि
ू व र्ादाय
ू व र्ेवावत्तशष्यते ॥ ॐ शात्तन्तः शात्तन्तः शात्तन्तः ॥ िररः ॐ.
पि
16
We saw in the last class that Self-knowledge can be
gained only with the help of शास्त्र प्रर्ािर््. The शास्त्रर्् serves
like a mirror. And just as I see my face in the mirror similarly
with the help of शास्त्र प्रर्ािर्् I have to get Self-knowledge.
And शास्त्र can communicate its meaning to me only when it is
opened properly and for that गुरु आचार्य helps me. Helped by
the गुरु I have to operate the शास्त्र प्रर्ािर्् and that शास्त्र
प्रर्ािर्् gives me the clear knowledge of myself. And this
process is called शास्त्र त्तविार, वेदान्त त्तविार, ज्ाियोग etc. And
as I said in the last class that this ज्ाियोग consists of three
different exercises known as श्रविर््, र्ििर्् and
त्तित्तदध्यासिर््. The आिायव uses six-fold clues known as उपिर्
उपसांिारौ अभ्यास अपवू व ता फलर्् अर्व वाद उपपत्ति ि to extract the
central teaching of the शास्त्र. If I don't have these proper clues
I will not know which is the central theme, because शास्त्र talks
about several things. And that there are several interpretations
to the उपत्तिषतs् itself indicates that there will be confusion. So
the same उपत्तिषत्s are studied by different people, and
conclude different views like ‘I and God are different’, ‘I am
part of God’, ‘I and God are one and the same’. The very fact
that several interpretations exist indicates that it requires
scrutiny, analysis, otherwise called र्ीर्ाांसा – reverential
analysis. This word is used only for the analysis of the
scriptures. पत्तू जत त्तविारः र्ीर्ाांसा, reverential enquiry. By going
through this र्ीर्ाांसा, otherwise called श्रविर््, otherwise called
वेदान्त त्तविार, we come to know the central meaning as अिर््
17
ब्रह्म् अत्तस्र्, I am the infinite ब्रह्मि्, पिू य ब्रह्म, and not only I am
the infinite ब्रह्मि,् there is no second thing other than me, अिर््
अद्वैतर्् ब्रह्म् अत्तस्र्, अिर्् एव इदँ सवव र््, I am the whole, I am all.
This process is called श्रविर््. Upto this we saw in the last class.
Now we will go to the second part of वेदान्त त्तविार, viz.,
र्ििर्् which is an exercise which is meant to remove all the
doubts with regard to this teaching. The doubts can be called
intellectual obstacles which stand between knowledge and
conviction. So knowledge has to be converted into conviction,
it should become सांशय रत्तित ज्ािर््. Because a doubtful
knowledge is as good as or as bad as ignorance. Suppose there
is an electric cable of which you are doubtful whether it is a live
wire or not. You want to touch it. But before touching that you
want to make sure whether it is live wire or not. And you ask
someone whether it is live wire or not. He says, ‘no it is not live
wire, there is no current passing, you can touch it’. Then when
you are about to touch he says, ‘I am 99% sure, but 1% there is
a possibility that it is not an ordinary live wire but powerful live
wire’. You will not touch because even if 1% doubt is there, it
is as good as ignorance. And in the case of Vedantic teaching
doubts are not ordinary there are many doubts because the main
features of Vedantic teaching are extraordinary. All the
fundamentals of Vedantic teaching are unswallowable. First
वेदान्त says ‘I am infinite’. Now our intellect is not going to
easily swallow that idea. Because I am very very sure that, ‘I
am a finite mortal human being, who was born a few decades
before and who is unfortunately growing old and who will have
to kick the bucket after a few years’. This is my entrenched
18
notion. Not only that my entire life style is based on that. I am
preparing for my old age, I am preparing for my children also.
The whole thing is based on ‘I am ageing and I will die’. And
वेदान्त comes and tells ि जायते म्रीयते वा, we will be more
sympathetic to वेदान्त rather than cooperating. Therefore I am
infinite is not acceptable. Then the next thing that the वेदान्त
says is with regard to the world. It says the world that you are
solidly experiencing is not there at all. It is a mistaken notion of
the formless ब्रह्मि्. The formed world is nothing but a mistaken
notion of the formless ब्रह्मि्. formless ब्रह्मि् alone is there. The
formed world separate from formless ब्रह्मि् does not exist.
Therefore what I am tangibly experiencing वेदान्त negates. And
what is never experienced by me – the formless ब्रह्मि्, that
वेदान्त asserts. So with regard to जीव I find it very difficult,
with regard to जगत् I find it very difficult to accept, with regard
to ब्रह्मि् I find it very difficult to accept. Thus all the
fundamentals of वेदान्त are extremely difficult to swallow.
Therefore the intellect is full of doubts. The primary reason for
doubt is that all my sense organs and the intellect reveal
something which is opposed to the Vedantic teaching. The eyes
reveal plurality, the ears reveal plurality or duality, my intellect
reveals plurality. So all the sources of knowledge are asserting
the द्वैतर््, वेदान्त is asserting अद्वैतर्् and therefore there is a
big clash between what is revealed by my sense organs and
what is revealed by वेदन्त. When there is a clash between direct
experience and the scriptures, we will always respect direct
experience more than scriptures. So our orientation is to give
value to direct experience. And scriptures are after all words
19
written by someone, we do not even know who wrote them and
we do not know their mental condition when they wrote. Some
unknown literature written by some unknown author how can I
trust when this directly available, intimately valid, direct
experience is contradicting. Therefore we have got a very deep
doubt, whether to believe the scriptures or to believe our direct
experience. This intellectual conflict is called प्रर्ेय असांभाविा.
The teaching or the object revealed is called प्रर्ेयर््. We have
got two objects, one revealed by the scriptures and the other
revealed by our direct experience. Direct experience reveals
द्वैतर््, scriptures reveal अद्वैतर््. Should we accept द्वैतर्् or
अद्वैतर््? You cannot say both because acceptance of one
presupposes the rejection of the other because द्वैतर्् and अद्वैतर््
are diagonally opposite. This is a pure intellectual problem.
And an intellectual problem can be resolved only by thinking
and deep thinking and further analysis. And this process of
removing my doubts and answering all my questions is called
र्ििर््. This र्ििर्् can alone give me conviction. So the
Vedantic teaching can be validated, can be confirmed only by
clear analysis and thinking. This we have to very carefully
understand because many people think that the scriptural
teachings has to be proved by some extraordinary explosive
experience, some mystic experience alone can validate अद्वैतर््.
It is not possible; no experience can remove intellectual
problem. Because intellectual problems or doubts are born out
of either non-thinking or improper, wrong thinking. So a
problem born out of erroneous thinking can be solved only by
right thinking. Because of our intellectual laziness, if we think
20
that if we sit in meditation and some kind of त्तित्तववकल्पक
सर्ात्तध अवस्र्ा will remove intellectual doubts, that is the
biggest misconception and that is why the योग philosophers
beginning from the founder पतञ्जत्तल, they all concentrated on
त्तित्तववकल्पक सर्ात्तध and they did practice त्तित्तववकल्पक सर्ात्तध
and they did talk about extraordinary experience, but their
intellectual confusion never went away because of those
experiences. And that is why पतञ्जत्तल’s conclusion was द्वैतर््.
So if सर्ात्तध can remove doubts in the योगशास्त्र they would
have been free from doubts. The very fact that the सर्ात्तध did
not remove doubts indicates that removal of doubts requires not
सर्ात्तध or meditation but thinking and more thinking, until I am
convinced of the fact – अिर्् सत्यर्् जगत् त्तर्थ्या. This process
is called र्ििर््, removal of intellectual obstacles and which
will convert knowledge into conviction.
Then comes the next exercise called त्तित्तदध्यासिर््.
त्तित्तदध्यासिर्् consists of different types of exercise. The
central aim of त्तित्तदध्यासिर्् is dwelling on the teaching for
assimilation and internalization, so that my self will be soaked
in the syrup of अद्वैतज्ािर््, like rasagulla. And this dwelling
can be done in different ways.
1) By repeated श्रविर्् you can remain in the शास्त्रर््, even
though you have heard the शास्त्रर्् once, you keep on listening
again and again, by way of that your mind remains in the
teaching. For the first few times you may get some new ideas
but later you don't get anything new, but it is an opportunity to
21
remind myself of the teaching. So thus repeated listening is a
form of त्तित्तदध्यासिर््.
2) Repeated reading is a form of त्तित्तदध्यासिर््, because in
reading also your mind dwells in the शास्त्रर््.
3) Writing is a form of त्तित्तदध्यासिर््.
4) Discussion is a form of त्तित्तदध्यासिर््, two students of
equal knowledge share, अन्योन्यर्् तत्प्रबोधिर््.
5) Teaching someone who does not have this knowledge
is also a form of त्तित्तदध्यासिर््. Discussion is between equals,
teaching is between unequal. The teacher must know more than
the student. Isn’t it?
6) Then the next form of त्तित्तदध्यासिर्् is very important.
Trying to imitate the behavior of a जीवन्र्ुक्त, the one who has
assimilated, the one who has transformed his life. I go on
imitating until it becomes natural. स्वाशम दर्ानन्दशि calls it
fake it and make it. This method we always use. When we ask
our children to do नमस्कार in the temple they do so only as a
mechanical act. Children do not understand what is reverence.
Children do not understand what is devotion. So नमस्कार is
not a नमस्कार, it is only a mechanical exercise. And parents
initially train the children to do the mechanical part of नमस्कार
and hopefully sooner or later children will do the नमस्कार not
only mechanically, they will discover the inner reverence also.
Until the reverence is discovered नमस्कार is not a नमस्कार,
it is only faking. So the fake नमस्कार will later become the
real नमस्कार. This method can be applied in त्तित्तदध्यासिर््
22
also. By reading the जीवन्र्ुक्त portion occurring in the गीता –
second chapter fifty-four to seventy-two, twelfth chapter
thirteen to twenty, fourteenth chapter twenty-one to twenty-
seven, how will an assimilated person behave and try to
imitating that. Right from क्षमा onwards, most difficult thing.
So this imitation is a form of त्तित्तदध्यासिर््. It is called also an
alert life.
7) Another form of त्तित्तदध्यासिर्् is सर्ात्तध अभ्यासः. This
form of त्तित्तदध्यासिर्् is different from the previous one. The
previous form of त्तित्तदध्यासिर्् can be practiced at any place at
any time in any way you like. It can be practiced throughout
also. But this third form of त्तित्तदध्यासिर्् called सर्ात्तध अभ्यास
is sitting meditation, where the posture and the शरीर त्तस्र्त्तत
etc., are prescribed, as we saw in the कैवल्य उपत्तिषत्.
त्तवत्तवक्तदेशे ि सुखासिस्र्ः शुत्तिः सर्ग्रीवत्तशरःशरीरः ।
अन्त्याश्रर्स्र्ः सकलेत्तन्रयात्ति त्तिरुध्य भक्तत्या स्वगुरुां प्रिम्य ॥
कैवल्योपत्तिषत् १-५ ॥
Going to a secluded place and putting a proper आसिर्् and
sitting properly and also maintaining the sense organs in a
withdrawn condition, the actual meditation is called सर्ात्तध
अभ्यास which means the exercise of focusing on any aspect of
the teaching that is relevant to you, which depends upon your
behavioral problem, because different people have got different
behavioral problem. क्र्ा, superiority or inferiority complex,
depression etc., are the problems faced. Depending upon the
type of problem we take a relevant part of the teaching and I
focus on the teaching. If I feel I am lacking certain things in life,
23
I meditate upon पि ू व त्वर््, I don't lack anything, I don't miss
anything in life. If fear of death is the problem I focus on
त्तित्यत्वर््. If relationships are causing problem then
असङ्गत्वर््. So thus choose the appropriate aspect of the
teaching and focus so that that gets internalized, which is
another type of meditation. We don’t insists upon all forms of
meditation for all people. Depending upon the condition of a
person he can choose any form of meditation. It is not
compulsory that everybody should sit in meditation with closed
eyes and fixed posture. What we insist upon is somehow or
other he should be able to dwell upon the teaching.
The purpose of त्तित्तदध्यासिर््, whatever be its form is
not meant for र्ोक्. Because through the teaching we have
understood that the र्ोक् is not a future event to happen. र्ोक् is
an eternal fact with regard to my nature. Therefore as even I
practice any form of त्तित्तदध्यासिर्् my tendency to expect र्ोक्
as a future event should be nullified. I should remind myself I
am free not because of situation, I am free in spite of situation.
So it is not meant for र्ोक्. This त्तित्तदध्यासिर्् is not even
meant for ज्ािर््. Remember knowledge has to be gained only
through श्रविर््. त्तित्तदध्यासिर्् is not even meant to prove the
ज्ािर्् or validate or confirm the ज्ािर््. Proving is to be done
by र्ििर्् alone which is systematic analysis. Conviction
should have come by र्ििर्् itself. And again त्तित्तदध्यासिर्् is
not even meant for any type of extraordinary experience. A
Vedantic त्तित्तदध्यासक is never interested in any extraordinary
experience, because all experiences belong to अिात्र्. The very
fact that they come and go indicates that they belong to अिात्र्.
24
Ordinary experience and extraordinary experiences belong to
ordinary and extraordinary अिात्र् respectively. All
extraordinary experiences, mystic experiences do exist, we do
not deny them. शङ्करािायव very clearly accepts but he says
that mystic experiences have no connection to Self-knowledge,
which means a person can be a ज्ात्ति and a liberated person,
without getting any mystic or extraordinary experiences
without being a योत्तग or without having extraordinary powers.
Many people think a ज्ात्ति will necessarily have त्तसत्तद्s. No.
We need not have even a single त्तसत्तद् and we need not have
even a single extraordinary mystic experience, without any one
of them we can happily be, comfortably be liberated. We don’t
say they should not be there, a person may have. That is why I
have told before four types of people.
1) A person who is a ज्ात्ति and त्तसद्, a wise person and also
a person of miraculous powers.
2) A person who is a ज्ात्ति but not a त्तसद्, without any
extraordinary powers.
3) A person who is a त्तसद् but not a ज्ात्ति having
extraordinary powers without ज्ािर््.
4) A person who is neither a ज्ात्ति nor a त्तसद्.
Of these four who are all liberated? The first one is liberated.
The second one is also liberated even though he doesn’t have
any त्तसत्तद्. And you cannot say no त्तसत्तद् therefore half
liberation. There is no half liberation. So from this it is very
clear whether त्तसत्तद् is plus or minus ज्ात्ति is free. And the third
25
person the one with त्तसत्तद् but without ज्ािर्् is not liberated.
He need not be even अशधकारर. Many of our Puranic राक्षसs
had त्तसत्तद्s. So the third person is not liberated and the fourth
person is also not liberated.
Therefore a त्तित्तदध्यासक’s attempt is only for the
assimilation, not for the र्ोक्, not for ज्ािर्् and not even for
त्तसत्तद्s. The purpose is dwelling on the शास्त्र and assimilation.
The sign of assimilation is the Samsaric reactions to life’s
situations will change. My response to life’s situations should
be healthy and all the reactions and unhealthy responses should
gradually come down.
दुःखेष्विुत्तद्वनिर्िाः सुखेषु त्तवगतस्पिृ ः ।
वीतरागभयिोधः त्तस्र्तधीर्व ुत्तिरुच्यते ॥ गीता २-५६ ॥
As a person practices त्तित्तदध्यासिर््, this transformation is not
going to be overnight but it is a gradual reduction of unhealthy
responses, unhealthy reactions gradually come down, which
can be measured in terms of three things, viz.,
1) The frequency of unhealthy reaction, how often I react,
how often I am upset, how often my mind is in imbalance, and
how often it is balanced. Now the condition is once in a while
it is balanced, it should gradually become ones a while my mind
loses balance. So this is the reduction of the frequency of the
reaction. The turbulence comes down, there is a िाशन्त. This is
called ब्रह्मज्ाि फल अिुभवः. There is no ब्रह्म अिुभवः. We
don’t accept. There is no experience of ब्रह्मि् but there is an
experience of the result of ब्रह्मज्ािम् – सर्त्वर््.
26
र्ािापर्ाियोस्तुल्यस्तुल्यो त्तर्त्राररपक्योः ॥ गीता १४-२५ ॥
सर्दुःखसुखः स्वस्र्ः सर्लोष्टाश्र्काञ्ििः ॥ गीता १४-२४ ॥
This we can very clearly experience. It is ज्ािफलािुभव. So
frequency of reactions comes down.
2) The intensity of reactions comes down. The intensity is
measured at three levels. The most intense reaction expresses at
three levels – mind, speech and body. In violent and turbulent
reactions, even physically I am disturbed
सीदत्तन्त र्र् गात्रात्ति र्ुखां ि पररशुष्यत्तत ।
वेपर्ुश्च शरीरे र्े रोर्िषव श्च जायते ॥ गीता १-२९ ॥
So at the three levels the reaction is the most intense. Then the
next lower level is in two level reaction where physical reaction
is not there, only mental and verbal – all the time grumbling,
fuming. You can see people talking alone when nobody is there.
It is all pressure inside. And the least intense reaction is not at
verbal level or physical level but mentally it is there. I know
that I am angry but I have got sufficient balance to postpone my
reaction. Because I want to think how to react. I have got
sufficient balance to understand and think whether I should
express, when I should express, how I should express. So thus
there is a reduction of intensity.
3) The reduction of the recovery period. Once I have lost
my balance how much time I will take to comeback to balance
again.
उिर्े ि क्िां कोपो र्ध्यर्े घत्तिकाद्वयर्् । अधर्े स्यादिोरात्रां
पात्तपष्ठे र्रिान्तकः ॥
27
In उिर्पुरुष the anger is for one second. For the र्ध्यर्पुरुष it
is one and half hours. अधर्े it is twenty-four hours. पात्तपष्ठे it is
until death. So thus the recovery period comes down. And in
fact if the recovery period comes down I am becoming
healthier. We never say that you should be absolutely free from
reactions. वेदान्त never expects us so much. It is like a healthy
body. Healthy body does not mean you should fall sick. If you
fall sick, if your own body has the inner resources, the
immunity to fight it and get back the health, then you are a
healthy person. Similarly we never say you should have zero
reactions, that expectations are not there, but this is sufficiently
reduced that I am a resilient person. They give the example of
rubber ball and clay ball. When a rubber ball falls down it just
again bounces back.
यर्ा कन्दुकपातेिोत्पतत्यायव ः पतन्ित्तप । तर्ा त्विायव ः पतत्तत
र्त्तृ त्पण्डपतिां यर्ा ॥ भतव िृ ररकृत िीत्ततशतकर्् ॥
When a wet clay falls down it just sits there. So you said
something and he dropped everything. So wild, so angry. The
other person like a rubber ball he recovers. That psychological
resilience is जीवन्र्ुत्तक्त. And that comes by त्तित्तदध्यासिर्् of
any one of these types.
Thus through श्रविर््, र्ििर्् and त्तित्तदध्यासिर्् we will
get not only ज्ािर्् but we will get ज्ािफलर्् also. This
ज्ािफलर्् is called जीवन्र्ुत्तक्त. This teaching is contained in
the वेदान्त and is known by several names. One name is वेदान्त
as it is at the end portion of the वेदs. Another name is
ज्ािकाण्डर््. So the section of knowledge wherein कर्व is not
28
involved, in वेदपवू व it is कर्व काण्ड because there कर्व is प्रधानम्,
whereas in वेदान्त ज्ािर्् is प्रधानम्. Not that कर्व s are not
mentioned but that is not प्रधानम्. ज्ाि dominating section is
called ज्ािकाण्डर््. Another name for this is ब्रह्मत्तवद्ा or
आत्र्त्तवद्ा which means the knowledge of myself as the ever
free one. I don’t require any effort to be free, dropping the effort
for freedom is freedom. Just as they say if you put forth lot of
effort for sleeping the very effort becomes the obstacle. So thus
आत्र्त्तवद्ा and otherwise it is called ब्रह्मत्तवद्ा because it is the
knowledge dealing with the fulness of myself. ब्रह्मि् means
full, पि ू य म्, अनन्तम्, अपररशछिन्नम्. And then finally this
teaching has got another name – उपत्तिषत्. The word उपत्तिषत्
has got several meanings. There is one special meaning given
by शङ्करािायव in his commentary. शङ्करािायव has written a
very beautiful commentary to तैत्तिरीयम्. Among the ten
उपत्तिषत्s for two उपत्तिषत्s शङ्करािायव ’s commentary is very
brilliant. One is तैत्तिरीयम् and another is बिृ दारण्यकम्. That is
why शङ्करािायव ’s disciple सरु े श्वरािायव analyzes only two
भाष्यर््s of the ten. Those two are तैत्तिरीय भाष्य वाशतय कर्् and
बिृ दारण्यक भाष्य वाशतय कर््. वाशतय कर्् means analyzes is श्लोक
form. On तैत्तिरीयम् he has written more than thousand श्लोकs
and on बिृ दारण्यकम् he has written more than twelve thousand
श्लोकs. So there in his introduction शङ्करािायव says उपत्तिषत्
means a teaching in which freedom is hidden or kept.
उपत्तिषण्िां वा अस्याां परां श्रेय इत्तत उपत्तिषत् । So that in which
freedom is hidden or kept. That means when you analyze the
उपत्तिषत्s, you are discovering the freedom in yourself. Don't
look upon it as an academic exercise. Don't think it as a mere
29
intellectual gymnastics. It has got a direct personal benefit. That
is I discover freedom at my emotional level. आत्र्न्येव आत्र्िा
तुष्टः, total self-satisfaction, total fulfillment we can discover
here and now, we can see the benefit. Therefore since र्ोक् is
hidden in this teaching it is called उप त्ति सत्. And this वेदन्त,
this Upanishadic teaching is there at the end of all the four वेदs.
And it is generally given in the form of dialog between a गुरु
and a त्तशष्य. And one dialog or a set of dialogues together is
called one उपत्तिषत्. So in केि, कठ and र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत्s the
dialog is between one गुरु and one त्तशष्य, while in प्रश्नोपत्तिषत्
the dialogue is between one गुरु and six त्तशष्यs. In the
बिृ दारण्यकोपत्तिषत् and छान्दोनयोपत्तिषत्s there are several
गुरुs and several त्तशष्यs in different sets of dialogues. And these
four वेदs have got several branches totally one thousand one
hundred and eighty branches are supposed to be there. Each
branch has an उपत्तिषत् and therefore there are one thousand
one hundred and eighty उपत्तिषत्s. Of them many are lost and
about two hundred and odd उपत्तिषत्s are available, of which
one hundred and eight are popular, of which only ten are
generally studied because शङ्करािायव has written commentary
on them. शङ्करािायव chooses ten उपत्तिषत्s because they are
useful for the study of ब्रह्मसत्र
ू . This तैत्तिरीय उपत्तिषत् belongs
to कृष्ि यजुवेद. More in the next class.
पि
30
ॐ सदात्तशव सर्ारम्भार्् शङ्करािायव र्ध्यर्ार्् अस्र्दािायव
पयव न्तार्् वन्दे गुरु परम्परार्् ॐ ॥
In the last class I pointed out that among many उपत्तिषत्s
ten उपत्तिषतs् are considered important because of
शङ्करािायव ’s commentary. And these ten उपत्तिषत्s are taken
from all the four वेदs and the तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् which we are
seeing now also comes from one of the वेदs and that is यजुवेद.
And यजुवेद alone uniquely has two branches – कृष्ि यजुवेद
and शुक्तल यजुवेद. कठोपत्तिषत् and तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् belong to
कृष्ि यजुवेद whereas ईशावास्योपत्तिषत् and
बिृ दारण्यकोपत्तिषत् belong to शुक्तल यजुवेद. Thus यजुवेद has
a very important position as far as the उपत्तिषत्s are concerned.
And this तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् occurs at the end of तैत्तिरीय
आरण्यकम् which has ten chapters, of which the last four
chapters are more philosophical, whereas the first six chapters
deal with कर्व as well as उपासि. So the famous सय ू व िर्स्कार
र्न्त्रs which are even now chanted and are known as अरुि
प्रश्नः occurs as the first chapter of the तैत्तिरीय आरण्यकम्. The
last four chapters are together called तैत्तिरीय उपत्तिषत्.
शङ्करािायव has written commentary on only three chapters
seven, eight and nine. The tenth chapter on which शङ्करािायव
has not written commentary is well known as र्िािारायि
उपत्तिषत्. Among these ten major उपत्तिषत्s also तैत्तिरीय and
ईशावास्य have got a unique nature and that is even now they
are used for पारायिर््, because the intonation or the स्वरs are
available for them.
31
तैत्तिरीय उपत्तिषत् has got its name because of two
reasons.
1) A mythological reason. A story is given in the पुराि. Of
course the story appears a little bit funny but we have to take it
in a symbolic manner. वैशम्पायि ऋत्तष who is the यजुवेद
आचार्य had a great disciple called याज्वल्क्तय. याज्वल्क्तय, a
very great ऋत्तष whose name is very famous in
बिृ दारण्यकोपत्तिषत्. This याज्वल्क्तय ऋत्तष along with some
other ऋत्तषs was a student of वैशम्पायि. याज्वल्क्तय was very
brilliant compared to other students. At one occasion he
behaved with one of the other students in an insulting manner,
a little bit arrogantly he behaved. Coming to know about this
that याज्वल्क्तय has got अिर्् भावः, वैशम्पायि as an act of
punishment he said to him to give out, to return back all the वेदs
taught by him. In a state of dilemma, not able to violate the
command of गुरु, he vomited the food. Along with the vomited
food the Vedic teachings also were mixed. Therefore he lost all
the wisdom. Since he had learnt the शास्त्र very well and had
assimilated them very well, the wisdom that had come out along
with the food was well assimilated wisdom. Therefore the other
disciples thought, it is an ideal opportunity to get the teaching,
which is in an assimilable form. Like the mother bird which eats
food and makes it digestible to feed its children. In the same
way here the teaching was in a digestible form and therefore all
the ऋत्तषs thought that we can take that. Using their power they
all got converted themselves into birds called त्ततत्तिरर, partridge.
The uniqueness of that bird is that though relatively small, it is
a voracious eater. To eat all the vomited food and along with
32
the food they got Vedic wisdom also. Since the food was mixed
with blood which was dark red in color and therefore that वेद
became कृष्ि यजुवेद. Later याज्वल्क्तय went elsewhere and
again learnt वेद from सय ू व भगवाि् and came up with शुक्तल
यजुवेद. One याज्वल्क्तय is responsible for both शुक्तल यजुवेद
and कृष्ि यजुवेद in two different ways. These ऋत्तषs who were
in त्ततत्तिरर bird form got the teaching and gave out the teachings
to others and therefore it got the name तैत्तिरीयर््. So this is the
mythological story. But what is the symbolic meaning of it?
याज्वल्क्तय vomiting teaching indicates याज्वल्क्तय teaching the
students a second time. You would have seen in many schools.
There will be a brilliant student and there will be some dull also.
And you will find the brilliant students understand in one go
while the dull students don’t understand. And if the teacher is
very busy he will call the brilliant students and ask them to
teach their co-students. In the same way याज्वल्क्तय heard from
वैशम्पायि and assimilated this wisdom and he gave out the
digested wisdom to his brother disciples. And this is
symbolically presented as vomiting. And the त्ततत्तिरर bird
indicates the students who are very eager to study. In fact we
use the word bookworm. Similarly like त्ततत्तिरर bird these
disciples were very eager to learn and they learnt from
याज्वल्क्तय. And therefore like त्ततत्तिरर they received therefore
it is called तैत्तिरीय उपत्तिषत्.
2) And there is another reason, in fact more simple and
direct reason behind the name तैत्तिरीय. There was a ऋत्तष by
name तैत्तिरी. From him came तैत्तिरीय उपत्तिषत.् This is the
significance behind the name.
33
This तैत्तिरीय उपत्तिषत् has got three sections which
have been commented by शङ्करािायव . The fourth section
known as र्िािारायिोपत्तिषत् otherwise called िारायिवल्ली
has not been commented by शङ्करािायव . But the fourth section
is popularly chanted. Even now र्िािारायिोपत्तिषत् पारार्िम्
is common. In fact when a सन्न्याशस is welcomed they chant
four मन्रs ि कर्व िा ि प्रजया धिेि,
वेदान्तत्तवज्ािसुत्तित्तश्चतार्ाव ः, दह्रां त्तवपापां परर्े श्र्भत
ू र्् and यो
वेदादौ स्वरः प्रोक्तः. These four मन्रs together occur in
र्िािारायिोपत्तिषत्. But शङ्करािायव has not commented we
study only three sections or three chapters. And each section is
named after the first word of the section. The first section starts
with शीक्ाां व्याख्यास्यार्ः । विव ः स्वरः । र्ात्रा बलर्् । सार्
सन्तािः । इत्युक्तः शीक्ाध्यायः ॥ १ ॥ The first word is शीक्ा and
therefore this chapter is called शीक्ावल्ली. वल्ली means chapter
or section. The second chapter begins with the word ब्रह्म.
ब्रह्मत्तवदाप्िोत्तत परर्् । तदेषाभ्युक्ता । सत्यां ज्ािर्िन्तां ब्रह्म । etc.
Since the first word is ब्रह्म it is called ब्रह्मवल्ली. And the third
chapter begins with the word भग ृ ुवै वारुत्तिः । वरुिां
ृ ुः. भग
त्तपतरर्ुपससार । अधीत्ति भगवो ब्रह्मेत्तत । And since the first word
is भग ृ ु it is called भग
ृ ुवल्ली. Thus तैत्तिरीय has got three chapters
– शीक्ावल्ली, ब्रह्मवल्ली and भग ृ ुवल्ली. The fourth one is called
िारायिवल्ली. Of these three chapters the first and third
chapters are not Vedantic chapters at all. The वेदान्त occurs
only in the second chapter. Therefore it is the most important
chapter and शङ्करािायव has written a beautiful commentary on
it which is very famous. The topic of first and third chapters is
ज्ाियोनयता साधिात्ति, the preparatory disciplines to be
34
followed for gaining the ज्ािर््, the disciplines in the form of
कर्व and उपासि. So कर्व योग and उपासियोग are discussed in
first and third chapters, ज्ाियोग is solidly discussed in the
second chapter.
This उपत्तिषत् also like the other उपत्तिषत्s has got
शात्तन्तपाठ. But the uniqueness is this उपत्तिषत् alone has got
two शात्तन्तपाठs. The first chapter has got शन्िो त्तर्त्र शात्तन्तपाठ
and in the second and third chapters it is सििाववतु शात्तन्तपाठ,
which we have already seen in कठोपत्तिषत.् With this
background we will enter into the text proper. First we will take
up the first chapter शीक्ावल्ली and we will start with the
शात्तन्तपाठ.
35
तैत्तिरीय उपत्तिषत् शीक्ावल्ली
शात्तन्तपाठः
ॐ शां िो त्तर्त्रः शां वरुिः । शां िो भवत्वयव र्ा । शां ि इन्रो बिृ स्पत्ततः
। शां िो त्तवष्िुरुरुिर्ः । िर्ो ब्रह्मिे । िर्स्ते वायो । त्वर्ेव प्रत्यक्ां
ब्रह्मात्तस । त्वार्ेव प्रत्यक्ां ब्रह्म वत्तदष्यात्तर् । ऋतां वत्तदष्यात्तर् । सत्यां
वत्तदष्यात्तर् । तन्र्ार्वतु । तद्वक्तारर्वतु । अवतु र्ार्् । अवतु
वक्तारर्् ॥ ॐ शात्तन्तः शात्तन्तः शात्तन्तः ॥ १ ॥
Through the शात्तन्तपाठ the student is asking for two
things.
1) ज्ाियोनयता प्रात्तिः or करियोनयता प्रात्तिः. All my organs
must be in a fit condition to absorb the teaching. We have seen
that we have got seventeen organs – पञ्च ज्ािेत्तन्रर्ाशि, पञ्च
कर्ेत्तन्रर्ाशि, पञ्च प्रािाः, मनिः बुशधिः. All these seventeen
organs must be cooperative. Some of them should be
cooperative by doing something and some of them should be
cooperative by not doing. In fact, some people if they don't
interfere it is a great blessing. Similarly, here also during
श्रविर्् I want my ज्ािेत्तन्रयर्् to be active, and not the
कर्ेत्तन्रयर्् and not the प्राि. If प्राि becomes active we will
become hungry. Therefore whichever organ should be active
should be active and whatever should be passive should be
passive. In short all the organs should be fit. So करियोनयता
प्रात्तिः. And every organ has got respective अत्तधष्ठाि देवता.
श्रोत्रस्य त्तदनदेवता । त्विो वायुः । िक्ुषः सय ू व ः । रसिाया वरुिः ।
घ्रािस्य अत्तश्विौ । इत्तत ज्ािेत्तन्रयदेवताः ।
Therefore I invoke the grace of अत्तधष्ठाि देवताs, or करि
देवताs so that they will keep my organs fit. Therefore करि
36
योनयता त्तसद्ध्यर्व र्् करि देवता प्रार्व िा. Therefore various
देवताs are mentioned here.
2) In addition to योनयता प्रात्तिः the second prayer is
there should not be any obstacles in the application of my
organs. So let there not be any प्रत्ततबन्ध – आध्यात्तत्र्क,
आत्तधभौत्ततक and आत्तधदैत्तवक obstacles be not there. So प्रत्ततबन्ध
त्तिवत्तृ ि is the second thing. So योनयता प्रात्तिः प्रत्ततबन्ध
त्तिवत्तृ च्िश्च प्रार्थर्य ते. The देवताs invoked here are त्तर्त्रः, वरुिः,
अयव र्ा, इन्रः, बिृ स्पत्ततः, त्तवष्िुः and वायुः. Each देवता is
presiding over some faculty in me. त्तर्त्र देवता presides over the
exhalation principle, breathing out – प्रािवत्तृ िः. वरुि देवता
presides over अपािवत्तृ ि – inhalation, breathing in. प्राि is प्राक्
गमनवान् वार्ुिः, that which goes out of your nostrils. अपान
means अधोगमनवान् वार्ुिः, that which enters your nostrils and
goes down towards your lungs. अपान has got another meaning
of evacuation also. Here in this context अपान means inhalation.
Thus त्तर्त्र and वरुि stands for the respiratory system, breathing
system. So therefore O Lord, when I am doing श्रविर्् let
breathing continue without obstacles. If you are not able to
breathe properly due to asthma or anything where is the
question of doing anything intact. Then the next one is
शां िो भवतु अयव र्ा – अयव र्ा is सय ू व देवता who presides over
िक्ुररत्तन्रयर््. Therefore may my eyes be in good condition.
Then the next one is इन्रः who presides over hand.
ृ े।
इन्रो र्े बले त्तश्रतः । बलगँ हृदये । हृदयर्् र्त्तय । अिर्् अर्त
अर्तृ र्् ब्रह्मत्ति ॥
37
इन्र stands for the hand and the strength. Then बिृ स्पत्ततः stands
for wisdom, intelligence, communication skills. बिृ स्पत्ततः
means वािस्पत्ततः. बिृ तीः means वाक्. So communication is
very important for the teacher also and also equally important
for student because it is in the form of a dialogue. Therefore
student must be able to present his doubt properly. So there are
some people who do not present their doubts properly, capable
of confusing the teacher also. And the teacher gives an
elaborate answer and he says this is not my doubt. Therefore I
should be able to be precise. And more important thing is many
people ask the doubt for forty-five minutes and the teacher has
no time for answer. So the most important thing in
communication from the standpoint of the student is precision
and brevity. I should be able to present the doubt in two
minutes, which requires lot of clarity. Therefore may बिृ स्पत्तत
bless me with the capacity of asking appropriate questions to a
teacher in an appropriate manner! त्तवष्िुः is the Lord who
presides over the feet, पादयोत्तववष्िुः । Capacity to move,
capacity to serve, to do गुरु शुश्रषू ा and even if I don't do any
शुश्रषू ा, to sit in a place for one hour leg must cooperate. That
त्तवष्िु is उरुिर्ः – त्तत्रत्तविर्ः, the Lord with a long stride. And
you know वामनावतार and त्तत्रत्तविमावतार how the Lord was
very small and then he grew big and measured the entire
universe in two steps. You know the मिाबशल story which is
there in the पुरािs but the त्तत्रत्तविर् concept is there in the वेद
itself. The in the word उरुिर्ः िर्ः means stride, step and उरु
means big. Therefore उरुिर्ः means the one with a long stride.
And the last deity is वायु देवता or otherwise called त्तिरण्यगभव
38
देवता. So िर्ो ब्रह्मिे । Here ब्रह्म means त्तिरण्यगभव – सर्त्तष्ट
सक्ष्ू र् शरीरम्, the total subtle body. And this total subtle body
being subtle is not visible. Therefore he is परोक् देवता. But
even though त्तिरण्यगभव is परोक्, invisible but the very same
lord is visible in the form of सर्त्तष्ट प्रािः – who is none other
than वायु that we are breathing. Therefore the वायु that we are
breathing represents सर्त्तष्ट प्राि तत्वर््. And प्राि belongs to
सक्ष्ू र् शरीरर््. So, सर्त्तष्ट प्राि represents सर्त्तष्ट सक्ष्ू र् शरीरर््
and सर्त्तष्ट सक्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् represents त्तिरण्यगभव . Therefore in the
form of वायु, त्तिरण्यगभव becomes प्रत्यक् देवता. In the form of
total mind त्तिरण्यगभव is परोक् देवता. And so त्तिरण्यगभव is both
प्रत्यक् and परोक्. Here the student says I invoke the grace of
all these seven देवताs. For the purpose of शां भवतु – let them be
a source of auspiciousness for me, let them be a source of
strength for me. शर्् means र्ङ्गल कताव , र्ङ्गल प्रदिः. You
have to add भवतु each time. The word िो means िः – for us.
The student not only prays for all his co-students but also for
the teacher also. Because teachers organs also should function
properly for he has got very high responsibility. And िर्ः
means I offer my prostrations to all of them, especially to
त्तिरण्यगभव तत्व who is the सर्त्तष्ट देवता. To that त्तिरण्यगभव I do
my िर्स्कार too. Therefore िर्ो ब्रह्मिे. And िर्ः ते वायो – I
don't see the total intellect, total knowledge etc., but that
त्तिरण्यगभव is available in the form of वायु which I am breathing.
That is how in our tradition we worship all the पञ्िभत ू s which
is a very unique aspect. So पत्तृ र्वी is seen as भदू ेवर who is the
wife of त्तवष्िु again. भदू ेवर, श्रदेवर, नरलादेवर. And िलम् we
worship daily during सन्ध्यावन्दिर् – आपो वा इदँ सवव र्् त्तवश्वा
39
भतू ान्यापः. वायु worship is there. पत्तृ र्वी worship is there. अशनन
worship is there. When you light up the lamp in the morning
you are worshipping the Lord in the form of अशनन तत्वम्. And
the आकाि तत्वम् is also worshipped in the form of शदक्
वन्दनम् again during सन्ध्यावन्दिर््. During सन्ध्यावन्दिर््
they say
ॐ प्राच्यै त्तदशे िर्ः ॐ दत्तक्िायै त्तदशे िर्ः ॐ प्रतीच्यै त्तदशे िर्ः
ॐ उदीच्यै त्तदशे िर्ः ॐ ऊध्वाव य िर्ः ॐ अधराय िर्ः ॐ
अन्तररक्ाय िर्ः ॐ भम्ू यै िर्ः त्तवष्िवे िर्ः र्त्ृ यवे िर्ः ।
That means आकाि I do नमस्कार. Thus all the पञ्िभत ू s are
none other than God for us. Here the Lord is worshipped as the
life breath. And then O Lord, त्तिरण्यगभव , त्वम् एव प्रत्यक्र्् ब्रह्म
अत्तस – you are the perceptible God, who is available
everywhere. I need not go to a special temple to appreciate that
Lord. Every time I am breathing, I am in contact with the Lord.
And how much God is required for my living if you want to
know close your mouth and nostrils for some time. So thus I am
living because of the grace of the Lord as वायु. Not only I know
this, I want to declare this to the entire humanity. I want to
spread this good news – that God as वायु is everywhere. So त्वम्
एव प्रत्यक्र्् ब्रह्म इत्तत सवव त्र वत्तदष्यात्तर् – I shall declare to all so
that everybody can worship You in the form of त्तवश्वरूपः. Not
only that ऋतां वत्तदष्यात्तर् सत्यां वत्तदष्यात्तर् – You are both ऋतर््
as well as सत्यर््. ऋतर्् and सत्यर्् in common parlance are
synonymous only. But when both the words occur together, we
make a subtle distinction between ऋतर्् and सत्यर््. ऋतर््
means यर्ा ज्ािर्् आिारः – living a life according to my
40
learning, my study, not being a hypocrite. That means between
my knowledge and my lifestyle there is no incongruity, no
dichotomy, no rift and no split personality. What I know I live,
what I live I know. This is called is ऋतर््. Then what is सत्यर््?
Since I should act according to my knowledge, I should make
sure that my knowledge is proper knowledge, my knowledge is
valid knowledge and my knowledge is right understanding.
Otherwise, I live according to my knowledge, but the problem
is all my knowledge is wrong knowledge. And suppose I live
according to my knowledge which is wrong, life will be
dangerous. And therefore I should make sure that my
knowledge is right knowledge. Before putting my knowledge
into action, I should make sure that my knowledge is right
knowledge. What is right knowledge? यर्ा शास्त्रर्् ज्ािर्् is
right knowledge. My knowledge should be in keeping with
श्रुत्तत, युत्तक्त and अिुभव, scriptures, logic and experience
respectively. Only when I have got these three sources of
knowledge my knowledge will be right knowledge. And when
my action is in keeping with my right knowledge it will become
right action. In simple language ऋतम ् is right action and सत्यम ्
is right knowledge. So may I have proper knowledge and may
I have proper action. These ऋतर्् and सत्यर्् are also You
alone. You are the embodiment of right action and You are the
embodiment of right knowledge. You means the त्तिरण्यगभव
तत्वर््, the सर्त्तष्ट प्राि तत्वर््. Upto this is prayer for योनयता
प्रात्तिः. शर्् indicates you should be a source of auspiciousness
which means योनयता प्रात्तिः.
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तन्र्ार्वतु is the prayer for प्रत्ततबन्ध त्तिवत्तृ िः. May that
त्तिरण्यगभव protect me from the obstacles that is दुररतर््,
र्र्ोपाि सर्स्त दुररतक्यद्वारा. दुररतक्य भवतु – let the
obstacles go away. Even if they don't go away, at least let them
be suspended during class hour. Let my प्रारब्ध be suspended
for the duration of my श्रविर््. र्ा अवतु तत्. तत् means
त्तिरण्यगभव तत्वर््. Not only I should be free from obstacles तत्
वक्तारर्् अवतु – may the Lord bless the गुरु also, may the Lord
keep the गुरु also healthy. गुरु is not bothered about good
health or ill health, for he has attained what has to be attained.
Therefore for him body is only an extra thing. He is ready to
leave the body at any time. Therefore गुरु is not particular about
his health and longevity. Therefore student is offering prayer
for गुरु’s health and longevity. Therefore वक्तारर्् means
आिायव ः. May he be healthy, at least until I complete my study.
This प्रत्ततबन्ध त्तिवत्तृ िः being extremely important, he offers that
prayer again अवतु र्ार्् – may the Lord protect me and
अवतु वक्तारर्् – may the Lord protect the teacher also. ॐ
शात्तन्तः शात्तन्तः शात्तन्तः – शात्तन्त is repeated thrice for the
removal of three-fold obstacles आत्तधदैत्तवक, आत्तधभौत्ततक &
आध्यात्तत्र्क. More in the next class.
पि
42
प्रथमा शीक्षावल्ली
We are seeing the first chapter of तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् which
is known as शीक्ावल्ली and we have seen the शात्तन्तपाठ of the
first chapter. And this उपत्तिषत् happens to be in prose form and
therefore it is divided into paragraphs instead of श्लोकs. And
every paragraph small or big is known as one अिुवाकः. And
शीक्ावल्ली consists of twelve अिुवाकs and the शात्तन्तपाठ
itself happens to be the first अिुवाक. And we have got another
शात्तन्तपाठ in the end also which is the twelfth अिुवाक. Thus
the first and the twelfth अिुवाकs happen to be the शात्तन्तपाठ
and the text occurs between the second and the eleventh
अिुवाकs. Having completed the शात्तन्तपाठ, the first अिुवाक
we have to now enter into the second अिुवाक, the text proper.
And as I had said in the introduction itself the entire first chapter
शीक्ावल्ली happens to be साधि प्रधान chapter. This chapter
doesn’t have Vedantic teaching at all. The actual Vedantic
teaching comes only in the second chapter, the first chapter is a
preparatory chapter. And therefore varieties of साधिs are
mentioned all meant for ज्ाियोनयता त्तसद्ध्यर्व र्् शवशवध
साधनाशन. And as we have seen in the introduction there are
many साधिs which are in the form of कात्तयक कर्ाव त्ति,
varieties of rituals and activities in which the physical body
plays a prominent role. They are talked about in this वल्ली
which can be generally called कर्व योग which is otherwise
called पञ्िर्िायज्s. They are all physical activities because
43
they are very important to purify the mind also very important
to beat our तमोगुि. So our body has got laziness intrinsic in it
and that is why getting in the morning itself is a tug of war. It
is because of solid तमोगुि at physical level. Similarly there is
a lot of तमोगुि at intellectual level because of which it is not
agile enough to think well. And physical activity makes a
person alert, therefore कर्व योग in the form of पञ्िर्िायज्s is
emphasized in शीक्ावल्ली. Similarly many कर्व s are prescribed
at the verbal level which are in the form of पारायिर्् and िप.
So we accept the very पारायिर्् of the scriptures as an
important spiritual साधि. Whether we know the meaning or
not पारायिर्् is supposed to bless. पारायिर्् means recitation
or simple chanting. If we know the meaning and do पारायिर््
the efficacy is more. If we don’t know the meaning and do
पारायिर्् the efficacy is less. But both will purify the mind.
And पारायिर्् comes under वात्तिक कर्व . And िप or repetition
of a particular मन्र again and again, मन्र आवशृ िरूप िपिः.
What is the difference between पारायिर्् and िप? In पारायिर््
you don’t repeat again and again, you just do the chanting.
Whereas in िप you take a नाम or a मन्र and repeat it for a
certain number of times. That repetition at the verbal level is
called िपिः. And शीक्ावल्ली talks about two types of िप –
ज्ाियोनयता त्तसत्तद् and ज्ाि त्तसत्तद्. And पारायिर्् is
highlighted in this chapter. Thus कात्तयक कर्व s, वात्तिक कर्व s
are talked about. And again शीक्ावल्ली talks about र्ािस
कर्व s, mental activities where body does not do anything. Even
the organ of speech does not do anything. Purely at thought
level you operate your mind which is called र्ािस कर्ाव त्ति or
44
उपासनाशन. And in शीक्ावल्ली we get five types of उपासिम्s.
Highly technical उपासिs which are not generally practiced
now a days. Still we study these उपासिs purely as an academic
interest to know the prescription of Vedic उपासिs. So thus we
have got one पारायिर््, two िपs, five उपासिs, कर्व योग. All
these साधिs are prescribed to prepare the mind. This is the
content of शीक्ावल्ली in capsule. Keeping this layout in our
mind we will enter into the second अिुवाक, the beginning of
the text proper.
त्तशक्ाशास्त्रार्व सङ्ग्रिः.
र्न्त्र 1-2-01
ॐ शीक्ाां व्याख्यास्यार्ः । विव ः स्वरः । र्ात्रा बलर्् । सार् सन्तािः
। इत्युक्तः शीक्ाध्यायः ॥ १ ॥
So this is the second अिुवाक the beginning of the text proper
and it begins with the word शीक्ाम् and that is why this chapter
is called शीक्ावल्ली. In this small अिुवाक the उपत्तिषत् talks
about the importance of पारायिर्् as a साधि. Mere chanting
of scriptures itself is a purifying process because the scriptural
words are sacred in themselves. And again they have come
from the र्िात्र्ाs and therefore through those words we are in
touch with the authors of the scriptures. And therefore any
शास्त्र पारायिर्् is considered to be a purifying साधि. And
among the varieties of शास्त्र पारायिर्् the highest one is
considered to be the वेद पारायिर्् itself because वेद is the
original scripture. All the others are स्र्त्तृ तs therefore they have
got only a borrowed glory whereas वेद has come from साक्षात्
भगवाि् Himself and therefore here वेद पारायिर्् as a साधि is
45
glorified. And the उपत्तिषत् points out if a person has to do वेद
पारायिर्् the condition is one should know how to chant the
वेदs properly. Because there are rules for पारायिर्् or chanting
of the वेदs. And since these rules are very important a special
science has been developed exclusively to prescribe the rules of
chanting. An exclusive शास्त्रर््, an exclusive science is
designed to prescribe the rules of chanting. And that science is
called शीक्ा शास्त्रर््, the science of phonetics. Phonetics means
the science of proper chanting or pronunciation. That is why in
the र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत् we talked about six वेद-अङ्गs; the four वेदs
and the six वेद-अङ्गs; and while talking about six वेद-अङ्गs
we enumerated there
त्तशक्ा कल्पो व्याकरिां त्तिरुक्तां छन्दो ज्योत्ततषत्तर्त्तत ॥
र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत् १-१-५ ॥
This was done in र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत् while talking about परा शवद्या
and अपरा शवद्या. This word त्तशक्ा itself is given in the वेदs as
शीक्ा. The correct word is त्तशक्ा only, but वेद mispronounces
as शीक्ा. But when वेद pronounces differently we don’t say it
is a mistake, we say it is a Vedic usage. So शीक्ा is a Vedic
word. If you want to study the rule of pronunciation you have
to look into six factors. If you want to know how to chant
properly you will have to take six factors into account all of
which are elaborately discussed in शीक्ा शास्त्रर््. Several
आिायव s have written शीक्ा शास्त्रर्् elaborately, the most
popular one being पाशिनरर् शीक्ा शास्त्रर््. पाशिशन मिशषय the
great grammarian has written the science of pronunciation.
What are the six factors taken into account? The उपत्तिषत् says
46
व्याख्यास्यार्ः – I shall enumerate those six factors. There are
only hinted here, without going into the details. विव ः, स्वरः,
र्ात्रा, बलर््, सार् and सन्तािः. इत्तत – thus are उक्तः –
mentioned, enumerated the six factors, components of
pronunciation. In each one of them we will briefly see.
1) विव ः. One should know how to pronounce every letter in
the alphabet. And how to pronounce means what? One must
know from which part of the body the letter should come out.
अष्टौ स्र्ानाशन विाय नाम्. The science of pronunciation says that
the letters originate from eight parts of the body. And based on
the part of the body the letters or the alphabet is arranged in the
Indian language. So first you categorize the alphabet into the
vowels separately and the consonants separately. And if you
take all the consonants the consonants are grouped in keeping
with the part of the body from where the letter originates. If you
take क, ख, ग, घ, ङ – all these are made into one group because
they are all generated from the throat and they are called
कण्ठ्य, guttural. Then if you take ि, छ, ज, झ, ञ – all of them
are originating from your palate, the top part of the inside of
your mouth and they are called तालव्य, palatal. ि, ठ, ड, ढ, ि
– are called र्द्ू व न्य, cerebral because the tip of your tongue
touches the roof of the mouth. Then त, र्, द, ध, ि – the tip of
your tongue touches the root of your teeth and they are called
दन्त्य, dental. Therefore विव ः every has got a position and I
should know from which position it comes and utter properly.
2) स्वरः. It means accent or intonation or the pitch in which
a letter has to be uttered – high pitch, medium pitch and lower
47
pitch. This pitch becomes important especially in Vedic
chanting because in Vedic chanting स्वरs are available. This is
generally marked in the Vedic books or you hear from the
आिायव s and accordingly you chant. And स्वर must be properly
chanted otherwise the Vedic meaning of the word will differ.
To convey this idea वेद itself tells a story. How स्वर is very
important and if स्वर is wrongly pronounced how the meaning
will change and sometimes the result may be a
counterproductive one. It seems there was a देवपुरोशितिः, a
celestial priest, who was known as त्तवश्वरूपिः. Even though he
was a priest of देवs, secretly he had a liking and partiality for
असुरs. And therefore इन्र got angry with त्तवश्वरूप and killed
him. And naturally त्वष्टा the father of त्तवश्वरूप got angry with
इन्र and wanted to take a revenge. Revenge is the most natural
negative emotion. To get out of revenging mentality is
extremely difficult. Even though we don’t do revenge, if our
enemy suffers we feel satisfied secretly. So त्वष्टा wanted to get
another son to kill इन्र. Therefore he did a याग for getting
another son and through the याग was born वत्रृ ासुर. So he said
I want a son who is a killer of इन्र. इन्रिरुिः. But what
happened? Instead of वत्रृ ासुर killing इन्र, the other way round
took place, इन्र killed वत्रृ ासुर. Naturally त्वष्टा was worried
what went wrong in spite of doing special याग exclusively to
get a son who is a killer of इन्र. Then only he came to know
that when he was doing the याग no doubt he said इन्रिरुिः but
the स्वर of the word इन्रिरुिः was chanting wrongly. The pitch
was not proper. Therefore the word इन्रिरुिः instead of
becoming तत्पुरुष सर्ास it became बिु व्रीत्ति सर्ास. The
48
difference between these two सर्ासs in indicated only by the
pitch of chanting. What is the difference in the meaning? If
इन्रिरुिः is तत्पुरुष सर्ास the meaning is the वत्रृ who is the
killer of इन्र. I want a son who is the killer of इन्र. But since
he chanted the स्वर improperly तत्पुरुष सर्ास became बिु व्रीत्ति
सर्ास and the meaning was I want a son for whom इन्र is the
killer. The same thing is said in the रामार्ि also in the case of
कुम्भकिय . He wanted शनदेव्वम् but he asked for शनद्राव्वम्.
So the son instead of revenging इन्र, he dies in the hands of
इन्र.
र्न्त्रो िीिः स्वरतो विव तो वा त्तर्थ्याप्रयुक्तो ि तर्र्व र्ाि । स
वानवज्रो यजर्ािां त्तिित्तस्त यर्ेन्रशत्रुः स्वरतोऽपराधात् ॥
पात्तििीयत्तशक्ा ५२ ॥
Just as इन्रिरु वत्रृ got killed in the hands of इन्र because of
wrong र्ाग similarly if you don’t pronounce the स्वर properly
your chanting may be counterproductive. That is why in the
tradition वेद र्न्त्रs were never taught in a mass scale and that
too in public. And they never allowed any person to chant the
वेदs by seeing the book or hearing through the music player and
mass scale learning. Because if the वेद र्न्त्रs are wrongly
chanted you may not get the benefit, but the result may be
counterproductive. Then how to do पारायिर््? You can always
do पारायिर्् of non-Vedic scriptures. Why should we study वेद
र्न्त्रs at all? There are special people exclusively who have
dedicated for वेद-अध्ययिर््. So the ordinary normal lay people
it is better not to chant the र्न्त्रs wrongly. Do पारायिर्् of
सिस्रनाम, गरता etc. It is better that we vomit the वेदs unless
49
we have studied under someone who comes in tradition and we
have chanted in front of him and he has corrected us personally.
Because in mass learning our mistake is overpowered by the
other people chanting. For example when we chant पि ू य मदिः at
the end of it ॐ िाशन्तिः िाशन्तिः िाशन्तिः is different. When you
chant सि िाववतु the शात्तन्तः is different. So when you chant
सि िाववतु in the कृष्ि यजुवेद in शात्तन्तः शा must be plain. शत
must come down. But when you chant पि ू य मदिः there शा must
not be plain. शा must be down and शत must be plain. Therefore
one should be very careful about स्वर.
3) र्ात्रा. Measure or length of a vowel. A consonant has got
only uniform length, it is called अधय मारा. There is no variation.
Whereas vowels have different duration or length which is
called र्ात्रा. There are three such measures – short vowel, long
vowel and longer vowel, technically called prolated vowel. In
सांस्कृत it is called प्तलुतम्. We use this especially when we
chant the word िररिः ओम्. In the Vedic books after the letter ओ
they write the number 3. It means is should be equal to three
short vowels, three units. So short vowel has got one unit
length. A long vowel has got two unit length, i.e., two short
vowels whereas prolated vowel has got either three or four or
five or six units which are mentioned in the brackets. This is
called प्तलुतम् or prolated. And all of them you should look into
properly. You cannot lengthen wherever you like as you like.
4) बलर््. The stress or the effort applied in uttering a letter.
In some letter there is more stress and in some letter there is less
stress. For example, क and ख. When you say क the effort is
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relatively less. But when you pronounce the next letter ख more
stress is there. And in the science of pronunciation they talk
about two forms of effort. Effort put within the mouth, in the
mouth region, effort applied in the throat region, आभ्र्न्तर
प्रर््नम्, बाह्य प्रर््नम्, and the effort put in the mouth is
subdivided into five. And the effort applied in the throat region
is subdivided into eleven categories. So आभ्र्न्तर प्रर््निः
पञ्चधािः. बाह्य प्रर््निः एकादिधािः. And for each letter what is
the बाह्य प्रर््नम्, what is the आभ्र्न्तर प्रर््नम् all these are
elaborately studied. It is an involved शास्त्रर््. In fact in our
tradition any subject you take it is deep and vast. So प्रर््न is
the stress given.
5) सार्. The pace or the speed of chanting. It should not be
very slow, you will sleep off and it should not be very fast, the
letters will be all jumbled together and nobody can understand
what you are saying. Therefore शङ्करािायव says सार् means
the medium pace of chanting. For that also there are rules when
should you chant slowly, in medium or fast pace.
अभ्यासार्े रुताां वत्तृ िां प्रयोगार्े तु र्ध्यर्ार्् । त्तशष्यािार्ुपदेशार्े
कुयाव द् वत्तृ िां त्तवलत्तम्बतार्् ॥ याज्वल्क्तयत्तशक्ा ५४ ॥
Suppose you have learnt some श्लोकs by heart. In the olden
tradition we have to learn things by heart. You have learnt to
chant only when you learn by heart. Many people say that they
have studied the वेदs. When asked to recite they say book is not
there in hand. So learning to read is not considered learning to
chant. Learning to chant is complete only when you can chant
from memory. This was compulsory in the olden days. And
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therefore when you have to memorize you just learn from a गुरु,
and after memorization you have to keep it in memory by
chanting regularly. Therefore what they do is in ब्रह्मर्ज्ञ, one of
the पञ्िर्िायज्s, they regularly chant to keep it in memory.
And when you are chanting within yourself to remember
something then you can chant very fast. Because you are not
chanting as a part of a ritual. You are chanting while taking bath
or while going somewhere. So अभ्यासार्े रुताां वत्तृ िम् – for
regular practice you can chant very fast. But प्रयोगार्े तु
र्ध्यर्ार्् – when you are chanting as part of a ritual like part of
पिू ा or doing your सन्ध्यावन्दिर््,
त्तर्त्रस्य िषव िी धतॄ ः श्रवो देवस्य साित्तसर्् । सत्यां त्तित्रश्रवस्तर्र््
॥ त्तर्त्रो जिाि् यातयत्तत प्रजािि् त्तर्त्रो दाधार पत्तृ र्वीर्् उत द्ार््
॥ कृष्ियजुवेदः ॥
There it should be that must fast where every letter is clear. So
it should be chanted at a medium pace when it is part of पि ू ा.
And you are teaching the र्न्त्र to someone there you should
chant very slowly because the listener must be able to get every
letter.
ॐ िर्ो भगवते े॑ रुराय
ा॒ ॥ ॐ िर् े॑स्ते रुर र्ा॒न्यव े॑ उत
ा॒ ोता॒ इष े॑वेा॒ िर्ःे॑
।
This if you chant in the slow pace during पि ू ा it won’t end. So
for teaching this slow pace can be used, but for your पि ू ा it
should be faster. So therefore अभ्यासार्े रुताां वत्तृ िां प्रयोगार्े तु
र्ध्यर्ार्् । त्तशष्यािार्ुपदेशार्े कुयाव द् वत्तृ िां त्तवलत्तम्बतार्् ॥ For
everything they have kept rules. And therefore सार्, medium
pace in chanting.
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6) सन्तािः. This means combination of words and letters.
In chanting there are rules for combining and splitting the
letters. You cannot join anywhere you like and split anywhere
you like; for that also rules are given. For example
अिेकजन्र्सम्प्रािकर्व बन्धत्तवदात्तििे ॥ श्री गुरु स्तोत्रर्् ९ ॥
Now when you chant the other श्लोकs
अखण्डर्ण्डलाकारां व्यािां येि िरािरर्् ।
अखण्डर्ण्डलाकारम् is one word, व्यािम् is another word,
िरािरर्् is another word. Therefore you can have small gaps
between the words. But when you chant
अिेकजन्र्सम्प्रािकर्व बन्धत्तवदात्तििे । the whole line is one
compound word. And therefore the chanting rule says when
there is one compound word you cannot really split. And
therefore according to the rules of chanting we should not split
though we split it as अिेकजन्र्सम्प्राि कर्व बन्धत्तवदात्तििे
initially so that the student knows, but what happens is for the
sake of the teaching we split, and thereafter we continue to
chant like that only. Here afterwards the changing is extremely
difficult because we have practiced like that. But strictly
according to rules they have to chant without splitting
अिेकजन्र्सम्प्रािकर्व बन्धत्तवदात्तििे. This is called सांत्तिता or
सत्तन्ध, here it is called सन्तािः. So the combination of the
letters should be properly done. And not only that when you
combined the words they undergo certain changes also which
is unique in सांस्कृत language. In English when two words are
joined they do not undergo change. For example in शन्िो त्तर्त्रः
शां वरुिः the actual words are शां and निः and त्तर्त्रः. But when
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you join it becomes शन्िो, निः becomes नो. And we have got
elaborate rules on सत्तन्ध. The moment you enter सांस्कृत class
the class begins with सत्तन्ध प्रकरिम्. Most of the people do not
survive this session itself. So vowel सत्तन्धs are there, consonant
सत्तन्धs are there, शवसगय सत्तन्धs are there, and the general rules
and exceptional rules. And exception to exception counter-
exception. All in just chanting only. त्तर्त्रः शम् is equal to
शमरश्िम्. िर्ः ब्रह्मिे is equal to िर्ो ब्रह्मिे. िर्ः ते is equal to
िर्स्ते. All these things are called सन्तािः. We should know
the rules of combination also. But generally what we do is we
don’t learn the rules. Since we are learning from a गुरु who
knows the rules, therefore we simply imitate whatever गुरु does
so that mistake will not come. That is why learning from a गुरु
becomes extremely important.
These are the six factors to be followed in chanting the
वेदs. So वेदाध्ययिर्् is not a joke. And that is why we say better
leave the वेदs alone otherwise we will chant wrongly and we
are the masters for our family members who will carry on our
mistakes. And after one generation we do not know which one
is original and which one is fake. So in the name of serving the
वेदs we are doing a very great disservice. That is why they said
let not वेदs be learnt by anyone and everyone and that too with
the help of the books. If you want त्तििशुत्तद् chant non-Vedic
scriptures. And if you are teaching anybody you leave away the
Vedic मन्रs and teach other स्तोरs, श्लोकs. Therefore
तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् wants if you want to chant properly chant
otherwise shut up.
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ॐ पि ू य मदिः पि
ू य शमदम् पि ू य मुदछर्ते । पि
ू ाय ्पि ू य स्र् पि
ू य मादार्
ू य मेवावशिष्र्ते ॥ ॐ िाशन्तिः िाशन्तिः िाशन्तिः ॥ िररिः ॐ.
पि
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The first chapter of the तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् which is a
साधि प्रधान chapter started the teaching with the science of
Vedic pronunciation which is otherwise called त्तशक्ाशास्त्रर््.
And शङ्करािायव points out in his commentary that it is very
important for one to know how to chant the वेदs properly if at
all he proposes to chant the वेदs. शङ्करािायव gives two reasons
for this. Initially a person does वेद अध्ययिर््, i.e., learning to
recite the वेदs. At the time of वेद अध्ययिर्् one does not bother
to know the meaning, he is only interested in chanting the वेदs
properly. This learning to chant is called वेद अध्ययिर्् and
वेदाध्ययिर्् is always िब्द प्रधानम्. And this वेदाध्ययिर््
which is िब्द प्रधानम् has to be properly learnt for two reasons.
1) One can use this वेदाध्ययिर्् for regular वेद पारायिर््
even without knowing the meaning. Thus the वेदाध्ययिर्् can
be employed for regular वेद पारायिर्् otherwise called ब्रह्मयज्.
And by employing this वेदाध्ययिर्् in this manner a person gets
त्तििशुत्तद्. So the very वेद पारायिर्् is capable of giving
त्तििशुत्तद् provided it is chanted properly. So अदृष्ट फलर्् is the
benefit of वेदाध्ययिर््, the invisible result of पुण्यम्, the
invisible result of purification of the mind and indirectly taking
a person towards spiritual growth. This is the first benefit.
2) The second benefit is this वेदाध्ययिर्् will be used later
for the study of the meaning of the वेदs. This enquiry into the
meaning later is called वेद र्ीर्ाांसा. र्ीर्ाांसा means reverential
enquiry which is a word used only with regard to Vedic enquiry.
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It does not refer to other enquiries like judicial enquiry, etc.,
and cannot be called as judicial र्ीर्ाांसा. Even though what they
are doing is enquiry the word र्ीर्ाांसा is preserved only with
regard to scriptural and that too Vedic enquiry. This र्ीर्ाांसा is
divided into two parts पवू व र्ीर्ाांसा – enquiry into the meaning
of वेदपवू व भाग. It is कर्व काण्ड त्तविार. उिरर्ीर्ाांसा – enquiry
into the meaning of वेद-अन्त भाग. It is ज्ािकाण्ड त्तविार. And
if a person has to enquire into the meaning one should have
learnt the वेदमन्रs. Therefore the second benefit of
वेदाध्ययिर्् is वेद र्ीर्ाांसा for later analysis. By analysis of the
वेदs you get ज्ािर्् – कर्व ज्ािर्् and ब्रह्मज्ािर््. This ज्ािर््
comes under दृष्ट फलर््. So through वेद पारायिर्् one will get
अदृष्ट फलर््, the invisible result and by Vedic enquiry one will
get दृष्ट फलर््, the visible result of ज्ािर््. Is ज्ािर्् अदृष्टर्् or
दृष्टर््? Do I know that I have got knowledge or not? That I
know or not is something is very clearly evident to me,
therefore ज्ािर्् is called दृष्ट फलर्् and पुण्यर्् is called अदृष्ट
फलर््. Thus वेद अध्ययिर्् leads to both the अदृष्ट पुण्य फलर््
as well as दृष्ट ज्ाि फलर््. Therefore don’t take Vedic
पारायिर्् or अध्ययिर्् for granted. To convey this idea वेद is
telling one small अिुवाक focusing on the proper chanting
which consists of six factors – विव ः, स्वरः, र्ात्रा, बलर््, सार् and
सन्तािः.
And having hinted at the six factors the first अिुवाक is
concluded by the statement इत्तत उक्तः शीक्ाध्यायः – in this
manner the science of pronunciation is presented in a capsule
form. So with this the second अिुवाक is over. Now we are
going to enter into the third अिुवाक. In the second अिुवाक the
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साधि is वेद पारायिर्् or ब्रह्मयज्. If a person does not know
the entire वेदs, at least he is supposed to do the गायत्री
पारायिर््, because it is supposed to be the capsule form of the
वेदs. If a person does not know गायत्री र्न्त्र also then at least
he is supposed to do some other पारायिर्् such as सिस्रिार्,
गरता, रामार्ि etc., in short, any scriptural पारायिर््, need not
be necessarily the वेद itself, but some scriptural पारायिर्् is
called ब्रह्मयज्. Now we enter into the third अिुवाक.
सांत्तितोपासिर््
र्न्त्र 1-3-01
सि िौ यशः । सि िौ ब्रह्मविव सर्् । अर्ातः सँत्तिताया उपत्तिषदर््
व्याख्यास्यार्ः । पञ्िस्वत्तधकरिेषु ।
अत्तधलोकर्त्तधज्यौत्ततषर्त्तधत्तवद्र्त्तधप्रजर्ध्यात्र्र्् । ता
र्िासँत्तिता इत्यािक्ते ।
The third अिुवाक is a longer अिुवाक and therefore we
are splitting it into small portions for the convenience of study.
In the introduction I had said that the शीक्ावल्ली talks about
different preparatory disciplines.
1) कर्व योग consisting of पञ्िर्िायज्,
2) Proper values, ethical values and attitudes, they are also
integral part of spiritual साधि.
3) Verbal साधि consisting of पारायिम् and जप,
4) Five types if उपासिs, meditations, पञ्ि उपासिात्ति.
These are the non-Vedantic preparatory meditations. After the
study of वेदान्त the meditation that you practice for assimilating
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the teaching is called Vedantic meditation, त्तित्तदध्यासिर््. But
here we are not talking about Vedantic meditation,
त्तित्तदध्यासिर्् but non-Vedantic meditation called उपासिात्ति.
Of the five now the उपत्तिषत् introduces the first उपासि
called सांत्तितोपासिर््. The Vedic उपासिs are highly classical
and technical उपासिs. When we look into those उपासिs we
may doubt whether it is possible at all to do such उपासिs. In
fact many of the Vedic उपासिs appear tougher than the वेदान्त
itself. So therefore generally nowadays, we do not practice
Vedic उपासिs, they are all studied purely out of academic
interest. The Vedic उपासिs have been replaced by the Puranic
उपासिs now. That is personal deities are highlighted and they
are relatively simpler. And therefore the उपासिs that we are
going to see here are all technical उपासिs meant for academic
understanding and to know how वेदs prescribed उपासिs. The
first उपासि is called सांत्तितोपासिर््. The teacher and student
consider that the study of the उपासि itself is a great study, it is
a very sacred thing. Not only वेदान्त is sacred, even the very
study of उपासि is because of great पुण्र्म्. Therefore the
student seeks special blessing for the study of the उपासि itself.
Therefore this अिुवाक begins with another prayer for the
successful study उपासि itself. सि िौ यशः – the student
especially prays that may my गुरु and myself become very
popular in the society. What a prayer! May I get name and fame
in the society. Not only because of our learning do we want
name and fame but also may we have a magnetic personality,
सि िौ ब्रह्मविव सर््. ब्रह्मविव सर्् means the attractive personality
born out of religious and spiritual way of life. We call it
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ब्रह्मविव स,् तेिस,् ब्रह्मतेिस्. So here the student says we should
have a very attractive personality and we should be well-known
in the society. Then you may wonder why? Having come to
वेदान्त we are supposed to have dropped the value for name
and fame which are all materialistic pursuits. Why should the
student ask for these? The reason is this, every Vedic student
considered that it is very important not only to receive the
knowledge but it has to be shared with others only then the
tradition will be preserved. They had always the concern with
regard to the next generation. Because the present generation
molds the next generation not only by our precept, more than
the precept by our practice also. This awareness of the next
generation was very much in our culture. Therefore every Vedic
student, especially a ब्राह्मि student had the duty of teaching. A
क्त्तत्रय had only to learn, his duty did not include teaching. A
क्त्तत्रय has to do only अध्ययिर््, he need not do अध्यापिर््. A
वैश्र् has to do only अध्ययिर््, he need not do अध्यापिर््. But
the ब्राह्मि is one who has a two-fold responsibilities –
स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि, अध्ययिर्् ि अध्यापिर्् ि. Because a Vedic
ब्राह्मि cannot take up any other profession. His only duty in life
is learning and spreading the scriptural teachings. पठनम्-
पाठनम्, र्िनम्-र्ािनम्. Therefore naturally a ब्राह्मि student
was particular that he should get more students so that I can
give the teaching to others. Until we share we are supposed to
have a special ऋिम् to our ऋत्तषs. So when you study the
scriptures remember you are getting indebted to our ऋत्तषs. So
when you are appreciating the scriptures it is possible because
the ऋत्तषs have struggled to bring out this knowledge and
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preserve it. And therefore I should express my gratitude.
Therefore every one of you who is attending वेद threatens every
lesson you learn you are obliged to, you have an obligation to
the ऋत्तष परम्परा. The student is not indebted to his गुरु only, if
the गुरु is able to teach you it is because he learnt from his गुरु,
he from his गुरु. And this ऋिम् that you incur when you attend
the classes that ऋिम् is called ऋत्तष ऋिम्. How do you remove
that ऋिम्? One method is you yourself share the wisdom with
others and suppose you feel you cannot do that if there is any
institution in which the Vedic teaching is taking place I
indirectly support that वेद पाठिाल or wherever the teaching is
taking place I have to do something. So here the student says
let the society know me as a great teacher. So that more students
will come, so that I can teach, so that I can discharge my ऋत्तष
ऋिम्. What a wonderful concept! The more you dwell upon
this, the more the holistic nature of our tradition you will know.
Therefore the student says िे गुरो! you also should be popular
and I also should be popular. You should have more students
and I too should have more students. So this is the two
sentenced prayer.
So having offered the prayer now the उपत्तिषत् is
introducing the first उपासि. सँत्तिताया उपत्तिषदर््
व्याख्यास्यार्ः. सँत्तिता means सांत्तिता. The word सांत्तिता when it
is chanted in the वेद it has to be pronounced as सँत्तिता. These
are all शीक्ा rules, the rules of pronunciation. When the letter
म् is followed by ि, ष, स, ि, र, certain letters are there when म्
is followed by that म् will become गम्. So सांत्तिता will become
सँत्तिता. The word उपत्तिषदम् means उपासि. Therefore
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सँत्तितायाः उपत्तिषदर्् means सांत्तिता उपासि we are going to
teach you, व्याख्यास्यार्ः. Ok, now the question is what is
सांत्तितोपासि? We have seen in the previous उपत्तिषत्s that any
उपासि requires two things.
1) The object of उपासि like various deities शवष्िु, शिव,
गिपशत, देवर which are called as उपासि त्तवषयः; त्तवषयः means
the object.
2) And secondly since most of the objects are invisible or
too big for mental conception we require a symbol to represent
the object. Because the object is abstract like various देवताs or
the object is too big for mental conception. If I want to worship
the nation भारतम्. Now it is not possible to offer flowers all
over the country. Since the nation is too vast you represent it
with a flag. Therefore nation becomes उपासि त्तवषयः and the
flag is called उपासि आलम्बिर््. आलम्बिर्् is concrete while
त्तवषय is non-concrete. Therefore every उपासि will have
आलम्बिर्् and त्तवषय. Now the उपत्तिषत् is going to introduce
an उपासि and for that the आलम्बिर्् is going to be सँत्तिता.
Therefore this is an उपासि for which the आलम्बिर्् is सँत्तिता.
त्तशवत्तलङ्ग is one type of आलम्बिर््, शात्तलग्रार्र्् is another
type of आलम्बिर््, turmeric powder is an आलम्बिर्् for
शवनार्क, flame is an आलम्बिर्् for देवर, cow is an आलम्बिर््
for लक्ष्र्ी देवी, book is an आलम्बिर्् for सरस्वती देवी. Now
here the आलम्बिर्् to be taken is सँत्तिता. Now the question is
what is that blessed सँत्तिता आलम्बिर््? सँत्तिता is Vedic
combination of letters. सँत्तिता is otherwise called सत्तन्धः.
Because in the वेदs and in सांस्कृत language the combination of
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letters is not an ordinary thing, as told in the last class there are
so many rules governing the combination. We have seen the
example of शन्िो त्तर्त्रः. That नो is nothing but the word निः. निः
plus शमरिः when you join ि् is dropped न becomes नो. Thus
when you combine Vedic letters sometimes letters are dropped.
Here itself if you see it is सँत्तिताया उपत्तिषदर््. In fact if you
split it is सँत्तितायाः उपत्तिषदर््. शवसगय gets elided when joined.
Therefore sometimes words come, letters come, and some other
times letters disappear. And for this उपासि we are going to
take a Vedic combination of letters where four factors are going
to be involved. I will give you an example. Let us see how in
those days people were thinking and functioning. Now let us
take two words which occur in the यजुवेद. The first र्न्त्र of
यजुवेद begins with इषे ्वा उजे त्वा. The first two words are इषे
्वा. That is why in the temple rituals also when they chant at
the end of the पज ू ा, they are supposed to chant all the four वेदs
in front of भगवाि्. But who has time? And therefore what they
do is they chant the first र्न्त्र of the four वेदs.
अत्तनित्तर्ळे पुरोत्तितां यज्स्य देवर्त्तृ त्वजर्् ॥ ऋनवेद १-१ ॥
This is the first र्न्त्र of ऋनवेद.
इषे त्वोजे त्वा वायव स्र्ोपायव स्र् ॥ यजुवेद १-१ ॥
is the first र्न्त्र of यजुवेद.
अनि आ यात्ति वीतये गि
ृ ािो िव्यदातये ॥ सार्वेद १-१ ॥
is the first र्न्त्र of सार्वेद.
शन्िो देवीरत्तभष्टय आपो भवन्तु पीतये ॥ अर्वव िवेद १-१ ॥
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is the first र्न्त्र of अर्वव िवेद. In the यजुवेद the first र्न्त्र
begins with इषे ्वा. Now we will study this combination what
happens when the words इषे and ्वा come together. The word
इषे ends in a vowel ए. And the next word is ्वा which begins
with the consonant त. Therefore in this combination the last
letter on the left hand side is ए and the first letter on the right
hand side is त plus व plus आ. In this example the letter ए is
going to be called पवू व रूपर््. The next letter beginning with त is
called उिररूपर््. And this पवू व रूपर्् and उिररूपर्् are coming
together. Like when two trains are coming together the last
compartment of this train and the first compartment of that train
are joined, shunted. When they come together the place, the
junction is called सत्तन्धः. So ए is पवू व रूपर््, त is उिररूपर््, the
junction is called सत्तन्धः, and when these two come together
according to the सांस्कृत grammar rule to join these two a new
letter come into being. Like having a chain to join the two
compartments. That additional letter which comes in the
junction is called here सन्धािर््, which means the arriving or
emergent letter. We can call it a link letter. And in this particular
case the link letter is another त. Already one त is there, in
addition to that another त comes. So this additional letter त is
called सन्धािर््, the link letter. Therefore in this Vedic
combination the four factors are ए is पवू व रूपर््, त is उिररूपर््,
the junction is सत्तन्धः and the additional letter त is सन्धािर््.
Now these four factors which are components of सत्तन्धः are
going to be taken as आलम्बिर््. Instead of taking त्तशवत्तलङ्ग
or शात्तलग्रार्र्् we take these पवू व रूपर््, उिररूपर््, सत्तन्धः and
सन्धािर्् as आलम्बिर््s. Therefore this उपासि is called
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सांत्तितोपासि, सांत्तिता आलम्बिक उपासि. And what are we
going to do? On these four symbols we are going to invoke four
objects of meditation. They are called उपासि त्तवषयs. These
four are उपासि आलम्बिर््s and we are going to have four
उपासि त्तवषयs. So one object will be invoked on पवू व रूपर््,
another on उिररूपर््, another upon सत्तन्धः and another upon
सन्धािर््. To give a gross example you can take these four
factors as four chairs. And upon the four chairs which are
compared to आलम्बिर््s we are going to invite four people
which are compared to उपासि त्तवषय for honoring. You ask
those four people to sit on chair and do honoring by putting a
garland, पादपि ू ा etc. This is called सांत्तितोपासि. Each of these
four त्तवषयs are associated with a particular field. For example
I can choose four people for honoring from the field of sports.
This becomes one उपासि. Now the उपत्तिषत् is not satisfied
with this. It says in the first उपासि you take the four objects
and practice सांत्तितोपासि. And there afterwards you dismiss,
ask the four objects to vacate the chair. Why because you are
not satisfied with honoring only the people of sports field. So
you want to do the second उपासि. For the second उपासि also
you are going to use the same chairs. Only the sports people
vacate, the chair remains the same. Then you call another group
of four people from another field, say, music field and honor
them. This is another उपासि with four different त्तवषयs while
using the same पवू व रूपर््, उिररूपर््, सत्तन्धः and सन्धािर्् as
आलम्बिर््s. So in the second उपासि four other people. Then
after that you ask them to vacate and you choose from another
field four people and honor them. Similarly the उपत्तिषत् talks
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about another four objects of उपासि chosen from another field.
This becomes the third सांत्तितोपासि. Like that totally we are
going to get five सांत्तितोपासिs. In each उपासि there are four
objects and thus totally twenty objects are brought for
meditation. These twenty objects are taken from five different
fields. And each particular field the उपत्तिषत् calls अत्तधकरिम्.
पञ्िसु अत्तधकरिेषु सँत्तिताया उपत्तिषदर्् व्याख्यास्यार्ः. Now
शङ्करािायव asks a question why the उपत्तिषत् should prescribe
such a difficult meditation on the Vedic combination of letters.
It could have chosen anything easier, like cow उपासि where
cows are easily available. Flame उपासि. Book उपासि. River
उपासि. These are all easily understandable. Why should the
उपत्तिषत् take the Vedic combination of letters? He himself
answers. In those days everybody used to thoroughly study the
वेदs. Not for one year or two years or three years but minimum
of eight years and maximum of twelve years. When they study
the Vedic chanting they have got different varieties of chanting.
You learn to chant word by word called पदपाठ. Then you have
क्रमपाठ where you learn to chant words in sequence of 1-2, 2-
3, 3-4. Then िटापाठ where you learn to chant words in
sequence of 1-2-2-1-1-2. Then घनपाठ where you learn to chant
words in sequence of 1-2-2-1-1-2-3-3-2-1-1-2-3, 2-3-3-2-2-3-
4-4-3-2-2-3-4. When they do all these permutations and
combinations, they will have to apply the सत्तन्ध rules.
Therefore every Vedic student is thorough with every letter of
the वेदs, not just every word. A सलक्ि घनपाशठ not only he
has to learn every letter he has to mention from where that letter
originates and what is the presiding देवता of that letter. When
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नमिः is taken न कार उिर, अ कार उिर, म कार उिर, अ कार
उिर शवसगय . Then the next level is the देवता for that letter. Such
a person who is an expert in that is called सलक्ि घनपाशठ. We
think घनपाशठ means a person with a big belly. No! His head
has got that knowledge, not stomach is heavy. So शङ्करािायव
points out every Vedic student is very much thorough with
Vedic letters and combination. Therefore it says अर् –
अिन्तरर्् अध्ययिलक्ित्तवधािस्य पवू व वि ृ स्य, वेद अध्र्र्न
अिन्तरर्् he is coming to this उपासि. वेद पद िर् िटा घि
अध्र्र्न अिन्तरर््. Therefore his brain is full of Vedic letters
as he has no other vocation to do. Morning वेद, afternoon वेद,
evening वेद, night वेद. Therefore his mind is wriggling with
Vedic letters. Therefore if you provide Vedic letters as
आलम्बिर्् his mind will naturally go. lf a person is a Cricket
fan then I should not give Vedic letters as आलम्बिर््, he should
be given the three stumps and say ब्रह्मा, शवष्िु, शिव these शरमशू तय
take as आलम्बिर््. Immediately he will do because all the time
three stumps. Therefore शङ्करािायव says since a student
comes after वेद अध्र्र्नम्, अतः – because of the familiarity of
the Vedic letters for a student the वेद prescribes सँत्तिताया
उपत्तिषदर्् व्याख्यास्यार्ः. And what are the five fields that are
going to be involved? पञ्िसु अत्तधकरिेषु – four objects are
going to be taken from five fields, viz., अत्तधलोकर्् – the various
लोकs. So लोक शवषर्क सांत्तिता आलम्बिक उपासि. So four
लोकs are going to invoked on पवू व रूपर््, उिररूपर््, सत्तन्ध and
सन्धािर्् and then the first meditation is over. The second
meditation is अत्तधज्यौत्ततषर्् – luminaries like the sun, moon,
stars, fire, are all called ज्योतींत्तष. So from the luminary
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department four members will be invoked upon the four factors.
Then अत्तधत्तवद्र्् – educational department, in the field of
knowledge what are things are involved. Four factors are to be
taken. Then अत्तधप्रजर्् – the field of progeny. So from the
family department or the field of progeny four factors are to be
taken. And finally अध्यात्र्र््. आत्र्ा means शरीरर््. So we are
going to take four objects from our own body. Thus totally we
have got twenty objects which are invoked on four आलम्बिर््s
in five sessions of meditation. And all these five put together is
called सांत्तितोपासि. It is a group of five उपासिs. And since we
are going to invoke twenty objects upon these four आलम्बिर््s,
these आलम्बिर््s are known as great आलम्बिर््s. ताः
र्िासँत्तिता – so these four factors, viz., पवू व रूपर््, उिररूपर््,
सत्तन्ध and सन्धािर्् are known as र्िासांत्तिताः because great
objects of meditation are invoked. Like a cricket bat which is
nothing but an ordinary bat, but if it had been used by Don
Bradman or Gary Sobers, then the very same bat would fetch
millions of rupees when auctioned. So is bat great or not? If I
use it and sell, it will be a second hand bat fetching lesser
amount than the original price. But when Bradman uses the
price increases. Similarly सांत्तिता by itself has no greatness but
since the सांत्तिताs are associated with the twenty objects of
meditation they get the name र्िासांत्तिताः इत्तत आिक्ते. Now
the question is what are those twenty objects associated with
five departments or fields. This we will see in the next class.
पि
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69
ॐ शां िो त्तर्त्रः शां वरुिः । शां िो भवत्वयव र्ा । शां ि इन्रो बिृ स्पत्ततः
। शां िो त्तवष्िुरुरुिर्ः । िर्ो ब्रह्मिे । िर्स्ते वायो । त्वर्ेव प्रत्यक्ां
ब्रह्मात्तस । त्वार्ेव प्रत्यक्ां ब्रह्म वत्तदष्यात्तर् । ऋतां वत्तदष्यात्तर् । सत्यां
वत्तदष्यात्तर् । तन्र्ार्वतु । तद्वक्तारर्वतु । अवतु र्ार्् । अवतु
वक्तारर्् ॥ ॐ शात्तन्तः शात्तन्तः शात्तन्तः ॥
We are seeing the first chapter of the
तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् which is a साधि प्रधान chapter which deals
with various preparatory disciplines meant for gaining Self-
knowledge which knowledge is going to be given only in the
second chapter. The chapter began with the science of Vedic
chanting, the Vedic pronunciation known as त्तशक्ाशास्त्रर््
which is important from the standpoint of वेद पारायिर््.
Thereafter in the third अिुवाक or section which was introduced
in the last class, the उपत्तिषत् is talking about the first उपासि
among the five उपासिs which are going to be given in this
chapter. The first उपासि is called सांत्तितोपासिर्् because in
this उपासि we are going to take up the Vedic combination of
letters as the आलम्बिर्् upon which we are going to invoke
various objects of meditation. In the last class we saw that the
Vedic conjunction or सांत्तिता has got four components known as
पवू व रूपर््, उिररूपर््, सत्तन्ध and सन्धािर््. We saw the example
of इषे ्वा. The word इषे ends in a vowel ए. And the next word
is ्वा which begins with the consonant त. This letter ए called
पवू व रूपर्् and the letter त called उिररूपर्् are coming together
and this junction is called सत्तन्धः and at the of combination
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according to grammar rules another त comes and this additional
त which appear by the rule of combination is called the linking
letter. So thus पवू व रूपर््, उिररूपर््, सत्तन्ध and सन्धािर्् are the
four components of सांत्तिता or Vedic combination. And for
making this simpler you imagine these four as four chairs as it
were. We are going to do a पादपि ू ा as it were and four chairs
have been installed. We are going to have उपासि in which four
objects will be invoked on these four. These four objects can be
imagined as four people who are going to be invited and made
to sit on the chair. The first four objects will be connected with
the various लोकs and is called अत्तधलोक सांत्तितोपासिर््. We
will see later those four लोकs. Then these four लोकs will be
sent back; गच्छ देवी यर्ा सुखर््. In सन्ध्यावन्दिर्् they invite
गार्रर देवर and worship her and thereafter they say गच्छ देवी.
Don’t permanently remain here, you please go back to your
place. Similarly these four लोकs are send back and then comes
the second उपासि where four objects are going to be taken
from the field of luminaries and is called अत्तधज्यौत्ततष
सांत्तितोपासिर््. The word सांत्तितोपासिर्् is common because
the chairs are retained. Then the third field is अत्तधत्तवद्
सांत्तितोपासिर््. Four objects are going to be taken from the field
of education or knowledge. Then अत्तधप्रज सांत्तितोपासिर््, four
objects are taken from the field of family life. Family life is also
considered to be an important thing. That is why it is called
गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् which is also a spiritual field only. So अत्तधलोक,
अत्तधज्यौत्ततष, अत्तधत्तवद्, अत्तधप्रज and finally अध्यात्र्
सांत्तितोपासिर्् wherein we take four objects from our own
body. आत्र्ा means शरीरर््. So अध्यात्र् सांत्तितोपासिर्् means
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अत्तधशरीर सांत्तितोपासिर््. And in each one four objects will be
taken and five उपासिs will be done, in each उपासि four and
thus totally we have got twenty objects. All these five उपासिs
put together is the grand सांत्तितोपासिर््. So one सांत्तितोपासिर््
itself consists of five branch उपासिs and all these put together
is the र्िासांत्तितोपासिर््. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् says in the
third section ताः र्िासँत्तिता इत्तत आिक्ते. These combinations
consisting of four components are called र्िा-combinations,
great combinations, not because of the combinations
themselves but upon those combinations we are invoking great
objects. Because the objects of उपासि are greater the
आलम्बिर््, the symbol also become greater. That is why when
you invoke गिपत्तत upon turmeric powder अत्तस्र्ि् िरररात्तबम्भे
श्री र्िागिपत्तत ध्यायात्तर् । आवाियात्तर् ॥ Turmeric powder does
not have greatness, you just put in food and fire off. You don’t
give special worship to turmeric powder box. But the moment
you invoke त्तविायक upon that powder it becomes सवव ज्ाय िर्ः
सवेश्वराय िर्ः. It deserves the षोडशोपिार पज ू ा, िैवेद्र््
अिव िा. Now after the पज ू ा is over the priest chants अस्र्ात्
िरररा र्िागिपत्ततां यर्ा स्र्ािां प्रत्ततष्ठापयात्तर्. I am requesting
गिपत्तत to vacate from the turmeric powder. Now after गिपत्तत
has left again the turmeric powder has become ordinary
powder. But even though it is now ordinary powder only we do
not directly take it and use it for cooking. Because of its
association it is sacred even after the association has ended. We
have seen the example of bat in the last class. If the ordinary
people can add glory to useless second hand things what to talk
of the Vedic combination letters. The letters themselves are
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glorious and in addition to that we have invoked great objects
upon them. And therefore they are called र्िासँत्तिता. So ताः
र्िासँत्तिता इत्तत आिक्ते. Having given this introduction now
we are going to enter into the five fields from which we are
going to take four objects. Now the first उपासि is going to be
introduced, we will read.
र्न्त्र 1-3-01 Continuing;
अर्ात्तधलोकर्् । पत्तृ र्वी पवू व रूपर्् । द्ौरुिररूपर्् । आकाशः सत्तन्धः
॥१॥
र्न्त्र 1-3-02
वायुः सन्धािर्् । इत्यत्तधलोकर्् ।
So सांत्तितोपासि number one is introduced here. And the
first सांत्तितोपासि is titled अत्तधलोकर््. Therefore अर् –now
begins the अत्तधलोक सांत्तितोपासिर््. We have to add the word
सांत्तितोपासिर््. Therefore सांत्तितोपासिर्् is the first one. And
in this उपासि what are we supposed to do? Four chairs are
there. पवू व रूपर््, उिररूपर््, सत्तन्धः and सन्धािर््. And in each
one we have to invoke one object. What is going to be invoked?
पत्तृ र्वी पवू व रूपर्् – the entire earth is going to invoked on
पवू व रूपर््. So पत्तृ र्वी means भशू म. द्ौः उिररूपर्् – upon the
उिररूपर््, the later letter, the second component we are going
to invoke द्ौः – स्वगव लोक. आकाशः सत्तन्धः. So where do भल ू ोक
and सुवलोक join? That conjunction or junction is called
आकाशः – the intermediary space, अन्तररक्लोकः. In that
junction we require some link to connect these two. वायुः
सन्धािर््. वायुः – the atmosphere is the linking factor which is
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connecting the upper लोक with the lower one. In short, the
entire cosmos you have to visualize on four components of
सत्तन्ध. So therefore this an उपासि in which I visualize the
totality. This is required because our life is becoming narrower
and narrower as I was all the time bothered about we two and
our two (me and my family). We don’t have time to imagine
the शवश्वरूप, the totality and therefore the उपत्तिषत् says spend
some time in visualizing the macro universe. And therefore the
लोकत्रयर्् has come in this visualization. Because भल ू ोक has
come, सुवलोक भल ू ोक has come, भुवलोक, the intermediary
लोक has come. भल ू ोक, भुवलोक, सुवलोक the लोकत्रयर्् is
visualized in the Vedic conjunction. Therefore it is macro
visualization. And this is called इत्तत – thus is concluded
अत्तधलोकां सांत्तितोपासिर््. Thus we start with the macro and we
are going to conclude with शरीर उपासि, which is micro. The
world is called ब्रह्माण्डर्् and the body is called त्तपण्डाण्डर््.
ब्रह्माण्डर्् to त्तपण्डाण्डर्् you visualize everything. Now we have
to go to the second सांत्तितोपासिर््, we will read.
अर्ात्तधजौत्ततषर्् । अत्तनिः पवू व रूपर्् । आत्तदत्य उिररूपर्् । आपः
सत्तन्धः । वैद्ुतः सन्धािर्् । इत्यत्तधज्यौत्ततषर्् ।
The second one is called अत्तधज्यौत्ततषर््. The word
अर् means hereafter, after the first सांत्तितोपासिर््, प्रर्म
सांत्तितोपासि अिन्तरर््. अत्तधज्यौत्ततषर््. The word ज्यौत्ततषर्् is
derived from the word ज्यौत्ततः which means a luminary.
प्रकाशात्र्क वस्तु or प्रकाश वस्तु is called ज्यौत्ततः. सय ू व ज्यौत्ततः,
चन्द्र ज्यौत्ततः, नक्षर ज्यौत्ततः, अत्तनि ज्यौत्ततः शवद्यत
ु ् ज्यौत्ततः are all
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called ज्योतींत्तष or ज्यौत्ततः Anything associated with ज्यौत्ततः is
ज्यौत्ततषर््. That is why astrology is called ज्यौत्ततषर्् because it
deals with luminaries like planets, stars, Sun, moon etc. Since
it is a science dealing with ज्यौत्ततः astrology is called ज्यौत्ततषर््.
But here the word ज्यौत्ततषर्् does not mean astrology
meditation. Here ज्यौत्ततषर्् means an उपासि associated with
ज्यौत्ततः. Therefore it is called अत्तधज्यौत्ततष सांत्तितोपासिर््.
What are the luminaries we take? अत्तनिः पवू व रूपर्् – so अत्तनि
ज्यौत्ततः is the light principle obtaining in the भल ू ोक. अत्तनि is
the तेिस् तववम् obtaining in the भल ू ोक. Therefore अत्तनि is
invoked upon पवू व रूपर््. And आत्तदत्यः – the Sun is also nothing
but an अत्तनि तववम् only but the अत्तनि तववम् in the heavens or
the upper लोक. It is invoked in उिररूपर््. So if you remember
इषे ्वा in the vowel ए we have to see अत्तनिः, in the consonant
त we have to see आत्तदत्यः. And in इषे ्वा there is a gap between
the two words. what should we see in that gap? आपः सत्तन्धः –
the rainy waters which are present in the form of cloud. Here
आपः refers मेघिलम्. Because मेघिलम् is between अत्तनिः and
आत्तदत्यः. Then what is the linking luminary? वैद्ुतः सन्धािर्् –
the lightening is the luminary which is connecting the sky and
the earth. What a beautiful imagination! What does lightening
do? It originates in the sky and enters the earth through anything
that is available. वैद्ुतः means the luminary called the lightening
which is the link between अत्तनिः and आत्तदत्यः. Therefore
visualize the lightening. Don’t think that lightening comes once
in a while and that too while it rains. If you look at the entire
earth they say that every three seconds or three minutes
somewhere on the earth lightening is striking. Therefore
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constantly शवद्युत् is there. So may you see it as a linking
luminary. इत्तत अत्तधज्यौत्ततषर््. So in this we are visualizing the
powerful natural forces. In the previous one the लोकs or
cosmos is meditated upon. In the second उपासि the various
powerful natural forces are taken for meditation. So the
उपत्तिषत् says don’t take the universe for granted. Everything is
भगवाि्’s glory. Learn to visualize that glory. This is the second
सांत्तितोपासिर्् called अत्तधज्यौत्ततष सांत्तितोपासिर््. The word
इत्तत indicates the end. Thus ends अत्तधज्यौत्ततष सांत्तितोपासिर््.
अर्ात्तधत्तवद्र्् । आिायव ः पवू व रूपर्् ॥ २ ॥
र्न्त्र 1-3-03
अन्तेवास्युिररूपर्् । त्तवद्ा सत्तन्धः । प्रवििँसन्धािर्् ।
इत्यत्तधत्तवद्र्् ।
So the universe has been taken, natural forces have been
taken, now the उपत्तिषत् comes to the educational field. अर् –
अत्तधज्यौत्ततष सांत्तितोपासि अिन्तरर््, after the second उपासि
comes the अत्तधत्तवद्र््. शवद्या means knowledge or learning or
education. अत्तध means connected to, related to, अत्तधकृत्य. So
अत्तधत्तवद् means that which is dealing with, that which is in the
field of education we are going to do उपासि. Once the
education topic comes what are the four important factors?
आिायव ः पवू व रूपर्् – the preceptor, the educator, the tutor, the
teacher is the पवू व रूपर््. आिायव is defined as
आत्तििोत्तत ि शास्त्र-अर्ाव ि् आिारे स्र्ापयत्तत अत्तप । स्वयर््
आिरते यस्र्ात्, तस्र्ात् आिायव उच्यते ॥
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The teacher has to cull or collect all the important teachings
from the scriptures depending upon the need and level of the
students. And then आिारे स्र्ापयत्तत – he requests the students
to learn and follow, you should have proper आिार. So
transformation of personality means proper आिार, right
conduct. He does not merely command the students to follow,
commandment will never have a value, therefore the best form
of teaching is स्वयर्् आिरते यस्र्ात्. So he teaches not only
verbally but more by his own living what he teaches. As they
say in English precept and practice should go together. And
since the गुरु does these three things – आत्तििोत्तत: आिारर्शत
and आिरशत, he is called as an आिायव . That आिायव is invoked
in पवू व रूपर््. Who is the उिररूपर््? अन्तेवात्तस उिररूपर््. A
student especially who lives with the teacher for a length of
time is called अन्तेवात्तस. A resident student who is associated
with a residential system, गुरुकुल सम्प्रदार्े त्तवद्ाशर्य is called
अन्तेवात्तस. अन्ते means सशमपे, near and वात्तस means lives. A
student who lives with the teacher for learning. Why do we say
a student should live with the teacher? Because as said before
teaching is less by words but more by practice alone. A student
imbibes more by observing the teacher and living with the
teacher. Learning in the class is limited but learning through
observation and association is more. And therefore the teacher
has to transform the student by constant contact. Therefore he
is called अन्तेवात्तस and he is the उिररूपर््. What is the
junction? Where do they come together? Or on what occasion
do they come together? There is only purpose त्तवद्ा सत्तन्धः –
education is the purpose, learning is the purpose. Therefore that
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is the junction. What is the link? How does the learning takes
place? Imagine you come and sit here for one hour without
talking. And I also come and sit here for one hour without
talking. So even though junction is there, we have come
together but we have not been connected. What brings the
connection? प्रवििां सन्धािर््. प्रवििर्् means the teaching
process, verbal communication, verbal contact. And according
to scriptures it not only requires verbal contact they say
psychologically more important contact is eye to eye contact.
And especially more important the communication is they say
look into the eye of the person. That is why when mother talks
to the child you can see the mother’s eyes are constantly in
contact with the child’s. In fact there are occasions when
mother does not talk anything; she only keeps on looking in the
eyes of the child. In that looking the relationship, the contact is
getting more and more reinforced. And that is why they say that
the teacher and the student should have the eye contact.
Therefore you should never listen to a class in a meditative
mode with eyes closed. During meditation you can close your
eyes and not during listening. And that is the reason book
learning can never create an eye contact with आिायव . When we
read a book of anyone we only have an indirect contact, eye
contact is not there. When for an ordinary communication they
emphasize eye contact, what to talk of the highest
communication of तत् त्वर्् अत्तस? Therefore गुरुकुलवासर्् was
highlighted and that is why a live teacher is also highlighted.
You cannot say my गुरु is somebody was has passed away.
शङ्करािायव , रमि मिशषय , रार्कृष्ि परमिंस cannot be गुरुs
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because they are not alive. They can be inspirers. But the
teaching must come from a live person because eye contact is
the root of all important communication. Therefore he is an
अन्तेवात्तस. And प्रवििां सन्धािर्् – the teaching is the link. इत्तत
अत्तधत्तवद्र्् – thus ends the educational सांत्तितोपासिर््, अत्तधत्तवद्
सांत्तितोपासिर््. Continuing;
अर्ात्तधप्रजर्् । र्ाता पवू व रूपर्् । त्तपतोिररूपर्् । प्रजा सत्तन्धः ।
प्रजििँसन्धािर्् । इत्यत्तधप्रजर्् ॥ ३ ॥
Now comes the fourth सांत्तितोपासिर्् in which four objects are
invoked from the field of प्रजा, literally means progeny which
means family life or गिृ स्र्ाश्रर्. Because in the previous field
ब्रह्मियाव श्रर् was taken, now गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् field is taken to indicate
that each आश्रर् plays a cardinal important role in the spiritual
growth of a person. That is why each one is called an आश्रर्. So
what is the significance of गिृ स्र्ाश्रर्? It is going to be said
here. अर् अत्तधप्रजर्् – अत्तधत्तवद् सांत्तितोपासि अिन्तरर््
अत्तधप्रजर्् – अत्तधप्रज सांत्तितोपासि. Here the four factors are
र्ाता पवू व रूपर्् – mother is to be invoked in the पवू व रूपर््. Where
is the question of family without mother and father? Therefore
mother or wife is पवू व रूपर््. In the practice of उपासि I have to
visualize the mother on the left-hand side letter. Then त्तपता
उिररूपर्् – the father is the latter letter. What is the purpose of
their coming together? What is the purpose of wedding? What
is the purpose of marriage? What is the purpose of गिृ स्र्ाश्रर्?
That is to be remembered because वेद has got an intention. Now
the society has got totally a different intention. Society thinks
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that गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् is अर्व -कार् प्रधान. It is meant for अर्व , the
wealth. Because previously only one salary and now there are
two salaries. Have you heard DINK? It means Double Income
No Kids. That means have plenty of money and have a gala
time of enjoyment. That is not the intention of the वेद. अर्व and
कार् are incidentally fulfilled पुरुषार्व s. The primary purpose is
धर्व पुरुषार्व and associated with धर्व is प्रजा – progeny.
Therefore I am supposed to follow the Vedic lifestyle for which
wife and children are. In the बिृ दारण्यकोपत्तिषत्, कर्व is called
पाङ्क्तर्् which means that which requires five factors. Every
Vedic ritual is called पाङ्क्तर्् requiring five factors – यजर्ाि
(husband), पत्तत्ि (wife), पुत्र (children), दैव त्तवि (Vedic र्न्त्रs)
and र्ािुष त्तवि (money). So all Vedic rituals are called पाङ्क्तर््
because they require all these five and therefore one is supposed
to enter into गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् for the sake of वैत्तदक कर्व and वैत्तदक
कर्व requires children, therefore children are called धर्व प्रजा.
That means children for the sake of धर्व . In the marriage
सङकल्प also he says धर्व प्रजा अशभवदृ ् ध्र्र्य म् कर्व कररष्र्े. Not
only wife and children are required for the performance of कर्व ,
the values can be protected only when the parents hand over the
values to the children of the next generation. Because values
have to be taught or have to be inculcated within the first five
or six years. Because according to psychology the core
personality is formed in the child within the first five or six
years. And once the mind has hardened you cannot change it.
And fortunately or unfortunately the first few years are spent
with the parents only. And therefore the values can be taught
primarily by the parents only. and nowadays it is at that time
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that the children grow in the hands of a babysitter. What values
a babysitter will have? दयािन्द स्वात्तर्त्तज repeatedly said that
a great tragedy has been struck because of the educational
system starting UKG, then came LKG, then preLKG, then after
some time pre-preLKG. They want to send off the children very
early to school because I have to go for job. It produces children
who are not emotionally sound and mature. Therefore
गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् is meant for bringing up children who follow धर्व .
धर्व is not protected not in the धार्व शास्त्रs, but धर्व is protected
through the धात्तर्वक children who grow in the hands of धात्तर्वक
parents. Therefore गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् is primarily meant for raising
धात्तर्वक children. The parents teach the children not verbally
because it is insignificant and the children also cannot
understand the language also, the parents teach by living.
Therefore प्रजा सत्तन्धः. The धात्तर्वक progeny is the context in
which a male and female get married. प्रजििां सन्धािर््.
प्रजििम् means the conjugal union of the male and female
which is called गभाय दाि सांस्कार in Vedic language. This is the
link through which the children are born. In the गभाव दाि
सांस्कार also all the र्न्त्रs are chanted are we should get
children who are embodiment of values. Only after values
money is enumerated. Not much money. First we want children
of values. According to our tradition धर्व alone gives आिन्द.
Money cannot give आिन्द. If धर्व is not there money also will
become a source of sorrow. If धर्व is there money also will
become a source of आिन्द, If धर्व is there poverty also will be
a source of आिन्द. Therefore धर्व decides whether a family
should be happy or not. Therefore even in conjugal union it is
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not taken as a sense pleasure, it is taken as a religious union for
the sake of धर्व प्रजा. Therefore प्रजििां सन्धािर््. इत्तत अत्तधप्रजर््
– so thus is concluded अत्तधप्रज सांत्तितोपासिर््. Four उपासिs
over. अत्तधलोक, अत्तधज्यौत्ततष, अत्तधत्तवद्, अत्तधप्रजर््. Then finally
अध्यात्र् सांत्तितोपासिर््. See how gradually it started with all
the लोकs then natural forces, then educational institutions, then
family and finally the body, gradually it is coming interior and
interior, from macro we have started and ending in the micro.
We will read.
र्न्त्र 1-3-04
अर्ाध्यात्र्र्् । अधराििुः पवू व रूपर्् । उिराििि ू ररूपर्् ।
वाक्तसत्तन्धः । त्तजह्वासन्धािर्् । इत्यध्यात्र्र्् ।
So अर् – after अत्तधप्रज सांत्तितोपासिर्् now comes
अध्यात्र्म् – अत्तधशरीर सांत्तितोपासिर््, a उपासि in which the
physical parts of the body or the organs of the body are invoked
for meditation. There also which organ is maximum active? If
we analyze our transactions most of them are verbal. You get
up in the morning you start talking. Now even if you go to an
isolated place, you have got a cell phone. In fact in all functions
you have to add a special request ‘please switch off your cell
phone’. So we find that the verbal communication is the most
prevalent form of activity. And even when you are reading a
letter remember letter represents again verbal communication.
That is why they have found that a country can grow only when
the information technology, IT communication is
revolutionized because the business is dependent on
communication. The whole science is working for improving
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the method of communication. The वेदs know that. Therefore
वेद takes the communication connected organ which is the
mouth. अधरा ििुः पवू व रूपर्् – the lower jaw is the पवू व रूपर््. That
alone is active when you are talking. When you open the mouth
will both the jaws move or only one? Only the lower jaw comes
down. That being important अधरा ििुः पवू व रूपर््. उिरा ििुः
उिररूपर्् – the upper jaw is उिररूपर््. ििुः means jaw. From
that only the word ििुमान् has come. It means the one who has
a pronounced jaw. शवशिष्ट िनुिः अस्र् अशस्त इशत ििुमान्, the
one who has longer jaw. वाक्तसत्तन्धः – these jaws come together
while speaking. Speech is the junction. What is the linking one,
the upper and lower one and which is in the middle and which
plays a prominent role in talking? त्तजह्वा सन्धािर्् – the tongue
is the link. The greatest wonder is the tongue is one of the
softest part of the body and the teeth are one of the hardest part
of the body. There are thirty-two teeth and the softest tongue is
caught between the hardest. And it has constantly move
between them without getting caught. How smart the tongue is!
So learn from the tongue how to live in the family. All the
people are like sharp canine teeth. Therefore त्तजह्वा is the link.
May you meditate upon this four इत्तत अध्यात्र् सांत्तितोपासिर््.
Thus, these five उपासिs are concluded, all these five put
together is one मिासांत्तितोपासिर््. Hereafter we have to see the
फलर्् of this उपासि which we shall see in the next class.
पि
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In the first chapter of the तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत्, शीक्ावल्ली
we are seeing the last portion of the third अिुवाक which deals
with सांत्तितोपासिर्् wherein Vedic conjunction letter is taken
as the आलम्बिर्् and upon that आलम्बिर्् or support we are
invoking different objects of meditation. And five such
उपासिs are mentioned and all these five उपासिs put together
is one मिासांत्तितोपासिर््. Even though they are five उपासिs
we take them together as one उपासि because in each one of
them the आलम्बिर्् happens to be the same which are the four
factors – पवू व रूपर््, उिररूपर््, सत्तन्धः and सन्धािर्् – belonging
to Vedic conjunction. You imagine them as four chairs. And
upon each one of them we invoke four objects. And in each
उपासि the four objects are taken from a particular field and
thus we had five fields taken for consideration. अत्तधलोक
सांत्तितोपासिर्् where the four objects connected with the लोकs
were taken, अत्तधज्यौत्ततष सांत्तितोपासिर्् wherein four
luminaries were taken, अत्तधत्तवद् सांत्तितोपासिर्् where the four
objects associated with education or learning were taken, then
अत्तधप्रज सांत्तितोपासिर्् where the four objects connected with
progeny or family were taken, and finally अध्यात्र्
सांत्तितोपासिर्् wherein four organs connected with the body
were taken. Thus totally five उपासिs and in each one of them
four objects, thus totally twenty objects were superimposed
upon these four आलम्बिर््s. And now in the end portion of this
अिुवाक or section the उपत्तिषत् is glorifying this Vedic
conjunction letters.
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इतीर्ार्िासँत्तिताः ।
इत्तत इर्ाः र्िासँत्तिताः – this Vedic combination or
conjunction which serves as a support for उपासि are called
र्िासांत्तिताः – the great conjunctions. They are great in two-fold
ways. First they are great because they belong to the वेदs. The
letters chosen are Vedic letters and therefore they are glorious.
And not only that upon those letters we are invoking great
objects for meditation. And therefore because of the association
with the great objects also they are called र्िासांत्तिताः. With that
the उपासि portion is over. Hereafter the उपत्तिषत् gives the
फलर्् for practicing this grand उपासि. What is the उपासि
फलर््? It depends upon the attitude with which we do the
उपासि. Our सङकल्प or our motive has a capacity to
determine the type of result. So when a criminal uses a knife
upon someone and that victim dies there is a result because of
the motive. What is that motive of a criminal? To hurt the
victim and get some benefit. A doctor also at the time of a
crucial surgery to save the patient uses the knife and the result
may be the death of the patient. So here also knife is used and
death consequence takes place. So a criminal also uses knife
and death takes place. And a doctor also uses knife and death
takes place. Even though externally the events are similar the
motive is totally different and therefore one is honored for his
great attempt or at least he is not punished, whereas the other
one is imprisoned. Therefore according to our शास्त्र our motive
has the capacity to determine the result of a कर्व . And the
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motive is indicated by the सङकल्प that we take. र्र्ोपाि
सर्स्त दुररतक्यद्वारा श्री परर्ेश्वर प्रीत्यर्व र््, afterwards what do
we add. So what we add along with that indicates our सङकल्प.
And the सङकल्प can be for material result. And when a person
performs any कर्व or उपासि for the sake of the material benefit
otherwise called अर्व -कार् then it is called सकार् उपासि.
When the very same उपासि is performed not for the sake of
अर्व -कार् but for the sake of धर्व and र्ोक्, त्तििशुत्तद्, ज्ाि प्रात्ति
and र्ोक् प्रात्ति, then the very same उपासि is called त्तिष्कार्
उपासि. In the भगवद्गीता कृष्ि makes a very important
statement, when a person does a सकार् कर्व or उपासि, he has
to be extremely careful regarding the rules and regulations, he
cannot afford to commit any mistake. So in सकार् कर्व or
उपासि one should be extremely careful because if a mistake
takes place the कर्व फलर्् may not come or as we saw before it
can become even counterproductive. Therefore in सकार् कर्व
we have to be extremely alert. Whereas if we are doing the very
same कर्व or उपासि as त्तिष्कार् साधि then we seek only
त्तििशुत्तद् and र्ोक् then the rules are relaxed. Without fear you
can commit mistakes. Mistakes cannot be counterproductive.
कृष्ि uses the expression
िेिात्तभिर्िाशोऽत्तस्त प्रत्यवायो ि त्तवद्ते ।
स्वल्पर्प्यस्य धर्व स्य त्रायते र्ितो भयात् ॥ गीता २-४० ॥
In the case of सकार् कर्व or उपासि you have to do it perfectly
according to the rules. If one mistake takes place either you will
not get any benefit at all or often as we saw in the story of
इन्द्रिरु the result can be negative. Whereas when it is त्तिष्कार्
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कर्व or उपासि you will certainly get the benefit if you make
mistake also proportional to the mistake the result may be lesser
but the result will come. And not only will the positive result
come, negative result can never come for त्तिष्कार् कर्व or
उपासि. Therefore when we study these साधिs we have to talk
about the result from two angles – सकार् and त्तिष्कार् angles.
When this उपासि is practiced त्तिष्कार्तर्ा, त्तिष्कार्
सांत्तितोपासि फलं शकर््? There are so many positive benefits.
Not in terms of material benefits like money, positions,
possessions, status etc., but other forms of results which will be
useful for the spiritual growth.
1) So the first benefit is expansion of the mind. Because in
this उपासि we are invoking various लोकs. पत्तृ र्वी पवू व रूपर्् ।
द्ौरुिररूपर्् । आकाशः सत्तन्धः । वायुः सन्धािर्् । You learn to
visualize the three worlds in the sky. The mind always assumes
the form of the object. If you are visualizing a small thing, the
mind also will become smaller. That is why in those days in our
culture everything was big. You look at the temple they were
huge ones. You look at the houses also the ceilings will be so
high and pillars also will be so big. Now you cannot raise your
hand because seven feet only. So all the houses are like match
boxes, therefore our mind also becomes narrow. This
सांत्तितोपासिर्् starts with the macro world, therefore the first
advantage is expansion of the mind.
2) And the second advantage that I get is since I meditate
upon the totality of the universe I develop reverence towards
the universe. I revere the earth, I don’t take it for granted, earth
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is भम ू ादेवर for me. And that is when I get up I offer िर्स्कार
to it asking for pardon.
सर्ुर वसिे देत्तव पवव तस्तिर्ण्डले । त्तवष्िुपत्तत्ि िर्स्तुभ्यर््
पादस्पशव र्् क्र्स्व र्े ॥
O mother earth! You are the consort of त्तवष्िु, भदू ेवी you are and
I am forced to step over you because I cannot fly like a bird and
I have to walk stepping over you and for that may you pardon.
Therefore earth is sacred, water is sacred, Sun is sacred, in fact
the entire creation is sacred for me. This perspective of
reverence will later help me in त्तवश्वरूप दशव िर््. It changes my
attitude towards the universe. It expands the mind and it also
transforms my attitude. This is the second advantage.
3) And the third benefit is not only I develop reverence
towards the entire creation every object involved in this
meditation I develop reverence. Therefore luminaries are
involved चन्द्रिः, सर्ू य िः, नक्षराशि, शवद्यत
ु ् all of them I learn to
revere. And later आिायव ः पवू व रूपर्् । अन्तेवास्युिररूपर्् । I
invoke the गुरु and त्तशष्य, therefore I develop reverence for the
teaching, the very book itself. it is unique in our culture alone
that we respect any book that we are studying. Therefore
reverence for आिायव is unique in Vedic culture. In other
cultures they ask why should I revere, I am paying. I am not
getting free, why should I respect? Reverence for the teacher is
unique. Reverence for the book is unique. And not only that
later । र्ाता पवू व रूपर्् । त्तपतोिररूपर्् । प्रजा सत्तन्धः । प्रजििां
सन्धािर्् । I have reverence towards the parents also. Finally, I
meditate upon my own organs and through that I develop
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reverence towards my own body. We should remember body is
the greatest gift from the Lord, we cannot create any organ.
That is why once an organ is damaged you can never get back
in its original form. A bone is broken, however much you join
very well the natural condition is gone. However much
advanced the medical science maybe we can never recreate this
body and therefore देिो देवालयः प्रोक्तः respect your body. Not
that you have to develop attachment to the body, attachment
means ownership. So no attachment but I should learn to look
at the body as a sacred gift from the Lord. Thus there is
expansion of the mind, there is an attitudinal change. And that
is the शदव्र् चक्षुिः said in the eleventh chapter of the भगवद्गीता.
अजव ुि gets a divine eye to have त्तवश्वरूप दशव िर््. Divine eye is
not a special eye that is implanted. Divine eye is nothing but the
attitudinal change or transformation. When you get an apple
from the shop you just receive it and put it in your bag or in
your mouth. When the very same apple comes from the temple,
from the priest or a र्िात्र्ा, apple remaining the same you put
that fruit on your eyes. What is the difference? Difference is not
in the material but difference is in your perspective. This
perspective change is called शदव्र् चक्षुिः. And when अजव ुि got
this शदव्र् चक्षुिः in the eleventh chapter for him the whole
creation was त्तवश्वरूप ईश्वर. And here also through
सांत्तितोपासिर्् I get a शदव्र् चक्षुिः to see the त्तवश्वरूप ईश्वर. So
this is the third benefit.
4) The fourth benefit for any उपासि is earn the capacity to
focus the mind on a particular field for a length of time.
Developing the attention span. For many people it is a problem,
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they cannot have attention on a particular field for some time;
attention deficiency syndrome. This उपासि will help in
developing attention span. All these are the benefits for
त्तिष्कार् उपासि. And also because we are invoking ईश्वर, the
त्तवश्वरूप त्तििशुत्तद्ः is also developed. So if you put in सांस्कृत
त्तििशुत्तद्ः, त्तिि एकाग्रता, त्तिि त्तवशालता, and त्तिि िैश्चल्यर्् all
are the benefits for त्तिष्कार् उपासि. This will help in वेदान्त
श्रविर्् which in turn will help in gaining आत्र्ज्ािर््.
Now what are the benefits for सकार् उपासि? This is
given in the last portion of this section. We will read.
य एवर्ेता र्िासँत्तिता व्याख्याता वेद । सन्धीयते प्रजया पशुत्तभः ।
ब्रह्मविव सेिान्िाद्ेि सुवनयेि लोकेि ॥ ४ ॥ इत्तत ततृ ीयोऽिुवाकः
॥
यः एवर्् एताः र्िासांत्तिताः व्याख्याताः वेद. The word वेद
means उपास्ते, उपासनं करोशत. Suppose a person practices this
सांत्तितोपासिर््. Upon what? र्िासँत्तिता – upon these great
Vedic conjunctions. What are those conjunctions? व्याख्याताः
– which have been talked about in the beginning portion in the
form of पवू व रूपर््, उिररूपर््, सत्तन्धः and सन्धािर््. सँत्तिता is for
chanting purposes, if you take out of the chanting you should
read it as सांत्तिताः. And एवर्् वेद – the उपासन should be done
exactly as prescribed. If पत्तृ र्वी is पवू व रूपर््, स्वगव is the
उिररूपर््, you cannot say after all four chairs are there, four
objects are there, what does it matter anyone can sit on any
chair. It is like certain function where the chairs are specifically
allotted to respective dignitaries. should be occupied by which
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dignitary is prescribed. In fact in the organizational meeting
hours are spend on that. Because if the dignitary is not given
the appropriate chair then donations may not come. Therefore
chairs are allotted according to the status of dignitaries. Because
it is a सकार्. कार् is donation. So when it is a सकार् function
honor the dignitary properly otherwise donation won’t come. If
it is a त्तिष्कार् function you need not even know who is VIP
and who is IP. You come and sit wherever you like. If you are
not interested you can leave. I won’t honor. But if it is a सकार्
function एवर्् – exactly as prescribe on has to do उपासन. Then
the फलर्् will be सन्धीयते – since he has meditated upon the
association, Vedic combination, he will get association with
प्रजया पशुत्तभः – plenty of children and wealth. This सकार्
फलर्् is divided into two. One is इिलोक फलम्, another is मरि
अनन्तर फलम् or परलोक फलम्. The benefit you will get in
this life itself and the benefit you will get after death. The
benefit in this life is सन्धीयते – you will have combination or
association with प्रजया – you will get progeny. Here also a
significance you have to note. When a person gets a particular
फलर्् the nature of the फलर्् depends upon the nature of
उपासि. This is the rule.
यर्ा यर्ा उपासते तर्ैव भवत्तत ॥ र्ुद्गलोपत्तिषत् ३-३ ॥
Suppose a person meditates upon God as the embodiment of
knowledge, सवव ज्ः ईश्वरः. Then the फलर्् will be he will get
plenty of knowledge. So ज्ाि त्तवत्तशष्ट ईश्वर उपासिेि ज्ाि
फलर््. Suppose you meditate upon ईश्वर as omnipotent, शत्तक्त
त्तवत्तशष्ट ईश्वर उपासि, then the फलर्् is I will get the strength.
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If I meditate as beauty त्तवत्तशष्ट ईश्वर, Lord as सत्यर्् त्तशवम्
सुन्दरम्, then I will become सुन्दर. If I meditate upon the Lord
as शन्र् ईश्वरः, then I will get longevity. This is based on as the
उपासि so the फलर््. Now here what is the उपासि? सत्तन्ध
उपासि or the उपासि on combination. Therefore here the
उपासक also will get combination. Combination with whatever
he has meditated upon. प्रजा उपासि he did therefore he will
have children. And शवद्या उपासि he did therefore he will have
शवद्या. पशुत्तभः – पशु means wealth. So he will get plenty of
wealth. And ब्रह्मविव सेि. ब्रह्मविव स् means resplendent
personality, magnetic personality, attractive personality,
charming personality, that brilliance. And not only that
अन्िाद्ेि – he will get plenty of food; basic need. What type of
food? आद्यम् अन्नम् – food that is nutritious, which is not
poisonous. आद्यम् means अदन र्ोनर्म् – fit to be eaten.
Nowadays they say food poisoning. Therefore अन्िाद्म् means
without any poison. He can eat and the food will nourish him
and it will not damage his health. All these are इिलोक फलर््.
Then after death what will he get? Will he get र्ोक्? No. Very
careful! However great the उपासि may be whether it is सकार्
or त्तिष्कार् उपासि र्ोक् will not be the benefit because for
र्ोक् one requires आत्र्ज्ािर््. Therefore after मरिम् he gets
सुवगेि लोकेि – he will get higher लोकs. Which higher लोक?
It depends upon both the quantity and quality of उपासि. How
long was the उपासि, how often it was done – this is
quantitative. And also how well it was done, how much
attention was paid – this is qualitative. So depending upon the
quantity and quality he will get भुवलोक, सुवलोक, र्िलोक,
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जिलोक, तपोलोक or सत्यलोक. Therefore one should practice
सांत्तितोपासिर्् whether he is interested in material or spiritual
benefit. If one wants material benefit let it be सकार् उपासि, if
one wants spiritual benefit let it be त्तिष्कार् उपासि. Of course,
incidentally it is not compulsory. It is one of the optional
meditation. वेद and पुरािs have got optional उपासिs also like
गार्रर उपासि or राम उपासि, कृष्ि उपासि, गिपशत उपासि,
this is one of the optional उपासि. So with this third अिुवाक is
over and the first उपासि is over. Now we will enter the fourth
one.
र्ेधात्तदत्तसद्ध्यर्ाव आविन्तीिोर्र्न्त्राः
र्न्त्र 1-4-01
यश्छन्दसार्षृ भो त्तवश्वरूपः । छन्दोभ्योऽध्यर्त ृ ात्सम्बभवू । स
र्ेन्रो र्ेधया स्पि ृ ोतु । अर्त ृ स्य देव धारिो भय ू ासर्् । शरीरां र्े
त्तविषव िर्् । त्तजह्वा र्े र्धुर्िर्ा । किाव भ्याां भरू रत्तवश्रुवर्् । ब्रह्मिः
कोशोऽत्तस र्ेधया त्तपत्तितः । श्रुतां र्े गोपाय ।
This fourth अिुवाक is a bigger section which prescribes
two spiritual साधिs. The entire first chapter is साधि प्रधान
chapter for refining the mind. Those two साधिs are
1) र्न्त्रजप साधि. A साधि in the form of repeating a
particular र्न्त्र. जपः means आवत्तृ िः repeatedly chanting.
2) िोर् साधि. A साधि in the form of a physical ritual in
which अत्तनि is involved.
Therefore उपासि is मनिः प्रधानम्, in उपासि mind is the
instrument used. In जप the organ of speech is the instrument
that is prominent. In िोर् the physical body plays a prominent
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role. Thus we have र्ािसां कर्व – उपासि, वात्तिकं कर्व – जपः
and कात्तयकं कर्व – िोर्ः. All types of कर्व s are prescribed. So
the portion that we have read is in the form of र्न्त्रजप. In this
we are offering a prayer to the Lord. ईश्वर प्रार्य ना we are
offering. The Lord can be visualized in any form because you
know that the Lord by Himself does not have any form because
to have a form is to be limited. If the Lord has to be limitless,
Lord has to be formless only. And since the Lord is formless
we cannot invoke or visualize the formless Lord and therefore
we symbolize the formless Lord with the help of a form or a
symbol. It can be any symbol. A lamp can be a symbol or
त्तशवत्तलङ्ग or शात्तलग्रार्र्् or even a turmeric powder can be a
symbol. In this particular context, the symbol is going to be
ॐकारः. Therefore I invoke the ईश्वर as ॐकारः. ॐकार रूप
परर्ेश्वरं प्रशत प्रार्य ना. And through this प्रार्य ना what benefit do
I seek? Since I am a seeker of मोक्ष through the Lord, through
this prayer I seek ज्ाियोनयता प्रात्ति. I should have all-round
eligibility. I should have all-round fitness. By all-round fitness
I mean physical fitness, then verbal fitness which is
communicating capacity, Vedantic teaching is in the form of a
dialogue therefore not only the teacher should have the
communication skill the student also must present his problems
properly. So the whole teaching is in the form of a dialogue.
Therefore communication skill plays a very important role.
Therefore verbal fitness. Then emotional fitness. my mind
should not be disturbed. If I have a depression at the time of the
class you cannot learn. Either anger or frustration or anxiety or
fear. Therefore emotional balance is mental fitness.
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Psychological sanity. And above all at the intellectual level I
should be sharp enough to reason out, to logically think because
the वेदान्त is a matter for understanding and it is not a matter
for faith or a matter for experience. We are not offering any
mystic experience here. And we are not asking to believe
something. The teacher is trying to make the student understand
something. The whole process is cognitive process. If you are
not convinced then you should write the question, the teacher
should answer and you should be able to grasp the reasoning of
the teacher. And as we go further we will see in ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली
that it is completely an intellectual process. As दयािन्द
स्वात्तर्त्तज says the knowledge is always intellectual, there is no
nasal knowledge, there is no leg knowledge. Any knowledge is
intellectual. What about spiritual knowledge? Spiritual
knowledge does not take place in spirit. Spiritual knowledge is
a knowledge about the spirit but that also has to take place in
the intellect only. Therefore any knowledge is intellectual
knowledge only. कठोपत्तिषत् says
दृश्यते त्वग्र्यया बुद्ध्या सक्ष्ू र्या सक्ष्ू र्दत्तशवत्तभः ॥ कठोपत्तिषत् १-
३-१२ ॥
You have to gain this knowledge with a sharp and subtle
intellect. Thus physical, verbal, emotional and intellectual
eligibility is called ज्ाि योनयता, I ask for that योनयता through
this prayer.
And since the Lord is going to be invoked in the form of
ॐकार, the उपत्तिषत् first glorifies ॐकार and after
glorification the Lord will be invoked in ॐकार. Like in daily
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पञ्िायति पज ू ा etc., first they will do पज
ू ा to the very परठम्
itself. Because on the परठम् I am going to invoke the Lord.
परठम् is the base upon which the Lord is going to be seated.
Similarly, ॐकार’s glory is talked about and upon that ॐकार
I am going to invoke परर्ेश्वर and ॐकार रूप परर्ेश्वर I pray
to. So what is the glory of ॐकार.
The उपत्तिषत् says ॐकारः छन्दसाम् ऋषभः. ऋषभः
means श्रेष्ठः, the greatest, the most glorious, superlative. So
ॐकार is the greatest र्न्त्र among छन्दसाम्. िन्दस् means वेद
र्न्त्राः. So छन्दसाम् मध्र्े वेद मन्रेषु मध्र्े, among the Vedic
र्न्त्रs the most sacred र्न्त्र is ॐकार. That is why in the tenth
chapter of the गीता also कृष्ि says
त्तगरार्् अत्तस्र् एकर्् अक्रर्् ॥ गीता १०-२५ ॥
Among the Vedic र्न्त्रs I am the ॐकार He says. Therefore
ॐकार is छन्दसाम् ऋषभः – the greatest among the Vedic
र्न्त्रs. Why a Vedic र्न्त्र is called िन्दस?् Because it does two-
fold job. The √िन्द् िन्दर्शत has does two-fold meaning. That
which pleases a person., the one which gives happiness to
people. िन्दर्शत प्ररिर्शत इशत िन्दिः. So if you learn the वेदs it
will give you joy. So आनन्दप्रदिः िन्दिः. Not only that there is a
second meaning for the word िन्द् िन्दर्शत रक्षर्शत that which
protects you from सांसार, from the worldly problems. S So
Vedic र्न्त्रs gives you immunity. In fact the very word र्न्त्र
means मननात् रार्ते इशत मन्रिः. So all these words मन्रिः,
िन्दिः, etc., indicates वेदs serve as a कवचम् for you, to shield
you from worldly problems. Therefore वेद र्न्त्रs are called
िन्दस्. Among the वेद र्न्त्रs also ॐकार is श्ेष्ठिः. How did the
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ॐकार come? The उपत्तिषत् says छन्दोभ्यः सम्बभवू – the
ॐकार र्न्त्र is extracted from the entire वेदs. Just as by
churning we take out the extract called butter which is spread
all over the milk, through a special process we extract the butter
from the milk, similarly the whole वेद is like the milk and out
of it the butter called ॐकार has been extracted. How was this
done? A big process is required. Since milk cannot directly
become butter, it has to go through various processes. Who did
this extracting job? It is said that ब्रह्मात्तज himself churned the
वेद र्न्त्रs to find out the वेदसार. And after this churning
process; here the churning is not the physical one, but it is
intellectual churning or तपस्. ब्रह्मात्तज did तपस्. From the three
वेदs which are considered to be prominent first extract was in
the form of गायत्री र्न्त्र. The three lines of the गायत्री are the
सार of the three वेदs. ऋनवेद सार is तत्सत्तवतुववरेण्यर्् । र्िुवेद
सार is भगो देवस्य धीर्त्ति । सामवेद सार is त्तधयो यो िः प्रिोदयात्
॥ Then ब्रह्मात्तज thought in कत्तलयुग people will not have time
even for chanting the गायत्री. They are extremely busy,
therefore he condensed it further. Then from the first line
तत्सत्तवतुववरेण्यर्् he took भःू व्याहृत्तत, and from the second line
भगो देवस्य धीर्त्ति he extracted भुवः and from the third line त्तधयो
यो िः प्रिोदयात् he extracted सुवः. Therefore भःू भुवः सुवः these
are the सार of the three वेदs. Then ब्रह्मात्तज found people in
कत्तलयुग do not have time even for chanting भभ ू व ुवः सुवः.
Extremely busy. So therefore ब्रह्मात्तज took the essence from
these three र्न्त्रs also. From the भःू व्याहृत्तत the letter अ was
extracted, from the भुवः व्याहृत्तत the letter उ was extracted and
from the सुवः व्याहृत्तत the letter म् was extracted. Thus अ plus उ
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plus म् the ॐ three letters called three माराs are the essence of
ऋनवेद, यजुवेद and सार्वेद. Therefore one स्र्त्तृ त says
अकारञ्िाप्युकारञ्ि र्कारञ्ि प्रजापत्ततः । वेदत्रयात्तन्िरदुित्
ू व ुवः स्वररतीत्तत ि ॥
भभ
प्रजापत्ततः दत्रयात् ब्रह्मात्तज out of these three वेदs शनरदुित्
extracted अ, उ and म्, in short ॐकार. That is said here.
छन्दोभ्यः अर्त ृ ात् – from the eternal वेदs. अर्त ृ र्् means
eternal. अत्तध सांबभवू – originated or surfaced or came out in the
form of an extract ॐकारः. ॐकारः we have to supply. It is not
said in the उपत्तिषत्. So छन्दसाां ऋषभः ॐकारः अर्त ृ ात्
छन्दोभ्यः वेदेभ्यः अत्तध सांबभवू ॐकारः the greatest र्न्त्र came
out of the वेदs through ब्रह्मात्तज’s churning or तपस्. And since
ॐकारः is the essence of the वेदs, if you dilute the ॐकार it will
expand into the वेदs. Suppose you take essence which is a
concentrated extract of some juice and add it to a glass of water
it becomes juice for drinking. Therefore वेदs contracted is
ॐकारः which means ॐकारः expanded is the वेदs. Therefore
ॐकारः is called त्तवश्वरूपः. Therefore ॐकारः alone is in the
form of every Vedic र्न्त्र. Therefore the voluminous ऋनवेद is
ॐकार expanded and so with यजुवेद and सार्वेद. Therefore the
entire वेद is the त्तवश्वरूप form of ॐकार. And सः इन्रः – I see
that ॐकार as the Lord Himself. इन्रः means परर्ेश्वरः. And सः
इन्रः means ॐकाररूप परर्ेश्वरः. That Lord who is in the form
of ॐकार, who is invoked in ॐकार, स्पि ृ ोतु – may He
strengthen me, may He make me eligible as a Vedantic student.
How should he strengthen me? By giving all the necessary
qualifications. The qualifications to be given by the Lord are
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enumerated by the student himself. र्ेधया स्पि ृ ोतु – the first
qualification that I want is र्ेधा शत्तक्तः. र्ेधा शत्तक्तः is defined as
ग्रिि-धारि-शत्तक्तः. ग्रिि means grasping, absorbing capacity.
So when I sit in the class I should be like a sponge able to absorb
the whole teaching. It is not enough if the notebook absorbs, it
is not enough if the audio recorder absorbs, my intellect should
absorb the teaching. That is called ग्रिि शत्तक्तः. And absorption
power is not enough धारि शत्तक्तः retention power is also
required. When I continue in the next class referring to the
previous class you should not stare at me as though I am telling
something new. You should indicate through your facial
expression at least the familiarity. Therefore I should have
ग्रिि शत्तक्त and धारि शत्तक्त. Therefore O Lord please bless me
these two-fold शत्तक्त called र्ेधा. Details in the next class.
पि
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In the शीक्ावल्ली, the first chapter of the
तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् we are seeing the fourth अिुवाक, a relatively
bigger section in which we get two-fold spiritual साधि. The
first one is र्न्त्रजप साधि, a साधि in the form of repetition of
a particular र्न्त्र. र्न्त्र आवत्तृ ि रूप जप साधि. The second one
is िोर् साधि, a साधि in the form of a physical ritual where
oblations are offered into the अत्तनि. Of these two we are seeing
the first साधि, viz., जप साधि and through this जप साधि the
seeker is asking for ज्ाियोनयता प्रात्तिः, O Lord let me attain the
eligibility for the attainment of आत्र्ज्ािर््. And this prayer is
addressed to the Lord and here the Lord is invoked in the form
of ॐकारः. So ॐकाररूप परर्ेश्वरः, the Lord in the form of
ॐकारः is the object of prayer or invocation and to that Lord
we are seeking it. Therefore we saw स र्े न्रो र्ेधया स्पि ृ ोतु.
यश्छन्दसार्षृ भो त्तवश्वरूपः छन्दोभ्योऽध्यर्त ृ ात्सम्बभवू is the
glorification of ॐकार. ॐकार is glorified here because we are
looking upon the Lord as ॐकार and therefore first ॐकार is
glorified. And then the seeker says सः र्ा इन्रः र्ेधया स्पि ृ ोतु –
स र्ेन्रो र्ेधया स्पि ृ ोतु. सः इन्रः means ॐकाररूप परर्ेश्वरः.
The word इन्रः in this context means परर्ेश्वरः and not देवराि.
देवराि इन्रः is only one of the gods who enjoys temporary
superior position. We are not worshipping देवराि इन्रः but
परर्ेश्वरः, the supreme Lord who is invoked in ॐकार. स्पि ृ ोतु
– प्रीियतु, बलयतु वा, प्रज्ाबलां त्ति प्राथ्यव ते let Him strengthen me,
let Him protect me, let Him immunize me from the disease of
संसार. How should He protect me? र्ेधया स्पि ृ ोतु. We saw the
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meaning of the word र्ेधा in the last class. ग्रिि-धारि-शत्तक्तः.
The capacity to receive the Vedantic teaching, because the
context is वेदान्त, therefore वेदान्त िास्त्रार्य ग्रिि शत्तक्तः. And
not only should I have the absorption power I should also have
वेदान्त िास्त्रार्य धारि शत्तक्तः, I should also have the capacity to
retain. Reception power plus retention power is equal to र्ेधा.
So that I will enjoy अर्त ृ स्य देव धारिः भय ू ासम्. िे देव – O
ॐकाररूप परर्ेश्वर, O Lord who is in the form of ॐकार,
धारिः भय ू ासर्् – I should hold in myself, I should be the
possessor of अर्त ृ र््. धारिः means possessor. धारर्शत इशत
धारिः. धारत्तयता. And I should be the possessor of अर्त ृ स्य –
अर्तृ र्् in this context means आत्र्ज्ािर्् or ब्रह्मज्ािर््. Why
do you say आत्र्ज्ािर्् is अर्त ृ र््? Literally, the word अर्त ृ र््
means immortality which means र्ोक्. So र्त्ृ योर्ाव
अर्त ृ ङ्गर्य. That अर्त ृ त्वर्् is र्ोक्. And आत्र्ज्ािर्् is the
means for immortality. And since आत्र्ज्ािर्् is अर्त ृ
साधिर््, since it is a means of immortality, in this context
अर्त ृ र्् means अर्त ृ त्विे तुभत ू आत्र्ज्ािर््. The Self-
knowledge which gives me immortality. That Self-knowledge
I should be the carrier. So िे देव – O Lord let me become a ज्ात्ति.
In short, ज्ात्ति भवेयर््, let me become a ज्ात्ति. And I know if I
have to possess आत्र्ज्ािर्् I require lot of preparation for that.
आत्र्ज्ािर्् is not physical material like water which you can
carry with you. If आत्र्ज्ािर्् were a physical substance गुरु
can easily distribute that. Unfortunately आत्र्ज्ािर्् is handed
over only by consistent and systematic teaching. So consistent
and systematic teaching is the only method by which any
knowledge is handed over. After twenty years of education you
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become the carrier of Physics, Mathematics or Chemistry etc.
Therefore any knowledge is transferred through systematic
communication. So if I should receive आत्र्ज्ािर्् I should
gather only through systematic श्रविर््. And it is not for a day
or two but for a length of time. And therefore for undergoing
श्रवि साधि all my organs must be fit. For regularly coming to
the class I require physical fitness. And to sit here for one hour
I require physical fitness. And therefore O Lord शरीरां र्े त्तविषव िां
भवतु. त्तविषव िम् means healthy, fit, eligible. So त्तविषव िम् is
अरोग दृढ गारं भवतु. Not only the physical body must be fit for
श्रविर्् त्तजह्वा र्े र्धुर्िर्ा. Because all our activities are
काशर्कं, वाशचकं and मानसम्. That is why we say
कायेि वािा र्िसेत्तन्रयैवाव । बुद्ध्यात्र्िा वा प्रकृत्ततस्वभावात् ।
करोत्तर् यद्त्सकलर्् परस्र्ै । िारायियेत्तत सर्पव यात्तर् ॥
Therefore for काशर्क कमाय र्यम् my body must be fit and for
verbal transactions my वाक् इत्तन्रयर्् must be fit. Therefore र्े
त्तजह्वा – my tongue. Whenever we refer to the tongue there is
two-fold tongue – ज्ािेत्तन्रयम् tongue and कर्ेत्तन्रयम् tongue.
ज्ािेत्तन्रयम् tongue is the eating tongue, कर्ेत्तन्रयम् tongue is
the speaking one. Here we are referring to the speaking one,
वाशगत्तन्रयर््. Let my tongue be र्धुर्िर्ा – the sweetest one.
र्धु means honey, र्धुमान् means the honeyed one, dipped in
honey. And र्धुर्िर्ा means the most honeyed one, which
means the sweetest one. So let my tongue be the sweetest organ.
What do you mean by a sweet tongue? Does it mean that you
have honey or chocolate or sweet in your tongue all the time?
So tongue cannot be sweet, therefore in this context the tongue
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means the words coming from my tongue let them be the
sweetest ones. Let my words be sweet one. Now the next
question is what do you mean by sweet words? Sweet words
mean the words which are noble, in िास्त्र it is called सिू तृ ा
वाक्, र्ङ्गल शब्दः. So let the words arising from my tongue
be auspicious one. Then the next question is how do you define
र्ङ्गल शब्दः? For that we have to refer to the seventeenth
chapter of the गीता wherein कृष्ि mentions four criteria to be
observed to make the words र्ङ्गलम्.
अिुद्वेगकरां वाक्तयां सत्यां त्तप्रयत्तितां ि यत् ।
स्वाध्यायाभ्यसिां िैव वाङ्मयां तप उच्यते ॥ गीता १७-१५ ॥
The first one कृष्ि enumerates is make sure that your words are
not hurtful, not sharp, not rude, not pricking, not wounding. So
the first criterion is let the words be non-wounding, non-hurtful
ones. Not only with regard to the choice of the words also with
regard to the tone and speed. If you speak very fast, the other
person gets tensed up because he has to be all concentration.
Therefore speaking very fast also creates stress which is a type
of wound. Therefore be relaxed and slow. Not only with regard
to the speed with regard to the pitch also. When you shout
beyond a level that also hurts and creates tension. Therefore in
terms of pitch, in terms of speed and in terms of the choice of
words let it be non-hurtful.
The next attempt is try to be positively pleasant in your
expression through politeness, through pleasing words, gentle
words, encouraging words, positive words, praising words and
appreciating words. So if a person has done good action and
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bad action we can certainly criticize the negative ones but I
should ask myself do I appreciate the positive ones. So to be
र्ङ्गल शब्द appreciating words must be more in proportion
compared to criticizing ones. This is the next condition.
Then the third condition कृष्ि puts is सत्यर््, truthful.
Then the fourth one is त्तितर््. The words should be
beneficial to the speaker and more importantly it should be
beneficial to the listener also. So make sure that the words are
beneficial to the speaker and listener.
If these four criteria are observed the words are र्ङ्गल
शब्द and that tongue from which such words come that tongue
is called र्धुर्िर्ा त्तजह्वा honeyed tongue. O Lord make my
tongue the sweetest one. How do I know whether my words are
sweet or not? Very simple. People enjoy talking to me.
Otherwise people avoid me. That is the indication. So this is the
second ज्ाियोनयता.
Then the next one is किाव भ्याां भरू र त्तवश्रुवम् – let my ears
also become fit. Let me not develop hearing problem. Because
in वेदान्त the first साधि is श्रविर््. Without श्रविर्् you cannot
do र्िि-त्तित्तदध्यासिर््. And श्रविर्् requires a healthy ears.
And not only should I have a healthy ears I should use those
ears for श्रविर्् of the शास्त्रs. भरां किेत्तभः शिृ ुयार् देवाः. So not
only I should develop an interest there should be पुरुषार्य also.
And also I should have sufficient पुण्यम् to make it possible.
Therefore without any obstacles let me hear again and again
and again. That is why भरू र त्तवश्रुवम् – बिु त्तवश्रुवम्, plenty of
hearing. All these refer to ज्ाियोनयता प्रात्ति.
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And then the student concludes by glorifying ॐकार
once again. ब्रह्मिः परर्ात्र्िः कोशः अत्तस – िे ॐकार! you are
the abode of ब्रह्मि्. So कोशः means box, a case or a sheath in
which the jewel of ब्रह्मि् is protected. So ॐकार is like a jewel
box in which the jewel of ब्रह्मि् is kept. Therefore ब्रह्मिः कोशः
अत्तस – you are the box, container of ब्रह्मि्. What does it mean?
ब्रह्मि् can never be contained in anything. On the other hand
ब्रह्मि् being all-pervading ब्रह्मि् is the container of everything.
How can you say ॐकार is the container of ब्रह्मि्? So since the
literal meaning does not fit in you have to understand the
significance. The significance is by enquiring into the word
ॐकार, by analysis of the word ॐकार one can arrive at the
truth of ब्रह्मि,् one can discover ब्रह्मि्. So ॐकार त्तविार द्वारा
ब्रह्म प्रािुर्् शक्तयते. Since ॐकार is the means of discovering
ब्रह्मि्, it is figuratively presented as the box containing ब्रह्मि्.
Then the next question is how can ॐकार analysis lead to the
discovery of ब्रह्मि्. That is a topic by itself which we will be
doing in the र्ाण्डूक्तयोपत्तिषत्. Therefore ब्रह्मिः कोशः अत्तस.
The student is addressing ॐकार. You are the temple of ब्रह्मि्.
If ॐकार contains ब्रह्मि्, how come I am not able to discover
that? For that the student himself gives the reason. I am not able
to know that because it is covered, in the ॐकार ब्रह्मि् is hidden
as it were. Therefore you have to ‘dis-cover’ it. Now the next
question is what is covering ब्रह्मि् which is obtaining in ॐकार.
ॐकारशस्र्त ब्रह्मिः आवरिं शकम्? The student says, र्ेधया
लौत्तककप्रज्या त्तपत्तितः. र्ेधा means अिात्र्ाज्ािर््. Just a few
lines before we said the word र्ेधा means ग्रिि-धारि शत्तक्त. In
this context very careful, the word र्ेधा means अिात्र्ाज्ािर््.
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In शङ्करािायव ’s language, र्ेधा means लौत्तककप्रज्ञा, worldly
knowledge. What does it mean? Here the student says most of
the people are interested only in अिात्र्ाज्ािर्् or worldly
knowledge. And because of this inclination towards worldly
knowledge all the people are extrovert in nature. When the
people are extrovert in nature they have no time for enquiring
into ॐकार, for coming to वेदान्त शवचार there is no time
because they are all extremely busy. Thus the extrovertedness
becomes an obstacle for वेदान्त श्रविर््. As we advance more
and more the rarest thing is time. And therefore लौत्तककप्रज्ञा
keeps me busy in worldly pursuits.
परात्तञ्ि खात्ति व्यति ृ त् स्वयांभस्ू तस्र्ात्पराङ् पश्यत्तत
िान्तरात्र्ि् ॥ कठोपत्तिषत् २-१-१ ॥
Even if we have some time we would love to read the star dust.
I chose that word because it is full of dust only. So even if I
have some time the mind is not inclined for deeper enquiry.
Even in TV education channel is there, we are not interested,
we get interested in the entertainment channel. We want to
know what happens to life, others life, biography because our
life is in mess. Therefore the student says िे ॐकार! I am
interested in the worldly things that has become an obstacle for
enquiry, therefore you should help me to turn my mind inwards.
कत्तश्चद्ारः प्रत्यगात्र्ािर्ैक्दावि
ृ िक्ुरर्त
ृ त्वत्तर्च्छि् ॥
कठोपत्तिषत् २-१-१ ॥
So र्ेधया लौत्तककप्रज्या त्तपत्तितः. त्तपत्तितः means covered. What
is covered? ब्रह्मि् is covered. By what? By my extrovertedness.
It is a figurative usage. Extrovertedness covers ब्रह्मि् is a
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figurative expression. Then the student concludes that जप. श्रुतां
श्रविपवू व कर्ात्र्ज्ािात्तदकां त्तवज्ािां र्े गोपाय रक् – िे ॐकाररूप
परर्ेश्वर whatever I hear during वेदान्त श्रविर््, श्रुतम् means
whatever I hear in my class, गोपाय – let it be preserved in my
mind, let it be green in my memory. In गुरुकुलर्् there was not
much gap between two classes. But now the gap is so big and
between these two classes so many things have gone. Therefore
O Lord when I come to the class what I learnt in the last class
must be fresh in my memory. So श्रुतां र्े गोपाय. So with this जप
साधि is over meant for ज्ाियोनयता शसशध. And this मन्र is
supposed to be repeated again and again. This is a prayer for
memory power, one of the important qualification. Now we go
to the next साधि which is called िोर् साधि. We will read.
र्न्त्र 1-4-01 & 02
आविन्ती त्तवतन्वािा ॥ १ ॥
कुवाव िाऽिीरर्ात्र्िः । वासाँत्तस र्र् गावश्च । अन्िपािे ि सवव दा ।
ततो र्े त्तश्रयर्ावि । लोर्शाां पशुत्तभः सि स्वािा ।
So the expression स्वािा indicates this is a साधि in
which offering of the oblations are involved. That is I said it is
िोर् साधि. Through this िोर् साधि also the seeker is
addressing his prayer to the very same Lord, ॐकाररूप
परर्ेश्वरः. So this िोर् साधि is also addressed to ॐकाररूप
परर्ेश्वर only. And since the र्न्त्र begins with the word
आविन्ती this िोर् is popularly known as आविन्ती िोर्ः. It is a
very popular िोर् even now it is done very often. So the rest of
the fourth अिुवाक is about आविन्ती िोर्. Now through this
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िोर् what does the student asks for? The student or the seeker
asks for four things.
1) धि प्रात्तिः – acquisition of wealth or prosperity. Now you
know why this िोर् is popular. So wherever prayer for money
is there it becomes popular. Wherever there is a prayer for
ज्ािर्् poor सरस्वतर देवर is unpopular. So the first one is धि
प्रात्तिः.
2) त्तििशुत्तद् प्रात्तिः – the attainment of the purity of mind,
अन्तःकरि शुत्तद्ः.
3) ज्ाि प्रात्तिः. Purification of the mind is not an end in
itself. You wash the plate for what purpose? For eating. So
washing the plate in not an end in itself. Similarly mind is
washed for serving ज्ािर्् food.
4) त्तशष्य प्रात्तिः. So not only I should attain ज्ािर्् after
acquiring ज्ािर्् I should share this knowledge with all the
other people. त्तवद्ा दािर्् is the greatest दािर््.
There is a significance in this order also. I am presenting
in a particular chronological order, even though in the मन्र it
is mixed up. So in this order the first one is always wealth,
because money is required for कर्व योग अिुष्ठािर््. कर्व योग is
the first and primary साधि and it requires money because it is
in the form of my contribution to the society. We know about
पञ्िर्िायज्s. कर्व योग means taking less and giving more.
Therefore धिम् तु धर्व अिुष्ठानार्य र््. Not for काम भोगार्य म् but
primarily for धर्व अिुष्ठानार्य र््. काम entertainment is only an
incidental benefit of wealth, that is not the primary benefit of
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wealth. It should be for the well-being of the society. Therefore
धिम् first.
This धिम् should lead to त्तििशुत्तद्. I should make
sure that I utilize the money in such a way, in such noble कमय s
that it leads to त्तववेक, वैरानय, शर्ात्तद षि्क सम्पत्ति and
र्ुर्ुक्ुत्वर््. It should lead to my desire for वेदान्त. गिृ स्र्ाश्रर्
is purposefully lead only if गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् takes you to वेदान्त.
गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् thus incidentally contribute to कुल सन्तशत
अशभवशृ ध., i.e., परम्परा protection. But परम्परा protection is
only अवान्तर फलम्, the मुख्र् फलम् of गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् is
developing the urge for वेदान्त ज्ािर््. When this urge comes
it indicates the mind has become pure. The indication of purity
is the urge in वेदान्त. So त्तििशुत्तद् प्रात्ति is the second thing that
the student asks for.
The third one is once त्तििशुत्तद् or साधिितुष्टयसम्पत्ति
comes O Lord don’t stop with that, I should be able to get a
गुरु, I should be able to get an opportunity for वेदान्त श्रवि and
it is not enough that I hear, I should be able to gain the
knowledge. Therefore what is the next desire chronologically?
ज्ाि प्रात्तिः. And once I have gained this ज्ािर््, what is my next
goal? The rest of the life you enjoy sharing this knowledge.
Therefore this ज्ाि परम्परा is preserved. Not only should you
preserve the कुल परम्परा, पुर पौर are not sufficient, त्तशष्य
प्रत्तशष्य प्रत्तशष्य that परम्परा also should continue.
So these are the four things asked through िोर् साधि.
And therefore the teacher starts with ततो र्े त्तश्रयम् आवि. So
first one is धि प्रात्ति. Therefore the student addresses the
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ॐकाररूप परर्ेश्वर O Lord! bring me लक्ष्र्ी देवी. May श्रदेवर
come to my house. May prosperity come to me. ततः means
thereafter. Whereafter? We should never take a Vedic
expression for granted. And therefore शङ्करािायव dwells on
the word ततः. He gives a very significant observation in which
he says money is a two-edged sword. Money can lead to
spiritual growth also if properly used, money can lead to
spiritual destruction also if you don’t know how to handle
money. As they say money is a good servant, but it is a very
bad master. Therefore whether money is servant or master is
decided by me. How to decide that? There is only one method.
I should have धर्व शास्त्र ज्ािर््. I should have the knowledge of
morality, I should have the knowledge of ethics and I should
what is righteous way of living. And this is very clearly given
in धर्व शास्त्र as त्तवत्तध त्तिषेध. The धर्व शास्त्र says utilize the
money for all these purposes and धर्व शास्त्र warns never use the
money for these purposes like gambling, race, drinking etc. All
these are utilization of the money in the wrong direction which
will bring downfall. And therefore शङ्करािायव says one should
never ask for money in the beginning. So before asking for
money ask for र्ेधा, knowledge of धर्व शास्त्र. That is why in our
tradition, previously, our parents never gave us pocket money.
Because as children we do not have discrimination, we don’t
know how to use the money. They say in many schools and
colleges drug culture, drink culture all these are there, why,
because rich parents give pocket money, they think that it is a
way of expressing their love. What a terrible way of expressing
love! Whatever the child asks they give. They don’t know what
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is happening, especially if it is a hostel life. And then child
comes back in tatters. So they said we should never touch
money until we are educated. In गुरुकुलर््s also ब्रह्मिाररs are
not allowed to touch the money. They teach what is धर्व for
which money can be used. And after teaching then they give
money. Therefore शङ्करािायव comments ततः means धर्व ज्ाि
अिन्तरर््. र्ेधाप्रात्ति अिन्तरर््, after developing maturity, after
becoming a cultured person. Not materially educated. Material
education does not help. But religious education and value
education. र्े त्तश्रयम् आवि – O Lord bring लक्ष्र्ी देवी. And what
should लक्ष्र्ी देवी do? I don’t want her to come empty handed.
If she comes empty handed then I will have one more member
in the family additional mouth to feed. And therefore the
student says लक्ष्र्ी देवी should come with lot of things for me.
What are those things which indicate prosperity. A list is given.
And all those things लक्ष्र्ी देवी should bring to me. Not only
she should bring those material things she should also expand
that wealth. Therefore acquisition, expansion and thereafter
preservation. That expanding wealth must stay with me.
Therefore these three are mentioned here. आविन्ती – the
acquisition of material wealth. त्तवतन्वािा – the expansion of the
material wealth. कुवाव िा सवव दा, both are at different places, you
have to join them together and read. कुवाव िा सवव दा – it should
remain with me all the time, preservation. So wealth
acquisition, wealth expansion and wealth preservation. All
these three things should happen as लक्ष्र्ी देवी enters my house.
Now the next question is what are those material things which
लक्ष्र्ी देवी should bring? आत्र्िः – for me and my family; here
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आत्र्िः is reflexive pronoun, for myself. वासाांत्तस – वस्त्रात्ति –
plenty of clothing, वासस् means वस्त्रम्. So I should have plenty
of clothes. गावः ि – and cattle, in those days cattle represented
wealth. So all forms of wealth – money or gold or वािनम् or
real estate, etc. अन्िपािे – food and water. So food, clothing,
water, cattle wealth, all of them in plenty let लक्ष्र्ी देवी bring.
Then they should expand and they should stay with me. Ok,
after how many years? When should लक्ष्र्ी देवी come? अिीरर््
– instantaneously, I don’t have patience, so therefore O Lord,
may लक्ष्र्ी देवी come to me instantaneously with all these
wealth. And what is my intention? अर्य is not primarily for कार्
पुरुषार्व , कार् पुरुषार्व is important but it is only subservient,
अर्य , the wealth must be primarily for धर्व and then later for
र्ोक्. A cultured person is धर्व प्रधाि पुरुषः. An uncultured
person is कार् प्रधाि पुरुषः. Therefore first I should become
धर्व प्रधाि पुरुषः thereafter wealth should come so that I will
use the money properly. So ततो र्े त्तश्रयर्ावि. And not only the
ordinary clothing I should have; perhaps these people were
there in cold places like शिमालर्s, therefore they require extra
warm clothing for the winter season. लोर्शाां पशुत्तभः सि – may
we have animals which will give plenty of wool like sheep etc.,
so that we can get plenty of woolen garments. लोर्श means a
wooly animal. So all of them may I have. In short, may I
become prosperous.
So from this prayer it very clear that वेदs never looked
down upon money. This is very very important because there
are certain religions and even within Vedic religion itself there
are certain people who criticize money as a demon, as मार्ा,
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therefore you should not touch money. If you say you don’t
touch money that means you are disrespecting लक्ष्र्ी देवी. How
can I ever advice anyone not to touch money? So that non-
touching of money or criticism of money is borrowed from
other immature cultures. Vedic culture is very mature. It says
money is very important, but what it says is you should know
how to handle it. In fact, if big आश्रर्s are to run it is possible
only when the wealthy people are there who are willing to
patronize them. If everybody says money is not required how
will पाठशालाs run, how will temples run. Therefore three
आश्रर्s – ब्रह्मिारर depends upon money, वािप्रस्र् depends
upon money ( i.e., food, clothing and shelter) and सन्न्यात्तस
depends upon food etc. Therefore all the three आश्रर्s depend
upon गिृ स्र्, if the गिृ स्र् has to patronize three आश्रर्s he
should have plenty of wealth. Therefore शास्त्र says earn money
but don’t cling on to that. Learn to share that money to patronize
all the other आश्रर्s. Therefore ownership is criticized, earning
is never criticized. So earn plenty give plenty is वेद. It never
criticizes wealth. What is the प्रर्ािर््? This र्न्त्र indicates that.
This is the beginning of िोम. Further prayers are going to come
which we will see in the next class.
पि
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In the first chapter of the तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत्, शीक्ावल्ली
we have entered into the fourth अिुवाक in which two types of
spiritual साधिs are introduced. The first one which we have
completed is a जप साधि which is meant for ज्ाियोनयता
प्रात्तिः. All round fitness consisting of physical, emotional,
verbal, intellectual witness. And by the word जप we mean it is
a साधि in the form of repeating the र्न्त्र again and again. And
after completing that साधि now we have come to the next
साधि, viz., िोर् साधि which means the र्न्त्र should be used
for a fire ritual. And then various oblations are to be offered.
And since the र्न्त्र begins with the word आविन्ती this िोर् is
popularly known as आविन्ती िोर्. And through this िोर्
साधि I pointed out in the last class the student is asking for
four things, four-fold prayer.
1) The first one is धि प्रात्तिः, the student asks for prosperity.
Prosperity is primarily meant for धर्व for doing or taking to
कर्व योग. शङ्करािायव writes in his commentary धिां ि
कर्ाव र्वर््; कर्व ि उपािदुररतक्यार्व र््; तत्क्ये त्ति त्तवद्ा प्रकाशते ।
तर्ा ि स्र्त्तृ तः – ‘ज्ािर्ुत्पद्ते पुांसाां क्यात्पापस्य कर्व िः ।
यर्ादशव तले प्रख्ये पश्यत्यात्र्ािर्ात्र्त्ति’ (मिाभारत िाशन्तपवय
२०४-८) (गरुड पुराि १-२३७-६) इत्तत. It is for spending for noble
purposes.
2) Then the second thing the student asks for is त्तििशुत्तद्
प्रात्तिः. So by spending the money properly for noble purposes
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let me purify my mind, let me acquire all the virtues known as
दैवर सम्पत्.
3) The third one that the student asks for is ज्ाि प्रात्तिः.
Purification of the mind is valid only when it leads to the birth
of knowledge.
4) And the fourth and the final one is त्तशष्य प्रात्तिः. I should
not stop with gaining the knowledge I should express my
gratitude to my earlier generation by sharing this knowledge
with the next generation. So I am indebted to the senior
generation and I remove my debt only by handing over the
knowledge to the next generation. And if I have to hand over
somebody should come to receive and therefore let willing
students come to me and learn from me. This is त्तशष्य प्रात्तिः
I have arranged these four boons in a chronological order
– money should lead to purity, that means external wealth
should lead to the internal wealth; And purity should lead to
knowledge, knowledge should lead to the teaching. Of this we
have seen the first portion in which the student asked for
prosperity or लक्ष्र्ी देवी. ततो र्ें त्तश्रयर्् आवि. Let लक्ष्र्ी देवी
come to me bringing lot of food, clothing and shelter. Upto this
we saw in the last class. Continuing;
र्न्त्र 1-4-02 & 03
आर्ायन्तु ब्रह्मिाररिः स्वािा । त्तवर्ायन्तु ब्रह्मिाररिः स्वािा ।
प्रर्ायन्तु ब्रह्मिाररिः स्वािा । दर्ायन्तु ब्रह्मिाररिः स्वािा ।
शर्ायन्तु ब्रह्मिाररिः स्वािा ॥ २ ॥
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यशो जिेऽसात्ति स्वािा । श्रेयाि् वस्यसोऽसात्ति स्वािा । तां त्वा
भग प्रत्तवशात्ति स्वािा । स र्ा भग प्रत्तवश स्वािा ।
तत्तस्र्न्सिस्रशाखे । त्तिभगािां त्वत्तय र्ज ृ े स्वािा । यर्ापः प्रवता
यत्तन्त । यर्ा र्ासा अिजव रर्् । एवां र्ाां ब्रह्मिाररिः । धातरायन्तु
सवव तः स्वािा । प्रत्ततवेशोऽत्तस प्र र्ा भात्ति प्र र्ा पद्स्व ॥ ३ ॥ इत्तत
ितुर्ोऽिुवाकः ॥
In this portion the seeker is praying for त्तशष्य प्रात्तिः. Not
that the त्तशष्यs should come now itself, because he is not yet
ready to become a गुरु. But he is reserving in advance.
Therefore O Lord, once I become knowledgeable the त्तशष्यs
should come to me from all directions. Not with an intention of
earning money through the त्तशष्यs, in fact he feels that he is
already indebted to the ऋत्तषs. His aim is removing the debt to
the ऋत्तषs known as ऋत्तष ऋिम्. So the ऋत्तष ऋिम् will go away
only when we share this wisdom with the next generation.
Therefore त्तशष्यs are asked for. ब्रह्मिाररिः आयन्तु. आर्ायन्तु
is there. The words आ and यन्तु have to be connected and we
should read it as आयन्तु. ब्रह्मिाररिः आयन्तु. ब्रह्मिारर means
त्तशष्य or student. Here the word ब्रह्म means वेद and िारर means
the one follows the disciplines of a student. आचरशत इशत चारर.
The who leads a disciplined life. What do you mean by a
disciplined life? Doing the homework. One of the primary
disciplines of a student is doing the homework. And not only
doing that all the other disciplines go along with students like
वेदs itself prescribe several disciplines – not interested in too
much entertainment, not being too much extrovert, not being
interested in too much decoration, he is not supposed to do देि
अलङ्कार, etc. Once you are interested in the physical look, one
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who concentrates on स्र्ल ू शरीरर््, he will always neglect the
सक्ष्ू र् शरीरर््. And therefore a ब्रह्मिारर is not supposed to
bother too much about स्र्ल ू शरीरर्् but more interested in
disciplines. And whoever follows that disciplined life is called
िारर. व्रतम् चरशत इशत चारर. And for what purpose is he
following this discipline? To install the Vedic knowledge in his
heart. Therefore ब्रह्मार्य म्, ब्रह्म means वेद. ब्रह्मार्य म् वेद ज्ञानार्य म्
व्रतम् चरशत इशत ब्रह्मिारर. Here it does not mean an unmarried
person. Generally the students were unmarried in those days,
and therefore secondarily the word ब्रह्मिारर meant unmarried
person or a bachelor. But the primary meaning is the one who
is a dedicated and committed student. And let many ब्रह्मिाररs,
ब्रह्मिाररिः आयन्तु – let them come. Come to whom? र्ा –
towards me. And the word स्वािा at the end of every sentence
indicates as even he chants he has to offer oblation. Then what
type of ब्रह्मिारर? They all must be inspiring ones. Therefore the
qualifications of the students are mentioned here. त्तवर्ायन्तु
ब्रह्मिाररिः. So शव means with have varied interests. शवशवध
कामनावन्तिः मा आयन्तु, with varied interests to study different
subjects. Only if the students are interested in varied subjects
the teacher can share all of them. If all the students are
interested only in the भगवद्गीता how can the teacher teach the
उपत्तिषत्s and vice versa. Therefore he says I want students
interested in भगवद्गीता, उपत्तिषत्s, ब्रह्मसर ू . Therefore I want
all types of students, शवशवध कामनावन्तिः. It can be extended to
other शास्त्रs also. Let students come interested in तकव शास्त्रम्,
र्ीर्ाांसा शास्त्रम्, व्याकरि शास्त्रम् etc., so that I can share all
of them. So शव आयन्तु मा. मा means towards me. There is
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another meaning for मा which means not. If you take that
meaning then it means let not the students come to me. Then
प्रर्ायन्तु ब्रह्मिाररिः. प्र means प्रज्ञावन्तिः. With intelligence let
them come to me. Let not the dull students come to me. Let the
intelligent students come to me. The intelligence of a student is
divided into three levels – the stem of the plantain, coal and
camphor. When you show fire near the camphor it immediately
catches fire. Similarly उिर् अशधकारर like a sponge absorbs
whatever the teacher says. The teacher is also inspired to teach.
Then there is a र्ध्यर् अशधकारर like coal immediately does not
catch fire, you have to show the fire and blowing it for some
time. Then there is a third one you try to light up the stem of the
plantain it will not catch fire, on the other hand it will put out
the flame only. So when such students come not only they don’t
inspire the teacher whatever the teacher knows he even forgets
looking at the Castrol face. And therefore the seeker says I want
bright students. So प्र प्रज्ञावन्तिः बुशधमन्तिः ब्रह्मिाररिः मा
आयन्तु. Then the next one दर्ायन्तु ब्रह्मिाररिः. द means
दान्तािः, those who have got qualification called दमिः, sense
control. So let students come with sense control so that at the
time of class they are all a flame of concentration. Otherwise
they will be fidgety looking here and there like that
mathematics teacher who asked ‘did it enter?’. He had given
some formula and asked ‘did it enter your head?’ The student
was not paying attention to the class at all, he was looking at
the roof and one rat was going from one classroom to another
because thatched shed. The rat had almost gone only the tail
had not entered. Therefore when the teacher asked ‘did it
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enter?’, the student said ‘tail is remaining’. So imagine what
will be the condition of the teacher! So not being like that, let
them have total concentration. So द means दम गुिवन्तिः,
दान्तिः. Not only should they have sense control शर्ायन्तु
ब्रह्मिाररिः स्वािा. श means शर्ः, mind control. Let not the
mind of the student get distracted from the class. Let them have
focused mind and let them have the attention span also. So upto
this is the त्तशष्य प्रात्ति प्रार्व िा.
Then the student again comes back to the previous topic.
यशो जिे यशत्तस्वजिेषु असात्ति भवात्ति स्वािा – I should be well-
known in the society. यशः means यशत्तस्व, famous. Let me be a
very well-known teacher, let me be a very popular teacher so
that my name will be known all over the world so that people
will come from different directions. Therefore may I be a
famous आिायव . जिे – among the people. असात्ति – भवात्ति – let
me be. श्रेयाि् प्रशस्यतरः वस्यसः वसीयसः असात्ति स्वािा. Then
the seeker is worried. He is inviting students from all directions.
And in those days knowledge can never be given for money.
त्तवद्ा can never be charged. There is no educational fee at all.
Knowledge should be given free of cost. If the student offers
गुरुदत्तक्िा, that is a different thing. Of course, the student is
supposed to compulsorily offer गुरुदत्तक्िा. गुरुदत्तक्िा is
compulsory on the part of the student, but the teacher is not
supposed to expect गुरुदत्तक्िा and teach. So it is the teacher’s
duty to teach, it is the student’s duty to give दत्तक्िा. The teacher
should not ask. This was the tradition. And therefore here this
person is worried. I am inviting students from all directions and
I am not supposed to charge them which means I should be able
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to provide everything. Because in those days it was
गुरुकुलवास, residential system. That means I should have a
big आश्रर् which is more headache than the householder’s life.
Therefore the setup has to maintained, infrastructure, food has
to be provided, clothing has to be provided, medical aid has to
be given. Therefore the seeker says here if the students are
coming to me may I have plenty of wealth to maintain that.
Therefore let me the richest person in the society. So वस्यसः
श्रेयाि् – let me the wealthier all the wealthy people in the
society. For what purpose? Not to eat, drink and make merry.
Very careful. I want all the wealth so that I can have a huge
setup, I can bring all students, I can provide study materials free
of cost. In fact, even now when we studied in the आश्रर् we
were not charged a single pie, we all went to the आश्रर् only
with the dress that we were wearing on the body; no bank
balance, no extra clothes, we just went to the आश्रर्. Everything
– extra clothes, food, room, books, medicines – was provided.
That means even now such thing can happen. But the society
must understand the necessity of such गुरुकुल system.
Therefore the society valued patronizing such institutions,
therefore गुरु need have to spend time and energy maintaining
the infrastructure. गुरु could concentrate on teaching त्तशष्यs
could concentrate on learning, the society could give grant.
Even now people are running to America. Why? Because they
are giving huge grants for research. So the government is
spending millions of dollars for researches, therefore the
scientists could spend time for maintaining the infrastructure
and do the study. Which means the one who wants to spend
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time on सरस्वती he should not be bothering about लक्ष्र्ी. The
one who dedicates for knowledge he should not worry about
how लक्ष्र्ी देवी comes. And only in that society science will
grow. America is doing that. India gets Nobel Prize rarely while
America gets very often because government is providing
लक्ष्र्ी for the sake of सरस्वती. Government means the society
should value सरस्वती. And therefore he says may लक्ष्र्ी देवी
come to me so that I can dedicate towards the pursuit of
सरस्वती. So श्रेयाि् वस्यसः असात्ति स्वािा. असात्ति means let
me become. √अस्, परस्र्ैपत्तद लोि्, उिर्पुरुषः एकवििर््,
असात्ति, असाव, असार्. Then तां ब्रह्मिः कोशभत ू ां त्वा त्वाां िे भग
भगवि् पज ू ािव , प्रत्तवशात्ति स्वािा. So here he says I am asking for
all these things because my ultimate goal is something else. He
says I am not forgetting my ultimate goal. िे भग – िे भगवि्, O
Lord, तां त्वा प्रत्तवशात्ति – ultimately I want to merge into you. I
want to become one with you. What is seek is जीवात्र्ा-
परर्ात्र्ा-ऐक्तयर््. ऐक्तयर्् which can be attained only through
ज्ािर््. Therefore let me merge into you means let me attain
जीवात्र्ा-परर्ात्र्ा-ऐक्तय ज्ािर््. That is the uniqueness of our
culture, we always kept ज्ािर्् as the ultimate goal. It is a
society which values ज्ािर््. In the word भारतम् भा means light
and light means knowledge, रतम् means reveling or committed
to. रत is derived from the √रम्, रमते, to revel. That which
values and revels भा, the light of knowledge. Money is for what
purpose? For gaining that knowledge. All the activities that we
take to for that knowledge. That is why in सन्ध्यावन्दि र्न्त्र
we regularly remind ourselves र्िे रिाय िक्से – O Lord, I want
that ultimate knowledge. I don’t know what are the
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qualifications required, whatever qualifications are required it
your duty to supply me. उशतीररव र्ातरः । तस्र्ा अरङ्गर्ार्वो
। यस्य क्याय त्तजन्वर् । आपो जियर्ा ि िः । Just as the mother
feeds the child at the right time, O Lord, you should feed me
with so that I can ultimately gain मिते रमिरर्ार् चक्षसे
आत्र्ज्ािर््. Therefore merger into Lord means ज्ािप्रात्तिः.
And सः त्वर्त्तप र्ा र्ाां भग भगवि् प्रत्तवश स्वािा – not only I
should merge into You, You should merge into me. So भग – िे
भगवि्, र्ा प्रत्तवश – may You enter into me. That means we both
should become one. When the river merge also they say that
when the river is reaching near the ocean not only the river
merges, the ocean also enters the river to some distance it
seems. That is why when you take water near the mouth the
river water also will be saltish. Therefore not only the river
wants to merge into the ocean, ocean also wants to merge.
Similarly भगवि् says you says come to me a little bit I am
willing to come more. Therefore O Lord, let me merge into
You, may You merge into me. Let us become one. Then तत्तस्र्ि्
सिस्रशाखे बिु शाखाभेदे िे भगवि्, त्तिभगािां त्वत्तय र्ज ृ े स्वािा.
So here the student is asking for त्तििशुत्तद् because he knows
that ज्ािम् is not possible without त्तििशुत्तद्, purification of the
mind which means removal of impurity. How do you remove
the impurity? By dipping in the water. In the olden days river
bath was very common. They were living near rivers and
therefore they were dipping. Physical purity is attainted by
dipping in the physical waters. If the mind has to be purified it
should dip in the thought of the Lord. ईश्वर स्र्रिर्् or the Lord
is compared to a river. And let me O Lord dip into You in the
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form of the remembrance of the Lord. That is why in the वैष्िव
tradition the भिs are called ஆழ் வார்கள் , आळ्वार, those
immersed in god. They dip themselves in the thought of the
Lord. Therefore here the student says let me dip in You so that
my impurities go away. And dipping in the Lord means worship
of the Lord, remembrance of the Lord, नामिप of the Lord.
Here also the student makes a beautiful metaphor. A river has
many tributaries. You can dip in any tributary and purify
yourself. Similarly even though God is one, He has got various
manifestations and each manifestation is like a tributary river.
So त्तवष्िु, त्तशव, गिेि, सरस्वती, लक्ष्र्ी, राम, कृष्ि. Every form
of the Lord, every देवता is like a branch of the huge infinite
ईश्वर, when I worship that Lord I am dipping my mind in that
Lord and thereby I am purifying my mind. And therefore he
says सिस्रशाखे तत्तस्र्ि् – You have thousands of branches or
tributaries. Because in Hinduism we have thousands of forms
of the Lord. If you take one कृष्ि itself Himself we have small
कृष्ि – गुरुवायुरप्पि, राधाकृष्ि, शगतोपदेि कृष्ि etc.
Similarly other देवताs. Therefore You have got thousands of
forms let me merge into, let me worship any इष्ट देवता form
and dipping myself त्तिर्ज ृ े – let me purify myself. त्ति is
elsewhere and र्ज ृ े is elsewhere, you have to join together. Let
me wash my sins by worshipping you.
र्ािसां वात्तिकां पापां कर्व िा सर्ुपात्तजवतर्् । श्रीरार् स्र्रिेिवै
व्यपोित्तत ि सांशयः ॥
I have incurred lot of sins. How do I wash off my sins? श्रीरार्
स्र्रिेिवै व्यपोित्तत ि सांशयः. So by mere remembrance or
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worship of the Lord I am purifying. Therefore let me do that in
You who have got thousands of forms. भग अिर्् – िे भगवाि्,
ृ े – let me purify. So we have got all the four
अिर््, त्वत्तय त्तिर्ज
boons. धि प्रात्ति, त्तििशुत्तद् प्रात्ति, ज्ाि प्रात्ति and त्तशष्य प्रात्ति.
Now the prayer is concluded by again asking for disciples.
Somehow this person is interested in teaching. Because
remember, the only profession of a ब्राह्मि is teaching.
ब्राह्मिोऽस्य र्ुखर्ासीत्. The ब्राह्मि is the mouth of the Vedic
society. So in Vedic society a separate group of people is
exclusively dedicated to the teaching of the scriptures. And
therefore here he says let me do that job properly, let me an
excellent कर्व ब्राह्मि. How should the students come? He gives
an example. यर्ा लोके आपः प्रवता प्रविवता त्तिम्िवता देशेि
यत्तन्त गच्छत्तन्त – just as the waters gush down through a slopy
region, like that the students must come to me, gatecrash into
my place from all directions. प्रवता means slopy region. And
another example. यर्ा र्ासाः अिजव रर््. अिजव रः means सांवत्सरः,
वषय िः, year. र्ासाः means months. Now every month is rolling.
And here the student is imagining that every month is rushing
because it is interested in meeting the next year. Therefore it
passes through quickly. Recently only we celebrated the new
year but before we blink our eyes it is middle of the year now.
Therefore it appears as though every month is rushing towards
the next वषय . Therefore र्ासाः अिजव रर्् वषय म् यत्तन्त – they are
rushing, एवर्् – in the same way, like these two examples
ब्रह्मिाररिः र्ाां आयन्तु – may students come to me, सवव तः –
from all directions. The only qualification required is the
interest in knowledge. He does not say whether the student
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should be a ब्रह्मिारर or a गिृ स्र्, a ब्राह्मि or a क्त्तत्रय; no
specification is given. There is no caste wise specification, no
age wise specification, or gender wise specification. Whoever
is interested let them all come to me. I don’t want to
discriminate at all, whoever comes I will teach. So सवव तः र्ाां
आयन्तु. िे धातः – O Lord! The Lord is called धाता because He
is the कर्व फल दाता, the one who gives the appropriate
कर्व फलर्् to the appropriate जीव at the appropriate time and
place. What type of Lord? We should remember ॐकार रूप
परर्ेश्वर who has been invoked, that ॐकार रूप परर्ेश्वर is
addressed here as धातः – O Lord! Therefore he has kept in mind
the long journey. Because first he should get lot of money, then
he should use the money for all noble activities, and it may take
months are years to purify the mind and after the purification
he has to go to a गुरु and he has to do श्रवि-र्िि-
त्तित्तदध्यासिर््. So he sees a very very long journey. The way
also is full of ups and down and difficult. Therefore the student
feels that the journey seems to be too much whether he will be
able to make it or no, whether he will survive till then. We have
come to the path itself too late, therefore we will make it or not
everyone has got diffident. And therefore he says O Lord You
are like a rest house, so that whenever I am tired I can stay in
the rest house called ईश्वर and also remover my fatigue, not
physical, more than physical it is mental and intellectual
fatigue, and diffidence will go away and once again I am
refreshed and rejuvenated for the next lap of the journey.
Therefore he says O Lord प्रत्ततवेशः अत्तस – You are like a rest
house to have a bath, take some food, and then again take the
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pack and move. How long, how many days I don’t know. So by
saying Lord is comparable to a rest house what does the student
indicates? What is indicated is that whenever we are frustrated
in our spiritual journey भत्तक्त or devotion alone can give further
push. No doubt पुरुषार्व or our personal effort is important, but
however much you put forth the effort once in a while
frustration comes because राग is a powerful obstacle, द्वेष is still
more powerful obstacle, not to speak of anger. Jealousy is a
constant companion. Each one of the आसुरर सम्पत् is so
powerful that I feel I am not progressing at all. And when such
frustration comes the only way out is to surrender to the Lord.
कृष्ि tells in the गीता,
र्त्तच्ििः सवव दुगाव त्ति र्त्प्रसादािररष्यत्तस ॥ गीता १८-५८ ॥
Whenever you feel diffidence or inferiority complex surrender
to Me, you will get extra strength. And you will say that you
are confident and that you will get र्ोक् in this जन्र् itself
because you have the support of the Lord. This is not over-
confidence and therefore there is no arrogance also. I am
confident not because I am arrogant. I am confident because I
am a भक्त. And भक्त is confident because
अिन्यात्तश्चन्तयन्तो र्ाां ये जिाः पयव ुपासते ।
तेषाां त्तित्यात्तभयुक्तािाां योगक्ेर्ां विाम्यिर्् ॥ गीता ९-२२ ॥
And therefore a true भक्त will never talk pessimistically
because the powerful Lord is there to give a push. That
िरिागशत is beautifully presented प्रत्ततवेशः अत्तस – You are a
rest house. And प्र र्ा भात्ति – may You reveal Yourself to me.
So I will put half of the effort, and the other half you have to
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put. You have to reveal Yourself to me. I am tired of this
journey, and therefore I cannot walk anymore, therefore the rest
of the walking I won’t do, You have to come. So it should be
split as र्ा र्ाां प्रत्तत प्रभात्ति प्रकाशयात्र्ािर््. प्रभात्ति means reveal
to me. प्र र्ा पद्स्व – र्ा प्रपद्स्व – You come towards me. I have
travelled half of the journey, half of the journey, You have to
travel the rest of the journey. When we say this we should
remember this is only a figurative expression. This is very often
said ‘you take one step, भगवाि् will take ten steps’ in the
scriptures. But what happens is when we repeatedly hear that
we begin to take it literally. So we think that भगवाि् is sitting
somewhere and he is slowly coming towards me and I too am
going towards him and we will meet. Remember there is no
question of physical movement at all because भगवाि् need not
come towards me, भगवाि् cannot come towards me because
भगवाि् fortunately or unfortunately happens to be all-
pervading. How can the all-pervading भगवाि् walk? If you say
भगवाि् is walking towards you it means you are limiting the
Lord as a person. Therefore it is only a figurative expression.
You come near me means you help me in clear understanding.
What is the clear understanding? भगवाि् is never away from
me. So merger into भगवाि् is merely dropping the notion of
distance between me and भगवाि्. It is an intellectual process
and not a physical process. Intellectual process is dropping the
notion. What is the notion? I have to reach भगवाि्. How do
you drop any notion? The notion is dropped by clear
knowledge. What is the clear knowledge? अिर्् ब्रह्म अत्तस्र्.
Therefore ‘come near me’ is equal to help me understand अिर््
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ब्रह्म अत्तस्र् clearly. With this the िोर् साधि part is over, the
fourth अिुवाक is also over. More in the next class.
पि
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We have completed the fourth अिुवाक of शीक्ावल्ली.
And in the fourth अिुवाक the teacher prescribed two-fold
साधि – जप साधि and िोर् साधि. All these साधिs are meant
for only one primary benefit, i.e., ज्ाियोनयता प्रात्तिः as well as
ज्ाि प्रात्तिः. All these साधिs can be used in two-fold way –
सकामतर्ा and त्तिष्कार्तर्ा. When a person follows them with
worldly desires these साधिs can fulfill the अर्व -कार् desires of
the people. And the very same साधिs can be used
त्तिष्कार्तर्ा, i.e., without seeking अर्व -कार् पुरुषार्व then it
will lead to धर्व and र्ोक्. And when we are utilizing these
साधिs अर्व -कार् पुरुषार्व which is called काम्र्कमय then we
have to follow all the rules prescribed. And even the chanting
should be properly done. If it is not properly done they may not
give the result, they may be counterproductive also. but we
should remember another very important point that if we are
going to follow the same साधि for त्तििशुत्तद् then we need not
be frightened of these साधिs because when you follow them
for त्तििशुत्तद्, that even if the rules are violated still they will
produce the result and it can never produce a negative result.
Therefore you should be afraid of the साधिs only if it is
सकाम, you need not be afraid of any of these साधिs if it is
त्तिष्कार्. There can be स्वरदोष, there can be िब्द दोष,
whatever may be दोषs you need not be afraid of provided if it
is meant for त्तििशुत्तद्. This you have to very carefully note.
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Now we are going to enter the fifth अिुवाक in which
another उपासि is going to be introduced. We will read.
व्याहृत्युपासिर््
र्न्त्र 1-5-01
ू व ुवः सव
भभ ु ररत्तत वा एतात्तस्तस्रो व्याहृतयः । तासार्ुिस्र्ै ताां
ितुर्ीर्् । र्ािािर्स्यः प्रवेदयते । र्ि इत्तत । तद्ब्रह्म । स आत्र्ा ।
अङ्गान्यन्या देवताः ।
So we getting the second उपासि of शीक्ावल्ली.
Previously we had सांत्तितोपासि, and now we are entering into
व्याहृत्तत उपासि which is very similar to सांत्तितोपासि in several
respects. In सांत्तितोपासि took four factors associated with the
combination of letters. And if you remember the four factors
were पवू व रूपर््, उिररूपर््, सत्तन्धः and सन्धािर््. How did we
choose these four factors? These four factors served as symbol
for invoking various objects. We did not meditate upon the
symbol, making use of the symbol we meditate upon various
objects. In सांस्कृत the symbol is called आलम्बिर््. Therefore
four आलम्बिर््s were given and upon those four आलम्बिर््s
four factors were invoked. Now in व्याहृत्तत उपासि also we are
going to use व्याहृत्तत र्न्त्रs as आलम्बिर््s. Four व्याहृत्तत र्न्त्रs
are introduced and upon those four व्याहृत्तत र्न्त्रs we will
invoke four objects. Naturally the question will be what are
those four व्याहृत्तत र्न्त्रs. The उपत्तिषत् introduces भःू , भुवः,
सुवः and र्िः as the four व्याहृत्तत र्न्त्रs. Why are they called
व्याहृत्तत र्न्त्रs? They get the name व्याहृत्तत because of two
reasons.
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1) They are uttered by ब्रह्मात्तज himself when he wanted to
take the essence of the वेदs. This we saw in the tenth chapter of
the गीता. ब्रह्मात्तज wanted to take the essence of the three वेदs.
From the ऋनवेद he took one line of गायत्री र्न्त्र, from the
यजुर्वेद the second line of गायत्री र्न्त्र and from the सार्वेद
the third line of गायत्री र्न्त्र. Thereafter he wanted to condense
it further. And the first line of गायत्री र्न्त्र was condensed into
भःू व्याहृत्तत, the second line of गायत्री र्न्त्र was condensed into
भुवः व्याहृत्तत and the third line of गायत्री र्न्त्र was condensed
into सुवः व्याहृत्तत. So भभ ू व ुवः सुवः represents the three lines of
गायत्री. And later we saw again in the tenth chapter the भःू
व्याहृत्तत was condensed into the letter अ, the भुवः व्याहृत्तत was
condensed into the letter उ and the सुवः व्याहृत्तत was condensed
into the letter र्. अ plus उ plus र् is equal to ॐ. Thus ॐकार
expanded is three व्याहृत्ततs, three व्याहृत्ततs expanded is गायत्री
र्न्त्र and गायत्री र्न्त्र expanded is all the वेदs. Therefore this
condensation was done by ब्रह्मात्तज while doing तपस् and
because he uttered these र्न्त्रs for the first time they got the
name व्याहृत्ततः. व्याहृ means to utter, उछचारिम्. ब्रह्मिा व्याहृता
इशत व्याहृत्ततः, the sacred utternaces of ब्रह्मात्तज. That is the
meaning of व्याहृत्ततः.
2) There is a second meaning which is the extension of the
first meaning. Since these र्न्त्रs are uttered by ब्रह्मात्तज, and
since they are the extracts of the वेदs they are extremely sacred.
So when वेद itself is sacred, the condensed वेद must be
condensed sacred. And because these व्याहृत्ततः र्न्त्रs are
extremely sacred by uttering the र्न्त्रs a person’s पापर््s are
removed. They are all thrown away, they are all wiped off. The
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second meaning of व्याहृ is to eliminate, to destroy, to wipe out.
So व्र्ािरशत पापाशन इत्तत व्याहृत्ततः.
So the first meaning is uttered by ब्रह्मात्तज and the second
meaning is destroyer of पापर््s. Some more meanings are given
in the शास्त्रs, for now these two meanings are enough. And
because of these two reasons भःू भुवः सुवः are called व्याहृत्तत
र्न्त्रs. And later the letter र्िः also was included. Thus we have
got four व्याहृत्तत र्न्त्रs.
What are we going to get here? These four व्याहृत्तत र्न्त्रs
will serve as symbols upon which we are going to invoke four
objects and it is going to be व्याहृत्तत उपासि. The उपत्तिषत् first
introduces the र्न्त्र. भःू भुवः सुवः इत्तत एताः त्ततस्रः व्याहृतयः – so
there are the following three व्याहृत्ततs, viz., भःू , भुवः and सुवः.
The word वा indicates प्रशसशधिः, they are well-known in the
Vedic tradition. It is known in the कर्व काण्ड. For every ritual
भभू व ुवः सुवः has to be chanted and everything is purified for
rituals only by sprinkling water with भभ ू व ुवः सुवः. And even
before eating food we have to do the पररषेििर्् and in the
पररषेिि र्न्त्र भभ ू व ुवः सुवः is there. In सन्ध्यावन्दि र्न्त्र भभ ू व ु वः
सुवः is there. In गार्रर र्न्त्र भभ ू व ुवः सुवः is prefixed. Thus in
कर्व काण्ड these र्न्त्रs are known, in the उपासिकाण्ड these
र्न्त्रs are known, in the ज्ािकाण्ड also these र्न्त्रs are known.
And therefore the word वा means प्रशसधिः, famous. The real
word is वै, but in सशन्ध it becomes वा. So भःू भुवः सुवः इत्तत वै
एताः त्ततस्रः व्याहृतयः.
एिोऽयवायावः ॥ पात्तििीय अष्टाध्यायी ६-१-७८ ॥
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पात्तित्ति has given a सर ू where वै becomes वा. And along with
these व्याहृत्तत र्न्त्रs revealed by ब्रह्मात्तज the fourth one was
added. तासार्ु ि स्र्ैताां ितुर्ीर्् – तासार्् उ ि स्र् एताां ितुर्ीम्.
तासार्ु – along with those three व्याहृत्तत र्न्त्रs, एताां ितुर्ीम् –
the following fourth व्याहृत्तत is also revealed. उ ि स्र् are all
particles revealing प्रत्तसत्तद्. So three व्याहृत्ततs later became four
व्याहृत्ततs. And in सन्ध्यावन्दि र्न्त्र we have got सि व्याहृत्तत.
In प्रािायार् र्न्त्र, ॐ भःू ॐ भुवः ॐ स्वः ॐ र्िः ॐ जिः ॐ तपः
ॐ सत्यर्् । So thus भःू , भुवः, सुवः, र्िः, जिः, तपः and सत्यर््,
we have additional व्याहृत्ततs in सन्ध्यावन्दिम्. But here we are
talking about four व्याहृत्ततs only. Now the question is who
invented or discovered the fourth व्याहृत्तत. First three are
revealed by ब्रह्मात्तज.
त्ततस्रः एव तु वेदेभ्यः पादां पादर्दूदुित् तत्तदत्यि
ृ ोऽस्याः गायत्रयाः
भभ ू व ुवस्वररतीत्तत ि ।
So ब्रह्मात्तज extracted all of them and therefore ब्रह्मात्तज is the
discoverer of the of the first three. The fourth one is discovered
by a ऋत्तष called र्ािािर्स्यः. He is called र्ािािर्स्यः because
र्िािर्सस्यापत्यम् he is the son of र्िािर्स.् Like दिरर् पुरिः
is called दािरशर्िः. कुशन्त पुरिः is called कौन्तेर्. पाण्डु पुरिः is
called पाण्डव. And by naming the ऋत्तष the glory is also
indicated. The ऋत्तष is called र्िािर्स् which means the one
who uses big ladles when doing यागs. िर्स् means the spoon
used in यागs. And he uses र्िािर्स् means he gives lot of
oblations, that means he performs big rituals which means he is
a very great ऋत्तष. And in that great ऋत्तष परम्परा this
र्ािािर्स्यः is born. Therefore he is not an ordinary Tom, Dick
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and Harry, he is a very great ऋत्तष. Such a great ऋत्तष
र्ािािर्स्यः प्रवेदयते र्िः इत्तत – revealed the fourth व्याहृत्तत
called र्िः. Thus we have got four आलम्बिर््s now. Here after
the उपत्तिषत् has to introduce four objects and each object
should be invoked upon each आलम्बिर््. What typr off objects
are going to be meditated upon? When we study the following
portion we find we are going to get four objects of उपासि and
in each group, i.e., in the four objects one object is going to be
the main object, primary object and the other three objects are
going to be subordinate objects. In सांस्कृत the main object is
called अङ्त्तग object and the subordinate objects are called
अङ्गः object. अङ्त्तग शवषर्िः and अङ्गः शवषर्िः. Of these four,
अङ्त्तग शवषर्िः the main one will be the most glorious one. Not
only that the glory of the main object alone will be pervading
into the subordinate objects. The power of the subordinate is
derived from the main. Like the prime minister and the other
cabinet ministers, the cabinet ministers enjoy the power derived
only from the prime minister. The moment prime minister
withdraws his support the cabinet ministers will become
ordinary ministers Therefore we can say that the prime minister
pervades the subordinate ministers. The power of the prime
minister alone is spreading all over. Therefore if any
subordinate member enjoys the power it is the spreading power
of the prime minister. And therefore we can say the अङ्त्तग
always pervades the अङ्ग. The leader always pervades the
subordinate. Thus we have got one main object which is the
pervading object and the greatest object and the other three are
lesser ones and they are pervaded objetcs. Now if we have got
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one plus three, one main and others three suboridnates, and we
have to invoke all the four objects upon the four व्याहृत्ततs. The
question is which व्याहृत्तत must symbolize the main and which
व्याहृत्ततs should symbolize the suboridnates. In public function
if there are many chairs we can see one chair will be big and
special. Similarly we have got four chairs which are the four
व्याहृत्ततs and upon these four we have to invoke the four, now
the question is which व्याहृत्तत should represent the main. The
उपत्तिषत् says the fourth व्याहृत्तत should symbolize the main
object of meditation. And the other three should symbolize only
the suboridnate objects of meditation. Why do we choose र्िः
as the fourth one? Because as the very word र्िः indicates it is
a great one, मिान्. In सांस्कृत the word र्िः is derived from the
√ मि्, to be worshipped or adored. Therefore र्िः means, the
adorable one, the glorious one. And therefore मिो व्याहृत्तत will
represent the primary object of meditation, and the others
should subordinate. And therefore the उपत्तिषत् says र्िः इत्तत –
so the fourth व्याहृत्तत is र्िः. And तत् ब्रह्म – that fourth व्याहृत्तत
र्िः is the greatest one. ब्रह्म means the greatest one, the glorious
one. Why is the मिो व्याहृत्तत the greatest one? Because it is
going to symbolize the greatest object of meditation. And not
only that सः आत्र्ा – it is the pervading one. Here आत्र्ा is not
सत्तच्िदािन्द आत्र्ा. The र्िो व्याहृत्तत, pervades the other three
व्याहृत्ततs. Because र्िो व्याहृत्तत symbolizes the main object and
the main object will pervade all the subordinate objects, not
physically but symbolically like prime minister through his
power pervades all the ministers. Similarly र्िो व्याहृत्तत
through its greatness pervades the other three व्याहृत्ततs.
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Therefore र्िः is called आत्र्ा, the pervading one. What about
the other three? अङ्गात्ति अन्याः देवताः – all the other objects
(देवताः) of meditation represented by भःू , भुवः and सुवः are
अङ्गात्ति – only subordinates. That means they enjoy their
powers only if the head object is willing to delegate the power,
they enjoy only borrowed power, they don’t have intrinsic
power. So now we have got four व्याहृत्ततs three of them
subordinates, one of them main. Now we are ready for the
उपासि. What are the उपासिs? It is being introduced in the
next portion.
र्न्त्र 1-5-01 & 02
भरू रत्तत वा अयां लोकः । भुव इत्यन्तररक्र्् । सुवररत्यसौ लोकः ॥ १
॥
र्ि इत्यात्तदत्यः । आत्तदत्येि वाव सवेलोक र्िीयन्ते ।
So we are going to get four objects to be invoked upon
the four व्याहृत्ततs and all the four objects are in the form of the
four लोकs. So they are taken from the field of लोकs, therefore
we can call it अत्तधलोक व्याहृत्तत उपासि. अत्तधलोक means the
objects are chosen from the from the field of लोकs. If you
remember the सांत्तितोपासि we had अत्तधलोकम्, अत्तधज्यौत्ततषर््,
अत्तधत्तवद्र््, अत्तधप्रजर्् and अध्यात्र्र््; उपासिs upon the सांत्तिता.
Here also we are going to get a group of उपासिs. In the first
उपासि the four objects are taken from the field of लोकs. What
are the लोकs taken? भःू इत्तत वा अयां लोकः. So you have to
imagine four chairs as told in सांत्तितोपासि. भःू chair, भुवः chair,
सुवः chair and र्िः is special chair. And we are going to bring
भलू ोक to be seated on the first chair, i.e., भःू व्याहृत्तत. So भलू ोक
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is invoked in भःू व्याहृत्तत. So भःू इत्तत वै अयां लोकः, अयां लोकः
means this world. And this world means the world I which we
are, i.e., भल
ू ोक. Then भुवः इत्तत अन्तररक्र््, अन्तररक्र्् means
the intermediary लोक which is called भुवलोक which is to be
invoked in the भुवः व्याहृत्तत. and सुवः इत्तत असौ लोकः, असौ
लोकः means that far away world, i.e., स्वगव लोक, the heavens.
So असौ लोकः means स्वगव लोक otherwise called सव ु लोक.
सुवलोक and स्वगव लोक are one and the same. That स्वगव लोक
should be invoked upon the सुवः व्याहृत्तत. And all these three
are the subordinate लोकs invoked on the subordinate व्याहृत्ततs.
Now the hero has to be brought in र्िः इत्तत आत्तदत्यः – the Sun
is to be invoked upon र्िो व्याहृत्तत. Why do we invoke the Sun
upon र्िो व्याहृत्तत? The उपत्तिषत् justifies it, आत्तदत्येि वाव सवे
लोकाः र्िीयन्ते – all the लोकs are surviving, are functioning
only because of the grace of the Sun. So even if you see
astronomically all the लोकs in the form of the Venus, Mars,
etc., are surviving only because of the Sun in the middle,
without the Sun none of them can survive. And therefore
whatever glory the earth has got that glory is borrowed from the
Sun. कृष्ि says that in the fifteenth chapter
गार्ात्तवश्य ि भत ू ात्ति धारयाम्यिर्ोजसा ।
पुष्िात्तर् िौषधीः सवाव ः सोर्ो भत्ू वा रसात्र्कः ॥ गीता १५-१३ ॥
The light in the Sun alone is pervading the earth and all the
plants and all the living beings are surviving because of the
sunlight alone. And therefore आत्तदत्येि वाव, again वाव is
प्रशसशध, as it is well-known, because of the Sun alone all the
लोकs are what they are. And therefore what is the meditaion
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here? भल ू ोक, भुवलोक, सुवलोक, आत्तदत्य these four must be
invoked upon भःू , भुवः, सुवः, र्िः. And of these, three लोकs are
अङ्गs and सय ू व is अङ्त्तग, अङ्त्तग is the greatest and supporting
one. So this is अत्तधलोक व्याहृत्तत उपासि. After completing this
we ask the objects to vacate the chairs. But the chairs are not
removed. Because we are going to go to the next one which is
again व्याहृत्तत उपासि only where the आलम्बिर््s will continue
to be the व्याहृत्ततs but the objects are going to be different. And
what is that उपासि? We will read.
भरू रत्तत वा अत्तनिः । भुव इत्तत वायुः । सुवररत्यात्तदत्यः । र्ि इत्तत
िन्रर्ाः । िन्रर्सा वाव सवाव त्ति ज्योती ँत्तष र्िीयन्ते ।
So the next group is taken here. Four members are
selected from the field of the देवताs. Therefore we can call it
अत्तधदेव व्याहृत्तत उपासि. This is also व्याहृत्तत उपासि only but
the objects chosen are देवता. What are they? भःू इत्तत वै अत्तनिः –
अत्तनि देवता is to be invoked upon the भःू व्याहृत्तत. भुवः इत्तत वायुः
– वायु देवता is to be invoked upon the भुवः व्याहृत्तत. सुवः इत्तत
आत्तदत्यः – आत्तदत्य देवता is to be invoked upon the सुवः
व्याहृत्तत. र्िः इत्तत िन्रर्ाः – िन्र देवता is to be invoked upon
the र्िो व्याहृत्तत. Why do we choose िन्र upon the र्िो
व्याहृत्तत? The उपत्तिषत् says िन्रर्सा वाव सवाव त्ति ज्योतींत्तष
र्िीयन्ते – all these देवताs (ज्योतींत्तष) are glorious only because
of the blessing of िन्र देवता. Therefore िन्र देवता is superior,
main देवता and the other three are subordinates. Ok, but this
can create a doubt. What is that? How can िन्र देवता bless
सय ू व ? We have put सय ू व as subordinate and िन्र as main. It is
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against all norms. We know that िन्रप्रकाि is borrowed from
सयू व . Therefore सय ू व must be blessing the िन्र and not the other
way round. For that our answer is we are talking about देवताs.
That is why in the introduction itself I said these are the देवताs
invoked which means we are not talking about the physical
visible objects but we are referring to the देवताs. Now what are
the powers of these देवताs? When we study the powers of the
देवताs we will know which देवता is powerful. In तत्त्वबोध We
saw that अत्तनि देवता is presiding over वाशगशन्द्रर्म्
(कर्ेत्तन्रयर््), वायु देवता is presiding over स्पशव इत्तन्रयर््
(ज्ािेत्तन्रयर््), आत्तदत्य देवता is presiding over िक्ुररत्तन्रयर््
(ज्ािेत्तन्रयर््). So therefore अत्तनि वायु सय ू व are all presiding
over इत्तन्रयर््s, the sense organs where िन्र is presiding over
the mind, the अन्तःकरिर््.
िन्रर्ा र्िसो जातश्चक्ोः सय
ू ो अजायत । र्ुखात्तदन्रश्चात्तनिश्च ॥
पुरुषसक्त
ू र्् १४ ॥
Since िन्र देवता is presiding over the mind, who must be more
powerful we have to find. Between the sense organs and the
mind which is more powerful? We know sense organs cannot
function without the blessings of the mind. What is the proof?
Here in the class even though you have got very powerful dog
ears, even the most powerful ears cannot hear if your mind is
not behind. If you have started looking at the watch because you
have some other important program after the class then the last
few minutes are gone. That is why I never exceed the time.
because after the time generally the mind is switched off. You
are here but you don’t hear. Out of respect you don’t walk out
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but I know mentally you have walked out. All the sense organs
have got borrowed power but the mind can function without the
blessing of the sense organs, even when all the sense organs are
closed the mind can happily function as in meditation. You
have withdrawn all the sense organs but mind successfully
continues doing whatever it wants. And in dream the sense
organs do not function but the mind happily functions.
Therefore mind is अङ्त्तग and the sense organs are अङ्ग. And
therefor from the देवता angle िन्र देवता should be the अङ्त्तग
and all the other देवताs should be the अङ्ग देवताs. Therefore
there is no defect in the Vedic teaching. So with this अत्तधदेव
व्याहृत्तत उपासि is over. Now we are entering the third व्याहृत्तत
उपासि.
र्न्त्र 1-5-02 & 03
भरू रत्तत वा ऋिः । भुव इत्तत सार्ात्ति । सुवररत्तत यजँत्तू ष ॥ २ ॥
र्ि इत्तत ब्रह्म । ब्रह्मिा वाव सवेवेदा र्िीयन्ते ।
So the third व्याहृत्तत उपासि comes. So we have
requested the देवताs to vacate the chair. We are ready for
bringing in another four objects of meditation. And these four
objects are brought from or belong to the field of the वेदs. So
from Vedic field the objects are taken. Therefore we can call
this अत्तधवेद व्याहृत्तत उपासि. अत्तधलोक, अत्तधदेव and अत्तधवेद
व्याहृत्तत उपासि. Then what do we do? भःू इत्तत वै ऋिः – the ऋग्
र्न्त्रs or the ऋनवेद is invoked in भःू व्याहृत्तत. भुवः इत्तत सार्ात्ति
– सार् र्न्त्रs or सार्वेद is invoked in भुवः व्याहृत्तत. सुवः इत्तत
यजांत्तू ष – यजुर्वन्त्रs or यजुवेद is invoked in सुवः व्याहृत्तत. All
these are the subordinate ones. The hero, the main one is र्िः
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इत्तत ब्रह्म. In this context ब्रह्म means ॐकारः. ॐकार is the
greatest because it contains the extract or the essence of all the
three वेदs as we saw before. In fact, ॐकार pervades the entire
वेदs. Therefore ब्रह्मिा ॐकारे ि वाव सवे वेदाः र्िीयन्ते – all the
वेदs get their glory borrowed from ॐकार. So this is अत्तधवेद
व्याहृत्तत उपासि. Then comes the fourth and final व्याहृत्तत
उपासि.
भरू रत्तत वै प्रािः । भुव इत्यपािः । सुवररत्तत व्यािः । र्ि इत्यन्िर्् ।
अन्िेि वाव सवे प्रािा र्िीयन्ते ।
This is the fourth and final व्याहृत्तत उपासि in which we
take four objects associated with the field of प्राि and therefore
we can call this अशधप्राि व्याहृत्तत उपासि. What are the chosen
ones? भःू इत्तत वै प्रािः. We know that प्राि is divided into five –
प्राि, अपाि, व्याि, उदाि and सर्ाि. Of these the प्राि, the
exhalation air, प्राक् गमनवान् वार्ुिः we have invoke in भःू
व्याहृत्तत. And भुवः इत्तत अपािः – अपाि is invoked in भुवः
व्याहृत्तत. अपाि is two-fold. The inhalation air which goes
downward, अधोगमनवान् वार्ुिः from the nostrils to the lungs.
Not only that all the waste of the body is also pushed
downwards through excretion and therefore it is also called
अपाि. So अपाि is equal to inhalation plus excretion. So this
अपाि is to be invoked in भुवः व्याहृत्तत. सुवः इत्तत व्यािः – upon
the सुवः व्याहृत्तत व्याि is to be invoked. व्याि is that energy
which circulates everything throughout the body. त्तवष्वक्
गर्िवाि् वायुः व्यािः. त्तव means त्तवष्वक् which means to all
parts of the body. So the blood has to be circulated and the
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nutrients have to be taken from the stomach and it has to be
given to every part of the body including hair. So व्याि is the
circulatory system. If all these three are subordinates then who
is the hero, the main one, the अङ्त्तग? र्िः इत्तत अन्िर्् – so
अन्िर्् should represent र्िः because all these प्रािs can
function only if there is food inside. How to prove? So if you
have got any उपवास habit you will find that inhalation,
exhalation become weaker, circulation become weaker. In fact
all the पञ्ि प्रािs will become weaker and if consistently avoid
food the प्राि will quit the body. Therefore र्िः इत्तत अन्िर््,
अन्िर्् means food. And food is glorious because अन्िेि वाव
सवे प्रािाः र्िीयन्ते – all the प्रािs are glorious only as long as
food is available. This is अशधप्राि व्याहृत्तत उपासि. So अत्तधलोक
व्याहृत्तत उपासि, अत्तधदेव व्याहृत्तत उपासि, अत्तधवेद व्याहृत्तत
उपासि and अशधप्राि व्याहृत्तत उपासि. In each four objects are
taken therefore combining all the four उपासिs sixteen objects
are invoked in the collective व्याहृत्तत उपासि. In the
सांत्तितोपासि twenty objects were invoked. Now the उपत्तिषत्
concludes the व्याहृत्तत उपासि. We will read.
ता वा एताश्चतस्रश्चतुधाव । ितस्रश्चतस्रो व्याहृतयः । ता यो वेद । स
वेद ब्रह्म । सवेऽस्र्ै देवा बत्तलर्ावित्तन्त ॥ ३ ॥ इत्तत पञ्िर्ोऽिुवाकः
॥
So the conclusion. ताः वै एताः ितस्रः – in this manner
these four व्याहृत्ततs. ितुधाव – are meditated in four-fold ways.
Because one व्याहृत्तत itself represents four objects. In the first
उपासि भःू represented one object, in अत्तधलोक one object, in
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अत्तधदेव another object, therefore one व्याहृत्तत represented four
objects. Therefore ितुधाव means four objects are invoked in
each व्याहृत्तत. How many व्याहृत्ततs are there? ितस्रः ितस्रः
व्याहृतयः – in each उपासि four व्याहृत्ततs were used. And in
each व्याहृत्तत four objects were invoked. Thus sixteen objects
were meditated. शङ्करािायव asks the question why do you say
that, we already know. Then शङ्करािायव says the उपत्तिषत्
repeates that to indicate that you have to invoke only in the
same order as mentioned by the उपत्तिषत्. You cannot say four
people are there and four chairs are there, whoever can sit
wherever they want. No. Any object cannot be invoked in any
व्याहृत्तत, they are reserved for an appropriate object. So all this
to be followed in the उपासिs is indicated. The details in the
next class.
पि
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In the शीक्ावल्ली, the first chapter of तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत्
we are completing the fifth अिुवाक or the section which is
dealing with the व्याहृत्तत उपासि which is the second उपासि
occurring in this chapter. Previously we saw सांत्तितोपासि and
this is व्याहृत्तत उपासि. And in this उपासि we took the four
व्याहृत्ततs as आलम्बिर््s and upon these four व्याहृत्ततs various
objects were invoked. And in each उपासि four objects are
invoked in these four व्याहृत्ततs. And like that four उपासिs were
mentioned. And all these four उपासिs put together becomes
one व्याहृत्तत उपासि. So it is a composite उपासि consisting of
four levels of meditation. And now the उपत्तिषत् concludes this
उपासि by talking about the फलम् of this उपासि. ताः वै एताः
ितस्रः ितुधाव – these are the four व्याहृत्ततs and each व्याहृत्तत is
meditated upon in four ways. And therefore ितुधाव . And ितस्रः
ितस्रः व्याहृतयः – each व्याहृत्तत is seen in four-fold ways and
there are totally four व्याहृत्ततs, therefore ितस्रः ितस्रः
व्याहृतयः – in each level of meditation there are four व्याहृत्ततs.
And this is repeated and शङ्करािायव gives a significance to
these two lines and that is the object of meditation should be
invoked only in that particular व्याहृत्तत, we have no right to
interchange. So if भरू रत्तत वा ऋिः । भुव इत्तत सार्ात्ति । सुवररत्तत
यजांत्तू ष ॥ the मन्र says, so the first व्याहृत्तत should be seen as
ऋनवेद, the second as सार्वेद and the third as यजुवेद. You
cannot argue for a change we will take ऋनवेद, यजुवेद and then
सार्वेद. You cannot do that. The ऋनवेद has to be invoked only
in भःू व्याहृत्तत and सार्वेद alone has to be invoked in भुवः
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व्याहृत्तत and यजुवेद should be in सुवः व्याहृत्तत. You cannot
interchange the objects. And therefore ितस्रः ितस्रः व्याहृतयः.
Upto this is the उपासि portion.
Now the फलम् is going to be given. ताः यः वेद – suppose
a person practices this four-fold व्याहृत्तत उपासि. Here the word
वेद means उपासिर्् करोत्तत, so the one who meditates upon
these four व्याहृत्ततs as mentioned in the उपत्तिषत्, सः ब्रह्म वेद.
Here the word ब्रह्म has got a specific meaning, i.e., त्तिरण्यगभव .
So that person who practices व्याहृत्तत उपासि is practicing
really speaking त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि. So सः ब्रह्म त्तिरण्यगभं वेद.
Here also the word वेद means उपासिर्् करोत्तत. Just a few lines
before only the same word ब्रह्म occurred. There the word ब्रह्म
means ॐकारः. So भरू रत्तत वा ऋिः । भुव इत्तत सार्ात्ति । सुवररत्तत
यजांत्तू ष ॥ र्ि इत्तत ब्रह्म । There the word ब्रह्म meant ॐकारः but
here the word ब्रह्म means त्तिरण्यगभव . And शङ्करािायव adds not
only he is practicing त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि as it were, he will
become one with त्तिरण्यगभव as a result of this उपासि. So this
उपासि gives him त्तिरण्यगभव प्रात्ति as the फलर््. Now what is
the meaning of the word त्तिरण्यगभव ? त्तिरण्यगभव is the name of
the सर्त्तष्ट सक्ष्ू र् शरीर सत्तित िैतन्यर््. त्तिरण्यगभव is the name
of the reflected Consciousness obtaining in the reflecting
medium of the total सक्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् which is the total mind plus
the total प्राि, plus the total sense organs. Therefore त्तिरण्यगभव
is total mind plus total प्राि. Since त्तिरण्यगभव represents the total
mind, it is सवव ज्ः, because it has the knowledge obtaining in all
the minds. Therefore this उपासक सवव ज् त्तिरण्यगभव पदम्
प्राप्िोत्तत. Then शङ्करािायव raises a question. This person is
practicing only the व्याहृत्तत उपासि, how can he get the फलर््
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of त्तिरण्यगभव प्रात्तिः? Normally as the उपासि is so the फलर््
will be. लक्ष्र्ी उपासिर्ा we will get wealth which is
represented by लक्ष्र्ी. सरस्वती उपासिर्ा he gets knowledge
which is represented by सरस्वती. So the general rule is
तर्् यर्ा यर्ा उपासते तर्ैव भवत्तत ॥ र्ुद्गलोपत्तिषत् ३-३ ॥
Here the उपासि is व्याहृत्तत उपासि, how can he get the
त्तिरण्यगभव पदम्? It is illogical. But the उपत्तिषत् is giving that
फलर्् and therefore you have to interpret it properly.
शङ्करािायव says that in the next section, which is the sixth
अिुवाक the teacher is going to talk about त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि or
total mind उपासि. So शङ्करािायव says because the व्याहृत्तत
उपासि is supposed to give त्तिरण्यगभव फलर्् and it is illogical
to get त्तिरण्यगभव फलर्् for व्याहृत्तत उपासि, शङ्करािायव says
व्याहृत्तत उपासि should be combined with त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि. It
cannot exist independently, it should always go as a twin, it
should go along with त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि also. And therefore
whoever is doing व्याहृत्तत उपासि will be doing त्तिरण्यगभव
उपासि also. And since व्याहृत्तत उपासक is invariably
त्तिरण्यगभव उपासक as a result of this mixture उपासि he can
attain the फलर्् of त्तिरण्यगभव पदम्. Therefore ताः यः वेद –
whoever practices व्याहृत्तत उपासि along with त्तिरण्यगभव
उपासि he will attain त्तिरण्यगभव पदम्. So सः वेद ब्रह्म means he
will attain oneness with त्तिरण्यगभव . When? Not now. After
death. र्रि अिन्तरर्् we have to supply. So what is the basic
qualification for त्तिरण्यगभव पद प्रात्ति? Death. So र्रि अिन्तरर््
he will attain त्तिरण्यगभव पदम्. What is the advantage of
त्तिरण्यगभव पदम्? त्तिरण्यगभव being the total mind or the total
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सक्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् he has got infinite power. Because सक्ष्ू र् शरीरर््
includes पञ्ि ज्ािेत्तन्रयात्ति, पञ्ि कर्ेत्तन्रयात्ति, पञ्ि प्रािाः and
the four-fold अन्तःकरिर््, therefore त्तिरण्यगभव represents the
total ज्ािेत्तन्रयम्, total कर्ेत्तन्रयम् total प्राि, total
अन्तःकरिम्, in short he is the totality. And since he is the
totality the उपत्तिषत् says सवे देवाः अस्र्ै बत्तलर्् आवित्तन्त – all
the देवताs will worship त्तिरण्यगभव . Now the question is how do
you say that all the देवताs will worship त्तिरण्यगभव . For that also
you have to remember तत्त्वबोध. If you take सय ू व देवता he
represents the total eye power, िक्ुषः सय ू व ः. The देवता of the
ears is श्रोत्रस्य त्तदनदेवता. Therefore त्तदनदेवता represents the
total hearing power. Similarly each देवता represents the total
power of corresponding sense organ. But त्तिरण्यगभव represents
the total power of all the ज्ािेत्तन्रयs, कर्ेत्तन्रयs, पञ्ि प्रािs,
अन्तःकरि. Therefore त्तिरण्यगभव is equal to total देवताs. So
ज्ािेत्तन्रय देवताs plus कर्ेत्तन्रय देवताs plus पञ्ि प्राि देवताs
plus अन्तःकरि देवताs. Therefore all the देवताs put together is
त्तिरण्यगभव and therefore naturally all the देवताs offer worship
to त्तिरण्यगभव . Therefore सवे देवाः अस्र्ै बत्तलर्् आवित्तन्त. Ok,
the next question is all the देवताs are going to worship
त्तिरण्यगभव only, but what benefit the उपासक will get. We are
talking about the उपासकs and you are talking about the glory
of त्तिरण्यगभव . For that the answer is this उपासक alone after
र्रिर्् is going to become त्तिरण्यगभव , therefore this उपासक
will be later worshipped by इन्र, वरुि, अत्तनि, सय ू व , चन्द्र etc.
They will all worship and बत्तलर्् – make offerings. Then the
next point is that this फलर्् of त्तिरण्यगभव पदर्् is attainable only
if a person practices the उपासि as सकार् उपासि. Suppose a
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person says I am not interested in even त्तिरण्यगभव पदर््. I am
not interested because it is also ephemeral. त्तिरण्यगभव also has
got only a limited duration. So if I am not interested in
त्तिरण्यगभव पदर्् can I practice the उपासि if you ask, even
शनष्कामतर्ा this उपासि can be practiced. Then what is the
फलर््? Not त्तिरण्यगभव पदर््. The फलर्् is त्तििशुत्तद्,
purification of the mind, त्तिि एकाग्रता, concentration of the
mind and still more importantly त्तिि त्तवशालता, expansion of
the mind. Because we are seeking of भल ू ोक, भुवलोक, सुवलोक
etc., and therefore the mind will expand. So what? If my mind
becomes pure focused and expanded what benefit I will get?
The benefit is I will understand the second chapter of
तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् which is त्तिगव ुि ब्रह्मज्ािम्. So with this the
fifth अिुवाक is over, व्याहृत्तत उपासि is over.
Now we will enter the sixth अिुवाक. We will read.
र्िोर्यत्वात्तदगुिकब्रह्मोपासिया स्वाराज्यत्तसत्तद्ः
र्न्त्र 1-6-01
स य एषोऽन्तहृदय आकाशः । तत्तस्र्न्ियां पुरुषो र्िोर्यः । अर्त ृ ो
त्तिरण्र्यः । अन्तरे ि तालुके । य एषस्ति इवावलम्बते ।
सेन्रयोत्तिः । यत्रासौ केशान्तो त्तववतव ते । व्यपोह्य शीषव कपाले ।
In this sixth अिुवाक the उपत्तिषत् is introducing the
third उपासि of शीक्ावल्ली which is called त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि,
the total सक्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् consisting of the total sense organs, the
total mind, the total प्राि, and the total intellect. And since he
represents the total knowledge he is called त्तिरण्यगभव . The word
त्तिरण्यम् literally means gold, and in this context त्तिरण्यम्
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represents knowledge. What is the connection gold and
knowledge? Both gold and knowledge are shining.
प्रकाशात्र्क्वात् त्तिरण्यम् ज्ािर्् इशत उछर्ते. Why do you say
knowledge is प्रकाशात्र्कम्, shining? Because knowledge
removes the darkness of ignorance. Therefore त्तिरण्यम् refers to
golden knowledge, gold-like shining knowledge that which
removes darkness. गभव ः in this context means within. literally
गभव ः means the womb. Here the word womb means inside,
because womb is inside. Therefore त्तिरण्यम् means knowledge,
गभव ः means within, त्तिरण्यगभव means the one within whom
there is infinite knowledge, त्तिरण्यम् गभे र्स्र् सिः त्तिरण्यगभव ः.
This त्तिरण्यगभव is to be meditated here. Since त्तिरण्यगभव
represents the total सक्ष्ू र् शरीरर््, it is not possible for the
individual mind to conceive of the totality. I can never conceive
of omniscience, the human intellect is too small to conceive of
omniscience. Not only that त्तिरण्यगभव being the total subtle
body, त्तिरण्यगभव is not visible, not even प्र्र्क्षम्. At least शवराट्
who represents the total gross body is partly visible. Because
स्र्ल
ू शरीरर्् is visible to the sense organs. The subtle body
being invisible, the total subtle body is also invisible. Then how
can I meditate upon त्तिरण्यगभव ? How can I conceive of the
inconceivable? And wherever you cannot directly think of the
total we use the method of symbolism. We keep a symbol called
आलम्बिर््. Remember the example of flag being a symbol of
the total country, therefore you worship the country by saluting
the flag. Therefore we require a symbol for त्तिरण्यगभव . And
what is the best symbol? The उपत्तिषत् says take your own
mind, individual mind as the symbol for the total mind. So
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व्यत्तष्ट र्िः let it be an आलम्बिर्् for सर्त्तष्ट र्िः. And in this
symbolization there are lot of advantages. What are the
advantages? Until now one comes to the उपत्तिषत्, a person
always looks upon God as something outside. This is his
orientation. God is somewhere remote, which means He is not
here. He has this conviction that God must be somewhere; this
is the orientation that we have. And as long as we think of God
as an external and outside thing वेदान्त will be very difficult
because in वेदान्त I have to own up the fact अिर्् ब्रह्म अत्तस्र्.
So in the कर्व काण्ड, the ritualistic section he has always looked
upon God as outside and different. And he has always looked
upon himself as a worthless puny little creature. I am दासः and
you are स्वात्तर्. You are big and I am small. You are the
अनार्नार्िः, the Lord of the destitute and I am an अनार्. Thus
he grew looking upon himself to be small, useless, पाशप. There
are certain religions which specifically tell you are a sinner.
Already I have complexities that small, useless, worthless,
पाशप, and top of that they call and address us as O ye sinners!
So because of this orientation the वेदान्त never works because
वेदान्त is meant to teach I am the purest of the purest, ब्रह्मि्.
त्तित्योऽिर््, शुद्ोऽिर््, अिन्तोऽिर््, शान्तोऽिर््, सवव -
आधारोऽिर््, असङ्गोऽिर््, जगत्कारिर्िम् etc. Instead of
seeing these wonderful descriptions, I berate myself as puny
and worthless! How do you get out of this orientation? One
method is start invoking the Lord in yourself. Instead of
invoking the Lord outside, learn to invoke the Lord in yourself
so that you will get some respectability. Therefore let me get
some respectability by invoking the Lord in myself. May my
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द्वैत बुत्तद् gradually vanish. May my भेद बुत्तद्, the divisive notion
that Lord is different and I am different may vanish. How to
remove the notion of division? By invoking the Lord in
yourself. This method of उपासि is called अिांग्रि उपासि.
अिांग्रि उपासि is a technical word which means practicing the
उपासि in which the Lord is invoked in myself.
अरुिाां करुिा तरङ्त्तगताक्ीं धतृ पाशाङ्कुश पुष्प बाििापार्् ।
ू ःै अिम् इशत एव त्तवभावये भवािीर्् ॥ श्री
अत्तिर्ात्तदत्तभ रावतृ ाां र्यख
लत्तलता सिस्रिार् ध्यािश्लोक ॥
I describe लत्तलता देवर and in the fourth line I say अिम् इशत एव
त्तवभावये भवािीर््. Even in सन्ध्यावन्दि
योऽसावसौ पुरुषः असावात्तदत्यो ब्रह्म ब्रह्मैवािर्त्तस्र् ।
daily he has to practice असावात्तदत्यो ब्रह्म ब्रह्मैवािर्त्तस्र्. In the
initial stages it is an imagination, but later this imagination
should be converted into a fact. When it is an imagination it is
called अिांग्रि उपासि and when it is converted into a fact it is
called ऐक्तयज्ािर््. So here we are going to take our own
individual mind as an आलम्बिर््, symbol for the total mind,
त्तिरण्यगभव . Now the next question is where is this individual
mind located. What is the location of the mind? So purely we
have to go by शास्त्र. Because as far science is concerned they
don’t accept a mind at all other than brain. The scientists believe
only in the brain but in the शास्त्र we talk about a mind which is
other than the brain. What is the difference between mind and
brain? Mind is a subtle instrument and the brain is a physical
tangible thing. At the time of death the brain will go away, it is
burnt into ashes, whereas according to the शास्त्रs the mind
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survives and not only survives it even travels in search of
another body. Therefore mind as an instrument different from
the body and brain is taught by the शास्त्रs science has not yet
accepted the mind. Now once the mind is understood as the
invisible instrument सक्ष्ू र् अन्तःकरिम्, the next question is
what is the location of the mind. In the scriptures for every
subtle instrument, called इत्तन्रयर्् a physical location called
गोलकर्् is given. िक्ुः is an इत्तन्रयर्् which is invisible
whereas the eyeballs are the गोलकर््. You see the गोलकर्् but
you cannot see the इत्तन्रयर््. In a blind person गोलकर्् is there
but इत्तन्रयर्् is not functioning. So thus for all the पञ्ि
ज्ािेत्तन्रयs गोलकर््s are there, for पञ्ि कर्ेत्तन्रयs गोलकर््s
are there, now the question is what is the गोलकर््, the physical
location for the mind. what will we say? We may think the
brain. But according to the scriptures the गोलकर््, the physical
location of the mind is हृदयर््, the heart. So अन्तःकरिस्र्
गोलकां हृदयां भवशत. which heart? We have seen every गोलकर््
belongs to the physical body, it is the tangible physical part of
the body which means हृदय गोलकर्् also must be the physical
heart of the body only which is supposed to be on the left side
of the body. So शङ्करािायव says हृदयत्तर्त्तत पुण्डरीकाकारो
र्ाांसत्तपण्डः प्रािायतिोऽिेकिाडीसुत्तषर ऊध्वव िालोऽधोर्ुखो
त्तवशस्यर्ािे पशौ प्रत्तसद् उपलभ्यते । हृदयर्् the physical heart
which you can see when you cut the body. And in this physical
pumping heart according to शास्त्र the invisible सक्ष्ू र्
अन्तःकरिम् is located. That is the headquarters of the mind.
Though the physical heart is the house of the mind, during the
जाग्रत् अवस्र्ा the mind functions all over the body. When you
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go to सुषुत्ति अवस्र्ा, the mind withdraws from the body and gets
into its house called the हृदयर््.
रािु ग्रस्तत्तदवाकरे न्दुसदृशो र्ायासर्ाच्छादिात्
सन्र्ात्रः करिोपसांिरितो योऽभत्ू सुषुिः पुर्ाि् ॥ श्रीदत्तक्िार्त्तू तव
स्तोत्रर्् ६ ॥
So the mind is withdrawn and it goes to the heart. And therefore
where is the mind in the हृदयर््. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् says
अन्तहृव दये – within the physical heart सः एषः आकाशः – there
is an inner space obtaining within the हृदयर््. The size of the
space is also prescribed by the शास्त्र. The inner space is
supposed to be as big as the thumb. In कठोपत्तिषत् we saw
अङ्गुष्ठर्ात्रः पुरुषः ॥ कठोपत्तिषत् २-१-१२ ॥
How do you know that? Your heart is of the size of your fist.
And within that heart the inner space is of the size of the thumb.
And within that thumb size inner space तत्तस्र्ि् अयां पुरुषः –
there is the individual mind. What should we do? In that
individual mind पुरुषः – you have to invoke त्तिरण्यगभव . पुरुषः
means त्तिरण्यगभव पुरुषः, the total mind should be invoked in the
individual mind which is obtaining within the physical heart.
And what type of त्तिरण्यगभव should you meditate upon? Not
ordinary त्तिरण्यगभव but the one with various virtues, त्तवत्तवध गुि
त्तवत्तशष्ट त्तिरण्यगभव ः. What are his virtues? र्िोर्यः – सर्त्तष्ट
र्िः, he is the total mind. Like the difference between
Tamilnadu and India. What is the difference? India is total and
Tamilnadu is the individual. And the total pervades the
individual. सर्त्तष्ट pervades the व्यत्तष्ट. Therefore त्तिरण्यगभव
must be pervading every individual mind. Therefore may you
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invoke that सर्त्तष्ट र्िः in the व्यत्तष्ट र्िः. Therefore one virtue
of त्तिरण्यगभव is he is र्िोर्यः. Then his next virtue is अर्त ृ ः–
he is the immortal one. He being the total mind he is immortal
in the relative sense of the term. Nothing is absolutely immortal.
Absolutely immortal is only ब्रह्मन्. In the eighth chapter of the
गीता we saw that ब्रह्मात्तज’s life is much longer than our life.
Two thousand ितुयव ुगs put together is one calendar day of
ब्रह्मात्तज. And like that three hundred and sixty five days into two
thousand ितुयव ुगs will be one year. Like that one hundred and
twenty years ब्रह्मात्तज lives, therefore naturally he must have
very long life, therefore he is called अर्त ृ ः – the immortal one.
Then he is त्तिरण्र्यः – सवव ज्ः, he is omniscient. Such an
omniscient, immortal, total mind त्तिरण्यगभव may you invoke in
your own individual mind. Thus this is त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि
त्तवत्तधः. ‘May you meditate’ is not added, we have to supply.
Then if I meditate what will happen? From the next line
अन्तरे ि तालुके onwards is the फलश्रुत्तत, the benefit or the
consequence of the त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि.
Now the उपत्तिषत् wants to give the indications of the
फलम्. It is not directly mentioned but certain code words are
given. Now according to the scriptures which we have seen in
कठोपत्तिषत्, र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत् etc., the त्तिरण्यगभव उपासक will
go to ब्रह्मलोक after death. Now the question is what do you
mean by ‘he will go to ब्रह्मलोक’. Who is ‘he’? Is it the स्र्ल ू
शरीरर््? As स्र्ल
ू शरीरर्् is burnt here itself it cannot go to any
लोक. आ्मा being all-pervading cannot go to any लोक.
Therefore पाररिेष न्र्ार्ेन by elimination only सक्ष्ू र्-कारि-
शरीर bundle alone will go. And since it has to go to ब्रह्मलोक
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it should have a path through which it will travel and the path
of travel is called शुक्तलगत्ततः, bright or well-lighted path. Now
where does the शुक्तलगत्तत begin and what are the intermediary
stations through which it travels? The उपत्तिषत् says शुक्तलगत्तत
starts at the हृदयर््. Therefore at the time of death the सक्ष्ू र्
शरीरर्् of the उपासक will be withdrawn into his हृदयर््. So
sense organs will stop functioning, because सक्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् will
withdraw from ज्ािेत्तन्रयर््s, कर्ेत्तन्रयर््s, पञ्ि प्रािs and
अन्तःकरिम् and it enters the हृदयर््. And from the हृदयर््
several िात्तडs go out. We have seen in कठोपत्तिषत्
शतां िैका ि हृदयस्य िाड्यः ॥ कठोपत्तिषत् २-३-१६ ॥
One hundred and one main िात्तडs, subtle paths originate from
हृदयर््. The main िात्तड called the सुषुम्िा िाडी which
originates from हृदयर्् travels upward through the middle of the
body, through the middle of the neck, then it passes through the
inner part of the throat where a fleshy portion is hanging called
uvula and then travels through the middle of the head and opens
at the crown of the head. That opening is called ब्रह्म रन्रर््. So
starting from the हृदयर्् the िात्तड goes upto the ब्रह्म रन्रर्् and
then it goes upwards through the शुक्तल गत्तत and passes through
the solar disc
तपःश्रद्े ये ह्युपवसन्त्यरण्ये शान्ता त्तवद्वाांसो भैक्ष्यियां िरन्तः ।
सय ू व द्वारे ि ते त्तवरजाः प्रयात्तन्त यत्रार्त
ृ ः स पुरुषो ह्यव्ययात्र्ा ॥
र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत् १-२-११ ॥
सयू व द्वारे ि through the middle of the solar disc the शुक्तल गत्तत
goes and reaches ब्रह्मलोक. Since the शुक्तल गत्तत takes a person
to ब्रह्मलोक the उपत्तिषत् gives a special title to this path called
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इन्रयोत्तिः. इन्र here refers to ब्रह्मात्तज or त्तिरण्यगभव . योत्तिः
means path, र्ागव ः. Therefore इन्रयोत्तिः means ब्रह्मर्ागव ः, a path
which will take the उपासक िरव to ब्रह्मलोक. That is said here.
सा इन्रयोत्तिः – there is a शुक्तलगत्ततः known as इन्रयोत्तिः which
starts from the हृदयर््, and it passes through अन्तरे ि तालुके –
the middle of the inner throat, uvula, स्तिः इव अबलम्बते – a
fleshy portion which hangs down like the nipple of the cow’s
udder. यत्र असौ केशान्तः त्तववतव ते – it goes to the top of the skull
where the roots of the hair are there. केशान्तः means roots of
the hair. शीषव कपाले व्यपोह्य – that िात्तड breaks open the top of
the skull. शीषव कपाले means the top of the skull. व्यपोह्य means
breaking open. Therefore the middle portion is a little tender.
That is why when a सन्न्यात्तस dies they have the practice of
breaking their head with a coconut. The idea is a सन्न्यात्तस has
got only two goals. If he gains ज्ािर्् there is no travel because
he gets र्ोक् here itself. But suppose if he does not get ज्ािर््
then according to शास्त्र by becoming a सन्न्यात्तस even without
attaining ज्ािर्् he goes to ब्रह्मलोक. So ब्रह्मलोक is the
minimum benefit for becoming a सन्न्यात्तस. So isn’t it worth?
That’s why in our tradition whether they gain ज्ािर्् or not they
have the goal of taking सन्न्यास आश्रर्. And if they are afraid
of सन्न्यास then towards at the end of their life, since they want
a short cut to ब्रह्मलोक, they take सन्न्यास called आपत्
सन्न्यास. So when a सन्न्यात्तस dies we do not know whether
he is a ज्ात्ति or not and therefore the assumption is if he is not
a ज्ात्ति he should go to ब्रह्मलोक and to ब्रह्मलोक he should go
through the top of the head and we don’t see any hole there, so
we take a coconut and make a hole there. That is a practice, the
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idea is a सन्न्यात्तस will definitely go to ब्रह्मलोक if he is not a
ज्ात्ति. Then what about a गिृ स्र्? He will also go to ब्रह्मलोक
if he practices this त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि. The details we will see
in the next class.
पि
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We are seeing the sixth अिुवाक of शीक्ावल्ली the first
chapter of तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत्. In this sixth अिुवाक we are getting
त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि, त्तिरण्यगभव representing the Consciousness
along with the total सक्ष्ू र् शरीरर््. सर्त्तष्ट सक्ष्ू र् शरीर सत्तित
िैतन्यर्् त्तिरण्यगभव ः. The subtle body has got several organs
and of them two main ones are mind and प्राि and therefore
often त्तिरण्यगभव is represented as total mind or total प्राि. When
त्तिरण्यगभव is seen as total mind त्तिरण्यगभव is सवव ज्ः,
सवव ज्ञानिशिमान्. Whereas when त्तिरण्यगभव is seen as total
प्राि he is सवव शक्रर्ािशिमान् or the omnipotent one. So as total
mind त्तिरण्यगभव is omniscient and as total प्राि त्तिरण्यगभव is
omnipotent. So this omniscient, omnipotent त्तिरण्यगभव is to be
meditated upon. And therefore this section deals with
त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि. And since the total mind and प्राि cannot be
conceived by us with a limited mind we make use of a symbol
or आलम्बिर्् and the and the उपत्तिषत् prescribes our own
individual mind with limited knowledge and power as the
symbol for totality. That is why often meditation or उपासि is
defined as त्तिकृष्ट वस्तुत्ति उत्कृष्ट दशव िर्् उपासिम्. You take
a limited entity and upon it visualize limitless or superior. So
visualization of the superior upon an inferior one is उपासिम्.
Individual mind is त्तिकृष्टम्, inferior and the total mind
त्तिरण्यगभव is उत्कृष्टम्, superior. त्तिकृष्ट व्यत्तष्ट मनशस उत्कृष्ट
सर्त्तष्ट मनसिः शचन्तनम् पावनम् is the त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि. And
since the त्तिरण्यगभव is visualized upon myself it is also called
अिांग्रि उपासि. अिांग्रि उपासि is that in which the Lord is
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visualized upon myself. Instead of taking an external symbol I
look upon myself as the symbol. And having talked about the
त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि in our own heart the उपत्तिषत् talks about the
फलम् for त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि which is two-fold depending upon
the nature of the उपासि. If it is a त्तिष्कार् त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि
then the benefit is spiritual growth in the form of purity of mind,
in the form of sharpness of mind, in the form of expansion of
mind. त्तििशुत्तद्, त्तिि एकाग्रता, त्तिि त्तवशालता. A mind which
enjoys these virtues can gain आत्र्ज्ािर्् effortlessly.
Therefore ज्ाि योनयता प्रात्ति is the benefit for त्तिष्कार् उपासि.
But if a person practices सकार् उपासि, meditation with
materials goals in mind then the फलम् that one gets is ब्रह्मलोक
प्रात्ति or त्तिरण्यगभव लोक प्रात्ति. This attainment of ब्रह्मलोक will
not take place now, it will be after death; it is a posthumous
reward. How does this िरव gets ब्रह्मलोक? The िरव at the time
of death withdraws into the हृदय स्र्ानम्. The definition of िरव
is सक्ष्ू र् शरीर सत्तित िैतन्यर््, the सक्ष्ू र् शरीर along with the
reflected Consciousness is withdrawn from the ज्ािेत्तन्रयर््s,
कर्ेत्तन्रयर््s and the peripheries of the body and the िरव comes
to the हृदयर््. And from the हृदयर्् there is a special route
normally called शुक्तल गत्तत, a bright path and in शीक्ावल्ली it
is given a special name called इन्रयोत्तिः. This path will take a
िरव to त्तिरण्यगभव लोक. This route starts from the heart and a
special िात्तड called the सुषुम्िा िाडी originates from हृदयर््
which travels upward. It goes through the middle of the neck,
then goes through the middle of the head and it opens at the top
of the head which opening is called ब्रह्म रन्रर््. In fact in the
शवष्िु temple they have got a special gate called स्वगय वासल्,
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परमपद वासल,् gate to highest abode, which is not opened
generally. It is opened on a particular day वैकुण्ठ एकादिर and
those devotees who pass through that परमपद वासल् they are
supposed to get शुक्तल गत्तत and they are supposed to go to
higher लोक. Similarly we also have got a स्वगय वासल् it will
not be open for all at all time, it is open only for त्तिरण्यगभव
उपासक and that too at the time of मरिम्. Then coming out
from that ब्रह्म रन्रर््, the path शुक्तल गत्तत continues, goes
upwards and goes through the solar disc.
त्तिरण्र्येि पात्रेि सत्यस्यात्तपत्तितां र्ुखर्् । तत्त्वां पषू न्िपावि
ृ ु
सत्यधर्ाव य दृष्टये ॥ ईशावास्योपत्तिषत् १५ ॥
In ईशावास्योपत्तिषत् this त्तिरण्यगभव उपासक offers this prayer,
O Lord! This is the time of death, I have practiced to त्तिरण्यगभव
उपासि, I am going to leave through this ब्रह्म रन्रर््, please
keep the solar disc open. So तत्त्वां पषू न् अपावि ृ ु. For ज्ात्ति which
gate must be open? For ज्ात्ति like us there is no परमपद वासल्.
We are all ब्रह्मि,् we don’t travel at all. This is for those अज्ात्ति
उपासकs िे पष ू न् अपाविृ ु ब्रह्मलोक प्रातर्े. Upto this we saw in
the last class. सेन्रयोत्तिः । यत्रासौ केशान्तो त्तववतव ते । व्यपोह्य
शीषव कपाले । शीषव कपाले is the top of the skull and it opens
through that and the उपासक िरव comes out through that,
travels through शुक्तल गत्तत. We have to see now what happens
to him.
र्न्त्र 1-6-01 & 02
भरू रत्यनिौ प्रत्ततत्ततष्ठत्तत । भुव इत्तत वायौ ॥ १ ॥
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सव ु ररत्यात्तदत्ये । र्ि इत्तत ब्रह्मत्ति । आप्िोत्तत स्वाराज्यर्् । आप्िोत्तत
र्िसस्पत्ततर्् । वाक्तपत्ततश्चक्ुष्पत्ततः । श्रोत्रपत्ततत्तववज्ािपत्ततः ।
एतितो भवत्तत । आकाशशरीरां ब्रह्म । सत्यात्र् प्रािारार्ां र्ि
आिन्दर्् । शात्तन्तसर्द् ृ र्र्त ृ र्् । इत्तत प्रािीियोनयोपास्स्व ॥ २ ॥
इत्तत षष्ठोऽिुवाकः ॥
So this portion tells us what happens to त्तिरण्यगभव
उपासक िरव after मरिम्. So he has left through the exist gate
of ब्रह्म रन्र and travels through शुक्तल गत्तत and he has practiced
त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि along with व्याहृत्तत उपासि also we should
remember. While talking about व्याहृत्तत उपासि I mentioned
that this व्याहृत्तत उपासि of the previous section should be done
along with त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि of this section. Therefore व्याहृत्तत
and त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि are always combined उपासि, it is
समुछचर् उपासि. Therefore this उपासक has not only done
त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि but through the four-fold व्याहृत्तत he has
meditated upon other देवताs also. So भरू रत्तत वा अत्तनिः । भुव इत्तत
वायुः । सुवररत्यात्तदत्यः । he has practiced अत्तनि उपासि along
with भःू व्याहृत्तत, वायु उपासि through भुवः व्याहृत्तत and आत्तदत्य
उपासि through सुवः व्याहृत्तत. Therefore he has meditated upon
various देवताs. All those देवताs are part of त्तिरण्यगभव only.
Because त्तिरण्यगभव is the total देवता, the सर्त्तष्ट देवता and
therefore all other देवताs are only अङ्ग देवताs and त्तिरण्यगभव
is called अङ्त्तग देवता. So having meditated upon अङ्ग देवताs
as well as अङ्त्तग देवता, the उपत्तिषत् says, he will become one
with all these देवताs. So he will have देवता merger, देवता प्राशत
and that too in this chronological order. First अङ्ग देवता
merger and finally अङ्त्तग देवता merger. That is said here. भःू
इत्तत अनिौ प्रत्ततत्ततष्ठत्तत – the उपासक merges, reaches अनिौ –
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the अत्तनि देवता which is represented by भःू इत्तत – भःू व्याहृत्तत
mentioned in the previous व्याहृत्तत उपासि. And having merged
into अत्तनि देवता then भुव इत्तत वायौ प्रत्ततत्ततष्ठत्तत, प्रत्ततत्ततष्ठत्तत
means एकी भवशत. so he merges into वायु देवता which is
represented by भुवः इत्तत – भुवः व्याहृत्तत. सुवः इत्तत आत्तदत्ये
प्रत्ततत्ततष्ठत्तत एकी भवशत – he merges into सय ू व देवता which is
represented by सव ु ः इत्तत – सव ु ः व्याहृत्तत. All these देवताs are
अङ्ग देवताs. Having merged into the अङ्ग देवताs he finally
merges into the अङ्त्तग देवता, त्तिरण्यगभव , the सर्त्तष्ट. That is
said here. र्िः इत्तत ब्रह्मत्ति प्रत्ततत्ततष्ठत्तत – त्तिरण्यगभे प्रत्ततत्ततष्ठत्तत.
Here it is not स्र्ं ज्ञानम् अनन्तं ब्रह्म. It is not त्तिगव ुि ब्रह्मत्ति
but सगुि ब्रह्मत्ति which is known as त्तिरण्यगभव . We have to
supply the verb प्रत्ततत्ततष्ठत्तत. So this उपासक finally merges into
त्तिरण्यगभव देवता which is represented by र्िः इत्तत – र्िः
व्याहृत्तत. Once he has become one with त्तिरण्यगभव or ब्रह्मात्तज
then he enjoys a fantastic status and that is he is ब्रह्मलोक
अत्तधपत्तत, the Lord of ब्रह्मलोक. Therefore what does he enjoys?
आप्िोत्तत स्वाराज्यर्् – he attains sovereignty, absolute
overlordship of all the fourteen लोकs because ब्रह्मलोक is the
highest लोक. Even इन्र, वरुि, all the देवताs are under ब्रह्मात्तज.
Because of this absolute power he rules over all the organs of
all the people. आप्िोत्तत र्िसः पत्ततर्् – he is the lord of all the
individual minds because total mind rules over the individual
minds. So he is सवेषाां त्ति र्िसाां पत्ततः. Not only he is the lord of
all the minds वाक्तपत्ततः – सवाव साां वािाां पत्ततभव वत्तत, he is the lord
of all the कर्ेत्तन्रर्ाशि. वाक् literally means speech, and speech
represents all the कर्ेत्तन्रयs. Therefore अन्तःकरिस्र् पत्ततः,
कर्ेत्तन्रर्ािाम् पत्ततः. Then िक्ुष्पत्ततः and श्रोत्रपत्ततः –
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िक्ुषाां पत्ततः and श्रोत्रािाां ि पत्ततः – the lord of all the eyes and
ears. That means सवव ज्ािेत्तन्रर्ािाम् पत्ततः. Because सर् ू य देवता,
who is the lord of the eyes, is only a part of त्तिरण्यगभव . Similarly
वरुि देवता presides over the organ of tongue and he is only a
part of त्तिरण्यगभव . Then त्तवज्ािपत्ततः – त्तवज्ािािाां ि पत्ततः – he
is the lord of all the intellects. Therefore he has got the total
knowledge. That is why we say if we have to do any activity
not only we require our own effort, प्रर््न we require the grace
of the lord, the त्तिरण्यगभव तववम्. If the grace of the lord is not
there our own effort is not enough. And that lord त्तिरण्यगभव he
becomes. श्रोत्रपत्ततत्तववज्ािपत्ततः. And not only that ततः एतत्
भवत्तत – and the following additional glories are also there for
the त्तिरण्यगभव . What are his गुिs, शवभशू तs? आकाशशरीरां ब्रह्म –
that ब्रह्म, the त्तिरण्यगभव has got the all-pervading आकाश itself
as शरीरर्् – his body, because he is total. He is the macrocosm.
In श्रीत्तवष्िुसिस्रिार् also
भःू पादौ यस्य िात्तभर्, त्तवयद् असुर त्तिलः
त्तवयत् means आकाश. What we have to note here is the word
ब्रह्म does not refer to त्तिगव ुि ब्रह्म, but it refers to सगुि
त्तिरण्यगभव only. Then सत्यात्र् – his शरीरर््, the total body
consists of the entire visible and invisible universe.
सत्यां र्त ू व र्् अत्तवतर्ां स्वरूपां वा आत्र्ा स्वभावोऽस्य. Just as
ू ाव र्त
an individual has got a visible body called स्र्ल ू शरीरर्् and
invisible body called सक्ष्ू र् शरीरर््, similarly त्तिरण्यगभव , the
total god has got both the visible and invisible universe. How
do you get that meaning? सत्यात्र्. We have to split it as सत्
plus ्र् plus आ्मा. सत् means the visible universe, र्त ू व प्रपञ्ि,
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and ्र् means अर्त ू व प्रपञ्ि, invisible universe and आ्मा means
शरीरर््. So र्त ू व अर्त
ू व प्रपञ्ि शरीर त्तिरण्यगभव . This explanation
is based on बिृ दारण्यकोपत्तिषत् र्त ू व ब्राह्मिर््. प्रािारार्र्् –
प्रािेषु आरर्िर्् अिीडा यस्य तत्प्रािारार्र््; प्रािािाां वा आरार्ः
यत्तस्र्ि् तत्प्रािारार्र्् – that त्तिरण्यगभव revels in the total प्राि.
Because he has got all the सक्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् put together and
therefore he should have all the प्रािs put together. This word
has to be split as प्राि आरार्ः. आरार्ः means recreation ground.
A garden is called आरार्ः. प्राि आरार्ः means the total प्राि is
the place of recreation. He revels in every िरव. Then
र्निः आिन्दर्् – आिन्दभत ू ां सुखकृदेव यस्य र्िः – त्तिरण्यगभव
enjoys आिन्द through every mind. So he is the total आिन्द
obtaining in all the minds. So मनिः एव आनन्द स्र्ानम् र्स्र्.
What about total दुिःखम्? Because of त्तिरण्यगभव ’s extraordinary
पुण्र्म् which he got through सर्त्तष्ट उपासि. Only the आिन्द
सर्त्तष्ट will come to him. The दुिःखम् of the total will not come
to him, because of the पुण्र्म् दुिःखम् is obstructed, आनन्द alone
comes.
पुण्यर्ेवार्ुां गच्छत्तत ि ि वै देवान्पापां गच्छत्तत ॥
बिृ दारण्यकोपत्तिषत् १-५-२० ॥
Similarly शात्तन्तसर्द्
ृ र्् – त्तिरण्यगभव is the embodiment of
peace and prosperity. Because total peace and prosperity
belongs to त्तिरण्यगभव . Don’t ask about total depression. All
these are the virtues of त्तिरण्यगभव . Such a त्तिरण्यगभव you will
attain as a result of उपासि. Therefore the teacher tells the
student इत्तत उपास्व – if you want to enjoy this ब्रह्मपदम्,
त्तिरण्यगभव पदम्. And he is addressing the student as िे
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प्रािीियोनय. प्रािीियोनयः means पाचरनशवद्या र्ोनर्िः. O student
who is eligible to receive this ancient wisdom, because we have
got श्धा. Otherwise if it is a modern person he will say this is
cock and bull story and he will reject all these things. And
therefore he says you have got faith in the वेदs, faith in the
त्तिरण्यगभव , faith in the उपासि, and therefore you are an eligible
student, may you practice this उपासि. So with this the
त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि is over. And as I said before it can be done
सकार् or त्तिष्कार्. सकार् means you will go to ब्रह्मलोक,
त्तिष्कार् means you will come to the next chapter of
तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् which is ब्रह्मज्ािर््. Continuing;
पत्तृ र्व्याद्ुपात्तधकपञ्िब्रह्मोपासिर््
र्न्त्र 1-7-01
पत्तृ र्व्यन्तररक्ां द्ौत्तदवशोऽवान्तरत्तदशः । अत्तनिवाव युरात्तदत्यश्चन्रर्ा
िक्त्रात्ति । आप ओषधयो विस्पतय आकाश आत्र्ा ।
इत्यत्तधभत ू र्् । अर्ाध्यात्र्र्् । प्रािो व्यािोऽपाि उदािः सर्ािः ।
िक्ुः श्रोत्रां र्िो वाक् त्वक् । िर्व र्ाँसस्िावात्तस्र् र्ज्जा ।
एतदत्तधत्तवधाय ऋत्तषरवोित् । पाङ्क्तां वा इदँ सवव र्् । पाङ्क्तेिैव
पाङ्क्तग् स्पि ृ ोतीत्तत ॥ १ ॥ इत्तत सिर्ोऽिुवाकः ॥
With the previous portion the sixth अिुवाक is over and
त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि is over. We have seen three उपासिs till now
– सांत्तितोपासि, व्याहृत्तत उपासि and त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि. Of
these three उपासिs the second and third should go together
also we have seen. Now we are entering the seventh section
which deals with the fourth उपासि called पाङ्क्तब्रह्म उपासि.
In this उपासि also we are going to visualize the total creation,
the सर्त्तष्ट प्रपञ्ि, the macrocosm upon the individual, the
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व्यत्तष्ट, the microcosm. The उपत्तिषत् wants to train us gradually
for अिं ब्रह्माशस्म. This is a rehearsal section for जीवात्र्-
परर्ात्र्-ऐक्र्. So since we have to ultimately know जीवात्र्-
परर्ात्र्, व्यत्तष्ट-सर्त्तष्ट-ऐक्र्म् we are practicing the
visualization of the total upon the individual. And we have also
scientifically seen that micro and macro are identical. If you
study an atom there is a nucleus and protons around which
electrons are going round. At the atomic level you take the
macro there is a Sun and planets are going round. So there is lot
of similarity, essential identity between micro and macro we are
appreciating that. Now for this उपासि the उपत्तिषत् divides the
total creation into three groups. And each group is called a
पाङ्क्तर््. The whole world is reduced into पाङ्क्तत्रयर््. Then
the next question is why do we name each group as a पाङ्क्तर््.
In सांस्कृत पाङ्क्तर्् means a group of five members. Thus we
have got पाङ्क्तत्रयर्् and each in पाङ्क्तर्् five members will
be there, therefore totally we have fifteen members in the whole
creation. Thereafter the individual micro is also divided into
three groups पाङ्क्तत्रयर्् and each group again consists of five
members. Thus we have got सर्त्तष्ट पाङ्क्तत्रयर्् and व्यत्तष्ट
पाङ्क्तत्रयर््. We have to visualize the सर्त्तष्ट पाङ्क्तत्रयर््,
macro three groups upon the व्यत्तष्ट पाङ्क्तत्रयर््, micro three
groups. In simple language you visualize the totality in
yourself. The totality is otherwise called ब्रह्म and therefore this
उपासि is called पाङ्क्तब्रह्म उपासि.
Now the उपत्तिषत् gives the list of each पाङ्क्तर््. First
the उपत्तिषत् talks about the three macro पाङ्क्तर््s. पत्तृ र्वी
अन्तरीक्र्् द्ौः त्तदशः अवान्तरत्तदशा. These are the first पाङ्क्तर््
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at the macro level. पत्तृ र्वी means भल ू ोक, अन्तरीक्र्् means
भुवलोक, द्ौः means सुवलोक, त्तदशः means the four main
directions – east, west, north and south, अवान्तरत्तदशा means
the intermediary four directions – northeast, northwest,
southeast and southwest. These five together is called the first
पाङ्क्तर्् at the macro level. शङ्करािायव names it
लोकपाङ्क्तर््. This is the first group.
Then the second macro पाङ्क्तर्् is अत्तनिः वायुः आत्तदत्यः
िन्रर्ाः िक्त्रात्ति. अत्तनिः means अत्तनि देवता – the fire deity,
वायुः means the wind deity, आत्तदत्यः means the Sun god,
िन्रर्ाः means the moon god, िक्त्रात्ति means the stars god.
These five देवताs put together make the second macro पाङ्क्तर््
and शङ्करािायव calls it देवतापाङ्क्तर््.
Then the third macro पाङ्क्तर्् is आपः ओषधयः
विस्पतयः आकाशः आत्र्ा. आपः means the waters, ओषधयः
means herbs or plants, विस्पतयः means the trees, आकाशः
means the total space, and आत्र्ा means everything else in the
creation which is not mentioned in this list. आत्र्ेत्तत त्तवराि्.
शङ्करािायव translates it as त्तवराि्. शङ्करािायव calls this group
as भत ू पाङ्क्तर््. इत्तत अत्तधभत
ू म् – this is the पाङ्क्तत्रयर््
belonging to the सर्त्तष्ट or the macrocosm.
Then अर् अध्यात्र्र््. Now we are going to see
पाङ्क्तत्रयर्् connected to the व्यत्तष्ट, the individual. The first
micro पाङ्क्तर्् is प्रािः व्यािः अपािः उदािः सर्ािः the पञ्ि
प्रािाः. प्रािः means respiratory system, व्यािः means circulatory
system, अपािः means the excretory system, उदािः means the
reversing system, सर्ािः means the digestive system.
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शङ्करािायव calls it वायुपाङ्क्तर्् because they are all connected
with प्रािवायु.
The second micro पाङ्क्तर्् is िक्ुः श्रोत्रां र्िः वाक् त्वक्.
िक्ुः means the eyes, श्रोत्रम् means the ears, र्िः means the
mind, वाक् means the organ of speech, त्वक् means the organ
of touch. Since most of them are sense organs शङ्करािायव does
the नामकरिम् इत्तन्रयपाङ्क्तर््.
The third micro पाङ्क्तर्् is िर्व र्ाांसर्् स्िावा अत्तस्र्
र्ज्जा. िर्व means the skin (the inner skin), र्ाांसर्् means the
flesh, स्िावा means the muscles, अत्तस्र् means the bones, र्ज्जा
means bone marrow. These are all the constituents parts of the
body. In आर्ुवेद and our शास्त्रs they are called धातुः which
means the inner constituents, components of the body. They are
called धातु because they alone sustain the body. धिे इत्तत धातुः.
धा means to sustain. In आयुवेद शास्त्र the health is nothing but
harmony among the धातुs. धातु साम्र्म् आरोनर्म्. When there
is a disharmony in the धातु like HDL, LDL cholesterol then it
is called धातु वैषम्र्म्, रोगिः. शङ्करािायव calls it धातुपाङ्क्तर््.
Thus we have got six पाङ्क्तर््s. what are we supposed
to do? एतत् अत्तधत्तवधाय ऋत्तषः अवोित् – a Vedic ऋत्तष prescribed
these six पाङ्क्तर््s. अत्तधत्तवधाय means prescription,
introducing. अवोित् – instruction. पाङ्क्तां वा इदँ सवव र्् – the
whole creation is nothing but पाङ्क्तर््. Either you take व्यत्तष्ट
or सर्त्तष्ट it is all पाङ्क्तर्् only. Therefore what are we
supposed to do? पाङ्क्तेि एव पाङ्क्तां स्पि ृ ोत्तत – may you
visualize the सर्त्तष्ट पाङ्क्तत्रयर्् with the help of व्यत्तष्ट
पाङ्क्तत्रयर््. पाङ्क्तेि means व्यत्तष्ट पाङ्क्तत्रयर््. Another
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पाङ्क्तम् refers to सर्त्तष्ट. What happens by this visualization?
You will strengthen the individual. The more you visualize the
totality, the more strength you will get. When you visualize
your family members you get some extra courage. If this is the
case with family members then thinking of state you get more
strength, then thinking of nation still more strength, if you look
upon the whole world and you become part of this totality
स्पि ृ ोत्तत – बलयत्तत, you strengthen yourself by invoking God in
you. The more you invoke God in you, your battery gets
charged. Even when you meet a र्िात्र्ा you say that after
meeting him you got some extra strength. Now that र्िात्र्ा
himself gets charged by invoking God in himself and that
र्िात्र्ा has got borrowed charge, and we are the secondary
borrower from that र्िात्र्ा. Instead of doing this why don’t you
go to the original UPS system. So the more you visualize God
in you the more strength you get. स्पि ृ ोत्तत – बलयत्तत, परू यत्तत.
This उपासि is called पाङ्क्तब्रह्म उपासि. This उपासि also can
be practiced in सकार् and त्तिष्कार् way. For सकार् उपासि
ब्रह्मलोक प्राशत is the फलम् posthumously whereas for त्तिष्कार्
उपासि the फलम् is त्तििशुत्तद्, त्तिि एकाग्रता and त्तिि
त्तवशालता. With this the seventh section of पाङ्क्तब्रह्म उपासि
is over. Now we have to enter the fifth and the final उपासि
called ॐकार उपासि which we will see in the next class.
पि
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We have completed the first seven अिुवाकs of the first
chapter of तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत्, शीक्ावल्ली. And within these
seven sections the उपत्तिषत् has introduced four उपासिs –
सांत्तितोपासि, व्याहृत्तत उपासि, त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि and
पाङ्क्तब्रह्म उपासि. Now in the following eighth section the
उपत्तिषत् is introducing the fifth and final उपासि of this
chapter, viz., ॐकार उपासि. We will read the portion.
प्रिवोपासिर््
र्न्त्र 1-8-01
ओत्तर्त्तत ब्रह्म । ओत्तर्तीदँ सवव र्् । ओत्तर्त्येतदिुकृत्ततिव स्र् वा
अप्योश्रावयेत्याश्रावयत्तन्त । ओत्तर्त्तत सार्ात्ति गायत्तन्त । ॐ
शोत्तर्त्तत शस्त्रात्ति शँसत्तन्त । ओत्तर्त्यध्वयव ुः प्रत्ततगरां प्रत्ततगि
ृ ात्तत ।
ओत्तर्त्तत ब्रह्मा प्रसौत्तत । ओत्तर्त्यत्तनििोत्रर्िुजािात्तत । ओत्तर्त्तत
ब्राह्मिः प्रवक्ष्यन्िाि ब्रह्मोपाप्िवािीत्तत । ब्रह्मैवोपाप्िोत्तत ॥ १ ॥
इत्यष्टर्ोऽिुवाकः ॥
This section is dealing with the ॐकार उपासि and in
this उपासि the word ॐ is taken as a symbol, प्रतीक
आलम्बिर्् upon which we invoke ईश्वर. ॐकार can represent
त्तवराि, त्तिरण्यगभव or ईश्वर. What is the difference among the
three? त्तवराि् represents the सर्त्तष्ट स्र्ल
ू प्रपञ्ि, the total gross
universe, त्तिरण्यगभव represents the सर्त्तष्ट सक्ष्ू र् प्रपञ्ि, the total
subtle universe and ईश्वर represents the सर्त्तष्ट कारि प्रपञ्ि,
the total causal universe. In short all the three are macro or
सर्त्तष्ट. ॐकार can represent the macro or सर्त्तष्ट. And
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therefore the उपत्तिषत् says ओर्् इत्तत अक्षरे ि ब्रह्म उपासीत. We
must supply the verb उपासीत. May you practice the उपासि
upon ब्रह्मि् using the symbol ॐकार. The word इत्तत indicates
the inverted commas on the syllable ओर््. Here the word ब्रह्म
refers to सगुि ब्रह्म and not त्तिगव ुि ब्रह्म because the त्तिगव ुि ब्रह्म
is not an object of उपासि as any object of उपासि is not त्तिगव ुि
ब्रह्म. How do you know? केिोपत्तिषत् repeatedly said
यद्वािाऽिभ्युत्तदतां येि वागभ्युद्ते ।
तदेव ब्रह्म त्वां त्तवत्तद् िेदां यत्तददर्ुपासते ॥ केिोपत्तिषत् १-५ ॥
Whatever you meditate upon the object of meditation is always
an object of meditation and any object is not त्तिगव ुि ब्रह्म. Then
what is त्तिगव ुि ब्रह्म? तदे व ब्रह्म त्वां त्तवत्तद् – the meditator is त्तिगव ुि
ब्रह्म. It is never a meditated or meditatable object. And therefore
wherever we talk about ब्रह्म उपासि we should qualify the word
ब्रह्म by सगुि. Therefore ब्रह्म उपासीत means सगुि ब्रह्म
उपासीत. That is why it can represent त्तवराि, त्तिरण्यगभव or ईश्वर
because all these three are सगुि because they have got स्र्ल ू ,
सक्ष्ू र् and कारि गुि respectively. Therefore may one meditate
on ॐकार.
Now the next question is when there are so many sacred
words in the scriptural literature, why does the उपत्तिषत् choose
ॐकार as a symbol of उपासि? Why can't it talk about त्तशव,
राम, कृष्ि, गिपशत? The उपत्तिषत् wants to point out that
ॐकार is the most sacred and unique scriptural र्न्त्र, which has
been already hinted before.
यश्छन्दसार्षृ भो त्तवश्वरूपः । छन्दोभ्योऽध्यर्त ृ ात्सम्बभवू । स
र्ेन्रो र्ेधया स्पि
ृ ोतु ॥ तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् १-४-१ ॥
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ब्रह्मात्तज extracted ॐकार by churning all the वेद र्न्त्रs. And
since ॐकार is the essence, the सार of the वेदs, it has got
infinite potency. One ॐकार is as good as chanting all the Vedic
letters. That has been hinted. But here also the teacher wants to
talk about ॐकार र्त्तिर्ा. Therefore from the second sentence
onwards we get ॐकार र्त्तिर्ा. ओर्् इत्तत इदँ सवव र््. Any word
in scriptural literature can refer to only a particular object. Not
only in scriptural literature even in the secular literature a word
can represent or reveal only a relevant object. When I say chair
it can only represent a chair, and not a table, or book or pen or
man or woman. Every word can reveal only one object.
Similarly in the scriptural literature the moment I say रार् your
mind will think only of रार् with his own specific attributes
described in the scriptures. In the ध्याि श्लोक the description
of रार् is different from that of कृष्ि. So a word can reveal only
a particular object. Therefore all those words are limited words.
None of them can really reveal ब्रह्मि् because ब्रह्मि् is the
totality, the सर्त्तष्ट, the macro. Therefore if you want to give a
name to Lord or ब्रह्मि,् it can never be one name since Lord
includes all the objects Lord should have all the names of all
literature that alone can include all the objects. So if you have
to utter all the नामs then where is the time for you? Therefore
you should discover one word which will represent all the
objects of the creation. You have to find out an ingenious
method. And that method is ओर््. The word ओर्् does not refer
any particular object, it encompasses all the objects of the
creation. The अ part of ओर्् representing the स्र्ल ू object, उ
part of ओर्् representing the सक्ष्ू र् object and र्् part of ओर््
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representing the कारि object. One ओर्् includes स्र्ल ू , सक्ष्ू र्
कारि सवय पदार्ाय िः. How do we accomplice that? ओर्् consists
of the three potions – अ, उ and र््. अ is the beginning sound. If
you take the letter अ the uniqueness is that alone is the first
letter ever possible. Because when you want to produce a sound
you open the mouth and allow the wind to pass through your
mouth freely and that sound is अ. That is why when you want
the child to open the mouth you tell ‘say अ’. Therefore अ
represents the first alphabet. That is why कृष्ि said in the गीता
अक्रािार्् अकारः अत्तस्र् ॥ गीता १०-३३ ॥
अ should be the legitimate first letter in any legitimate alphabet.
In all Indian alphabets अ is the first letter. And similarly the last
sound you can produce is र्् alone because whatever you do
ultimately you have to close your mouth. And when you close
your mouth र्् alone will come. And उ is a letter which
represents all the intermediary letters of the alphabet of all
language. Therefore first letter, intermediary letters and last
letter. In short ओर्् represents all the alphabetic letters, अक्षर
माला. Then all the alphabetic letters represent all the possible
words in a language because all the words are nothing but
alphabetic letters rearranged, permutation combinations.
Therefore ओर्् represents the alphabets, alphabet represents all
the पदर््s, words, and all the words represent all the objects.
पदर््s represent पदार्व s. वाक् represents अर्य . The moment I say
chair, if you hear and if your mind receives that whether you
like or not the picture of the chair will be formed in your mind.
Now we have seen four stages. ओर्् represents the alphabets,
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alphabet represents all the words, the words represent the
objects. Therefore ओर्् represents all the objects of the world.
And therefore the उपत्तिषत् says ओर्् इत्तत इदँ सवव र््. when I say
table I cannot say इदँ सवव र््. Table means only this table. When
I say chair it is unidirectional word, when I say fan it only goes
and touches that object. Every word is unidirectional. Whereas
ओर्् is omnidirectional – स्र्ल ू सक्ष्ू र्कारि पदार्व s are
represented. And all the स्र्ल ू सक्ष्ू र्कारि पदार्व s put together is
the Lord. And therefore the ideal word for Lord is ओर्् alone.
Lord has got स्र्ल ू सक्ष्ू र्कारि पदार्व s, ॐकार has got अ, उ and
र््. Lord is one and ओर्् is one. Because of this reason ओर्् is
said to be प्रिविः which means ideal name. So ॐकार is said to
be प्रिव because it is the ideal name for the Lord because it
represents totality. And therefore ॐकार becomes an ideal
symbol for ईश्वर उपासि. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् says ओर्् इत्तत
इदँ सवव र््. Thus ॐकार is very useful for ईश्वर उपासि,
त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि or त्तवराि उपासि. Therefore in the
उपासिकाण्ड of the वेदs ॐकार occupies a very prominent part
as an ideal symbol. And thereafter the teacher says not only
ॐकार is prominent in the उपासिकाण्ड of the वेदs, ॐकार is
very prominent in the कर्व काण्ड of the वेदs also. So ॐकार is
important in कर्व काण्ड, ॐकार is important in उपासिकाण्ड,
ॐकार is important in ज्ािकाण्ड (though it is not said here, we
can supply) thus throughout the वेदs ओर्् is important. Then the
next question is how is ॐकार important in the ritualistic
portion. Here the teacher says ॐकार is used for all these
purposes. It is a multipurpose or versatile र्न्त्र. What are the
purposes for which ॐकार is employed? The उपत्तिषत् says
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ओर्् इत्तत एतत् अिुकृत्ततः. अिुकृत्ततः means acceptance. So the
र्न्त्र ओर्् is used to convey your acceptance to some request or
some command. So I ask you, ‘please come next week also for
this class’. Then you have to respond. And for response you
have to say ok. For that you can say ओर््. So ओर्् means for the
next class I will come. So ओर्् is acceptance. In the ritualistic
section also when the priest requests or commands the other
assistants, they reply with the word ओर््. Then what is the next
context? ि स्र् वा अत्तप. All these words indicate प्रत्तसत्तद्, well
known. It is well known because in the olden days the rituals
were very popular and therefore the student is familiar.
Therefore as it is well known during rituals ि स्र् वा अत्तप ओ
श्रावय इत्तत आश्रावयत्तन्त. When a big ritual is performed there
are several priests doing several functions. There are some
priests offering oblations to various देवताs. And before offering
oblations those देवताs have to be invited, welcomed. So िे इन्द्र,
िे वरुि, we are going to give you oblations please come and
receive. That is the proper protocol. And therefore there are
special invitation र्न्त्रs addressed to various देवताs. And there
are special priests who are experts in invitation र्न्त्रs. And
these priests are seated there ready to invite the देवताs. But
before inviting the देवताs the priest has to get ready with the
oblation. And after the oblations are ready he will address the
other priests and say now you chant and then he commands the
assistants to chant the invitation र्न्त्रs – “ओ श्रावय”. श्रावय
means may you chant the invitation र्न्त्रs loud enough to reach
the स्वगव लोक. When such a commandment is given to
assistants he starts with “ओ श्रावय”. That ओ indicates ॐकार.
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So this commandment to the priests is given beginning with
ॐकार. “ओ श्रावय” means “ओर्् श्रावय”. ओ श्रावय इत्तत
आश्रावयत्तन्त – in this manner the main priests commands the
assistant priests. Then ओर्् इत्तत सार्ात्ति गायत्तन्त.
In the big rituals there are many priests. And each priest
has to handle a particular वेद. Because all the different वेदs are
to be employed in the rituals. ऋनवेद र्न्त्रs have to be chanted
which are the glorification of various देवताs. यजुवेद र्न्त्रs
have to be chanted which are to be employed for offering
oblations. सामवेद र्न्त्रs have to be sung to देवताs. Thus every
वेद is to be used. And since every वेद is involved we have to
call priests who are specialists in each वेद. They are got special
names also. The priest who uses the ऋनवेद is called िोता.
ऋनवेद ऋश्वक् is called िोता. And he has got three assistant
priests who will help him. Since assistant priests are there along
with head priest it is a group by itself which is called िोतग ृ ििः.
Then for यजुवेद also there are one head priest called अध्वयव ुः and
three assistant priests and this group is called अध्वयव ुगिः. Then
the सामवेद priest whose job is only singing the साम र्न्त्रs
glorifying all the देवताs. All the साम र्न्त्रs are glorification of
देवताs. That priest who specializes in सामवेद is called उद्गाता
who has got three assistant priests and this group is called
उद्गातग
ृ ििः. Then the fourth वेद is अर्वव ि वेद. अर्वव ि वेद does
not have any direct application in Vedic rituals. Therefore an
अर्वव ि वेशद cannot play any direct role in the performance of
the rituals. And therefore an अर्वव ि वेद priest becomes a
supervisor of the entire Vedic ritual. And he is called ब्रह्मा and
he will also have three assistants and the group is called
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ृ ििः four, अध्वयव ुगिः four, उद्गातग
ब्रह्मगििः. So िोतग ृ ििः four and
ब्रह्मगििः four. Totally sixteen. And thereafter र्िमान and
र्िमानर will be there. Sixteen plus two is eighteen are the
important members of big rituals. That is why in
र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत्
प्लवा ह्येते अदृढा यज्रूपा अष्टादशोक्तर्वरां येषु कर्व ॥
र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत् १-२-७ ॥
अष्टादश means this eighteen members. And incidental point is
ब्रह्मा has to be the supervisor priest and therefore he has to see
whether the िोतग ृ ििः, अध्वयव ुगिः and उद्गातग
ृ ििः are doing their
respective duties properly. And not only that if mistakes are
done the ritual will become invalid, it will be a waste of time,
money, energy, everything. And therefore there is an inbuilt
प्रायत्तश्चि in every ritual. So any mistake is done what should be
the corresponding remedy. And the remedy will vary depending
upon; like allergy, you cannot take any medicine you want. For
which particular allergy a particular medicine is given. So for
certain mistakes it may be offering a few more extra oblations.
For another one प्रायत्तश्चि maybe दि प्रािार्मं करोतु – do ten
times प्रािार्म. प्रािार्म has got a प्रायत्तश्चि value. For another
one it may be simple chanting of गार्शर. For another one you
have to start the ritual all over. For certain other ones the
प्रायत्तश्चि is all your possessions you have to give in charity. So
thus what are the mistakes and for which mistake which
प्रायत्तश्चि has to be done. Even in सन्ध्यावन्दिर्् you have to
सन्ध्यावन्दिर्् at the appropriate time and if that काल is
violated कालातरत प्रायत्तश्चिार्व र्् another extra अर्घर्य म् is given.
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That means the ब्रह्मा, the supervisor priest must have
tremendous knowledge, he should know the duties of all the
other three गिs and constantly watch what are they doing and
then the moment they commit the mistake he has to call them
and immediately prescribe प्रायत्तश्चि also. Therefore ब्रह्मा has to
be चतुवेशद. Therefore every अर्वव ि वेशद must become चतुवेशद
then alone he can become a supervisor of a ritual.
What is important here is all the four गिs constantly use
ॐकार र्न्त्र in the rituals. That is said here. ओर्् इत्तत सार्ात्ति
गायत्तन्त. Who? उद्गाताs. So ओर्् इत्तत उद्गातारिः सार्ात्ति गायत्तन्त.
Then ओां शोर्् इत्तत शस्त्रात्ति शांसत्तन्त. शस्त्रात्ति means ऋनवेद
र्न्त्रs. Here in this context it is not weapons but ऋनवेद र्न्त्रs
and that too when they are chanted without स्वर. In some places
the र्न्त्रs have to be chanted with स्वरs and in some places in
some occasion they have to chant without स्वर. And when
ऋनवेद र्न्त्रs are chanted without स्वरs during र्ागs it is called
िस्त्रम्. And this शस्त्रात्ति शांसत्तन्त – the िोताs chant. How do
they start the ऋनवेद र्न्त्रs or शस्त्रात्ति? ओां शोर्् इत्तत – so they
start with ओर््. Then ओर्् इत्तत अध्वयव ुः प्रत्ततगरां प्रत्ततगि ृ ात्तत.
प्रत्ततगरर्् means permission. When an assistant priest wants to
offer the oblation he has to get the permission from the head of
the गि and then he asks the head ‘shall I offer the oblation?’
The head will say ‘Yes, you can offer.’ He permits it by saying
ओर््. Then in some parts of श्रलङ्का they say ओर्् in the place
of ok. So Vedic tradition seems to be continuing is some places.
Then ओर्् इत्तत ब्रह्मा प्रसौत्तत – so the अर्वव ि वेद priest, who is
the supervisor priest of the Vedic ritual प्रसौत्तत – commands. He
being the supervisor he alone controls the whole ritual.
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Nowadays we do not have the ब्रह्माs at all. Because to study one
वेद itself they are struggling, where is the question of a
specialist the four वेदs, knowing the whole ritual, knowing the
प्रायत्तश्चि. So since ब्रह्मा is not there what do they do now you
know? For everything we have got alternative. So they take an
आसि and they invoke ब्रह्मा in that by putting some दभाय (dry
grass) and अक्षता (rice). So अशस्मन् शपठे ब्रह्मािम् आवािर्ाशम.
And thereafter whatever permission they want they address that
seat. And ultimately when they want to give दशक्षिा they put on
that seat. So now ब्रह्मा is represented by a piece of wooden
आसि. Then ओर्् इत्तत अत्तनििोत्रर्् अिुजािात्तत – not only in big
rituals ॐकार is used but even in small daily rituals beginning
from अत्तनििोत्रर््, which is supposed to be the most
fundamental श्रौत कर्व . औपासिर्् is supposed to be the स्र्ातव
कर्व which is the first स्र्ातव कर्व started at the time of marriage.
After starting औपासिर्् this person is supposed to start a श्रौत
कर्व also sooner or later. And the first श्रौत कर्व is अत्तनििोत्रर््
and for that within six months he has to do a special ritual as
initiation which is called अत्तनि आधािर्् to become a qualified
गिृ स्र्. Such a qualified गिृ स्र् is called आशिताशननिः. And that
आशिताशनन गिृ स्र् has to start अत्तनििोत्रर््. औपासिर्् स्र्ातव
कर्व and अत्तनििोत्रर्् श्रौत कर्व he is supposed to perform the
rest of his life. It can be broken only under two conditions –
death and सन्न्यास. At any other time if it is broken he has to
do प्रायत्तश्चि. And when this अत्तनििोत्रर्् has to be done? Before
the oblation. This अत्तनििोत्रर्् has to be done twice a day –
morning and evening. And generally the oblation to be offered
is milk. Before offering that again he has to get permission and
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when the permission is to be given the word used is ओर्् इत्तत
अत्तनििोत्रर्् अिुजािात्तत. So in the ritualistic portion also
ॐकार is important. Even in the daily पज ू ाs also they start with
ओर््. The simplest method of cleaning the house spiritually is
taking the water and keep in front of the Lord, chant ओर्् and
sprinkle all over the house. Thus ॐकार is used for cleansing
the leaves, cleansing the पारम्, cleansing everything. Now the
teacher wants to say even before the rituals start, even at the
time of वेद अध्र्र्नम्, the study of Vedic chanting in
ब्रह्मियाव श्रर् itself ॐकार is prominent. Rituals are prominent in
गिृ स्र्ाश्रर्. उपासिs are prominent in वािप्रस्र्ाश्रर्. Vedantic
enquiry is prominent in सन्न्यासाश्रर्. Four types of साधिs in
four आश्रर्s. And in all the four आश्रर्s, in all the four साधिs
ओर्् is used. ओर्् इत्तत ब्राह्मिः प्रवक्ष्यि् प्रवििां कररष्यि्
अध्येष्यर्ािः आि. ब्राह्मिः is any Vedic student. ब्रह्म means वेद.
His primary job is to learn the chanting of the वेदs. प्रवक्ष्यि्
means when he is about to begin the learning of the chanting of
the वेदs. So ब्राह्मिः the Vedic student प्रवक्ष्यि् – with an
intention to learn Vedic chanting आि – utters ओर््. And what
is his desire in ब्रह्मियाव श्रर्? He has got only one goal, i.e.,
learning. Therefore he addresses the Lord ब्रह्म वेदर्् उपाप्िवात्ति
– may I grasp the Vedic chanting first. Thereafter let me grasp
the Vedic meaning. Learning the chanting is called अध्ययिर््
and learning the meaning is called र्ीर्ाांसा. Both these a person
has to do in ब्रह्मियाव श्रर् in addition to learning his own
professional course which are different for ब्राह्मि, क्त्तत्रय and
वैश्य. वैश्य has to learn business courses, क्त्तत्रय has to learn
administrative courses. The professional courses will vary but
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the धर्व शास्त्र is common to all, everyone has to learn. So ब्रह्म
उपाप्िवात्ति इत्तत ब्राह्मिः प्रवक्ष्यि् ॐकारम् आि. And as a result
of ब्रह्म एव उपाप्िोत्तत – certainly he learns, grasps the वेदs. And
therefore what? Since ॐकार is useful in all the आश्रर्s, it is
the most sacred र्न्त्र. सन्न्यात्तस doesn’t have गार्शर र्न्त्र. He
resolves गार्शर into ॐकार. तत्सत्तवतुववरेण्यम् अकारे
प्रवेशयात्तर्, भगो देवस्य धीर्त्ति उकारे प्रवेशयात्तर्, त्तधयो यो िः
प्रिोदयात् मकारे प्रवेशयात्तर् । They are all collapsed into
ॐकार. Thereafter for a सन्न्यात्तस ॐकार र्न्त्र only, no more
गार्शर. Since ॐकार is relevant for all the four आश्रर्s it is the
most sacred र्न्त्र. Therefore ओर्् इत्तत ब्रह्म उपासीत – may you
use ॐकार for ईश्वर उपासि.
पि
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The ॐकार उपासि is glorified in this section. The glory
of ॐकार is it is a र्न्त्र which is used in ज्ािकाण्ड,
उपासिकाण्ड as well as कर्व काण्ड. In ज्ािकाण्ड ॐकार is
used for analysis. And by way of analyzing ॐकार ब्रह्मि् is
revealed which we will be seeing in र्ाण्डूक्तयोपत्तिषत्. And in
उपासिकाण्ड ॐकार is used as a symbol or आलम्बिर्् for ब्रह्म
उपासि. Of course सगि ु ब्रह्म ईश्वर उपासि. त्तिगव ुि ब्रह्म is never
an object of meditation. So whenever we talk of उपासि
remember सगुि ब्रह्म ईश्वर only. Not only ॐकार is used in
उपासिकाण्ड but in कर्व काण्ड also ॐकार is used in rituals
and the priests belonging to ऋनवेद, यजुवेद, सार्वेद and अर्वव ि
वेद all of them use ॐकार for anything and everything. And
finally the उपत्तिषत् says even when the ब्रह्मिारर begins to
study the Vedic chanting even that chanting is starts with
ॐकार. ॐ श्र गुरुभ्र्ो नमिः िररिः ॐ. And that is said in the last
portion ब्राह्मिः प्रवक्ष्यि् – so िे ब्राह्मि! A Vedic student who
wants to learn to chant the वेदs. We know the difference
between वेद अध्ययिर्् and वेद र्ीर्ाांसा. In वेद अध्ययिर्् we
learn to chant only. It is only िब्द प्रधानम्, not अर्य प्रधानम्. A
boy of seven or eight years old doesn’t learn the meaning, he
will chant the तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् by heart. Here words are given
importance. And thereafter when he learns the meaning or अर्य
it is called वेद र्ीर्ाांसा. So here when the उपत्तिषत् says ब्राह्मिः
प्रवक्ष्यि्, here the प्रवििम् mentioned is िब्द ग्रिि, वेद
अध्ययिर्् he wants to do. what is his ambition? He wants to
learn the branch of the वेद to which he belongs to by heart. If
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he belongs to ऋनवेद he wants to study the entire ऋनवेद. Even
now in India there are many people who can chant the entire
ऋनवेद by heart, entire यजुवेद by heart. And if he is a शिवेशद
two वेदs by heart. They know only Vedic chanting by heart,
Vedic reading did not exist in our tradition. Learning to chant
means by heart only. So when this boy wanted to study his
prayer was “ब्रह्म उपाप्िवात्ति” – वेदर्् उपाप्िवात्ति. Here the
word ब्रह्म means वेदः. O Lord let me learn the entire वेद. इत्तत –
with this intention, with the readiness to start the chanting what
does this boy do? ओर्् इत्तत – he starts with ॐकार which is
considered to be the most auspicious मन्र. The very उछचारिम्,
the utterance of the word ॐ is supposed to create
auspiciousness.
ॐकारश्चार्शब्दश्च द्वावेतौ ब्रह्मिः पुरा । कण्ठर्् त्तभत्त्वा त्तवत्तियाव तौ
तस्र्ान्र्ाङ्गत्तलकावुभौ ॥
The word ॐ and अर् by mere utterance becomes मङ्गलप्रदम्.
That is why in the गीता every chapter ॐ अर् प्रर्र्ोऽध्यायः, ॐ
अर् त्तद्वतीयोऽध्यायः. Therefore he utters प्रवक्ष्यि् ओर्् इत्तत – he
starts with ओर्् and as a result of this prayer of uttering the
ॐकार ब्रह्म उपाप्िोत्तत एव. ब्रह्मैवोपाप्िोत्तत is there. It should be
split as ब्रह्म उपाप्िोत्तत एव – he certainly completes the वेद
अध्ययिर््. Because of the blessing given by ॐकार which
removes all the प्रशतबन्धs. ॐकार उछचारिम् प्रशतबन्ध
शनववृ र्र्य म्. Somebody asked how should one utter the word ॐ.
Because often when they write in English they write AUM
because we have learnt that ॐकार is a mixture of अ plus उ
plus म. And correspondingly in English they write as AUM and
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pronounce as औम्. Therefore many people mistake AUM that
it is to be pronounced as औम्. So we should carefully know that
there is no question of औम् at all. औम् does not exist. According
to सांस्कृत grammar of combination अ plus उ is equal to ओ.
गुिसत्तन्धः. Therefore when you have to write in English you
should never write it as AUM, since अ and उ have joined to
become ओ, in English ओ should be spelt as O only and not AU.
Therefore you should transliterate औम् as OM and not only
transliterate as औम् but pronounce also as औम् only. Thereafter
the शास्त्र talks about the length of ॐकार, how long it should
be. They say in the beginning of the Vedic chanting the length
of ओ should be three माराs. ओओओम्. We don’t say ओ three
times but in mind the duration is of three times of ओ. So it is
called three मारा. At the end when you conclude the Vedic
chanting िररिः ॐ there it is four माराs. And what about िप?
When you are doing ॐकार िप what should be the length?
According to शास्त्र ॐकार जप is prescribed for only
सन्न्यात्तसs. Other आश्रर्s cannot chant ॐकार alone as a जप.
They can chant गायत्री or they can chant ॐकार along with
some नाम. ॐ नमिः शिवार्, ॐ नमो नारार्िार्. But mere ॐ,
केवल ॐकार is not allowed for anybody else. Whereas in the
case of a सन्न्यात्तस ॐकार is a compulsory मन्र. In fact when
he takes the सन्न्यात्तस दीक्ा, he collapses the गायत्री मन्र into
ॐ. तत्सत्तवतुववरेण्यम् अकारे प्रवेशयात्तर्, भगो देवस्य धीर्त्ति
उकारे प्रवेशयात्तर्, त्तधयो यो िः प्रिोदयात् मकारे प्रवेशयात्तर् ।
Thereafter सन्न्यात्तस doesn’t chant गार्शर, it is replaced by
ॐकार. And the सन्न्यात्तस is supposed to chant ॐकार all the
time and for this सन्न्यात्तस during meditation ॐकार जप is
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prescribed, and when a सन्न्यात्तस chants ॐकार as a part of
meditation he is supposed to chant it as long as possible. As
long as he can hold his breath he can chant it. दरघय प्रिव
उछचारिम्. Why only सन्न्यात्तस should chant केवल ॐकार?
स्वात्तर् दयािन्दत्तज gives the reason. He says mere ॐकार
उछचारिम् is capable of creating तीव्र वैरानयर््. तीव्र वैरानयर््
means a गिृ स्र् does not feel like continuing in गिृ स्र्ाश्रर्. So
if that person has an intention to take सन्न्यास, it is fine. Or if
he is already a सन्न्यात्तस, it is fine. But as long as a person is in
a setup and he has got duty etc., giving up the duties and going
away can create a problem in the setup and therefore स्वात्तर्
दयािन्दत्तज ॐकार has to be diluted. वैरानयर्् should be enough
to understand the वेदान्त, but it should not be too much to make
you to take सन्न्यास. Therefore you should have sufficient
वैरानयर्् for ज्ािर्् but not too much to run away from house.
Therefore how to dilute? The ॐकार is mixed with नमिः शिवार्,
नमो नारार्िार्. Because they are all गिृ स्र्s and therefore you
add some deity’s name also. This is स्वात्तर् दयािन्दत्तज
interpretation. So a सन्न्यात्तस during meditation has to chant a
very long ॐकार, a ब्रह्मिारर chants along with some नाम at the
beginning and at the end of Vedic chanting learning. And औम्
does not exist. This is the rules regarding ॐकार. So
ब्रह्मैवोपाप्िोत्तत. After completing this अनुवाक we have to go
back to the first line and you have to connect it to the उपासि,
since ॐकार is so great therefore may a seeker practice ॐकार
उपासि. So with this the eighth section is also over. Now we
will enter into the ninth section.
स्वाध्यायप्रशांसा
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र्न्त्र 1-9-01
ऋतां ि स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि । सत्यां ि स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि । तपश्च
स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि । दर्श्च स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि । शर्श्च
स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि । अनियश्च स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि । अत्तनििोत्रां ि
स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि । अत्ततर्यश्च स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि । र्ािुषां ि
स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि । प्रजा ि स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि । प्रजिश्च
स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि । प्रजात्ततश्च स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि । सत्यत्तर्त्तत
सत्यविा रार्ी तरः । तप इत्तत तपोत्तित्यः पौरुत्तशत्तष्टः ।
स्वाध्यायप्रवििे एवेत्तत िाको र्ौद्गल्यः । तत्तद् तपस्तत्तद् तपः ॥ १
॥ इत्तत िवर्ोऽिुवाकः ॥
With the previous section the fifth उपासि is also
complete. Totally five उपासिs have been prescribed. And
उपासि is considered to be a very important spiritual साधि to
quieten the mind, purify the mind, to develop focus in the mind,
and above all to expand the mind. So purification,
concentration, expansion, relaxation, all these faculties of the
mind will be developed by उपासि. And you should remember
these उपासिs by developing these faculties will make the mind
ready for उपत्तिषत् शवचार. Remember no उपासि can give you
Self-knowledge. And therefore no उपासि can give you र्ोक्
also. Self-knowledge is by consistent and systematic study of
the Vedantic texts for a length of time under the guidance of a
competent आचार्य . The greatest उपासि can only prepare the
mind. The उपासिs are of several types and we had the Vedic
उपासिs in तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत्. In छान्दोनयोपत्तिषत् all peculiar
उपासिs are there. In five chapters of छान्दोनयोपत्तिषत्
countless उपासिs are given. बिृ दारण्यकोपत्तिषत् has got
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उपासिs. And not only Vedic उपासिs are there, in the पुरािs
and इत्ततिासs also उपासिs are there. In fact if you read the
भागवतम् there are many varieties of उपासिs. Therefore it is
not compulsory that you should practice only Vedic उपासिs.
Since our lifestyle has totally changed, nobody knows what is
सांत्तिता or व्याहृत्तत. Nowadays we can never prescribe Vedic
उपासिs for anyone. Therefore every one of you should
remember that you need not practice these Vedic उपासिs. And
even after giving up the Vedic उपासिs still we can prepare the
mind by practicing गिेि उपासि, राम उपासि, कृष्ि उपासि,
in all the पुरािs उपासि aiding ध्याि श्लोकs are there.
क्ीरोधन्वत् प्रदेशे शुत्तिर्त्ति त्तवलसत् सैकते र्ौत्तक्तकािार्् । A
wonderful उपासि which we can practice currently.
त्तसन्दूरारुि त्तवग्रिाां त्तत्रियिाां र्ात्तिक्तयर्ौत्तलस्फुरत् we can
practice. शुद्-स्फत्तिक सङ्काशां त्तत्रिेत्रां पञ्िवक्तत्रकर्् । We have
countless deities in all languages and भागवतम् is full of this
उपासिs. I have dealt with these Vedic उपासिs not with an
intention of making you do these उपासिs. It is purely from
academic angle to know what Vedic उपासिs are. We can
confine to our own इष्ट देवता उपासिs. And having talked
about the उपासि साधि which is compulsory for त्तििनैश्चल्र्म्,
त्तिि ऐकाग्र्यर््, त्तिि वैिाल्र्म् etc., the उपत्तिषत् is going to talk
about the importance of कर्व . So as important as उपासि is the
practice of कर्व wherein the physical body is also actively
involved. उपासि is मनिःप्रधानम्, body is to be relaxed in
उपासि. वाशचकम् वाक् also does not do anything. So उपासि
is सगुि ब्रह्म शवषर् मानसव्र्ापारिः. It is only mental activity.
The उपत्तिषत् says that is not enough कर्व – the काशर्क वाशचक
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कर्व s are also important which alone we call as कर्व योग. Mere
कर्व can exist without उपासि, but mere उपासि never exists
without कर्व . And what the वेद envisages is a person starting
from गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् is initially कर्व प्रधानिः, is कर्व dominating life,
because we are initially grosser in our nature. Therefore body
requires lot of activities and body is capable of activities also in
the initial stages of life. The aim of वेद is gradually उपासि
must be included, उपासि should be made part of कर्व . In
सन्ध्यावन्दिर््, गायत्री देवता विय नम् is there. So first कर्व
प्रधान, then उपासि is introduced and the proportion of उपासि
increases and gradually कर्व decreases, and also the body
becomes weaker and weaker. Therefore a time comes by the
time a गिृ स्र् becomes वािप्रस्र् or like वािप्रस्र्, उपासि
dominates and कर्व would have become less. And therefore the
उपत्तिषत् wants to say never neglect कर्व also. in the name of
उपासि or वेदान्त never neglect कर्व , it has got its role to play.
We have seen कर्व योग elaborately in the गीता. कर्व योग
involves the performance of such actions which will contribute
to the spiritual growth. कर्व s were classified into three types in
the गीता. पर उपकार कर्ाव त्ति, पर उदासन कर्ाव त्ति and पर
अपकार कर्ाव त्ति. पर उपकार कर्ाव त्ति are those actions which
will benefit large number of people. So my life not only
contributes to my well-being, my existence is beneficial to
others also. In पर उदासन कर्ाव त्ति I am interested only in my
well-being. Whatever happens in the world that is world’s
problem. I don’t care about the world at all. This utter
negligence with regard to the society, the neighbors, the
ecology is called पर उदासन. In this a person doesn’t harm
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others, he doesn’t do any contribution. There is neither good he
does nor bad he does. This neutral type of activity is called पर
उदासन. And last type of कर्व is पर अपकार कर्ाव त्ति. It is
positively harmful to others. For my benefit I harm others. And
according to शास्त्र पर उपकार कर्ाव त्ति leads to spiritual growth.
पर उदासन कर्ाव त्ति leads to spiritual stagnation. पर अपकार
कर्ाव त्ति brings me down spiritually. By पर अपकार कर्ाव त्ति I
may earn lot of money. I might have all the wealth and
paraphernalia but the उपत्तिषत् says spiritually I am going
down, मोक्ष is becoming farther and farther. To put in स्वात्तर्
त्तिन्र्यािन्दशि language पर अपकार कर्ाव त्ति makes me a God-
man, पर उदासन कर्ाव त्ति makes me a man-man, पर अपकार
कर्ाव त्ति makes me an animal-man. Having known this much a
कर्व योत्तग’s aim is the top कर्व should gradually increase in his
life. Spiritual growth oriented कर्व s are called सात्तत्त्वक कर्ाव त्ति.
And spiritually downfall causing कर्व s are called तामस
कर्ाव त्ति. Therefore gradually increase सात्तत्त्वक कर्व s, reduce
राजस कर्व s and try to bring तामस कर्व s to zero. Of course we
cannot bring it to zero, शास्त्र knows that, even if inevitably we
have to do some activities it will be harmful, inevitable harm.
That inevitable harmful action शास्त्र calls सन ू ा, necessary evil,
unavoidable evil I should try to avoid but if it is unavoidable
then do प्रायत्तश्चि immediately to neutralize. So therefore
increase सात्तत्त्वक कर्व s, reduce राजस कर्व s and try to minimize
तामस कर्व s even if they are there do प्रायत्तश्चि. In fact वेदs have
kept some of our duties, which are in-built प्रायत्तश्चि. Because
they know during our course inevitable compromises we do and
therefore in-built in सन्ध्यावन्दिर्् यरात्रया पापर्काषव र्् । O
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Lord! I might have to do some compromises inevitably, I don’t
want to deliberately do. यरात्रया पापर्काषं र्िसा वािा
िस्ताभ्याां पद्भ्यार्ुदरे ि त्तशश्ना रात्तत्रस्तदवलुम्पतु । So morning
सन्ध्यावन्दिर्् neutralizes night पाप, night सन्ध्यावन्दिर््
neutralizes morning पाप. So every day we are ready for fresh
and new पापम्. Ok, that is not the intention. So many of the
daily prayers including पञ्िर्िायज्s have got two-fold roles.
One is neutralizing unavoidable पापs and another is positively
contributing to spiritual growth. Thus पञ्िर्िायज्s as a
प्रायत्तश्चि as well as a िोधकम्, purifier are kept an integral part
of कर्व योग. Therefore in this section the उपत्तिषत् emphasizes
the पञ्िर्िायज्. The पञ्िर्िायज्s are thus. देव यज्ः – the
worship of god like सन्ध्यावन्दिर्् etc. त्तपत ृ यज्ः – the worship
of the ancestors including the live parents also. ऋत्तष यज्ः
otherwise called ब्रह्म यज्ः – the worship of ऋत्तषs and scriptures.
It is not mere worship I should learn them and transmit to the
next generation which is the real worship. र्िुष्य यज्ः – all
forms of social service. This is in addition to the other यज्s and
as a replacement of others. This is the biggest confusion. Only
र्िुष्य यज्ः will not do. It should be in addition to them. And
finally भत ू यज्ः – the worship of the so called lower beings like
animals and plants. Even when you put க ொலம் (रङ्गोशल)
with rice flour it is a form of भत ू यज्ः. Even feeding the crow,
cow, watering the तुलसर which represents the plant kingdom.
Thus पञ्िर्िायज्s are highlighted. And in this portion the
उपत्तिषत् says among the five यज्s though all of them are
equally important but ब्रह्म यज्ः is highlighted or the study of
the scriptures. Because वेद feels that people often do not give
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importance. There are many ritual oriented people doing lot of
rituals, going to temples, they are community service oriented
people, there are people who do regularly श्ाधम् तपय िम् and all,
many ecology, environment oriented people but somehow
many people do not know the importance of the systematic
study of the scriptures. तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् seems to have known
that thousands of years before and therefore in this section the
उपत्तिषत् says never neglect the systematic study of the
meaning of the scriptures. People think that it is just an
intellectual pursuit, it is just an academic pursuit, they don’t
want to get a degree and thus they look down upon the scriptural
study. So people think that it is a mere academic pursuit without
knowing its importance. Remember knowledge is power and if
humans are powerful now it is only because of knowledge.
Material knowledge is also power, and more powerful is the
spiritual knowledge. Therefore it is never an academic,
intellectual gymnastics, it is something which can give me
infinite strength to withstand the onslaught of प्रारब्धर्् from all
directions. The best कवचम् (armor) against प्रारब्धर्् is ज्ािर््.
This is the highlight by उपत्तिषत्. Along with this पञ्िर्िायज्
the उपत्तिषत् also emphasizes values called दैवर सम्पत्. If you
have to discover God in you, you should be divine in your
character. Just as before installing a deity in a place, in a temple,
you have to study the number of purificatory rites they do,
rituals they do because the place must become fit enough to
install the Lord. And through वेदान्त ज्ािर्् I am installing the
Lord in my own heart. And that is why they say ज्ात्ति need not
go to a temple because for him God is in himself. And if he has
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to invoke and install God in himself before that he has to
acquire godly character. Without that वेदान्त will only be only
lip service, will be verbal. And therefore values are also
emphasized here.
With this background let us see the text proper. ऋतां ि
स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि. So the word स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि is going to
be repeated in every sentence. So we shall see the meaning of
that word first. स्वाध्यायः means the study of the scriptures.
Generally the convention is in ब्रह्मियाव श्रर्, the student life
धर्व शास्त्र is studied along with the professional science
depending upon the role in the society. The one who is a king
will learn administration and warfare. If he is going to be a
business person he learns business. Thus the professional
courses will vary from ब्रह्मिारर to ब्रह्मिारर but there is one
course that is common which is values, धर्व शास्त्र. It is called
वेदपवू व भाग and is studied in ब्रह्मियाव श्रर्. And the धर्व शास्त्र is
lived in गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् and वािप्रस्र्ाश्रर्. धर्व शास्त्र is studied in
ब्रह्मियाव श्रर् and in the other two आश्रर्s धर्व शास्त्र is lived. So
धमय म् चर. स्र्म् वद धमय म् चर. It is not धमय म् वद but धमय म् चर.
धमय is not for speaking, we don’t want lip service but धमय म् चर,
the precept and the practice should be in alignment. Having
learnt धमय म् in ब्रह्मियाव श्रर् ब्रह्मि् is learnt in the सन्न्यासाश्रर्.
That is after following धमय and purifying ब्रह्मि् is learnt.
Therefore learn धमय , follow धमय , learn ब्रह्मि.् This is वेद.
Therefore स्वाध्यायः means study of the धर्व शास्त्र first and then
the ब्रह्मशास्त्र. Then the next one is प्रवििर््. So don’t stop with
learning alone, if you are able to learn it is because somebody
is there to teach you. If you learn the Vedic books by yourself
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you won’t get head or tail. It will never communicate to you.
वेद has to be learnt only through गुरुमुखतिः. कृष्ि himself has
said
तत्तद्वत्तद् प्रत्तिपातेि पररप्रश्नेि ॥ गीता ४-३४ ॥
Never attempt self-study. Just as self-medication is dangerous
self-study can be dangerous. Therefore if I am able to learn it is
dangerous because there is a गुरु who has not only learnt but
who is generously sharing his knowledge with me. It means if
previous generation is generously sharing with me, the present
generation then it is my responsibility to share the teaching with
the future generation. I have no right to break the परम्परा. And
the परम्परा is अनाशद परम्परा, and I have no right to break that
beginningless परम्परा. Therefore प्रवििर्् means sharing. In
the Vedic society everyone has to share according to the facility
and the conditions available – minimum share with your
children before they grow up. So until they are available for you
share by both talking and living. So thus everyone should share
and वेद also ask a specific segment of the society to exclusively
dedicate their life for only propagation. Although everyone
should propagate these teachings according to their facility,
whenever time is available. But the वेद said there must be one
segment whose only duty is to study elaborately and they
should dedicate their life to spread. And whichever segment
takes that profession that dedicated learning and propagating
are called कर्व ब्राह्मिs. Not िाशत ब्राह्मिs. And for their
livelihood also they don’t want to earn money, they share their
wisdom and whatever गुरुदत्तक्िा is offered voluntarily they
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should accept and live. They should fix the गुरुदत्तक्िा like
contract, whatever is voluntarily offered they have to live. Since
they have to live on voluntary offerings they should have a
simple life. Because if you have got a big plans then with
voluntarily offered money it is not possible to carry out.
Therefore they said since your life should be based on voluntary
offerings let your life be simple life. And it is also advantageous
not to have a big infrastructure for maintenance, so that you can
spend all the time for doing research of various commentaries
and शास्त्रs. अिन्तशास्त्रां बिु वेत्तदतव्यर्् अल्पश्च कालो बिवश्च
त्तवघिाः । Our शास्त्रs are infinite therefore simple life based on
voluntary offerings and your only ‘job’ is learn-share, learn-
share, learn-share and die. That is the only thing. So that is
called प्रवििर््. And the उपत्तिषत् says at least one segment of
society should be committed to that. Then ऋतर््. They should
follow ऋतर््. ऋतर्् we have seen in the िाशन्तपाठ. ऋतां
वत्तदष्यात्तर् । सत्यां वत्तदष्यात्तर् । There शङ्करािायव defined ऋतर््
as ऋतां यर्ाशास्त्रां यर्ाकतव व्यां बुद्ौ सुपररत्तित्तश्चतर्र्व म्.
यर्ाशास्त्रां ज्ािर््. The knowledge about life and goals and
means in keeping with teachings of the शास्त्रs. Let your
learning be not confined to प्रत्यक् अिुर्ाि alone, we have got
worldly knowledge gained through science and perception
which are all very valuable and useful, but that worldly
knowledge is insufficient and incomplete. Our knowledge has
to be augmented by the अपौरुषेय प्रर्ािर््, the scriptural
knowledge also. Because if you go by mere worldly knowledge
you will not be very sure about even the goal of life. Just see
any materialistic society and ask about their goal. You will find
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all there scientific advancement will be designed in such a way
that you can have entertainment and enjoyment even at the age
of eighty! That will be the result. How you can have अर्व and
कार् even in the ninetieth year. So it will be अर्व कार् oriented
life alone if scriptures do not come. Only if scriptures become
part of life I will know that पुरुषार्व s are not two but there are
two more पुरुषार्व s, which are far, far important and significant,
my life should be धर्व and र्ोक् प्रधान. Therefore the scriptural
knowledge is necessary and that knowledge is called ऋतर््.
And parallel to that is सत्यां ि स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि. सत्यर्् means
don’t stop with the learning, may your life be in keeping with
scriptural teaching. Let us not have a split personality. Let us
not be hypocrite. Let us not have a double life. let us try to
reduce the gap between what I know and what I do. Therefore
सत्यर्् in this context means सत्यत्तर्त्तत स एव वाक्तकायाभ्याां
सम्पाद्र्ािः. र्र्ा ज्ािर्् अिुष्ठािर््. So living a life in keeping
with scriptural knowledge. यर्ाशास्त्रां ज्ािर्् is ऋतर्् and र्र्ा
ज्ािर्् अिुष्ठािर्् or आचारिः is सत्यर््. May you follow these
two values. More in the next class.
पि
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After talking about five different types of उपासिs now
in the nineth अिुवाक of शीक्ावल्ली the teacher is talking about
the importance of कर्व योग. Because a person can never live a
life of उपासि only. कर्व is an integral part of spiritual साधि.
A person is allowed to drop all the कर्व s only under two
conditions. One is the evident condition of death. The second
occasion in which all the कर्व s can be dropped is सन्न्यास.
Until that time a person has to do कर्व in all the other three
आश्रर्s whether it is ब्रह्मियव , गिृ स्र् or वािप्रस्र्. The only
difference is in ब्रह्मियव and वािप्रस्र् आश्रर् कर्व s are relatively
lesser. Whereas in गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् कर्व s become predominant. Here
the उपत्तिषत् is assuming a गिृ स्र् student and therefore कर्व is
an integral part of his life. If he can include certain उपासिs it
is wonderful, if he doesn’t do उपासिs it doesn’t matter. In
उपासि there is a choice but in कर्व there is no choice at all.
When this कर्व is utilized for spiritual progress, कर्व as a means
for spiritual progress it is called कर्व योग. And in कर्व योग way
of life two things are important. One is पञ्िर्िायज् and second
one is values or दैवर सम्पत्. Both of them are choiceless
disciplines, a person can never give an excuse. Therefore
पञ्िर्िायज् plus दैवर सम्पत् these two are highlighted in the
nineth अिुवाक. And in the पञ्िर्िायज् also in different
contexts different यज्s are highlighted. And in this particular
अिुवाक as I said the ब्रह्मयज्ः is highlighted, the importance of
the study of the scriptures and also propagation of the scriptural
wisdom. So study and teaching of the scriptures which are
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called स्वाध्यायः and प्रवििर््. स्वाध्यायः means study and
प्रवििर्् means teaching. The word प्रवििर्् has another
meaning also which शङ्करािायव indicates प्रवििर्् अध्यापिां
ब्रह्मयज्ो वा । The second meaning of the word प्रवििर्् is
ब्रह्मयज् as a ritual. There is a ritualistic ब्रह्मयज् which was
previously done very regularly and now many people do not do
that at all. Many people do not even know what that ब्रह्मयज् is.
Some people do it once in a year during श्ावशि पशू िय मा. And
that ब्रह्मयज् ritual is thanksgiving to the scriptures and their
authors.
ऋनवेदां तपव यात्तर् । यजुवेदां तपव यात्तर् । सार्वेदां तपव यात्तर् । अर्वव िवेदां
तपव यात्तर् । इत्ततिासपुरािर्् तपव यात्तर् । कल्पर्् तपव यात्तर् ।
व्र्ाकरिम् तपव यात्तर् । Have you ever seen worshipping
व्र्ाकरिम्? He takes water and offers worship. Not only the
scriptures are honored the authors of the scriptures are also
honored. The first member being व्र्ासाचार्य .
कृष्िद्वैपायिादयः ये ऋषयः ताि् ऋषी ँस्तपव यात्तर् ।
कृष्िद्वैपायि means व्र्ासाचार्य . Then
सवाव ि् ऋषी ँस्तपव यात्तर् । सवव त्तषव गिाँस्तपव यात्तर् । सवव त्तषव
पत्तत्िस्तपव यात्तर् । सवव त्तषव गिापत्तत्िस्तपव यात्तर् ।
The wives of ऋशषs are acknowledged because they have fed the
ऋशषs. Thus there is a ब्रह्मयज् in a ritualistic form, it is a mini
यज् just lasting for seven to ten minutes. And of course as part
of ब्रह्मयज् a person is supposed to do वेद पारार्िम्, a portion
of the वेद he is supposed to do पारार्िम् regularly. And in this
daily पारार्िम् also they mention five items,
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स्वशाखोपत्तिषद्गीता त्तवष्िोिाव र्सिस्रकर्् । रुरां पुरुषसक्त
ू ां ि
त्तित्यर्ावतव येद्गिृ ी ॥
स्विाखा – whichever branch of the वेद he belongs to from that
branch a portion. स्वशाखोपत्तिषत् the emphasis is given to the
उपत्तिषत्. The second item is गरता. Every day one is supposed
to do the पारार्िम् of entire गरता. If not at least a portion. Then
the third item is त्तवष्िोिाव र्सिस्रकर््. For each one there is a
short cut also. For वेद पारार्िम् the short cut is गार्रर. The
short cut for गरता पारार्िम् is सवव धर्ाव न्पररत्यज्य. The short
cut for त्तवष्िु सिस्रिार् is
श्री रार् रार् रार्ेत्तत रर्े रार्े र्िोरर्े । सिस्रिार् तिुल्यां रार्िार्
वराििे ॥
श्ररुरम् the fourth item and the पुरुषसक्त ू म् the fifth item all
these five त्तित्यर्ावतव येद्गिृ ी. So when these five are regularly
recited as a part of ब्रह्मयज् ritual it becomes a part of प्रवििर््.
So this is ritualistic प्रवििर््. The first meaning is not ritualistic
प्रवििर्् but whatever you have learnt from the class you try to
find one victim so that you can share. Thus प्रवििर्् means
teaching or sharing. These two together is called ब्रह्मयज् and
the नवम अिुवाक highlights ब्रह्मयज्. And along with that the
other साधिs as mentioned before like ऋतर्् which means
understanding of life as revealed by the वेदs. That means first
knowing that the primary purpose of life is मोक्ष. And धर्व अर्व
कार् are stepping stone for that; none of them can be primary.
वेद helps in the discovery of the primary goal and fulfilment of
the primary goal. And this understanding is called ऋतर््
यर्ाशास्त्रां ज्ािर््. Then the next item is सत्यर््. Merely
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knowing is not enough, one has to try to implement. वेद expects
only a sincere attempt. Everybody may not be able to
implement to the same extent, so many factors are there, we
need not feel guilty if we are not able to implement. What वेद
expects is a sincere attempt to follow what I have learnt. An
ounce of practice is better than a pound of theory. Therefore
सत्यर्् means आचारिः, अिुष्ठािर््. Trying to reduce the gap
between what I know and what I am is called सत्यर््. Upto this
we saw I the last class.
The next item is तपः ि. तपः – austerity or discipline.
तपस् is defined as the willful self-denial to establish my
mastery over my own organs. That means I should be the master
of my organs (पञ्ि ज्ािेत्तन्रयात्ति, पञ्ि कर्ेत्तन्रयात्ति and
अन्तःकरिर््). I am the कताव and they are the करिर््,
instruments. करिर्् should be under कताव and not otherwise.
How to know who is under whose control? Because often I may
think I am the master, but suddenly I discover that I am a slave.
And often when we discover it has become an irreversible
process. In many of the addiction’s case a person never knows
that he has become an addict and by the time he discovers it has
become an irreversible process. I have become an helpless one.
And before that irreversible situation comes how to discover
whether I am becoming a slave or not? Once in a while say no
to whatever you regularly do and see what happens to the mind.
And if the mind is becoming disturbed and mind is thinking
only that particular object, that means things are going out of
hand. Then a red signal should burn and I should become
serious. This willful self-denial; willful is important because if
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it is enforced by others it becomes suppression. Any discipline
enforced by others from outside becomes suppression.
Suppression can never be called discipline; suppression is an
oppression which causes depression looking for expression else
somewhere else. That is how secret indulgences will begin. So
it should not be forced by गुरु, it should not be forced by शास्त्र
or religion. I should say no. This is called तपस.् All our vows,
any vows – नवराशर व्रतम्, शिवराशर व्रतम्, etc., we take,
keeping awake in the night, and one of the व्रतम्s which is often
emphasized is उपवास and र्ौिर््. The tongue is the most
powerful organ and the most disobedient organ. Which tongue?
Both tongue. ज्ािेत्तन्रय tongue called eating tongue and
कर्ेत्तन्रय tongue called the talking tongue. And if you learn to
manage the tongue, you can manage all other organs. This is
the analysis of शास्त्र. शितं सवं शिते सवे. Therefore उपवास and
र्ौिर्् are considered to be one of the main disciplines. And
varieties of उपवास are talked about in the शास्त्र. One is called
कृच्रम्. In this itself there are so many varieties. Another is
called िान्रायिर््. That means on पौिव र्ी day you eat to your
full. Because full moon. And whatever is your full capacity
divide into fifteen bits. And on the next day you eat fourteen
bits. Then the next day reduce by one bit. And thus on
अर्ावास्या day पि ू य उपवासम्. And then from the next day of
अर्ावास्या one bit increasing every day. This as the moon
waxes and wanes your eating quantity also waxes and wanes.
This is called िान्रायि व्रतम्. In कृच्र also varieties are there.
This कृच्र is supposed to be a form of प्रायत्तश्चिम् also for any
violation. So one of the forms of तपस् is उपवास and र्ौिर््.
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Then the next one is दर्ः – sensory discipline, इत्तन्रय त्तिग्रिः.
Remember when we talk about control or discipline we never
mean suppression. We never believe or recommend
suppression. So sensory discipline here only means sensory
direction. What I see I must have an idea and I should know
what I should not be seeing. What to see and what not to see.
भरां किेत्तभः शिृ ुयार् देवाः । भरां पश्येर्ाक्त्तभयव जत्राः ॥ How to
determine what to see and what not to see? Whatever will
stimulate आसुरी सम्पत्, whatever will activate कार्, िोध,
लोभ, र्ोि, र्द, र्ात्सयव , they are all to be avoided voluntarily.
And whatever will activate दैवी सम्पत् such things I should
commit myself. Similarly ears also. What will stimulate आसुरी
सम्पत् I don’t hear. But always our natural tendency is what?
Sensational juicy things mind naturally goes, because going
downwards is natural. परात्तञ्ि खात्ति ॥ कठोपत्तिषत् २-१-१ ॥
Going upwards we have to work. Work against gravitation,
natural pull. That is called दर्ः – sensory direction. Then शर्ः
– thought discipline. You should always remember this
proverb. Watch your thoughts they become your words, watch
your words they become your actions, watch your actions they
become your habits, watch your habits they become your
character, watch your character it becomes your destiny.
Therefore destiny is never determined by God. Destiny is
determined by character, which is determined by habits, which
is determined by actions, which is determined by words, which
is determined by thoughts. So by directing the thoughts you are
determining your own destiny. Therefore never take your
thoughts for granted. And generally we take our thoughts for
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granted because the others cannot see my thoughts. So we can
always keep the minds dirty. It is just like the house also. The
drawing room will be always well maintained, because all come
there only. Those rooms where people don’t come god alone
knows what all things are kept there. We don’t bother because
we cover it by a beautiful curtain. So generally our tendency is
what people don’t see we think we need not keep it clean. That
is why in many houses toilet is the dirtiest. But we should know
that must be the cleanest one, cleaner than even the drawing
room. Like that we should be bothered more about our thoughts
rather than the words and actions because thoughts are the
potential of our destiny. Therefore शर्ः means thought
discipline. So all these things वेद says
तस्र्ाद्त्पुरुषो र्िसात्तभगच्छत्तत । तद्वािा वदत्तत । तत्कर्व िा
करोत्तत ॥ ित्तृ सांितात्तपन्युपत्तिषत्/ बिृ ज्जाबालोपत्तिषत् १-१ ॥
This comes in सय ू व िर्स्कार मन्र. तस्र्ात् र्त् पुरुषिः र्िसा
अत्तभगच्छत्तत – whatever a holds in the thought level तद्वािा
वदत्तत then the thoughts get saturated even without his
knowledge he blurts out. Not that he wanted to say, but that
thought has become so strong that it comes out even without his
knowledge in a provoked situation. So remember if that word
comes out without your knowledge, no word will come out
without your knowledge, it has already got saturated in your
thought personality. You cannot say without my knowledge it
has come out. You cannot take an excuse. Like the white ants
if they appear outside even in a smallest area, remember already
it has completely eaten up inside. Remember even if a word
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inadvertently comes from my mouth then I have allowed to get
saturated at the thought level. So तद्वािा वदत्तत. Then तत्कर्व िा
करोत्तत. Ultimately it becomes an action. Therefore be aware of
your thoughts. Let your thought life be monitored. Let your
mental biography be monitored. Let it be worth publishing. Let
your mental life be worth publishing. That is called शर्ः. Then
the next one अनियः ि स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि. अनियः literally
means fires, and here the word fire symbolizes fire ritual. Vedic
rituals are represented by अनियः. This can be called देवयज्ः.
The word अत्तनि can be used in the meaning of a ritual also. We
have seen this before in कठोपत्तिषत् when ित्तिकेतस् asked
three boons, the second boon was called िात्तिकेतात्तनिः. There
we saw अत्तनि has got three meanings – specific fire, specific
ritual and specific deity. So here अत्तनि means ritual. Why are
the rituals called अत्तनि? The reason is because of certain
technical factors. Before starting ritual a गिृ स्र् has to
ritualistically kindle the fire called अत्तनि आधािर््. And that
person is called The गिृ स्र् who kindles this fire is called
आत्तितात्तनिः and the ritualistically kindled fire is called गािव पत्य
अत्तनिः, the अत्तनि which is the master of the house, गिृ पशतिः.
This गिृ स्र् is supposed to maintain this fire lifelong. And that
गािव पत्य अत्तनिः alone should be used for cremation according
to Vedic rules. And out of गािव पत्य अत्तनिः for the sake of
various rituals he has to take out two forms of fire called
आिविीय अत्तनिः and दत्तक्िा अत्तनिः. These have to be kindled
out of गािव पत्य अत्तनिः for specific ritual. For certain rituals
दत्तक्िा अत्तनिः, for certain rituals आिविीय अत्तनिः, and after
doing the rituals they have to be joined to the गािव पत्य अत्तनिः.
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आिविीय अत्तनिः and दत्तक्िा अत्तनिः will come and go, they
come from गािव पत्य अत्तनिः, used and again joined back to
गािव पत्य अत्तनिः. Therefore these three fires are an integral part
of the life of a Vedic ritualist. These three fires represent all
forms of rituals. For a गिृ स्र् twenty-six such fire rituals are
mentioned – सिपाक यज्, सिित्तवयव ज्, सिसोर् यज्,
पञ्िर्िायज्s. All these rituals will come under देवयज्ः. Then
the next one is अत्तनििोत्रां ि. अत्तनििोत्रर्् is supposed to be the
fundamental Vedic ritual. Therefore may you perform that
अत्तनििोत्र ritual. Therefore both the अनियः and अत्तनििोत्रर््
refer to देवयज्ः. Then the next one is अत्ततर्यः ि. अत्ततर्यः
means entertaining the guests when they come by
accommodating and feeding them. This can be taken as
अन्िदाि यज्ः. Literally अत्ततर्यः means guests and
entertainment of guests involves providing accommodation and
providing food. Details about this we will see later. So
अन्िदािम् is important, of course to deserving cases. This is
called अत्ततत्तर् यज्ः or र्िुष्ययज्ः. Then the next one is र्ािुषां ि
– the fulfillment of all the social obligations. Being a member
of the society I am indebted to the society, I am getting many
benefits by being in the society which I cannot have if I am in
the forest. What are the benefits you get from the society if you
have to know live in the forest or at the outskirts for some time
then only you will know. You need gas facility, phone facility,
bank facility, shopping facility etc., you are getting because
somebody is providing all the utility services. And not only that
all your relatives they are there, whenever there is a crisis in the
family they come or supposed to come. Therefore a human
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being is a social animal and therefore social interactions are
inevitable like wedding, temple functions, etc., a human being
cannot survive without human help. Therefore take the help
from the society and you also generously contribute to it.
Therefore fulfil all social obligations will. And many people
complain also that these social obligations take so much time
there is no time for scriptural study. But remember as long as
you are part of society you have no right to complain. All social
obligations will end if you get out of society and become a
सन्न्यात्तस. शास्त्र says a सन्न्यात्तस cannot expect anything from
the society including food. यदृच्छा-लाभ-सन्तुष्टः ॥ गीता ४-२२
॥ A सन्न्यात्तस has no obligations also. Therefore if you become
सन्न्यात्तस you are out of social obligations. As long as you are
part of society, you have to oblige, never complain. So these
two – अत्ततर्यः ि and र्ािुषां ि – will come under र्िुष्ययज्ः.
Then next one is प्रजा ि स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि । प्रजिः ि
स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि । प्रजात्ततः ि स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि. These three
put together come under त्तपतयृ ज्ः, your duty to your कुलर््,
your family परम्परा. Your duty to your forefathers. Your duty
for the perpetuation of the परम्परा which includes your duty to
get married and beget children. That is also maintenance of कुल
परम्परा.
कुलक्ये प्रिश्यत्तन्त कुलधर्ाव ः सिातिाः ।
धर्े िष्टे कुलां कृत्स्िर्धर्ोऽत्तभभवत्युत ॥ गीता १-४० ॥
Therefore even the सन्तशत maintenance is part of त्तपतयृ ज्.
Three duties are highlighted here. प्रजा – begetting children. So
the question comes why should the उपत्तिषत् present it as a
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duty? Every living being, every species naturally, instinctively
perpetuates the परम्परा. Remember the uniqueness of our
scriptures is converting even a natural and instinctive process
into a sacred साधि. Conversion of the most natural and
instinctive process into a deliberate worship is the uniqueness
of वेदs. I will give you a few examples. One of the most natural
example is Breathing. Breathing is most fundamental activity
of living. And the वेदs says you can convert even this natural
breathing process into a deliberate प्रािायार् साधि. Where is
this प्रािायार् साधि mentioned?
अपािे जुह्वत्तत प्रािां प्रािेऽपािां तर्ापरे ।
प्रािापािगती रुद्ध्वा प्रािायार्परायिाः ॥ गीता ४-२९ ॥
प्रािायार् an instinctive process converted into a deliberate यज्
by choosing the time and place, the duration and also
maintaining an appropriate attitude. Then what is the next most
instinctive activity? Eating. वेदs say convert the most natural
instinctive process into प्रािात्तनििोर साधि. So look upon your
stomach and hunger as प्राि अत्तनिः, the वैश्वािर अत्तनिः inside.
And whatever you dump convert into an oblation. And once
you have chosen to make it a र्ाग, then do not eat whenever
you want, do not eat wherever you want. So there is appropriate
time for eating, appropriate place for eating, appropriate
amount is there for eating and most importantly appropriate
attitude. This is the नैवेद्यम् for the Lord and therefore it should
be proper thing. In the same way begetting children is the most
natural instinctive process वेदs say convert that also into a र्ाग.
Therefore for us wedding is a holy ritual called शववाि सांस्कार.
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It is not that two people say I love you to each other and start
living together. In newspaper some interesting items come – so
this is the child of so and so and they have been planning to
marry soon. Such things are not there in our culture at all. It is
also done in a deliberate manner and the purpose is
सिधर्व िाररिी, धमय अशभवदृ ् ध्र्र्य म् शववाििः. अर्व and कार् are
incidentally fulfilled. Therefore may you follow this also as a
सांस्कार. Begetting a child is also called a सांस्कार called
गभाव दाि सांस्कार. When the child is born there is a ritual called
जातकर्व सांस्कार. Then naming the child is a ritual called
िार्करि सांस्कार. First solid food feeding the child is called
अन्नप्रािन सांस्कार. The whole life is converted into, even
natural processes are converted into a deliberate सांस्कार.
Therefore वेदs say प्रजा ि – may you get a child also for
spiritual progress. And प्रजिः ि स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि – for
begetting a child also go through the proper Vedic processes
called शववाि सांस्कार and गभाव दाि सांस्कार. सांस्कार means a
sacrament, a religious ceremony. Here प्रजिः means शववाि and
गभाव दाि सांस्कारs. And then प्रजात्ततः ि स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि – it
is not enough that you have got the proper attitude, make sure
that your children also approach the wedding in the right
attitude. Let them know that marriage is primarily for spiritual
growth, materialistic benefits are fulfilled nobody says they
should not be but they are all byproducts. अर्व -कार् are
byproducts, धर्व is the product. Only then in the choice of the
spouse also they will take this factor into account they will
never look into spouse convenience alone, धर्व is also taken into
account. I want to qualify myself for religious pursuits, I want
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to qualify myself for spiritual pursuits, with that attitude they
should choose the spouse also. Not because they like a common
ice-cream! What a condition for marriage! Then if the common
ice-cream is gone then divorce. What a flimsy reason is given.
Because when a flimsy reason is used for coming together
flimsy reasons will be used for separation also. When a
profound reason is used for coming together it will have a
lasting existence. So that is called प्रजात्ततः – make your children
also get married with proper attitude. The literal meaning of this
word प्रजात्ततः is पौत्रोत्पत्तिः, to get grandchildren. How to get
grandchildren? A father can get children only, how can a father
get grandchildren? So उपत्तिषत् says get grandchildren.
शङ्करािायव says get grandchildren means get your children
married in a proper form. Suppose if they don’t want to get
married? The शास्त्रs say if they don’t want to get married the
reason must be the appropriate reason it must be for the sake of
higher purposes. If those higher purposes are not there it is
better that one gets married. If marriage is also not there, higher
purposes are also not there, the mind doesn’t have any goal.
Because taking care of the family is one preoccupation. We
should have sufficient things for mental preoccupation. If you
don’t want those preoccupations we should have
preoccupations with some other higher purposes like कर्व योग,
उपासि or वेदान्त. Otherwise in the absence of both, the idle
mind becomes a devil’s workshop. Therefore they said either
become a गिृ स्र् or a सन्न्यात्तस, never be in-between.
Therefore प्रजात्ततः means get your children married or allow
them to become सन्न्यात्तसs. This is त्तपतयृ ज्. So far four यज्s
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are covered. Only one यज् is not mentioned which we have to
supply. भत ू यज्ः – the worship of the so called lower beings like
plants, animals, etc. In modern language we can say ecological
balance, environmental maintenance. So let all your actions be
environment friendly. Don’t use plastic. Because plastic is like
ब्रह्मि्, अच्छे द्ः अदाह्यः you cannot do anything. Nearest
example for plastic is ब्रह्मि.् It is unbiodegradable entity. So
therefore you are asked to respect the nature. When you buy
anything they say it is recycled one. And then whatever insects
and animals contribute like cows, crows, etc., including
earthworm which is one of the glorious creation of the Lord. In
short, may you follow पञ्िर्िायज्s as well as values. Then in
the last portion of this अिुवाक the उपत्तिषत् wants to make a
comparative study and highlight one साधि. Every साधि is
great. But one has to be highlighted in a particular context. So
which one is the greatest? The उपत्तिषत् says study and
propagation of scriptures is the greatest साधि. Otherwise
called ब्रह्मयज्ः, otherwise called स्वाध्याय which it calls as
स्वाध्याय प्रविि.
ू य शमदम् पि
पि ू य मुदछर्ते । पि
ू य मादार् पि
ू य मेवावशिष्र्ते
॥ ॐ िाशन्तिः िाशन्तिः िाशन्तिः ॥ िररिः ॐ.
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We are seeing the last portion of the nineth अिुवाक of
शीक्ावल्ली. And in this अिुवाक the teacher is emphasizing the
importance of कर्व योग and values. As said कर्व योग primarily
consists of पञ्िर्िायज्s. So all these यज्s were highlighted in
this अिुवाक. ब्रह्मयज्, देवयज्, त्तपतयृ ज्, र्िुष्ययज्, these four
were mentioned. The fifth one, भत ू र्ज्ञ is not mentioned we
have to supply. So all these are important for the spiritual
growth of a person. And along with that some values were also
highlighted ऋतम्, सत्यम्, तपः, दर्ः, शर्ः, etc. And having
talked about the values and पञ्िर्िायज्s the उपत्तिषत् is
concluding this अिुवाक with the last portion by emphasizing
one particular साधि. Really speaking all साधिs are equally
important. All the साधिs are like various nutrients required for
the body. If anybody asks if vitamin A is important or vitamin
D is important or vitamin B is important, we say all of them are
equally important for the physical health of a person. Exactly
like that all values are equally important for the spiritual health
of a person. Depending upon the deficiency in the system we
have to take extra iron tablet or calcium tablet or something.
Just because one takes iron tablet all of them should not take. It
can be dangerous. Similarly different people will require
different साधिs to be highlighted but all the values are equally
important. And the style of the scriptures is in a particular
context a particular value will be highlighted. And while
highlighting a particular value the scriptures will say even if the
others are not there, it is ok, but this is the most important one.
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And sometimes the other values are criticized for the sake of
glorifying a particular value, but we should know how to
understand the portion carefully. We should know that in this
context this value is highlighted, it does not mean the other
values are not important, all of them are equally important. For
example in र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत्, सत्यर्् is highlighted.
सत्यर्ेव जयते िाितृ ां सत्येि पन्र्ा त्तवततोदेवयािः ।
येिाऽऽिर्न्त्यषृ योह्यािकार्ा यत्र तत् सत्यस्य परर्ां त्तिधािर्् ॥
र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत् ३-१-६ ॥
सत्यर्् is considered to be the most important value. In
तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् in the third chapter we will find तपस् will be
highlighted.
तपसा ब्रह्म त्तवत्तजज्ासस्व । तपो ब्रह्मेत्तत ॥ तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् ३-२-१
॥
तपस् is highlighted to such an extent that the उपत्तिषत् says
तपस् itself is ब्रह्मि्. तपो ब्रह्मेत्तत. Like that in this particular
अिुवाक also the उपत्तिषत् wants to highlight a particular value
which is स्वाध्यायः or the scriptural study. This you will come
to know by reading this अिुवाक itself, the word
स्वाध्यायप्रविि is repeated several times. ऋतां ि
स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि । सत्यां ि स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि । Will it not do
to say once? But it repeatedly says from that itself you come to
know that the उपत्तिषत् wants to highlight that. And towards the
end the उपत्तिषत् wants to do it in a prominent way and the
उपत्तिषत् uses a particular method. The उपत्तिषत् imagines that
it is asking three different ऋत्तषs. Three ऋत्तषs are called and
asked which value is very important. Then the ऋत्तष has to
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choose and finally the उपत्तिषत् will give the pass mark. And
you find each ऋत्तष emphasizes a particular value and the
उपत्तिषत् is going to give the verdict in the end. We will find
out what are the opinion of three ऋत्तषs and what is going to be
the verdict of the उपत्तिषत्.
The उपत्तिषत् says here सत्यर्् इत्तत सत्यविाः रार्ीतरः.
रार्ीतरः is the name of a ऋत्तष who hails from the परम्परा of
रर्ीतरः. This रार्ीतरः has specialized on the value of सत्यर््.
Like िररश्चन्द्र who is known for सत्यविनम्, similarly this
रार्ीतरः ऋत्तष has taken the speaking truth as a vow in his life.
And because of his special practice he has been given title also
– सत्यविाः – the one who always the speaks the truth. So
सत्यविाः is the title and रार्ीतरः is the name of a ऋत्तष. What
does that ऋत्तष say? सत्यर्् इत्तत – truthfulness alone is the
highest value, all others are secondary. Of course we should
remember the word सत्यर्् has got two meanings depending
upon the context. When we are dealing with the science of
ethics and morality, in the context of धर्व शास्त्र the word सत्यर््
has got one meaning. The very word सत्यर्् in the context of
ब्रह्मशवद्या or philosophical context has a different meaning.
Therefore before we translate we have to see whether it is a
meaning on ethics or philosophy. Now शीक्ावल्ली is dealing
with धर्व शास्त्र and therefore here the word सत्यर्् means
speaking the truth which is a verbal discipline. So in ethical
context सत्यर्् means verbal discipline of speaking the truth.
Whereas the word सत्यर्् is going to occur in the next chapter
ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली, which is not धर्व शास्त्र but it is purely वेदान्त,
philosophical portion. There also the word सत्यर्् occurs.
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सत्यां ज्ािर्िन्तां ब्रह्म । वेद त्तित्तितर्् गुिायार्् परर्े व्योर्ि् ॥
तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् २-१-१ ॥
There the word सत्यर्् should not be translated as verbal
discipline. सत्यर्् should be translated as Reality, the pure
Existence. केवल सिा रूप पारमाशर्य कं वस्तु सत्य िब्देन उछर्ते.
So whether सत्यर्् means pure Existence or verbal discipline
will depend upon the context. In this context सत्यर्् means
verbal discipline. So this verbal discipline is the highest साधि
according to रार्ीतरः ऋत्तषः.
Then comes another ऋत्तष who says तपः इत्तत तपोत्तित्यः
पौरुत्तशत्तष्टः. पौरुत्तशत्तष्टः is the name of ऋत्तष who has specialized
in this life on तपः – austerity. Always taking to a life of
austerity, simple living, self-denial. Therefore he got the title
तपोत्तित्यः – always given to a life of austerity. It is not just for
a period of time but throughout the life. That ऋत्तष says तपः –
austerity, penance alone is the highest spiritual साधि. This is
the second opinion.
Then there is a third ऋत्तष. स्वाधायप्रवििे एव इत्तत िाकः
र्ौद्गल्यः. The third ऋत्तष is known by the name र्ौद्गल्यः. He has
got another name also िाकः. This third ऋत्तष says
स्वाधायप्रवििे एव. We have to supply उिर् साधिम् in each
one of them. The first one says सत्यर्् उिर् साधिम्, the second
one says तपस् उिर् साधिम्, and स्वाधायप्रवििे – the study of
scriptures and sharing the knowledge with others is the उिर्
साधिम्, the highest discipline according to िाकः र्ौद्गल्यः
ऋत्तष. So all the three have given their version. Now the
उपत्तिषत् has to come and pass the verdict. What does the
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उपत्तिषत् say? तत् त्ति तपः. So these are the words of उपत्तिषत्.
तत् means the third one. स्वाधायप्रविि alone is the real तपस्.
Not the other austerities or the other साधिs. The study of
scriptures and sharing the knowledge with others is the highest
साधि. The उपत्तिषत् wants to emphasize it once again,
therefore it repeats. तत्तद् तपस्तत्तद् तपः – स्वाधायप्रविि alone
is the highest साधि. That is why the वेदs gives the first
instruction to all the Vedic followers
स्वाध्यायो अध्येतव्यः ॥ शतपर् ब्राह्मिर्् ११-५-६-३ ॥
study the scriptures. If a person studies the scriptures then
through the scriptures other instructions can be given. What an
intelligent instruction! Study the scriptures is the first
instruction and when a person studies the scriptures through the
scriptures वेद can give regular instructions during ब्रह्मियाव श्रर्
गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् वािप्रस्र्ाश्रर् सन्न्यासाश्रर्. Constantly make use
of me as your permanent guide. Therefore स्वाध्यायः अध्येतव्यः
is the Vedic instruction. And even in पतञ्जत्तल’s अष्टाङ्ग योग
which emphasizes meditation, if you take the first stages
पतञ्जत्तल also says never try meditation before the study of
scriptures. He talks about यर् त्तियर् आसि प्रािायार् प्रत्यािार
धरिा ध्याि सार्त्तध. He prescribes ध्यािम् only as the seventh
stage. And in the first few stages he introduces स्वाध्यायः. That
means scriptural study is the fundamental based on which we
can learn the theory of all other साधिs. Without learning the
theory how can you think of practicing? Therefore the उपत्तिषत्
says never start any साधि before understanding is its role. So
तत्तद् तपः. तत् here means स्वाध्यायप्रवििर््, that alone is the
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greatest तपस,् that alone is the greatest तपस्. So with this the
nineth अनुवाक highlighting कर्व योग and values is over.
Now we will enter the next अिुवाक, we will read.
ब्रह्मज्ञ्यािप्रकाशकर्न्त्रः
र्न्त्र 1-10-01
अिां वक् ृ स्य रे ररवा । कीत्ततवः पष्ठ
ृ ां त्तगरे ररव । ऊध्वव पत्तवत्रो वात्तजिीव
स्वर्त ृ र्त्तस्र् । रत्तविँसविव सर्् । सर् ु ेधा अर्त ृ ोत्तक्तः । इत्तत
त्तत्रशङ्कोवेदािुवििर्् ॥ १ ॥ इत्तत दशर्ोऽिुवाकः ॥
This is a small अिुवाक. In the previous nine sections the
उपत्तिषत् has talked about कर्व as well as उपासि. कर्व involves
the physical body, whereas उपासि is primarily mental activity.
Thus कात्तयक and र्ािस activities or साधिs have been talked
about. And all these कर्व s and उपासिs have for two-fold
benefits depending upon the motive of the performer. All of
them are two edged sword as it were, they can be used in two-
fold ways. One is they can be practiced for material
prosperities. कर्व can produce material पुण्यम् which will give
you इि लोक as well as पर लोक prosperity. And if I am
interested in that material benefits I have to follow this साधि
as a सकार् कर्व and in the सङ्कल्प I just tell O Lord bless me
with
प्रजया पशुत्तभब्रव ह्मविव सेि ॥ तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् ३-६-१ ॥
प्रजा पशु ब्रह्मविव सम् र्िाि् कीत्याव name fame all of them. This
is सकार् कर्व उपासि फलम्. The same कर्व and उपासि can be
practiced even if I am not interested in material benefits still I
can practice them and again I get पुण्यम् but that पुण्यम् is
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spiritual पुण्यम् I ask for. So for all the कर्व and उपासि I ask
for spiritual पुण्यम् and when I ask for spiritual पुण्यम् those
कर्व s and उपासिs are called त्तिष्कार् कर्व उपासिs. What do
you mean by spiritual पुण्यम्? Spiritual पुण्यम् can be encashed
or converted for the sake of spiritual benefits in the form of
साधिितुष्टयसम्पत्तिः. So when I have deposited in spiritual
पुण्यम् bank I can encash it and ask for त्तववेक, वैरानय, शर्ात्तद
षि्क सम्पत्ति and र्ुर्ुक्ुत्वर््. Suppose I have got
साधिितुष्टयसम्पत्ति, I am so confident and I have got lot of
spiritual पुण्यम् then I can ask for गुरु प्रात्ति. गुरु is required for
शास्त्र शवचार. साधि ितुष्टय सम्पन्िः cannot do anything if
गुरु is not there. Because scriptures cannot communicate
anything unless there is a गुरु to assist. Suppose I have got a
गुरु also then I should be able to continue श्रविम् for a length
of time. So until I am able to assimilate the शास्त्र I should be
able to do श्रविम् without any obstacle. For that I have to encash
पुण्यम्. Thus spiritual पुण्यम् is utilized for अशधकारर्व प्रात्तिः,
गुरु प्रात्तिः, श्रविप्रात्तिः, all these benefits. So thus कर्व and
उपासि have got two-fold benefits. Now suppose a person here
who has come to तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् is interested only in ज्ािर््
and र्ोक्. He is not more interested in इि लोक or पर लोक
फलम् as we saw in कठोपत्तिषत्, र्मधमय राि offered so many
things but ित्तिकेतस् said all of them are wonderful, keep with
yourself.
तवैव वािास्तव ित्ृ यगीते ॥ कठोपत्तिषत् १-१-२६ ॥
I do not want anything. What about water ( where there is water
scarcity)? Even for water I don’t want use spiritual साधि, I
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will do other साधिs for getting water. I don’t want to use कर्व
उपासि साधिs for water benefit. So if I am such a person, a
र्ुर्ुक्ु, then the उपत्तिषत् wants to give him a special र्न्त्र for
ज्ाि-प्रात्तिः. For the attainment of ज्ािर्् or for the acceleration
of ज्ाि-प्रात्ति. If you feel our spiritual travel is going in
passengers train speed and you want to make it express train
speed, then what साधि can be done to accelerate the spiritual
journey? Because the उपत्तिषत् is aware of our intense desire.
We are all उिर् अशधकाररs. Aren’t we? We are very much
interested in quickening the process. And what should I do? The
उपत्तिषत् prescribes a particular िप. So आत्र्ज्ानार्य र्् िपिः.
Previously we had a िप which was ज्ाियोनयता शसद्ध्र्र्य र््
िपिः. That was to get the qualifications for ज्ािर््.
यश्छन्दसार्षृ भो त्तवश्वरूपः । छन्दोभ्योऽध्यर्त ृ ात्सांबभवू । स
ृ ोतु ॥ तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् २-१-३ ॥
That was the िप for ज्ाि योनयता प्रात्तिः. Now we get a िप for
ज्ाि प्रात्तिः. What is this मन्र? The उपत्तिषत् itself says this a
मन्र which is given out by त्तत्रशङ्कु ऋत्तष. He is not that
त्तत्रशङ्कु who is hanging in between. Here we are talking about
a त्तत्रशङ्कु ज्ात्ति ऋत्तष. When did he give out this मन्र? after
gaining आत्र्ज्ािर्् he gave out this मन्र. So at the end this
अिुवाक we get the line इत्तत त्तत्रशङ्कोवेदािुवििर््. वेद
अिुवििर्् means utterance after आत्र्ज्ािर््. वेद means
ज्ािर्् here and not the four वेदs. अिु means after, वििर््
means utterance. This is the utterance or declaration of त्तत्रशङ्कु
ऋत्तष after gaining आत्र्ज्ािर््. What is he declaring? He says
whatever be the glory of ब्रह्मि् all of them are my glories only.
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Why? Because after ज्ािर्् I have discovered the fact that I am
ब्रह्मि्.
अिर्त्तस्र् ब्रह्मािर्त्तस्र् योऽिर्त्तस्र् ब्रह्मािर्त्तस्र् ॥
र्िािारायिोपत्तिषत् १-६७ ॥
अिम् ब्रह्म अशस्म I have discovered. Therefore hereafter I will
not say ब्रह्मि् is सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् अिन्तर््, I will say अिम् सत्यर््
ज्ािर्् अिन्तर््. It is
स्र्ल
ू सक्ष्ू र् कारि शरीरात् व्यत्ततररक्तः पञ्िकोशातीतः
अवस्र्ात्रयसाक्ी सत्तच्िदािन्दस्वरूपः
I, the िैतन्यर््, am सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् अिन्तर््. Hereafter I won’t
declare ब्रह्मि् is जगत् कारिर््, I will say I am जगत् कारिर््.
र्त्तय एव सकलर्् जातर्् र्त्तय सवव र्् प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतर्् । र्त्तय सवव र्् लयर््
यात्तत तद् ब्रह्म अद्वयर्स्म्यिर्् ॥ कैवल्योपत्तिषत् १९ ॥
We have seen this मन्र in कैवल्योपत्तिषत्. I am that ब्रह्मि्
from whom the world arises like a dream, in whom the world
exists like a dream and into whom the world resolves like a
dream. So thus I am the जगत् सशृ ष्टशस्र्शतलर् कारिर््. In the
tenth chapter of the गीता कृष्ि said that all the glories of the
world belong to ब्रह्मि् or ईश्वर. And this ज्ात्ति says that all the
glories of the world belong to me. This declaration of त्तत्रशङ्कु
I have to repeat. When I repeat it is a meaningless statement for
me because I have not yet known अिम् ब्रह्म अशस्म, but I have a
rehearsal, I have a training, I just learn claiming my glory, I am
the जगत् अशधष्ठानम्. I am no more दासिः. So this अद्वैत ज्ात्ति
said सोऽिम्, that ब्रह्मि् परर्ात्र्ा I am. सिः अिम्. Then the other
person came and said it is a sacrilege to say I am God or ब्रह्मि्,
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that should not be the statement, दासोऽिम् is the correct. Add
one letter दा in the beginning. दासिः means I am only a humble
simple servant of God, how can I be God? So this was िैशतन्’s
mischief. Then what did अिैशतन् do? He added another स in
the beginning. Now it became सदासोऽिम्, all the time I am
ब्रह्मि्; not just after र्ोक्. Do you think that this िैशतन् will be
quiet? He added another दा and made it दासदासोऽिम्. I am not
only servant of God but I am the servant of servant of God. He
added another दा, and even now this argument is going on. So
here त्तत्रशङ्कु says how long do you want to continue as a slave?
You come to the scriptures not for slavery. Slavery is a bondage
whether you are a slave of an ordinary person or whether you
are a slave of even God. Slavery is सांसार whether you are a
जीव दासः or ईश्वर दासः. So from जीव दास्वम् you become
ईश्वर दासः. It is acceptable, but you should not be permanently
ईश्वर दासः. One day you should be able to claim ईश्वर अिर््
अत्तस्र्. Thus we have got a rehearsal र्न्त्र which is a िप. And
if we repeats it, we will able to easily discover the fact that it is
a fact and not arrogance. It is not a sacrilege or a false claim but
it is the ultimate truth – अिम् ब्रह्म अशस्म. If it is sacrilege or
arrogance how can the उपत्तिषत् prescribe this as the main
teaching. So this is the त्तत्रशङ्कोः वेदािुवििर््. The first
portion is within quotation. The quotation begins from अिां
वक् ृ स्य and ends with अर्त ृ ोत्तक्तः. These are the words of
त्तत्रशङ्कु. And we are repeating his words as a िप. He says अिां
रे ररवा – I am प्रेरत्तयता, the activator, the one who enlivens, the
one who energizes, the one who is the life giver. So I am the
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energizer, life giver, supporter of वक् ृ स्य – सांसार वक् ृ ः, the
universal tree. I am the very of root of the universal tree.
ऊध्वव र्ल
ू ोऽवाक्तशाख एषोऽश्वत्र्ः सिातिः । तदे व शुिां तद्ब्रह्म
तदेवार्त ृ र्ुच्यते ॥ कठोपत्तिषत् २-३-१ ॥
ब्रह्मि् is considered to be the nourishing root of the universe. I
am that ब्रह्मि.् Just as the tree will perish if the root is gone,
similarly without my support the world cannot exist. Just as the
त्तर्थ्या dream cannot exist without the सत्यर्् waker, this त्तर्थ्या
universe cannot exist without I, the सत्यर्् ब्रह्म. Therefore
रे ररवा means अशधष्ठानम्, आधारिः, support. How do I support
this universe? By lending two things. I lend existence to
universe because universe does not have an existence of its
own. That is why शङ्करािायव says
यस्यैव स्फुरिां सदात्र्कर्सत्कल्पार्व गां भासते
साक्ाित्त्वर्सीत्तत वेदविसा यो बोधयत्यात्तश्रताि् ॥ श्रीदत्तक्िार्त्तू तव
स्तोत्रर्् ३ ॥
When I experience ‘is’ness in the universe that existence is lent
by me. Exactly like the dream world I appreciate as existence
the very existence of dream world is lent by me. what is the
proof? When I wake up and come away the dream world loses
its existence. Similarly when I, the Consciousness come away
without the Consciousness the world cannot have its existence.
Therefore I lend सत् to the world, not only I lend सत् I lend
even शचत् to the world. The body is conscious only by
borrowing Consciousness from the आत्र्ा. The body enjoys
reflected Consciousness. It is only RM (the reflecting medium)
and I am lending RC (the reflected Consciousness) and I am
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OC (the Original Consciousness). Similarly the mind is sentient
because I lend Consciousness to the mind. In short, I am सिा
स्पशू तय प्रदाता, सिा िैतन्य प्रदाता I am the lender of existence
and Consciousness to the world. Therefore I am शवश्वाधारम्,
शमर्थर्ा जगत् अशधष्ठानम्. And कीत्ततवः पष्ठृ र्् त्तगरे ः इव – my fame
and glory is the greatest glory in the universe. I have the greatest
glory. कीत्ततवः means र्ििः, ख्यात्ततः, शवभशू त, fame. In the tenth
chapter of भगवद्गीता कृष्ि said whatever glory is there
anywhere in the world all of them belong to Me, you are only
the pipelines through which My glory is flowing. No pipe can
claim that it is giving you the water. It is the tank which has the
water. The emptier the pipe more the water flow will be. So thus
one glory is alone there belonging to भगवाि् which expresses
through different people. Here त्तत्रशङ्कु ऋत्तष says I have all the
glories of the creation. So कीत्ततवः my glory is त्तगरे ः पष्ठृ र्् इव –
is as high as the peak of a mountain. Just as the peak of a
mountain is very high my glory is the highest in the universe.
In fact highest is not the world I alone have the glory. र्र् कीत्ततवः
त्तगरे ः पष्ठ
ृ र्् इव उन्नता अशस्त. उन्नता we have to supply,
उन्नता means high like the peak of a mountain. Not only that I
am the purest of the pure. ऊध्वव पत्तवत्रः अिर्् अत्तस्र् – I am
absolutely pure. So when we do कर्व s, by the performance of
the कर्व , प्रायत्तश्चि कर्व we remove some of our पापर््s and we
certainly become pure but the purity attained through प्रायत्तश्चि
कर्व is only relative purity.
ि त्ति ज्ािेि सदृशां पत्तवत्रत्तर्ि त्तवद्ते ॥ गीता ४-३८ ॥
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Whereas ज्ािर्् makes me absolutely pure. What is the
difference between absolute purity and relative purity? One
thing is relative purity is freedom from only some of the पापर््s,
but सत्तञ्ित पापर््s will be aplenty, therefore पापर््s will
continue. The second thing is when I get relative purity it means
I will again become impure later. It is like taking स्नानम्. By
स्नानम् you purify the body but that does not mean hereafter I
need not take bath at all. So now you are pure, during the day
to day transactions again impurity comes so again स्नानम् you
have to do. Whereas in the case of ज्ािर्् I get such a purity
which will not become impure again. So therefore I have got
ऊध्वव म् – absolute, पत्तवत्रम् – purity. I am absolutely pure.
िुधोऽिम् आ्र्शन्तक िुशधिः. Not only that अर्त ृ म् अत्तस्र् – I am
immortal or eternal. Like what? वात्तजत्ति इव – like the light of
the sun which is eternal. Just as the sunlight is there as long as
the sunlight is there, so सय ू व स्र् शन्र् प्रकाशवत् my immortality
is also eternal. सु अर्त ृ म् अत्तस्र्. So वात्तज means सय ू व . वाजर््
means अन्िर््. This is the first thing asked in चमकम्. चमकम्
is asking various things from the Lord, which is chanted after
श्ररुद्रम्. You glorify Lord, please Lord through नमकम् रुद्र,
and when Lord is very pleased He is in a generous mood. When
he is in a generous mood non-stop you chant चमकम् and ask
for everything and hoodwink the Lord himself. And what all
things to ask for if you have to plan and think and ask it will be
gone, therefore वेदs prescribe that also so that we need not
think. You know what is the first thing asked for
वाजश्च र्े प्रसवश्च र्े प्रयत्ततश्च र्े ॥ िर्कप्रश्नः ॥
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वाजश्च र्े वाििः अन्नम्. सय ू व is called वात्तज because he alone
nourishes the अन्नम्, by his grace alone अन्नम् उ्पशि
happens. And since सय ू व is responsible for giving the अन्नम् he
gets the name वात्तज. And वात्तजत्ति means in the Sun, सय ू व भगवाि्
there is eternal effulgence like that I am also eternal. Then how
did I get all these things? What price did I pay for that? what is
the wealth by which I got all these things like name and fame,
immortality? त्तत्रशङ्कु says रत्तविम् – I have got the greatest
wealth which is nothing but सविव सम् – the shining Self-
knowledge, the brilliant knowledge I have got. सविव सम् means
brilliant and we have to supply आत्र्ज्ािर््. I have got the most
brilliant आत्र्ज्ािर््. Why do we say ज्ािर्् is brilliant?
Because it removes the darkness of ignorance. Therefore
knowledge is always associated with brilliance. When a student
has got a lot intelligence and knowing capacity we say brilliant
student. Therefore knowledge is always compared to light or
brilliance. Therefore त्तत्रशङ्कु says I have got the greatest
wealth त्तवद्ाधनं सवव धनात् प्रधािम्, a wealth which will never
be destroyed, a wealth which will purchase the infinite मोक्ष and
a wealth which will never be depleted even when it is freely to
the others. Any other charity you have to regularly think. But in
the case of ज्ािर्् the more you give the more ज्ािर्् increases,
never decreases. Therefore it is considered to the real wealth.
And therefore सविव सां रत्तविम् – I have got the most brilliant
wealth of आत्र्ज्ािर््. And सुर्ेधाः – I have got the best
knowledge, that means I am the omniscient ब्रह्मि्, I am the all-
illumining ब्रह्मि,् So सवव ज्ां ब्रह्म अिर्् अत्तस्र्. I alone illumine
everything, know everything through different minds. Minds
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are many but the Consciousness is one. All knowledge belongs
to me alone. Not only that अर्त ृ ः अत्तक्तः – eternal, immortal,
मरिरशितिः अत्तस्र्, and अत्तक्तः – I am free from decay also.
अक्ीिः अव्ययः अक्तिः, क्षर्रत्तितः, अपक्षर्रत्तितः. I am free from
both decay and death. This is one meaning. Another meaning is
अर्तृ ेि वा उत्तक्तः त्तसक्तः अत्तस्र्, I am soaked in the nectar of
immortality. उत्तक्तः means soaked. Just as the रसगुल्ला is there
in the syrup all the time similarly I am soaked in the syrup of
the immortal wisdom. The essence is अिर्् ब्रह्म अत्तस्र्. This has
been declared by त्तत्रशङ्कु after gaining knowledge. And
therefore if we also repeat this र्न्त्र initially it will not be
meaningful to us but later it will become meaningful; I will own
up what I declare. With this the tenth अनुवाक is also over.
More in the next class.
पि
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We have completed ten अिुवाकs of शीक्ावल्ली and in
these ten अिुवाकs the उपत्तिषत् has given out all the important
preparatory disciplines meant for gaining ब्रह्मशवद्या. कर्व योग
consisting of पञ्िर्िायज्s has been talked about, varieties of
उपासिs have been talked about. कर्व and उपासि form the
main साधिs. Then values have been highlighted like ऋतम्,
सत्यम्, तपः, दर्ः, शर्ः known as दैवर सम्पत् in the भगवद्गीता
and then the उपत्तिषत् has prescribed two important िपs also.
One िप meant for ज्ाि योनयता प्रात्तिः and another िप meant
for ज्ाि प्रात्तिः. यश्छन्दसार्षृ भो त्तवश्वरूपः is ज्ाियोनयता
प्राप्त्यर्व र्् िपिः. अिां वक्
ृ स्य रे ररवा is for ज्ाि प्रात्तिः. Thus all
important disciplines have been talked about. And therefore the
उपत्तिषत् wants to wind up this section and in the following
final section it is more an उपसंिार, a winding up अिुवाक in
which all the previously mentioned साधिs are reiterated or
reminded once again. So we are going to get the eleventh
अिुवाक, the उपसंिार अिुवाक which is more for conclusion
and we don’t get much of a new साधिs in this अिुवाक. We
will now enter into that.
त्तशष्यािुशासिर््
र्न्त्र 1-11-01
वेदर्िच्ू यािायोन्तेवात्तसिर्िुशात्तस्त । सत्यां वद । धर्ं िर ।
स्वाध्यायान्र्ा प्रर्दः । आिायाव य त्तप्रयां धिर्ाहृत्य प्रजातन्तुां र्ा
व्यवच्छे त्सीः । सत्यान्ि प्रर्त्तदतव्यर्् । धर्ाव न्ि प्रर्त्तदतव्यर्् ।
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कुशलान्ि प्रर्त्तदतव्यर्् । भत्ू यै ि प्रर्त्तदतव्यर्् ।
स्वाध्यायप्रवििाभ्याां ि प्रर्त्तदतव्यर्् ॥ १ ॥
ृ ायाव भ्याां ि प्रर्त्तदतव्यर्् । र्ातदृ ेवो भव । त्तपतदृ ेवो भव ।
देवत्तपतक
आिायव देवो भव । अत्ततत्तर्देवो भव ।
In this eleventh अिुवाक the उपत्तिषत् is conducting the
धर्व शास्त्रर्् which is contained in the वेदपवू व भाग. I have told
you very often that वेद has two portions – वेदपवू व भाग and वेद
अन्त भाग. वेदपवू व भाग is called धर्व शास्त्रर्् which deals with a
religious way of life. And by following धर्व शास्त्रर््, a religious
way of life one will get ज्ाियोनयता, a purified mind. Religion
gives a purified mind. And once a person has gone through
धर्व शास्त्रर््, i.e., a religious way of life and got purification
otherwise called साधि ितुष्टय सम्पत्ति one has to enter into
वेद अन्त भाग which is called ब्रह्मशवद्या, the philosophical
portion, the metaphysical portion of the scriptures. So we start
with religion and we transcend the religion. In fact
सन्न्यासाश्रर् represents transcendence of religious way of life.
That is why when a person takes to सन्न्यास he physically
removes everything which is associated with religious life. He
is supposed to remove the sacred thread, the tuft, a family life
which is also supposed to be a means for religious life even that
family he cuts off, in fact सन्न्यास represents transcending the
वेदपवू व , धर्व शास्त्रर््, the religious life. So this धर्व शास्त्र, the
analysis of वेदपवू व has been elaborately done by िैशमशन मिशषय
through a set of two thousand and odd सर ू s. So which is known
as पवू व र्ीर्ाांसा सरू ाशि otherwise known as धमय शिज्ञासा सर ू ाशि,
which is a very voluminous work four times bigger than ब्रह्मसर ू
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which has got just five hundred and fifty five सर ू s. ब्रह्मसरू s
have got only four chapters whereas पवू व र्ीर्ाांसा has got twelve
chapters. Thus िैशमशन मिशषय through the पवू व र्ीर्ाांसा सर ू s has
analyzed the वेदपवू व भाग and he calls it धर्व शास्त्रर््. And the
very beginning of पवू व र्ीर्ाांसा is अर्ातो धमय शिज्ञासा. And this
धर्व शास्त्र is very elaborate which consists of innumerable
rituals, it is very prominent. It consists of our attitude towards
life, our attitude towards our own body, our attitude towards our
family members, our attitude towards the creation which we
confront all the time, when it rains how should we look at it,
how should we look at the Sun, the moon, the earth, even the
insects.
श्वापदा वयाांस्या त्तपपीत्तलकाभ्य उपजीवत्तन्त तेि तेषाां लोकः ॥
बिृ दारण्यकोपत्तिषत् १-४-१६ ॥
बिृ दारण्यक talks about our attitude towards ants. Thus we have
got a series of healthy attitudes towards health, towards wealth
and towards strength. पावय शतदेवर, सरस्वतर देवर, लक्ष्मरदेवर all
these symbolize attitudes which is also part of धर्व शास्त्रर््.
Rituals make one part, attitudes make another part and the third
part is values, ethics or morals. All these three put together is
called धर्व शास्त्रर्् which is the content of वेदपवू व भाग which is
analyzed by िैशमशन through पवू व र्ीर्ाांसा सर ू ाशि. And only by
going through धर्व शास्त्रर्् a person becomes fit for ब्रह्मशास्त्रर््.
र्ोक् पुरुषार्व is impossible without धर्व पुरुषार्व , just as post-
graduation is meaningless, impossible without graduation. And
therefore the उपत्तिषत् wants to condense the धर्व शास्त्र in the
eleventh अिुवाक. So the eleventh अिुवाक is धर्व शास्त्र
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सङ्ग्रििः, पवू व र्ीर्ाांसा सङ्ग्रििः. Then the next question is when
should one study the धर्व शास्त्रर््? What is its position? Should
it be studied at the fag end of the life when I cannot do
anything? Or should it be studied after the study of वेदान्त? So
since धर्व शास्त्र is preparatory for वेदान्त it has to be before the
study of वेदान्त only. That is why I repeatedly say our schools
and colleges do not require वेदान्त, our schools and colleges
require धर्व शास्त्र. Introducing वेदान्त to them is not only
meaningless but it can be even counterproductive and
dangerous. So never talk about िरव-ईश्वर ऐक्र्म् do the
children. Children require स्वाशम-भ्ृ र् सम्बन्धिः. ईश्वर is स्वाशम,
I am a दासिः, that is what is required for children. And therefore
धर्व शास्त्र comes first. And when is it studied? The उपत्तिषत्
tells it has to be studies in ब्रह्मियाव श्रर्, in student life. Why do
we say during ब्रह्मियाव श्रर्? Why can't गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् गिृ स्र्ाश्रर्?
There is no time in गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् to study. Everybody is busy in
one form or the other. Study requires a relaxed concentrated
mind where there are no cares, no anxiety, no responsibility.
Wherever responsibility is there a relaxed mind is not possible.
Because responsibility will create stress and strain,
responsibility without stress is possible only for a ज्ञाशन. So we
are not talking about a ज्ञाशन here, as he doesn’t require all this.
We are talking about an अज्ात्ति ordinary person, and any
अज्ात्ति will have stress and strain along with responsibility.
And therefore since गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् is meant for responsibility and
the consequent inevitable anxiety and care, they said let all the
studies be in a non-गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् which is an ideal situation. It is
not that a गिृ स्र् cannot study, he too can study but it is more a
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management, not an ideal situation. A सन्न्यात्तस doesn’t have
responsibility because no relationship. Relationship means
responsibility. A सन्न्यात्तस doesn’t have any relationship and
therefore has no responsibility, therefore study is in
सन्न्यासाश्रर्. In ब्रह्मियाव श्रर् also no responsibility. Therefore
generally study is ideal in a non-responsibility आश्रर्. These are
all Vedic vision. Now this Vedic lifestyle is completely gone
haywire. We are not following the Vedic design at all. Therefore
it is all of academic interest only. वेद says in ब्रह्मियाव श्रर् itself
the study is divided into two stages. The first stage is called वेद
अध्ययि stage. अध्ययि means learning to chant the वेदs;
merely learning the words and not their meaning. So अर्व रत्तित
शब्द ग्रििर््. That is why they generally start with very early
when the child cannot think but the child can get anything by
heart very quickly because the mind of a child is a blotting
paper. It is a spongy mind. that is why if you are conversing
with your spouse you should be very careful with your words.
If you use improper words the child will also repeat the same.
Therefore every conversation of yours in the presence of the
child you must be very careful. They say when the child is two
or three years old it can absorb hundreds of words just by
listening once. It can develop vocabulary so much. Anyway that
is aside, what I want to say is ब्रह्मियाव श्रर्स्र् पवू य अवस्र्ार्ाम्
वेद अध्ययिम्. Once the child has learnt the chanting of the वेदs
thereafter in the second stage of ब्रह्मियाव श्रर् वेद र्ीर्ाांसा. What
do you mean by र्ीर्ाांसा? अर्व ग्रििर््, learning the meaning of
the वेदs. Of course by वेद र्ीर्ाांसा it is not the entire वेद but
only the वेदपवू व र्ीर्ाांसा is done. Whereas when अध्ययिम् is
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done it is both वेदपवू व and वेदान्त, it is of the complete वेद. But
the study of the meaning is only of the वेदपवू व भाग. Therefore
वेद अध्ययि अनन्तरम् वेदपवू व र्ीर्ाांसा कतय व्र्िः. This is the study
of धर्व शास्त्रर््. So these are the religious way of life, healthy
attitudes and healthy values, which are studied to implement
these into our lives and are not just for academic study. These
need not be implemented in ब्रह्मियाव श्रर् because there is
nothing much to implement. There he doesn’t meet much
people, only गुरु and a few शवद्याशर्य s. Therefore in ब्रह्मियाव श्रर्
concentration is only on theory not on practice, because there is
no scope for practice in student life. Then when they are to be
practiced? When he enters into the गिृ स्र्ाश्रर्, which is
अिुष्ठाि प्रधािर्् and not अध्ययि प्रधािर््. Whatever I have
learnt I have to try to implement. Every value I try to practice.
And once I have practiced धर्व शास्त्र or religious way of life in
गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् then I will get साधि ितुष्टय सम्पत्तिः. Therefore
according to the Vedic design entire गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् life is meant for
साधि ितुष्टय सम्पत्ति. Once a person gets साधि ितुष्टय
सम्पत्ति then गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् is no more relevant. It is like taking the
juice out of sugarcane, then cane is no more relevant. That is
why it is called आश्रर्. आश्रर् meaning only a stage in life and
not the destination. Getting a spouse is not the destination.
Getting children or grandchildren is not the destination. They
are all intermediary stages. They will come and go. Family life
is only an intermediate stage in life and not the destination.
ऋिािुबन्धरूपेि पशुपत्तत्िसुतादयः । ऋिक्ये क्यां यात्तन्त तत्र
का पररदेविा ॥ सभ
ु ात्तषत ॥
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Because of various ऋिम्s of कर्व all the people like spouse and
children come together. ऋिक्ये, when the adhesive कर्व is
gone, ऋिक्ये क्यां यात्तन्त तत्र का पररदेविा, association ends in
dissociation. Either they go away or I go away. Therefore don’t
take it as destination. It is an आश्रर्. Once साधि ितुष्टय
सम्पत्ति has come one has to withdraw from गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् धमय ,
either quite गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् and take to सन्न्यास or within the
गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् itself gradually withdrawing internally and
handover the responsibilities to the next generation so that you
can take to the second student life. Because we can’t part with
the keys. ஆவியை விட்டாலும் சாவியை விடடன் (आत्तवयै
त्तवट्टालुर्् चात्तवयै त्तवडे ि्, even if the spirit leaves I won’t part with
the key). We won’t part with the key wherever we go. That key
indicates powerful संसार. It is the symbol of संसार. Handover
it to the next generation. Then you are no more responsible then
you have got a relaxed, leisurely detached mind for वेद अन्त
र्ीर्ाांसा otherwise called ब्रह्मसत्र ू ात्ति, उपत्तिषत् पठनम्. This
Vedic design. All these are beautifully pointed out in this
eleventh अिुवाक. He says वेदर्् अिच्ू य – so a गुरु अिच्ू य, the
गुरु first teaches the student, the ब्रह्मिारर, the Vedic chanting.
अिच्ू य means वेद शब्दम् पाठशर््वा. Without teaching the
meaning just chanting the वेद. According to the rules of
chanting, which we saw in the beginning of this उपत्तिषत्
शीक्ाां व्याख्यास्यार्ः । विव ः स्वरः । र्ात्रा बलर्् । सार् सन्तािः ॥
तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् १-१-१ ॥
So observing all the six factors he has to teach the वेद. So after
completing the teaching of Vedic chanting in the first part of
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ब्रह्मियाव श्रर्. Then in the second part of ब्रह्मियाव श्रर् आिायव ः –
the very same गुरु.
आत्तििोत्तत ि शास्त्रात्ति आिारे स्र्ापयत्यत्तप । स्वयर्ािरते यस्तु
तर्ािायं प्रिक्ते/त्तवदुबव ुधाः ॥
The one who collects various शास्त्रs required for the student.
There are different students like ब्राह्मि क्त्तत्रय वैश्य. धर्व शास्त्र
is common to all but there are special professional शास्त्रs like
archery taught to a क्त्तत्रय only, अर्व शास्त्र taught to a वैश्य only.
So thus depending upon the profession he has to take later other
शास्त्रs are also to be taught. So आत्तििोत्तत – collects all the
शास्त्रs, आिारे स्र्ापयत्यत्तप – persuades the student to
rigorously follow them, implement them. Not only the teacher
persuades the student more importantly the teacher himself
practices what he preaches. The student learns more from
observation rather than the words. Therefore the teacher
becomes a model. Therefore स्वयर्ािरते यस्तु तर्ािायव म् he is
called an आिायव ः. So he teaches the धर्व शास्त्रम्, वेदपवू व र्ीर्ाांसा
शास्त्रर्् dealing with the religious ceremonies, religious way of
life, ethics as well as attitudes. This is called अिुशासिर््.
Whom does he teach? अन्तेवत्तसिर्् – a resident student. In the
गुरुकुल सम्प्रदार् the student lived with the गुरु. The children
required models for their growth. So if a generation does not
give healthy models like father, mother, teacher, then cinema
actors will become model for children. Such a society will be
terribly destroyed. Therefore if teacher has to serve as a model
the student must live with the teacher so that he can watch.
Therefore the student is called अन्तेवात्तस. अन्ते means सशमपे,
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near, closely, intimately. That means गुरु has more
responsibility. He can never be relaxed because hundred eyes
are constantly watching. Therefore he has to be extremely
careful all the time. He has privacy only in the bathroom! But
the गुरु felt comfortable because he was already leading such a
life. Therefore अन्तेवत्तसिर्् – a resident student. अिुशात्तस्त –
this is धर्व शास्त्र teaching after वेद अध्ययिर््. Some people
interpret this अिुवाक as a convocation address, but really
speaking according to शङ्करािायव this is not a convocation
address, because convocation is at the end of ब्रह्मियाव श्रर् after
धर्व शास्त्र अध्ययिर्् is over. But according to शङ्करािायव this
is not the end, it is the beginning of धर्व शास्त्र अध्ययिर््. What
is over is only the Vedic chanting part, the meaning part begins
now. This is going to be condensed and therefore the salient
features, the main things are mentioned here. First and the most
important value is सत्यां वद. सत्यम् – truthfulness, harmony
between thought and word. The integration of two organs which
represents the integration of all the organs. सवय ज्ािेत्तन्रयात्ति,
सवय कर्ेत्तन्रयात्ति all of them must be integrated, even पञ्िप्रािs
must be integrated. The practice of प्रािायार् is only for the
integration of प्राि. The practice of प्रत्यािार is for the
integration of sense organs. The practice of आसि is for the
integration of physical body. Thus र्म, शनर्म, आसि,
प्रािायार्. In गीता we saw them elaborately. So सत्यर््
represents your personality is integrated, harmonized, one
whole. And of the personality is not integrated there is a strain
in the personality, it will weaken the person. A disintegrated
personality goes to disintegration. That is why destruction is
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called disintegration. So violation of सत्यर्् is the disintegration
of personality, which will lead to both physical destruction and
spiritual destruction. Physical destruction because life will be
one of stress and stress leads to all kinds of physical problem.
And by spiritual destruction there is no possibility of spiritual
victory. Therefore र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत् said
सत्यर्ेव जयते ॥ र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत् ३-१-६ ॥
only when there is integration one can win र्ोक्. जयते means
winning र्ोक्. It is the spiritual victory that is mentioned there.
Therefore the most important value is सत्यर््. It is taken as a
sample value. Then धर्ं िर. धर्व stands for all types of religious
activities or कर्ाव त्ति. सत्यर्् stands values. धर्व stands for all the
religious कर्व s – श्रौत and स्र्ातव . In जैत्तर्त्ति’s पवू व र्ीर्ाांसा सत्र
ू s
धर्व is defined as any discipline enjoined by, commanded by the
scriptures. So धर्व is any scriptural commandment in the form
of काशर्क कमय or वाशचक कमय or मानस कमय . िर means आिर,
perform, follow, implement. धर्व is not meant for talking, but
for doing. If you merely talk धर्व , it is धर्व म् वध, killing. So it is
not meant for talking, it is meant for implementation. What are
those धर्व s? A few of them are mentioned, they are just
reminders of the actions mentioned before. स्वाध्यायात् र्ा
प्रर्दः – never neglect the scriptural study. Even if you enter
गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् you may not be able to study that seriously, i.e.,
going back and revising the notes, seeing whether I can
decipher my own handwriting, and then condensing and
rewriting and then just before coming to the next class again
reading. And revision increases as the class progresses.
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Therefore in गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् it is very difficult to revise all the
previous classes. But the teacher says even in गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् at
least allot some time; weakly one hour! Therefore र्ा प्रर्दः.
Therefore revision is important, श्रविर्् should be followed by
र्ििर््. Therefore the teacher says in गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् र्ििर्् may
not be that efficient but doesn’t matter, don’t make it zero, at
least do a little bit of revision. स्वाध्यायात् – both पारायिर्् as
well as the study of meaning you allot some time. So र्ा प्रर्दः
means don’t neglect. Then he says if धर्व शास्त्र has to be
implemented you require an appropriate infrastructure because
धर्व शास्त्र consists of पञ्िर्िायज्s and performing पञ्िर्िायज्
like देवयज्, you have to do rituals, priests are required, house
is required, then materials are required, and then some of the
oblations are to be cooked which means wife is required.
Therefore गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् alone provides the infrastructure for a
religious life. ब्रह्मियाव श्रर् and सन्न्यासाश्रर् provide the
infrastructure only for theory, only for study. For an intellectual
pursuit study ब्रह्मियाव श्रर् and सन्न्यासाश्रर् are ideal. But for
service सन्न्यासाश्रर् is unfit. That is why if a सन्न्यात्तस wants
to serve the society he cannot do. Because first manpower is
required, then money power is required. Therefore if a
सन्न्यात्तस has to do service he will have to become some kind
of a गिृ स्र्, that means he has to start an institution, then form
a trust to collect money. So if you want to serve and purify
गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् alone provides infrastructure, manpower, HRD
(human resource department). ब्रह्मिारर doesn’t have HR,
सन्न्यात्तस doesn’t have HR and therefore the teacher says after
studying धर्व शास्त्र may you get married. Then the teacher is
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worried that if the student get married he cannot give
गुरुदत्तक्िा because all the money goes to family maintenance,
therefore he says first give me गुरुदत्तक्िा and then get married
so that I am safe. Therefore आिायाव य आिायाव र्ं त्तप्रयर्् इष्टां धिर््
आहृत्य आिीय दत्त्वा त्तवद्ात्तिष्ियार्व र्् – after completing the
study you show your knowledge in front of a king or great
people, philanthropists. So as a ब्रह्मिारर he goes to a king and
chant the वेदs and he goes to great गिृ स्र्s and chant the वेदs
and for chanting the वेदs he will get lot of money. This he has
to do as a ब्रह्मिारर. And that money he has to hand over to the
गुरु. Therefore आिायाव य – to your teacher, you give धिर््
आहृत्य – money. How much? त्तप्रयर्् धिर्् – whatever be the
amount that the आिायव is pleased with, not what you like. You
may quote
पत्रां पुष्पां फलां तोयां यो र्े भक्तत्या प्रयच्छत्तत ॥ गीता ९-२६ ॥
Imagine in all offering boxes only तुलशस leaf is there, who will
run the show? Therefore पत्रां पुष्पम् has to be used appropriately.
Therefore give appropriate amount to run the गुरुकुल because
one generation gives the गुरुदत्तक्िा that alone the आिायव uses
for the next generation in our tradition knowledge is always
given free. Therefore at the end of the education this ब्रह्मिारर
has to support the गुरुकुल then he will take the next generation
of ब्रह्मिाररs and those ब्रह्मिाररs are given free teaching. Then
they will support their next generation. This is the beautiful
self-sustaining method. Therefore त्तप्रयर्् धिर्् आहृत्य.
Thereafter may you, the ब्रह्मिाररs get married. This we have to
supply. What is the purpose of marriage? प्रजातन्तुां प्रजासांतािां
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र्ा व्यवच्छे त्सीः – may you not break your कुलपरम्परा, because
धर्व शास्त्र is maintained through कुलपरम्परा alone. This we
have seen elaborately in the first chapter of गीता.
कुलक्ये प्रिश्यत्तन्त कुलधर्ाव ः सिातिाः ।
धर्े िष्टे कुलां कृत्स्िर्धर्ोऽत्तभभवत्युत ॥ गीता १-४० ॥
So a religious way of life always taught by the parents alone.
The child imbibes the basic values like faith in the वेदs. The
faith in the वेदs is not a logical phenomenon. You can never
logically prove that the वेदs are valid. Therefore one has to
develop in वेदs. Therefore before thinking starts you create an
atmosphere in which the parents respect the वेदs, र्िात्र्ाs,
सन्न्यात्तसs, temples. Then the children observe that and these
important values should be learnt within the first five years. It
is very difficult to inculcate later. Within five to seven years the
child’s mind is like wet clay. So whatever things are not logic
based they all have to be imbibed within those years. Faith in
the वेदs because वेद is dealing with something which is beyond
the realm of logic. वेद is not a scientific thing. And therefore
the value for that has to be developed when the mind is pliable.
That is why even when the नामकरिम् is done he says
वेदोऽसीत्तत,
अर्ास्य िार् करोत्तत वेदोऽसीत्तत तदस्य तद्गुह्यर्ेव िार् भवत्तत ॥
बिृ दारण्यकोपत्तिषत् ६-४-२६ ॥
Vedic मन्रs are uttered all the time, one function or the other
वेद मन्रs are chanted. Therefore family alone gives religious
value to the child. Therefore if religious values should thrive
family life should be strong. In whichever society family is
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broken religious life will disintegrate. In any society family is
weaker, divorce is stronger, religious life will gradually
disintegrate. Because religious life has to be imbibed in very
early age and that can be done only by the parents. Therefore
family life is extremely important according to our scriptures
and therefore the teacher tells the student may you get married
for the perpetuation of religious lifestyle. प्रजातन्तुर््, तन्तुर््
means परम्परा, the lineage. र्ा व्यवच्छे त्सीः – may you not
break. That means may you get married and also beget children.
We have seen before
प्रजा ि स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि । प्रजिश्च स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि ।
प्रजात्ततश्च स्वाध्यायप्रवििे ि ।
पि
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We have entered into the eleventh अिुवाक शीक्ावल्ली
in which the उपत्तिषत् is talking about the two stages of
ब्रह्मियाव श्रर् life. In ब्रह्मियाव श्रर् or student life the first part of
life is dedicated to learn the Vedic chanting because chanting is
as important as the meaning is. Primarily in those days वेद was
not in a written form, it was purely transferred from mouth to
head, in the किय परम्परा it was coming. Therefore they never
had any choice other than learning by heart. Moreover Vedic
chanting itself is supposed to be a पुण्र्कमय which is called
स्वाध्याय र्ज्ञिः which we saw in the fourth chapter of the गीता.
स्वाध्यायज्ाियज्ाश्च यतयः सांत्तशतव्रताः ॥ गीता ४-२८ ॥
This Vedic chanting has the capacity to purify the mind of the
chanter and not only the chanter even those people who hear
the वेद िब्द they are supposed to get the benefit. Not only the
other people who hear but the very society or the nation is
supposed to get the benefit out of वेद िब्द and that is why Vedic
chanting is always called वेद घोषिः. They don’t use the word
पाठिः, they use word घोषिः which means it is a loud chanting
done by a big group of Vedic chanters or वैशदकs. And why do
they make into a घोषिः? Because it is supposed to purify,
harmonize even the very environment. So even the plants and
trees are supposed to grow better when they listen to वेद िब्द.
Therefore learning to chant the वेदs was first part of ब्रह्मियाव श्रर्
which is called अध्ययिर्् and the second part of ब्रह्मियाव श्रर् is
वेद र्ीर्ाांसा, i.e., learning the meaning. And when they learn the
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meaning of the वेदs they study only the meaning of वेदपवू व भाग
वेद अन्त र्ीर्ाांसा is not done; वेदपवू व र्ीर्ाांसा is studied. As we
saw in the last class वेदपवू व र्ीर्ाांसा stands for धर्व शास्त्रम् which
consists of rituals, attitudes and values. And this धर्व शास्त्रम् is
condensed in the eleventh अिुवाक. वेदर्् अिच्ू य – after the
teaching of Vedic chanting आिायव ः अन्तेवात्तसिम् अिुशात्तस्त –
he teaches the meaning of the वेदपवू व भाग. It consists of सत्यां
वद which represents all the values and attitudes. So सत्यर््
represents all the values to be followed and the attitudes to be
cultivated. In fact learning to looking at the universe as the body
of the Lord is the most unique aspect of वैशदक धमय . In most of
the other religions God is outside the world, seated somewhere,
and therefore they create a clean division between God and
world. God is divine, world is secular. This is called तटस्र्िः
ईश्वर वादिः, technically, whereas the uniqueness of Vedic
teaching is we don’t want to create a division between God and
world because the teaching is God Himself is manifesting as the
world as we are seeing now in the eleventh chapter. Therefore
before we die we should cultivate an attitude by which
everything I should see as divine. As स्वाशम दर्ानन्दशि
beautifully says we don’t have secular sacred division at all
because everything is sacred for us. This is one of the most
fundamental attitudes to be cultivated. In fact it is a life-long
attempt. Even when we see a cockroach that attitude should be
there. You handle it differently, that is a different thing, but
भावना. It is a wonderful भावना. So this is भावना and दैवर
सम्पत् both are represented by the word सत्यर््. Then धर्ं िर
represents all the ritualistic aspects – श्रौत स्र्ातव कमाय शि सवाय शि
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अशप धमय िब्देन शनशदय श्र्न्ते. Therefore don’t criticize the
rituals, rituals are extremely important. And emphasizing the
rituals don’t neglect the values. Values are equally important.
There should be a balance between religious life and also ethics.
Both are important. And generally those who follow the values
criticize the rituals, those who follow the rituals they don’t
criticize the values but they generally neglect the values. Both
are equally important. Who says? The उपत्तिषत् says सत्यां वद
धर्ं िर. Then स्वाध्यायात् र्ा प्रर्दः – whatever you have studied
in the ब्रह्मियाव श्रर् you tend to forget because forgetfulness is
one faculty which we have in plenty. Very efficient faculty is
forgetfulness. Therefore when we read the scriptures we are
inspired and it lasts for a couple of days and then we are back
to square one. Therefore the teacher says to maintain the
inspiration you should be in touch with शास्त्र. So either you
have regular स्सङ्ग with मिा्माs or may you have indirect
स्सङ्ग by reading their words, their scriptures. So
स्वाध्यायात् र्ा प्रर्दः – never neglect the scriptural study.
Thereafter he said आिायाव य त्तप्रयां धिर्ाहृत्य प्रजातन्तुां र्ा
व्यवच्छे त्सीः. For whatever you have received from the आिायव
you have to pay back in the form of गुरुदत्तक्िा because nothing
can be received freely. Like the American slogan ‘there is no
free lunch.’ But what the scriptures say is the गुरु should not
stipulate the दत्तक्िा, he should not insist upon दत्तक्िा, he
should not fix the contract rate. गुरु is not supposed to ask, but
even without गुरु asking शिष्र् is supposed to give दत्तक्िा. And
without दत्तक्िा if you get any benefit that benefit that activity
is considered to be तामशसक activity.
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त्तवत्तधिीिर्सष्ट
ृ ान्िां र्न्त्रिीिर्दत्तक्िर्् ॥ गीता १७-१३ ॥
अदत्तक्िर्् – without दत्तक्िा if you get any benefit
श्रद्ात्तवरत्तितां यज्ां तार्सां पररिक्ते ॥ गीता १७-१३ ॥
Even if you borrow music cassette from someone and then you
want a copy and you don’t buy from the shop but you copy that
which is both illegal and immoral because you are getting a
benefit of music and you are not proportionately compensating.
And therefore it is अदत्तक्िा cassette. And according to शास्त्र
anything अदत्तक्िर्् is incomplete कमय because दत्तक्िा is one
अङ्गम् of activity. Even if somebody gives you a free book you
should not receive anything free, you have to pay. And even if
somebody gives you free you calculate the money and give that
money as donation to some institution or temple donation box
or charitable institution. You have got something and you have
not paid back, it is a ऋिम्. And we should never have any
ऋिम्.
ऋिात्ति त्रीण्यपाकृत्य र्िो र्ोक्े त्तिवेशयेत् । अिपाकृत्य र्ोक्ां तु
सेवर्ािो व्रजत्यधः ॥ र्िुस्र्त्तृ तः ६-३५ ॥
A mind with ऋिम् is an impure mind according to शास्त्र.
Therefore there should not any debt left. Therefore the उपत्तिषत्
says give whatever is to be given to the गुरु as per your
capacity. Generally आिायव will be pleased with anything. So
आिायाव य त्तप्रयां धिर्ाहृत्य thereafter what should you do? You
have completed the ब्रह्मियाव श्रर् duty, your education is over
then you have to decide the future course of action. What are
the different courses available at the end of education?
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According to शास्त्र a person should always belong to one
आश्रर् or the other.
अिाश्रर्ी ि त्ततष्ठे त क्िर्े कर्त्तप त्तद्वजः । आश्रर्ेि त्तविा त्ततष्ठि्
प्रायत्तश्चिीयते त्ति सः ॥ दक्स्र्त्तृ तः १-१० ॥
He should not be outside the fold of the four आश्रर्s. Because
if I am outside the fold of the four आश्रर्s – ब्रह्मियाव श्रर्
गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् वािप्रस्र्ाश्रर् सन्न्यासाश्रर्, if I am an अिाश्रर्ी,
without any designation then without designation my duty
cannot be identified. In a company your duties are determined
by your designation. So you should have a portfolio or
designation and therefore here also would you like to continue
as a ब्रह्मिारर. शास्त्र allows, he can be a permanent ब्रह्मिारर and
he can stay in the गुरुकुल permanently and help the आिायव . If
that is the decision he has to take a special vow called नैशष्ठक
ब्रह्मचर्य व्रतम्. So भीष्र् is considered to be a नैशष्ठक ब्रह्मिारर,
आञ्िनेर् is supposed to be a नैशष्ठक ब्रह्मिारर, he has to take
the व्रतम् like that. He should not misuse that व्रतम्. He has to
serve the teacher and help in managing the आश्रर् affairs.
Otherwise if he has decided to put an end to ब्रह्मियाव श्रर् he has
three options – either he should become a गिृ स्र् or he should
become a वािप्रस्र् or he should become a सन्न्यात्तस. He can
become any one of the three. If he chooses to become a
सन्न्यात्तस he should go to गुरुकुल again for वेद अन्त शवचार.
Because as a ब्रह्मिारर he did वेदपवू व शवचार, he has to again enter
the आश्रर्वास for उिर र्ीर्ाांसा शवचार. But this is considered as
an exceptional course. From ब्रह्मियव to सन्न्यास is generally
considered an exceptional course of action. The general course
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of action is ब्रह्मियव to गिृ स्र्ाश्रर्. Why the उपत्तिषत् considers
the गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् as a regular thing. Because in गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् alone
कर्व योग can be practiced as it has the infrastructure for the
कर्व s. The primary infrastructure is money. In all the other three
आश्रर्s one should not possess money. ब्रह्मिारर cannot have
bank account, neither a वािप्रस्र् nor a सन्न्यात्तस according to
Vedic vision. Without money what कर्व can be done? To
perform any one of the पञ्िर्िायज् you require money. And
therefore प्रजातन्तुां र्ा व्यवच्छे त्सीः – may you enter गिृ स्र्ाश्रर्
and start your पञ्िर्िायज्. Start your life of values and
incidentally you can fulfill your personal desires also. You can
fulfill your काम, and your अर्व , your desire for possession. All
your worldly desires in a legitimate manner may you fulfill by
entering into गिृ स्र्ाश्रर्. गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् is धर्व प्रधान and also अर्व
कार् can be fulfilled. Therefore प्रजातन्तुां र्ा व्यवच्छे त्सीः. Upto
this we saw in the last class.
Then once you have entered into the गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् don’t
forget the values and attitudes. They are not for ब्रह्मिाररs only,
they are for गिृ स्र्s also. Therefore he reminds सत्यात् ि
प्रर्त्तदतव्यम् – may you not neglect your commitment to the
values. The primary value being स्र्म् which represents all the
values and attitudes. Here स्र्म् means the स्र्म् of धर्व शास्त्र
which is speaking the truth, verbal discipline. स्र्म् of वेदान्त
शास्त्र is सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् अिन्तर्् ब्रह्म. धर्ाव त् ि प्रर्त्तदतव्यर्् –
may you not neglect the religious way of living. Mere values
are not sufficient. Religious following is important which starts
from getting up before sunrise, the first religious discipline.
Because according to religious rules Sun represents God and
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sunrise is arrival of God to the earth to bless us. And since the
sun is coming for our benefit you cannot lie down, you have to
get up, preferably you should have finished your bath, and you
should have prayer. So get up early in the morning and start the
day with prayer. And again before you eat your food that prayer
all of them will come under the religious activity, आिारिः. So
may you not neglect that religious way of life. Apply the
religious mark on the forehead. Now that is all becoming out of
fashion; people neglect. That is also considered to be important
to reminder that God is in you and in me which is indicated by
our way of greeting also, the two hands representing the two
जीवs, both of us are essentially one and the same,
ईश्वरस्वरूपर््. These are all Vedic culture which cannot be
neglected. Therefore may you follow. Then कुशलात्
आत्र्रक्ार्ाव त्कर्व िः ि प्रर्त्तदतव्यर्् – may you not neglect your
own well-being. Very important advice. In the name of serving
the society you need not and you should not neglect your own
personal interests. वेदs never says you fast and give the food to
the others. No. वेदs says just as you have a duty to the society,
you also have a duty to your own body. Therefore take care of
the body, feed the body the appropriate time, give rest to the
body.
युक्तािारत्तविारस्य युक्तिेष्टस्य कर्व सु ।
युक्तस्वप्िावबोधस्य योगो भवत्तत दुःखिा ॥ गीता ६-१७ ॥
Therefore in the name of the service to the world you need not
neglect or torture your body. Because भगवाि् has given you
this र्िुष्य जन्र् to attain र्ोक्. The body is not merely to serve
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the society, serving the society is part of your own growth. And
having served the society sufficiently you should be able to get
त्तििशुत्तद् and having got the त्तििशुत्तद्, you should withdraw
from the social service also. If you are going to serve the society
lifelong when are you going to get Self-knowledge? Therefore
in the name of service, don’t forget your duty to yourself. After
getting ज्ािर्् and र्ोक् then you have no more duty to yourself.
Having attained र्ोक् you can dedicate the entire life for
लोकसङ्ग्रि. But until I get आत्र्ज्ािर्् I should remember I
have a duty to myself. Who says? The वेदs says. कुशलात् ि
प्रर्त्तदतव्यर्् – never neglect your own personal interests. So
therefore being selfish is not wrong; being selfish at the cost of
the other people alone is criticized. Otherwise keeping a part of
your earning for your own family and well-being is your duty.
Then भत्ू यै भत्ू यर्ाव न्र्ङ्गलयुक्तात्कर्व िः ि प्रर्त्तदतव्यर्् – never
neglect the acquisition of wealth. Money is very important.
लक्ष्र्ी देवी is very important. That is why we have a special िोम
for money.
आविन्ती त्तवतन्वािा । कुवाव िा िीरर्ात्र्िः वासाांत्तस र्र् गावश्च ।
अन्िपािे ि सवव दा । ततो र्े त्तश्रयर्ावि ॥ तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् १-४-२
॥
श्र means लक्ष्र्ी देवी. Vote for लक्ष्र्ी. Because through लक्ष्र्ी
alone you reach सरस्वती. Should I work for earning plenty of
money? Never have such a doubt. Earn plenty, but mere earning
plenty is not enough, give in plenty also. We never are against
earning, we only say when you earn alone and there is no
proportionate sharing that earning is called लोभः, greed. There
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is nothing wrong in ambition, there is nothing wrong in desiring
wealth, but the acquisition becomes a लोभ only when it is one
way traffic. More you earn, the more you should share also.
Because as the Vedic vision goes the other three आश्रर्s are
dependent on गिृ स्र्’s earnings. ब्रह्मिारर गुरुकुलम् depends
upon गिृ स्र्’s donation. All the सन्न्यात्तसs activity depends
upon गिृ स्र्’s donation. Therefore one गिृ स्र् has to cater to
three आश्रर्s. ब्रह्मियव वािप्रस्र् and सन्न्यात्तस. Therefore the
other three आश्रर्s will never discourage you because they
themselves have dependent on your earnings. Earn well, and
donate after keeping for yourself. So what a beautiful Vedic
vision! And therefore may you earn. While discussing
आविन्ती िोर्, I told you about the importance of money in four
to five statements. I will remind you. धिां कर्ाव र्वर्् – money is
meant for noble service and not for private entertainment only.
Entertainment should be there, but not for that alone but by
sharing through पञ्िर्िायज्s. कर्व means पञ्िर्िायज्s,
कर्व योग. (शङ्करािायव writes in his commentary धिां ि
कर्ाव र्वर््; कर्व ि उपािदुररतक्यार्व र््; तत्क्ये त्ति त्तवद्ा प्रकाशते).
कर्व ः त्तििशुद्ध्र्र्य म् – only when you do कर्व through wealth
you will get purity. The teacher will talk about दािर्् later.
Through दािर्् you will get purity of mind. त्तििशुत्तद्ः ज्ािार्व र््
and ज्ािर्् र्ोक्ार्व र््. So धिां कर्ाव र्वर््, कर्व ः त्तििशुद्ध्र्र्य ,
त्तििशुत्तद्ः ज्ािार्व , ज्ािर्् र्ोक्ार्व र््, मोक्षिः आनन्दार्य म्
आ्मानन्दार्य म्. मोक्ष is for आत्र्न्येवात्र्िा तुशष्टिः. आिन्द is
for आनन्दार्य म्. Because everybody ultimately seeks आिन्द
which is the परर्पुरुषार्व . लक्ष्र्ी देवी directly don’t help in
getting मोक्ष, remember to come to सरस्वती देवी you have to
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go through लक्ष्र्ी देवी. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् says भत्ू यै ि
प्रर्त्तदतव्यर््. भशू त means prosperity. Then स्वाधायप्रवििाभ्याां
ि प्रर्त्तदतव्यर्् – so in and through all of them scriptural study
is important. Otherwise you will earn and will never spend
which is dangerous. Anything stagnant is sickening. Stagnant
food produces extra weight. Stagnant money also creates
problem in the society. Therefore if only you study the
scriptures they will encourage you to give and therefore you
should keep in touch with the scriptures. स्वाध्याय means
learning, प्रविि means teaching; may you not neglect. These
are all reminding the पञ्िर्िायज्s only. Then देवत्तपतक ृ ायाव भ्याां
ि प्रर्त्तदतव्यर्् – never neglect worship of God. is essential.
भागवतर्् gives a beautiful example. When you want to nourish
a tree you pour water only at its root. Even though you want the
water, the nourishment to go to every cell of the tree, you don’t
pour water all over the tree, you only pour the water at the root.
Because you know what is given to the root will ultimately go
to every cell in an invisible manner. I don’t see the water travel
but I know that it reaches. Similarly, the whole universe is a tree
and there are so many needy people all over the world. So
people suffering without enough food, without enough
medicine. If you as an individual have to help every individual
in the world it is practically impossible. I cannot serve my city,
serving the whole world is out of question. Therefore the वेद
prescribes a method. Serve or contribute to the root of this
universal tree. What is the root of this tree?
ऊध्वव र्ल
ू र्धःशाखर्श्वत्र्ां प्रािु रव्ययर्् ॥ गीता १५-१ ॥
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ईश्वर, the Lord is the root of the universal tree. Therefore
regularly when you do पि ू ा to the Lord without asking anything
for yourself just praying
सवे भवन्तु सुत्तखिः । सवे सन्तु त्तिरार्याः । सवे भरात्ति पश्यन्तु
। र्ा कत्तश्चत् दुःख भानभवेत् ॥
With a simple and deep prayer some नैवेद्यम् or even a spoonful
of water that offering will go to the entire universe. But I don’t
see. You won’t see. Just as the water reaches the whole tree
without your seeing similarly whatever is offered in the form of
देवयज् will help. Anywhere war, terrorist attack or earthquake,
so many people are dying and suffering, so many orphans are
there whom I cannot help at all, but sincere two minute पि ू ा
you do will reach everyone. And therefore देवकार्य म् is
important, never neglect your daily prayers come what may.
And this is a double-fold कर्व , it will reach the whole world and
in the process you are purifying the mind. Because we ask what
benefit do I get from it. For that two-minute पज ू ा which you are
offering to the whole creation, not only human beings, but all
the living beings, it will certainly bless every ant, and not only
that in the process you mind gets ready for ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली, the
second chapter of तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत्. Therefore it is a very
significant साधि, ‘don’t neglect’ वेद warns. So देवकार्य म्.
Similarly, त्तपतकृ ार्य म् – the worship of the ancestors in the form
of श्राद्, तपव ि etc., which is also extremely important because
it goes to all the ancestors even if they are reborn it will reach
them in an appropriate way. And even if they don’t require your
offering there are so many other ancestors who don’t have
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children who will not get the offering. Therefore my general
offering will go to even the other ancestors. And worst of worst
even if it doesn’t benefit any forefathers doesn’t matter that कर्व
purifies my mind. So whether the offering goes to the ancestors
or not I am getting त्तििशुत्तद्. It is like offering to God. Is God
going to be fed by me with this miserable smallest banana that
I am offering? No. so I am offering to the Lord not because the
Lord needs but it is for my growth. Similarly श्राद्, तपव ि
whether the त्तपतsृ require or not is not the question. They might
have been even liberated. Even if they don’t require I require
those कर्व s for my त्तििशुत्तद् and therefore may you not neglect
them for your own spiritual growth. Therefore देवकार्य म् means
देवयज्, त्तपतकृ ार्य म् means त्तपतयृ ज्. ि प्रर्त्तदतव्यर्् means don’t
neglect. So पञ्िर्िायज्s have been mentioned and also ethics
or values have been mentioned in the form of सत्यम्. Now in
the following portion the उपत्तिषत् talks about the attitude.
What should be your भावना towards other beings starting from
your own parents. Because a child is first and foremost exposed
to the parents alone. If there itself there is an attitudinal problem
then I am not going to be successful when I come out in the
world. Therefore the scriptures tell us how I should look upon
my parents. र्ातदृ ेवः भव – may you look upon your mother as
God Himself. देवः means ईश्वरिः. May you invoke God upon
your mother. No doubt mother is not God. Even though
essentially everyone is God, that is a different thing. Mother is
not God in the sense mother has got her own personal
limitations, weaknesses etc. So irrespective of the nature of the
mother, irrespective of the character of the mother your attitude
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should be that she deserves worship, िर्स्कार. Because
िर्स्कार is done not to the mother but िर्स्कार is done to the
Lord who is invoked in the mother, like offering िर्स्कार to
the temple idol, which is only an inert stone. An inert stone
doesn’t deserve a िर्स्कार as it doesn’t even know that I am
doing िर्स्कार. Then to what I am doing िर्स्कार? Not to the
stone but to the Lord who has been invoked in the stone. I salute
the country which is invoked in the flag. Similarly learn to
invoke God in your mother and then consequently develop a
reverential attitude. Therefore may mother be a goddess. Then
what about father? The उपत्तिषत् says त्तपतदृ ेवः भव – may you
develop a reverential attitude towards your father also
irrespective of his limitations. Because father is also a human
being and that too generally an अज्ञाशन human being, Very
rarely we find a ज्ात्ति father, and therefore an अज्ञाशन will have
his own राग-िेष and in bringing up the child also there may be
certain deficiencies. Therefore never judge and argue or think
that your father has not brought you up properly. In some
countries they sue the father also. See to what a state it has gone
to! So I have got all the psychological problems because you
took care of the brother more than me. So poor father can bring
up only to the best of his knowledge and he himself has been a
victim of his father’s misbringing up. And therefore the
problems are परम्परा problems. Whether वेदान्त comes
through परम्परा or not, psychological problems are generally
transferred. And therefore the father might have had his own
problems, but there is sincerity. And therefore never find fault
with the parents; have a reverential attitude. Then the next one
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is आिायव देवः भव. In the few years the intense contact is with
the mother and then the next level of contact is with the father.
The psychology, the mind is developed based on the type of
relationship. Healthy child-mother relationship gives a healthy
mind. Then the healthy child-father relationship gives again
more healthy mind. And the next significant relationship is
child-teacher relationship. These are the three basic
relationships. In psychology they call significant other person.
That means there are so many other people in my life but certain
people are very significant people who contribute to my
psychological growth. And the significant others are here three
र्ाता, शपता and गुरु. If these three relationships are healthy the
child becomes a mature one. If in any one of them there is
deficiency they say the child faces psychological problems. So
in single parent child there are certain problems they say, and
in college the teachers are not alright there are problems they
say. Now the psychologists also are recognizing the importance
of these three fundamental relationships. बिृ दारण्यकोपत्तिषत्
says
यर्ा र्ातर् ृ ाि् त्तपतर् ृ ाि् आिायव वाि् ब्रय
ू ात् ॥
बिृ दारण्यकोपत्तिषत् ४-१-२ ॥
If a person has got these three relationships properly that person
is a healthy individual, reliable individual. Somebody told me
recently that in countries like America when they are recruiting
the employees they are also interested in knowing the stability
of their family. If their parents have got very highly fluid and
unstable relationship it seems the child also got an unsteady
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mind. Therefore he won’t survive in the company for long. And
therefore they are asking for his background also. In our
tradition they ask to do अत्तभवादये which is to introduce कुल,
गोत्र etc. Even for marriage people ask for कुल, गोत्र etc. So
nowadays a man and a woman fell for the first sight and they
tie the knot and becomes a naughty few. So people ask why
should you going for parentage कुल, गोत्र etc., because
America started. If they do we start imitating, because America
is model for us now. So the mind depends upon the family
stability. In कठोपत्तिषत् also
त्तत्रिात्तिकेतत्तस्त्रत्तभरे त्य सत्तन्धां त्तत्रकर्व कृिरत्तत जन्र्र्त्ृ यू ॥
कठोपत्तिषत् १-१-१७ ॥
A mature human being is one who has got these three
relationship in an ideal manner. Therefore may you develop a
proper attitude towards your teacher. How should you look
upon your teacher. आिायव देवः भव – may you look upon your
गुरु as God Himself.
गुरुब्रव ह्मा ग्रुरुत्तववष्िुः गुरुदेवो र्िे श्वरः ॥
So this is the third attitude. All these things come under
attitudes, the way you look upon them. स्र्म् and all will come
under values. The fourth one is अत्ततत्तर्देवःभव – may you look
upon अत्ततत्तर् as God. So this is an attitude which was very much
relevant in the Vedic society. Nowadays this is very much non-
relevant attitude. But you have to appreciate it based on the
concept of Vedic society. In the Vedic society when people
travelled for pilgrimages etc., – and especially to काशि etc.,
they have to travel for weeks and months together, even two
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generation before this sort of travelling was there, and not only
that often they take leave of the family because they were not
even sure if they would come back, – they have to stay
somewhere for night and they have eat food also. And in the
Vedic society food cannot be sold and hotels also were not there
to sell the food. So the practice is when the night falls in
whichever village I am I am supposed to take shelter in that
village in some house or the other. And you will find that the
village homes are also built with verandas which were neither
inside nor outside the house. That means there was a shelter
where a person can sleep without disturbing the privacy of the
family. And for the food that family will feed.
ि कञ्िि वसतौ प्रत्यािक्ीत । तद्व्रतर्् । तस्र्ाद्या कया ि
त्तवधया बह्वन्िां प्राप्िुयात् ॥ तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् ३-१०-१ ॥
So a family has to feed and also give shelter. And this person
being a pilgrim he is not at all known to the family. Therefore
the first qualification for an अत्ततत्तर् was he is totally unknown.
The second thing he arrives to the house without any prior
notice. It is no appointment at all. So without appointment an
unknown person comes for shelter. Then what should he do?
According to our approach whenever we don’t plan something
and it happens by itself we look upon it as God’s will. And the
अत्ततत्तर् is without our planning and therefore the शास्त्रs say it
is decided by God. The pilgrim also did not decide and this
family also did not decide but they come together, therefore it
must be God’s will. And therefore God has sent that अत्ततत्तर् to
your house and therefore feed him and give shelter. And you
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need not worry also because since he is a pilgrimage he won’t
stay for long. Because he is on the move, he doesn’t have a
second night, he is only for one night. ि त्तवद्ते त्तद्वतीया त्ततत्तर्ः
यस्य, the one who does not stay for more than one night.
Therefore he is also safe you also are safe. You have to put up
with that person for only a night. So this was the arrangement
of the Vedic society. Therefore for a day when you are serving
him you treat him like God. And this comes under र्िुष्ययज्ः.
Looking upon र्िुष्य अत्ततत्तर् as भगवान् Himself. This was very
much necessary but nowadays it is neither necessary nor
practical because the days have changed. An unknown person
previously was looked upon as God now an unknown person is
seen as con man. More in the next class.
पि
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In the eleventh अिुवाक of शीक्ावल्ली the उपत्तिषत् is
presenting a summary of धमय िास्त्र which everybody is
supposed to learn during education and which one is supposed
to follow during गिृ स्र्ाश्रर् life. And धमय िास्त्रम् consisted of
three things.
1) Religious life which involves religious activities or
rituals like पि
ू ा etc.
2) Values or ethics.
3) Attitudes or भावना.
So कमय , दैवर सम्पत् and भावना all these three are
integral part of धमय िास्त्रम् and there is no question of option
among the three, all the three are considered equally important.
And some of the rituals and some values and some essential
attitudes are mentioned in this eleventh अिुवाक. The rituals
mentioned were देवत्तपतक ृ ायाव भ्याां ि प्रर्त्तदतव्यर््,
स्वाध्यायप्रवििाभ्याां ि प्रर्त्तदतव्यर््, these lines indicate the
ritualistic portion of धमय िास्त्र. And then the उपत्तिषत् talked
about some of the important values also सत्यां वद, स्र्म् being
the most important value. And then some attitudes were also
given which we are seeing now. र्ातदृ ेवो भव त्तपतदृ ेवो भव
आिायव देवो भव and अत्ततत्तर्देवो भव. All these four indicate our
attitude. So you look upon your parents as देवता or god himself.
Even though we know that they are human beings, even though
we know that they have got their own limitation and दोषs, you
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are supposed to look upon them as ईश्वर or god. The next one
is आिायव देवो भव. आिायव is also a human being and therefore
he will also have his own limitation but still we invoke the Lord
in the आिायव and look upon आिायव as god himself. And not
only the आिायव of the spiritual science even the teacher of the
other material sciences like mathematics or chemistry or
language or music or dance. On शविर्दिशम day we have the
practice of offering prostrations to even लौशकक गुरु. So that is
आिायव देवो भव. The last one in the list that was introduced in
the last class was अत्ततत्तर्देवो भव. अत्ततत्तर् means a guest. May
you look upon your guest as God Himself. This entertainment
of guest was required in the Vedic society because when they
travel during pilgrimage there is no other way but taking shelter
in some house. And since neither the guest plans nor the host
plans but it just happens we take it as the will of God and
whoever comes by the will of God is the representative of God.
This is the idea. Therefore अत्ततत्तर् is treated as God with षोडि
उपचार. Even though it was perfectly required in the Vedic
society now the times have changed and therefore we cannot
blindly follow this particular injunction. Because it can lead to
problems also. according to scriptural definitions अत्ततत्तर् is one
who is totally often unknown. Because he travels and he
happens to come he is an unknown person, that is condition
number one. And the second is since it is not preplanned he is
without an appointment. These are the two important
conditions. But if you are going to follow those two conditions
now we have problem. The unknown person has become the
greatest threat nowadays including स्वाशम. Every other day we
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read in the newspaper about the con man. And therefore
nowadays we cannot follow and fortunately we need not
become the अत्ततत्तर् of someone because the facilities are
available like hotels etc. Previously hotels were not there, food
was never sold, and not only that you cannot have
preappointments because communication facilities like email,
internet, telephone and cellphone all those were not there. Now
why should I enforce myself on someone. And therefore we
also need not become somebodies अत्ततत्तर् and they also cannot
entertain because now the family is different like small house
etc. In the olden days it was joint family system which means
several ladies were there constantly cooking and feeding. Now
both of them are working and you land in most inconvenient
time, becoming अत्ततत्तर् often becomes शिंसा to the host. And
therefore अत्ततत्तर्देवो भव we can take only as an academic
interest. Now you don’t become or if you want to become go
with advance notice and see whether they are interested in
entertaining you. Somebody said it seems
असारे खलु सांसारे सारां श्वशुरर्त्तन्दरर्् । क्ीराब्धौ ि िररः शेते िरः
शेते त्तिर्ालये ॥
So in the world where everything is difficult, असारे , there is
only one place which is very good. What is that? सारां
श्वशुरर्त्तन्दरर्् – living in the father-in-law’s house. Because
you can be a respected guest. What is the example? Look at the
शिव. Where does he live permanently? In the त्तिर्ालयs which
is the father of पावय शत. Therefore शिव is permanently living in
father-in-law’s house. What about शवष्िु? He also follow the
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same way. शवष्िु is permanently residing in क्ीरसागरिः. And
what is क्ीरसागरिः? The father of लक्ष्मर. लक्ष्र्ीं क्ीरसर्ुर
राजतियाम्. लक्ष्मर was born out of सर्ुर. Just as शवष्िु and शिव
permanently live similarly this person also become of his in-
laws it seems. And he tried for somedays and he had a very
bitter experience and then he wrote another verse. Advising all
other people don’t follow this. He says
श्वशुर गिृ त्तिवासः स्वगव तुल्यो िरािार्् । यत्तद वसत्तत त्तववेकी पञ्ि
वा षि् त्तदिािी ॥
It is very good to live in father-in-law’s house, it is like स्वगव
तुल्यः. But what is the rule? । यत्तद वसत्तत त्तववेकी पञ्ि वा षि्
त्तदिािी if you are very intelligent don’t extend your stay too
much. Just five six days only.
दत्तधर्धुघतृ वजं र्ासर्े कां वसार्ः । तदुपरर त्तदिर्ेकां
पादरत्तक्प्रयोगः ॥
If you stay there beyond five-six days there will be a change in
the way of treatment. Initially it will be curds then it will change
to buttermilk, then thereafterwards no ghee, no honey,
दत्तधर्धुघतृ वजव म्, र्ासर्ेकम् you can pull for a month, तदुपरर
त्तदिर्ेकम् afterwards if you stay even one day extra
पादरत्तक्प्रयोगः you will be bashed with slippers. So therefore
don’t unnecessarily become somebody’s अत्ततत्तर् without proper
notice and even if you are an अत्ततत्तर् एकशस्मन् शदने only, unless
they request to stay more number of days. Therefore this value
of अत्ततत्तर्देवो भव is only for Vedic society and not for the
present society. Continuing;
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यान्यिवद्ात्ति कर्ाव त्ति । तात्ति सेत्तवतव्यात्ति । िो इतरात्ति ।
यान्यस्र्ाकगँ सुिररतात्ति । तात्ति त्वयोपास्यात्ति ॥ २ ॥
िो इतरात्ति । ये के िास्र्च्रे यागँसो ब्राह्मिाः । तेषाां त्वयासिेि
प्रश्वत्तसतव्यर्् ।
So the eleventh अिुवाक continues; it is a very long one.
Here the teacher gives a very piece of advice which we have to
carefully note. For learning धमय िास्त्र what is the right way of
living, what is proper and improper action. We have got three
sources of knowledge or three प्रर्ािर््s with regard to धमय and
अधमय , with regard to the do’s and don’ts. This is said in our
tradition itself. What are the three sources of धमय ज्ािर््?
1) The वेदs or श्ुशतग्रन्र्s are the original and primary
source of धमय . वेदोऽत्तखलो धर्व र्ल ू र्् – the entire वेद is the source
of धमय िास्त्र, righteous living. And especially the वेदपवू व भाग is
considered धर्व र्ल ू र््. र्ल
ू र्् means प्रर्ािर््.
2) Then the next source of धमय िास्त्र is all the स्र्त्तृ तग्रन्र्s
known as the secondary scriptures. What are these स्र्त्तृ तग्रन्र्s?
They are the works written by various ऋशषs and आचार्य s. And
their uniqueness is they are not the invention of those आचार्य s
but they are based on the Vedic teaching. Therefore all the
स्र्त्तृ तग्रन्र्s also are based on the श्ुशत alone. Only the words
belong to the आचार्य s but the content are paraphrasing of the
Vedic teaching only. So where certain values are given in
abstract form in the स्र्त्तृ तग्रन्र्s through various stories they are
elaborated and concretized. Because when values are taught
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through stories it will have an audio-visual impact. Therefore
स्र्त्तृ तs are elaboration of श्ुशतs. And there are certain places
where the values are not openly mentioned, explicitly
mentioned, they are all hidden, just as butter is not directly
given to us but it is hidden in the milk. Then to get butter we
have to do some extra work, we have to churn and extract.
Similarly certain teachings are not openly mentioned in the
वेदs, they are in hidden form. The आचार्य s churn the वेदs and
bring out the teaching which is the butter. So thus the स्र्त्तृ त is
the second source of धमय ज्ािर््.
3) Then the third source of धमय िास्त्र is considered to be the
lifestyle of those people who have assimilated the श्ुशत and
स्र्त्तृ त and whose lifestyle is in keeping with the श्ुशत and स्र्त्तृ त.
That is they have conquered their राग-िेष and their lifestyle is
no more governed by their personal राग-िेष but by long
practice they have transformed their life to be in alignment with
धमय िास्त्रम्. And therefore their very lifestyle becomes an open
book of the िास्त्र. This is called in सांस्कृत त्तशष्ट आचारिः. त्तशष्ट
means those people who have learnt the scriptures and not only
who knows but who follow the lifestyle. आचारिः means
lifestyle. It is no more in a written form, but it is available for
us to see. Or it may be a lifestyle of someone which has come
down to us in the form of a biography. So the biography of त्तशष्ट
also becomes an indirect teaching.
These three are the source of धमय िास्त्र – श्ुशत, स्र्त्तृ त and
त्तशष्ट आचारिः.
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Now a problem comes. Suppose there is a statement in
the स्र्त्तृ त or there is an action done by a त्तशष्ट पुरुषिः. This स्र्त्तृ त
and शिष्टाचारिः is contradicting the Vedic teaching. Suppose
there is a स्र्त्तृ त वाक्र्म् which contradicts the श्ुशत. As long as
it doesn’t contradict there is no problem. स्र्त्तृ त is only
reinforcing the श्ुशत. There is no problem. Suppose there is a
contradiction between श्ुशत and स्र्त्तृ त which am I to follow? So
I am confused. And suppose again there is a contradiction
between श्ुशत and शिष्टाचारिः. He is a noble person but there is
a particular action which violates the scriptures. Then am I to
follow the action of the famous noble religious head, who might
be a मिा्मा, a सन्न्र्ाशस, a ऋशष like दुवाव सा who gets angry all
the time and the श्ुशत says you should be िान्तिः. So should I
follow दुवाव सा and get angry all the time or should I follow
िास्त्र and follow क्षमा. So like that we can have शिष्टाचार
contradicting श्ुशत, in such a condition what should I follow?
This has been thought about and the answer is given. If there is
a contradiction between श्ुशत and स्र्त्तृ त and if there is
contradiction between श्ुशत and शिष्टाचार we should always go
by श्ुशत only. Never follow the मिा्मा, even though he is a very
great मिा्मा follow all his actions where they are not
contradictory to the scriptures but if there is any particular
action a मिा्मा has followed which is contradictory to the
scriptures in that particular case don’t follow him but follow the
िास्त्र. And by saying this what does the scriptures indicate?
The scriptures point out that no human being can be hundred
percent perfect. It is a very important lesson that we have to
learn. No human being is hundred percent perfect therefore
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even ऋशषs can have certain weaknesses or दोषs. Even great
सन्न्र्ाशसs can have certain weaknesses or दोषs. Even certain
अवतारs when they take a human िन्म even they can have
certain imperfections or दोषs. Therefore nobody is perfect.
There is only one perfect one who is the Lord alone. Even the
Lord when He a human birth the Lord wants to show that even
a human being can have weaknesses and therefore when Lord
takes human अवतार He shows certain weaknesses of human
being.
र्त्याव वतारत्तस्त्वि र्त्यव त्तशक्िर्् रक्ोवधायैव ि केवलर्् त्तवभोः ॥
श्रीर्त् भागवतर्् ५-१९-५ ॥
Therefore the गुरु gives an advice here. O शिष्र्s you all have
come to me and you look upon the गुरु as Lord, आिायव देवो भव
alright, and my job is to teach you the िास्त्र and a time should
come when you gradually rely more and more upon the िास्त्र
and less and less upon us as the गुरु. So गुरु’s job is to give the
िास्त्र which is a better प्रमािम् and शिष्र् should more and
more rely upon the िास्त्र शवशध. And therefore here the गुरु says
O disciple if there are certain actions which are against the
िास्त्र in such cases you do not blindly follow me even though
I am a model for you, even though I am supposed to be a guide
for you, if there are certain defective actions with regard to
those actions you do not follow. Then what should you do?
Follow the िास्त्र. At the same time more important thing is you
do not know why such an action came out of that ऋशष or that
गुरु or that मिा्मा. So your job is never stand in judgement.
Your tendency will be to find out why दुवाव सा gets angry all the
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time, why शवश्वशमर as a great ऋशष should commit this mistake,
why धमय पुर being such a great मिा्मा even kept द्रौपशद as one
of the stake in the dice. Never judge those people. You take the
models in the िास्त्र learn whatever be there right action, never
take their wrong actions nor do you judge them based on their
wrong actions. परिुराम is considered to be one of the अवतारs,
why did he cut off the head of his mother? Similarly रोि is
considered to be a great आिायव why did he take the thumb of
एकलव्र्? राम is supposed to be an अवतार why did he leave
the pregnant सरता in the forest; many ladies can never forgive
राम for that. So thus there are several actions which we are not
able to assimilate in those cases never judge those people, never
criticize those people. What is your job? Filter whatever is
inappropriate and take whatever is appropriate. Sometimes it
may be that a situation requires such a compromise. There are
several grey areas in values and in some places compromise of
a value may be more beneficiary. Just as कृष्ि compromised
most of the values to win the मिाभारत war. In fact every great
soldier was killed by कृष्ि’s mischief only. Therefore in certain
cases you might have to compromise with a value because no
value is absolute. And therefore those मिा्माs might have
compromised because it may be required. Then the question
will come if they have compromised why can't I do? This is
where we should be careful. You can compromise with a value
only after following the value for a very long time. You have
no right to compromise unless you have mastered a value
because until we are free from राग-िेष we have no right to
compromise with a value because easily we can interpret a
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value based on our राग-िेषs and selfishness. We have got
objectivity and we have got selfishlessness and we have got the
picture of totality. And therefore ऋशषs have a right to
compromise because they have transcended the राग-िेष and
मिा्माs can compromise because they have transcended,
similarly you can also compromise once you have transcended
राग-िेष. And once we have reached that stage वेद itself gives
you a freedom.
त्तिस्त्रैगुण्ये पत्तर् त्तविरतः को त्तवत्तधः को त्तिषेधः ॥ शुकाष्टकर्् ॥
Once you have become a person who has transcended राग-िेष
then वेद says you are beyond त्तवत्तध and त्तिषेध, you have got the
right to reinterpret the िास्त्रs to suit the situation. It seems Birla
gave his cheque book to Gandhiji saying that you can spend any
amount as you like. And after one year he found that Gandhiji
has used one rupee. Now we wonder why Birla gave only to
Gandhiji and not to us. He knows if he gives to us we will make
him pauper. So you give freedom to a person when you know
that person is responsible, when that person is mature. All the
ऋशषs and मिा्माs are given freedom because they have
become mature. वेद says until you become mature don’t try to
live like those ऋशषs and मिा्माs follow the commandment of
the वेदs and once you have become mature then you yourself
can interpret the वेदs and if required compromise with a value
also. And therefore the गुरु gives a very important advice here.
यात्ति अिवद्ात्ति कर्ाव त्ति तात्ति सेत्तवतव्यात्ति – so O disciples we
the गुरुs are your role models alright, we are the standard or
example alright,
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यद्दािरत्तत श्रेष्ठस्तिदेवेतरो जिः ।
स यत्प्रर्ािां कुरुते लोकस्तदिुवतव ते ॥ गीता ३-२१ ॥
Father is a model to the child, mother is a model to the child
and गुरु is a model to the शिष्र्s. So therefore you should
follow whatever you do. But a warning the गरु ु says, if we are
doing something against the शास्त्र then in that particular case
you need not follow us, you go by the shastric injunction only.
Therefore अिवद्ात्ति कर्ाव त्ति – अत्तित्तन्दतात्ति
त्तशष्टािारलक्िात्ति, अिवद् means धात्तर्वक actions of ours,
तात्ति सेत्तवतव्यात्ति – कतव व्यात्ति त्वया – those alone you should
follow, िो ि कतव व्यात्ति इतरात्ति सावद्ात्ति त्तशष्टकृतान्यत्तप – if
there are any actions which are unshastric don’t follow. So even
अवतार, कृष्ि did many things, in fact most of the things that
कृष्ि did we should never follow. That is why they generally
say ‘do as राम did and do as कृष्ि said’. With regard to कृष्ि
go by what He said never go by what He did. Because He
started his life by stealing butter from others houses. So every
thief can say यद्दािरत्तत श्रेष्ठस्तिदेवेतरो जिः, I am following
कृष्ि. And he was all the time moving with गोशपs. And then
suppose a person says I am following कृष्ि who had sixteen
thousand and eight wives; it will be terrible. Therefore with
regard to that follow what the शास्त्र says. Therefore िो इतरात्ति
– never take to adharmic actions even if it is done by some
मिा्मा at a particular time. we don’t know why they did. Don’t
question them, don’t criticize them also. Never criticize them
because they have reached a stage where they can do that. Then
यात्ति अस्र्ाकगँ आिायाव िाां सि ु ररतात्ति शोभििररतात्ति
आम्िायाद्त्तवरुद्ात्ति – all our noble actions. In the र्िाभारत
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take any character and you will find that in each of them there
will be wonderful virtues and also you will find black dots.
भीष्र् had lot of weaknesses. In fact playing the dice itself is a
problem; रोि had lot of weaknesses, किय had lot of
weaknesses, every character will have blots. Your job is to filter
them. Our general tendency is to only look at their weaknesses.
Even the children; you teach the पुरािs to the children, the first
question they will ask is why did he do that. Our job is not to
look into that. Look at the positive side and imbibe. So यात्ति
अस्र्ाकगँ सुिररतात्ति so whatever be our सुिररतम्; this is
called र्ीर्ाांसा which is filtering the negative aspects from any
story and taking only the positive aspects. When परशुरार् cut
the head of his mother, there what is the positive thing to be
learnt? Not cutting the head but father commanded something,
obedience to the father is given as a positive virtue. As child
follow the injunctions of the father. शपतवृ ाक्र् पररपालनम् is the
positive aspect. रोि asked for the thumb as गुरुदत्तक्िा. What
is the lesson to be learnt? If you are a गुरु take the thumb of the
शिष्र्. That is not. The lesson to be learnt is शिष्र् एकलव्य
without hesitation was willing to give anything as गुरुदत्तक्िा.
आिायाव य त्तप्रयां धिर्ाहृत्य, without batting the eyelid he gave.
That आिायव भशि is the lesson to be learnt. Never focus on रोि
but focus on एकलव्य. राम sent सीता to the forest. What is the
lesson to be learnt? He sent because of the comment of one of
the citizen. The lesson to be learned is that the king should
always have eyes and ears open and he should have the pulse
of the प्रजाs all the time in his mind. Therefore रािा is defined
as प्रजा रञ्िकिः रािा. रञ्िर्शत इशत रािा. That story is to look at
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राम not as a husband but रार् as a king is focused in that portion.
So with regard to sending the सीता that is not the advice. Thus
in every story you will find there is a positive side which is what
we should learn. And therefore यात्ति अस्र्ाकगँ सुिररतात्ति.
Similarly पाण्डवs sharing one wife. From this story the lesson
to be learnt is not sharing the wife which is against the शास्त्र, it
should never be done, never follow the पाण्डवs with regard to
that action, but मातवृ ाक्तय पररपालिर्् is the highlighted aspect.
Thus in every story we should know what should be taken and
what should be left. That is what is said here. यात्ति अस्र्ाकगँ
सुिररतात्ति whatever be the proper action of ours तात्ति त्वया
उपास्यात्ति – that alone you should diligently follow. So त्तपतदृ ेवो
भव is said here, you obey the commandment of your father.
And what did प्रह्लाद do? so his father शिरण्र्कशिपु said never
say नारार्िार् नमिः, but say only शिरण्र्कशिपवे नमिः. So here
the father’s commandment was against the shastric injunction,
so प्रह्लाद violated and even he was instrumental in the
destruction of his father and he never followed त्तपतदृ ेवो भव and
that प्रह्लाद is glorified as the greatest devotee. What does this
mean? When the त्तपतवृ ाक्तयर्् and the शास्त्रवाक्तयर्् are
contradictory then the शास्त्र wins.
श्रुत्ततस्र्त्ृ योः परां बाधे श्रुत्ततरे व गरीयसी ।
So when there is a contradiction शास्त्र is important. So the
uniqueness of Vedic tradition is it is never person-centered.
Unlike the other religions which is one prophet centered it is.
In Hinduism no person is absolutely great for us. For us वेदs are
great. If कृष्ि contradicts the वेदs, even He will be ruled out.
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That is why बुध is respected alright, but since बुध contradicted
the वेदs Buddhism could not survive in India. बुध might be
great, may be an embodiment of compassion, Buddhism might
have spread all over the world, but in India it could not survive,
why? However great बुध may be, even if some people accept
him as an अवतार, the moment he contradicted the वेदs then we
dismissed बुध. And therefore no person is great in our tradition.
For us what is great is शास्त्रर््. Until you know the शास्त्रर््, you
take the गुरु and the गुरु’s job is to hand over the शास्त्रर्् and
quietly withdraw. Therefore here the teacher says यात्ति
अस्र्ाकगँ सुिररतात्ति तात्ति त्वया उपास्यात्ति िो इतरात्ति – never
follow the other things. Thus श्रुत्तत, स्र्त्तृ त and त्तशष्टािार are the
three प्रर्ािर््s. And of these three the most powerful one is वेद.
In fact many of the systems of philosophy like साङ्ख्य, योग
which is very popular now and is written by पतञ्जत्तल a great
ऋशष. पतञ्जत्तल has given two things. One is the योग system of
practice which is very good for the physical and mental health.
And we accepted the योग system for the achievement of the
personality. But the योग philosophy was against the Vedic
teaching. योग practice is non-contradictory to the वेदs like
आसन, प्रािार्ाम, प्र्र्ािार, धारि, they are all non-
contradictory to the वेदs. Therefore we follow all of them. But
योग philosophy is contradictory to the वेदs therefore we reject
योग philosophy and accept योग practice. Similarly तकव शास्त्र.
A great ऋशष has written. And there the logical thinking process
is presented by them which is the wonderful thing. How to
think? We know how to think. But often we do not know how
to think. Therefore the न्याय वैशेत्तषक system uses the method
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of thinking which is non-contradictory to the वेदs, we adopt.
But न्याय वैशेत्तषक system as a philosophy which is
contradictory to the वेदs, therefore reject. All the time our
approach is alignment with the वेदs. Nobody is great. वेद alone
is great. That is why we are all called वैशदकािः, वैशदक सम्प्रदार्.
Similarly any मिा्मा, रामकृष्ि परमिंस is greatly respected.
But when we follow the teaching the acid test is वेद. If there is
anything contradictory to वेद reject with due respect. Similarly
रमि मिशषय , शङ्करािायव . सुरेश्वरािायव analysis शङ्करािायव
also in a critical way. So that intellectual honesty is tremendous
in our tradition. No person is great, everyone we analyze based
on श्रुत्तत and युत्तक्त and if it is against that reject outright. And
who is teaching? The गुरु himself tells the त्तशष्यs. O त्तशष्यs
don’t accept me also. I am following the Vedic tradition.
Anywhere you see me violating the वेदs, you reject me and
follow the वेदs. What a great statement you see here. िो
इतरात्ति. Then the next value he gives is ये के िास्र्च्रे यागँसो
ब्राह्मिाः – when there are great र्िात्र्ाs who have studied the
scriptures when they come to you, you make use of their
presence and learn from them. Keep an open mind. Never close
your intellect. Lifelong you keep learning. Therefore he says
ब्राह्मिाः – some ब्राह्मिs who have studied the वेदs and follow
them. Here we are not talking about िाशत ब्राह्मिs, a person who
is a ब्राह्मि by birth or simple उपनर्नम्. Here we are talking
about those ब्राह्मिs who have studied the वेदs. ब्रह्म means वेदs.
ब्रह्म र्िः िानाशत सिः ब्राह्मििः. So such a learned people, cultured
people, refined people, अस्र्ात् श्रेयागँसः – who are superior to
us in terms of knowledge, age and experience. So वर्ोवध ृ िः,
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ज्ञानवध ृ िः and िरलवध ृ िः. In our tradition we always respect an
elderly person because he is more experienced than an younger
person. What experience teaches that no book can teach.
Experience is one of the best teachers. Therefore even the most
uneducated illiterate elderly person is wiser than most educated
literate youngster. They are called वर्ोवध ृ ािः. Similarly
ज्ञानवध ृ ािः those who have learnt more than us and िरलवध ृ ािः
those who have practiced the शास्त्र for long time, experienced
people, so when such people come अस्र्ात् श्रेयागँसः – who are
superior to us in various fields, you welcome them, you take it
as an wonderful opportunity to learn and then तेषाां त्वया
आसिेि प्रश्वत्तसतव्यर््. So this line you can interpret in two
ways. The first meaning is प्रश्वत्तसतव्यर््. When they come to
you first you should relieve them of their tiredness. Because
when they come to you they have come walking. Because in
those days there were no vehicles. They have trekked and
therefore before doing anything ask them to sit, provide an
आसि, and offer water, that is called प्रश्वत्तसतव्यर््. How?
आसिेि – by providing an आसि you relieve them of their
weariness. This is the first task. Then the second interpretation
is imagine you have welcomed and they are seated in the
आसिs. Then what do you do? You do not go on talking about
your so called glories. Because if you are going to talk about
yourself you are wasting the time, the wonderful opportunity to
learn from them will go away. And the unfortunate thing is the
more a person learns the र्िात्र्ाs in general they are not
talkative. They don’t talk at all. Therefore they will remain
silent and you get a rare opportunity because those र्िात्र्ाs
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generally they don’t talk, and therefore it is all ideal for you go
on talking. And the उपत्तिषत् warns never get into this trap, you
are loosing very valuable moment to learn and therefore the
advice is you don’t talk. Then what should you do? You make
them talk. How? By asking questions. There also you should be
very careful. Our tendency will be we ask a question for twenty-
five minutes. We give the background for forty-five minutes
and then put a question. And often we don’t present the question
or we go back not allowing the other person to talk at all.
Therefore you talk the minimum, that minimum should be to
make the र्िात्र्ा talk because their tendency will be not to talk.
Therefore you have to goad them and make them talk.
Therefore the उपत्तिषत् says तेषार्् आसिे सत्तत – when they are
seated ि प्रश्वत्तसतव्यर्् – you do not breathe a word, you
encourage them to talk. Thus learn more and more.
पि
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In the eleventh अिुवाक of शीक्ावल्ली the उपत्तिषत् is
summarizing the entire धमय िास्त्र bringing out the important
religious activities to be undertaken; कर्व or rituals and then the
important ethical values to be inculcated, and also the right
attitude to be entertained with regard to everything. There we
saw in the last class, यान्यिवद्ात्ति कर्ाव त्ति । तात्ति सेत्तवतव्यात्ति
। िो इतरात्ति. Our entire teaching is scripture oriented and not
person oriented. When it is person oriented it becomes a cult,
when it is a scripture oriented it becomes a tradition. And
therefore we use a गुरु or an आचार्य to get access to the
scriptures. And until I get access to the scriptures I make use of
the individual but once I get access to the scriptures the
scriptures become dominant and the individual recedes to the
background. Whether it is व्यास or गौडपाद or शङ्कर no
individual is greater than the tradition. To focus on the
individual it becomes a cult, to focus on the scriptures it
becomes a tradition. Therefore the greatness of the Vedic
tradition is it never allows a disciple to create a cult out of the
गुरु. If the disciples make a cult keeping the गुरु as the center,
it means the गुरु has not taught the disciples properly.
Therefore the Vedic आिायव says ‘I have taught things clearly, I
have taught you even how to interpret the scriptures properly
and hereafter you should give more validity to the scriptures
and if there is a contradiction between my lifestyle and the
scriptures then the scriptures alone should win not what we do.’
This is very powerful and important statement which we saw.
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And then finally we saw in the last class whenever you have got
great people who are learned then make use of their availability,
you talk the minimum to make them talk. So if you are silent
and they are also silent, no use. If you talk all the time and they
talk, no use. You should talk enough to make them talk more.
And then who is the beneficiary? Not they, but you are going to
be the beneficiary. Therefore talk less and hear more. You have
got one mouth and two ears. And therefore hearing should be
more. Upto this we saw in the last class.
श्रद्या देयर्् । अश्रद्यादेयर्् । त्तश्रया देयर्् । त्तह्रया देयर्् । त्तभया
देयर्् । सांत्तवदा देयर्् ।
Our scriptures talk about innumerable religious and
spiritual disciplines or साधिs, and since they are so many they
themselves condense all these साधिs and reduce into three
basic साधिs. This condensation is done by the scriptures
themselves so that we won’t do it wrongly. And these three
fundamental साधिs emphasized are यज्ः दािर्् तपिः.
यज्दाितपाांत्तस. This has been said in the बिृ दारण्यकोपत्तिषत्
itself.
तर्ेतां वेदािुवििेि ब्राह्मिा त्तवत्तवत्तदषत्तन्त यज्ेि दािेि
तपसाऽिाशकेि ॥ बिृ दारण्यकोपत्तिषत् ४-४-२२ ॥
And these three साधिs are mentioned in the
बिृ दारण्यकोपत्तिषत् Lord कृष्ि also borrows in the गीता. He
repeatedly says
यज्दाितपःकर्व ि त्याज्यां कायव र्ेव तत् ।
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यज्ो दािां तपश्चैव पाविात्ति र्िीत्तषिार्् ॥ गीता १८-५ ॥
यज् means a lifestyle of worship, a prayerful lifestyle in which
you convert everything into
यद्त्कर्व करोत्तर् तिदत्तखलां शम्भो तवाराधिर्् ॥ त्तशवर्ािस
पज
ू ा४॥
So early morning bathing onwards every activity is converted
into a worship. Work is worship. The details we get in the गीता.
यत्करोत्तष यदश्नात्तस यज्जुिोत्तष ददात्तस यत् ।
यिपस्यत्तस कौन्तेय तत्कुरुष्व र्दपव िर्् ॥ गीता ९-२७ ॥
The next one is तपिः – moderation in everything. अशत सवव र
विय र्ेत्. The golden middle path, the golden means etc. Never
let any activity of your life go out of hand. Whatever you do it
should be within your mastery. That means you must be able to
say no to that at any time successfully. So this moderation is
called तपः. Of course the word तपस् has got several meaning.
One meaning is moderation. Never have overindulgence in
anything. So यज् is one and तपस् is another and in the middle
we have got दािर्् – sharing whatever you have with others.
That is make your life one of not only taking, the taking should
be followed by giving. Because only when giving and taking
are complementarily practiced the cycle of the universe is
complete. Therefore charity or sharing is a very important
value. There should not be stagnation anywhere. Things should
flow. The knowledge should flow from गुरु to me and from me
it should flow to the next generation. Similarly the water should
go from the ocean to the clouds, from the clouds it should rain
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and go to the mountains, then it should go to the river and from
there it should again go to the ocean. Everything is a cyclic
process. If we refuse to understand this there will be stagnation
which means ill-health. Even with regard to the energy that you
take within through food should be balanced with the energy
that you spend and the energy that you take must be balanced
with what you spend. Imagine you go on eating seated in that
easy chair you become a couch potato. And you watch other
people doing exercise eating cashew nut. Why there is ill-
health? Because what I take is not proportional to what I spend.
You can extend it to everything. Eating is at the grossest level,
we have to extend it at the level of all the पञ्िकोशs which
includes money also. And this is दािर््. Superficially looking
giving दािर्् appears a loss, because when I give I am loosing
something but the शास्त्रs say it is never a loss because what you
give ultimately comes back to you. In fact what you give comes
back to you and not only that what you give alone comes back
to you. If you give love you get love, for compassion you get
compassion, for hatred you get hatred. This is the basic
principle – whatever you give you get. Therefore give good
things in plenty. This is called दािर््. And that दािर्् is
highlighted in this portion. यज्ः and तपिः are not mentioned
because this is the capsule form of धमय िास्त्र and therefore one
is taken for sample. As for as यज् is concerned it has been
already talked about in the form of पञ्िर्िायज्s. Ok, not only
one should give charity how should it be given. That is also
highlighted. The conditions of charity.
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1) श्रद्या दे यर्् – may you give charity with श्रद्ा or faith.
Faith in what? What type of faith? Whatever I give is not a loss
at all even though superficially it appears a loss whatever I give
will ultimately benefit me only. It will come back to me only.
This faith is श्रद्ा. To put in scriptural language श्रद्ा means
even though materially I am loosing, spiritually I am gaining
which is an invisible gain. Visibly I am loosing because bank
balance is coming down. But what the scriptures say is in an
invisible form in the form of inner growth, you call it अदृष्टम्,
you call it पुण्यम्, you call it त्तििशुत्तद्, you call it आध्यात्तत्र्क
पुरोगशतिः, spiritual progress, invisibly you are growing. This
faith must be strongly there. With that श्रद्ा may you give.
2) Then the next advice. अश्रद्या अदेयर्् – may you not
give without faith. If you do not have faith, you will see only
the loss. Because if faith is not there you don’t see the gain part,
you are seeing only the loss part, naturally you will be giving
with heartburn. Therefore don’t give with a heartburn. Develop
श्रद्ा and give. Therefore अश्रद्या अदेयर््. Then there is another
interpretation also. Even if you don’t have faith better give.
Faithlessly giving is better than not giving. Faithfully giving is
better than faithlessly giving. But certainly faithlessly giving is
better than not giving at all. And therefore the उपत्तिषत् says
better than not giving at least faithlessly give, hoping that the
faithlessly giving will gradually get converted, by the grace of
the Lord, to faithful giving. Therefore both interpretations are
ok – अश्रद्या अदेयर्् अश्रद्या देयर््.
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3) Then the next one, त्तश्रया देयर्् – give in abundance at
least proportional to what you have. The वेद does not want to
fix the amount because the possessions will vary from
individual to individual. That is why शास्त्र tells you give
भदू ािर्् or स्विव दािर््, then if you raise your eyebrows they will
say गोदािर््, if you still raise your eyebrows they will say
coconut दािर््, if you raise your eyebrows then they will say
पत्रर््, पुष्पर््, पलम्, तोर्म्. But the important thing is I should
not take the last item all the time. If you are not able to do the
first one, then try the second one. If that is also not possible try
the third. And therefore you should be genuine and sincere.
Give according to your capacity. Therefore त्तश्रया means give in
abundance, plenty.
4) Then the fourth condition is त्तह्रया देयर््. त्तह्रः means
humility or modesty. Don’t think that you are superior because
you are a giver. Don’t look down upon the receiver. Don’t insult
the receiver. Don’t ill-treat the receiver. Arrogantly given
दािर्् is either राजस or तामस दािर््. You be humble you feel
that you have the good fortunate or opportunity to do something
to others. And therefore let there be humility or modesty.
5) Then the fifth condition is त्तभया देयर्् – may you have
the concern, anxiety. This can be interpreted in two ways – in
the ordinary way as well as the Shastric way. The regular way
the concern is that what I am giving should become useful to
the receiver. He must be able to get out of hos problem.
Therefore I should have empathy. It is a very beautiful word
used in psychology. Empathy means the mental capacity to
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identify with the problem of the receiver and also the sincere
hope that what I am doing must be able to help the other person.
So this is concern with regard to the receiver identification.
There is another which is Shastric meaning. According to शास्त्र
दािर्् comes under a compulsory duty like paying taxes. Just
as being for being the citizen of this country paying the tax is a
compulsory duty, वेद says for being a human being the
compulsory duty is you have to share things with others without
expecting anything in return. It need not be always money,
remember. It can be your time, your knowledge, your good
words, we have to be giving. And if I don’t do that, the animals
do that, the plants do that, everything gives in plenty. In fact the
trees give more than they receive, that is why we want to
increase the number of trees. Whereas the human being always
want to take more than to give, that is why nobody wants to
increase in human population. Human being does not want
increase of human population because every additional human
being is a भभ ू ारिः because he consumes more than he gives.
Therefore if you don’t want to be a भारिः then you have to give.
therefore giving is not a काम्य कर्व but giving is a त्तित्य कर्व ,
that is compulsory just as tax. Tax which is given to the Lord
determined by the Lord. And if you don’t pay the tax you are
liable to punishment. Similarly if you don’t do a Vedic duty you
are liable to punishment which is called प्रत्यवाय पापर््, the sin
of omission. Therefore I should be always afraid of the प्रत्यवाय
पापर्् and hence should be giving दािर््. So त्तभया – प्रत्यवाय
पाप भर्ेन देयर््. You should be always aware of it as your duty
and therefore by giving you are not doing anything good, in fact
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you are fulfilling the duty. For paying the tax what credit you
can take? You are a genuine citizen. For दािर्् what credit can
you take? You want to take a photograph and we want to hang
on the wall etc., and tell others about your दािर््. शास्त्र says
you have not given anything, you have proved you are a human
being. It is a very simple thing. And therefore त्तभया देयर््. Then
सांत्तवदा ि र्ैत्रय्यात्तदकायेि देयर्् – may you give with the
understanding of देश, काल and पात्रर््. देश means you have to
give at the right time. So you give a woolen shawl during
summer. He asked for a shawl because he is going to
केदारनार्. And that time I didn’t give him and now he has
returned back to Chennai and it is now the month of May with
forty-one degree Celsius! So right place and right time unto the
deserving person. So देश, काल and पात्रर्् may you enquire and
give. And if the person does not have the right credentials, you
can say no and you need not feel bad about it. If in the traffic
signals people come and beg, you need not feel bad to say no
because it is the most inappropriate way of asking for alms. It
should be the right time. An unknown person comes and tells
that he is going to do some big project. And you don’t know
whether it is true or not. If you are saying no, I don’t have any
information. So if the credentials are not there we can say no.
But we should remember that we cannot say no to everyone and
say nobody has credentials therefore I don’t know. You have to
find out the appropriate institutions, there are so many
wonderful institutions that you can give to them. And all the
unknown things, all the unknown persons we can say no, there
is nothing wrong in saying no. Therefore सांत्तवदा देयर्् means
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देशे काले ि पात्रे ि तद्दािां सात्तत्त्वकां स्र्त
ृ र्् ॥ गीता १७-२० ॥ So
may you give with this understanding. This is the दाि साधि.
And remember throughout when we talk of charity we always
think in terms of money only, remember we don’t mean money
only, it can be anything. Time, knowledge or your good-will
anything can be दािर््. And if I have the resources along with
the money it does not mean that I will give other things other
than money. If money is not there then other things can be
given, if money is there then money also has to be shared.
अर् यत्तद ते कर्व त्तवत्तित्तकत्सा वा वि
ृ त्तवत्तित्तकत्सा वा स्यात् ॥ ३ ॥
ये तत्र ब्राह्मिाः सांर्त्तशविः । युक्ता आयुक्ताः । अलक्
ू ा धर्व कार्ाः स्युः
। यर्ा ते तत्र वतेरि् । तर्ा तत्र वतेर्ाः । अर्ाभ्याख्यातेषु । ये तत्र
ब्राह्मिाः सांर्त्तशविः । युक्ता आयुक्ताः । अलक्ू ा धर्व कार्ाः स्युः । यर्ा
ते तेषु वतेरि् । तर्ा तेषु वतेर्ाः । एष आदेशः । एष उपदेशः । एषा
वेदोपत्तिषत् । एतदिुशासिर्् । एवर्ुपात्तसतव्यर्् । एवर्ु
िैतदुपास्यर्् ॥ ४ ॥ इत्येकादशऽिुवाकः ॥
Previously we saw that the वेद or the scriptures are the
primary source of धर्व -अधर्व . How to live with regard to our way
of life the primary source of knowledge is वेद. But वेद may not
discuss all the possible situations in life. Because it has been
coming down from अनाशद काल, therefore वेद can never
visualize every particular situation in life and if वेद has to deal
with every situation, already वेद is voluminous then it will be
endless. Therefore वेद can give only guidelines in a very broad
manner. And we should be able to extract the meaning from the
वेद appropriate to various situations that we face in life. and
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therefore naturally interpretation of the वेद become very
important. We cannot blindly follow every sentence. We have
to interpret. Not only that as the society and lifestyle changes
with regard to certain laws certain modifications, you may call
it compromise, you may call it modification, that is also
required. Anything rigid cannot survive. And therefore our
scriptures, the वेदs are the most flexible one and they say you
have to interpret it according to the situation. This is exactly
like the constitution of a country. The constitution authors could
not have visualized all the situations in a democracy. So
therefore what to do? Interpretation. What is the intention of the
authors. That is where we have to know what is letter and what
is spirit. In सांस्कृत we use the word शववक्षा or ता्पर्य म्. What
is not explicitly said but what is intended by the author. Most
of the constitution authors are not there and therefore we have
to find out what will be the intention. Therefore fifty years
before constitution has been made and even they could not
visualize what all situations come. When did वेद come? Not
fifty, not even five hundred, not even five thousand. Therefore
how can वेद visualize all the situation. Therefore interpretation
is required, exactly as in the case of constitution. But the
question is if interpretation is required if discretion is to be used
who will do that? If you ask the political parties to do what do
they do? They will only interpret to suit them. And therefore
not only interpretation should be allowed but also we should
mention who has the right to interpret, otherwise the democracy
will be a mess and therefore there is an appointment of a
constitutional bench and the people should not be ordinary
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people, they must be great people, they must be learned and
they must be known for their integrity and they must be the
well-wishers not of their families but well-wishers of the
country. In the same way वेद also says that वेद will have to be
interpreted as the society. So you will come across new
situation in which you will have confusion. And you are asked
to follow the वेदs. But when I look into the वेदs I find वेदs has
not either dealt with it or I find in the present condition I will
not be able to follow the वेदs to the letter. Therefore I have to
understand the spirit. And the spirit is always invisible!
Therefore we require a very सक्ष्ू र् बुत्तद् which will be able to
extract, interpret and present. Therefore वेद warns everybody is
not given the freedom to interpret but there must be some
people who do that. And the interpreters should have
qualification. Now the question is what are the qualification.
वेद itself presents that. What a far-sighted teaching it is! वेद
says अर् एवां वतव र्ािस्य यत्तद कदात्तित् ते तव श्रौते स्र्ाते वा
ृ े वा आिारलक्िे त्तवत्तित्तकत्सा सांशयः – suppose you
कर्व त्ति वि
have got a doubt with regard to a religious practice. कर्व means
a religious activity, a rite, a ritual, a ceremony. त्तवत्तित्तकत्सा
means doubt, सांशयः. Suppose you have got a doubt with regard
to some religious activity. Or वि ृ त्तवत्तित्तकत्सा. वि
ृ means how
to conduct myself in a particular society. So many of us are not
in India itself. So Hindus are all over the world and there the
setup is different. Here at least we have got a setup in which
Vedic background is there even though it is breaking down.
Imagine in another culture how to conduct myself. Therefore
विृ म् means conduct. So कर्व means a Vedic ritual or ceremony
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and वि ृ म् means my way of interaction in the society, my social
behavior. Suppose you have got a conduct doubt or ceremony
doubt, what should you do? If I do it I will do it to suit my
laziness. So therefore वेद says you should go to ये तत्र
तत्तस्र्न्देशे काले वा ब्राह्मिाः – we go to those people who are
ब्राह्मिाः. ब्राह्मिाः means three levels as we saw in the गरता.
िाशत ब्राह्मि, कमय ब्राह्मि and गुि ब्राह्मि. Brahmin by birth, by
profession, i.e., priesthood and by सववगुि, selfless nature,
pure. Therefore ब्राह्मिाः here refers to गुि ब्राह्मिाः. So you go
to those people who should have the following qualifications,
सांर्त्तशविः त्तविारक्र्ाः – who have the capacity to interpret the
scriptures. And there are the rules of interpretations. Just as the
constitution has to be interpreted, and once the interpretation is
done we have to accept it we cannot question because if you go
on questioning supreme court then you will require another
supreme supreme court. Where is the limit? Therefore one
ultimate authority should not be questioned. It is called
contempt of court. Similarly in Vedic society once the
traditional interpretation is given if you question it is called
नाशस्तक्र्म्. Such a person is called नाशस्तक. नाशस्तक means
contempt of Vedic court. Therefore सांर्त्तशविः means those who
can interpret. For interpretation there is a special शास्त्र called
र्ीर्ाांसा शास्त्रर््. You have to take the totality into account.
Therefore सांर्त्तशविः means capable of interpreting the वेदs
according the rules. In English it is called hermeneutics. Then
ृ े वा – those people who have lived
युक्ताः अत्तभयुक्ताः कर्व त्ति वि
a धात्तर्वक, Vedic lifestyle. Those who have not lived a life of
राग-िेष but those who have lived a life of धर्व , who are soaked
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in धर्व . Like becoming the supreme court judge is not a joke,
after several layers he goes to the top. So our assumption is by
the time he reaches that level so much filtering has taken place
that the person’s judgement, the verdict will be valid, it will be
good for the country. Similarly युक्ताः means people who are
धात्तर्वक. Then आयुक्ताः अपरप्रयुक्ताः – those who are impartial,
those who do not have political leanings, those who will not
take money and pass judgement. Imagine corruption coming to
the court level then what will happen to a nation. Therefore they
should not be corrupt and their decisions should not be
influenced by anyone. That means they should not be the
beneficiaries of the verdict. So therefore impartial people. Then
अलक् ू ाः अरूक्ाः अिूरर्तयः – those who are considerate people,
those who have empathy, those who have compassion. Because
ultimately it should benefit the society, which means my mind
should be vast enough to think of सवव भत ू त्तिते रतत्वर््.
Therefore अलक् ू ाः means अरूक्ाः, रूक्ाः means cruel. अरूक्ाः
means non-cruel, considerate, selfless people. Then धर्व कार्ाः
अदृष्टात्तर्विः अकार्िताः – they should not be अर्व -कार्ाः or
कार्-कार्ाः, they should not be interested in wealth, name,
money, position, possessions etc. Only then they will be
courageous enough to pass the verdict. They should value धर्व
पुरुषार्व more than अर्व पुरुषार्व and कार् पुरुषार्व . That is why
they said those who are in brahmin profession, who are
interested in analyzing the िास्त्र, teaching the िास्त्र and
perpetuating and maintaining the धर्व they should lead a poor
life, they should lead a life of voluntary poverty the िास्त्र said
only then he has nothing to loose. Therefore दयािन्द स्वात्तर्त्तज
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said when a traditional ब्राह्मि has to renounce he didn’t have
anything except tuft and sacred thread. Therefore the advantage
of living in voluntary poverty is there is no fear of anyone or
anything. Therefore धर्व कार्ाः स्युः भवेयुः. Such people should
interpret and pass the verdict and you follow their discretion.
Suppose a person claims I myself am such a person and
therefore I don’t have to ask anyone, I myself will interpret. It
is fine but the question is ‘are you?’ Therefore until you come
to that status better ask someone when there is a crisis. So यर्ा
ते तत्र वतेरि् । तर्ा तत्र वतेर्ाः – just as they do you also follow.
And even if they have compromised with िास्त्र you need not
bother because this compromise has been done by those people
who know where discretion can be used. And if they can use
why can't I use? I have not reached their stage. Therefore you
ask them ‘you have compromised, can I also?’ And if they give
permission you do. There is a story. When शङ्करािायव was
going along with his disciples. Someone offered liquor to
शङ्करािायव it seems and he drank it. According to the शास्त्र it
is पापर्् to take liquor. Then the disciples found very good. It
has been said यद्दािरत्तत श्रेष्ठः, whether we follow other things
or not, this one we will follow. Therefore they were looking at
each other, but didn’t do. शङ्करािायव noticed it. Then he went
forward to another place where a blacksmith who was heating
some metal which was in molten condition. He took that also
and drank. So if they have to do यद्दािरत्तत श्रेष्ठः then they
must do this also. Then शङ्करािायव indirectly said ‘I am doing
that because I have reached a stage where nothing will affect
me. Once I have become immune that is a different thing. Until
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then you must follow the rules.’ Therefore here also they
compromised it doesn’t mean I can compromise. The र्ीर्ाांसा
सत्र
ू itself says
दृष्टो धर्व व्यत्ततिर्ः सािसां ि र्ितार्् ॥ गौतर्धर्व सत्र
ू र्् ॥
There are some great people who violate धर्व and they also show
that they are superhuman people by certain superhuman acts.
So if you also have become superhuman, if you can drink
molten metal also. कृष्ि violated lot of धर्व शास्त्र, but He lifted
the गोवधय न mountain also. We are not able to lift our own
suitcase! So you lift गोवधय न mountain and then follow कृष्ि’s
violations. Therefore violate and show you are a superhuman
person. As long as you are an ordinary person follow the rule.
Therefore यर्ा ते तत्र वतेरि् । तर्ा तत्र वतेर्ाः. More in the next
class.
पि
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There is one general complaint that Hinduism is the most
confusing religion in the world. This is one of the general
criticism against Hinduism. And this criticism comes from the
Hindus themselves. And several reasons are given and also they
say that compared to Hinduism other religions are far less
confusing. On enquiry we find there is a lot of truth in that.
There are several reasons for that. But what we should
remember is whatever is presented as the reason for Hinduism
being inferior, those very same reason make Hinduism a
superior one also. So whatever is presented as दूषिम् is really
speaking भषू िम् only. But for purpose we should clearly know
what are the so-called weaknesses and also we should know
how they are really not weaknesses but that is the greatness.
The first problem that can be taken as a weakness and which
can be taken as a glory is that it is a religion which has got a
very voluminous scripture compared to the other religions. It is
so vast literature that even if you study twenty-four hours a day,
seven days a week, four weeks a month, twelve months a year,
all the years of your life, கற்றது யக மண் அளவு
கல்லாதது உலகளவு (कऱ्ऱदु कै र्ि् अळवु कल्लाददु
उलगळवु, what one knows is only a handful, whereas the
unknown is the size of the world). In fact the वेद itself presents
a story of भरद्वाज ऋत्तष who studies the वेदs for hundred years
continuously throughout the life. At the time of death he asked
for a boon from इन्र that next जन्र् also he should be able to
do the same right from the moment of birth to death
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continuously. This is a Vedic story. And then after he asked for
one more जन्र्, and then he becomes so proud and comes to
इन्र and says that he has continuously studied for three hundred
years and he wanted to know how much he has covered so far.
Then इन्र shows him three mountains and asks him to bring a
handful of mud from each mountains and ask him to pile up.
And he says this is what you have covered in three hundred
years.
तेषाँ िैकैकस्र्ान्र्ुत्तष्टिाददे । स िोवाि । भरद्वाजेत्यार्न्त्रय । वेदा
वा एते । अिन्ता वै वेदाः ॥ तैत्तिरीयब्राह्मिर्् ३-१०-११-४ ॥
र्ुत्तष्टिा आददे. र्ुत्तष्ट means handful. Then इन्र says अिन्ता वै
वेदाः. The वेदs are infinite and what we have got is only about
six branches out of the one thousand and eighty शाखाs. And
these six branches themselves we are not able to complete. In
addition to श्रुत्तत we have got स्र्त्तृ त, पुराि, इत्ततिास. And one of
the इत्ततिासs is र्िाभारत which has got only one hundred
thousand verses with commentaries. So the first one which can
be taken as minus point or which can be taken as plus point is
the very voluminous nature of that. And when it is so big there
is a disadvantage in the sense if you have to understand any part
in a whole the understanding of the part requires the awareness
of the whole. You can never separate a thing from the totality
and study. This is the biggest discovery of Allopathic medicine
system. They thought they can study the diseases of the people
by merely taking into account the physical body which is called
the reductionist approach. And they found it is impossible
because the human being consist of अन्िर्य प्रािर्य र्िोर्य
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त्तवज्ािर्य. Many diseases are psychosomatic in nature and
therefore the doctor should know not only the anatomy he
should know lot of a psychology, sociology. You can never
understand a part without knowing the whole. But the problem
is to know the whole you have to study it part by part only. You
can never study the whole in one sweep, if you have to study
the whole गीता you have to go verse by verse. So to know a
verse, you have to have the background of the whole गीता, but
to know the whole गीता, you have to study verse by verse. This
is called mutual dependence problem, catch twenty-two
problem. கல்ைாணம் ஆனால் யைத்திைம் ததளியும்!
யைத்திைம் ததளிந்தால் கல்ைாணம் ஆகும்! कल्यािर््
आऩाल् पैत्तियर्् तेत्तळयुर््! पैत्तियर्् तेत्तळन्ताल् कल्यािर्् आकुर््.
Somebody said he will be alright if he gets married. Because
sometimes two madness cancel each other. But unless the
madness goes who will marry? So like that the first
disadvantage that we face is to know any part of Hinduism, to
understand any ritual, any ceremony, any of our cultural
practice you should have the understanding of the totality of
Vedic vision. But to have the totality of Vedic vision you should
know the totality of the scriptures and the scriptures happen to
be voluminous. So this is the first disadvantage, at the same
time it is the first greatness also.
Then the second problem that we face is this. When the
Vedic scriptures teach they never a particular human being or a
particular group of human being but they take into account the
entire humanity and therefore the teaching is directed towards
different layers of seekers. There is विव भेदः – ब्राह्मि क्त्तत्रय
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वैश्य शरू , there is an आश्रर् भेदः – ब्रह्मिारर गिृ स्र् वािप्रस्र्
सन्न्यात्तस and among the people themselves different people
have got different levels of spiritual growth. And our scriptures
are trying to cater to everyone from the grossest person
spiritually to the most evolved subtlest person. And therefore
the teaching is directed to different levels of people. And
therefore if we do not understand which part of teaching is
meant for which level of people it will be highly confusing.
Because as I say what is food for one is poison for another.
What is a positive advice for one is a negative advice for
another. Like a doctor who asks a person to eat well and telling
another person to fast. There is no question of uniform advice
by a doctor. That is why I can never take a medicine which has
been prescribed for somebody else, because he had headache
and I also have headache therefore swallow. No. And therefore
the Vedic teaching is directed to different अत्तधकारीs and
therefore the appears to be contradictory. In one place कर्व is
glorified, पजू ा is heavily glorified and in another place पजू ा is
criticized. In र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत् we saw
प्लवा ह्येते अदृढा यज्रूपा अष्टादशोक्तर्वरां येषु कर्व । एतच्रे यो
येऽत्तभिन्दत्तन्त र्ढ
ू ा जरार्त्ृ युां ते पुिरे वात्तप यत्तन्त ॥
र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत् १-२-७ ॥
Those people who are hooked to कर्व s they are र्ढ ू ाः. They do
not have proper understanding and not only that they will go
from जरार्त्ृ युां ते पुिरे वात्तप यत्तन्त – one cycle to another cycle.
That means कर्व is to be given up. And then in तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत्
we saw that you have to do कर्व . देवत्तपतक ृ ायाव भ्याां ि
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प्रर्त्तदतव्यर््. Never give up पज ू ा, श्राद्ा. Now is कर्व great or is
it inferior? If you look into the वेद it is confusing. Because in
one place it is glorified and in another place it is criticized.
Therefore since वेद addresses different levels of people it is
confusing. In one place शवग्रि पि ू ा is glorified, in another place
it is criticized. In र्ाण्डूक्तयोपत्तिषत् गौडपाद says those people
who are committed to उपासिs are all unfortunate people.
उपासिात्तश्रतो धर्ो जाते ब्रह्मत्ति वतव ते । प्रागुत्पिेरजां सवं तेिासौ
कृपिः स्र्त ृ ः ॥ र्ाण्डूक्तय काररका ३-१ ॥
Only unfortunate people are committed to ईश्वर उपासि. What
a dangerous statement! That is why generally I do not
recommend people to come to र्ाण्डूक्तय alone because गौडपाद
criticizes religion, कर्व , ईश्वर, उपासि. If you come directly to
र्ाण्डूक्तय you may think is it a नाशस्तक literature or Vedic
teaching. So what is the second minus cum plus point? It is
seeming full of contradictions but the plus point is it is teaching
all the levels of people. A tribal can follow Hinduism, a most
evolved thinker can follow Hinduism. We have got God as a
person, we have also God as an impersonal Reality. Which is
correct? Depends upon your level. we have seen in the गीता
एकरूप ईश्वर, अिेकरूप ईश्वर and अरूप ईश्वर. Which is
correct? All are correct. How can all be correct? Because for a
beginner एकरूप is the best, for the middle person, मध्र्म
अिेकरूप, for the उिम अरूप. Therefore the second
disadvantage that we face is it is a complex teaching. Because
it is meant for all levels of people.
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Then the third problem that we face is especially when
we go to धर्व शास्त्र, ethics and morality. At superficial level you
can clearly divide the ethical and unethical, the moral and
immoral. At superficial level you can divide into black and
white areas. But when you get deeper and deeper it is no more
available for clear cut black and white division. There are more
gray areas which are called धर्व सङ्कट areas. Because often
we are playing different roles simultaneously, what is duty for
a husband that should not be done from the standpoint of a
father. There are so many धर्व सङ्कट situations. Therefore the
scriptures cannot explain. Therefore they give several stories in
which the धर्व सङ्कट situations are brought in. And then we
have to discern from that राम as a king and राम as a husband.
Sending सरता to the forest listening to the complaint of a citizen
now there is a धर्व सङ्कट as a king he has to listen to the
complaint of the people, because we saw the definition of रािा
प्रजा रञ्िकिः रािा. He cannot ignore the complaint. At the same
time as a husband he has to protect his wife. Thus when I play
different roles; imagine a middle class person who has got
limited bank balance and one of his parent is sick and the
treatment is costly. And his child has to join the college which
is also costly. Now should he treat his parent because र्ातदृ ेवः
भव त्तपतदृ ेवः भव, or should he educate his children because it is
his duty to settle the children. So which one should he choose?
If the parent says not to bother about him then there is no
conflict but if they don’t say or if they expect the treatment then
what should be done? These are called धर्व सङ्कट situation in
which धर्व becomes gray. Therefore it is highly confusing. The
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scriptures also only can give situation and also the conclusions
of different people; heavily subjective it becomes. The most
interesting thing is the गीता itself. In three to four places कृष्ि
says that अत्तिांसा is a very important value. Therefore अजव ुि,
fight!
तस्र्ाद्ुध्यस्व भारत ॥ गीता २-१८ ॥
Now tell me अत्तिांसा परमो धर्व ः or should I compromise with
अत्तिांसा. So therefore the third problem is the scriptures bring
out a lot of gray areas and they also present opposite
conclusions indicating there is heavy subjective involved,
interpretation involved, therefore it appears scriptures are
vague. What they want to say is धर्व is relative. No धर्व is
absolute. This is the third problem with our scriptures.
Then the fourth one is this. The scriptures have been
given thousands of years before. And therefore they can only
imagine some possible situation, they can never imagine all the
possible human situation. We do not know the age of the वेद.
And therefore they can never deal with all the possible
situations. स्वात्तर् दयािन्दत्तज gives the example of learning
driving. When you learn driving they can only teach you some
possible traffic situations. From those few possible situations
we have to discern the principle and spirit of driving and always
you will find especially in our place all types of situations like
animals, potholes, etc., and you cannot say that you have not
been taught to drive in such situations. Therefore वेद is talking
about the life itself in which infinite situations are possible,
therefore many are mentioned and many are not mentioned.
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Therefore interpretation will be required. If you talk about
धर्व शास्त्र hygiene and all they will say that the toilet must be
eighty feet away from the kitchen. The total house is twenty by
twenty. Manu never thought that within this area there will be
forty houses. And the most interesting is िौचालय and
अिौचालय both are clubbed. The toilet and bathroom are in the
same complex. There is no answer for this in any धर्व शास्त्र.
Therefore heavy interpretation is required because वेद has not
envisaged all these situations. And finally the difficult thing that
we face is वेद or the scriptures have to be interpreted and this
method of interpretation is also presented in the form of
सम्प्रदाय. So we can never interpret the scriptures according to
our intelligence, there is a method to be used which we call
र्ीर्ाांसा or सम्प्रदाय which we never study unfortunately. So we
read the translation of पुरािs, र्िाभारतम्, भागवतम्, रार्ायि.
This problem never existed because previously it was never
printed. Therefore you have no scope for confusion because you
can't read. When you want to study you have to necessarily
study from a गुरु and therefore when गुरु teaches he will
present it in an appropriate manner. So inbuilt interpretation is
there. Therefore when you study under a गुरु शास्त्रर्् is also
there and the interpretation is also taken care of. That is why
they never allowed the scriptures to be printed so that you will
never read the scriptures independently and try to interpret in
your language and get confused. But nowadays it is confusing
because we don’t have the method of interpretation but the
westerners came and translated. Therefore you read our वेदs
and पुरािs, I tell you, it will appear terrible, and sometimes you
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begin to hate our scriptures, sometimes you feel disgusted, in
fact you will get anything other than respect. It is because we
go to the original without the key. There is a method that the
वेद uses, in several cases they use the method of exaggeration.
I call it a cartoon method. If one of the politician has got a
slightly longer nose, when it comes to the cartoon it will be
whole newspaper. In some places they say if you utter रार् िार्
once you will get र्ोक्. We take it literally as true and then
blame the scriptures. They give the story of अिाशमल who did
all the wrongdoings and at the time of death he said िारायि
and he got र्ोक्. If that is possible why should we struggle. So
we have got such stories. If we don’t know how interpret we
will misunderstand the scriptures. It is said in कत्तलयुग,
भगवाि्’s िार् will give र्ोक्.
कलौ कल्र्ष त्तििािार्् पापरव्योपजीविार्् । त्तवत्तध त्तिया
त्तविीिािार्् गत्ततगोत्तवन्द कीतव िर्् ॥
You need not read the शास्त्रs and all. We will remember this
because it is very convenient. No need to read शास्त्रs, no need
to do कमय s, no pilgrimage, need not follow धमय अनुष्ठान
values, just say रार् रार् रार्, you will get र्ोक्. It is said in the
scriptures if we don’t know how to interpret you will take these
things seriously. These portions are called अर्व वाद portions
which means exaggerated portion which are not literally true.
And this literally untrue statement which are the अर्व वाद
portions of the scriptures they are publicized now adding to the
confusion.
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And therefore Hinduism seems to be confusing because
of all these disadvantages. And if it should not confuse you
there is only one method. LEARN UNDER A गुरु. And if you
have confusion go to some person who knows how to interpret
because he has got a holistic vision. His interpretations also will
not be based on his राग-द्वेष, and who has lived a life of धर्व , he
is not a novice, he is not a raw person, he has studied and
followed. He has lived a life. And to such a person you
approach Hinduism will not be confusing and not only that it
will be the most comprehensive teaching available. Therefore
the उपत्तिषत् itself gives the warning ये तत्र ब्राह्मिाः सांर्त्तशविः ।
युक्ता आयुक्ताः । How many qualifications are required to
interpret the शास्त्रs to suit twenty-first century. ब्राह्मिाः who is
गुि ब्राह्मिाः, सांर्त्तशविः, युक्ताः means कमय ब्राह्मिाः अशप, they
also followed that way of life. आयुक्ताः अलक् ू ाः, those who are
empathetic, who knows the situation, धर्व कार्ाः स्युः, they
should not be अर्य काम प्रधान people they should be धर्व मोक्ष
प्रधान people. र्ा ते तत्र वतेरि् । तर्ा तत्र वतेर्ाः । Follow them
or ask them for advice. And once you have followed them for
some time then you yourself will get that maturity that you
yourself can go by your conscience. You follow धर्व for twelve
years thereafter your conscience becomes शास्त्रs. Then you can
set aside the शास्त्रs and go by your conscience. It will give you
right answer. Now if you say you will go by conscience it is
wrong because now our conscience is soaked in राग-िेष.
काशलदास tells in
सताां त्ति सन्देिपदेषु वस्तुषु प्रर्ािर्न्तःकरि प्रवि
ृ यः ॥
अत्तभज्ािशकुन्तलर्् १-२१ ॥
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In the case of cultured people who have followed the scriptures
when they are in a new situation they can go by their conscience
whatever their conscience tells they can follow. They cannot go
wrong like a trained musician who has sung all the time in a
particular श्रुत्तत. Now having sung in that particular pitch for
decades even without तम्बरू ा let him say स प स you will find
that it will be exactly that श्रुत्तत. Since he is singing स प स let
me also say स प स then all will run away. Not that he in any
special case. He has lived and soaked himself. Similarly these
ब्राह्मिs are those who are soaked in the शास्त्रs and who knows
what is धर्व , then you follow them. And once you have followed
for some time you yourself get that conscience or you call it
intuition. First in tuition then in-tuition. In the beginning itself
you should go to intuition. In tuition means systematic study of
the scriptures for a length of time under the guidance of a
competent आचार्य . Then the next part of the मन्र is अर्
अभ्याख्यातेषु. Our doubts are two-fold. One is with regard to
कर्व and another is with regard to conduct, वि ृ म्. With regard
to rituals doubts may be there and with regard to social
interaction there several doubts can come. A particular instance
is given by the वेद. Suppose we are associated with a person.
And we have got a relationship for a long time, we are intimate
friends. And then we came to know from other sources that this
person who is my bosom friend is in fact an अधाशमय क person
who is given to lot of unethical, immoral activities. Now my
mind says that I should continue the relationship because it has
been there for a long time, suddenly how can I drop. But another
shastric instruction says
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दुःसङ्गः सवव र्वै त्याज्यः ॥ िारदभत्तक्तसत्र ू र्् ४३ ॥
Never have an association with an अधाशमय क person because by
association we imbibe the character of the other person.
Therefore we are supposed to do स्सङ्ग and avoid दुःसङ्ग.
Therefore what should I do? So this person who is accused of
अधाशमय क life is called अभ्याख्यातिः. अभ्याख्यातिः means the
one who is accused. Though I have not seen but the one who is
accused of, charged with अधाशमय क life. And association with
अधाशमय क person is considered to be one type of अधमय . अधर्व
सङ्ग is a type of अधर्व . Then what to do? He says apply the
same principle. What is that? ये तत्र ब्राह्मिाः सांर्त्तशविः । युक्ता
आयुक्ताः । अलक् ू ा धर्व कार्ाः स्युः । यर्ा ते तेषु वतेरि् ।. So in that
society itself there are cultured, enlightened, informed, धाशमय क,
non-selfish people are there. You see how they are relating to
such people. And if they do not have any relationship at all; then
at least if they have the relationship we can find out whether
they are cutting the relationship are not, otherwise we can
directly ask them also what am I supposed to do, how should I
conduct myself. Therefore यर्ा ते तेषु वतेरि् – just as they
conduct themselves in such occasions or just as they advise you
so may you also follow. Thus follow the वेदs, where the वेद is
not able to directly guide you take the advice of the Vedic
people. This is the guidance with regard to धर्व शास्त्रम्. This is
the condensation of धर्व शास्त्र. Now the उपत्तिषत् wants to
conclude. एष आदेशः – so this is the commandment of the वेदs
for our own benefit. If we do not follow it is going to harm me
only. It is like violating the health rules. Therefore we should
remember the Vedic commandments are for our own benefit
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only. Therefore आदेशः – श्ुशतशवशधिः. एष उपदेशः – this is the
instructions of all the secondary Vedic literature also called
स्र्त्तृ त, स्र्ातव त्तवत्तधः. एषा वेद उपत्तिषत् – this is the essence,
उपत्तिषत् means सारिः, रिस्यर््, the crux of the वेद. Here वेद
means वेदपवू व भाग रिस्यर््. What is the रिस्यर््? This eleventh
अिुवाक. That is from सत्यां वद onwards till तर्ा तेषु वतेर्ाः
portion. Therefore even if don’t study the entire वेदपवू व if you
note this eleventh अिुवाक and follow it is equivalent to
following the entire धमय शास्त्र. So एषा वेदोपत्तिषत्. एतत्
अिुिासिर्् – this is the अिुिासिर््, commandments,
instruction or teaching of शिष्टs, र्िात्र्ाs beginning from the
Lord Himself. Because वेद is considered to be the teaching
coming from the Lord Himself. This is the commandment of
the Lord as well as the entire गुरु परम्परा, िारायिां पद्मभुवां
वत्तसष्ठर्् etc. Why the word commandment is used? If you
violate there will be punishment. What is the punishment?
सांसारः. The whole life becomes a कारागिृ म्. सांसार कारागिृ िः.
Your life itself becomes like imprisonment. एवां यर्ोक्तां सवव र््
उपात्तसतव्यां कतव व्यर्् – one should follow as instructed here.
This is not an optional instruction, एवर्् उ ि एतत् उपास्यर्् – in
this manner alone one should lead one’s life. एवर्् means as
described in the eleventh अिुवाक सत्यां वद, धर्ं िर,
स्वाध्यायान्र्ा प्रर्दः, श्रद्या देयर््, अश्रद्यादेयर्् etc. The
emphasis is given by the letters उ and ि which means definitely.
So with this धर्व शास्त्र emphasis the first chapter is over. And
धर्व शास्त्रर्् becomes the stepping stone for ब्रह्मशास्त्रर्् which
will be given in the next chapter. Now the शात्तन्तपाठ is repeated
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again as a thanksgiving शात्तन्तपाठ. The first शात्तन्तपाठ is a
prayer, the last one is a thank you note. We will read.
उिरशात्तन्तपाठः
र्न्त्र 1-12-01
शां िो त्तर्त्रः शां वरुिः । शां िो भवत्वयव र्ा । शां ि इन्रो बिृ स्पत्ततः ।
शां िो त्तवष्िुरुरुिर्ः । िर्ो ब्रह्मिे । िर्स्ते वायो । त्वर्ेव प्रत्यक्ां
ब्रह्मात्तस । त्वार्ेव प्रत्यक्ां ब्रह्मावात्तदषर्् । ऋतर्वात्तदषर्् ।
सत्यर्वात्तदषर्् । तन्र्ार्ावीत् । तद्वक्तारर्ावीत् । आवीन्र्ार्् ।
आवीद्वक्तारर्् । ॐ शात्तन्तः शात्तन्तः शात्तन्तः ॥ १ ॥ इत्तत
द्वादशोऽिुवाकः ॥
This शात्तन्तपाठ is almost the repetition of the first
शात्तन्तपाठ with only some slight changes. Upto त्वर्ेव प्रत्यक्ां
ब्रह्मात्तस it is repetition, from त्वार्ेव प्रत्यक्ां ब्रह्मावात्तदषर्् there
is a change. In the first portion the student says I am glorifying
You. So You are ऋतर््, You are सत्यर््, You are प्रत्यक् ईश्वर,
You are परोक्ष ईश्वर. I am glorifying, You please bless me. That
was the statement in the beginning. Here he says O Lord, I
glorified You seeking Your protection in the beginning of
शीक्ावल्ली. It has been put in past tense. Instead of अवतु it is
आवीत्. Instead of ब्रह्म वत्तदष्यात्तर् it is ब्रह्म अवात्तदषर््. So
वत्तदष्यात्तर् is future tense, अवात्तदषर्् is past tense. That is the
only difference. And when I asked for your protection what did
You do? You were truthful to Your words, You did bless me.
not only You blessed me, You blessed the teacher also. What is
the proof? The teacher regularly came and he taught, that is the
blessing. What is the proof that you have blessed us? We
managed to come. So that he was able to teach and that we were
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able to receive and that we could complete ॐ शात्तन्तः शात्तन्तः
शात्तन्तः is the proof for your अिुग्रि. And for your अिुग्रि I
want to show my gratitude. With this expression of gratitude
the शात्तन्तपाठ is completed. Here also शात्तन्त is repeated thrice.
I should not have obstacles. Now why should not I have
obstacles? After all the teaching is over. Now again I should not
have obstacles because श्रविर्् is not the complete साधि. We
have got two more – र्ििर्् and त्तित्तदध्यासिर््. श्रवि obstacles
have been removed. But we should be able to go back and try
to read what we have written or try to recollect what we have
learnt. So for chewing the cud, for assimilating the teaching and
for ज्ाित्तिष्ठा, not only ब्रह्मज्ाित्तिष्ठा but also धर्व ज्ाित्तिष्ठा
we should be able to get. For that also O Lord may You bless
us all. With this शीक्ावल्ली the first chapter is over.
पि
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Summary
Today I will give you a summary of शीक्ावल्ली the first
chapter of तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत्. Of the three chapters of this
उपत्तिषत्, the first and the last chapters concentrate upon the
preparatory disciplines which will make the mind fit for
ब्रह्मज्ािर््. And the actual ब्रह्मज्ािर्् is given only in the
second chapter, we should remember. So the first and the third
chapters are for ज्ाियोनयता प्रात्तिः, whereas the second chapter
is for ज्ाि प्रात्तिः. Because without ज्ाियोनयता one can never
get ज्ािर््. Therefore there is no वेदान्त in the first chapter,
there is no वेदान्त in the third chapter also. At least in the third
chapter there is a bit of वेदान्त, in the first chapter even that is
not there. The first chapter begins with the शात्तन्तपाठ like the
other उपत्तिषतs् . And by repeating the शात्तन्तपाठ the seeker
asks for freedom from obstacles. He also praised all देवताs,
अत्तधष्ठाि देवताs to bless all the organs with fitness. The
ज्ािेत्तन्रय देवताs, कर्ेत्तन्रय देवताs, प्राि देवताs and
अन्तःकरि देवताs, to bless with fitness so that they are ready
to pursue spirituality. Thus prayers are addressed to the देवताs.
And again through शात्तन्तपाठ the seeker asks for freedom from
all the obstacles which may come because of पवू व जन्र् प्रारब्ध
दोषः. Known obstacles we can handle, unknown and invisible
ones how can we handle. So the only method of handling
invisible obstacles is to produce an invisible force. And prayer
produces that invisible force. Therefore the support for pursuit
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and the removal of the obstacles these are the two things asked
for through the well-known शात्तन्तपाठ.
Now we will enter into the text proper. Since the
उपत्तिषत् is in the prose form the र्न्त्रs are divided into various
paragraphs known as an अिुवाक. The entire शीक्ावल्ली has
twelve अिुवाकs of which the first and the last अिुवाकs
happen to be शात्तन्तपाठs. The middle अिुवाकs go to form the
chapter. The entire chapter can be broadly classified into four
portions for the convenience of our understanding.
1) The first portion is कर्व योग,
2) the second portion is उपासि,
3) the third portion is िोर् साधि (िोर्ः) and
4) the fourth portion is जप साधि (जपः).
Now we will take each portion and summarize. The first
portion is कर्व योग साधि which is a very important spiritual
discipline. In simple language we can call it a धात्तर्वक or
religious lifestyle. This कर्व योग consists of three disciplines
which are all equally important.
a) The first part of कर्व योग is र्िायज्ञािः – the five-fold
साशववक activities, spiritual activities or refining exercises
known as पञ्िर्िायज्ञािः. देवयज्ञिः in which I spend some time
exclusively for prayer and worship. This can be in any form like
simple offering of a few flowers and doing िर्स्कार. The
second one is त्तपतयृ ज्ञिः – the worship of the forefathers upto the
parents. If they are alive treating them properly, respecting
them and offering िर्स्कार to them. If they are not alive
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worship becomes a ritualistic form worship in the form of श्राद्,
तपव ि etc. The third one is ब्रह्मयज्ञिः – the worship of the
scriptures and their authors, expressing our gratitude to them.
So it exists in the form of a ritual also known as ब्रह्मयज्ञिः, which
is वेदयज्ञिः or ऋत्तषयज्ञिः. And worship of the scriptures should not
be mere offering of flowers alone but it involves studying the
scriptures also according to our capacity trying to implement
the way of life instructed in the scriptures and above all sharing
the knowledge with others. So study, practice and sharing. Then
the fourth one is र्िुष्ययज्ञिः – all forms of social service. And
finally भत ू यज्ञिः – environmental protection with a reverential
attitude. Mere scientific protection cannot be a यज्ञिः. So when
you take care of animals and plants with reverence it becomes
भतू यज्ञिः. So all these यज्s are important. According to the
resources and inclination one may focus more on one यज् or the
other. Some people may love rituals, some others may love
service, but all the five are important in the minimum scale,
addition according to our resources and personality. These
पञ्िर्िायज् are called by various names like सात्तत्त्वक कर्ाव त्ति,
उिर् कर्ाव त्ति, त्तिष्कार् कर्ाव त्ति, त्तित्यिैत्तर्त्तिक कर्ाव त्ति. This is
the first part of कर्व योग.
b) The second part of कर्व योग is the acquisition of all the
virtues, सद्गुि प्रात्तिः, known as दैवी सम्पत् in the sixteenth of the
गीता. शीक्ावल्ली enumerates a few of them. सत्यर्् – integrity,
speaking the truth. शर्ः – mental or thought discipline. दर्ः –
the sensory discipline. तपः – moderation in everything. दत्तक्िा
– whatever you get from anywhere never take anything free.
Even if you get free, you should not take it free, the equivalent
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amount should be spent for a noble cause, that money should
not belong to you. Even if you learn something from
somewhere it should never be free, गुरुदत्तक्िा is important.
There is no question of whether the other person requires or not,
आिायाव य त्तप्रयां धिर्ाहृत्य. दत्तक्िा is a sense of fairness – if I get
something, I should also give something. That sense of fairness
is a very important value. दािर्् – charity. Because according
to our scriptures at the time of death if we are taking an account
of our life, when we take the balance sheet we should have
given more and we should have taken less. So live your life in
such a way that you have given more and taken less. कुशलर्् –
while doing everything to the society do not neglect your
personal life and family. So many social service people neglect
the family, neglect the children. The children crave for the
company of the parents and they don’t get the opportunity to
even see them. Before the child wakes up the parent goes out
and when the child sleeps he comes in. it may be wonderful
service but that is also a दोष. If you want to dedicate the entire
life for service better to be a bachelor or सन्न्र्ाशस. Once you
become a गिृ स्र् you have to necessarily allot quality time for
the family. And not only time whatever financial resources are
required for maintaining that is also important. कुशलान्ि
प्रर्त्तदतव्यर्् so be smart, be practical, be pragmatic. So all these
are good virtues called सद्गुिािः. The details are in the thirteenth,
sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth chapters of the गरता.
c) The third part of कर्व योग is सद्भावनािः – healthy and
proper attitudes towards everything in the creation. One general
rule is that we look upon the whole creation as the manifestation
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of God. Therefore one general rule is reverential attitude
towards everything starting with पञ्िर्िाभत ू ाशन which extends
to all the living beings including the human beings which final
include र्ातदृ ेवो भव । त्तपतदृ ेवो भव । आिायव देवो भव. During
नवराशर we are worshipping the three basic forces – दुगाय stands
for health, लक्ष्र्ी stands for wealth and सरस्वती stands for
knowledge. In the absence of these three things life becomes
zero. We cannot enjoy any two without the third one. Therefore
may you develop a reverential attitude towards your own
health, towards wealth and also toward books. Of course दुगाय ,
लक्ष्र्ी and सरस्वती is not said in the तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत्, but I am
telling you reverential attitude towards everyone. Then the next
भाविा is reverential attitude towards the scriptures that they are
valid sources of knowledge, they have come to us only to guide
us, whether we follow them are not they don’t loose anything.
If we follow them we are the beneficiaries and if we don’t
follow we are the losers. This is called प्रामाण्र् भाविा – the
scriptures are valid. When you look at the relative validity of
the scriptures the वेदs have got original, unconditional, intrinsic
validity. Therefore the वेद is the top one. The next one is all the
secondary scriptures based on the वेदs known as स्र्त्तृ त ग्रन्र्ािः.
And the third is the way of life led by the enlightened people,
cultured people which we call शिष्टाचारिः. श्रुत्ततः, स्र्त्तृ तः and
शिष्टाचारिः all the three are sources of knowledge. And if there
is a contradiction among the three maximum valid is श्रुत्तत, the
next one is स्र्त्तृ त, and the last one is शिष्टाचारिः. Therefore if
there is a contradiction between शिष्टाचारिः and श्रुत्ततः, स्र्त्तृ तः go
by श्रुत्ततः or स्र्त्तृ तः. If there is a contradiction between श्रुत्ततः and
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स्र्त्तृ तः go by श्रुत्ततः alone. Thus two भाविाs reverential attitude
towards the world in general and also प्रामाण्र्म् attitude
towards all the scriptures. So this is सद्भावना.
These three पञ्िर्िायज्ाः,सद्गुिाः and सद्भाविाः put
together is कर्व योग. This is the first topic. Incidentally कर्व योग
will lead to the purification of mind, the refinement of mind,
the maturity of mind, the spiritualization of mind. what do you
mean by spiritualization of mind? It means a mind which values
spiritual goals as superior to the material goals of life.
The next topic is उपासि or meditation. Five types of
Vedic meditations are prescribed in शीक्ावल्ली. All these
उपासिs could be easily practiced by the Vedic students of
those days. Nowadays the times have changed. Therefore these
Vedic उपासिs need not be practiced by us because our mental
setup and makeup is totally different. Therefore we are studying
these उपासिs only out of academic interest, we need not
practice them. Does that mean उपासिs are not required at all?
We only say that the Vedic उपासिs can be replaced by Puranic
उपासिs, which are in the form of रार् उपासि, कृष्ि उपासि,
देवी उपासि etc. We don’t say उपासिs are not required what
we say Vedic उपासिs appear to be complicated for us. What
are the five उपासिs? The first one is सांत्तितोपासिर्् wherein
the combination of Vedic letters are taken and upon those
combinations of Vedic letters we are asked to invoke various
देवताs. पवू व रूपर््, उिररूपर््, सत्तन्धः and सन्धािर््. This
सांत्तितोपासिर्् a group उपासि consisting of nearly twenty
देवताs. Then the next one is व्याहृत्तत उपासि in which the
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व्याहृत्तत र्न्त्रs are taken. भःू , भुवः, सुवः and र्िः and upon these
four व्याहृत्तत र्न्त्रs देवताs. This also is a group उपासि in which
sixteen देवताs are invoked upon these व्याहृत्ततs. The third one
is त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि – meditation of the total mind upon the
individual mind. So micro mind is the symbol for invoking the
macro mind. And an aside point we saw was शङ्करािायव
pointed out that the second and the third उपासिs should go
together, they do not exist separately. They are अङ्ग-अङ्शग
उपासि. The fourth one is called पाङ्क्त ब्रह्म उपासि, wherein
the macrocosmic world was divided into three groups of five
members each, total fifteen parts. The individual was also
divided into three groups of five members each. Fifteen macro
will be invoked upon the fifteen micro. In this उपासि since
each group has got five members it is called पाङ्क्तर््. पाङ्क्तर््
means a group of five. पञ्चानाम् समिू िः पाङ्क्तर््. The fifth one
is the well-known and the most popular ॐकार उपासि. Here
ईश्वर or त्तिरण्यगभव is invoked upon ॐकार. The macro is
invoked upon ॐकार. Thus सांत्तितोपासिर््, व्याहृत्तत उपासि,
त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि, पाङ्क्त ब्रह्म उपासि and ॐकार उपासि are
five उपासिs. In general, उपासि means meditation and that too
meditation on God with attributes, सगुि ध्यािर्् उपासिम्. For
any सगुि ध्यािर्् we use a symbol which is called आलम्बिर््.
Thus एकशस्मन् आलम्बने सगुिध्यािम् उपासिर्् इत्तत उच्यते.
The उपत्तिषत् talked about the benefits of these उपासिs also
which are of two types depending upon our सङकल्प or motive.
Religion can be used for materialistic purpose and also spiritual
purpose. We should remember that religion and spirituality are
different. Every religious person need not be a spiritual person,
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whereas every spiritual person is in our culture is a religious
person. So when people invoke the Lord for money, name,
fame, etc., they are all religious people but they are using for
material benefit. In fact रावि, कंस, शिरण्र्कशिपु etc., used
religion for power and control. When religion is used to acquire
त्तसत्तद्s or miraculous powers, remember it is a materialistic
application of religion. Mind you religion for miracles is a
materialistic application of religion. We should never value
religion associated with miracles or miracles associated with
religion. Therefore these उपासिs also can be done with a
materialistic motive or spiritual motive. If these उपासिs are
practiced with materialistic motive those desires will be
fulfilled but a person will be materialistic person, religiously
materialistic person. Some people are atheistically
materialistic, some other are theistically, religiously
materialistic. Remember a materialistic person is a सांसारर
whether he is religious or non-religious. Whereas here we are
interested in using the उपासिs only for spiritual growth, inner
growth by which we mean त्तिि एकाग्रता, the capacity to focus
on the spiritual goal of life, capacity to reshuffle the priorities
of life. If भगवाि् comes and asks me to choose one goal, I
should not have a conflict, without conflict I should be able to
say मोक्ष. If I can say that it means my priorities are clear. So
thus त्तिि एकाग्रता सम्पादनार्य म् for developing focusing
capacity all these उपासिs are useful. Not only for developing
focusing capacity for developing expansion of the mind. That
is why we are invoking त्तिरण्यगभव , the total mind, etc. Where
सर्त्तष्ट comes there mind expands. These are the त्तिि
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त्तवशालता, these are the benefits of उपासि. This is the second
topic.
The third topic is a special िोर् or fire ritual is prescribed
in शीक्ावल्ली which is a very popular िोर्, even now it is very
widely done and it is called आविन्ती िोर्ः because the र्न्त्र
begins with the word आविन्ती. Through this आविन्ती िोर् the
student asks for four-fold benefits. The first benefit is money,
धिम्, श्रिः. The second benefit is purity, शुत्तद्ः through money.
How can purity come through money? Because generally we
think money will sully the mind. This is one very important
difference in our Vedic approach. Generally many people think
money means it is impurity. According to वेद money by itself
is neither pure nor impure. It depends upon how you use the
money. Money can be used for gambling then we can spoil our
personality. Money can be wasted for all other kind of
addictions then it will cause impurity. Or the money can be used
for पञ्िर्िायज्s. Therefore never say money will pollute.
There are some people who will not touch money, if I touch
devil will catch me. We saw that money is लक्ष्र्ी देवी. If I think
that money will pollute me then it is an insult to लक्ष्र्ी देवी.
Therefore remember money properly used will lead to purity.
Therefore purity through money. Then purity should lead to
ज्ािर््. This is the third benefit I seek – जीवात्र्-परर्ात्र्ा-
ऐक्तय-ज्ािर््. प्रत्ततवेशोऽत्तस प्र र्ा भात्ति प्र र्ा पद्स्व. The fourth
goal is once I have got knowledge, I seek शिष्र्ािः or disciples
with whom I can share the knowledge and perpetuate the
परम्परा which started from सदात्तशव सर्ारम्भार्् अस्र्दािायव
पयव न्तार््. Therefore every शिष्र् has to play the role of a गुरु
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also. Whatever you know you share with someone that is a
साधि for you as well as perpetuation of the tradition. So that
is आर्ायन्तु ब्रह्मिाररिः स्वािाः may many disciples come to
me. Because in the case of a ब्राह्मि he had only one duty in life
i.e., learning and teaching. So therefore from the standpoint of
a ब्राह्मि the fourth benefit is mentioned. So the four benefits
are धि प्रात्तिः, शुत्तद् प्रात्तिः, ज्ाि प्रात्तिः and शिष्र् प्रात्तिः which
one seeks through आविन्ती िोर्ः.
Then the fourth and the final topic is जप साधि. जप
means repetition of a र्न्त्र. र्न्त्र आवत्तृ िः जपः. If you are
repeating only once it becomes पारायिर््. If you repeat it more
than once it will become जपः. It can be a big र्न्त्र or a िार् of
the Lord, wherever repetition is involved it becomes जप. This
जप is also two-fold. This is an aside point, not in शीक्ावल्ली.
It can be either वात्तिकम् or मानसम्, verbal or mental
repetition. When it is verbal it is called जप and when it is
mental it is called ध्यािर््. So any र्न्त्र repeated in the mind is
ध्यािर््, a form of meditation. Whereas the very same र्न्त्र if
you repeat through your tongue it is called जप. Here two
जपर्न्त्रs are prescribed in शीक्ावल्ली for two types of benefits.
One जप is for ज्ाि योनयता प्रात्तिः. यश्छन्दसार्षृ भो त्तवश्वरूपः ।
छन्दोभ्योऽध्यर्त ृ ात्सम्बभवू etc., ending with श्रुतां र्े गोपाय upto
that it is one type of जप. What do you mean by ज्ाि योनयता
प्रात्तिः, the fitness? Physical health is extremely important, शरीरां
र्े त्तविषव िर््. Then the health of all the sense organs, त्तजह्वा र्े
र्धुर्िर्ा । किाव भ्याां भरू र त्तवश्रुवर््. And the most important is the
mental health both the emotional and the intellectual help. If a
sharp intellect alone is there and if a person is not sound
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emotionally then any disturbance can irritate him. A person
with a high IQ should have a good EQ (emotional quotient)
also. Imagine a person is an irritable person with a sharp
intellect, he cannot use his intellect. Suppose emotional health
is there but there is no rational thinking faculty; then also
useless. We require both of them which is called र्ेधा शत्तक्त. स
र्ेन्रो र्ेधया स्पि ृ ोतु. Thus physical, sensory, emotional and
intellectual health we require. Therefore a जप is prescribed.
Then another जप is prescribed for ज्ाि प्रात्तिः. अिां वक् ृ स्य रे ररवा
। कीत्ततवः पष्ठृ ां त्तगरे ररव । ऊध्वव पत्तवत्रो वात्तजिीव स्वर्त ृ र्त्तस्र् । रत्तविां
सविव सर्् । सुर्ेधा अर्त ृ ोत्तक्तः । इत्तत त्तत्रशङ्कोवेदािुवििर्् ॥ So
this is a जप which can give ज्ािर््. Of course it must be
understood properly. Mere repetition will not produce ज्ािर््.
If that is true you will not come to the next class. Therefore the
जप will give knowledge means जप will produce the condition
suitable for knowledge, opportunity for श्रविर््, गुरु प्रात्ति,
शास्त्र प्रात्ति, time प्रात्ति etc. So these are the two-fold जप called
ज्ाि योनयता प्रात्तिः and ज्ाि प्रात्तिः. This is the fourth topic जप.
Thus we have got four main topics all meant for coming to
ब्रह्मज्ािर््. The student wants to express his gratitude to the
Lord at the end. Therefore the same शात्तन्तपाठ is repeated at
the end also with a slight modification as a thanksgiving.
तन्र्ार्ावीत् । तद्वक्तारर्ावीत् । आवीन्र्ार्् । आवीद्वक्तारर्् ॥
With this the शीक्ावल्ली is over.
We will also conclude it with final शात्तन्तपाठ, we will
chant together the final शात्तन्तपाठ.
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शां िो त्तर्त्रः शां वरुिः । शां िो भवत्वयव र्ा । शां ि इन्रो बिृ स्पत्ततः ।
शां िो त्तवष्िुरुरुिर्ः । िर्ो ब्रह्मिे । िर्स्ते वायो । त्वर्ेव प्रत्यक्ां
ब्रह्मात्तस । त्वार्ेव प्रत्यक्ां ब्रह्मावात्तदषर्् । ऋतर्वात्तदषर्् ।
सत्यर्वात्तदषर्् । तन्र्ार्ावीत् । तद्वक्तारर्ावीत् । आवीन्र्ार्् ।
आवीद्वक्तारर्् । ॐ शात्तन्तः शात्तन्तः शात्तन्तः ॥
पि
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तैत्तिरीय उपत्तिषत् भग
ृ ुवल्ली
द्वितीया ब्रह्मानन्दवल्ली
Having completed the first chapter of तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत्
now we will enter into the second chapter which alone is the
main chapter of तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् wherein a comprehensive of
the वेदान्त शास्त्र is given. Therefore it is considered a very
important chapter and शङ्करािायव takes lot of pain to give a
beautiful commentary to this chapter. The first chapter as well
as the third chapter do not deal with the वेदान्त शास्त्र at all.
They only deal with the preparatory disciplines and therefore
both those chapters – first and third – are meant only for getting
साधि ितुष्टय सम्पत्ति. Because according to the उपत्तिषत् the
second chapter study will be fully beneficial only if a person
has got साधि ितुष्टय सम्पत्ति. Therefore first and third
chapters are साधि chapters whereas the second chapter is the
वेदान्त chapter. And the second chapter is known by three
different names ब्रह्मवल्ली or आिन्दवल्ली or ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली.
It is called ब्रह्मवल्ली because the chapter begins with the word
ब्रह्म. Just as शीक्ावल्ली begins with the word शीक्ा, भग ृ ुवल्ली
begins with the word भग ृ ु, this chapter begins with the word
ब्रह्म, therefore it is called ब्रह्मवल्ली. It is also known as
आिन्दवल्ली because in this chapter there is a beautiful
analysis of the nature of आिन्द. What exactly is happiness and
what is the means of getting happiness. So this analysis is called
आिन्द र्ीर्ाांसा. The second chapter is well-known for this
आिन्द र्ीर्ाांसा section and because of this topic this chapter
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gets the name आिन्दवल्ली. The third name is by combining
the first two, because it begins with ब्रह्म and because it deals
with आिन्द elaborately it is called ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली. And this
chapter unlike the other उपत्तिषत्s begins with a separate
शात्तन्तपाठ. In the other उपत्तिषत्s there is only one शात्तन्तपाठ
in the beginning whereas for तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् there is a
शात्तन्तपाठ for the first chapter and there is a separate शात्तन्तपाठ
for the second chapter and the third chapter. The शात्तन्तपाठ is
the well-known शात्तन्तपाठ only, viz., सि िाववतु सि िौ
भुिक्तु, which we have seen while studying कठोपत्तिषत्,
therefore we will chant the शात्तन्तपाठ and I will give you the
gist of the शात्तन्तपाठ; elaborately we have seen while studying
कठोपत्तिषत्.
शात्तन्तपाठः
ॐ सि िाववतु । सि िौ भुिक्तु । सि वीयं करवाविै ।
तेजत्तस्विावधीतर्स्तु र्ा त्तवत्तद्वषाविै । ॐ शात्तन्तः शात्तन्तः शात्तन्तः
॥
I will give the essence of this शात्तन्तपाठ, the word for
word meaning we have seen before. This is a beautiful
शात्तन्तपाठ which is particularly relevant for a Vedantic student.
Whereas the other शात्तन्तपाठs like भरां किेत्तभः can be used in
any occasion, even a non-Vedantic can chant, whereas this
शात्तन्तपाठ is a specific शात्तन्तपाठ meant for a Vedantic student.
Here the student is praying to the Lord seeking five factors or
five items which are extremely important for a Vedantic
student. I am rearranging for the sake of convenience.
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1) The first thing is the knowledge that र्ोक् is the result of
my own sincere effort. It is not purely determined by the will of
God or it is not purely determined by fate, but it is heavily
dependent on my own sincere effort. So a strong faith in the
free-will is required. That is why र्ोक् is called a पुरुषार्व ः.
पुरुषार्व ः means that which is accomplished by one’s own effort.
And only if I am convinced of my free-will then alone I will be
ready to put forth my own effort. Otherwise I will be lying
lazily saying that
எல்லாம் நன்யமக்டக, எல்லாம் இயறவன் தசைல்,
அவனன்றி ஓர் அணுவும் அயசைாது (एल्लार्् िन्मैक्तके,
एल्लार्् इरै वन् सैयल्, अवनशि ओर् अिुवुर्् असैयादु, everything
is for the better - everything is the work of the Lord - not a single
atom can move without Him.) If the Lord wants to give the र्ोक्
let him give. And also we logicalize that by saying that God
knows what I need. So why should I ask anything to the Lord,
God knows what is best for me. Here the उपत्तिषत् says there is
no question of God knows or not, whether you know what is
best for you is important. Because if you do not know, even if
God is willing to give you will reject that. If I don’t know what
I need, if I don’t know what want even God will be helpless
because even if God chooses to give I will say I don’t want.
Therefore more than God deciding, I have to decide what I want
and I have to decide to work for what I want. This प्रयत्िः, self-
effort, O Lord I should be able to put forth. So O Lord give me
आ्मशवश्वासिः, O Lord give me faith in myself, which is more
important than faith in God Himself. For details c/o गीता
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उद्रे दात्र्िात्र्ािां िात्र्ािर्वसादयेत् ।
आत्र्ैव ह्यात्र्िो बन्धुरात्र्ैव ररपुरात्र्िः ॥ गीता ६-५ ॥
So the first prayer is O Lord give me confidence in myself and
also the knowledge that effort is required. सि वीयं करवाविै.
So प्रयत्िः is the first prayer.
2) The second prayer is a Vedantic student has to study
वेदान्त for a length of a time because it is a teaching which is
given in a step-by-step method. The total teaching can never be
given in one class, but it is a build up like building a house. One
brick after other I have to keep properly and in between I have
to put cemented also properly. Then alone house is built.
Similarly वेदान्त is never studied in one or two classes, it is a
long study. How long? It depends upon so many factors. So
since वेदान्त is in the form of तत् त्वर्् अत्तस or since वेदान्त is
the study of जीव जगत् ईश्वर स्वरूपम्. The true nature of जीव,
the true nature of जगत्, the world, the true nature of ईश्वर, it
has to be gradually built up. पञ्िकोश त्तववेक, अवस्र्ारर् त्तववेक
etc., are connected with जीव. सत्तृ ष्ट, पञ्िीकरिर्् etc., are
connected with जगत.् And the cause of the creation is
connected with ईश्वर. And since it involves a developed
teaching a student should remember what has been taught
before as even he studies वेदान्त. He should not come to every
class with a fresh mind. Because it is a buildup every later class
is a development based on the previous class. That is why we
use the word class and not lecture or discourse. There is a
difference between lectures and discourses and class. Lectures
means they are stray discourses without much connection
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between one and the other. One talk may deal with जप, another
talk may deal with प्रािायार्, and another talk may deal with a
little bit meditation, there is no link. Therefore you can go in
between and gather something and come away also. Whereas
class means every lecture is connected to the previous one. It
means the student has to grasp and retain it and based on that
understanding he has to listen to the next class. And the third
class is to be listened to based on the first two. तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत्
is to be listened with the background of र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत्,
केिोपत्तिषत,् कठोपत्तिषत् and कैवल्योपत्तिषत्. That means a
student should have ग्रिि-धारि शत्तक्त, the receiving and
retaining power, which is otherwise called र्ेधा शत्तक्त. We had
special prayer for र्ेधा शत्तक्त in शीक्ावल्ली
यश्छन्दसार्षृ भो त्तवश्वरूपः । छन्दोभ्योऽध्यर्त ृ ात्सांबभवू । स
ृ ोतु ॥ तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् २-१-३ ॥
So र्ेधा शत्तक्त means grasping and retaining power and therefore
through शात्तन्तपाठ, the student asks for र्ेधा शत्तक्त. तेजत्तस्व िौ
अधीतर्् अस्तु – whatever I have learnt let it be green in my
memory, let it be fresh in my mind. So the second thing is र्ेधा
शत्तक्त. The first thing is प्रयत्िः, effort, belief in myself.
3) The third factor that is asked for through the शात्तन्तपाठ
is a healthy relationship between the गुरु and the त्तशष्य. र्ा
त्तवत्तद्वषाविै. A healthy which involves श्रद्ा and भत्तक्त, love and
respect. Love on the part of the teacher and respect on the part
of the student. So that even if I am not able to accept a certain
part of teaching, I am able to give the benefit of doubt to the
teacher. It must be right, if I am not able to accept it is only the
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deficiency in my grasping power and therefore I will keep it
aside and after sometime come back and again study. This
open-mindedness is called श्रद्ा. This is the third prayer.
4) Then the fourth one is it is not enough that we have all
these things they all must culminate in ज्ािर््. O Lord! let my
effort, memory power, गुरु-त्तशष्य सम्बन्ध - all of them
culminate in ज्ािर््. सि िौ त्तशष्यािायौ सिैव अवतु. ज्ाि
प्रधािेि सिः ईश्वरः माम् अवतु. It is like a football game, the team
may be able to pass the ball is very well, but learning to pass
the ball is not important, it has to be converted into goal.
Otherwise there is no benefit at all. Similarly, I have got श्रद्ा,
भशि all of them but permanent र्ुर्ुक्ु. Permanent seeker is not
good. Therefore the seeking must culminate in knowledge.
Therefore the fourth prayer is O Lord! give me ज्ािर््. सि िौ
अवतु.
5) And finally ज्ािफलर््. I am not getting knowledge
merely to tell everyone that I have finished उपत्तिषत्. I want a
transformation in my life. I must be able to withstand the
experiences of life because पुण्यपाप प्रारब्धर्् is constantly
hitting me I should be able to withstand that with equanimity
which is called ज्ािफलर््. Between ज्ािर्् and फलर्् there are
many obstacles. Therefore O Lord! let those obstacles which
are in the form of emotional handicaps – कार्, िोध, लोभ, र्ोि,
र्द, र्ात्सयव , or to put in the गीता language आसुरी सम्पत् is the
obstacle. As long as that obstacle is there knowledge will be
there only in the intellect but at the emotional level I don’t enjoy
the emotional health. Therefore the conversion of the
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knowledge into emotional stability is called ज्ािफलर्् or
ज्ाित्तिष्ठा, O Lord! Let me enjoy. It is like having a tank full
of water and you open the tap and you are not able to get the
water. If the tank has water you should be able to get the water
in the tap. If water is there and still the tap doesn’t give water
that means there is some block. Similarly between ज्ािर्् and
फलर्् there can be emotional block, O Lord! help me to get out
of them. They are called कषार्म् in technical language.
कषार्म् means subtle रागिेषs. Subconscious रागिेषs are
called कषार्म्. They can create problem. that is indicated in the
शात्तन्तपाठ through सि िौ भुिक्तु. सि िाववतु is ज्ाि प्राशत. सि
िौ भुिक्तु is ज्ािफल प्राशत.
So the five items are प्रयत्िः, र्ेधा, गुरु-त्तशष्य सम्बन्ध,
ज्ािर्् and ज्ािफलर््. O Lord help me in this. This is the
essence of शात्तन्तपाठ. With this background we will enter into
the उपत्तिषत् proper. So the second chapter also is in the prose
form only. The उपत्तिषत्s are broadly divided into two – र्न्त्र
उपत्तिषत्s and ब्राह्मि उपत्तिषत्s. र्न्त्र उपत्तिषत्s are generally
in poetical form, metrical form and ब्राह्मि उपत्तिषत्s are in
prose form. So र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत् and ईशावास्योपत्तिषत् are र्न्त्र
उपत्तिषत्s. while प्रश्नोपत्तिषत्, बिृ दारण्यकोपत्तिषत् and
तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् are ब्राह्मि उपत्तिषत्s. Therefore being a
ब्राह्मि उपत्तिषत् this is in a prose form and it is divided into
several paragraphs or sections called अिुवाकs. We have got
nine अिुवाकs in ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली. Now we will enter into the
first अिुवाक.
उपत्तिषत्सारसङ्ग्रिः
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र्न्त्र 2-1-01
ब्रह्मत्तवदाप्िोत्तत परर्् । तदेषाभ्युक्ता । सत्यां ज्ािर्िन्तां ब्रह्म । यो
वेद त्तित्तितां गुिायाां परर्े व्योर्ि् । सोऽश्नुते सवाव ि् कार्ाि् सि ।
ब्रह्मिा त्तवपत्तश्चतेत्तत ।
The उपत्तिषत् is divided into three portions. The first
portion consisting of the first sentence which is condensing the
entire teaching in one capsule teaching. In सांस्कृत it is called
सत्रू वाक्तयर््. सत्र
ू वाक्तयर्् means a capsule statement, a pithy
statement, an aphoristic statement in which the whole teaching
is condensed. And what is that? ब्रह्मत्तवत् आप्िोत्तत परर््. This is
first portion. Then in the next portion this capsule statement is
slightly elaborated, brief notes are given. So here the उपत्तिषत्
itself writes notes on this small statement. That portion is called
वशृ ििः. So a brief commentary and that is from the second
statement तदेषाभ्युक्ता onwards वशृ ि starts. It goes upto the
portion we have read, i.e., ब्रह्मिा त्तवपत्तश्चतेत्तत. Then the rest of
the entire उपत्तिषत् is an elaborate commentary on the सत्र ू
वाक्तयर््. So capsule statement, brief commentary and elaborate
commentary. In सांस्कृत elaborate commentary is called
व्र्ाख्र्ानम्. So we will take the सत्र ू वाक्तयर्् here ? ब्रह्मत्तवत्
आप्िोत्तत परर््. ब्रह्मत्तवत् means the knower of ब्रह्मि्. त्तवत् means
ज्ात्ति, derived from the √शवद् to know. So ब्रह्मत्तवत् means
ब्रह्मज्ात्ति and ब्रह्मत्तवत् आप्िोत्तत means a ब्रह्मज्ात्ति attains, a
knower of ब्रह्मि् attains. Now the next question is attains what?
परर्् – the highest goal, the greatest goal called परर् पुरुषार्व ,
otherwise called र्ोक्. The knower of ब्रह्मि् attains र्ोक् which
is the highest पुरुषार्व . It is otherwise called पि ू व त्वर््. He attains
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fulfilment in life, self-sufficiency in life, becomes free from all
types of wants in life and does not miss anything in life. So परर््
can be translated as पि ू व त्वर्् or र्ोक्. In simple English ब्रह्मत्तवत्
आप्िोत्तत परर्् means ब्रह्मज्ात्ति attains र्ोक्. From this we
should derive the corollary that ब्रह्मज्ात्ति alone attains र्ोक्. All
the other people, however great they may be will be सांसाररs
alone. As long as one doesn’t get ब्रह्मज्ािर्् they will continue
to be सांसाररs. That means even if they have been performing
elaborate rituals, as long as they don’t get ब्रह्मज्ािर््, they will
be ignorant ritualists and they will continue to be सांसाररs, even
though they are religious people, even though they do elaborate
पिू ाs. Only thing is he will be a religious सांसारर. That is the
only difference. Others may be irreligious सांसाररs, he will
religious सांसारर. And similarly even if a person is a great
उपासक doing all varieties of उपासिs of various देवताs, they
also as long as they don’t get ब्रह्मज्ािर्् they will be उपासक
सांसाररs. And the उपासिs may give them great miraculous
powers even but even if they have powers they will be सांसाररs
only. Therefore the corollary of the statement is ज्ािात् एव तु
कैवल्यर््, knowledge alone gives र्ोक्. And therefore how
many paths are there? Multipath philosophy. We do not believe
in multipath, as I have often said there are many paths for the
purification of mind, there are infinite paths for the purification
of mind, through rituals you can purify, through social service
you can purify, through पारायिर््, through भजिर््, through
even प्रािायार् you can purify. Thus we accept many paths for
purification but we don’t accept many paths for र्ोक्, for र्ोक्
there is only path, i.e., ब्रह्मत्तवत् आप्िोत्तत परर््. शङ्करािायव
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writes an elaborate commentary on this line itself. So this is
सरू भत
ू वाक्र्म्. Now this capsule statement leads to three
questions which will be answered in the following portion.
What are the three questions?
1) What is ब्रह्मि्? Because I am supposed to know ब्रह्मि्
to get liberation. So if I have to know ब्रह्मि्, please tell me what
ब्रह्मि् is. So शकं तत् ब्रह्म is the first question.
2) Then the second question is if I have to know ब्रह्मि् for
getting liberation, the question is how can I know ब्रह्मि्. What
is the method of knowing ब्रह्मि्? कर्ं तस्र् ज्ािर््? If I go on
meditating will the knowledge come or something else will
come? Therefore ब्रह्म वेदन प्रकारिः. What is the method of
getting ब्रह्मज्ािर्् is the second question.
3) The third question is what do you mean by पि ू व त्व प्रात्तिः
or र्ोक् प्रात्तिः? Because unless I know what is र्ोक्, I will not
seek that. It is because the ignorance with regard to र्ोक् only
people are seeking everything else. They never want र्ोक् or
even if they want they put as the last in the list. In the पुरािs
also sometimes we find some भक्तs claiming O Lord! I don’t
even want र्ोक्. I want permanently worship your feet. So they
are people who deliberately say we don’t want र्ोक्. All these
are because we don’t know what exactly is र्ोक्. Therefore the
third question is what is पर प्रात्तिः? These are the three
questions. शकं तत् ब्रह्म, कर्ं तस्र् वेदनम् and का पर प्रात्तिः?
Now these three questions are going to be answered in
the next portion. What is the next portion? I told you वत्तृ िः, the
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brief commentary on the सर ू वाक्र्म्. section. Now in this वत्तृ ि
all these three questions are answered.
What is the first question? What is ब्रह्मि्? And that too
in this context. Because the word ब्रह्मि् has several meanings.
In शीक्ावल्ली we saw even ॐकार is called ब्रह्म, a ब्राह्मि by
birth is also called ब्रह्म, वेद is called ब्रह्म, त्तिरण्यगभव is called
ब्रह्म. So many meanings are there. Which one are you referring
to? Therefore the उपत्तिषत् itself defines ब्रह्मि् सत्यर्् ज्ािर््
अिन्तर्् ब्रह्म. This is called ब्रह्म लक्ि वाक्तयर््. लक्ि means
definition. So the उपत्तिषत् gives definition of ब्रह्मि्. It is a very
important and popular definition.
Then what is the next question? How to know ब्रह्मि्?
For that the answer is given. यो वेद त्तित्तितां गुिायाां परर्े व्योर्ि्.
That is the answer to the second question. ब्रह्मि् has to be
known within oneself, It is not known outside. So your search
is not turned outwards, your search is turned inwards.
परात्तञ्ि खात्ति व्यति ृ त् स्वयांभस्ू तस्र्ात्पराङ् पश्यत्तत
िान्तरात्र्ि् । कत्तश्चद्ारः
प्रत्यगात्र्ािर्ैक्दावि
ृ िक्ुरर्त
ृ त्वत्तर्च्छि् ॥ कठोपत्तिषत् २-१-१
॥
What is the third question? What do you mean by पि ू व त्व
or र्ोक् प्रात्तिः? For that the answer is given सः अश्नुते सवाव ि्
कार्ाि् सि । ब्रह्मिा त्तवपत्तश्चता इत्तत. Those two sentences explain
ू व त्व प्रात्तिः. Thus all the three questions are answered. The
पि
exact meanings of these answers we will see later.
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And how does तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् answers these questions.
It answers these questions by quoting a र्न्त्र from another part
of the वेद, i.e., ऋनवेद. So this portion is a ऋनर्न्त्र. सत्यां
ज्ािर्िन्तां ब्रह्म । यो वेद त्तित्तितां गुिायाां परर्े व्योर्ि् । सोऽश्नुते
सवाव ि् कार्ाि् सि । ब्रह्मिा त्तवपत्तश्चता इत्तत । इत्तत means
quotation. तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् is a यजुवेद उपत्तिषत् it is quoting a
ऋनर्न्त्र. But तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् wants to acknowledge the
quotation. So it says तत् एषा अभ्युक्ता – the following ऋनर्न्त्र
is been quoted by me to answer these three questions. तत्
means by way of answering these three questions, एषा means
ऋनर्न्त्र. Then the answer begins सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् अिन्तर्् ब्रह्म
which is called ब्रह्म लक्ि वाक्तयर््. Now we will analyze this
ब्रह्म लक्ि वाक्तयर््. शङ्करािायव writes a very elaborate
commentary on this and there are many sub-commentators like
आिन्दत्तगरर, ‘विर्ाला’ अच्युत कृष्िािन्द तीर्व , सुरेश्वरािायव
etc. So this is considered to be a very important वाक्तयर््.
I will summarize what is given by शङ्करािायव . So what
is ब्रह्मि्? सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् अिन्तर््. The word ब्रह्मि् itself means
the big one. It is derived from the √बिृ ् to be big. Now the
question is when you use the word big what do you mean.
Because the word big is a relative word, it is an adjective. The
meaning of the adjective big will depend upon the type of noun
that follows. Suppose a person says a big mosquito, then you
see search around for it. I say a big mountain, will you look
around? So the word big has got a different dimension when it
is used along with mountain. Not only adjective governs the
noun, the noun also governs the adjective. They are mutually
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dependent. So here ब्रह्मि् means the big, but the उपत्तिषत् does
not say how big it is. And the उपत्तिषत् does not say how big it
is we have to understand it as infinitely, unconditionally big.
Because there is no conditioning noun around and therefore it
is infinitely big. And the उपत्तिषत् defines that ब्रह्मि् through
three words – सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् and अिन्तर््. We will take the last
word first. अिन्तर्् means the limitless one, it is that which is
limitlessly big or infinite. अिन्तर्् means अन् अन्तम्, अन्त
means limit, अिन्त means free from limit. And the limitation
of a thing is supposed to be three-fold.
1) The first is spatial limitation, देश पररच्छे दः,
2) The second is time-wise or temporal limitation, काल
पररच्छे दः,
3) The third is called attribute-wise or object-wise
limitation, वस्तु पररच्छे दः.
And ब्रह्मि् is अिन्तर्् – free from spatial limitation, time-wise
limitation and objectivity-wise limitation. That is the meaning
of अिन्तर््. In सांस्कृत देश-काल-वस्तु-पररच्छे द िन्ू र्म्. Ok,
what do you mean by these three limitations?
Spatial limitation means an object is located only in one
place, and therefore naturally it is not in another place. If I am
in this hall, unfortunately I am not at home. If I can be both at
home and in the hall, how nice it will be. So because we are
spatially limited the presence in one place naturally means the
absence in another. To have spatial boundaries is देश पररच्छे दः.
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ब्रह्मि् is free from देश पररच्छे द means It is not located in one
place, It is all-pervading, सवव व्यापकर्् ब्रह्म.
Then what is the second limitation? Time-wise
limitation. If an object exists only within a period of time it is
called time-wise limitation. Like we talk about a particular
person and we write 1912-1977; we put a dash in between the
numbers. So स्वात्तर् त्तिन्र्यिन्द nicely says that dash means
dashing from womb to tomb. He did not exist before his birth
and after the date of death he does not exist. He exists only
within that duration, neither before nor after. That is called
time-wise limitation. ब्रह्मि् is अिन्तर््, ब्रह्मि् does not have
काल पररच्छे दः. That means there was no time when ब्रह्मि् was
not, and there will never be a time when ब्रह्मि् will not be. In
short, It is eternal.
See how many meanings are there for अिन्तर््. The first
meaning is देश पररच्छे द रत्तितर््, means all-pervading; the
second meaning is काल पररच्छे द रत्तितर््, means eternal.
Then the third one is वस्तु पररच्छे द रत्तितर््. It is not
limited by another object. It is a subtle idea. Suppose there is a
clip, it is one object and there is a clock which is another object.
The very fact that clip is one object and clock is another object,
it means clip is not a clock and the clock is not a clip. That
means that clip enjoys only clipness, the clock only clockness.
Since clip enjoys clipness only, because of its very enjoyment
of clipness it doesn’t have clockness. It is a limitation. It is not
a clock, it is not a book, it is not a man, it is not a woman, it is
not a table, it is not a chair. So by seeing a clip it does not have
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all the other ‘ness’. In fact every ‘ness’ displaces have all the
other ‘nesses’. Therefore, enjoying a ‘ness’ is a limitation. So
by being a man, by claiming that I am a man, the very manness
deprives me of all the other ‘nesses’. This is called वस्तु
पररच्छे दः. And this वस्तु पररच्छे द will be there as long as there
is a second object. So therefore if ब्रह्मि् should be free from
वस्तु पररच्छे द there should not be a second object other than
ब्रह्मि्. It should be non-dual. वस्तु पररच्छे दः रत्तितत्वर्् means
secondlessness, अत्तद्वतीयर्् ब्रह्म. So ब्रह्मि् is all-pervading,
eternal and secondless. All these three meanings are conveyed
by one word अिन्तर््. More in the next class.
पि
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We are seeing the first अिुवाक of ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली
wherein the उपत्तिषत् starts with a सत्र ू वाक्तयर्् the knower of
ब्रह्मि् attains the greatest – ब्रह्मत्तवत् आप्िोत्तत परर््. This is
called सत्र ू वाक्तयर््. Then the उपत्तिषत् itself gives a brief
commentary or वशृ ि upon this सत्र ू वाक्तयर्् in which it answers
three possible questions. What is ब्रह्मि्? How to know ब्रह्मि्?
What is meant by the attainment of the greatest? And to answer
these three questions the उपत्तिषत् itself quotes a ऋनर्न्त्र –
सत्यां ज्ािर्िन्तां ब्रह्म । यो वेद त्तित्तितां गुिायाां परर्े व्योर्ि् ।
सोऽश्नुते सवाव ि् कार्ाि् सि । ब्रह्मिा त्तवपत्तश्चता । And you should
remember this उपत्तिषत् belongs to यजुवेद which quotes a
ऋनर्न्त्र. And in this र्न्त्र the first portion answers the first
question – What is ब्रह्मि्? And this र्न्त्र gives the definition of
ब्रह्मि् – सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् अिन्तर््. A very significant important
oft quoted definition. शङ्करािायव gives a very elaborate
commentary on this, and we are seeing the meaning of this
definition. The definition consists of three words सत्यर्् ज्ािर््
and अिन्तर््. Of these three words we have seen one word in
the last class, viz., अिन्तर्् – free from limitations. Limitations
are three-fold – space-wise, time-wise and objectivity-wise
limitation. And ब्रह्मि् is अिन्तर््, free from all the three
limitations. So देश पररच्छे द रत्तितर््, therefore It is all-
pervading. काल पररच्छे द रत्तितर््, without time limitation,
therefore It is eternal. And then it is without objectivity or वस्तु
पररच्छे द रत्तितर््. And वस्तु पररच्छे द िन्ू र्म् ultimately means
without a second object to limit it; अिैतम्, non-dual. So this is
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अिन्तर््. All-pervading, eternal, non-dual वस्तु is ब्रह्मि्. Upto
this we saw in the last class.
Now we have to take the other two words सत्यर्् and
ज्ािर््. We will take up the word सत्यर्् first. Before analyzing
the meaning of the word सत्यर््, I have to talk about certain
general idea regarding the word and its meaning. Of course we
are using words to communicate an object or an अर्य िः. Every
word reveals a particular object. When I say chair immediately
you remember the object chair. When I say pen immediately
you remember the object pen. So word and object are
interconnected. A word is used to reveal an object. And
regarding this a very elaborate analysis is done in our tradition.
Because we have to learn a lot from the वेदs and वेद uses a lot
of words to teach us. Therefore verbal communication is
analyzed very much in our शास्त्रs, in our tradition. There we
will see only the relevant part that we require. Every word has
got one primary meaning which we call as र्ुख्य अर्व ः, which is
generally and popularly and commonly understood by all
people. A word can also have various secondary meanings or
implied meanings also depending upon the context, which is
called लक्ष्य अर्व ः. This secondary meaning itself is of different
types and what are various types of secondary meanings are
also analyzed in the scriptures. Here we will see only one type
of secondary meaning which is very popularly used. Suppose I
use the word गङ्गा river. And I ask you, what is the length of
the river गङ्गा? Then you will say, it is 2000 or 2500 miles
river. So when I ask about the length of गङ्गा you understand
गङ्गा as a lengthy river which originates from the त्तिर्ालयs
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beyond गोर्ुख and flows throughout and reaches the गङ्गा
सागरर््. The entire range of the river is understood. That is the
primary meaning of the word गङ्गा. But suppose a person
says, I had a bath in गङ्गा. Now when a person says ‘I had a
bath in गङ्गा’ what is your understanding? You don’t take the
entire length of गङ्गा and you don’t imagine that a person took
dip all over गङ्गा. So there contextually you know when a
person takes a dip it is not the पिू य गङ्गा but it only refers to a
part of गङ्गा. Therefore contextually you take गङ्गा means
गङ्गा एकदेशः, a part of गङ्गा. When I ask about the length
of गङ्गा, you don’t take a part. There you take whole. So
sometimes a word conveys the whole meaning and sometimes
a word conveys only a part of the whole. So पि ू व पदार्व or
एकदेश पदार्व . When a person says I bought mango from the
market so there you understand the whole mango which
includes so many things – there is the seed, pulp, skin, stem; all
put together is mango. And when you say I ate a mango, what
do you do? Your intellect thinks. This fellow cannot eat
everything including seed, therefore you take the meaning of
the edible part of the mango. And when a person asks what is
the cost of constructing this hall? There by the word hall means
the whole hall. And when a person says I was sitting in the hall,
it doesn’t mean that he sits all over the hall, but he is only
occupying एकदेश, a part of the hall. Similarly when a person
says I saw a movie. The word ‘I’ normally means the whole
individual consisting of the physical body, subtle body, causal
body, आत्र्ा and five ज्ािेत्तन्रयs, five कर्ेत्तन्रयs, all of them
is a composite to an individual, but when I say ‘I saw a movie’
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that ‘I’ can be applied only to my seeing faculty. Ears cannot
see, tongue cannot see, therefore only the एकदेश of अिम् is
seeing. How do we arrive at it? The general rule is first you
apply the total meaning. The primary meaning is to be applied
first and when you find the primary meaning does not fit then
what do you do? When you say ‘I ate a mango’ mentally you
knock off the seed. When I say ‘I bought a mango’, you include
the seed also. so where the seed will be included, where the seed
will be excluded you don’t require elaborate teaching according
to the context the intellect filters. Therefore the rule is first you
apply र्ुख्यार्व ः and if it does not fit in, use लक्ष्यार्व ः. And one
of the secondary meaning is a part of the total. Similarly when
a person says ‘I am fat’ he is referring to only the body. Mind
cannot become fat or lean. When a person says ‘I am happy’, it
refers to mind part alone. And when a person says ‘I am born’,
it refers to only the physical body. The mind is never born. No
mother gives birth to our mind, we carry our mind and bring, so
when I says ‘I was born on such and such day’ the meaning of
the word I is only एकदेश, i.e., स्र्ल ू शरीरर््. This method of
implication is called भागत्यागलक्िः, an implication in which
you take only a part of the total meaning. So thus among various
types of लक्िs, among various types of implications one
implication is एकदेश अर्व ः, take the part of the total. If you keep
this concept in mind, we will come to the analysis of the word
सत्यर््. And first we will find out whether we can take the
र्ुख्यार्व ः and if the primary meaning does not fit in, we have to
go in for the secondary meaning of the word सत्यर््. So what is
the र्ुख्यार्व ः or the primary meaning of the word सत्यर््?
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सत्यर्् means any existent object. This watch, book, hall, in fact
the entire जाग्रत् प्रपञ्ि, the waking world is सत्यर््. Unlike the
स्वप्ि पदार्व , the dream object is considered to be असत्यर््
because it is not really existent. So the dream objects are non-
existent. And therefore it is असत्यर््. Whereas the जाग्रत्
पदार्व s, the objects obtaining in this world are existent and
therefore it is called सत्यर््. Therefore सत्यर्् ब्रह्म means any
existent object is ब्रह्मि्. This is the primary meaning. But when
you take this primary meaning, we get into trouble. Any
existent object that I experience is limited by time and space,
whereas the उपत्तिषत् has defined ब्रह्मि् as limitless, अिन्तर््
ब्रह्म. Therefore I find there is a contradiction. It doesn’t seem to
fit properly. And since the primary meaning does not fit we
have to take the secondary meaning. And what type of
secondary meaning we have to take if you analyze we arrive at
that we have to take भागत्यागलक्ि, we have to take the
appropriate अंि of the total meaning. Like when I say I ate a
mango, then you have to leave the seed. When you say ‘I
planted a mango’, there you have to take the seed part. So we
should know how to filter properly. Now what is an existent
object? We have to find out the total and then we have to find
out which part we have to take so that the meaning will fit in
properly. Like when I say ‘I see’ you will take the eye part. ‘I
hear’ – the ear part, ‘I am writing the notes’ – the hand part. So
all these things you do generally, भागत्यागलक्ि effortlessly
you are doing every moment. Now we say every existent object
has got three parts. It has got a िार्, a name – table, chair, pen,
book, man, woman, etc. Then it has got a रूपम्, a shape or form
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or a specific property that defines that object. Then the third
thing is the adjective we add, existent which means Existence.
So िार्, रूप and सिा. Similarly when you say existent fan –
िार्, रूप and सिा. Now here the word सत्यर्् primarily means
all the three put together. It is a composite पदार्व which includes
all the three – िार्, रूप and सिा. But here we cannot take the
composite, the whole things because the word अिन्तर्् is there.
Therefore you remove the appropriate thing. What is the
appropriate thing? We cannot retain the िार् because it is a
limited thing. It is not अिन्तर््. So any िार् is limited spatially,
time-wise. And you cannot take the रूपम् part also because it is
also limited. And therefore you have to remove the limiting part
and the left out part is सिा. has attribute-wise limitation. And
when we leave the िार्-रूप अंि and take the सिा अंि alone
you find that the सिा is not only in the pot, the existence is in
the man, in the moon, in the Sun, in the stars; so सिा is
pervading all the िार्-रूपs. Therefore सिा is अिन्तर््.
Therefore the word सत्यर्् means िार्-रूप रत्तित सिा in every
object. रत्तित means without, filtered out. We have to filter the
िार्-रूप अंि and retain the सिा अांश. This िार्-रूप रत्तित सिा
is the secondary meaning of the word सत्यर््. If you summarize
an existent object is the primary meaning of the word सत्यर््
and the existence part is the secondary meaning of the word
सत्यर््. And according to वेदान्त this सत्यर््, or
1) Existence is not a part, product or property of the object.
2) Existence is an independent entity which pervades and
enlivens the object.
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3) Existence is not limited by the boundaries of the object.
4) Even if the object is destroyed Existence continues to
exist.
5) But the continuing Existence cannot be recognized
because there is no medium through which it can be recognized.
Remember the light example, when I remove the hand
the light continues to be there, but you cannot see the light not
because of non- existence but there is no medium for
manifestation. Therefore the word सत्यर्् means pure,
independent Existence which is eternal and all-pervading.
अिन्त सिा is the meaning of the word सत्यर््. To indicate this
Existence that it is the Existence without the िार्-रूप pollution,
we will use the capital E so that we understand Existence not as
a property, but as an independent entity itself, which is very
difficult for us to conceive. But ultimately you can understand
वेदान्त only when you can understand Existence as a noun and
not as an adjective. So अिन्तर्् सत्यर्् ब्रह्म, limitless Existence
is ब्रह्मि्. And for this we use भागत्यागलक्ि. We reject िार्
and रूप part and retain सिा part. This alone शङ्करािायव tells
in his दत्तक्िार्त्तू तव स्तोत्रर््
यस्यैव स्फुरिां सदात्र्कर्सत्कल्पार्व गां भासते
Everybody is experiencing ब्रह्मि् all the time in the form of
Existence because we say there ‘is’ a pillar, there ‘is’ a man,
there ‘is’ a woman, that ‘is’, ‘is’, ‘is’, is ब्रह्मि्. We have to be
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in वेदान्त for some time, so that we can assimilate this abstract
concept of Existence as a noun.
Then the next word is ज्ािर््. The primary meaning of
the word ज्ािर्् is knowledge. What do you understand by the
word knowledge? All the time we understand knowledge as the
knowledge of one object or the other – pot knowledge, man
knowledge, woman knowledge, table knowledge, etc. That is
why the moment you use the word knowledge we ask the
question knowledge of what? And how does this knowledge
exists? The knowledge exists in our mind in the form of a
thought. So when I look at a particular object I cognize that
object in the form of a cognition which is called वत्तृ ि or thought
or a mental modification. When I look at this clock, this clock
enters my mind through the eyes and a mental modification
takes place which is called वत्तृ ि and that is called cognition. And
suppose object is in front and no mental modification is taking
place in the mind, then nothing will happen. It is called blank
look, where the sense organs are open, the object is in front but
the mind does not have the required वत्तृ ि पररिार्ः. And this
ज्ािर्् which is in the form of thought cannot be called ब्रह्मि.्
The primary meaning does not fit in properly because any
particular knowledge is limited in nature, whereas ब्रह्मि्
happens to be अिन्तर््. Therefore ज्ािर्् means knowledge,
any knowledge is limited Pot knowledge is limited because it is
only pot knowledge, it is not cot knowledge. So nature-wise it
is limited, time-wise it is limited because it originates, location-
wise it is limited because it happens only in one mind. So if
knowledge in one mind simultaneously happens in other minds
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it will be wonderful. One person from a family is sufficient to
gain the knowledge and all the family members will be
enlightened thereby. But it is not so. A knowledge is located in
only certain intellect and therefore ज्ािर्् in its primary
meaning is limited in nature and therefore, we have to go in for
secondary meaning to arrive at limitless knowledge. How to do
that? Apply भागत्यागलक्ि, find out what are the constituents
of any knowledge. Just as we saw any three constituents of any
object – िार्, रूप and सिा. Similarly any knowledge in your
mind also has got three constituents– िार्, रूप and सिा. रूप is
in keeping with the object. If the object is pot the knowledge
will be this is a pot. Therefore in the knowledge also there is the
िार् and रूपम्, which together is called a thought. And there is
a third part which we generally don’t recognize, in every
cognition or knowledge there is Awareness or Consciousness
principle. When I say I have pot knowledge, it means I am
conscious of the pot. When I say I have man knowledge, I am
conscious of the man. Therefore the third part is शचत् or
िैतन्यर््. So object has got िार्, रूप and सिा, while the
knowledge has िार्, रूप and शचत् or िैतन्यर््. To arrive at, to
fit into अिन्तर्् we have to filter the appropriate part. So we
remove the िार् and रूप part because they are finite, and we
will retain the Consciousness part alone which continues in
every knowledge. Man knowledge comes Consciousness is.
Man knowledge goes Consciousness is. Woman knowledge
comes Consciousness is. Thus varieties of cognitions appear
and disappear but Consciousness doesn’t appear and disappear.
So from six o’clock upto seven o’clock as even I am talking
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your mind is going after thoughts after thoughts, and these
thoughts rise and fall and keep on understanding and even
though the thoughts variedly arrive and depart the common
feature is ‘I am conscious being’, this Consciousness is there in
and through every thought. That Consciousness is अिन्तर््.
Therefore ज्ािर्् is िार्-रूप रत्तित िैतन्यर््, pure
Consciousness. सत्यर्् means िार्-रूप रत्तित सिा, pure
Existence. Pure means without name and form. Therefore,
ब्रह्मि् is सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् अिन्तर्् – limitless Existence,
Consciousness principle. And with regard to Consciousness
you have to apply the principles
1) Consciousness is not a part, product or property of the
body.
2) Consciousness is an independent entity which pervades
the body.
3) This independent, limitless, pure Existence
Consciousness is ब्रह्मि्.
सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् अिन्तर्् ब्रह्म. सत्-शचत-् अनन्तम् ब्रह्म. So with
this the definition of ब्रह्मि् is over.
Now the question is how to know this blessed ब्रह्मि?्
For this the उपत्तिषत् gives the answer – यो वेद त्तित्तितां गुिायाां
परर्े व्योर्ि्. This ब्रह्मि् is limitless and all pervading, ok. Even
though the ब्रह्मि् is all-pervading one has to recognize the
ब्रह्मि् in one’s own mind. Is the all-pervading ब्रह्मि् in the mind
or not? Certainly in the mind also. And It is in the mind one has
to recognize the ब्रह्मि.् Just like to find out whether there is
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power or not even though the electric cable is all over you use
the tester only in the particular place to find out. Similarly सदा
सवय गतो अशप आ्मा न सवय र अवभासते बुधावेव अवभासेत्
स्वछिे षु प्रशतशबम्बवत्. ब्रह्मि् has to be recognized is in the mind.
In whose mind? I cannot see your mind, so where is the
question of recognizing there? Therefore it is understood that
everyone has to recognize ब्रह्मि् in one’s own mind. Therefore
the उपत्तिषत् says: गुिायाां त्तित्तितां ब्रह्म वेद – ब्रह्मि् has to be
known as available, accessible, त्तित्तितम् in गुिा – the mind or
intellect, in general अन्तिःकरिम्. Where is this mind located?
According to the scriptures the mind is located, the
headquarters of the mind, the residence of the mind is the heart
of the body. हृदर्े मनिः वतेते. Mind belongs to सक्ष्ू र् शरीरर््.
The subtle mind is located in the physical heart. And within the
heart there is inner space which is called परर्ां व्योर्. So
परर्ां व्योर् means हृदर् आकाश. It is called परर्म् which means
sacred, holy. Why do you say the heart is sacred? The heart by
itself is not sacred but since it is the residence of ब्रह्मि,् ब्रह्म
स्र्ान्वात्, it is called परर्म्. Like a temple which is holy
because of the presence of the deity. Thus in the body there is a
heart, within the heart there is a space, within the space there is
a mind, within the mind one has to recognize ब्रह्मि्. So one has
to recognize परर्े व्योर्ि् गुिायार्् ब्रह्म वेद. Then the next
question is how should I know that ब्रह्मि् in my mind? So this
is the crucial question. Everybody asks that they have been
meditating for the last twelve and half years and after twelve
and half years of exercise they have reached a state where they
are able to empty the mind of its thoughts. And they are able to
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come to the blank mind, thereafter they don’t know what to do.
and they have been waiting for that ब्रह्मि् to appear and so far
that ब्रह्मि् has not given them दशव िर््. So the उपत्तिषत् says
ब्रह्मि् will never give you दशव िर्् because It is not an object of
knowledge. ब्रह्मि् has to be recognized in the mind as ‘I’ which
is ever the subject and which is never an object. Ever an
experiencer, never an experienced object. And therefore what
should you do? Negate everything that you experience. So the
whole world is not ब्रह्मि् because it is object of experience,
limited also subject to time and space. So negate the world.
Then ask the question whether the body is an object or not? The
body object also we negate because it is not अिन्तर््. Then in
the mind thought after thought arise and all these thoughts are
also not अिन्तर््, therefore negate that also. Then after
negating thought what is left out is ब्रह्मि्. And the mistake that
we commit is after negating everything we look for ब्रह्मि् to be
the residual object. After negating everything what is left out is
the observer, the awarer of the blank mind. In short, the blank
mind is really not blank, it is pervaded by me, the Conscious
principle. Thus I, the witness am सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् अिन्तर््. I am
the witness of the presence of thoughts as well as the witness of
the absence of thoughts इत्तत वेद. In short, अिम् ब्रह्म अशस्म इत्तत
वेद. वेद means one has to know. So with this the second
question is also answered. The answer is know ब्रह्मि् as I, the
witness Consciousness.
Then comes the third question. What do you mean by
attaining the greatest? You said ब्रह्मत्तवदाप्िोत्तत परर््, that पर
प्राशत means what? For that उपत्तिषत् gives the answer in two
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sentences. सः अश्नुते सवाव ि् कार्ाि् सि. सः means the
ब्रह्मज्ात्ति, the one who knows ब्रह्मि्. He knows that अिम् ब्रह्म
अशस्म इत्तत ज्ात्ति. सवाव ि् कार्ाि् अश्नुते. अश्नुते means attains,
accomplishes, gains. What does he gain? कार्ाि् – त्तवषय
आिन्दः, अिात्र् सुखर््, worldly happiness. Here it is not the
regular meaning. The regular meaning of काम is desire. What
do you mean by त्तवषय आिन्दः? By contacting various sense
objects we get varieties of pleasures. When we eat nice things,
it is आिन्द; we hear music, it is आिन्द; we smell nice
perfume, it is आिन्द; all of them are called काम. This
ब्रह्मज्ात्ति attains सवाव ि् कार्ाि् – all sense pleasures possible
in the world which looks almost impossible, the उपत्तिषत् gives
an unbelievable promise. All possible sense pleasures means all
the possible dishes in the world, similarly सवय िब्दानन्द, सवय
स्पिाय नन्द, सवय रूपानन्द, रसानन्द, शवषर्ानन्द, and not only
भल ू ोक but also भुवलोक, सुवलोक, र्िलोक etc., all the आिन्द
he attains. Now the question is how can one get all the pleasures
because even if all the pleasures are available a person cannot
survive for that long to experience each one. So the उपत्तिषत्
puts another bombshell – सि. सि means simultaneously he
gets all the pleasures. It is not क्रमतिः, one after another. One
commentator writes अक्रमतिः, not gradually but
simultaneously, र्ुगपत्. So This ब्रह्मज्ात्ति attains all the sense
pleasures simultaneously. Then the next question is how is it
possible. The उपत्तिषत् says ब्रह्मिा – he gets all the pleasures
in the form of ब्रह्मािन्द. ब्रह्मािन्दरूपेि सवाव ि् शवषर्ानन्दन्
प्राप्िोत्तत. Ok, what does it mean? ब्रह्मािन्द means infinite
आिन्द. So in the form of infinite आिन्द he gets all the finite
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pleasures which means he doesn’t directly get finite pleasures
but he gets the infinite आिन्द in which all the finite आिन्दs
are included. So he gets infinite आिन्द which is called
आत्र्ािन्द or ब्रह्मािन्द in which all the त्तवषयािन्दs are
included. Ok, what does it mean? When a person gets ब्रह्मािन्द
it includes all the त्तवषयािन्द means by getting त्तवषयािन्द
whatever fulfillment a person gets that fulfillment he gets
through ब्रह्मज्ािर््. How do you know that? The उपत्तिषत् says
once I get that my earning, my craving for every finite pleasure
in the world goes away. Because I get a तशृ त which includes all
the possible तशृ तs. Therefore सि पि ू य िः भवशत, ततृ िः भवशत,
सन्तुष्टिः भवशत. This पि ू व ्वम् or fulfillment or freedom from
struggle for sense pleasures is called पर प्रात्तिः. More in the next
class.
पि
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We are seeing the first अिुवाक of ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली
wherein the उपत्तिषत् has introduced a सत्र ू वाक्तयर्् and a वशृ ि
or brief commentary on the सत्र ू वाक्तयर््. The सत्र
ू वाक्तयर्् is
ब्रह्मत्तवत् आप्िोत्तत परर्् – the knower of ब्रह्मि् attains the
greatest. This is commented upon by the उपत्तिषत् itself सत्यां
ज्ािर्िन्तां ब्रह्म । onwards upto ब्रह्मिा त्तवपत्तश्चता । Of course in
between there is a statement तदेषाऽभ्युक्ता which doesn’t come
under सत्र ू वाक्तयर्् or वशृ ि. It is an introduction to वशृ ि. The
उपत्तिषत् itself says I am going to quote a ऋनर्न्त्र in the form
of a brief commentary upon my own सत्र ू वाक्तयर््. In this वशृ ि
three questions are answered. What is ब्रह्मि्? How to know
ब्रह्मि्? What do you mean by attaining the highest? ‘What is
ब्रह्मि्’ has been answered – सत्यां ज्ािर्िन्तां ब्रह्म. ब्रह्मि् is
limitless Existence Consciousness principle. And this ब्रह्मि् has
to be known यो वेद त्तित्तितां गुिायाां परर्े व्योर्ि्, this limitless
Existence Consciousness has to be understood in one’s own
mind alone. Even though ब्रह्मि् is limitless but the recognition
has to be in one’s own mind in the form of the witness
Consciousness of the presence of thoughts in the mind as well
as the absence of thoughts. So when there are thoughts they are
known, when there are no thoughts the blankness is also known.
In सांस्कृत we say वत्तृ िः भाव अभाव सात्तक् – the witness of the
presence and the absence of thoughts, that witness
Consciousness has to be recognized as ब्रह्मि.् सात्तक् िैतन्यर््
एव ब्रह्म. And in the mind also you should not search for the
सात्तक् िैतन्यर्् because if you search for the सात्तक् िैतन्यर्् and
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come across It then the problem will be the one who comes
across the सात्तक् िैतन्यर्् will be the सात्तक् of सात्तक् िैतन्यर््.
Then that सात्तक् has to be known by another सात्तक्, you will get
into infinite regress. Therefore सात्तक् िैतन्यर्् is not objectively
experienced, but It is claimed as ‘I am’. Therefore सात्तक्
िैतन्यरूप अिर्् एव ब्रह्म अत्तस्र्. To convey this idea alone the
उपत्तिषत् uses a special word for सात्तक् िैतन्यर्् and that is the
word आ्मा. Therefore ब्रह्मि् is सात्तक् िैतन्यर््, सात्तक् िैतन्यर््
is आ्मा which means Self. And Self means what? Whenever
you want to withdraw money from bank what do you write?
Self. Self cheque. That means the money comes to me only.
Therefore remember Self is synonym for I. Therefore ब्रह्मि् is
सात्तक् िैतन्यर्् is आ्मा is equal to अिर््. Therefore ब्रह्मज्ािर््
is only in the form of अिर्् ब्रह्म अत्तस्र्. And then the third
question was answered ‘what do you mean by attaining the
highest’ the उपत्तिषत् said सोऽश्नुते सवाव ि् कार्ाि् सि । ब्रह्मिा
त्तवपत्तश्चता – the one who knows I am ब्रह्मि् he simultaneously
fulfills all the sensory desires. कार्ाि् means शवषर्ानन्दन्.
Various types of worldly pleasures a human being seeks and he
is struggling to fulfill one by one. And it is an endless process.
And it doesn’t end also because by the time I fulfill a few they
are replaced by a larger number. That at the time of death I find
I have got more unfulfilled desires than I had in my childhood
state. Therefore in the normal process we can never fulfill all
the worldly desires and even if we have to fulfill we have to do
one after the other. Whereas ब्रह्मज्ाशन fulfills all of them and
also they are fulfilled simultaneously. Then naturally the
question will come how can one fulfill all the sense pleasures
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simultaneously. When I am using one sense organ I am not able
to use another sense organ because the mind can be behind only
one sense organ at a time. Therefore it appears logically
impossible to simultaneously fulfill all the desires. Then what
does it mean? He fulfills शवषर्ानन्द in the form of ब्रह्मािन्द.
He attains one ब्रह्मि् in which all the शवषर्ानन्दs are as good
as fulfilled. Because ब्रह्मािन्द happens to be पि ू य आिन्दः
which includes all the finite pleasures which alone कृष्ि said in
the भगवद्गीता
यावािर्व उदपािे सवव तः सम्प्लुतोदके ।
तावान्सवेषु वेदेषु ब्राह्मिस्य त्तवजाितः ॥ गीता २-४६ ॥
When he has got a lake full of water why should he run after
the miserable corporation lorry which gives two buckets of
water? Similarly ब्रह्मािन्द includes all शवषर्ानन्दs. Now the
question is what is the proof. How do I know ब्रह्मािन्द includes
all शवषर्ानन्दs? Because once I gain this ब्रह्मािन्द then my
desire for all the शवषर्ानन्दs naturally drops. That is the proof.
प्रजिात्तत यदा कार्ान्सवाव न्पार्व र्िोगताि् ।
आत्र्न्येवात्र्िा तुष्टः त्तस्र्तप्रज्स्तदोच्यते ॥ गीता २-५५ ॥
This verse is based on this line of तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत्. कृष्ि uses
the word सवाव ि् कार्ाि्, he drops all the desires because this
आिन्द gave him पि ू व ्वम्. And therefore this वैरानयर्् towards
finite pleasures is the indication of पि ू य आिन्द प्रात्तिः. How do
you know a person has eaten well or not. You give him some
food, if he has eaten upto his neck, not only he won’t take food
but the very दिय नम् will give nausea. So I don’t see his stomach
full but his वैरानयर्् for fresh food indicates he is पि ू य िः. Extend
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it to the mind also. Therefore in the form of ब्रह्मि्, ब्रह्मिा is
इत्र्म्भावे ततृ ीया, in the form of ब्रह्मािन्द, in the form of पि ू य
आिन्द he gets fulfillment. And what type of ब्रह्मि् it is? Upto
this we saw. I have to introduce the word त्तवपत्तश्चता. What is
ब्रह्मि्? त्तवपत्तश्चत् means सवव प्रकािकम् which is the all
illuminating Consciousness, which illumines the entire world
and therefore सवव प्रकािक िैतन्यरूपर्् ब्रह्म. We can translate
it as ज्ािरूपेि. Thus पि ू व ्व प्रात्तिः सवव कार् शनवशृ ििः is called
attainment of the highest. पि ू व ्व प्रात्तिः is the attainment of the
total fulfilment, and therefore consequent freedom from all
expectation from the external world. This will be explained
more in the later portion and therefore we will conclude that
discussion. And the word इत्तत – इत्ततशब्दो र्न्त्रपररसर्ाप्त्यर्व ः,
indicates the end of ऋनवेद र्न्त्र and the end of the वशृ ि. And
all the three questions have been answered now. Hereafter we
are getting the elaborate commentary on again these three
questions. What is ब्रह्मि्? How to know ब्रह्मि्? What is the
attainment of the highest? Three question are elaborately
answered. Now we are going to enter the व्र्ाख्र्ान ग्रन्र्िः.
तस्र्ाद्वा एतस्र्ादात्र्ि आकाशः सम्भत ू ः । आकाशाद्वायुः ।
वायोरत्तनिः । अनिेरापः । अद्भ्यः पत्तृ र्वी । पत्तृ र्व्या ओषधयः ।
ओषधीभ्योन्िर्् । अन्िात्पुरुषः । स वा एष पुरुषोऽन्िरसर्यः ।
Upto this we will see now. So we are entering the
व्र्ाख्र्ान ग्रन्र्म् in which the elaborate answers are given to
the three questions. Now we are taking up the first question
again. What is ब्रह्मि्? ब्रह्मि् is सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् अिन्तर््, limitless
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Existence-Consciousness. And this definition itself is further
clarified through this portion. The topic that we find in this
portion is सत्तृ ष्ट प्रकरिर््, the discussion of creation or
cosmology. And I this सत्तृ ष्ट प्रकरिर्् the उपत्तिषत् reintroduces
ब्रह्मि् as the cause of the whole creation. ब्रह्मि् which has been
introduced before as सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् अिन्तर््, that ब्रह्मि् is now
being introduced as जगत् कारिर््. The previous portion is
called स्वरूप लक्िर्् and this portion is called तिस्र् लक्िर््.
ब्रह्मि् is the cause of the universe. This means the universe is
born out of this ब्रह्मि्. The उपत्तिषत् wants to add the new name
given to ब्रह्मि,् when ब्रह्मि् is recognized as I, the witness
Consciousness, the very same ब्रह्मि् gets a new name, i.e.,
आत्र्ा. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् uses both the expression
ब्रह्मात्र्ा is जगत् कारिर््. Naturally the next question arises
when you say ब्रह्मि् is the cause which type of cause are you
referring to. त्तित्तर्ि कारिर््, the intelligent cause and उपादाि
कारिर््, the material cause. Normally we find every product
has got one intelligent cause and one material cause, two causes
are separately experienced. Carpenter is the intelligent cause,
wood is the material cause, only when both are there furniture
can come. Imagine carpenter alone is there, from where the
furniture will come? So we require wood. And imagine wood
alone is there, carpenter is not, furniture won’t come. So
normally we experience two causes, but here we have a
problem because before the creation there was only one सत्यर््
ज्ािर्् अिन्तर््.
सदेव सोम्येदर्ग्र आसीदेकर्ेवात्तद्वतीयर्् ॥ छान्दोनयोपत्तिषत् ६-
२-१॥
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Therefore we get into problem. If ब्रह्मि् is त्तित्तर्ि कारिर्् then
उपादाि कारिर्् will be missing and if ब्रह्मि् is उपादाि
कारिर्् then त्तित्तर्ि कारिर्् will be missing. What to do? The
उपत्तिषत् says ब्रह्मि् is uniquely both the intelligent as well as
the material cause and this idea is not a new idea to you. We
have seen that in the र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत् itself.
यर्ोिव िात्तभः सज
ृ ते गह्णृ ते ि ॥ र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत् १-१-७ ॥
Just as the spider is the intelligent and the material cause. Don’t
ask is ब्रह्मि् like spider with eight legs? Don’t extend any
example too much? The biggest problem in वेदान्त is you
extend the example too much and get into trouble. ब्रह्मि् is not
a spider. Here only we want to say that it is अत्तभन्ि त्तित्तर्ि
उपादाि कारिर््. This is first point. We have to note which is
not mentioned in the उपत्तिषत्. That is in this area. And even
though ब्रह्मि् is both the intelligent and the material cause in
this context we are only focusing on the material cause aspect
of ब्रह्मि्, that part alone is relevant for us. Thus ब्रह्मि् is the
material cause out of which the whole universe has come, and
it is the material cause in which the whole universe rests, and it
is the material cause in which the into which the whole universe
resolves. Just as from the gold ornaments come and because of
gold the ornaments exists and back to the gold the ornaments
go. This is one thing. And the next point that we have to add
here is even though ब्रह्मि् is mentioned as कारिर््, the creative
power of ब्रह्मि् is called र्ायाशत्तक्तः, which is there inseparable
from ब्रह्मि्. Just as your power to create a dream world you
have. And where is that power? It is not in the almirah, if it is
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in the almirah it is wonderful while going to sleep we can take
and go, but it doesn’t exist separate it is there intrinsically with
you. That is why you create dream at any time, sometimes in
the class also. Why? The dream power is intrinsic, non-
separate. Similarly ब्रह्मि् has got त्तवक्ेप शत्तक्त, सत्तृ ष्ट शत्तक्त
which is called र्ाया. We don’t enumerate it separately because
it does not exist separately. We don’t say स्वात्तर्त्तज and his
talking power are coming. When स्वात्तर्त्तज comes power of
speaking also comes. Similarly you and your hearing power I
need not separately enumerate because the rule is
शत्तक्तशत्तक्तमतोिः अभेदिः. Any power is non-separate from the
powerful. Therefore when I say ब्रह्मि् is जगत् कारिर्् you
should understand it as र्ाया शत्तक्त युक्त ब्रह्म, र्ाया शत्तक्त युक्त
आत्र्ा is जगत् कारिर््. That ब्रह्मि् created the world in a
particular order. Initially the five elements were created and
thereafter the elementals were created. भत ू सत्तृ ष्टः and thereafter
भौत्ततक सत्तृ ष्टः, which we saw in तववबोध. The five elements
also were also created in a particular order. The order is the
subtlest element is created first and the grossest is created last.
The subtlest element is आकाश and the grossest is पत्तृ र्वी. Thus
ब्रह्मि् created आकाश, वायु, अत्तनि, जलर्् and पत्तृ र्वी. And how
do you know the earth is the grossest and the space is the
subtlest. Earth is said to be the grossest because it can be
perceived by all the five sense organs because it has got शब्द,
स्पशव , रूप, रस and गन्ध. So पञ्च गुि it has got, therefore it can
be perceived by पञ्च इशन्द्रर्, therefore it is grossest. Whereas
जलर्् has got only four गुिs, it doesn’t have smell. Pure water
doesn’t have smell, therefore it is has got four गुिs, therefore
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perceived by four इशन्द्रर्s, therefore it is subtler than पत्तृ र्वी.
Then अत्तनि has got three गुिs – शब्द, स्पशव , रूप, it doesn’t
have taste. वायु has got only two गुिs – शब्द and स्पशव . And
आकाश has got only one गुि, it is recognized through echo,
therefore आकाश is the subtlest one. Therefore first आकाश,
एकगुि आकाश finally पञ्च गुि पत्तृ र्वी. That is said here.
तस्र्ात् एतस्र्ात् आत्र्िः – तस्र्ात् ब्रह्मिः – from that ब्रह्मि्
which was defined as सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् अिन्तर्् and एतस्र्ात्
आत्र्िः – which is none other than this सात्तक् िैतन्यर््. When
we say ‘that ब्रह्मि्’, it is far away. ‘This आत्र्ा’ means it is not
far away. In fact it is not even nearby. It is myself. Therefore
‘that ब्रह्मि्’ is ‘this आत्र्ा’. So तस्र्ात् ब्रह्मिः एतस्र्ात्
आत्र्िः आकाशः सांभत ू ः – the space element with one गुि is
born. And from this it is very clear that ब्रह्मि् is even subtler
than आकाश because आकाश has got at least one गुि but ब्रह्मि्
doesn’t have even one गुि.
अशब्दर्स्पशव र्रूपर्व्ययां तर्ाऽरसां त्तित्यर्गन्धवच्ि यत् ।
अिाद्िन्तां र्ितः परां रुवां त्तििाय्य तन्र्त्ृ युर्ुखात् प्रर्ुच्यते ॥
कठोपत्तिषत् १-३-१५ ॥
We saw in कठोपत्तिषत् आत्र्ा or ब्रह्मि् is त्तिगव ुिः. Therefore, it
is subtler than even space. That is why space appreciation is the
subtlest appreciation. If I can appreciate space then I am ready
to appreciate Consciousness. आकाश is a positive entity. It is
not an absence of thing. Why? Because we are talking about its
origination. An absent thing need not originate. अभावस्र्
उ्पशििः विुम् न िक्र्ते र्स्र् उ्पशििः उछर्ते सिः भावरूपिः एव
भशवतुम् अिय शत न तु अभावरूपिः. Therefore आकाश is a positive
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material entity according to वेदान्त. So आकाश is born first.
And this also gives us corollary that since आकाश is born out
of ब्रह्मि्, even before the birth of आकाश ब्रह्मि् was there. If
ब्रह्मि् was there before the origination of आकाश, tell me what
is the location of ब्रह्मि्? So can you imagine the mindboggling
concept. To talk about the location of anything you require
space. Location presupposes space; in fact, you cannot talk
about the location of space itself. Suppose you have to talk
about the location of space you will require another space. Then
it will require another space. You will get into problem. When
we cannot conceive of the location of space itself, how can we
conceive of something subtler than space? Therefore don’t ask
the question where is आत्र्ा. There is no answer for it. And
therefore if anybody says ‘I saw आत्र्ा yesterday there’ it
means seeing something else he thinks he saw आत्र्ा. So it is
unlocatable. One scientist has said Consciousness cannot be
located. Somehow by slipup he has said correctly! Then
आकाशात् वायुः – from आकाश, the space वायु is born which
has got two गुिs – शब्द and स्पशव and therefore grosser than
आकाश. वायु can be felt by the body when you sit under the fan.
Then वायोः अत्तनिः – from the वायुतत्वर्् अत्तनि, the fire
principle is born which has got three गुिs – शब्द, स्पशव and
रूपम्, visibility. And अनिेः आपः – from the fire principle the
water is born which has got four गुिs therefore recognizable by
four इशन्द्रर्s. Water has got its own taste, the tasteless taste
which is a unique taste which you can recognize by tasting.
Then अद्भ्यः पत्तृ र्वी – from the water principle पत्तृ र्वी is born.
पत्तृ र्वी literally means the earth, but don’t think we are talking
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about only the planet earth. Earth represents all these solid खर
पदार्ाय िः. Therefore moon, planets anywhere there is tangible
solid matter. पत्तृ र्वी is उपलक्िर्् for all the solid matter. Upto
this is पञ्िभत ू सत्तृ ष्टः. And keeping तत्त्वबोध in mind we have to
re-read this पञ्िभत ू सत्तृ ष्ट twice. First we talk about the
पञ्िसक्ष्ू र्भतू सत्तृ ष्टः and then after पञ्िीकरिर्् we have to talk
about पञ्िस्र्ल ू भत ू सत्तृ ष्टः also. So five subtle elements are born
first and thereafter five gross elements are born. Thus subtle and
gross elements are born. Subtle elements are responsible for the
creation of the subtle body consisting of mind etc., and the gross
elements are responsible for the creation of the gross body.
Now the elementals are going to be talked about. पत्तृ र्व्याः
ओषधयः – so once the gross elements are created from the
पत्तृ र्वी, earth wherein there is conducive atmosphere for the
origination of life. From such place ओषधयः – all the plant
kingdom is born. Then ओषधीभ्यः अन्िर्् – out of the plant
kingdom the food is born. From this it becomes clear that
according to the उपत्तिषत् food is vegetarian only. And
therefore according to वेद we are supposed to be vegetarian.
And अन्िात् पुरुषः – from the food alone the physical body is
born. The word पुरुषः has several meanings, therefore it can
confuse us. Sometimes आत्र्ा is also called पुरुषः. Therefore
the उपत्तिषत् itself clarifies स वै एष पुरुषः अन्िरसर्यः – in this
context the word पुरुषः means the physical body born out of
अन्िरसम्. Why is this called अन्िरसर्यः? Because the food
cannot be directly converted into the body. How does अन्िर््
produce the body? अन्िर्् enters the male body and becomes
the seed and अन्िर्् enters the female body and becomes the
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egg. And therefore अन्िर्् is converted into शुिर्् and
शोत्तितर््, the seed and the egg in the body of the father and
mother. And these two are called अन्िरसः. So अन्िर्् has to
get converted into शुिर्् and शोत्तितर्् in the body of the
parents. And then at the time of conception शुि-रूप-अन्िरसः
and शोत्तित-रूप-अन्िरसः have to join together, have to fertilize
to produce the body of the child. Therefore the child’s body is
born out of अन्िरसर्यः. र्यः means product. So अन्िरसर्यः
is equal to शुि शोत्तित कायव र््. So thus upto the creation of the
physical body has been talked about. The physical body is
called भौत्ततक शरीरर््. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् has talked about
पञ्िभतू ात्ति as well as पाञ्चभौत्ततक शरीरर््. Of course there are
so many things created, but they are not relevant for us,
therefore the उपत्तिषत् says only the relevant things.
Now having seen this much we have to derive important
corollaries. in the context of this discussion. What are ideas
which are hidden in this सत्तृ ष्ट प्रकरिर््, which are not explicitly
mentioned but implicitly there which we have to extract.
Now the first thing we have to know is this. When I say
gold is the कारिर्् and ornaments are the कायव र््, the product.
I know that gold, the कारिर्् is inherent in all the ornaments,
the product. Therefore कारिर्् काये अिुस्यत ू तया, inherently
it is there. Wood is inherent in all furniture, clay is inherent in
all earthenware, कारिर्् is inherent in all the कायव र््s. That
means when I am perceiving the कायव र््, since कारिर्् is
inherent in all the कायव र््s, whenever I perceive the कायव र्् I
should be perceiving the कारिर्् also choicelessly. So
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perception of ornaments presupposes the perception of gold.
That is why स्वात्तर् दयािन्दशि nicely said this wisdom
everyone has got that कारिर्् is inherent in all the कायव र््s,
because when they want to say “touch wood” they never go in
search of wood, any furniture available around they touch.
From that it is very clear that they know that wood is inherent
in all furniture. That means if ब्रह्मि् is the कारिर्् and the
whole creation is कायव र््, when I am appreciating the कायव
प्रपञ्ि, I should be appreciating the कारि ब्रह्म also inherent in
all of them. So now we have to find out what is that which I am
appreciating inherently in and through all the perceptions. In
fact it is with this topic the पञ्िदशी ग्रन्र् begins. One of the
beautiful texts written by त्तवद्ारण्य. He asks, “tell me what is
inherent in all of them”. There is only one thing, you say there
is a fan, there is a table, “table is”, “fan is”, “chair is”, “pen is”,
“man is”, all of them the inherently appreciated entity is only
“is”, the Existence. Therefore we come to know of an important
law – कारिर्् appears in the कायव र्् as the existence of the
कायव र््. कारिर्् काये सिारूपेि प्रत्ततयते. Gold expresses in all
the ornaments only in the form of “is”ness. How do you prove
that? Remove the gold, ornament loses its existence. Remove
the wood, furniture loses its existence. Therefore कारिर्् alone
lends existence to the कायव र््. Therefore you are appreciating
ब्रह्मि् all over the world as
यस्यैव स्फुरिां सदात्र्कम् असत्कल्पार्व कं भासते ॥
श्रीदत्तक्िार्त्तू तव स्तोत्रर्् ३ ॥
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Therefore the best definition of ब्रह्मि् is that which is available
in the form of existence in and through all the कायव र््.
Therefore, ब्रह्मि,् the कारिर्् is nothing but सत्यर््, the pure
Existence which is inherent in and through all the कायव र््s. So
you have to remember सत् when कारिर्् is used. कारिर्् is
equal to सत.् So this is corollary number one. कारित्वात् ब्रह्म
सत्यर््.
Then the second corollary that we derive is you can never talk
about the existence of anything without being conscious of that
thing. Therefore pot existence presupposes pot knowledge. If
there is a thing which you can never be conscious of, which you
can never know at any time then we can never talk about its
existence. Therefore Existence presupposes Consciousness.
Pot-existence presupposes pot-consciousness, man-existence
presupposes man-consciousness, Pure Existence presupposes
pure Consciousness. Therefore if ब्रह्मि् is सत्यर्् it has to be
ज्ािर््. So कारित्वात् सत्यर््. And being सत्यर्् it is ज्ािर््.
And last one more point. If there is a cause and there is
an effect, come back to and ornament. To know that ornament
is not a substance separate from gold, ornament is the new name
for the good old substance, i.e., gold. Similarly furniture is not
a substance but it is nothing but the same wood alone in a new
configuration. Therefore the conclusion is no product is
substantial, it is non-substantial name and form. Any कायव र्् is
not a substance, कारिर्् alone is the substance, कायव र्् is not a
separate substance. The very fact that you cannot separate
वािारम्भिर्् त्तवकारो िार्धेयर्् ॥ छान्दोनयोपत्तिषत् ६-१-४ ॥
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छान्दोनयोपत्तिषत् says any product is only a name,
because new substance can never be created. Even
scientifically, matter can never be created. Creation is nothing
but configuration or reshaping. Therefore there is no substance
called world other than ब्रह्मि्. Therefore the only substance is
ब्रह्मि् and therefore there is no second thing to limit ब्रह्मि्,
therefore ब्रह्मि् is अिन्तर्् ब्रह्म. शितरर्स्र् वस्तुनिः अभावात्
ब्रह्मििः अशितरर््वात् ब्रह्म अिन्तर्् भवशत. Thus through सत्तृ ष्ट
we established ब्रह्मि् is सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् अिन्तर््. Reflect over
this.
पि
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In the first अिुवाक of ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली we have
completed सत्तृ ष्ट प्रशक्रर्ा, the topic of creation and also we saw
the significance of सत्तृ ष्ट प्रशक्रर्ा. The significance being that it
clarifies the definition of ब्रह्मि् as सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् अिन्तर््. By
showing that the ब्रह्मि् is the कारिर्् the उपत्तिषत् indirectly
points out that ब्रह्मि् alone as कारिर्् is manifesting as the very
existence in and through every कायव र््. कारिर्् एव कार्े सत-्
रूपेि भाशत. कारिर्् alone expresses in the form of existence in
the कायव र््. If you remove the कारिर्् from the कायव र््, कायव र््
loses the very existence. So when gold is behind the ornament,
ornaments enjoy existence. Once the gold is withdrawn from
the existence the ornaments lose their existence. Gold सववे
existence सववम्, gold अभावे existence अभाविः. This is called
अन्वय व्यत्ततरे क logic. And from this we conclude that the gold
alone expresses in the form of ‘is’ness in every ornament. The
bangle ‘is’, the chain ‘is’, the ring ‘is’, the ‘is’ness in every
कायव र्् is nothing but कारिर््. And since ब्रह्मि् is the
मल ू कारिम् that ब्रह्मि् expresses in the form of the very ‘is’ness
in everything. So when you say आकाश ‘is’, वायु ‘is’, अत्तनि
‘is’, आप ‘is’, पत्तृ र्वी ‘is’, ओषशध ‘is’, अन्िर्् ‘is’, and from that
अन्िर्् the physical body ‘is’, that flowing ‘is’ness is lent by
ब्रह्मि्. Therefore the definition of ब्रह्मि् is ‘is’ness or Existence
otherwise called सत्यर्् itself. And since the ‘is’ness pervades
every object, It has to be all-pervading and therefore it is
अिन्तर्् also. ज्ािर्् aspect we saw in the last class. Therefore
सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् अिन्तर्् ब्रह्मि् is justified. And finally we said
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कायव र््, the product cannot exist separate from कारिर्् and
therefore the world cannot exist separate from ब्रह्मि् and
therefore there is no second thing other than ब्रह्मि्. You cannot
say clay and pot exist because there is no pot other than clay.
You cannot say gold and bangle exist because there is no bangle
other than gold. Similarly you cannot say ब्रह्मि् and world exist,
it is a flaw, because there is no world separate from ब्रह्मि.्
Therefore ब्रह्मि् is without a second. अत्तद्वतीयम् ब्रह्म. And
because ब्रह्मि् is secondless It is unlimited by anything,
therefore it is अिन्तर््. Thus through सत्तृ ष्ट प्रशक्रर्ा the
उपत्तिषत् clarifies सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् अिन्तर्् definition of ब्रह्मि्.
Having seen this much through the सत्तृ ष्ट प्रशक्रर्ा or
creation topic we are going to enter the next topic. The next
topic is the elaborate answer for the second question – how to
know ब्रह्मि्? For this question already we have given a brief
answer – यो वेद त्तित्तितां गुिायाां परर्े व्योर्ि्, ब्रह्मि् has to be
recognized as the witness Consciousness in one’s own mind.
Even though ब्रह्मि् is all-pervading, for recognition it is
available in one’s own mind, and in one’s own mind also not in
the form of the fleeting thoughts, the arriving-departing
thoughts but as the non-arriving, non-departing, non-
fluctuating Consciousness which illumines all the arrivals and
departures of thoughts. And even if there a gap between one
departure and a new arrival, like between one sentence and
anther sentence suppose there is a gap. What is there? We say
nothing. But the उपत्तिषत् says don’t say nothing. That gap also
is awared by some principle and that awaring witness
Consciousness is ब्रह्मि् which obtains in the mind of all. And
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in the mind also kindly don’t search for the witness
Consciousness because the searched witness Consciousness is
I, because I am aware of the blankness. I am the one who am
reporting the blankness in the mind and therefore the witness
Consciousness is I, the आत्र्ा. Thus ब्रह्मि् is to known as सात्तक्
िैतन्यरूप अिर्् ब्रह्म अत्तस्र्. This is the brief answer given in
the ऋनर्न्त्र quotation – तदेषाभ्युक्ता । सत्यां ज्ािर्िन्तां ब्रह्म ।
यो वेद त्तित्तितां गुिायाां परर्े व्योर्ि् । सोऽश्नुते सवाव ि् कार्ाि् सि
। ब्रह्मिा त्तवपत्तश्चतेत्तत. Now this brief answer is going to be
elaborated in the following portion. How to know ब्रह्मि् as I,
the सात्तक् िैतन्यर््? And this elaborate answer begins from the
following portion which we will start reading.
स वा एष पुरुषोऽन्िरसर्यः । तस्येदर्ेव त्तशरः । अयां दत्तक्िः पक्ः
। अयर्ुिरः पक्ः । अयर्ात्र्ा । इदां पुच्छां प्रत्ततष्ठा । तदप्येष श्लोको
भवत्तत ॥ १ ॥ इत्तत प्रर्र्ोऽिुवाकः ॥
Upto the portion स वै एष पुरुषः अन्िरसर्यः is the सत्तृ ष्ट
प्रकरिर््. So सत्तृ ष्ट प्रत्तिया is over with स वै एष पुरुषः
अन्िरसर्यः. Then from the next sentence तस्येदर्ेव त्तशरः
onwards we are entering into the next topic which is how to
know ब्रह्मि्, ब्रह्म वेदन प्रकारः. The उपत्तिषत् is going to present
a method of knowing ब्रह्मि् and that method is called पञ्िकोश
त्तववेक प्रत्तिया. पञ्िकोश त्तववेक means the discrimination of the
पञ्िकोशs. प्रत्तिया means method. And this is going to be
elaborately present in this. In fact तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् is well-
known for पञ्िकोश त्तववेक प्रत्तिया. This method begins with
this portion तस्येदर्ेव त्तशरः. And it continues in the second,
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third, fourth and upto the end of the fifth अिुवाक. आिन्द
आत्र्ा । ब्रह्म पुच्छां प्रत्ततष्ठा । तदप्येष श्लोको भवत्तत ॥ There ends
the fifth अिुवाक, upto that is पञ्िकोश त्तववेक प्रत्तिया. And
what is the methodology to be used here? Now to know ब्रह्मि्
we have only one method and that is अिर्् ब्रह्म अत्तस्र्. I have to
know ब्रह्मि् as I am. Because it is never available for
objectification. And therefore we have to helplessly know
ब्रह्मि् as अिर्् ब्रह्म अत्तस्र्. And when I use the word अिर््, i.e.,
“I”, that “I” should refer to what? Not the body or mind, but
सात्तक् िैतन्यरूप अिर्् ब्रह्म अत्तस्र्. “I” as the witness
Consciousness. And therefore I have to raise the level of my “I”
because at present the word “I” is used for the grossest eighty
kilos of flesh. At present the word “I” has a gross meaning but
the word “I” should be elevated to the level of the subtlest and
the most abstract witness Consciousness. And only when the
word “I” means the witness Consciousness then alone I can
claim अिर्् ब्रह्म अत्तस्र्. And this Consciousness happens to be
the most abstract thing. I hope you remember the definition of
Consciousness.
1) It is not a part, product or property of the body.
2) It is not limited by the dimensions of the body. Therefore
it is formless, intangible, colorless, odorless, tasteless,
touchless, inconceivable entity.
And it is this abstract Consciousness which should be meant by
the word “I”. Therefore the level of “I” should be raised to the
subtlest level from the present grossest level. And whenever
there is a very big difference between the present level that I am
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in and the level that I have to raise myself, when the gap is very
high what do we do? we cannot raise the level in one sweep like
climbing over the stage. Now you are at the ground level,
imagine you are standing down and now you have to come to
the stage, between the present level and the level that you want
to reach there is a very big difference therefore you cannot place
your leg over the stage unless you are शरशवक्रम अवतार. So what
do you do? Whenever there is a very big gulf between the
present level and the future level, you cut it into so many
intermediary stages and build a staircase. And therefore you
initially raise the level a little bit then go to the next level and
so on. Similarly our mind has to be raised to the subtlest level
from the grossest level. This gradual travel of the mind from the
grossest level to the subtlest level is achieved through पञ्िकोश
प्रत्तिया. And normally the method that we use is popularly
known as अरुन्धत्तत दशव ि न्यायः. When the couple, especially
the girl, has to see the star अरुन्धत्तत, it is not easy because it is
a very small, subtle star. I think it is a binary star वत्तसष्ठ and
अरुन्धत्तत star made for each other couple. Therefore this couple
wants see an ideal made for each other couple so that they will
also live like that. But the problem is the star is so small
therefore directly the eye cannot see. Therefore what does the
priest do? Being intelligent he never shows the star directly.
First take the attention to the grossest thing preferably the moon
itself, then to the next star, then in stages you come to the
subtlest. So this gradual travel from grosser to subtler is called
अरुन्धत्तत दशव ि न्यायः and पञ्िकोश त्तववेक प्रत्तिया employs
this अरुन्धत्तत दशव ि न्याय. Or to take the modern example
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staircase प्रत्तिया. Now in this staircase प्रत्तिया what does a
person do? His goal is the stage alone. He wants to reach the
stage. But he cannot straightaway reach the stage and therefore
he directs his attention to the staircase and there also his
immediate attention is the first step of the staircase. Even
though his goal is the stage, i.e., the ultimate goal but in the
beginning he has to take to an intermediary goal. And what is
the intermediary goal? The first step. And imagine the staircase
has got five steps. Now he has to forget the stage and approach
the first step as though that is the stage, the first destination. He
has to put his full attention on the first step. Therefore don’t
look at the stage but look at the staircase. And then once you
have carefully stepped over the first step or the first rung, you
have to steady yourself on the first step. Once you have steadied
yourself then destination changes, no more is the first step is the
destination, the destination is the second step. Now the second
step is treated as though it is the stage. That means what
attention is given to the stage is given to the second step. And
when you want to reach the second step the first step is no more
the destination, it is no more the end, it becomes the means. So
first the first step is the end and after reaching that the first step
becomes the means. Then the second step is साध्यर््, thereafter
the second step becomes साधिर््. When the second step is
साधिर््, the third step is साध्यर्् and so on so forth. Then the
stage becomes the ultimate साध्यर््. In the same way the
पञ्िकोशs are going to be taken. अन्िर्य कोश, प्रािर्य कोश,
र्िोर्य कोश, त्तवज्ािर्य कोश and आिन्दर्य कोश. And
beyond the पञ्िकोशs is the आत्र्ा, the destination. But the
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उपत्तिषत् will not present original आत्र्ा in the beginning. What
does the उपत्तिषत् do? First approach the अन्िर्य कोश as
though it is the आत्र्ा itself. Thus the उपत्तिषत् presents the
अन्िर्य कोश as आत्र्ा itself. Why? Because that is the
temporary destination now. Once you have reached, focused on
अन्िर्य and steadied yourself what does the उपत्तिषत् do? It
says प्रािर्य is the आत्र्ा. Then अन्िर्य becomes no more
destination, it becomes अिात्र्ा which is not an end but it is
only a means. And when प्रािर्य becomes आत्र्ा, अन्िर्य
becomes अिात्र्ा. When र्िोर्य becomes आत्र्ा, प्रािर्य
becomes अिात्र्ा. Thus each one is made आत्र्ा in the
beginning and each one is converted to अिात्र्ा later and as you
go like that the mind becomes more and more refined. Because
अन्िर्य आत्र्ा is the grossest tangible thing, whereas by the
time we come to प्रािर्य it has become more abstract, it is
intangible. Mind is intangible. So thus from tangible we are
going to intangible, from gross we are going to abstract and by
the time we go to आिन्दर्य everything has been reduced to
potentiality, कारित्वर्् or अव्यक्तत्वर््. And when a thing is in
potential form it is never tangible. It has to be understood as the
subtlest concept. And once the mind is ready enough to
understand the अव्यक्त तत्वर््, the unmanifest form of matter,
the subtlest form of matter the mind has become sharp enough.
And once your mind can grasp the subtlest form of matter you
are ready for the introduction of the Consciousness principle,
which is different from matter and which is the witness of the
even the changing matter. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् introduces
each कोश as आत्र्ा first and thereafter it negates each one as
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अिात्र्ा. This is the पञ्िकोश प्रत्तिया. The उपत्तिषत् says take
the physical body as आत्र्ा because we are experts in that, we
have been already doing that. And therefore the उपत्तिषत् starts
with where we are already. I don’t say I am the Consciousness
pervading the body, I say I am the body. In fact all my
transactions are based on that assumption. Therefore we get the
description of the physical body as the आत्र्ा. Now the
उपत्तिषत् says तस्य इदर्् एव त्तशरः. तस्य means अन्िर्य
आ्मनिः. We should not say अन्िर्य कोश because now we are
taking अन्िर्य as the आत्र्ा itself. Just as we take the first step
of ladder as the stage itself. First climb the first step properly
then later you can think of the stage. Therefore तस्य अन्िर्य
आ्मनिः, there are so many features, but be aware of your
physical features, understand that well. The उपत्तिषत् says five
distinct features are there.
1) इदर्् एव त्तशरः – that which obtains on the top, above the
shoulders. इदर्् you have to imagine the teacher pointing out
the head. This is the head of अन्िर्य आत्र्ा.
2) And अयां दत्तक्िः पक्ः – the teacher is showing the right
hand side of the person and is दत्तक्िः पक्ः – is the right side of
अन्िर्य आत्र्ा.
3) And अयर्् उिरः पक्ः – this is the left hand side.
4) And then अयर्् आत्र्ा – the central portion, below the
head and above the navel between the two hands, the torso is
आत्र्ा – this is the अन्िर्य आत्र्ा.
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5) Then इदां पुच्छर्् प्रत्ततष्ठा. इदम् means the portion below
the naval, from the hip downwards upto the feet, पुच्छर्् – it is
like a tail hanging down, which is प्रत्ततष्ठा – the support.
Thus, त्तशरः, दत्तक्िः पक्ः, उिरः पक्ः, आत्र्ा and प्रत्ततष्ठा are the
five features of अन्िर्य आत्र्ा. You don’t take it for granted,
focus on yourself as अन्िर्य आत्र्ा. And then तत् अत्तप एषः
श्लोकः भवत्तत – the उपत्तिषत् says with regard to this अन्िर्य
आत्र्ा there is the following ऋनर्न्त्र which writes notes on the
अन्िर्य आत्र्ा. This will be useful for steadying our vision. In
fact it prescribes a form of उपासि in which we visualize our
अन्िर्य आत्र्ा well and we understand our अन्िर्य आत्र्ा
also very well. And by this उपासि we are going to steady
ourselves on the first step. Because only after steadying
yourself on the first step you have to put your leg on the second.
Therefore turn your attention and dwell on it in the form of an
उपासि. And that is going to be through a ऋनर्न्त्र quotation.
श्लोकः here means ऋनर्न्त्रः. Now we will read.
पञ्िकोशोत्तववरिर््
र्न्त्र 2-2-01
अन्िाद्वै प्रजाः प्रजायन्ते । याः काश्च पत्तृ र्वी ँत्तश्रताः । अर्ो अन्िेिवै
जीवत्तन्त । अर्ैिदत्तप यन्त्यन्ततः । अन्िँत्ति भत ू ािाां ज्येष्ठर्् ।
तस्र्ात् सवौषधर्ुच्यते । सवं वै तेऽन्िर्ाप्िुवत्तन्त । येऽन्िां
ब्रह्मोपासते । अन्िँत्ति भत ू ािाां ज्येष्ठर्् । तस्र्ात् सवौषधर्ुच्यते ।
अन्िाद् भत ू ात्ति जायन्ते । जातान्यन्िेि वधव न्ते । अद्तेऽत्ति ि
भत ू ात्ति । तस्र्ादन्िां तदुच्यत इत्तत ।
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We are entering the second अिुवाक with the quotation
of ऋनर्न्त्र which talks about the अन्िर्य आत्र्ा; it is not कोश
now but it is आत्र्ा itself. And the उपत्तिषत् says अन्िर्य, the
physical body is known as अन्िर्य because it is a product of
अन्िर््. The suffix मर् indicating a product. स्विव र्य आभरिर््
means an ornament made of स्विव र््. र्य is कायव र्् and स्विव र््
is कारिर््. And that too what type of कारिर््? Material cause.
Material cause plus मर् is equal to the effect. We should not say
goldsmithमर् आभरिर््. So when you add the suffix मर् it
should be added not to the intelligent cause but only to the
material cause. Thus by saying अन्िर्य आत्र्ा the उपत्तिषत्
conveys that the body is born out of अन्िर्् which is the
material cause of the body. अन्िर्् literally means food, and the
entire matter is called food here. So here by the word अन्िर््
not the food that we eat because they are also modified form of
the plant kingdom only. The plant itself is the modified form of
the earth only. Therefore the entire universe is matter, पञ्िभत ू
प्रपञ्ि is matter, and that matter is called अन्िर्् and that matter
alone responsible for the पाञ्िभौत्ततक शरीरर््. Thus the gross
universe is called अन्िर््, the gross body is called a product of
अन्िर््. If the gross universe is comparable to the ocean, the
body is comparable to a wave. Thus the body has come from
अन्िर््, the world. And the body survives because of the
अन्िर््, the world. And the body goes back to अन्िर््, the world
of matter. After all body is made up of elements and elementals
and the world of matter is also made up of the elementals only.
Thus the gross universe is called अन्िर््, the gross body is
called अन्िर्य. And the उपत्तिषत् says the body is born out of
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अन्िर््, sustained by अन्िर्् and goes back to अन्िर््. Now
look at it. प्रजाः – all the physical bodies which are the अन्िर्य
आत्र्ाs. अन्िात् प्रजायन्ते – are all born out of the gross matter.
Only thing is if there is iron in the world you cannot directly eat
the iron for iron deficiency, that iron content has to come in the
plant and that has to come in the form of food. But remember
iron is part of the world only. Thus the gross matter has to be
converted into consumable food and in that form the body is
born. What type of beings? याः काः ि पत्तृ र्वी ँत्तश्रताः – all the
beings like insects, plants, animals, birds, human beings; all the
िरररम्s. पत्तृ र्वी ँत्तश्रताः – which are dwelling on the earth, which
reside on the earth are अन्िात् प्रजायन्ते. We have to connect
with the previous sentence याः काः ि पत्तृ र्वी ँत्तश्रताः ताः अन्िात्
प्रजायन्ते. Therefore अन्िर्् is the सत्तृ ष्ट कारिर्् for अन्िर्य.
Not only that अर्ो अन्िेि एव जीवत्तन्त – the body survives,
exists only because of the gross universe which is अन्िर््. So
the gross world has to provide me with अन्िर्् in eatable form.
And through food, अर्ो – उ्पशि अनन्तरम्, अन्िेि एव
जीवत्तन्त – thus अन्िर्् becomes त्तस्र्त्तत कारिर्् also. Not only
that finally when the body dies whatever be the method of
disposal this अन्िर्य will go back into the gross universe and
again gets reconverted into elements and elementals. So याः काः
ि पत्तृ र्वी ँत्तश्रताः. Therefore अर् एित् अत्तपयत्तन्त अन्ततः. अन्ततः
means मरिकाले, प्रारब्ध अवसान काले, एित् अत्तपयत्तन्त. एित्
means the सर्त्तष्ट अन्िर्य, otherwise called त्तवराि् शरीरर््.
अन्िर्् is the त्तवराि् शरीरर््, शवश्वरूप ईश्वर is the gross universe.
And unto that शवश्वरूप ईश्वर the gross universe the body
resolves. Therefore एित् means सर्त्तष्ट अन्िर््, the gross
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universe. अत्तपयत्तन्त – अत्तपगच्छत्तन्त, resolves. That means
अन्िर्् is लय कारिर्् also. Thus अन्िर्् is the सत्तृ ष्ट कारिर््,
त्तस्र्त्तत कारिर्् and लय कारिर््; combined together we say
उपादाि कारिर््. So अन्िर्् is उपादाि कारिर््. And अन्िर्य
आत्र्ा is कायव र््. What is the uniqueness to be appreciated here?
कायव र्् and उपादाि कारिर्् are both essentially one and the
same. Gold, the कारिर्् and the ornaments, the कायव र््s are
essentially one and the same. Even though we use the words
bangle, chain, ring, etc., they are all nothing but gold only. Thus
अन्िर्य आत्र्ा, the शवश्व and अन्िर््, the त्तवराि् शरीरर्् both
are essentially one and the same. The microcosm and the
macrocosm are one and the same. Technically शवश्व and त्तवराि्
are essentially one and the same. अन्िर्य आत्र्ा and अन्िर््
are one and the same. The wave and the ocean are essentially
one and the same. Therefore what is the glory of अन्िर््? The
उपत्तिषत् glorifies अन्िर््. अन्िँत्ति भत ू ािाां ज्येष्ठर्् – so this
अन्िर्् – the त्तवराि् शरीरर््, the gross matter, the total
macrocosmic gross universe – being the कारिर्् it must have
existed before all the bodies were born. So before the arrival of
अन्िर्य आत्र्ा the अन्िर्् should be there. Before the arrival
of ornaments the gold must be there. Before the arrival of
कायव र््s the कारिर्् must be there. And therefore, कारिर्् is
called ज्येष्ठर््, which means the elder one. In a family also
ज्येष्ठ पुत्रः means the eldest son. What do you mean by the
eldest son? He existed even before the arrival of others. And
therefore the उपत्तिषत् says अन्िर्् ज्येष्ठर्् is the eldest son to
भत ू ािार्् – all the beings, all the अन्िर्य आत्र्ाs. So the first,
the primal one, the primordial one, the earlier one to all the
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अन्िर्य आत्र्ाs. Not only that because it is the कारिर्् it has
to pervade all the कायव र््s. Therefore अन्िर्य is finite but
अन्िर्् is all-pervading. Therefore it is called अन्िर्् ब्रह्म. ब्रह्म
means the all-pervading one. So this अन्िर्् ब्रह्म, the त्तवराि्
शरीरर्् is the eldest one which existed before all the beings.
Therefore one has to meditate upon the glory of अन्िर््. That is
why in our tradition अन्िर््, food that we eat is respected by us
based upon this principle only. Because the food in front
represents the अन्िर्् ब्रह्म which is त्तवराि् शरीरर््. The details
पि
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॥
In the first अिुवाक of ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली the उपत्तिषत् has
introduced अन्िर्य, i.e., the physical body which is the final
product of the creation. The five elements are created and from
the fifth and final element called the earth पत्तृ र्व्या ओषधयः, the
vegetable kingdom. ओषधीभ्योऽन्िर्् and अन्िात्पुरुषः. पुरुषः
means the physical body. And as I said in the last class the
उपत्तिषत् introduces the physical body as the आत्र्ा itself in the
beginning. Because the पञ्िकोशs are going to be utilized as a
staircase so that we can travel from अन्िर्य to प्रािर्य to
र्िोर्य to त्तवज्ािर्य to आिन्दर्य to आत्र्ा. Even though
आत्र्ा is the ultimate goal in the beginning stage अन्िर्य is the
immediate goal and therefore अन्िर्य itself is treated as the
goal. Therefore it is called आत्र्ा. Therefore according to
उपत्तिषत् let us take the physical body as आत्र्ा sin the
beginning. And then the उपत्तिषत् wants to make a note of the
physical body very clearly having पञ्च अवर्वs, five factors or
features – the head, the right side, the left side, the middle and
the support. And having introduced the अन्िर्य आत्र्ा the
उपत्तिषत् the second अिुवाक in which a ऋनर्न्त्र quotation is
given. And in this ऋनर्न्त्र quotation the material cause of the
अन्िर्य is talked about. And the उपत्तिषत् says अन्िर्् is the
material cause of अन्िर्य. The अन्िर्् word represent the
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entire physical matter or the entire physical universe because
the physical body is the transformed version of the physical
universe only. So whatever elements are there in the world they
alone go to make the physical body. Whatever chemicals are
there they alone cater to make the physical body. That is why
we are able to talk about biochemistry. Biophysics,
bioengineering all these are possible because the external world
modified has become the physical body. And therefore अन्िर््
is the उपादाि कारिर््, अन्िर्य is the कायव र््. So between
अन्िर्् and अन्िर्य there is a कायव -कारि सम्बन्ध. And if you
put in a different language अन्िर्य is the microcosm, the
व्यत्तष्ट and अन्िर््, the total matter is सर्त्तष्ट, the macrocosm.
Therefore the सम्बन्ध is व्यत्तष्ट-सर्त्तष्ट सम्बन्ध, कायव -कारि
सम्बन्ध. And both of them are essentially the same material
only. This is what we completed in the last class. अन्िात् वै
प्रजाः प्रजायन्ते. The प्रजाः should be taken as अन्िर्य आ्मानिः.
All the अन्िर्य आत्र्ाs are born out of अन्िर््. Not only that
they all survive and grow because of अन्िर्् and at the end they
resolve back into अन्िर््. Therefore अन्िर्् is कारिर््,
अन्िर्य is कायव र््. And the उपत्तिषत् wants us to do a
meditation upon अन्िर्् the कारिर््. So कारि अन्ि ध्र्ान. Or
सर्त्तष्ट अन्ि ध्र्ानम् the उपत्तिषत् wants to prescribe. And
before the meditation upon कारि अन्िर््, i.e., the
macrocosmic अन्िर््, the उपत्तिषत् wants to glorify अन्िर््.
Because whatever is adorable and glorious that alone becomes
an object of meditation. Therefore what are the glories of
अन्िर््?
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The first glory is it is कारिर््. सवय अन्िर्य कारिर्् is
glory number one.
The second glory is कारिर्् is inherent in all the
कायव र््s, the material cause is inherent in all the products.
Therefore, the material cause is all-pervading. Gold pervades
all the ornaments. Wood pervades all the furniture. And
therefore कारिर्् pervades all the कायव र््s. Therefore अन्िर्् is
सवव गतर््. In सांस्कृत, सवव गतर्् अन्िर्् is called ब्रह्म, that which
is limitless, that which is all-pervading. This is the second glory
of अन्िर््. कारित्वर्् is the first शवभशू त. ब्रह्मत्वर्् is the second
शवभशू त, मशिमा.
The third glory of अन्िर्् is this. Since अन्िर्् is the
कारिर्् it must have existed even before the arrival of all the
कायव र््s. Gold must have existed before the arrival of all the
ornaments. Ocean must have existed before the arrival of every
wave. Wood must have existed before the arrival of furniture.
Clay must have existed before the arrival of pots. Therefore
chronologically timewise अन्िर्् is elder to all the अन्िर्य
आत्र्ाs. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् calls ज्येष्ठर््. ज्येष्ठर्् means
that which existed before, that which is primary, preeminent,
literally ज्येष्ठर्् means the elder one. And generally the elder
one is supposed to be adorable. Therefore younger one has to
respect the elder one. According to िास्त्र also ज्येष्ठ भ्राता शपत ृ
समिः, the elder brother is equal to father. Therefore the third
glory is ज्येष्ठ्वम्.
There is a fourth glory also which we have to study now.
Lok at the उपत्तिषत्, तस्र्ात् सवौषधर्ुच्यते – अन्िर्् is called
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सवय ओषधम्. What do you mean by the word ओषधम्? ओष
means fire, derived from the √उष् ओषशध to burn. Therefore
whatever burns is called ओषिः. And fire is called ओषिः because
fire burns. So अत्तनि is the meaning of ओषिः. This अत्तनिः, ओषिः
is of two types. One is called the external fire and the other is
called the internal fire, िाठर अत्तनिः. What is that internal fire?
Hunger is said to be the inner fire. So it is called वैश्वािर अत्तनिः,
िाठर अत्तनिः, समान अत्तनिः. Hunger is called the inner fire
because if hunger is not quenched by you, it burns your inner
stomach. That is why it is considered to be an अत्तनि to which
you have to give oblations – प्रािार् स्वािा. Why do you use the
word स्वािा? Because what is the hunger inside that hunger is
called अत्तनिः. And whatever you offer to अत्तनि you say स्वािा.
And if you don’t offer food inside what will that fire do? It will
eat away your inner stomach. The linings of the stomach will
be eaten up and that is called ulcer. Anyway hunger is also
called ओषिः, the inner fire. The digesting juices has got all forms
of acids. And how come it doesn’t burn your stomach? भगवाि्
has given a protective lining inside, therefore the acids do not
burn. But if you don’t give food it will burn. Therefore ओषिः
means hunger, िाठरात्तनिः. And what about food? Food is that
offering or oblation which will quench the िाठरात्तनिः, which
will satisfy the िाठरात्तनिः. Therefore it will not burn your
stomach. Therefore food is the inner fire extinguisher.
Therefore it is called ओषधम्. धम् means extinguisher,
quencher. What is the derivation of ओषधम्? ओषम् धर्शत इशत
ओषधर््. That which extinguishes the inner fire in all the living
beings. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् says अन्िर्् is सवय ओषधम्
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which quenches the inner fire of hunger in all living beings.
This is the fourth glory of अन्िर््.
So कारित्वर््, ब्रह्मत्वर््, ज्येष्ठत्वर्् and सवव ओषधत्वर््
these are all the glories of अन्िर्् and therefore may you
meditate upon चतुशवय ध शवभशू तर्ुि अन्ि ब्रह्म उपासिर्् कुरु,
may you meditate upon अन्ि ब्रह्म with all these glories.
How can I visualize this all-pervading matter or अन्िर््?
Because my mind is too small, I cannot see the whole hall in
one sweep so how can I visualize this सर्त्तष्ट अन्िर्् otherwise
called त्तवराि् ईश्वर or वैश्वािर ईश्वर. It is not possible for me and
therefore, I require a symbol which will represent the त्तवराि्. So
whenever I cannot visualize something bigger what is the
method I use? I use a physical smaller symbol which we call as
आलम्बिर््. So when you want to salute the whole India on an
independence day or republic day how do you do that? You
symbolize India upon a flag. And you salute the flag but it is
equivalent to the salutation of the whole country because you
have the capacity to visualize the India, the nation, the people,
the culture, the ऋशषs all those things including भरतिः. In the
same way what symbol I will use for the सर्त्तष्ट अन्िर््? The
उपत्तिषत् gives the shortcut method you visualize the त्तवराि्
upon your own physical body. So let your own अन्िर्य be the
symbol of the सर्त्तष्ट अन्िर््, the त्तवराि्. And व्यत्तष्ट अन्िर्य is
called त्तवश्व and the सर्त्तष्ट अन्िर्् is called त्तवराि्. Therefore
may you visualize त्तवराि् upon त्तवश्व. त्तवश्व-त्तवराि् ऐक्तय उपासिर््
कुरु, अन्िर्य-अन्ि ऐक्तय उपासिर्् कुरु. Ok, what will I get?
We are so commercial that anything we do we want return. So
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the उपत्तिषत् says two types of benefits we can get depending
upon your motive. If you are a materialistic person with
materialistic motive you will get materialistic फलर््. That is
called सकार् उपासि. And if you are a spiritual person seeking
spiritual result the उपासि is called त्तिष्कार् उपासि. For the
त्तिष्कार् उपासि the फलर्् is the refinement of the mind. You
visualize the totality your mind expands, narrow divisiveness
goes. All our problems are because of this divisiveness. So you
remove the division which is called expansion of mind. And
since you look upon the सर्त्तष्ट not as mere matter, but as
ब्रह्मि्, the Lord, it gives purification of the mind, त्तिि
एकाग्रता, त्तििशुत्तद् and त्तिि त्तवशालता, in short, ज्ाि-योनयता-
प्रात्तिः, all the necessary qualifications for ब्रह्मज्ािर््. If it is
त्तिष्कार् उपासि. But if I am a materialistic person and I do
सकार् उपासि the फलर्् is the उपत्तिषत् itself says सवं वै ते
अन्िर्् आप्िुवत्तन्त – because this person is meditating upon
अन्िर्् he will get in life plenty of अन्िर््, he will never starve
in life. Till death he will get all types of food. अन्िप्रात्तिः is the
प्रर्ोिनम् for अन्िब्रह्म उपासिर््. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् says
ते – अन्िब्रह्म उपासकािः, सवव र्् अन्िर्् आप्िुवत्तन्त – they will
get plenty of food throughout their life. And वै – definitely, no
doubt about that result. For whom is this result? ये अन्िां ब्रह्म
उपासते – whoever practices अन्िां ब्रह्म, upon अन्िर्य आत्र्ा.
Then the उपत्तिषत्, i.e., the ऋनर्न्त्र wants to conclude that
teaching and therefore it repeats the same idea अन्िँत्ति भत ू ािाां
ज्येष्ठर्् – so you note it clearly that अन्िर्् is ज्येष्ठर्् – the
eldest among all the िरवराशिs.
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तस्र्ात् त्तवराडजायत त्तवराजो अत्तधपरु ू षः । स जातो अत्यररच्यत
पश्चाद् भत्तू र्र्र्ो पुरः ॥ पुरुष सक्त
ू र्् ॥
पुरः means all the शरीरर््s. So only after the त्तवराि् उ्पशि all
the other bodies are born. In पुरुष सक्त ू र्् very beautifully the
creation is talked about. Therefore त्तवराि् is ज्येष्ठ. And
therefore only तस्र्ात् सवौषधर्ुच्यते – it is called सवौषधम्.
And the reason is अन्िाद् भत ू ात्ति जायन्ते. These are all
repetition for reconfirmation of the teaching. All beings are
born out of अन्िर््. Here the word भत ू ात्ति means स्र्लू
शरीराशि. All the physical bodies are born out of अन्िर््. And
जातात्ति अन्िेि वधव न्ते – all the physical bodies grow because
of अन्िर्् alone. So अन्िर्् is सत्तृ ष्ट कारिर््, त्तस्र्त्तत कारिर््
and लय कारिर््. And finally the उपत्तिषत् gives the derivation
of the word अन्िर््. It is derived from the √अद् to eat or to
consume. अद् भक्षिे. Why is food called अन्िर््? अन्िर्् is the
eater as well as the eaten. That which is eaten is called अन्िर््,
and that which is the eater of everything is also called अन्िर््.
What does it mean? Initially when we are growing अन्िर््, i.e.,
the matter in the external world we are consuming. Therefore
we are eating the earth which is converted into food. Therefore
we are eating earth only which is अन्िर््. And after death what
happens? This body is buried or cremated on the earth alone.
Therefore this body again mingles into the earth. Therefore the
earth becomes the eater of the body. Now we are the eater of
the earth in its modified form and after death the earth will be
eating us. And therefore now we consume अन्िर््, and after
death अन्िर्् consumes us. And therefore अद्ते इत्तत अन्िर्् –
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that which is consumed by the people is called अन्िर््, and
अत्ति ि – that which is consumer of the people, of the living
beings is also called अन्िर््. तस्र्ात् तत् अन्िर्् उच्यते –
therefore the entire external world of matter is called अन्िर््.
इत्तत indicates the end of the ऋनर्न्त्र. Continuing;
तस्र्ाद्वा एतस्र्ादन्िरसर्यात् । अन्योऽन्तर आत्र्ा प्रािर्यः ।
तेिषै पि ू व ः । स वा एष पुरुषत्तवध एव । तस्य पुरुषत्तवधतार्् । अन्वयां
पुरुषत्तवधः । तस्य प्राि एव त्तशरः । व्यािो दत्तक्िः पक्ः । अपाि
उिरः पक्ः । आकाश आत्र्ा । पत्तृ र्वी पुच्छां प्रत्ततष्ठा । तदप्येष
श्लोको भवत्तत ॥ १ ॥ इत्तत त्तद्वतीयोऽिुवाकः ॥
He has given me an exercise for practicing and what is
the teaching? अन्िर्य and अन्िर्् both are essentially one and
the same. The body is born out of matter, sustained by matter
and it goes back unto matter. And essentially there is no
difference between the external matter and the internal matter.
This is also पाञ्िभौत्ततकर्् and that is also पाञ्िभौत्ततकर््. In the
body also there is earth, the fire principle, the air principle, the
water principle and there is space also; so body is पाञ्िभौत्ततकर््
and world also is पाञ्िभौत्ततकर््. Once I practice this exercise
for some time, I come to know that really speaking there is no
death for the body. The physical body was previously there as
part of the पञ्िभतू s, and now also it is पञ्िभत ू s only, and it is
again not at all destroyed it is again back into the पञ्िभत ू s.
When the wave is destroyed, in fact there is nothing that is
destroyed, wave very much continues to exist in the form of the
ocean. Therefore there is a temporary seeming separation.
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Previously also it is ocean, later also it is ocean, in between it
appears as wave, a distinct entity but even then it is non-
different from the ocean. And therefore there is no such thing
called destruction. So destruction is existing in some other
form. When a candle burns nothing is destroyed. And therefore
the fear of death is born out of delusion. It is because of over-
identification with the form to such an extent that I miss the
truth that the form alone varies, but the content continues to be
eternally present. The variation of form is the law of nature,
because nothing can remain in the same shape all the time. In
the last few decades also my body has never remained in the
same shape. And after death also the body continues to exist but
not in this shape and therefore the fear of death is because of
over-identification with the form. The more I meditate upon the
total content of matter; the more I focus on water then the
destruction of the form of wave will not matter to me much
because I am not obsessed with the form but I am focusing on
the content alone. So when there is a िार्-रूप दृत्तष्ट, fear of
death will be there and when there is the content दृत्तष्ट, there will
be no fear of death. And this is called weakening of the ego.
Stronger the देि अत्तभर्ाि, stronger the ego is. Stronger the ego,
more the fear of death. And when I see there is only one पञ्िभत ू
all over in one form or the other my अत्तभर्ाि with one form
becomes weaker and weaker and the ego also becomes weaker,
that means there is no fear of death at all. A wave which
identifies with its water nature is never afraid of its death
because it knows I, the water existed before, am existing now
and will exist later also. An incidental shape has come and it is
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going to go away. So thus अन्िर्य-अन्ि ऐक्तय उपासिम् helps
in losing the देि अत्तभर्ाि. What is the indication of that? The
indication is the fear of death should come down. Stronger the
देि अत्तभर्ाि greater is the obstacle to spiritual knowledge.
क्तलेशोऽत्तधकतरस्तेषार्व्यक्तासक्तिेतसार्् ॥
अव्यक्ता त्ति गत्ततदवु ःखां दे िवत्तद्भरवाप्यते ॥ गीता १२-५ ॥
Therefore this उपासिम् weakens the देि अत्तभर्ाि. How long
should I practice this उपासिम्? It all depends. If there is a very
strong देि अत्तभर्ाि practice this meditation, visualize the death
of the body also, मरि उपासिर्् कुरु, and imagine what
happens. The body will be carried, it will be burnt and all the
पञ्िभत ू s resolve and get back into their own respective states.
So it is not a very big thing. When the wave resolves into ocean,
we do not sit and cry for thirteen days. It is one of the most
natural events which doesn’t require all the दुिःखम् and all. But
as long as भ्राशन्त is there, all these become big events. And
sometimes I am not worried about my death, but I am worried
about the death of the people around me. I should meditate on
all these aspects. I should see the death of every physical body
as the most natural event which does not require any adverse
reaction. If I can assimilate this clearly then I am ready to step
into the second step of the staircase. We are in the first step
called अन्िर्य आत्र्ा. Should I stay there for ten years, twenty
years, thirty years? For some people it may be many िन्मs.
The वेदान्त says you take your own time. But you should drop
देि अत्तभर्ाि for वेदान्त. And once देि अत्तभर्ाि has weakened
the उपत्तिषत् says तस्र्ात् वै एतस्र्ात् अन्िरसर्यात् अन्यः
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अन्तरः प्रािर्यः – previously I said अन्िर्य is the आत्र्ा to
satisfy you, to please you. But really speaking अन्िर्य is not
the आत्र्ा. Then what is आत्र्ा? अन्यः – so आत्र्ा is something
other than अन्िर्य. And where is it? अन्तरः – it is within the
अन्िर्य, it is interior to अन्िर्य, and it is subtler than
अन्िर्य. अन्िर्य is gross and tangible, it is the anatomy of the
body. But this is the physiological system which is subtler than
anatomy. Anatomy is the physical part of the body, and
tangible; physiology is the functions of the body, functions are
not tangible. It is a शत्तक्त, a power and power is always subtler.
And therefore there is something more subtler, more interior
and it is called प्रािर्यः. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् says प्रािर्यः
is the आत्र्ा. And it is interior. Interior to what? तस्र्ात् वै
एतस्र्ात् अन्िरसर्यात् अन्तरः – it is interior to the
अन्िरसर्र्िः or अन्िर्यः and it is called प्रािर्यः.
So now we have put our step on the second rung of the
staircase. Once you step on the second rung, what do you do?
You will have to leave the first rung. So you should not say I
like it very much, it has helped me so much, I should be
grateful, therefore I will keep one foot on it only. If you keep
one foot on the first rung and the other one on the second rung
then when will you come to the stage? Therefore you have to
leave the first one. And what do you mean by leaving the first
one? It is all understanding; our journey is not physical journey,
we are only giving a physical example but our actual journey is
an intellectual journey in the form of understanding. Now what
is our understanding we have to carefully analyze. Once I say
प्रािर्य is आत्र्ा, then अन्िर्य is no more आत्र्ा. And once I
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understand अन्िर्य is not आत्र्ा I give it a new name – it is
अिात्र्ा. So अन्िर्यस्य अिात्र््व त्तिश्चयः. That is why they
use the word कोििः. कोििः means अिात्र्ा, both are
synonymous. So this is one idea you have to carefully grasp.
Then once I say अन्िर्य is अिात्र्ा then you have to go back
to the teaching given in the beginning. Previously in the first
अिुवाक the उपत्तिषत् had mentioned that the whole creation is
born out of आत्र्ा. That means आत्र्ा is the cause of everything
other than the आत्र्ा. This means the entire अिात्र्ा प्रपञ्ि is
born out of आत्र्ा. तस्र्ाद्वा एतस्र्ादात्र्ि आकाशः सम्भत ू ः।
Everything is born out of आत्र्ा. that means every अिात्र्ा is a
product of आत्र्ा. So what? If अन्िर्य is अिात्र्ा, then this
अन्िर्य अिात्र्ा also must be a product of आत्र्ा. And
therefore in सांस्कृत we say आत्र्कायव र््. This is the second
corollary that we have to derive. Each step is important. First I
have to know अन्िर्य is अिात्र्ा, the second step is being
अिात्र्ा it is a कायव र््, a product of आत्र्ा. Because the
उपत्तिषत् has said everything is a product of आत्र्ा.
Then the next corollary that I have to derive is any
कायव र््, any product is nothing but a name and form only and it
is not a substance at all. How? Just you must be familiar, all the
ornaments are nothing but name and form, there is no substance
called ornament, gold is the only substance. Therefore when
you take any ornament the substance you are contacting is not
bangle, the substance you are contacting is gold. The weight of
the ornament is the weight of gold. The tangibility of the
ornament is the tangibility of gold. Therefore ornaments are
product and those products are nothing but िार्-रूप, they are
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not substance. Similarly all furniture are िार्-रूप, non-
substantial. Similarly any product. र्त् कायव र्् तत्
िार्रूपा्मकम्. उपत्तिषत् says
वािारम्भिर्् त्तवकारो िार्धेयर्् ॥ छान्दोनयोपत्तिषत् ६-१-४ ॥
उपत्तिषत् need not teach that. There is no furniture other than
name and form, but still the उपत्तिषत् teaches there is no such
thing called product in the world because matter can never be
produced. Therefore what a person produces is only a new
shape and in keeping with shape a new name also. Carpenter
does not produce even an ounce of matter. Why should he then
struggle so much? To give a shape to the wood. Therefore
अन्िर्य is अिात्र्ा, therefore अन्िर्य is कायव र्् and therefore
अन्िर्य is िार्-रूप. िार्रूपत्व त्तिश्चयः. This is the third step.
And once you know a कायव र्् is a िार्-रूप, you know
that it does not have a separate existence of its own. Because
name and form do not have a separate existence and therefore
it depends upon something else. So bangle िार्-रूप cannot
exist independently from gold. Similarly furniture िार्-रूप
depends upon wood. Therefore any िार्-रूप is dependently
existent. And in सांस्कृत we call it त्तर्थ्या. So the fourth step is
त्तर्थ्यात्व त्तिश्चयः. What are the other three steps? अिात्र्त्व
त्तिश्चयः, कायव त्व त्तिश्चयः, िार्रूपत्व त्तिश्चयः and त्तर्थ्यात्व
त्तिश्चयः. Therefore what is my body? It is a product, it is a िार्-
रूप, it is non-substantial, it is त्तर्थ्या.
The fifth and the last step. Whatever has got dependently
existence has got borrowed existence. Whatever has got
borrowed existence does not have its own existence. That is
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why it is borrowing. So whatever has borrowed existence does
not have of its own existence. And if it doesn’t have its own
existence it is as good as non-existent. I don’t say it is non-
existent, but it is as good as non-existent. Suppose I say you are
very beautiful with this ornament and dress. What does it mean?
You think it is a big compliment. But if you remove the make-
up you do not look good. When I say you are beautiful because
of something, you don’t have your own beauty. Borrowed
beauty is equal to no beauty. Therefore any त्तर्थ्या वस्तु is as
good as non-existent in my vision and seeing this non-
existence, i.e., the absence of intrinsic existence is called the
resolution of त्तर्थ्या. When I hold a pot and say that this is
nothing but clay because of the vision of clay the pot vision is
resolved.
மரத்யத மயறத்தது மாமத ைாயன மரத்தில்
மயறந்தது மாமத ைாயன (र्रिै र्ऱै ितु र्ार्द यािै
र्रत्तिल् र्ऱै न्ददु र्ार्द यािै. The gigantic elephant hides the
wood, the gigantic elephant is (also) subsumed in the wood.)
When I saw the wooden elephant I was absorbed in the elephant
िार्रूप aspect I missed the wood, that is why I got frightened.
And the moment I see the wood the elephant is as good as not
there. So மரத்தில் மயறந்தது மாமத ைாயன, ைரத்யத
மயறத்தது ைார்முதல் பூதம் ைரத்தில் மயறந்தது
ைார்முதல் பூதடம. (र्रत्तिल् र्ऱै न्ददु र्ार्द यािै परिै र्ऱै ितु
पार्व ुदल् भत
ू र्् परत्तिल् र्ऱै न्ददु पार्व ुतल् भत
ू र्े. The gigantic
elephant is (also) subsumed in the wood. The earth and the
elements hide the Absolute, the earth and the elements are
(also) subsumed in the Absolute.) Therefore, कारि दृत्तष्ट
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resolves the कायव र््. This is called प्रत्तवलापिर््. Thus, अन्िर्य
is resolved by me by the understanding that there is no
substance called अन्िर्य. So the fifth step is प्रािमर्े
अन्िर्यस्र् प्रत्तवलापिर््.
So can you remember all the five steps? We will have to
use this in every stage. अन्िर्यस्य अिात्र्त्व त्तिश्चयः, कायव त्व
त्तिश्चयः, िार्रूपत्व त्तिश्चयः, त्तर्थ्यात्व त्तिश्चयः and प्रत्तवलापिर््.
So I have swallowed अन्िर्य. And now प्रािर्य is the आत्र्ा.
And I have to dwell on प्रािर्य for some time and chasten my
बुशध. And once I have done sufficiently for a length of time I
can go to र्िोर्य as आत्र्ा, then प्रािर्य becomes अिात्र्त्व
त्तिश्चयः, कायव त्व त्तिश्चयः, िार्रूपत्व त्तिश्चयः, त्तर्थ्यात्व त्तिश्चयः
and प्रत्तवलापिर््. I have swallowed प्रािर्य. Similarly, र्िोर्य
is also swallowed, त्तवज्ािर्य is also swallowed, just as when
you wake up from dream the whole dream world is swallowed
by you. Similarly when you go through the पञ्िकोश त्तववेक the
whole world must be swallowed and only ‘I’ must remain. This
is the big voyage. Now the उपत्तिषत् has gone to प्रािर्य आत्र्ा.
ू य मेवावशिष्र्ते ॥ ॐ िाशन्तिः िाशन्तिः ॥ िररिः ॐ.
पि
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॥
We are now in the middle of the second अिुवाक of
ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली in which पञ्िकोश त्तववेक topic has begun.
Initially the उपत्तिषत् introduced अन्िर्य as the very आत्र्ा
itself. And we are supposed to take the अन्िर्य, the physical
body itself as ourselves. And upon this अन्िर्य we are
supposed to practice the सर्त्तष्ट अन्ि meditation otherwise
called त्तवराि् meditation. The advantage of this meditation is we
slowly recognize the fact that really speaking अन्िर्य does not
exist separate from the सर्त्तष्ट अन्िम् just as the wave does not
exist from the ocean. Because we are used to the name and
form, the wave, we gradually attribute the reality to the wave as
though it is a substance in itself. And once we attribute reality
and substantiality to the wave then the wave will become
capable of disturbing me. The birth of the wave will give me
happiness, the growth of the wave will give me happiness and
the decay of the wave will begin to disturb me and finally the
death of the wave will become a tragic event. So if the wave
gets power to disturb me, the power does not belong to the wave
itself. It is I who have given the power to the wave to disturb
me. How did I give power to the wave? By attaching more
reality to the wave than it deserves. What is the actual reality of
the wave? It is nothing but a name and a form, the only
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substance obtaining is the ocean. The ocean was before, the
ocean is now and later also the ocean will be. The more I shift
my attention to the ocean less will be my अशभमान on the wave.
And lesser the wave अशभमान lesser will be its capacity to upset
me, disturb me. And once I have got त्तवश्वरूप ocean दिय नम्,
सवय र ocean एव I really don’t see any birth or death, there is
nothing but a constantly changing ocean alone is. Thus सर्त्तष्ट
उपासिम् helps in reducing व्यत्तष्ट अशभमान. This is the logic.
सर्त्तष्ट उपासिम्, dwelling upon the microcosm will reduce my
अशभमान, identification, attachment to the microcosm. Thus
त्तवराि् उपासिम् reduces त्तवश्व अशभमान. अन्ि उपासिम् will
reduce अन्िर्य अशभमान. And having practiced this उपासिम्
for sufficient length of time the उपत्तिषत् says now you are
ready to transcend your अन्िर्य because your attachment has
come down. It is like the ripening of the fruit; if the fruit has
ripened on the tree plucking the fruit is easier, in fact you need
not even pluck, you just hold it comes. But before ripening you
pluck the fruit it won’t easily come, you have to use force and
when you forcibly pluck the raw fruit you can see the tears both
on the tree as well as on the raw fruit. Therefore what should
we do? Wait for ripening. Similarly practice the अन्िर्य-अन्ि
ऐक्तय उपासिर्् for sufficient length of time then the अशभमान
will become lesser and lesser, i.e., the repining of the
personality. And once the mind is matured the उपत्तिषत् says I
will ask you to travel from अन्िर्य to प्रािर्य. And once you
turn your attention to प्रािर्य, प्रािर्य becomes the आत्र्ा and
अन्िर्य becomes अिात्र्ा or कोििः. This alone is known as
अिात्र््व त्तिश्चयः. And what are the other features? Once I
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establish that it is अिात्र्ा it becomes a कायव र्् because आत्र्ा
alone is कारिर्् everything else is कायव र््. How do you know
that?
तस्र्ाद्वा एतस्र्ात् आत्र्िः आकाशः सम्भत
ू ः । आकाशाद्वायुः ॥
तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् २-१-२ ॥
Etc. Therefore अिात्र्ा is invariably a product. So it is called
कायव त्व त्तिश्चयः. And once you know it is a product the next
stage is whatever is a product is only a name and from because
a substance can never be produced. Why substance cannot be
produced? By the law of conservation of energy and matter,
matter can neither be produced nor destroyed. Therefore
production means addition of name and form. Therefore
whatever is कायव र्् is िार्-रूप. So अिात्र्त्व त्तिश्चयः, कायव त्व
त्तिश्चयः, िार्रूपत्व त्तिश्चयः and once you know it is name and
form the next stage is it is a non-substantial entity, therefore it
is called त्तर्थ्या. And this non-substantial िार्-रूप will have to
depend upon something else. Just as the non-substantial bangle
िार्-रूप depends on gold, non-substantial pot िार्-रूप
depends on clay, similarly non-substantial अन्िर्य िार्-रूप
depends upon प्रािर्य आत्र्ा. And whatever is dependent is
called त्तर्थ्या. So अिात्र्त्व त्तिश्चयः, कायव त्व त्तिश्चयः,
िार्रूपत्व त्तिश्चयः, त्तर्थ्यात्व त्तिश्चयः and final stage is whatever
is non-substantial, whatever is dependently existent has got
only borrowed existence and whatever has got borrowed
existence does not have its own existence and whatever does
not have intrinsic existence is as good as non-existent. Thus pot
is as good as not there. Then what is there? Clay was, clay is
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and clay alone will be. There is no such thing called pot. So this
is called the intellectual consumption of the pot. So by your
wisdom you swallow the pot. How? By saying pot is as good as
not there. This is called प्रत्तवलापिर््. These five will be repeated
at the level of every आत्र्ा and you are supposed to grasp the
significance of each word. Now we are in प्रािर्य आत्र्ा.
Where is this प्रािर्य आत्र्ा obtaining? This प्रािर्य
आत्र्ा obtains within the अन्िर्य कोश. Therefore अन्िर्य is
like a container and प्रािर्य is the content. अन्िर्य is the
शरीरर्् and प्रािर्य is the शरीरर, अन्िर्य is the देिः and
प्रािर्य is the देत्ति. Now the उपत्तिषत् goes further. Look at the
मन्र. Upto अन्योऽन्तर आत्र्ा प्रािर्यः we have seen in the last
class. Now the next sentence is
तेि प्रािर्येि एषः अन्िरसर्य आत्र्ा पि ू व ः. एषः means this
अन्िर्य container, which is a कोश, which is a शरीरर््, which
is a sheath is filled up with the content called प्रािर्यः. So
अन्िर्य container is filled, पि ू व ः with प्रािर्य आत्र्ा. प्रािर्य
will become कोश only when you go to र्िोर्य, until then
प्रािर्य gets आत्र्ा status. And the उपत्तिषत् says अन्िर्य
being the solid body it has got its own intrinsic shape which is
the पुरुष आकारः, र्िुष्य आकारः. Whereas प्रािर्य being the
physiological function or the energy body it does not have its
own intrinsic shape. It is like water which does not have shape
of its own, whereas vessel has got its own shape. So naturally
what happens? When you pour the water into a vessel the
shapeless water assumes the shape of the vessel. So if the vessel
is round water will also be round. So as the container’s shape is
so will be the shape of the content. Here the container is
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अन्िर्य and the shape is र्िुष्य आकार, so the shape of
प्रािर्य will be, the उपत्तिषत् says even though प्रािर्य doesn’t
have its own shape as long as it obtains within this अन्िर्य the
प्रािर्य also will have र्िुष्य आकारः. तेि एषः पि ू व ः – अन्िर्य
container is filled with प्रािर्यः and सः वै एषः पुरुषत्तवधः एव –
the प्रािर्य also now has the र्िुष्य आकारः. And how long it
will have र्िुष्य आकार? As long as the प्राि obtains within this
physical body. At the time of death what will happen? प्राि will
leave the body and after it leaves the body it will no more have
पुरुष आकार. Then what आकार will it take? It depends upon
the next container. Suppose now the प्रािर्य is in र्िुष्य शरीरर््
and it goes to a buffalo body, then प्रािर्य will have buffalo
shape. So after death प्रािर्य will take the shape of the next
body. Thus its shape is determined by अन्िर्य. That is said
here सः वै एषः प्रािर्य आत्र्ा पुरुषत्तवधः एव – it has now र्िुष्य
आकार. And how did we get the र्िुष्य shape? तस्य
अन्िरसर्यस्य पुरुषत्तवधताां पुरुषाकारतार्् अिु. तस्य means
the container’s human shape. अिु means in keeping with. So in
keeping with the human shape of the container, the अन्िर्य
container, अयां प्रािर्यः पुरुषत्तवधः – the प्रािर्य content is also
र्िुष्य आकारः. Ok, now the question is once प्रािर्य has got
the human shape then what are the five factors of प्रािर्य. The
head, the right side, the left side, the middle and the lower
portion. त्तशरः, दत्तक्िः पक्ः, उिरः पक्ः, आत्र्ा and प्रत्ततष्ठा. So
these five factors must be there for प्रािर्य also. Therefore the
उपत्तिषत् gives us the information of these five factors.
तस्य प्रािर्यस्य प्रािः एव त्तशरः – for the प्रािर्य आत्र्ा, the
प्राि, the respiratory system is in the place of the head. It is like
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the head, the most prominent and important thing. And you
should remember तववबोध प्रािर्य has got five features – प्राि,
अपाि, व्याि, उदाि and सर्ाि. प्राि is the respiratory system,
अपाि is the excretory system, व्याि is the circulatory system,
सर्ाि is the digestive system and उदाि is the reversing system.
Of these five-fold system the most important and prominent
function is प्राििः, the life breath. Therefore it is like the head of
the प्रािर्य. So प्रािः एव त्तशरः. Then what is the right side?
व्यािः दत्तक्िः पक्ः – the circulatory system, त्तवष्वक् गर्िवाि्
वायुः व्यािः. त्तवष्वक् means all parts of the body. The circulatory
system has to take various materials to every nook and corner
of the body. A wonderful transport system व्याि is the right
wing. Then अपािः उिरः पक्ः. The garbage clearing agency has
to effectively function. When things are circulated whatever
nutrition are required must be absorbed and whatever be the
remnants that must be disposed. So अपािः is the left side. Then
what is the middle and central portion? आकाशः आत्र्ा.
आकाशः means the middle space. Here the word आकाशः
means उदर आकाशः which represents the digestive system, the
सर्ानिः. So सर्ानिः is the आत्र्ा, the central part because it
occupies the central part. Not only does it occupy the central
part it has got a central function also. Because here alone
everything is manufactured. So the raw material goes to the
stomach factory, kidney is one of the most powerful and
complex factories, liver is another complex factory, and they
are all considered to be the essential agencies which should not
go on strike. And that factory is सर्ानिः and that is आत्र्ा. उदाि
has been left out because it is not very active now, and it is
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better that it is not active. So उदाि must cooperate by being not
active, if it becomes active everything will be reversed. Then
finally what is the प्रत्ततष्ठा, the support? पत्तृ र्वी पुच्छां प्रत्ततष्ठा –
the पत्तृ र्वी देवता is supposed to be located in the lower part of
the body, that देवता is the support. Why do we say पत्तृ र्वी is the
support? According to the शास्त्र it is the पत्तृ र्वी देवता through
its gravitational force is retaining the प्राि वायु within the body.
The body is like a balloon and within the body balloon the प्राि
वायु is in a precariously balanced condition because the nature
of वायु is it can escape the balloon at any time. If you have any
doubt puncture the balloon and check. And our body balloon
has got so many punctures. There are so many holes,
नविारपुरम् and in कठोपत्तिषत् it is said एकादििारम्.
Therefore प्राि वायु should not remain in the body, if it remains
it is a wonder and if it is maintained within the body it is
because of पत्तृ र्वी देवता. And पत्तृ र्वी देवता is connected to our
प्रारब्धर््. Once the प्रारब्धर्् is exhausted, प्राि leaves the body.
Therefore पत्तृ र्वी देवता is the support. Just as at the अन्िर्य
level we had अन्िर्य-अन्ि ऐक्र् उपासि, similarly at प्रािर्य
level also we will have a सर्त्तष्ट ऐक्तय उपासि. And that is
introduced here. तत् अत्तप एषः – with regard to the प्रािर्य
आत्र्ा also, एषः श्लोकः – there is the following ऋनर्न्त्र. श्लोकः
means ऋनर्न्त्रः. This ऋनर्न्त्र is quoted by तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत्
which belongs to यजुवेद. Therefore यजुवेद quotes a ऋनर्न्त्र.
What is that ऋनर्न्त्र? We will read.
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र्न्त्र 2-3-01
प्रािां देवा अिु प्राित्तन्त । र्िुष्याः पशवश्च ये । प्रािो त्ति भत
ू ािार्ायुः
। तस्र्ात् सवाव युषर्ुच्यते । सवव र्ेव त आयुयवत्तन्त । ये प्रािां
ब्रह्मोपासते । प्रािो त्ति भत ू ािार्ायुः । तस्र्ात् सवाव युषर्ुच्यत इत्तत ।
तस्यैष एव शारीर आत्र्ा । यः पवू व स्य ।
With the ऋनर्न्त्र we are entering the third अिुवाक of
ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली and the ऋनर्न्त्र begins with the word प्रािां देवाः
and the ऋनर्न्त्र goes upto सवाव युषर्ुच्यत इत्तत. That word इत्तत
indicates the end of quotation. In सांस्कृत there are no
punctuation marks. And that is why it is extremely difficult, in
fact later we invented the punctuation marks, otherwise it will
go continuously. Why they did not have punctuation marks?
Because they never wrote the वेदs. वेदs came down from mouth
to ear. That means the whole वेद was retained in the brain. What
is the proof that they could remember? That we are having all
these मन्रs now that is the proof for their memory power.
Therefore there are no punctuation marks. Now only when we
are printing we are trying to add those things. Thus the word
इत्तत indicates the inverted commas, the end of quotation. And
in this ऋनर्न्त्र the उपत्तिषत् talks about the प्रािर्य as a
product of the सर्त्तष्ट प्राि. Just as अन्िर्य is the product of
the सर्त्तष्ट अन्िर््, प्रािर्य the product of the सर्त्तष्ट प्राि,
which is called त्तिरण्यगभव or सत्र ू ात्र्ा. There is only one life
principle which pervades the whole universe. In fact we are not
destroying life, we are only separating one प्रािर्य from one
particular अन्िर्य. When an animal is killed there is no
question of destruction of anything; अन्िर्य will merge into
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the सर्त्तष्ट अन्िर्् and प्रािर्य will merge into the सर्त्तष्ट प्राि.
अन्िर्य-प्रािर्य सांयोगः जन्र् and अन्िर्य प्रािर्य त्तवयोगः
र्रिर््. This सर्त्तष्ट प्राि is the सत्तृ ष्ट, त्तस्र्त्तत and लय कारिर््
of the प्रािर्य obtaining in all the animals. Therefore all the
animals are surviving only because of the प्रािर्य. This प्रािर्य
is the gift of the सर्त्तष्ट प्राि, the त्तिरण्यगभव . Therefore we are
all indebted to the सर्त्तष्ट प्राि, the त्तिरण्यगभव . That is why in
शीक्ावल्ली’s शात्तन्तपाठ we have the prayer िर्ो ब्रह्मिे । िर्स्ते
वायो । त्वर्ेव प्रत्यक्ां ब्रह्मात्तस । So िर्स्ते वायो means िे सर्त्तष्ट
प्राि you are the one because of whom the व्यत्तष्ट प्राि in the
form of प्रािर्य is inside my body. In fact, I have to breathe in
you alone and I am breathing out the वायु into you alone. And
when I breathe the last, that is why death is called breathing the
last, that means प्रािर्य goes out but वायु does not come in.
Therefore we are indebted to the वायुदेवता. Therefore we get
the glorification here देवाः र्िुष्याः पशवश्च प्रािर्् अिु प्राित्तन्त
– all the gods, human beings and animals survive only by the
blessings of सर्त्तष्ट प्राि. अिु प्राित्तन्त – they live, they survive
because of प्रािर््. प्रािर्् means the सर्त्तष्ट, the macrocosmic
Pranic energy. All the Pranic healing, Reiki etc., are based on
this principle. Because they trace all our diseases to a
disturbance in the Pranic energy. What do they try to do? They
go to सर्त्तष्ट प्राि and according to शास्त्र सय ू व देवता, the Sun is
supposed to be the abode of total प्राि.
अर्ात्तदत्य उदयन्यत्प्रािीं त्तदशां प्रत्तवशत्तत तेि प्राच्याि् प्रािाि्
रत्तश्र्षु सत्तन्िधिे ॥ प्रश्नोपत्तिषत् १-६॥
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When the sun rises it sends out Pranic energy through its rays
and it blesses all the living beings with the life energy.
Therefore Pranic healers try to draw the energy from the
सर्त्तष्ट प्राि and then they direct the Pranic energy into the
patient. In fact according to those people whenever we do
िर्स्कार to a र्िात्र्ा he will charge us through the Pranic
energy. They claim that every र्िात्र्ा is a huge repository of
Pranic energy because he meditates upon the सर्त्तष्ट. So
whoever practices the meditation upon the सर्त्तष्ट he becomes
the store house of Pranic energy and therefore by blessing he is
able to charge the devotee. For that the basis is प्रािर्् देवाः अिु
प्राित्तन्त, all the living beings live blessed by the सर्त्तष्ट
प्राितत्वर््. Therefore प्रािो त्ति भत
ू ािार्ायुः – so the very आयुष्
or life of every living being is a blessing of त्तिरण्यगभव alone.
त्तिरण्यगभव functions as the longevity of every living being. In
आयुष्य िोर् also we are only invoking the सर्त्तष्ट प्राि. And in
सन्ध्यावन्दिर््
पश्येर् शरदः शतर्् । जीवेर् शरदः शतर्् । िन्दार् शरदः शतर्् ।
र्ोदार् शरदः शतर्् । भवार् शरदः शतर्् । श्रि
ृ ुयार् शरदः शतर्् ।
प्रब्रवार् शरदः शतर्् । अत्तजताः स्यार् शरदः शतर्् । ज्योक् ि
सय ू व र्् दृशे ।
They pray to the Sun god O Sun you are the repository of
प्राितत्वर्् when I worship you and invoke you I am charging
the battery. सन्ध्यावन्दिर्् is the charging the battery with
Pranic energy by putting the plug to the Sun.
य उदगान्र्ितोऽिव वात्तद्वभ्राजर्ािः सरररस्य र्ध्यात्स र्ा वषृ भो
लोत्तिताक्ः सय
ू ो त्तवपत्तश्चि् र्िसा पुिातु ॥
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All wonderful मन्रs and they are all directed to the त्तिरण्यगभव ,
the सर्त्तष्ट प्राि located in the सय ू व देवता. Therefore त्तिरण्यगभव
gets the title तस्र्ात् सवाव युषर्् उच्यते – so सर्त्तष्ट प्राि is called
सवाव युषर्् – the longevity of every living. And having said this
much now the उपत्तिषत् wants to talk about the उपासि. What
is the उपासि? There is no व्यत्तष्ट प्रािर्य separate from the
सर्त्तष्ट प्राि. Just as there is no wave separate from ocean.
Therefore at the time of death nothing is lost just as when a
wave dissolves nothing is lost, the water continues to exist but
not in wave form but as one with the ocean. What has gone is
that particular नामरूप, the water continues to exist. Similarly
death is not a tragedy. And that is why when a person is about
to there are some Vedic मन्रs to be chanted. That र्न्त्र says let
the व्यत्तष्ट प्राि merge into the सर्त्तष्ट प्राि, similarly let the
व्यत्तष्ट अपाि merge into the सर्त्तष्ट अपाि, let the व्यत्तष्ट व्याि
merge into सर्त्तष्ट व्याि. Therefore my father or mother or
grandfather etc., are not lost at all, they are going back to
सर्त्तष्ट. Just as the river merges into the ocean. And this is the
most natural process because the river has to ultimately merge
into the ocean. And we do see that सागर सङ्गम, गङ्गा सागर
सङ्गम, we go there for enjoying the दशव ि, not for sitting and
crying. Similarly, death is the most sacred event wherein the
व्यत्तष्ट is going back home. The more I practice this meditation
my अत्तभर्ाि in the व्यत्तष्ट प्रािर्य will come down. It is not the
tragedy, it is one of the most natural phenomenon. Therefore
one should practice प्रािर्य-प्राि ऐक्तय उपासि. Since the प्राि
pervades every living being, the सर्त्तष्ट प्राि is called प्रािर््
ब्रह्म. The word ब्रह्म means macrocosm. Therefore may you
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practice प्राि-ब्रह्म उपासि upon the व्यत्तष्ट प्रािर्य. Now the
question what will I get? Here the फलर्् is said. ये प्रािां ब्रह्म
उपासते – whoever practices प्राि-ब्रह्म उपासि; and remember
daily सन्ध्यावन्दिर्् involves the सर्त्तष्ट प्राि उपासि and
when we are doing special प्रािायार् we are only connecting
व्यत्तष्ट and सर्त्तष्ट. What will this daily सन्ध्यावन्दिर्् and
प्रािायार् rituals do? सवव र्् एव आयुः ते यत्तन्त – they will get a
full life. They will not be short-lived being, they will enjoy दरघय
आर्ुष्र्म्, आरोनर्म् etc., because प्राि will be favorable to them.
Therefore सवव र्् आयुः ते यत्तन्त – they will get a full life, which
is supposed to be hundred years, that means they will not have
a premature death. This is the फलर्् for सकार् उपासि. If a
person is a Vedantic student and practices त्तिष्कार् उपासि then
the फलर्् is त्तििशुत्तद्, purification of mind and त्तिि त्तवशालता
expansion of the mind. The more you think of totality the more
your mind expands. Your respect for life increases, you cannot
kill any living being that easily. अत्तिांसा becomes natural to you
because you respect everywhere. Vegetarianism becomes
natural to you because you cannot imagine the violent killing
of animals. Therefore purity of mind, expansion of mind, and
the next and most important benefit is प्रािर्य अत्तभर्ाि will
come down, identification with प्रािर्य will come down. This
is very important because only when you disidentify from
प्रािर्य you can go to र्िोर्य. If you fall in love with this first
step of the ladder then how will you get to the second step?
Therefore first step अत्तभर्ाि ्र्ाग is required to climb the
second. Therefore अत्तभर्ाि ्र्ाग is the second benefit. Now
the उपत्तिषत् wants to conclude this प्रािर्य topic, therefore it
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repeats the same idea प्रािो त्ति भत
ू ािार्ायुः – so the प्राि alone
expresses in the form of life in every living being. Therefore
प्राि is given the title तस्र्ात् सवाव युषर्् उच्यते – it is called
सवाव युषर््. With this the ऋनर्न्त्र quotation is over. Now the
यजुवेद उपत्तिषत् takes over and it is winding up the second
stage of discussion. So अन्िर्य has become the container and
प्रािर्य is आत्र्ा, the content. Therefore अन्िर्य is called
शरीरर्् and प्रािर्य is called शारीर आत्र्ा – the आत्र्ा which
obtains within the शरीरर््. That is said here तस्य एषः एव –
अन्िर्य शरीरस्र् प्रािर्य एव शारीरः आत्र्ा – the inner self
which is nothing but यः पवू व स्य – the अन्िर्य which was
discussed before. We have now practiced the प्रािर्य उपासि
and प्रािर्य अत्तभर्ाि is gone. We are become more mature,
therefore we are ready to enter र्िोर्य.
तस्र्ाद्वा एतस्र्ात् प्रािर्यात् । अन्योऽन्तर आत्र्ा र्िोर्यः ।
पुरुषत्तवधः । तस्य यजुरेव त्तशरः । ऋनदत्तक्िः पक्ः । सार्ोिरः पक्ः
। आदेश आत्र्ा । अर्वाव ङ्त्तगरसः पुच्छां प्रत्ततष्ठा । तदप्येष श्लोको
भवत्तत ॥ १ ॥ इत्तत ततृ ीयोऽिुवाकः ॥
The उपत्तिषत् says until now I said प्रािर्य is the आत्र्ा,
your true nature, but now I am letting the cat out of my bag,
really speaking प्रािर्य is also not your real nature. It is not
आत्र्ा. Then what is आत्र्ा? आत्र्ा is something other than
प्रािर्य. अन्यः. Not only it is other than प्रािर्य, where is it
available, accessible? Within the प्रािर्य the interior आत्र्ा
indwells. And if प्रािर्य is not आत्र्ा what is that आत्र्ा?
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अन्योऽन्तर आत्र्ा र्िोर्य. Now hereafter र्िोर्य becomes
the new hero, र्िोर्य is the आत्र्ा and प्रािर्य becomes the
अिात्र्ा or कोश. Once you know प्रािर्य is अिात्र्ा, then
अिात्र्त्व त्तिश्चयः, कायव त्व त्तिश्चयः, िार्रूपत्व त्तिश्चयः,
त्तर्थ्यात्व त्तिश्चयः and प्रत्तवलापिर््. प्रािर्य is out. More in the
next class.
पि
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॥
We are in the third अिुवाक of ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली and the
उपत्तिषत् has entered into the पञ्िकोश त्तववेक which is the
method used for sensitizing the mind so that the mind can grasp
आत्र्ा. we require a sensitive instrument to do a sensitive job.
When we want to cut a tree the instrument that we use is an axe.
And when a person wants to shave his face he does not use the
axe, he uses a blade which is a subtler instrument for a subtler
operation. And when they have to do a subtle eye surgery,
micro surgery they have to use laser rays for doing that
operation. The sensitive of the instrument depends upon the
subtlety of the operation. Here what we want to know is आत्र्ा
which is absolutely free from all the attributes and therefore the
mind which has to recognize the attributeless, inconceivable,
unobjectifiable आत्र्ा the mind has to be very subtle. The
subtlety or the sensitivity of the mind is to be developed very
gradually and therefore for that purpose the उपत्तिषत् is lifting
our mind first to अन्िर्य as the आत्र्ा and gradually it has
lifted our mind to प्रािर्य. From anatomy we have come to
physiology. Anatomy is the physical part of the body which is
tangible. Whereas the physiology is the function of the body, it
is a faculty which is not a tangible thing. That the eyes are
functioning you can never see I have to infer the eyes are
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functioning only after the result I get. What is the result? I
should be able to read. That is why the moment I go to an eye
doctor, he can never find out by physically seeing the eyes, he
can never know whether the eyes are functioning or not,
therefore he has a board with several lines bigger letter, smaller
letter. And he asks you to read the top line of the board and we
ask the question where is the board. So from the result the
doctor has to infer the capacity of the eye, the physical eye is
visible but the faculty of the eye is not visible. प्रािर्य is subtler
than अन्िर्य. That is why according to our शास्त्र anatomy is
put in स्र्ल
ू शरीरर््, physiology is included in the सक्ष्ू र् शरीरर््.
And the उपत्तिषत् has introduced the प्रािर्य as the आत्र्ा now.
And therefore we have to dwell upon the प्रािर्य for some time
and make the mind sensitive and then the उपत्तिषत् quoted a
ऋनर्न्त्र also which prescribed the उपासि of व्यत्तष्ट प्रािर्य
and सर्त्तष्ट प्राि otherwise called सर ू आ्मा. प्रािर्य सर ू ा्मा
ऐक्र् उपासि. सर ू ा्मा means the very life principle which
threads through every physical body. सर ू म् means a thread. A
thread passes through every bead in the garland. Similarly every
physical body is like bead some of them are pearls, some of
them are diamonds. So every body is a bead. And through every
bead the life principle is passing through because of which you
are also alive, I am also alive. This invisible thread of life which
makes every body alive and sentient is called सर ू आ्मा. And
this उपासि is to be practiced and this सर ू or सर्त्तष्ट प्राि is
glorified by the उपत्तिषत् as सवव आयुषम्. सर्त्तष्ट अन्िर्् was
called सवौषधम्, this is called सवाव युषम्, the longevity or the
life. And if a person practices this उपासि he will get two-fold
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benefit depending upon the motive. If it is a सकार् उपासि the
benefit is a longer life. One will not die in अपम्ृ र्ु like accident
and all those things, he will survive. So दरघय आर्ुष्र्म् is the
benefit for सकार् उपासि. And if a person practices त्तिष्कार्
उपासि then त्तििशुत्तद्, purification of mind and त्तिि एकाग्रता,
one-pointedness comes and त्तिि त्तवशालता expansion of the
mind comes. Because I revere the life in every being including
the minutest insect also. And not only will I get all these
benefits my mind becomes subtler enough, sensitive enough to
get into the next layer. The next layer is from प्रािर्य I have to
go to र्िोर्य. That is said in the third अिुवाक, we will read.
तस्र्ाद्वा एतस्र्ात् प्रािर्यात् । अन्योऽन्तर आत्र्ा र्िोर्यः ।
पुरुषत्तवधः । तस्य यजुरेव त्तशरः । ऋनदत्तक्िः पक्ः । सार्ोिरः पक्ः
। आदेश आत्र्ा । अर्वाव ङ्त्तगरसः पुच्छां प्रत्ततष्ठा । तदप्येष श्लोको
भवत्तत ॥ १ ॥ इत्तत ततृ ीयोऽिुवाकः ॥
So now that we are ready to enter the next layer the
उपत्तिषत् says तस्र्ात् वै एतस्र्ात् प्रािर्यात् अन्यः आत्र्ा –
really speaking प्रािर्य is not आत्र्ा. Then what is आत्र्ा?
Something other than प्रािर्य. अन्यः means different from.
What is that आत्र्ा? र्िोर्यः – it is called र्िोर्य आत्र्ा.
Where is this र्िोर्य आत्र्ा located? अन्यः अन्तरः. अन्तरः
means within the प्रािर्य आत्र्ा, it is interior to प्रािर्य, and it
is subtler than प्रािर्य. And once I know that र्िोर्य is the
आत्र्ा then प्रािर्य becomes अिात्र्ा or कोििः. And once I
understand प्रािर्य as अिात्र्ा what are the steps I have to go
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through? Whatever is अिात्र्ा is a product of आत्र्ा. how do I
know? तस्र्ाद्वा एतस्र्ादात्र्ि आकाशः सम्भत ू ः, from आकाश
onwards everything is born out of आत्र्ा. If everything is born
out of आत्र्ा, every अिात्र्ा is born out of आत्र्ा. And if every
अिात्र्ा is आत्र्कायव र््, then प्रािर्य also is कायव र््, it is a
product. So अिात्र्त्व त्तिश्चयः should lead me to कायव त्व
त्तिश्चयः. Once I know प्रािर्य is कायव र्् then whatever is कायव र््
is nothing but िार्-रूप, therefore िार्रूपत्व त्तिश्चयः. प्रािर्य
should be understood as mere िार्-रूप. कस्मात्? कायव त्वात्.
So प्रािर्र्िः िार्रूपा्मकिः कायव त्वात् घटवत्. And once I know
it is nothing but िार्-रूप I conclude that it is non-substantial, it
doesn’t have an existence of its own, it has got only borrowed
existence and whatever has borrowed existence is त्तर्थ्या,
त्तर्थ्यात्व त्तिश्चयः. Once I know that it is त्तर्थ्या and it does not
its own natural existence I conclude that it is as good as non-
existent. Because borrowed existence means the absence of
intrinsic existence. Therefore प्रािर्य does not have a सिा of
its own, आत्र्ा सिा व्र्शतररि सिा अभावात्. Since प्रािर्य
does not have a सिा or existence of its own, it is as good as
non-existent, this understanding is called प्रत्तवलापिर््.
प्रत्तवलापिर्् means dissolving. I dissolve त्तर्थ्या वस्तु into स्र्
वस्तु. Here what is सत्यर््? र्िोर्य is at this moment आत्र्ा,
the सत्यर्् and प्रािर्य is त्तर्थ्या. Therefore प्रािर्य, the त्तर्थ्या
अिात्र्ा is dissolved into र्िोर्य, the स्र् आत्र्ा. This is
called प्रत्तवलापिर््. So अन्िर्य has been resolved into प्रािर्य,
and प्रािर्य has been dissolved into र्िोर्य. Not only that we
have to note another very important point also which
शङ्करािायव is very particular. At every level we practiced the
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meditation of अन्िर्य सर्त्तष्ट अन्ि ऐक्र्र््. What do you mean
by that? अन्िर्य and सर्त्तष्ट अन्िर्् are essentially one and the
same. Similarly we practiced the meditation of प्रािर्य सर्त्तष्ट
प्राि ऐक्र्र््. Thus the meditation reveals the essential oneness
of the micro and macro, व्यत्तष्ट-सर्त्तष्ट ऐक्र्र्् we have been
seeing as a result. Therefore when I am resolving अन्िर्य into
प्रािर्य this resolution is not only at व्यत्तष्ट level parallelly I am
resolving the सर्त्तष्ट अन्िर्य into सर्त्तष्ट प्रािम्. Therefore
remember it is not mere resolution of the microcosmic
individual parallelly I am resolving the macrocosmic individual
also. Therefore अन्िर्य and अन्ि are gone, प्रािर्य and
सर्त्तष्ट प्राि are also gone. Now we are at र्िोर्य level. And
what is the nature of र्िोर्य? The उपत्तिषत् says तेि एषः पि ू वः
– तेि र्िोर्येि एषः प्रािर्यः पि ू व ः – this र्िोर्य fills up the
प्रािर्य because प्रािर्य is the कोश, a container and र्िोर्य
is the content. Previously we said प्रािर्य is the content,
अन्िर्य is the container, so we said प्रािर्य fills up the
अन्िर्य container. Now we say र्िोर्य content is filling up
the प्रािर्य कोश, the container. That is said here, तेि एषः पि ू वः
– एषः प्रािर्यः तेि र्िोर्येि पि ू व ः भवशत. Now the question is
what will be the shape of र्िोर्य? And we know मनस् or
र्िोर्य does not have a shape of its own, because it is not a
concrete substance. Only the physical body is concrete
therefore it has a shape and it goes out of shape also. But we
find प्रािर्य itself does not have its own intrinsic shape, then
what to talk of र्िोर्य? Being a subtler entity र्िोर्य does not
have natural shape, it is like water. And since water does not
have a natural shape, it assumes the shape of the container in
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which it is. Similarly र्िोर्य will take the shape of the
container प्रािर्य. But we saw प्रािर्य itself does not have a
shape of its own therefore it takes the shape of the container
अन्िर्य and therefore अन्िर्य lends its shape to प्रािर्य and
प्रािर्य will have to lend its shape to र्िोर्य. Therefore
र्िोर्य will have the shape of अन्िर्य ultimately. What is the
shape of अन्िर्य, the physical body? It has got human shape.
Therefore the उपत्तिषत् says सः वै एषः पुरुषत्तवधः एव – this
र्िोर्य आत्र्ा has got पुरुषत्तवधः – र्िुष्य आकारः, the shape
of the human being. Here the word पुरुष means र्िुष्य, and not
man, त्तवधः means आकारः. As long as the mind obtains within
this physical body it will have र्िुष्य आकारः. Suppose after
death when the mind leaves this physical body and takes a
buffalo िन्म then the mind will have the buffalo आकारः. But
here the उपत्तिषत् talks about र्िुष्य आकारः because all the
students are र्िुष्यs. And what type of र्िुष्य आकारः the
र्िोर्य has got? It is not an intrinsic आकारः, but it is only
borrowed आकारः. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् says तस्य
प्रािर्यस्य पुरुषत्तवधताां पुरुषाकारतार्् अिु अयां र्िोर्यः
पुरुषत्तवधः. तस्य पुरुषत्तवधताम् means the container’s र्िुष्य
आकारः gives the र्िुष्य आकार to the content. तस्य प्रािर्यस्य
र्िुष्य आकारतार्् अिु र्िोर्यः अशप र्िुष्य आकारः भवशत.
प्रािर्यः कर्ं र्िुष्य आकारः? अन्िर्यस्य र्िुष्य आकारतार््
अिु प्रािर्यः र्िुष्य अकारः. अन्िर्यस्य र्िुष्य अकारः कर्ं
शसद्ध्र्शत? स्वतिः. अन्िर्य is र्िुष्य अकारः intrinsically by
birth, whereas the other two प्रािर्य and र्िोर्य have got
borrowed shape. Therefore तस्य पुरुषत्तवधताां अिु अयां र्िोर्यः
पुरुषत्तवधः. Once I have accepted that र्िोर्य आत्र्ा has got the
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र्िुष्य अकारः we have to answer the five factors – त्तशरः,
दत्तक्िः पक्ः, उिरः पक्ः, आत्र्ा and प्रत्ततष्ठा. The उपत्तिषत् says
तस्य र्िोर्य आ्मनिः यजुः एव त्तशरः – for this र्िोर्य आत्र्ा
the head is यजुर् र्न्त्रः. So यजुवेद र्न्त्र is in the position of the
head. यजुवेद has got a prominent position in the rituals. All the
आिु त्ततs are determined by the यजुर् Vedic injunctions only.
Then ऋग् दत्तक्िः पक्ः – ऋनवेद is also an important वेद in the
rituals and therefore it is in the position of the right side.
Literally दत्तक्िः means the southern side but it is said right side
because when you are facing the east for all the कमय s the right
side will be south. Then सार् उिरः पक्ः – सार्वेद र्न्त्रs are the
उिरः पक्ः – the left side. What is the central portion the most
important part of र्िोर्य? आदेशः आत्र्ा – आदेशः means all
the Vedic injunctions. त्तवत्तधत्तिषेधरूप वाक्तयात्ति आदेशः. All the
commandments is the आत्र्ा. Because the entire कर्व काण्ड
especially the त्तवत्तध वाक्तयs are more important because our life
is supposed to be governed by Vedic त्तवत्तधत्तिषेधs. And all other
वेद वाक्तयम्s are only to support त्तवत्तधत्तिषेधs, and are called
अर्य वाद वाक्र्s.
त्तवत्तधिा तु एकवाक्तयत्वात् स्तुत्यर्ेि त्तवधीिाां स्युः ॥
त्तर्र्ाांसासत्र
ू ात्ति १-२-७ ॥
Therefore त्तवत्तध वाक्तयs are called the आत्र्ा. Then
अर्वाव ङ्त्तगरसः पुच्छां प्रत्ततष्ठा – अर्वाव ङ्त्तगरसः is the अर्वव िवेद
र्न्त्रs, i.e., the र्न्त्रs which are revealed by अर्वव ऋत्तष and
अङ्त्तगरस् ऋत्तष, which are predominantly the र्न्त्रs of
अर्वव िवेद. And that is the प्रत्ततष्ठा like पुच्छम् it is the support.
Now शङ्करािायव asks the question why do say these र्न्त्रs are
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the support. He says most of the prescriptions of अर्वव ि वेद are
meant for health, wealth, peace of mind etc.
शात्तन्तकपौत्तष्टकात्तद कमाय शि. Most of the कर्व s and
prescriptions given are for the इिलोक फलम् of health,
prosperity etc. And शङ्करािायव says whatever be your goal in
life the most important thing that you should take care of is your
health.
शरीरर्् आद्र्् खलु धर्व साधिर्् ॥ कुर्ारसम्भवर्् ५-३३ ॥
Whether you want to earn अर्व कार् पुरुषार्व or whether you
want to acquire the धमाय शद पुण्र्म् or whether you want to pursue
the र्ोक् for all of them the common factor is the physical body
must be available. In the class you must be able to sit for an
hour without serious disturbance. Therefore money is
important, physical health is important, mental health is also
very important. त्तस्र्रै रङ्गैस्तुष्टुवाांसस्तित्तू भः । व्यशेर् देवत्तितां
यदायुः। And therefore शङ्करािायव says before you go to अदृष्ट
फलर्् first you have to ask for दृष्ट प्रर्ोिनम् of health and
wealth, the foundation for all pursuits.
Now we get into a problem. शङ्करािायव discusses a
particular problem in this section. In अन्िर्य all the five
factors – त्तशरः, दत्तक्िः पक्ः, उिरः पक्ः, आत्र्ा and प्रत्ततष्ठा
mentioned are the intrinsic parts of अन्िर्य. When we came to
प्रािर्य the five factors of प्रािर्य are part of प्रािर्य कोश only
in the form of तस्य प्राि एव त्तशरः । व्यािो दत्तक्िः पक्ः । अपाि
उिरः पक्ः । आकाश आत्र्ा । etc. So in अन्िर्य and प्रािर्य all
the five factors are the intrinsic parts of the respective कोशs.
But in र्िोर्य what do we find? The five factors mentioned are
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ऋनवेद यजुवेद etc. And the वेदs are outside. That is why we
have to learn the वेदs which are all books, the शब्द रूप.
Therefore how can the वेदs which are outside, which are in the
form of शब्द can become the part of र्िोर्य आत्र्ा? So how
can the external factors become the part of internal र्िोर्य?
And शङ्करािायव himself gives the answer. He says वेदs are
primarily in the form of wisdom, which are in the form of
thoughts. वेद means wisdom, knowledge and knowledge is
always in the form of र्िोवत्तृ िः. Therefore every वेदर्न्त्र
represents a वत्तृ िः only. So ऋनर्न्त्र is ऋग्रपू र्िोवत्तृ िः. Similarly
र्िुमयन्र is र्िोवत्तृ िः. And शब्दात्र्क वेद in the form of
external sound is only a symbol invented by us to communicate
the thought which is in the mind. so I have got a thought in the
mind, I want to communicate the thought to you and I find that
I cannot pluck the thought from my head and make a hole in
and I cannot pass, nor can I give a pipeline to pass. So thoughts
cannot be directly passed and therefore we have to invent an
external sound symbol and the sound is only a symbol for the
thought which is in the mind. And therefore every र्न्त्र is
primarily in the form of र्ििात्र्क र्न्त्रः, which is in the form
of मननम्, mental process. And that has been converted into
sound and transferred orally. It is like the transmission of music
which takes place in a TV station. The sound is converted into
electromagnetic waves, which is again received by your device.
And your receiver set again converts it into sound. Sound to
wave, wave to sound. Similarly every र्न्त्र is primarily a वत्तृ ि
later it is converted into sound, later again is converted into
वत्तृ ि. Therefore ऋनर्न्त्र is र्िोवत्तृ िः, र्िुमयन्र is र्िोवत्तृ िः,
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साममन्र is र्िोवत्तृ िः. Therefore all the वेदs are वत्तृ िरूपिः र्न्त्रः
only. And वत्तृ ि, thought belongs to र्िोर्य. Therefore
शङ्करािायव says ऋनर्न्त्र thoughts are र्िुमयन्र thoughts are
त्तशरः of र्िोर्य, ऋग् दत्तक्िः पक्ः, similarly साममन्र thoughts
are to be taken as उिरः पक्ः. Therefore there is no problem at
all. The वत्तृ िs are part of र्िोर्य आत्र्ा.
Then तत् अत्तप एषः श्लोकः भवत्तत – with regard to this
र्िोर्य आत्र्ा also there is the following ऋनर्न्त्र. So तत् अत्तप
तत्तस्र्ि् र्िोर्यात्र्त्तवषये अत्तप एषः वक्ष्र्माििः श्लोकः ऋनर्न्त्रः
भवत्तत वतय ते. What is that ऋनर्न्त्रः? We will read.
र्न्त्र 2-4-01
यतो वािो त्तिवतव न्ते । अप्राप्य र्िसा सि । आिन्दां ब्रह्मिो त्तवद्वाि्
। ि त्तबभेत्तत कदाििेत्तत । तस्यैष एव शारीर आत्र्ा । यः पवू व स्य ।
Now we are entering the fourth अिुवाक which begins
with ऋनर्न्त्र quotation related to र्िोर्य आत्र्ा. The ऋनर्न्त्र
begins with यतो वािो त्तिवतव न्ते and ends with ि त्तबभेत्तत
कदािि इत्तत. इत्तत indicates the end of quotation mark. So
compared to the previous ऋनर्न्त्र this is smaller one. And here
the उपत्तिषत् wants prescribe another उपासि exactly like the
two previous उपासिs. The उपासि is व्यत्तष्ट सर्त्तष्ट ऐक्तय
उपासि. So we saw अन्िर्य अन्ि ऐक्तय उपासि, प्रािर्य प्राि
ऐक्तय उपासि. Similarly र्िोर्य and सर्त्तष्ट मनिः. The total
mind is called त्तिरण्यगभव . In शीक्ावल्ली
स य एषोऽन्तहृव दय आकाशः । तत्तस्र्न्ियां पुरुषो र्िोर्यः ॥
तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् १-६-१ ॥
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So there त्तिरण्यगभव was called र्िोर्यः etc., indicating
त्तिरण्यगभव is the total र्िोर्य. And the glorify of that
त्तिरण्यगभव otherwise called ब्रह्मा is talked about here. And the
सर्त्तष्ट is glorified in every stage so that we will have interest
in practicing this उपासि. This is the style of the वेद; before
prescribing any उपासि the उपास्र् देवता is to be glorified. And
once it is glorified we will develop an interest. यतः वािः
त्तिवतव न्ते अप्राप्य र्िसा सि – he being सर्त्तष्ट, the total,
त्तिरण्यगभव cannot be described or conceived by an individual
mind. Individual mind cannot conceive of omniscience or
सवव ज्त्वर््. As दयािन्द स्वात्तर्शि says we are doubtful even of
the spelling of omniscience, so where is the question of
knowing everything in the creation? It is inconceivable. And
therefore वािः त्तिवतव न्ते – words fall off when we try to
conceive of the total knowledge. And not only words cannot
describe अप्राप्य र्िसा सि – that त्तिरण्यगभव is inaccessible to
even the mind. Unthinkable or inconceivable. That is why for
the science the world will be always inaccessible, the scientist
can never understand the creation in its totality because the
व्यत्तष्ट is trying to measure the सर्त्तष्ट. It is like taking the spoon
to measure the ocean water. Therefore त्तिरण्यगभव is सवव प्रर्ाि
अगोिरः, inaccessible to the mind and words. Not only that
त्तिरण्यगभव is an embodiment of the highest worldly आिन्द. In
worldly आिन्द the highest आिन्द is ब्रह्मािन्द which means
त्तिरण्यगभाव िन्द. भल ू ोक, भुवलोक, सुवलोक, र्िलोक,
जिलोक, तपोलोक, सत्यलोक; so that त्तिरण्यगभव ’s आिन्द we
will be seeing in the तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् later.
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ते ये शतां प्रजापतेरािन्दाः । स एको ब्रह्मि आिन्दः ॥
तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् २-४ ॥
So therefore त्तिरण्यगभव ’s आिन्द is the greatest in the
व्याविाररक प्रपञ्ि. And this आिन्द and this indescribability of
त्तिरण्यगभव a person has to meditate. The सर्त्तष्ट त्तिरण्यगभव has
to be invoked in the व्यत्तष्ट र्िोर्य.
आप्िोत्तत स्वाराज्यर्् । आप्िोत्तत र्िसस्पत्ततर्् ।
वाक्तपत्ततश्चक्ुष्पत्ततः । श्रोत्रपत्ततत्तववज्ािपत्ततः । एतितो भवत्तत ।
आकाशशरीरां ब्रह्म । सत्यात्र् प्रािारार्ां र्ि आिन्दर्् ।
शात्तन्तसर्द्ृ र्र्त ृ र्् । इत्तत प्रािीि योनयोपास्व ॥ तैिरीयोपत्तिषत्
१-६-२ ॥
We saw in शीक्ावल्ली that त्तिरण्यगभव as an embodiment of
आिन्द. So this suppose a person meditates on र्िोर्य सर्त्तष्ट
मन ऐक्र् उपासन. त्तवद्वाि् means उपासक here and not a ज्ात्ति.
Then what is the benefit a person will get? He gets two-fold
benefit. For the सकार् उपासि the फलम् is ि त्तबभेत्तत
कदाििेत्तत – that person will not have any fear at all because
त्तिरण्यगभव has got maximum security. So he becomes one with
त्तिरण्यगभव , he will attain त्तिरण्यगभव लोक wherein a person gets
relatively the highest security. You know why त्तिरण्यगभव is
more secure? In the eight chapter of the गरता it is said two
thousand चतुर्य ुगs is one day of त्तिरण्यगभव . So for one month
you have to multiply by thirty, and like that for hundred years.
So where is the worry? र्मधमय राि is not coming in the near
future at all. Therefore it gives the highest security, ि त्तबभेत्तत
कदािि. This is the सकार् उपासि फलम्. Now what is the
फलम् of त्तिष्कार् उपासि? That is uniform. त्तििशुत्तद्, त्तिि
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एकाग्रता and त्तिि त्तवशालता. And above all the mind becomes
sensitive enough to go to the next layer.
दृश्यते त्वग्र्यया बुद्ध्या सक्ष्ू र्या सक्ष्ू र्दत्तशवत्तभः ॥ कठोपत्तिषत् १-
३-१२ ॥
With this the ऋनर्न्त्र is over. Now यजुवेद उपत्तिषत् picks up
तस्यैष एव शारीर आत्र्ा यः पवू व स्य – this र्िोर्य आत्र्ा is called
शारीर आत्र्ा because it obtains within the प्रािर्य शरीरर््. And
प्रािर्य is called शारीर आत्र्ा because it obtains within the
अन्िर्य शरीरर््. Thus अन्िर्य प्रािर्य are शरीरर््s, र्िोर्य
is शारीर आत्र्ा. So now we are ready, we have made our mind
sensitive. Now we have to enter into त्तवज्ािर्य. We will read.
तस्र्ाद्वा एतस्र्ान्र्िोर्यात् । अन्योऽन्तर आत्र्ा त्तवज्ािर्यः ।
पुरुषत्तवधः । तस्य श्रद्ैव त्तशरः । ऋतां दत्तक्िः पक्ः । सत्यर्ुिरः पक्ः
। योग आत्र्ा । र्िः पुच्छां प्रत्ततष्ठा । तदप्येष श्लोको भवत्तत ॥ १ ॥
इत्तत ितुर्ोऽिुवाकः ॥
So very patiently, systematically the उपत्तिषत् is lifting
us to the next layer. तस्र्ात् वै एतस्र्ात् मिोर्यात् अन्यः आत्र्ा
– so really speaking र्िोर्य is not आत्र्ा. So it will appear that
previously the उपत्तिषत् was telling a lie. It is not telling a lie.
It is अिुवादः only for taking the student upwards it is a
temporary compromise done with good intention. Therefore we
cannot blame the उपत्तिषत्. So the उपत्तिषत् says really
speaking र्िोर्य is not आत्र्ा. आत्र्ा is something different
from र्िोर्य. What is the name of that आत्र्ा? त्तवज्ािर्यः. It
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is called त्तवज्ािर्य आत्र्ा. Where is this त्तवज्ािर्य आत्र्ा?
अन्तरः – within. Now the moment I understand त्तवज्ािर्य as
आत्र्ा, र्िोर्य becomes अिात्र्ा or कोश. So अिात्र््व
त्तिश्चयः, which means कायव ्व त्तिश्चयः, which means िार्रूप्व
त्तिश्चयः, which means शमर्थर्ा्व त्तिश्चयः, which means
प्रशवलापनम्. It is not enough to say orally, you should see you
are swallowing the whole world. Just as a person wakes up from
dream without doing anything by sheer waking up he resolves
the स्वप्ि प्रपञ्ि, similarly this is the process of swallowing the
whole world.
The whole thing is we are becoming world swallowers through
knowledge. So त्तवज्ािर्य is the आत्र्ा now. And you should
also remember when I am swallowing the र्िोर्य आत्र्ा
parallelly the सर्त्तष्ट र्िोर्य is also resolved into the
त्तवज्ािर्य. Therefore parallelly the व्यत्तष्ट and सर्त्तष्ट both
must be resolved, only then at the end I will come to जगत्
अत्तधष्ठािर्् ब्रह्म. Therefore it is very important. Now the
उपत्तिषत् says त्तवज्ािर्य also has got the र्िुष्य आकारः. What
type of र्िुष्य आकारः? Not intrinsic र्िुष्य आकारः, but it has
got borrowed र्िुष्य आकारः. Where from it borrows? From the
container. What is the container of त्तवज्ािर्य? र्िोर्य.
Therefore र्िोर्य container lends the पुरुष आकार to
त्तवज्ािर्य content. Therefore त्तवज्ािर्य also is पुरुषत्तवधः. Rest
of the words are same as the previous ones – तेिषै पि ू व ः । स वा
एष पुरुषत्तवध एव । तस्य पुरुषत्तवधतार्् । अन्वयां पुरुषत्तवधः. These
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four sentences are repeated in each stage. And now once I know
त्तवज्ािर्य has र्िुष्य आकारः, the next question is what are the
five factors of त्तवज्ािर्य. त्तवज्ािर्यः as the very shows stands
for knowledge and knowledge is required for कर्व . Therefore
त्तवज्ािर्य represents ज्ािर्् and कर्व . िानाशत इछिशत र्तते.
Whereas र्िोर्य represents संिर्. सङ्कल्पत्तवकल्पात्र्कां
र्िः. Between संिर् and ज्ािर्् which is more powerful?
ज्ािर्् is more powerful because it alone will eliminate all the
संिर्. I hope you remember तत्त्वबोध where the definition of
mind is given as सङ्कल्पत्तवकल्पात्र्कां र्िः, त्तिश्चयात्तत्र्का
बुत्तद्ः. सङ्कल्पत्तवकल्पात्र्कम् means whether I should do it or
not. So र्िस् stands for the wavering mind and intellect,
शवज्ािर्् stands for त्तिश्चय ज्ािर््. Therefore त्तवज्ािर्य is
subtler and more powerful than र्िोर्य and therefore
त्तवज्ािर्य is interior and it is more subtler. Knowledge is
subtler than doubt because it can destroy doubt. More in the
next class.
पि
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॥
We are now in the middle of the fourth अिुवाक of
ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली in which the उपत्तिषत् has gone to त्तवज्ािर्य
कोश from र्िोर्य कोश and when we are entering त्तवज्ािर्य
initially we look upon त्तवज्ािर्य as आत्र्ा only. And when we
appreciate त्तवज्ािर्य as आत्र्ा र्िोर्य which was previously
आत्र्ा gets reduced to अिात्र्ा or कोििः. Once you reduce
र्िोर्य into कोश, I hope you remember अिात्र््व त्तिश्चयः
(कोश्व त्तिश्चयः), कायव ्व त्तिश्चयः, िार्रूप्व त्तिश्चयः,
शमर्थर्ा्व त्तिश्चयः and finally प्रशवलापनम्. And once we accept
त्तवज्ािर्य as आत्र्ा र्िोर्य becomes the container as it were,
the शरीरर्् and त्तवज्ािर्य is the content, the िरररर otherwise
called शारीर आत्र्ा otherwise called देशि. Then the उपत्तिषत्
points out that त्तवज्ािर्य, the content which is in the form of
the very knowledge itself cannot have a shape of its own and
therefore it assumes the shape of the container, र्िोर्य and
since र्िोर्य has got पुरुष आकार or र्िुष्य आकार त्तवज्ािर्य
also has got a borrowed shape, viz., पुरुषत्तवधः. That is what we
are seeing now. तस्य पुरुषत्तवधताां अिु अयां पुरुषत्तवधः. तस्य
र्िोर्यस्य पुरुषत्तवधताां र्िुष्य आकारतार्् अिुस्ृ र्
अयां त्तवज्ािर्यः अशप र्िुष्य आकारः दृश्र्ते. Once we accept
त्तवज्ािर्य as र्िुष्य आकारः the question will be what are the
five factors associated with त्तवज्ािर्य आत्र्ा. त्तशरः, दत्तक्िः
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पक्ः, उिरः पक्ः, आत्र्ा and प्रत्ततष्ठा are now introduced which
we have to see. तस्य श्रद्ा एव त्तशरः – in त्तवज्ािर्य आत्र्ा, the
knower principle who is endowed with knowledge, known as
ज्ाता or प्रर्ाता. And the knower alone later becomes a doer
because every deliberate action is backed by knowledge
because the rule is िानाशत इछिशत र्तते. A man knows
something then out of various things he knows he chooses one
as his destination that is called इछिा, and once one of the goals
is chosen then he works towards accomplishing that. You can
never take an unknown thing as your goal. Therefore
knowledge helps in fixing the goal, and fixing the goal helps in
implementing in the form of action. In fact lifelong we have
been doing that only. Therefore प्रर्ाता, the knower alone
becomes कताव . And for all these things to happen what is the
main factor which contributes? श्रद्ा एव त्तशरः. श्रद्ा means faith
in the वेद प्रर्ाि. So if a person should get spiritual knowledge
which has to guide a person spiritually then he requires an
appropriate means of knowledge. All the material sciences will
never help in getting spiritual knowledge. Therefore spiritual
knowledge requires the शास्त्र प्रर्ािर््. So if you should become
a spiritual seeker implementing spiritual साधिs like from
getting up early in the morning and doing पि ू ा or िप but if you
are an atheist or a materialist you will consider it a waste of
time. So if you have to spend a lot of time and energy and effort
in religious and spiritual life it requires knowledge and
knowledge requires शास्त्रर्् because no Physics will talk about
सन्ध्यावन्दिर््, no Chemistry will talk about रामिार् िपम्, no
Economics will talk about र्ोक् पुरुषार्व . Therefore a religious
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or spiritual pursuit requires religious or spiritual knowledge,
religious or spiritual knowledge requires the वेद or शास्त्र
प्रर्ािर््. And शास्त्र प्रर्ािर्् can give you knowledge only if
you the faith in the validity of शास्त्र. Therefore श्रद्ा becomes
the most important part of a religious or spiritual seeker. That
there is a heaven or hell science has never proved; that our
forefathers survive their death, science has never proved; that
the श्राद् we do will reach the forefathers no science has proved;
that there is something called ultimate reality, science cannot
prove. Therefore if my life should be governed by all these
things पुण्यपापर््, स्वगय नरक, पुनिय न्म, मोक्ष, we have got only
वेद शास्त्र प्रर्ािर््. That is why if a person says I don’t believe
in the शास्त्रs you cannot open the mouth with regard to any one
of these topics. Because science will accept only when in the
test tube you show the precipitate of पुण्यर््! In fact, science
does not accept that mind is different from brain. For science
mind is identical with brain; which means the end of the brain
is the end of the mind. Only through शास्त्र प्रर्ाि we come to
know that mind is different from brain; brain is स्र्ल ू म् and
mind is सक्ष्ू र्र््. And स्र्ल
ू र्् alone dies and सक्ष्ू र् mind survives
science has not yet proved, that it travels after death science has
not yet proved. When the mind itself is in trouble, what to talk
of कारि शरीरर््, पुण्यपापर््, स्वगय नरकम्. Therefore an
absolute materialist or who does not have the appropriate
attitude towards the शास्त्रs all these are a big zero. Therefore
all religious or spiritual life requires ज्ािर्् which is derived
from the scriptures, which presupposes faith in their validity.
Science is possible because scientists also have faith. You know
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what is the faith? Scientists are also the biggest believers in the
validity of perceptions. Scientists are also governed by blind
faith. You know what is the by blind faith of scientists? Their
blind faith is that the sense organs are the valid sources of
knowledge. Our approach is just as the worldly knowledge
depends upon the faith in the sense organs, non-worldly
knowledge depends upon the faith in the शास्त्रs. Without that
neither the religion nor spirituality can exist. Therefore the
उपत्तिषत् says श्रद्ा एव त्तशरः. The roof and crown of spiritual
pursuit or religious life is श्रद्ा. श्रद्ा is गुरु वेदवाक्तयेषु शवश्वास.
And if somebody argues isn’t it blind belief, then our argument
is if a scientist can blindly believe in sense organs, why can’t
we believe in the शास्त्रs? Because any knowledge depends
upon the faith in the validity of the instrument that is used. And
suppose you don’t believe in the instrument of knowledge then
to prove the instrument of knowledge you have to use another
instrument of knowledge which means the other instrument you
should believe. It is like local court you don’t accept go to high
court, now high court has not given the verdict therefore go to
the supreme court. So whatever judgment the highest court
gives you are bound accept. Science believes in sense organs
but our approach is for worldly wisdom believe in sense organs
because it works. And for supra-worldly wisdom believe in the
शास्त्रs, it works. ‘I won’t believe’ If somebody says wish you
all the best we are not insisting that you should have श्रद्ा. We
never force a person, but we insist that without the faith in the
eyes you can never work in the world. Even walking the next
step is based on the assumption that eyes are reporting
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correctly. And that belief helps me. Similarly श्रद्ा एव त्तशरः
शास्त्रs शास्त्र is the त्तशरः. Then ऋतां दत्तक्िः पक्ः – once we have
chosen to use the शास्त्र प्रर्ािर्् the next stage is ऋतम् – the
right understanding is important. So शास्त्र must be understood
properly. Just as you have to interpret even sensory perceptions
properly; because even sense organs if not properly used can
mislead. The report of our sense organs at present is that earth
is stationary, but the fact is that the earth is moving thousand
miles per hour around itself and earth is moving sixty thousand
miles per hour around the Sun. But what is the report of my
sense organs? Terra firma. It is firmly standing. And all the stars
are spots, and I know that stars are thousands of times bigger
than the earth. That means even though the eyes report
something I will have to interpret even that properly because
optical illusions are many. Similarly, scriptural illusions are
also possible if scriptures are not properly operated. A wrong
philosophy is a scriptural illusion. Therefore we have to correct
that possibility, for that alone we are doing र्ििर््. In fact
र्ििर्् after श्रविर्् is only to handle the possible wrong
interpretation of the scriptures. Therefore right understanding is
required which is called ऋतम्. That is the right hand side. Then
सत्यर्् उिरः पक्ः. Mere knowledge is not enough, especially in
कर्व काण्डर्् knowledge will be useful to you only if they are
implemented in your life. Therefore स्र्म् वद धमय म् चर. They
did not say धमय म् वद. धर्व is not for speaking but for living, like
योगासि. That is the best example I like. So this person watches
television regularly during breakfast and in one of the channels
all the योगासिs are done and this person sits on the bean bag
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chair called lazy chair, eating cashew nuts watching योगासिs.
What will happen to him? Nothing will happen, only weight
will happen! Therefore योगासि is not for knowledge but for
practice. Of course without knowledge practice is impossible.
Therefore knowledge is required, but it is incomplete without
practice. The practice of the Vedic teaching is called सत्यर््. I
have said this. ऋतां वत्तदष्यात्तर् । सत्यां वत्तदष्यात्तर्. ऋतर्् is equal
to यर्ा शास्त्रर्् ज्ािर््, सत्यर्् is equal to यर्ा ज्ािर्् आिारः,
अिुष्ठािम्. So learn in keeping with शास्त्रर्् and follow what
you have learnt. And that सत्यर््, right living. Right knowledge
is one side, right living is the other side and faith in the
scriptures is the head. Then what is आत्र्ा, the central portion?
योगः आत्र्ा. So in all these things the most important thing is
योगः. योगः here means a focused life style. Being well focused
in life with regard to the ultimate goal. We do have innumerable
intermediary goals; as even a child is born there are goals, the
first goal is admission tougher than मोक्ष. Like that so many
immediate goals are there. But what is the ultimate goal for a
seeker? First getting qualification ज्ाियोनयता प्रात्ति, and
ultimately ज्ाि प्रात्ति. This a person should never forget. So
don’t lose the track in your busy preoccupation with all the
worldly things. So once in a while ask कस्त्वां कोऽिां कुत
आयातः ॥ भजगोत्तवन्दर्् २३ ॥ From where did I you come and
where am I going? So this alone कृष्ि tells in the गीता
व्यवसायात्तत्र्का बुत्तद्रे केि कुरुिन्दि ।
बिु शाखा ह्यिन्ताश्च बुद्योऽव्यवसात्तयिार्् ॥ गीता २-४१ ॥
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Most people get lost in their complex life, but only there are
some people they constantly remember their purpose of life.
That is why throughout life they have kept सांस्कारs. The forty
one सांस्कारs at every stage of their life the ritual is practiced.
The moment a child is born some ritual, when it eats the first
food, there is अन्नप्रािनम् ritual, when the child joins school
there is a शवद्यारम्भ ritual etc. And what is the significance of
the ritual? Just stopping you, scolding by the shoulders and
reminding you don’t lose sight of our destination. If we miss
this we don’t know what will happen. This constant awareness
is called योगः. शङ्करािायव translates it as त्तिि समाधानम्.
Therefore prioritization. Always remembering what are my
priorities. Then र्िः पुच्छां प्रत्ततष्ठा – र्िः means सर्त्तष्ट
त्तवज्ािर्य, त्तिरण्यगभव otherwise called देवताs are the support.
Every action must be supported by ईश्वर. Without ईश्वर’s
backing a कताव cannot function. In the भगवद्गीता कृष्ि says
अत्तधष्ठािां तर्ा कताव करिां ि पर् ृ त्तनवधर्् ।
त्तवत्तवधाश्च पर्
ृ क्तिेष्टा दैवां िैवात्र पञ्िर्र्् ॥ गीता १८-१४ ॥
Every organ functions only when backed by the corresponding
अत्तधष्ठाि देवता. The total देवता is called त्तिरण्यगभव . And that
त्तिरण्यगभव is the support for the कताव and the ज्ाता. So these are
the five factors of त्तवज्ािर्य आत्र्ा. And now the उपत्तिषत्
says तदप्येष श्लोको भवत्तत – with regard to this त्तवज्ािर्य
आत्र्ा also there is this following ऋनर्न्त्र. It will talk about the
glory of त्तवज्ािर्य and also it will talk about the व्यत्तष्ट सर्त्तष्ट
ऐक्तय उपासि. That we will read now.
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र्न्त्र 2-5-01
त्तवज्ािां यज्ां तिुते । कर्ाव त्ति तिुतेऽत्तप ि । त्तवज्ािां देवाः सवे । ब्रह्म
ज्येष्ठर्ुपासते । त्तवज्ािां ब्रह्म िेद्वेद । तस्र्ाच्िेन्ि प्रर्ाद्त्तत । शरीरे
पाप्र्िो त्तित्वा । सवाव न्कार्ाि् सर्श्नुत इत्तत । तस्यैष एव शारीर
आत्र्ा । यः पवू व स्य ।
So with the ऋनर्न्त्र quotation we enter into the fifth
अिुवाक of this वल्लर. The ऋनर्न्त्र quotation begins with the
word त्तवज्ािर्् and it goes upto सवाव न्कार्ाि् सर्श्नुत इत्तत. इत्तत
indicates the end of the ऋनर्न्त्र. The उपत्तिषत् first points out
that this त्तवज्ािर्य आत्र्ा is the कताव . This intelligent being is
capable of knowing, judging and fixing the appropriate goal. So
as even you read the newspaper there are so many programs, it
is knowing. Sometimes there may be one program which you
may consider better than the वेदान्त class, it is judging and
choose it. This has to be done by our intellect which knows,
judges, chooses and makes us act. Therefore in कठोपत्तिषत्
बुत्तद्ां तु सारत्तर्र्् त्तवत्तद् ॥ कठोपत्तिषत् १-३-३ ॥
That is the one which determines and directs the movement of
the individual. That is why त्तवज्ािर्य is the important one. And
it is this त्तवज्ािर्य which makes the human being different
from all animals. Human beings have all well developed
त्तवज्ािर्य, the animals do not have the capacity, that is why
they need not worry about LKG admission. No education.
Therefore you need not interview them and ask about their
goals. So all the difference is त्तवज्ािर्य makes you different
from all the living beings. Therefore त्तवज्ािां यज्ां तिुते – here
त्तवज्ािर्् means the त्तवज्ािर्य आत्र्ा, the प्रर्ाता आत्र्ा, the
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कताव आत्र्ा alone performs all the वैत्तदक यज्s. Having श्रद्ा in
the scriptures as we saw in the beginning – श्रद्ैव त्तशरः, once
you have got श्रद्ा all the scriptural कर्व s will become relevant.
And therefore all other कर्व s will become relevant only when
वैत्तदक कर्व s are relevant. Once the scriptural activities go from
the society then this arranged marriages, गोरम्s etc., will
become irrelevant. They become relevant only when the
धात्तर्वक कर्व s or अदृष्टप्रधाि कर्व s are there. That is why when
अदृष्टप्रधाि कर्व s are dying you will find people will ask all
these questions – why should we check गोरम्, why should we
do this or that etc. And that will be perfectly true because in अर्व
and कार् are the only पुरुषार्व s, marriage requires only some
compatibility and when that compatibility goes the marriage
will break. But when marriage becomes धर्व र्ोक्प्रधाि more
than compatibility the other factors – interests in the rituals,
श्ाध तपय ि etc., will become relevant. That is why it is said here
the त्तवज्ािर्य आत्र्ा alone does all the वैत्तदक activities because
of faith in the वेद प्रर्ािर््. And not only त्तवज्ािर्य आत्र्ा does
all the शास्त्रीय कमय s कर्ाव त्ति तिुतेऽत्तप ि – all the लौत्तकक कर्व s
also. So non-scriptural activities like earning income for
survival, etc. An atheist who doesn’t believe in the scriptures,
he has got certainly non-scriptural activities there also
त्तवज्ािर्य is involved. Thus त्तवज्ािर्य is लौत्तकक वैत्तदक कर्व
कताय भवशत. And this त्तवज्ािर्य many meditate. सवे देवाः
इन्रादयः त्तवज्ािां उपासते – even gods meditate upon this
त्तवज्ािर्य आत्र्ा. In what way they meditate? ज्येष्ठां ब्रह्म
उपासते – as त्तिरण्यगभव , the first born they meditate, because
त्तिरण्यगभव is the सर्त्तष्ट त्तवज्ािर्यः. Thus even gods meditate
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upon the व्यत्तष्ट त्तवज्ािर्य as identical with सर्त्तष्ट त्तवज्ािर्य.
त्तिरण्यगभव is called ज्येष्ठः because त्तिरण्यगभव or ब्रह्माशि is born
first. In र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत् we saw
ब्रह्मा देवािार्् प्रर्र्ः सम्बभवू ॥ र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत् १-१-१ ॥
Even in the पुरािs from the navel of ईश्वर a lotus comes and
upon the lotus ब्रह्मात्तज who stands for त्तिरण्यगभव is born first.
Then he is given an employment. What is that? The rest of the
creation he has to see. ईश्वर does not create the whole world,
ईश्वर creates त्तिरण्यगभव and put him in charge of the rest of
creation. ब्रह्मा देवािार्् प्रर्र्ः सम्बभवू त्तवश्वस्य कताव भुविस्य
गोिा । And therefore ब्रह्मात्तज, त्तिरण्यगभव is called the ज्येष्ठः,
the eldest born, the first born.
त्तिरण्यगभव ः सर्वतव ताग्रे भत ू स्य जातः पत्ततरे क आसीत् । स दाधार
पत्तृ र्वीं द्ार्ुतेर्ाां कस्र्ै देवाय ित्तवषा त्तवधेर् ॥ ऋनवेद १०-१२१-१
॥
In मिान्र्ास one of the मन्र is this one – त्तिरण्यगभव ः सर्वतव त
अग्रे. Therefore anyone can practice व्यत्तष्ट त्तवज्ािर्य सर्त्तष्ट
त्तवज्ािर्य ऐक्तय उपासि. So then the question is what will I get.
The फलर्् is two-fold. If it is सकार् उपासि one result and if
it is त्तिष्कार् उपासि another result. The उपत्तिषत् talks only
about सकार् उपासि फलर््. We have to supply the त्तिष्कार्
उपासि फलर्् which are त्तििशुत्तद्, त्तिि एकाग्रता and त्तिि
त्तवशालता. Purity of the mind, because identification with the
व्यत्तष्ट, individuality is dropped whenever you meditate upon
the totality, सर्त्तष्ट. The more the wave meditates upon the
ocean the more it loses its attachment to the wave name and
form. That is called purity. So dropping the selfishness, diluting
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the ego. Ego gets diluted only by visualizing the totality. This
ego dilution is called त्तििशुत्तद्. Like when there is more salt in
the sambar then you cannot take away the dissolved salt, so you
dilute. Similarly here also अिङ्कार can be diluted by
visualizing the totality. If you visualize your family then
अिङ्कार is thick, if you visualize your village अिङ्कार
becomes thin, visualize your state अिङ्कार becomes thinner,
visualize your nation अिङ्कार becomes still thinner, the
continent still thinner, visualize the universe there is no space
for अिङ्कार. So purity is one benefit, expansion of the mind is
another benefit, focusing capacity is another benefit. So these
are all फलर्् of त्तिष्कार् उपासि and most important फलर्् is
if I sufficiently practice I will get prepared for entering
आिन्दर्य आत्र्ा. Our target is पञ्िकोश त्तववेक. Therefore I
will be qualified to enter आिन्दर्य आत्र्ा. These are all
त्तिष्कार् उपासि फलर््. But suppose a person practices सकार्
उपासि, what is the फलर््? The उपत्तिषत् says त्तवज्ािां ब्रह्म िेत्
वेद – suppose a person meditates. वेद here means उपास्ते,
meditates. Upon what? त्तवज्ािां ब्रह्म – त्तवज्ािर्य व्यत्तष्ट सर्त्तष्ट
ऐक्तयम्. The word ब्रह्म refers to the सर्त्तष्ट, the totality. So we
saw अन्नम् ब्रह्म, प्रािं ब्रह्म, मनो ब्रह्म, त्तवज्ािां ब्रह्म. The word
ब्रह्म used in the sense of macro. So िेत् वेद – suppose a person
practices the ऐक्तय उपासि. Not only that one more condition
the उपत्तिषत् gives. If सकार् उपासि should benefit you then
you have to practice this उपासि throughout the life, that means
until death.
अन्तकाले ि र्ार्ेव स्र्रन्र्ुक्तत्वा कलेवरर्् ।
यः प्रयात्तत स र्द्भावां यात्तत िास्त्यत्र सांशयः ॥ गीता ८-५ ॥
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यां यां वात्तप स्र्रन्भावां त्यजत्यन्ते कलेवरर्् ।
तां तर्ेवत्तै त कौन्तेय सदा तद्भावभात्तवतः ॥ गीता ८-६ ॥
Whatever you constantly think and continue to think at the time
of death also then that you will reach after death. Applying that
eight chapter’s principle here, तस्र्ात् ब्रह्मिः िेत् ि प्रर्ाद्त्तत –
so this उपासक suppose he does not stray away from this
उपासि, so his mind is not obsessed with व्यत्तष्ट because he
knows it is insignificant and perishable. So a man of expansion
is one who sees the totality as more significant than the
individuality. And if a person does not stray away, ि प्रर्ाद्त्तत
– does not lose sight of ईश्वर, i.e., त्तिरण्यगभव , even at the time
of death. That is why in our culture there is a practice that
towards death we should only think more of God. Even now
they are some very committed people who chant सिस्रिार्
instead of gossiping about other worldly things. And if they do
not have control and they don’t think the other people are
supposed to do the किय र्न्त्र. The idea is don’t be bothered
about these temporary, ephemeral and petty relationships, they
will come and go. Remember the only worthwhile significant
eternal relationship is ईश्वर सम्बन्धिः. Invoke the भक्त in you,
don’t invoke the non-भक्त. So if a person remembers त्तिरण्यगभव
at the time of death also then शरीरे पाप्र्िो त्तित्वा – he will drop
all the पापर्् born out of individuality, he will drop here itself
along with the body. शरीरर्् means स्र्ल ू शरीरर््. In short, the
essence is this उपासि pushes पाप कर्व s behind. Otherwise out
of सत्तञ्ित कर्व any portion of कर्व can fructify in the next िन्म.
And how do you know what is in the queue? Therefore if we
think of the Lord even if in the सत्तञ्ित कर्व there is any negative
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कर्व s all of them are pushed behind. Therefore after the drop of
the body it is the पुण्यम् that pushes the जीवात्र्ा to त्तिरण्यगभव
ऐक्तय प्रात्तिः ब्रह्मलोक प्रात्तिः. So शरीरे पाप्र्ािः त्तित्वा, dropping
all the पाप कर्व s itself along with the physical body he attains
ब्रह्मलोक. What about र्ोक्? No र्ोक्, very careful. र्ोक्
requires पञ्िकोश शवलक्ि आत्र्ज्ािर््. Now he is only at the
level of त्तवज्ािर्य. Therefore र्ोक् is not possible but he can
attain ब्रह्मलोक. What is the advantage of attaining ब्रह्मलोक?
सवाव ि् कार्ाि् त्तवज्ािर्येिवै ात्र्िा सर्श्नुते इत्तत – ब्रह्मलोक
has got all the possible materialistic pleasures you name. The
most advanced materialistic pleasures you have there. benefits.
Here कार् refers to sense pleasures. Because there the sense
objects are also supposed to be of superior nature, the sense
organs are also of superior nature; otherwise you have
wonderful music but buffalo ears! So appreciate that we require
a refined उपाशध, so ब्रह्मलोक has got better उपाशध, better शवषर्
and better environment. The environment, object and the
instrument of pleasures are all ideal. So इत्तत – this is the फलर््
of सकार् उपासि of त्तवज्ािर्य व्यत्तष्ट सर्त्तष्ट ऐक्तयम्. So with
this the ऋनर्न्त्र quotation is over. Now the यजुवेद उपत्तिषत्
takes over. तस्य एषः एव शारीरः आत्र्ा. एषः means this
त्तवज्ािर्यः is the inner self, the शारीरः आत्र्ा, the content, the
देशि. Of what? यः पवू व स्य र्िोर्यस्य शरीरे र्िोर्ये भवः – the
out container is र्िोर्य कोश. So पवू व स्य means र्िोर्य
कोशस्य अर्ं त्तवज्ािर्यः आत्र्ा भवशत. This उपासि should be
practiced until the mind gets well refined. That means this
person values knowledge more than अन्िर्य, प्रािर्य and
र्िोर्य. When you see people suffering, dying for their
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ideology that means their त्तवज्ािर्य आत्र्ा is stronger and they
are ready to sacrifice their family, life and everything even
though sacrificing the family is an emotionally painful thing,
they do that because their त्तवज्ािर्य आत्र्ा is stronger. During
freedom struggle how much suffering. But because they had a
value that we should get freedom they sacrificed their family
which is an emotional pain. So this is त्तवज्ािर्य अत्तभर्ाि. Now
that we have come to त्तवज्ािर्य the उपत्तिषत् assumes we are
ready to enter आिन्दर्य which is the कारि शरीरर््.
तस्र्ाद्वा एतस्र्ात्तद्वज्ािर्यात् । अन्योऽन्तर आत्र्ाऽऽिन्दर्यः ।
पुरुषत्तवधः । तस्य त्तप्रयर्े व त्तशरः । र्ोदो दत्तक्िः पक्ः । प्रर्ोद उिरः
पक्ः । आिन्द आत्र्ा । ब्रह्म पुच्छां प्रत्ततष्ठा । तदप्येष श्लोको भवत्तत
॥ १ ॥ इत्तत पञ्िर्ोऽिुवाकः ॥
Now we are entering the subtler layer. तस्र्ात् वै
एतस्र्ात् त्तवज्ािर्यात् अन्यः आत्र्ा – the उपत्तिषत् says really
speaking that त्तवज्ािर्य is not the आत्र्ा, आत्र्ा is something
different from त्तवज्ािर्य. Then what is that आत्र्ा?
आिन्दर्यः is the real आत्र्ा (for the time being). Where is that
आिन्दर्य आत्र्ा available? अन्तरः – within the त्तवज्ािर्य.
What you require is not more extrovertedness, you require more
and more turning inwards. So it is not the objectification that
we are aiming at, gradually subjectification which is going
inwards or coming more and more towards myself. So
आिन्दर्यः is the आत्र्ा which is other than त्तवज्ािर्य and
which is inside त्तवज्ािर्य. Then what is our homework? The
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moment we say त्तवज्ािर्य is not the आत्र्ा, it has become
अिात्र्ा or कोश, अिात्र्त्व त्तिश्चयः, then the next step is
कायव त्व त्तिश्चयः, िार्-रूपत्व त्तिश्चयः, त्तर्थ्यात्व त्तिश्चयः and
प्रत्तवलापिर््. In short, त्तवज्ािर्य is resolved into आिन्दर्य.
Not only we resolve the micro parallelly since we have accepted
the micro and micro are essentially the same the resolution of
micro involves the resolution of the macro also. In short,
त्तिरण्यगभव is swallowed. More in the next class.
पि
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॥
We are now in the middle of the fifth अिुवाक of
ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली in which the उपत्तिषत् has gone from त्तवज्ािर्य
आत्र्ा to आिन्दर्य आत्र्ा. And by coming to आिन्दर्य
आत्र्ा we are reducing the त्तवज्ािर्य आत्र्ा into another
अिात्र्ा or कोश. त्तवज्ािर्य also joins अन्िर्य, प्रािर्य and
र्िोर्य. It also joins the majority. So त्तवज्ािर्य is also
finished. The moment you understand त्तवज्ािर्य as अिात्र्ा or
कोश you should understand that अिात्र्ा means कायव म्,
कायव त्व त्तिश्चयः, िार्-रूपत्व त्तिश्चयः, त्तर्थ्यात्व त्तिश्चयः and
प्रत्तवलापिर््. Now we have to come to the आिन्दर्य आत्र्ा.
The next question is what is the shape of आिन्दर्य because it
is obtaining within the त्तवज्ािर्य कोश. As we saw in the
previous cases आिन्दर्य also has the shape of त्तवज्ािर्य
because the content assumes the shape of the container. Since
the container is पुरुषत्तवधः or र्िुष्य आकारः आिन्दर्य is also
of the shape of the र्िुष्य. And if it is also र्िुष्य आकारः then
what are the factors त्तशरः, दत्तक्िः पक्ः, उिरः पक्ः, आत्र्ा and
प्रत्ततष्ठा which the उपत्तिषत् answers in the following portion
which we have to see now. अन्योऽन्तर आत्र्ािन्दर्यः ।
तेि आिन्दर्येि एषः त्तवज्ािर्य आत्र्ा पि ू व ः. With the content
of आिन्दर्य the container त्तवज्ािर्य is filled. And therefore
only सः वै एषः पुरुषत्तवधः एव – आिन्दर्य आत्र्ा is also of
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र्िुष्य आकारः, the shape of the human only. And this shape of
आिन्दर्य is not intrinsic shape but it is borrowed from
त्तवज्ािर्य, the container. And therefore तस्य पुरुषत्तवधताां अिु
अयां पुरुषत्तवधः – this आिन्दर्य takes the human shape not
because of its own intrinsic nature but it has borrowed from the
shape of the container, त्तवज्ािर्य. And you should remember
त्तवज्ािर्य itself has borrowed the shape from र्िोर्य, which
has borrowed from प्रािर्य, which has borrowed from
अन्िर्य. Only अन्िर्य has got स्वाभाशवक आकारः, intrinsic
shape while the others have got आगन्तुक आकारः, borrowed.
If that is so then what are the factors त्तशरः, दत्तक्िः पक्ः, उिरः
पक्ः, आत्र्ा and प्रत्ततष्ठा. The उपत्तिषत् introduces तस्य त्तप्रयर््
एव त्तशरः – for the आिन्दर्य आत्र्ा the head or the main
portion is त्तप्रयर्् which means happiness or pleasure. र्ोदः
दत्तक्िः पक्ः – the right hand side as it were is र्ोदः, which
means more happiness (comparative degree). त्तप्रय is happiness
and र्ोद is त्तप्रयतरिः, more happiness, greater happiness, higher
happiness. प्रर्ोदः उिरः पक्ः – the left hand side as it were is
प्रर्ोदः which is the highest happiness (superlative degree),
greatest happiness, त्तप्रयतम्वम्. So त्तप्रय, त्तप्रयतर, त्तप्रयतम or
happy, happier and happiest are त्तप्रय, र्ोद and प्रर्ोद. How do
we know which happiness comes under happy, happier and
happiest category? For this purpose the शास्त्र itself gives an
example. When you see any object which you love or like, the
very perception of that object gives you a joy,
इष्टपुत्रात्तददशव िजां त्तप्रयां सुखर््. A pleasure born out of seeing an
object that you like. For gross example, when you go to a hotel
see “today’s special” an item which you like and as even you
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read that there is a joy I can order and enjoy it. that joy is called
इष्टदशव िजां सुखर््. Then you order and depending upon the star
of the hotel it takes time. So you order and wait for it, even
though you are happy but still you have not got the dish
therefore the happiness is tainted with some anxiety and
expectation. Then at last the dish is delivered on your table, now
it is yours. Once you own the object that ownership or
accomplishment gives you greater happiness and is called
इष्टग्रििजां सुखर््. ग्रिि means accomplishing, attaining,
grasping, owning, possessing. That happiness is certainly more
because it is in your hand, but you know still it is not the greatest
happiness because there is a lot of slip between the cup and the
lip. So you have to wait and ultimately when you put the object
in your mouth and when the subject and the object become one,
when द्वैतर्् is converted into अद्वैतर््. When the food and you
become one and that is called अिुभवः, the experience. This
आिन्द is इष्ट-अिुभवजां सुखर््. That is the height, the climax,
the peak. So इष्टदशव िजां सख ु र्् त्तप्रयः इष्टग्रििजां सख
ु र्् र्ोदः
इष्ट-अिुभवजां सुखर्् प्रर्ोदः. So these three graded experiential
arriving, departing pleasure is आिन्दर्य. The very word र्य
communicates that it is subject to fluctuation – it can increase,
decrease, arrive, depart. So this arriving, departing, graded,
experiential conditional pleasure is आिन्दर्य. So upto this is
आिन्दर्य, now the उपत्तिषत् says आिन्दः आत्र्ा. In the case
of आिन्दर्य only three parts are taken unlike in the other
कोशs. Now the उपत्तिषत् says in fact this आिन्दर्यः, the
experiential pleasure is also not the real आत्र्ा. Then what is
the real आत्र्ा? आिन्दः आत्र्ा – आिन्दः is the आत्र्ा.
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आिन्दः means there is no र्य added to that. since there is no
र्य, the suffix र्य indicates it is subject to fluctuations or
modifications because in सांस्कृत grammar suffix र्य contains
modification, त्तवकारार्े र्यि्. So आिन्दर्य is graded,
fluctuating, experiential pleasure whereas आत्र्ा is आिन्दः
means it is non-graded, non-fluctuating, non-arriving and non-
departing. That means the real I am none other than आिन्द
स्वरूपिः. What type of आिन्द? Not the experiential pleasure,
not the graded pleasure, not the fluctuating pleasure for they are
आिन्दर्य but non-graded, non-fluctuating, non-experiential
आिन्द is Myself. Once I know आिन्द is the आत्र्ा what
happens to the आिन्दर्य, which consists of त्तप्रय, र्ोद and
प्रर्ोद. It is no more आत्र्ा, आिन्दर्य becomes a कोश, the
अिात्र्ा. त्तप्रय, र्ोद and प्रर्ोद is a कोश, the अिात्र्ा. That
means all experiential pleasures are अिात्र्ा. Once I know it is
अिात्र्ा then अिात्र्त्व त्तिश्चयः, कायव त्व त्तिश्चयः. Therefore all
experiential pleasures are subject to arrival. So it is time-bound
and finite. Therefore it will come under िार्रूपत्व त्तिश्चयः and
त्तर्थ्यात्व त्तिश्चयः. Therefore any experiential pleasure is कोश
आिन्द because it arrives and departs and it is an object of
experience. Then what is आत्र्ािन्द? If all experiential
आिन्दs are कोश आिन्द, आत्र्ािन्द is non-experiential
आिन्द. Therefore it not an object to be experienced, but it is to
be understood as Myself. So आत्र्ािन्द is not a matter for
experience but आत्र्ािन्द should be understood as Myself.
आिन्दः आत्र्ा. Not only it is Myself, not it is non-experiential
आिन्द ब्रह्म पुच्छां प्रत्ततष्ठा – this आत्र्ािन्द has the प्रत्ततष्ठा,
support as it were in ब्रह्मािन्द, in ब्रह्मि्. Here we should very
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carefully understand. Really speaking ब्रह्मि् or ब्रह्मािन्द is not
the support of आत्र्ािन्द. But it is as though support of
आत्र्ािन्द, really speaking आत्र्ािन्द is ब्रह्मािन्द. Support
means identical. Like what? When I say the outer space is the
support of inner pot space really speaking outer space does not
support the inner space because there is only one undivided
space. But superficially looking मिाकाि seems to be the
support of घटाकाि. Similarly आत्र्ािन्द is seemingly
supported by ब्रह्मािन्द, but really आत्र्ािन्द is ब्रह्मािन्द.
How do you know that आत्र्ािन्द is identical with ब्रह्मािन्द?
For that you have to go to the beginning of this chapter wherein
the teacher said
सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् अिन्तर्् ब्रह्म ॥ तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् २-१-१ ॥
Then the उपत्तिषत् says
तस्र्ाद्वा एतस्र्ादात्र्ि आकाशः सम्भत
ू ः ॥ तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् २-
१-१ ॥
So ब्रह्मि् is सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् अिन्तर्् and then the उपत्तिषत् says
from that आत्र्ा the creation is born. What do we understand
from this? After saying ब्रह्मि् is सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् अिन्तर्् it
should have said from that ब्रह्मि् everything is born. But instead
of using the word ब्रह्मि् the उपत्तिषत् uses the word आत्र्ा
indicating that ब्रह्मि् and आत्र्ा are identical. Therefore here
also ब्रह्म पुच्छां प्रत्ततष्ठा means ब्रह्मि् is the seeming support, in
fact identical with आत्र्ािन्द. Thus what is the difference
between आिन्दर्य कोश and आत्र्ा?
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1) आिन्दर्य कोश is experiential pleasure, whereas
आत्र्ािन्द is non-experiential I.
2) आिन्दर्य कोश, कोिािन्द is an object, whereas
आत्र्ािन्द is ever the subject.
3) कोिािन्द is subject to fluctuation, whereas आत्र्ािन्द
is not subject to fluctuation.
4) कोिािन्द is subject to arrival and departure, whereas
आत्र्ािन्द is Myself, never subject to arrival and departure.
And suppose a person asks how can I experience आत्र्ािन्द.
What will be our answer? Whatever you experience will be
कोिािन्द only, आत्र्ािन्द is never available for experience
because it is ever the experiencer and never the experienced. It
is like asking the question how I can see my own original eyes?
You can never see your own original eyes. But I can use the
mirror? When you use a mirror you will certainly see your own
eyes but remember in the mirror you don’t see the original eyes
but you see the reflected eyes. What is the difference between
the original eyes and the reflected eyes?
1) The reflected eyes are visible, the original eyes are
imperceptible.
2) The reflected eyes will come and go as the mirror comes
and goes, whereas the original eyes continues whether the
mirror comes and goes.
3) In the reflected eyes there are gradations. If the mirror is
clear, the reflection is bright and if it is dusty, the reflection is
dull. If there is a very big coating the reflection will be duller.
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So dull, duller, dullest, तारतम्र्म्s are there in the reflected
eyes. But the original, unreflected and unobjectifiable eyes do
not have any gradations, तारतम्र्म्s.
4) If you say the original eyes are invisible cannot be seen,
and only the reflected eyes can be seen then what is the proof
for the existence of the original eyes? The very experience of
the reflected eyes is the proof for the existence of the original
eyes. Every experiential pleasure, कोशािन्द is the proof for
the existence of the original आत्र्ािन्द. So whenever you are
enjoying कोशािन्द you must understand that you are enjoying
your own glory. Who am I? सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् अिन्तर्् आिन्दः. I
am pure Existence which is equal to pure Consciousness which
is equal to the original आिन्द (not experiential) which does not
have any limitations (अिन्तर्् ) and is not subject to
fluctuations. अिर्् सत्य ज्ाि अिन्त आिन्द स्वरूपः अत्तस्र्.
And if I know that सोऽश्नुते सवाव ि् कार्ाि् सि । ब्रह्मिा
त्तवपत्तश्चतेत्तत. Thus through the पञ्िकोश त्तववेक the उपत्तिषत् has
revealed that ब्रह्मि् is पञ्िकोश त्तवलक्िः, आिन्द स्वरूपः.
Then the उपत्तिषत् quotes the following ऋनर्न्त्र in support of
this teaching. तत् अत्तप एषः श्लोकः भवत्तत – with regard to this
आिन्द आत्र्ा there is the following ऋनर्न्त्र. We will read that
ऋनर्न्त्र.
र्न्त्र 2-6-01
असन्िेव स भवत्तत । असद्ब्रह्मेत्तत वेद िेत् । अत्तस्त ब्रह्मेत्तत िेद्वेद ।
सन्तर्ेिां ततो त्तवदुररत्तत । तस्यैष एव शारीर आत्र्ा । यः पवू व स्य ।
With the ऋनर्न्त्र quotation we are entering the sixth
अिुवाक of this वल्लर. The quotation ends with the word
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सन्तर्ेिां ततो त्तवदुररत्तत. त्तवदुररत्तत has to be split as त्तवदुः इत्तत. So
त्तवदुः is the end of the quotation of this र्न्त्र and इत्तत indicates
the inverted commas. What does the ऋनर्न्त्र quotation says? It
talks about one of the serious problems of the Vedantic student.
He understands अन्िर्य आत्र्ा, प्रािर्य आत्र्ा, र्िोर्य
आत्र्ा, त्तवज्ािर्य आत्र्ा and even आिन्दर्य कोश because
experiential आिन्द is known to everyone. कोशािन्द is known
to everyone. But when the उपत्तिषत् talks about आत्र्ािन्द here
alone the student faces the problem. Just as he experienced the
various कोशािन्दs, his tendency is that I should experience
आत्र्ािन्द also because you are talking about आत्र्ािन्द
which is different from कोशािन्द. You say that it is infinite
आिन्द, there are no gradations, it is eternal. Very interesting
thing. You talk about that as eternal and I am looking for the
arrival of the eternal आिन्द. This is where we use words
without deliberately thinking. If आत्र्ािन्द is eternal, how can
I look for the experience of the eternal आिन्द? It is
contradictory and illogical. Because anything you experience is
a state and therefore is subject to time, place and condition. So
if a person in त्तित्तववकल्पक सर्ात्तध experiences a very high
mystic extraordinary pleasure. We ask the question did the
pleasure come in सर्ात्तध? He asserts positively. Then what
happens? When he comes out of the सर्ात्तध, that mystic
pleasure went away. And some author writes when that infinite
आिन्द goes away he feels extreme pain in the body like
scorpion stinging all over. So if there is a mystic pleasure
highest pleasure experienced in सर्ात्तध and which goes when
the person is out of सर्ात्तध that also comes under finite
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कोशािन्द. And आत्र्ािन्द you never experience because तत्
त्वर्् अत्तस. But what is the student’s problem? Unless he
experiences something he does not want to accept its existence.
His scientific outlook is whatever has to be proved to be
existent I have to experience. This is his logic. And you say
infinite आत्र्ािन्द or ब्रह्मािन्द cannot be experienced, if it
cannot be experienced then in my dictionary I don’t accept its
existence. Therefore ब्रह्मािन्द is a big bloated bladder of plum.
This is his philosophy. If it is there I should experience. And
this is the universal problem of every student because as even
he hears something he conceptualizes that. Conceptualizing is
the nature of the mind, first you form a concept and try to
experience that and when we talk about ब्रह्मािन्द also we wait
for that. And as I said that person who meditated for twelve
years asking ‘who am I?’ waiting for ब्रह्मािन्द to surface
दयािन्द स्वात्तर्शि says like a submarine coming up he expects
ब्रह्मािन्द also to surface when the thoughts are eliminated mind
becomes quiet and he says after twelve years I didn’t find any
ब्रह्मािन्द coming. So what should I do next स्वात्तर्शि, please
tell? I have got only one answer ‘come to the class regularly
this question will end!’ I cannot say do some साधन ब्रह्मािन्द
will come; that is putting him in an infinite trip. But this
problem is these people look upon the study of वेदान्त as an
intellectual exercise, and therefore useless. They consider
meditation alone is the real spirituality, the study of scriptures
is not real spirituality and thus eternally they meditate waiting
for ब्रह्मािन्द to appear. After sometime they lose patience and
conclude that ब्रह्मािन्द असन्, is non-existent. He becomes a
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िात्तस्तक. The उपत्तिषत् is talking about such a िात्तस्तक, the
one who does not accept ब्रह्मािन्द because we say it is not an
object of experience. The उपत्तिषत् says असत् ब्रह्म इत्तत वेद िेत्
– suppose a person negates ब्रह्मि् or ब्रह्मािन्द because it is not
available as an object, it is equivalent to असि् एव सः भवत्तत –
negating ब्रह्मि् is negating himself, because all the time we are
teaching ब्रह्मि् is yourself. So negating ब्रह्मि् is as good as
saying I am non-existent. The most contradictory and illogical
statement is “I am non-existent” because to say I am non-
existent, I must be existing! Therefore the उपत्तिषत् says the
negator of ब्रह्मि् is the negator himself, असि् एव सः भवत्तत –
he becomes non-existent. Therefore never negate the existence
of ब्रह्मि्. Then what should you do? You accept the existence
of ब्रह्मि्, therefore he says अत्तस्त ब्रह्म इत्तत वेद िेत् – you have
to accept the existence of ब्रह्मािन्द even though it is non-
experienceable. Then your intellect will raise the question if it
is non-experienceable, what is the proof of its existence? There
is only one thing in the creation whose existence is proved
without objectification – I am. Therefore अत्तस्त ब्रह्म इत्तत वेद िेत्
– suppose a person accepts the existence of ब्रह्मािन्द that
person is called सन्तम् एिां ततः त्तवदुः – it means he himself is
existence. If he accepts ब्रह्मि्’s existence, indirectly he is
accepting his own existence because ब्रह्मि् is himself. Not only
that there is another meaning also. Suppose a person says ब्रह्मि्
is non-existent, then he becomes असत् पुरुषः. The word असत्
has a second meaning also, i.e., अधात्तर्वक पुरुषः. Why?
शङ्करािायव gives the reason. If a person does not believe in
ब्रह्मि्’s existence for him ब्रह्मि् can never become the goal of
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life. Since he does not accepts ब्रह्मि्, he does not believe in
ब्रह्मि्, he also does not believe in ब्रह्मज्ािर्् as the goal. And if
does not accept this ज्ािर््, he will not accept the वेदान्त
शास्त्रम् also because वेदान्त शास्त्रम् is meant for ब्रह्मज्ािर््. If
he does not accept ब्रह्मि्, where is the question of ज्ािर््, where
is the question of शास्त्रम्? शास्त्र also will become redundant.
And if he does not accept ब्रह्मज्ािर्् and वेदान्त शास्त्र then
even धर्व शास्त्र will become redundant. Because धर्व शास्त्र is
prescribed as a means of preparing the mind for ज्ािर््. If he
does not believe in ब्रह्मि्, then ब्रह्मज्ािर्् is not there for him,
if there is no ब्रह्मज्ािर्् then वेदान्त is not required, if there is
no ब्रह्मज्ािर्् then त्तििशुत्तद् also is not needed, and if त्तििशुत्तद्
is not required then कर्व योग is not required, उपासि is not
required. Therefore whoever negates ब्रह्मि् he will find all
these becoming redundant. That is why you find a society
which values only money and entertainment in that society
there is no God as the goal. And once God stops to be a goal all
the scriptures will become redundant, religion will become
redundant, rituals will become redundant, विाव श्रर् धर्व will
become redundant. But when you look for proper values etc.,
then you value the Vedic lifestyle. The Vedic lifestyle becomes
relevant only when the goal is भगवान्. That is why once belief
in ब्रह्मि् or God goes away then society will become naturally
materialistic. Therefore until death there is only one goal अर्व
and कार्. Whereas in our culture we can pursue अर्व and कार्
only upto forty to forty-five years. That is why they had early
marriage also so that they could pursue अर्व and कार्, do
कर्व योग, get children married and settled and by the time you
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are forty-five or fifty and your faculties are still reasonably
good so that the second half of life can be pure pursuit of God.
And for a person who does not accept God or purity of mind or
knowledge, there is no question at all; till ninetieth year he only
thinks of how to enjoy. Such a person will become an असुरः
only. असन ू ् राशत पालर्शत इत्तत असुरः, he wants to keep all his
sense organs fit only for enjoyment. Even the medical science
is working for keeping the sense organs fit for sense pleasures
till ninety-five or hundred years how I can enjoy. Therefore
science will be working, all the branches of science will be
working only to keep all the organs fit not for वेदान्त श्रविर््
but for sense pleasures. Therefore such a person is called असु
रः. असु means sense organs, रः means protector. Such a person
is called असत् in this र्न्त्र, असत् means असुरः, a materialistic
person. On the other hand if a person believes in ब्रह्मि्, the
Existence, even though he cannot objectify It, he accepts ब्रह्मि्
then the goal becomes ब्रह्मि् or God. Then ज्ािर्् becomes
important, त्तििशुत्तद् becomes important, religious life becomes
important, while money and pleasures become subservient to
the pursuit of ईश्वर. Such a person is called a spiritual person.
Very careful, a spiritual person does not throwaway money or
entertainment, but a spiritual person keeps money and
entertainment subservient to the spiritual pursuit. Such a person
is called a सुरः. In the sixteenth chapter of the गीता, कृष्ि
elaborately talks about सुरः and असुरः, दैवर सम्पत् and आसुरी
सम्पत्. Therefore all values, all morals and all family, even the
continuation of a family as a unit is relevant and required only
when there is spiritual and religious pursuit. If the pursuit is
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merely for money and pleasure family is not very important
because everybody is economically independent therefore why
should they be together. So whenever convenient they can be
together and whenever inconvenient they can be separate and
join with another person and again separate. Family as a unit is
redundant when the goal is अर्व and कार्. When a society
values only अर्व and कार्, in that society families will break
down. In India the family unity was strong because we believed
in धर्व and र्ोक्; अर्व and कार् were secondary. And therefore
सन्तम् एिां ततः त्तवदुः – such a person is called सत् पुरुषः.
Therefore the advice is accept ब्रह्मि्. And one day you will
clearly understand that ब्रह्मि् is not an object, not because it is
non-existence, but IT exists as अिर्् ब्रह्म अत्तस्र्. What type of
अिर््? Not अन्िर्य अिर््, प्रािर्य अिर््, र्िोर्य अिर््,
त्तवज्ािर्य अिर््, आिन्दर्य अिर््, but as पञ्िकोश सात्तक्रूपेि
ब्रह्म अिर्् अत्तस्र्. With this the ऋनर्न्त्र quotation is over. Now
the यजुवेद उपत्तिषत् completes the पञ्िकोश त्तववेक here. तस्य
एषः एव शरीरः आत्र्ा – आिन्दर्य is the शरीरः आत्र्ा of
त्तवज्ािर्य; then आिन्द is the शरीरः आत्र्ा आिन्दर्य.
आिन्दर्य is the content and त्तवज्ािर्य is the container, the
next stage आिन्दर्य is the container, आिन्द is the content.
Thus the ultimate content is आिन्द आत्र्ा. All the others are
the containers or the कोशs. यः पवू व स्य. With this the पञ्िकोश
त्तववेक topic is also over.
So fundamentally we had asked three questions. What is
ब्रह्मि्? How to know ब्रह्मि्? What is meant by परप्रात्ति,
attaining the greatest? ‘What is ब्रह्मि’् has been elaborately
discussed. ‘How to know ब्रह्मि्’ also has been elaborately
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discussed through पञ्िकोश त्तववेक. Now there is one topic left
for elaborate discussion – what do you mean by attaining the
greatest.
ब्रह्मत्तवदाप्िोत्तत परर्् ॥ तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् २-१-१ ॥
Before the teacher goes to that topic the student interrupts the
teacher because he wants to clarify certain things and he is
going to ask some questions, and those questions are called
अनुप्रश्ािः. अनुप्रश्ािः means any question which is based on the
teaching. When you ask an independent question it is called
प्रश्िः. But after teaching based on the teaching you raise some
question it is called अनुप्रश्. The student is going to ask certain
अनुप्रश्s and the teacher will answer them and thereafter he
will go to the elaborate answer to the third question which we
will see in the next class.
पि
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॥
With the end of the fifth अिुवाक the उपत्तिषत् concludes
the topic of पञ्िकोश त्तववेक which is the methodology for
gaining ब्रह्मज्ािर््. The method of getting ब्रह्मज्ािर्् was
briefly presented in the beginning itself
यो वेद त्तित्तितां गुिायाां परर्े व्योर्ि् ॥ तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् २-१-१ ॥
Even though ब्रह्मि् is all-pervading, it has to be recognized
within one’s own mind only. And in the mind ब्रह्मि् has to be
recognized only in one way and that is as the witness
consciousness behind every thought. सवय वशृ िनां
साशक्षचैतन्र्रूपेि ब्रह्म अन्तःकरिे ज्ञातव्र्म्. This witness
consciousness also is not available for objectification.
Therefore ब्रह्मि् has to be claimed as I, the observing, the
witnessing Consciousness, which objectifies or experiences the
presence of thoughts in the mind and also the absence of
thoughts in the mind. So ब्रह्मि् is equal to साशक्ष is equal to
Myself. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् uses the word आत्र्ा. So ब्रह्म
साशक्षरूपेि ज्ञातव्र्म् ब्रह्म आत्र्रूपेि ज्ञातव्र्म्. This was the
brief answer given in the beginning. But the उपत्तिषत् itself
gave us from extra support for this method because turning the
attention from the body to the Consciousness cannot be
accomplished all on a suddenly because the body is extremely
gross and Consciousness is extremely subtle. Therefore we
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cannot turn our attention from the grossest to the subtlest in one
sweep. It is like climbing the Mount Everest without
acclimatization; if the body is suddenly taken to the height of
twenty-nine thousand feet the body will collapse. Therefore the
mountaineers have to set camps at different altitudes and in
each camp they have to remain for some time so that the body
gets used to the height. Similarly we cannot turn our attention
from the grossest to the subtlest and therefore gradually we
were taken through a conducted work from अन्िर्य to a subtler
प्रािर्य, then from प्रािर्य to our emotional personality, still
subtler, from there to त्तवज्ािर्य कोश, still subtler and then to
आिन्दर्य कोश, which appears blankness for us, deep sleep
state appears to be blankness but according to the शास्त्र even
that blankness is a form of matter only. What you think as blank
is not blank. It is the subtlest form of matter. And if I am able
to conceive that form of matter then I am ready to go to
something subtler than even that. It is the witness of the subtlest
form of matter must be subtler than even that. And that is
आिन्द आत्र्ा, ब्रह्म पुच्छां प्रत्ततष्ठा. That I, the witness
Consciousness behind the five layers of matter is the आत्र्ा is
otherwise called ब्रह्मि् which is सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् अिन्तर्् and
which is really speaking आिन्दः also. With this the topic of
पञ्िकोश त्तववेक was concluded.
Before going further as I said in the last class the student
interrupts as it were a little bit and he raises some questions
based on the teaching and the teacher answers those questions
and thereafter continues his teaching further. And it is those
questions that we have to enter now. They are called अिुप्रश्नाः.
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And in this portion we have to note certain points while we are
reading so that you won’t get confused. There you will find
after कश्चि गच्छती३ there is a number three which indicates
that the letter ई must be pronounced long. Not ordinary long,
but extra-long. The extra-long vowel in सांस्कृत language is
called प्तलुशतिः. Short vowel is called ह्रस्विः, ordinary long vowel
is called दरघय िः and extraordinary long vowel is called प्तलुशतिः. We
will read.
अर्ातोऽिुप्रश्नाः । उतात्तवद्वािर्ुां लोकां प्रेत्य । कश्चि गच्छती३ ।
आिो त्तवद्वािर्ुां लोकां प्रेत्य । कत्तश्चत्सर्श्नुता३ उ ।
अर् अतः अिुप्रश्नाः. अर् indicates a small diversion. We
are having a small diversion in which the student’s questions
are to be answered. Therefore अर् change of topic. Then the
word अतः means therefore. Since the student has certain
questions, which the teacher inferred from the face of the
student, the teacher decided to answer the questions first.
Otherwise the student will be thinking of his doubts and he will
not listen to the class. In the middle of the class if I make a
statement and you are not able to accept the statement, you go
on dwelling upon the statement which means the latter half of
the class will go off. When the doubt assails the mind, the mind
is disturbed and the listening is affected. Therefore the teacher
decides to answer those questions. Therefore अतः means
र्स्र्ात् श्रोतुः त्तशष्यस्य अिुप्रश्नाः संिर्ािः वतय न्ते तस्र्ात्
therefore, अिुप्रश्नाः – now comes the following questions
which are not independent questions of the student but
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questions based on the teaching only. What are those questions?
उत अत्तवद्वाि् अर्ुां लोकां प्रेत्य कश्चि गच्छती. These two
sentences together form one question. And thereafter आिो
त्तवद्वाि् अर्ुां लोकां प्रेत्य कत्तश्चत् सर्श्नुते उ. These two sentences
make another question. Thus two questions are presented. Now
the student is intelligently cornering the teacher. The new
questions are about the wise person and the ignorant person.
Now these two questions are based on the teaching which has
been given. And in the teaching ब्रह्मि् has been presented as the
cause of everything.
तस्र्ाद्वा एतस्र्ादात्र्ि आकाशः सांभत ू ः । आकाशद्वयुः ।
वायोरत्तनिः ॥ तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् २-१-१ ॥
The five elements as well as the earth, the trees from the earth
and even the human bodies all of them are ultimately born out
of ब्रह्मि्. That means the student keeps in his mind ब्रह्मि् is the
कारिर्् and all the things and being are the कायव र््. By the word
‘things’ I mean the inert part of the creation and by the word
‘beings’ the sentient part of the creation. And now the student
applies a particular principle. At the time of creation all the
products originate from their cause like the rivers, clouds
originate from the ocean. So ocean is the cause for the clouds.
And the second principle is all the products at the time of
destruction will have to merge back into the cause itself. Just as
all the rivers go back to the ocean. So र्तिः उद्भवशन्त तशस्मन्
लीयन्ते. So if ब्रह्मि् is the cause of all of us at the time of our
destruction we will all merge back into our cause. And with
regard to this there is no question of any choice or deliberation
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or intention. All the rivers will choicelessly merge into ocean,
therefore all the िरवराशिs will have to choicelessly merge into
ईश्वर or ब्रह्मि.् And it is irrespective of the status of the beings.
All the plants have emerged from ब्रह्मि्, they have to go back
to ब्रह्मि्. All the animals have emerged, therefore they will
have to go back to ब्रह्मि्, all the human beings will also have
to go back to ब्रह्मि्. That means whether the human beings are
ignorant or wise? Whether they have done the साधिs or not?
Whether they have attended the तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् class or not?
And even after attending the तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् class whether
they have understood or not? And even after understanding
whether they have assimilated or not? All of us are products of
ब्रह्मि्. All of us are ब्रह्म कायव र््. Therefore we will all merge
into ब्रह्मि्. This is the thinking of the student. Merging into
ब्रह्मि् is defined as र्ोक्, liberation. So keeping this in mind the
student asks the question िे गुरो! will an ignorant person merge
into ब्रह्मि् or not at the time of death or after death? Now
whatever answer the teacher gives will be in trouble. What are
the problems? Suppose the teacher says the ignorant people will
not merge into ब्रह्मि्, the problem will be ब्रह्मि् cannot be the
cause of everything. So if you say says the ignorant people will
not merge then ब्रह्मि् will not be the cause. And if ब्रह्मि् is not
the cause then the student will say the wise person also will not
merge into ब्रह्मि्. Ok, to avoid this problem what should we
say? No, ब्रह्मि् is the cause of everything, therefore everyone
will merge into ब्रह्मि्, which means ignorant people also will
merge into ब्रह्मि,् don’t worry. Suppose you say like this. Then
what will be the problem? Next class no student will be there
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because when I can merge as an ignorant person why should I
struggle to become wise? So now the teacher is cornered. So
with this intention the student is asking the question. अत्तवद्वाि्
अर्ुां लोकां गच्छती उत. अत्तवद्वाि् means an ignorant person, अर्ुां
लोकम् in this context means ब्रह्मि्. प्रेत्य means मरि
अनन्तरम्, after destruction. गच्छती, that elongation is to
indicate the doubt. So does an ignorant person after death merge
into ब्रह्मि्, उत means or not. So does an ignorant person merge
into ब्रह्मि् after death or not? This is the first question. The
second question is त्तवद्वाि् अर्ुां लोकां सर्श्नुते. त्तवद्वाि् means
opposite of अत्तवद्वाि्, that means the wise person. अर्ुां लोकम्
again means ब्रह्मि्. सर्श्नुता उ is there, it should be split as
सर्श्नुते which means merge or reach ब्रह्मि्. The letter उ stands
for उत which means or not. Therefore two questions – does an
ignorant person merge into ब्रह्मि् after death and does a wise
person merge into ब्रह्मि् after death. And whatever be the
answer of the teacher he is going to be cornered. Now
शङ्करािायव adds a point here. This is purely grammatical
analysis of the situation. In the introduction the उपत्तिषत् has
said अर् अतः अिुप्रश्नाः. So now follows अिुप्रश्नाः, questions.
And in सांस्कृत grammar there is singular number, dual number
and plural number; unlike English. In English singular means
one and plural means two or more. But in सांस्कृत singular
means one, plural means three or more. And for two we have a
separate number which is dual number. So we have got three
columns for three numbers. So अिुप्रश्नाः according to सांस्कृत
grammar is plural number. प्रश्िः प्रश्ौ प्रश्ािः. So by using plural
number the उपत्तिषत् has indirectly said that minimum three
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questions are going to be asked. And now we have got only two
questions – does an ignorant person reach ब्रह्मि् after death and
does a wise person reach ब्रह्मि् after death. Now how come the
उपत्तिषत् has given the plural number? शङ्करािायव solves this
problem in two different ways but we will see only one which
is relevant for our discussion. He says yes, three questions are
there, the only thing is the third question is an implied question.
And once you add that implied question then there will be three.
Then अिुप्रश्नाः plural number will be alright. So what is that
implied question? शङ्करािायव says if you go back to the
previous portion then you will know what is the implied
question. असन्िेव स भवत्तत । असद्ब्रह्मेत्तत वेद िेत् । अत्तस्त ब्रह्मेत्तत
िेद्वेद । सन्तर्ेिां ततो त्तवदुररत्तत । In this portion the उपत्तिषत् has
introduced two types of people – some people who accept the
existence of ब्रह्मि् and some other people who do not accept
the existence of ब्रह्मि्. ब्रह्म अत्तस्तत्व वात्तदिः and ब्रह्म िात्तस्तत्व
वात्तदिः. These two types of people are there because we have
clearly said ब्रह्मि् is never available for objectification. Not
only that when we go to the details of ब्रह्मि’् s description it is
very difficult to believe in ब्रह्मि्. ब्रह्मि् is formless, soundless,
tasteless, touchless, in short attributeless and therefore it is not
available for any sense organ, or not available for inferential
knowledge, it cannot be conceived by your intellect. These are
all the normal things by which we prove the existence of
something. And the उपत्तिषत् says ब्रह्मि् cannot be sensually
experienced, nor can be inferentially established, nor can be
mentally conceived or delivered later. It is absolutely
attributeless and in one उपत्तिषत् it uses the expression it is
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beyond all transactions. Naturally any rational intellect will
conclude ‘I know why it is not available for transaction’, why?
because it is not there! Therefore most of the people will
conclude त्तिगव ुिर्् ब्रह्म िात्तस्त. In fact, philosophers have
concluded. त्तवत्तशष्टाद्वैतर्् does not believe in त्तिगव ुिर्् ब्रह्म,
द्वैतर्् does not believe in त्तिगव ुिर्् ब्रह्म. Therefore our
fundamental questions is ‘Is there a ब्रह्मि् at all?’ And only if
there is some ब्रह्मि् then the next two questions are relevant.
What are those two questions? Will the ignorant people merge
into ब्रह्मि् and will the wise people merge into ब्रह्मि्. These
merger questions are relevant only if there is a ब्रह्मि्. Therefore
शङ्करािायव says there is a basic question which we have to
present through implication. What is that question? ब्रह्म अत्तस्त
वा िात्तस्त वा? Is there a ब्रह्मि् or not? Or is it a form of mental
conditioning? So when hundreds of आचार्य s repeatedly say,
brainwashing it may be, and we also feel nice. So what is the
guarantee. And when I ask for evidence you say it cannot be
proved. That means there is something fishy in the whole thing.
And I tell you the more you think in the negative line it seems
to be more convincing also. Therefore शङ्करािायव says
question number one – ब्रह्म अत्तस्त वा िात्तस्त वा; it is not given
but it is implied. Then the second question is – will an ignorant
person merge into ब्रह्मि् and the third question is – will a wise
person merge into ब्रह्मि्. And since the other two questions are
relevant only after answering the first question शङ्करािायव
says first we will handle the first question, thereafter we will
fight whether an ignorant person will merge into ब्रह्मि् or not.
Therefore the following portion is an answer to the first implied
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question. This is an elaborate portion which continues in the
rest of the section, i.e., the sixth अिुवाक upto भीषास्र्ाद्वातः
पवते । भीषोदेत्तत सय ू व ः । भीषास्र्ादत्तनिश्चेन्रश्च । र्त्ृ युधाव वत्तत पञ्िर्
इत्तत । of the eighth अिुवाक. And what the उपत्तिषत् is going to
establish is ब्रह्म अत्तस्त. There is no doubt regarding the
existence of ब्रह्मि्. And the उपत्तिषत् is going to give seven
supporting reasons or arguments to establish ब्रह्म अत्तस्त्वम्
through the following portion. So we will read bit by bit, each
bit corresponding to one supporting argument.
सोऽकार्यत । बिु स्याां प्रजायेयेत्तत । स तपोऽतप्यत । स
तपस्तप्त्वा । इदँ सवव र्सज
ृ त । यत्तददां त्तकञ्ि ।
This portion is the first supporting reason. Here the
उपत्तिषत् says ब्रह्मि् is existent because it is the intelligent
cause of this creation. ब्रह्म अत्तस्त जगतिः त्तित्तर्ि कारित्वात्.
Here the idea is based on this principle. Whenever I see a
purposeful product – be it a clock, a mic, a desk, a carpet or a
box – which has got a specific function to do. Naturally our
intellect concludes that this product has been designed,
visualized and manufactured by an intelligent being. I know
there is an intelligent designer behind this clock. The only thing
is sometimes the intelligent designer is available right in front,
but I know even if the intelligent designer is not visible I have
no doubt that it has an intelligent cause. In सांस्कृत we call it
त्तित्तर्ि कारिर््. And this can be extended to any purposeful
product, even a simple clip it doesn’t require too much of an
intelligence, so I know that even behind an ordinary clip there
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must be proportionally ordinary intelligent principle must be
there. If I extend this principle to this entire creation, I find that
everything that I experience I front of me is a purposeful
product. I have got the sense organs, sense objects are there.
Every living being is born a corresponding food product
suitable to that is there. Every science reveals the
purposefulness of every product in the creation. Many things
which were thought to be purposeless were later discovered to
be purposeful. When I take this universe as a whole I find that
it is a well-designed universe. In fact the possibility of life upon
the earth itself is because of so many innumerable factors. And
once I am certain that this universe is purposeful then I can
make an inference that this is purposeful creation also must
have correspondingly organizing intelligent principle. It can
never be an accident. The chance possibility of this creation is
almost zero. Now the next question is – what type of
intelligence it should be. For the clip, clip intelligence is
required; when it comes a computer corresponding intelligence
is required to make it. That intelligent computer was created by
a human being. So what a greater computer must be the human
brain. Now can this computer be accepted as a chance
assembly? If the computer cannot be an accidental assemblage
how can this brain which is still more complicated computer be
an accidental assemblage? And therefore we require another
organizing intelligent which we call सवय ज्ञिः, ईश्वरिः, परर्ात्र्ा.
So ब्रह्म अत्तस्त जगतिः त्तित्तर्ि कारिरूपेि. Once we have
accepted that organizing intelligence, how could the creation
have come out of that intelligence? What will be the process?
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The process we can visualize. So if somebody has to create this
clock he does not suddenly create, before creation there is a
visualization of the product. That comes in the form of a mental
design or blueprint; anything is initially created in one’s own
mind. So much planning is required. Here we have got fourteen
लोकs and their locations. Therefore the whole thing has to
initially happen in the total mind of that intelligent principle
which वेदान्त calls as र्ाया तत्वर््. The individual mind itself is
a later product; we are talking about the mind which produces
the mind and we call it र्ाया. In the र्ाया screen of the
intelligent principle the design is visualized and then a desire to
create should come without desire and visualization no creation
can happen. Visualization is useless without desire, desire is
useless without visualization. Therefore that ब्रह्मि् desired and
visualized and then came this wonderful creation. Who says?
The उपत्तिषत् says. सः आत्र्ा यस्र्ादाकाशः सम्भत ू ः, अकार्यत
– सः means that ब्रह्मात्र्ा with the र्ाया mind (we have to
supply) र्ाया mind सशित ब्रह्मात्र्ा. Why do I say ब्रह्मात्र्ा? For
सांस्कृत reasons. In सांस्कृत grammar every word has got a
gender. So भार्ाय means wife and it is feminine gender. So you
may say naturally that wife is feminine gender. No. कलरम्
means wife but it is neuter gender. Similarly दारा is another
word which means wife and it is masculine gender. Therefore
irrespective of the meaning the word has a gender. So ब्रह्म in
सांस्कृत is neutral gender. So here the pronoun सः is masculine
gender, and the word आत्र्ा is masculine gender. Therefore
ब्रह्मात्र्ा सः. सः ब्रह्मात्र्ा अकार्यत desired. He desired what?
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To create this universe. How did He desire? That we will see in
the next class.
पि
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॥
In the sixth अिुवाक of ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली we have
completed the topic of पञ्िकोश त्तववेक and at the end of this
the student is raising some questions which we call अिुप्रश्नाः.
And two questions are raised by the student and we saw there
is a third question which is implied and we have to read the
implied question first. What is that implied question? Is there
something called ब्रह्मि् at all? So ब्रह्म अत्तस्त वा ि वा. And
doubts are possible with regard to the existence of ब्रह्मि्
because ब्रह्मि् is not available for any form of transaction. And
whatever is not available for any form of transaction we
generally say it is non-existent. We say that we do not have
horns at all. How do you say we do not have horns? Because it
is not available for perception, not available for inference, not
available for शास्त्र प्रर्ािर्् and it is not available for any
कमेशन्द्रर् transaction. So र्त् अव्र्विार्य म् तत् नाशस्त. This is
our experience. And ब्रह्मि् is not available for any transaction
the शास्त्र itself says and therefore we will have legitimate doubt
regarding the very existence. This is the first question. The
second question is assuming that there is a ब्रह्मि् will an
ignorant person merge with ब्रह्मि् at the time of death. This
doubt comes because the शास्त्रर्् reveals ब्रह्मि् as िगत्
कारिर््. And we have the knowledge of the general law that
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any product will merge into its cause at the time of destruction.
कार्य म् नाि समर्े कारिे प्रलरर्ते. In fact the very definition of
destruction is a product merging back into its own cause. So if
ब्रह्मि् is the universal cause will the ignorant people merge into
ब्रह्मि्. Then the third question is will the wise people merge
into ब्रह्मि् at the time of death. मरि अनन्तरम् अशविान् ब्रह्म
प्राप्तनोशत न वा, मरि अनन्तरम् शविान् ब्रह्म प्राप्तनोशत न वा.
These are the three questions. of this the first question is taken
up by the teacher for elaborate answering. And in these portions
various important Vedantic aspects are taught and while
teaching these important aspects the question is also indirectly
answered. And when you study these portions we can find
seven reasons given for showing the existence of ब्रह्मि्. The
first reason that given is ब्रह्म अशस्त. ब्रह्मि् is existence because
it is the त्तित्तर्ि कारिर््, the intelligent cause of the creation.
ब्रह्मि् as the त्तित्तर्ि कारिर्् is presented in the portion which
I introduced in the last class. सोऽकार्यत । बिु स्याां प्रजायेयेत्तत ।
स तपोऽतप्यत । स तपस्तप्त्वा । इदँ सवव र्सज ृ त । यत्तददां त्तकञ्ि ।
From सोऽकार्यत upto यत्तददां त्तकञ्ि is the first topic where
ब्रह्मि् is revealed as the त्तित्तर्ि कारिर््. And that there should
be an intelligent cause behind the creation is easily inferable
because even ordinary products have got an intelligent principle
behind it. A simple desk has got a carpenter, a simple cloth has
got a weaver, if ordinary non-complex creation have got an
intelligent principle behind what to talk of the most complex
universe? And to say that this universe evolved by itself blindly
without any intelligent principle behind it is an immature
conclusion. Even scientists are not willing to accept that the
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creation can evolve by chance. They have analyzed
mathematically, statistically, by the theory of probability and
say that it is impossible to imagine that just by chance out of
big bang the creation will blindly evolved by itself. But the
problem with all these scientists is they know that the creation
cannot evolved by itself, there are some factors which are
beyond the laws of physics and chemistry but they are not able
to find out what that principle is. They know that the laws of
physics and chemistry cannot explain the evolution of creation,
that much they are able to accept, but what is that extra principle
which contributes to the creation they are not able to find
scientifically. They are many scientists who are almost coming
to the conclusion that by scientific process we will not be able
to find that mysterious x-factor. They are able to accept the x-
factor but what is that X they will not be able to find out. And
that x-factor being not available for प्र्र्क्ष or अनुमान we take
the help of शास्त्रर््. And herein comes the अपौरुषेर् प्रमािम्
शास्त्रर्् which talks about that त्तित्तर्ि कारिर्् and that has to
be a चेतन तववम् only. Will the intelligent cause be inert or
sentient? The intelligent cause has to be necessarily only a
sentient चेतन तववम्. Not only should it be a चेतन तववम् it
should be an extraordinarily intelligent principle because we
the human beings cannot even understand the full universe
where is the question of we creating this universe. And
therefore we know that there is a supra-intelligence which is
other than the human being and which is the त्तित्तर्ि कारिर््
that we call ब्रह्मि्. And therefore ब्रह्म अत्तस्त जगतिः त्तित्तर्ि
कारित्वात् like carpenter. Just I know that behind the desk
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there is a carpenter. With regard to the desk itself you don’t talk
about the probability of a carpenter, you don’t say there may be
a carpenter, in fact you only ask the question who is the
carpenter. You never ask the question is there a carpenter.
Therefore the first reason is ब्रह्म अत्तस्त त्तित्तर्ि कारित्वात्.
Then the next question is how did ब्रह्मि् create this
universe. And any creation from our experience has to go
through three stages.
a) First there must be a desire to create. Without काम, a
desire nothing can be produced. Therefore stage one is a desire.
That is called काम अवस्र्ा. Then mere desire is not enough that
desire should become intense, मन्द इछिा is not enough it
should become तरव्र इछिा because intense desire alone will
fructify into action. So desire has to become तरव्रम्, that is stage
one.
b) And once the desire has come the next stage is
visualization. Before it is implemented outside it must have
been created in your mind.
c) And once desire and visualization or imagination has
taken place later comes the actual implementation. Only at the
third stage a concrete creation comes out. The first stage also
people won’t know, the second stage also people won’t know,
only in the third stage people will come to know.
If this is true for ordinary creation, this is true for the
universe also. Therefore ब्रह्मि् goes through these three stages.
And therefore stage number one सः अकार्यत – that ब्रह्मि्
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desired to create this universe. Now the question is I can
entertain desire because I have got an instrument of desire
which is called मनिः. Now in the case of ब्रह्मि् What is the
instrument of entertaining the desire? Minds are going to be
created later only. What is the instrument for ब्रह्मि् to have this
इच्छा शत्तक्त? This instrument is called र्ाया. And this र्ाया has
got इच्छा शत्तक्त and that र्ाया is the instrument of ब्रह्मि् and
when ब्रह्मि् handles the instruments of र्ाया it gets the name
ईश्वरिः. र्ाया सत्तितम् ब्रह्म, ब्रह्मि् married to र्ाया. Once Mrs.
ब्रह्मि् comes ब्रह्मि् has become गिृ स्र्.
र्ाता तु पावव ती देवी त्तपता देवो र्िे श्वरः बान्धवाः त्तशव भक्ताश्च
स्वदेशो भुवित्रयर् ॥
So with the help of र्ाया ब्रह्मि् desires. Now the question is
why should ब्रह्मि् or ईश्वर desire to create this universe? So
ईश्वर could have remained quiet. Why should the Lord desire
and create this world and dump all of us here and also make us
suffer? Because the whole सांसार is because of सत्तृ ष्ट. If सत्तृ ष्ट is
not there, there will be no सांसार. In fact everybody will ask the
question why did God create this universe. This is the first
question.
And there is another question also. Normally in the
वेदान्त we learn that desire is a sign of सांसार, because desire
comes out of अपि ू व त्वर््. I am not happy with myself and
therefore to become happy I desire for something or a person.
Therefore Vedantically कार् is considered to be a product of
अत्तवद्ा. अत्तवद्ा produces कार्, कार् produces कर्व and कर्व
produces फलर््. फलर्् produces पुिरत्तप जििर्् पुिरत्तप र्रिर््.
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That is why liberation is defined as freedom from कार्. In the
भगवद्गीता,
प्रजिात्तत यदा कार्ान्सवाव न्पार्व र्िोगताि् ।
आत्र्न्येवात्र्िा तुष्टः त्तस्र्तप्रज्स्तदोच्यते ॥ गीता २-५५ ॥
A person is defined as a desireless one. And in कठोपत्तिषत्,
यदा सवे प्रर्ुच्यन्ते कार्ा येऽस्य हृत्तद त्तश्रताः ।
अर् र्त्योऽर्त ृ ो भवत्यत्र ब्रह्म सर्श्नुते ॥ कठोपत्तिषत् २-३-१४/
बिृ दारण्यकोपत्तिषत् ४-१-७ ॥
A person becomes free from सांसार when all desires are gone.
That means desire is considered to be a symptom of सांसार and
अत्तवद्ा. Now here the उपत्तिषत् says भगवाि् desired. Therefore
what will be my conclusion? I thought only I have सांसार, now
He also has the problem. Therefore what is the second
question? If the Lord is ever liberated, how can He have a
desire? The answer we give is भगवाि् desires with the help of
र्ायाशत्तक्त. This is the answer to the first question. The second
question is how can the ever free Lord desire. The answer we
give is भगवाि’् s desire is not born out of ignorance and
अपि ू व त्वर््. Only that desire which is born out of ignorance is
cause of सांसार. When desire is not born out of ignorance or
अत्तवद्ा then it is called a non-binding desire. It is a harmless
desire, it is not a desire for भगवाि्’s पि ू व त्वर््. Now the question
is if भगवाि् does not have ignorance and अपि ू व त्वर््, why
should He desire. The answer we give is His desire for creating
the universe is meant for the fructification of the कर्व फलर्् of
all the जीवरात्तशs. There are countless जीवs which have got
countless पुण्यपाप कर्व s which will have to produce the फलर््
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and this is possible only if there is a world. Therefore भगवाि्
creates the world not for His own sake, but for the sake of the
जीवs. Now the question comes the creation is for the
fructification of पुण्यपाप, tell me how did these पुण्यपापs come.
The answer we give is these पुण्यपापs have come because of
कर्व s done by the जीवs in the previous सत्तृ ष्ट. Thus the कर्व s of
the previous सत्तृ ष्ट is the cause for the creation of the present
सत्तृ ष्ट. And in the present सत्तृ ष्ट कर्व s will be there and that will
be the cause for the creation of the next सत्तृ ष्ट. Thus every सत्तृ ष्ट
is based upon the all the कर्व s of the जीवरात्तशs. When the जीवs
are with predominant पापम् भगवाि् has to create नरकम्.
When the जीवs have plenty of पुण्यम् for their fructification He
has to create higher लोकs. And when जीवs have got शमश्कमय
पुण्यपापम् equal mixture भगवाि् has to create the भल ू ोक. That
means not only भगवाि् should have the desire to create, He
must have the knowledge of all the कर्व s of all the जीवs. What
good कर्व he has done, what bad कर्व he has done, what type of
environment he should be given, keeping that he has to
visualize. Not only the Lord has to visualize the environment
even the type of body is determined by कर्व . Therefore the
present सत्तृ ष्ट is because of the कर्व of past सत्तृ ष्ट. How did the
past सत्तृ ष्ट come? Because of its past सत्तृ ष्ट. How did the first
सत्तृ ष्ट come? There is no first सत्तृ ष्ट because the creation is not a
linear process. Until you grasp this principle the mystery will
haunt you. Your intellect should get out of the linear thinking
that the creation has a beginning and an end. Nothing in the
creation is linear, everything is cyclic. Once you see the cyclic
process the mind will get out of this tyranny and you will
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understand that for a circle there is no beginning or end. The
scientists can never solve the problem of creation so long as
their thinking is linear. Therefore every सत्तृ ष्ट is an intermediary
सत्तृ ष्ट. Whenever I talk about the creation it means we are
talking about the present creation. That means before this
creation also there was one, and after also there will be one. We
are only taking a particular segment, between two प्रलर्म्s we
are talking about the present सत्तृ ष्ट. Therefore भगवाि् desires
to create a particular सत्तृ ष्ट for the sake of the fulfillment of the
कर्व फलर्् of its previous सत्तृ ष्ट. And every specific सत्तृ ष्ट will
have a previous सत्तृ ष्ट. Therefore भगवाि् desired to create this
universe not because of His ignorance or अपि ू व त्वर््, but
लोकसङ्ग्रिर्ेवात्तप for the benefit of the जीवरात्तशs. And any
number of non- binding desires we can entertain it will not
cause सांसार. र्ोक् does not mean freedom from all desires, but
it means freedom from binding desires. शङ्करािायव uses the
word शुद् कार्ः and अशुद् कार्ः. A desire born out of
ignorance is अशुद् कार्ः and the desire which is meant for the
sake of the benefit of the world but not born out of my ignorance
or अपि ू व त्वर्् such a desire is called शुद् कार्ः. Therefore
सोऽकार्यत means भगवाि् entertained शुद् कार्. Then what
was His desire? बिु स्याां प्रजायेय – now I am the universal father
and I am only one; let Me multiply to become many जीवs or
living beings. Just as here also one father is there, and he has
got three children, दयािन्द स्वात्तर्त्तज beautifully says अिम्,
आवाम् and वर्म् (singular, dual and plural). He was singular
called ब्रह्मिारर, when he got married, he became आवाम् and he
got a child became वर्म्. Then each child gets married and they
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have their children, their children and so on. So एकः अिेकः
भवत्तत. Similarly भगवाि् says बिु स्याम् – let Me multiply
myself. How? प्रजायेय – by creating myself, by getting my
progeny. The only difference here is in the creation I find any
parent can only reproduce a child of its own species. So man
can only multiply as man; suddenly one of them will not be a
monkey. Monkey like possible, monkey not possible. Humans
produce humans, buffaloes species produce buffaloes, but
भगवाि्’s uniqueness is He is the cause of all the species. कृष्ि
tells this in the fourteenth chapter of the गीता.
सवव योत्तिषु कौन्तेय र्त ू व यः सम्भवत्तन्त याः ।
तासाां ब्रह्म र्िद्ोत्तिरिां बीजप्रदः त्तपता ॥ गीता १४-४ ॥
The universal father produces all the species because र्ाया has
the potentiality to produce all the जीवरात्तशs. Therefore, let me
multiply into plurality. इत्तत indicates quotation. Therefore “बिु
स्याां प्रजायेय” should be put in quotation, it is the thinking,
desire of the Lord. And once desire has come what is the next
item? Visualization. So you have to visualize what all things
should appear where, and for that you should have the
knowledge of all the पुण्यपाप कर्व s of countless जीवs.
Therefore the Lord has to be सवव ज्ः. Only an omniscient
principle can visualize such a complex creation which has to
simultaneously fulfil the कर्व of all. When a particular child is
born to a particular parent, it is the simultaneous fulfillment of
the parent’s कर्व as well as the child’s कर्व . The parent’s
पुण्यपाप is responsible for the birth of such a child and it is the
child’s पुण्यपाप to get such a parent. Not only parents but also
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siblings, गुरु, त्तशष्य etc. Therefore every सम्बन्ध is the
fructification of कर्व . Therefore the Lord thinks of all the कर्व s.
This visualization is called तपः. सः तपः अतप्यत. Literally it
means the Lord did तपस्, austerity. Here austerity is in the form
of the very visualization. If I have to give a talk or if I have to
say something now before it comes out it must happen in my
mind. I should visualize. And भगवाि्’s तपस् is in the form of
ज्ािर््. It is said in र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत्, there is a beautiful मन्र
which you have to connect here.
यः सवव ज्ः सवव त्तवद्स्य ज्ािर्यां तपः ।
तस्र्ादेतद्ब्रह्म िार् रूपर्न्िां ि जायते ॥ र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत् १-१-९
॥
सः तपः अतप्यत. Lord did तपस्. And that तपस् is also done
with the help of र्ाया instrument only. So भगवाि्’s instrument
for तपस् is also र्ाया only. Because He doesn’t have hands and
legs like us because for hands and legs पञ्िभतू s are required.
The five elements themselves are not created, and therefore
don’t imagine भगवाि् sitting in पद्मासि and doing तपस.्
भगवाि् does not have a physical body like ours. Physical body
requires physical elements and the elements themselves have
not yet born. Hereafter only
ू ः ॥ तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत्
२-१-२ ॥
That is another interesting thing. Suppose you say भगवाि् did
तपस् in पद्मासिम्. Where did He do the तपस्? You cannot talk
of a space because आकाश itself is not yet created. Therefore
भगवाि्’s तपस् is not a conventional thing. मार्र्ा सङ्कल्पिः
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एव तपिः इशत उछर्ते. Then what happens? सः तपः तप्त्वा –
having done तपस् for sufficient time. भगवाि्’s तपस् is not for
a minute or a few hours, but it will be countless number of युगs,
because it is at the cosmic level. What did He do? इदँ सवव र््
असज ृ त – भगवाि् created the whole universe. This is the third
stage. अकार्यत is stage number one. तपोऽतप्यत – visualized
is stage number two. इदँ सवव र्् असज ृ त – implementation is
stage number three. When I say इदँ सवव र्् असज ृ त, He created
all of them. Remember even “He” I should not say. भगवाि् and
र्ाया are without a िरररम्, how would you classify as he or
she? But for want of a word we use He; if you want you can
replace with she also.
उन्र्े ष त्तित्तर्षोत्पन्ि त्तवपन्ि भुविावत्तलः ॥
लत्तलतासिस्रिार्स्तोत्रर्् ६६ ॥
So इदँ सवव र्सज ृ त and vice versa. सवव र्् includes आकाशः.
Space itself is created and even time has to come along with
that. All of them created. What are those? यत् इदां त्तकञ्ि –
whatever you experience in front of you all of them are created
by ईश्वर. Therefore ईश्वरः जगतिः त्तित्तर्ि कारिर््. Now the next
question is even though it is not discussed here, but incidentally
we have to note. Generally between visualization and
implementation we have to undergo a lot of effort. After
planning the house once you start constructing the house ask
anyone how difficult it is. So constructing a simple house is so
difficult, if भगवाि् constructed this vast cosmos how much
energy, time and effort he must have put? The शास्त्र says that
is the difference. For creating this universe भगवाि् did not put
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forth any effort at all, by mere सङ्कल्प He created this
universe. सङ्कल्प मारेि इदँ सवव र्् असज ृ त. Now the next
question you will ask is how is it possible to produce such a
complex and vast universe by mere सङ्कल्प? Then शास्त्र says
it is all possible, in fact, you also have that capacity to create by
mere सङ्कल्प and you do it regularly. Do you understand? So
regularly in dream out of your mind and you create a wonderful
dream universe by mere सङ्कल्प, you do not carry any
material to create a dream house. In fact, the moment you close
your eyes the dream world comes. It is an effortless process.
How can you give a dream example because it is an unreal
universe? An unreal universe can be created by mere सङ्कल्प,
how can you give such an example? Then the शास्त्र says who
says that this universe is real? The शास्त्र gives the dream
example because this universe is also unreal universe only. If
the dream unreal universe is created by your सङ्कल्प, this
unreal universe is created by ईश्वर’s सङ्कल्प.
बीजस्यान्तररवाङ्कुरो जगत्तददां प्राङ्त्तित्तववकल्पां पुिः
र्ायाकत्तल्पतदेशकालकलिावैत्तित्रयत्तित्रीकृतर्् ।
र्ायावीव त्तवजम्ृ भयत्यत्तप र्िायोगीव यःस्वेच्छया
तस्र्ै श्री गुरुर्तू व ये िर् इदां श्रीदत्तक्िार्त
ू व ये ॥ श्रीदत्तक्िार्त्तू तव
स्तोत्रर्् २ ॥
Then the next question you will ask is you say this universe is
also unreal but I don’t feel this universe is unreal. I feel this
universe as real only? For that शास्त्र says that you feel many
things, how can I take all your feelings seriously. Therefore we
cannot go by feelings because when you are experiencing
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dream you never thought dream as unreal. When you were in
dream you took the dream as real only. Therefore just because
you are feeling the dream real it is not going to become real. On
waking up you know it is unreal. शास्त्र says in the same way
you are still dreaming therefore this universe appears to be real.
You wake up,
उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरात्तन्िबोधत॥ कठोपत्तिषत् १-३-१४॥
You wake up you will understand that this universe also is
unreal. Therefore ईश्वरः सङ्कल्प मारेि इदँ त्तर्थ्या जगत्
असज ृ त. The Lord created this त्तर्थ्या universe by mere
सङ्कल्प. That सङ्कल्प शत्तक्त is in र्ाया. इदँ सवव र्सज ृ त।
यत्तददां त्तकञ्ि. Upto this is topic number one. Upto this we read
in the last class.
Now through this portion we had the first reason for the
existence of ईश्वर. ईश्वरः अत्तस्त जगतिः त्तित्तर्ि कारित्वात्. Now
we will go to the next portion. We will read.
तत्सष्टृ ् वा । तदेवािुप्रात्तवशत् । तदिु प्रत्तवश्य । सच्ि त्यच्िाभवत् ।
त्तिरुक्तां िात्तिरुक्तां ि । त्तिलयिां िात्तिलयिां ि । त्तवज्ािां िात्तवज्ािां
ि । सत्यां िाितृ ां ि सत्यर्भवत् । यत्तददां त्तकञ्ि ।
तत्सत्यत्तर्त्यािक्ते । तदप्येष श्लोको भवत्तत ॥ १ ॥ इत्तत
षष्ठोऽिुवाकः ॥
Now the story continues. So भगवाि् or ब्रह्मि् called
र्ाया सत्तितं ब्रह्म, सगुिां ब्रह्म or ईश्वरः created this universe. And
thereafter what did He do? This universe will be meaningful
and purposeful only when there are जीवs, the sentient ones to
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experience the universe. Mere inert world is purposeless. If I
build a house only it is meaningless, there should be sentient
living beings to use it. Now what does भगवाि् do? Having
created this universe, the उपत्तिषत् says, भगवाि् Himself enters
it in the form of all the जीवरात्तशs. So all the experiencer जीवs
are none other than that creator ब्रह्मि् only. How? We must
carefully understand this. All these are very significant portions
of the शास्त्र. This portion is called अिुप्रवेश portion.
शङ्करािायव writes a very elaborate commentary on this. The
same portion occurs in the बिृ दारण्यकोपत्तिषत् and there
शङ्करािायव writes still more elaborate commentary.
Subcommentators have elaborated even more. To understand
that we have to go back to our own dream example. Having
created a dream world, who goes there to experience the dream,
if you analyze – I create the dream and I myself enter the dream
as the dream individual to experience the dream world.
Therefore the waker himself becomes a member in the dream
experiencing the objects. That’s why I create a dream world, I
create a tiger, I enter the dream world and I experience the tiger,
and get frightened also. Therefore the waker alone becomes the
dream experiencer. In the same way the Lord alone becomes
this experiencer also, thus ईश्वरः एव जीवरूपेि उपलभ्यते. This
is the topic which we have to analyze in the next class.
पि
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॥
We are seeing the sixth अिुवाक of ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली in
which the उपत्तिषत् has introduced certain अिुप्रश्नs or
questions from the students for which the teacher has started
giving the answer from the portion सोऽकार्यत बिु स्याां
प्रजायेयेत्तत. And in this portion the teacher is talking about the
creation of the world out of ब्रह्मि्. And by way of describing
ब्रह्मि् the teacher is indirectly answering the students question
also. And we saw there are three question two of them are asked
directly and one is implied. And the implied question is being
answered here and that question is ब्रह्म अत्तस्त वा न वा. And
through the सत्तृ ष्ट प्रकरिम् the teacher points out that ब्रह्म
अत्तस्त. We can see seven reasons in this portion and each reason
is establishing the existence of ब्रह्मि्. And in the beginning the
उपत्तिषत् pointed out सोऽकार्यत । बिु स्याां प्रजायेयेत्तत । स
तपोऽतप्यत । स तपस्तप्त्वा । इदँ सवव र्सज ृ त । यत्तददां त्तकञ्ि ।
Upto this portion the उपत्तिषत् pointed out that ब्रह्मि् alone with
the help of र्ाया is the intelligent cause behind the creation, the
intelligent cause behind the creation. And ब्रह्मि् as the
intelligent cause is called ईश्वर, the त्तित्तर्ि कारिर्् and that
ईश्वर alone desired to create the world, visualized the world and
then created the world in keeping with the कमय of all the जीवs.
And therefore as the त्तित्तर्ि कारिर््, as the intelligent cause
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behind this creation ब्रह्मि् is. Thus the first reason is ब्रह्म अत्तस्त
त्तित्तर्ि कारित्वात्. And now we have entered the next portion
which I introduced in the last class. तत्सष्टृ ् वा । तदेवािुप्रात्तवशत्.
Having created this universe this ब्रह्मि् or ईश्वर or परर्ात्र्ा
Itself has entered it in the form of all the जीवात्र्ाs. परर्ात्र्ा
एव जीवात्र्रूपेि सत्तृ ष्टां अनुप्रशविशत. And this statement is
called अिुप्रवेश वाक्र्म्. Therefore every जीवात्र्ा is none other
than the परर्ात्र्ा itself. Therefore the very existence of
जीवात्र्ा is the proof for the existence of परर्ात्र्ा because
परर्ात्र्ा entered into the creation is called जीवात्र्ा. And how
this परर्ात्र्ा Himself acts as जीवात्र्ा to understand we
generally take the example of our own स्वप्ि. The creation of
dream is very much similar to the creation of this world and
therefore generally to understand the creation we take the स्वप्ि
example. Of course there are certain differences between the
स्वप्ि सत्तृ ष्ट and जगत् सत्तृ ष्ट, we don’t say hundred percent
comparison can be made, this is only a closer example. The
example and the original cannot be hundred percent equal. If
they are hundred percent equal it cannot be called an example.
There are so many common features between the two. When an
example is given the student should focus on the common
features and not on the uncommon features. When a person is
called the pillar of an organization he is compared to a pillar
then we should see the common features. The pillar supports
the building, similarly the person supports the organization. If
the pillar is removed the building collapses, if the person quits
the organization, the organization collapses. These are the
common features between the pillar and the person. You should
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not argue pillar is round, so will the person also be round? The
pillar is made of brick, is he also made of brick? The pillar is
inert is he also inert you should not ask. Whenever स्वप्ि
example is quoted don’t look for dissimilar features but always
look for the similar features. That is very important. भगवाि् or
ईश्वर creates this world by mere सङ्कल्प, we create our स्वप्ि
also by mere सङ्कल्प without taking any time. The moment
our head touches the pillow the स्वप्ि प्रपञ्ि comes. So just as
our dream is a projection from our self, similarly the creation is
a projection from ईश्वर or ब्रह्मि्. And having created the स्वप्ि
प्रपञ्ि what do we do? The various things projected in the dream
are meant for experience. So we require an experiencer of the
dream world. Otherwise the dream world projection is useless.
And therefore who creates the experiencer of the dream is the
question. Ans when you analyze we find an interesting thing –
we, the creators of स्वप्ि, we ourselves ‘enter’ the स्वप्ि प्रपञ्ि
without physical travel and we become the dream experiencers.
The waker creator creates the dream and the waker creator
himself becomes the dream experiencer. And how do I
accomplish this? What is the mechanism or process behind this
event? What happens is until the dream is created I am
identified with this physical body as a waker and I know that I
am lying on the bed. And the moment स्वप्ि प्रपञ्ि is created,
within the स्वप्ि प्रपञ्ि one of the creation is a special body for
my use, because I know I cannot use this physical body for the
dream transactions. Therefore I have to shed this body as it were
on the bed itself, and to transact within the dream world I
require another type of dream body called वासिार्य शरीरर््
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which is projected by my own mind. Among many things one
of the things I project is a special body which is वत्तृ िर्य शरीरर््,
वासिार्य शरीरर््. And I myself take on that स्वप्ि शरीरर््
dropping this व्याविाररक शरीरर्् I put on वासाांत्तस जीिाव त्ति यर्ा
त्तविाय just as I do when I take rebirth here also I take a rebirth
into the स्वप्ि प्रपञ्ि. so I die to the जाग्रत् प्रपञ्ि leaving this
physical body; this physical body is as good as a dead body
because mosquitoes are biting and I am not aware of it, whether
the blanket is on my body or not I am not aware. That is why
they say early morning the first thing to do is taking a bath
because during स्वप्ि and सुषुत्ति the body has become a corpse
as it were, therefore there is असौिर््. You are associated with
your own dead body. So having dropped the body on the cot
you take on another body called स्वप्ि शरीरर्् and also you take
another set of sense organs which are स्वप्ि sense organs. You
have got a dream eye, dream ears, dream nose etc. And how do
you prove the dream eyes are different from the waker’s eyes?
You have removed the spectacles, and your eyes are closed,
therefore the dream forms and colors are seen not with the help
of these eyes, you have got the dream eyes and for that the
dream spectacles. And we have got स्वप्ि शब्द, स्पशव , रूप, रस
and गन्ध. All of them are perceived with the help of स्वप्ि
शरीरर्् and इशन्द्रर्ाशि. Not only that using this body you travel
also everywhere in the dream vehicles and eat dream food, even
though you have gone to bed after over-eating. The waker
becomes a product within the dream world. The interesting
thing is even though I have created the dream time and dream
space within the dream world I myself am limited by the dream
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time and dream space. As a waker identified with the body I am
the creator and as a dreamer identified with the dream body I
am no more the creator, but am the created. So स्र्ल ू शरीर
अत्तभर्ािेि कारिर्् भवात्तर्, स्वप्ि शरीर अत्तभर्ािेि कायव र््
भवात्तर्. I then experience the स्वप्ि प्रपञ्ि. The experiencer of
the dream, that conscious principle is not different from the
conscious principle obtaining in the waking stage. Therefore
the experiencer is one and the same, only the medium of
experience is different. As the waker experiencer I was
identified with स्र्ल ू शरीरर्् medium and as the dreamer
experiencer I was identified with स्वप्ि शरीरर््.The body
differs but the experiencer Consciousness is one and the same.
Now the question is how do you know that the waker alone has
entered the dream world and is experiencing the dream.
Suppose the waker creator is different from the dream
experiencer, what will happen? What the dreamer experiences
the waker will never know. But what is our experience? After
waking up I myself tell that as an experiencer in the dream I had
a nightmare or वेङ्कटाचलपशत’s दशव िम्. Therefore it is very
clear that the waker, the creator and the dreamer, the created,
both are one and the same. When I am identified with the dream
body I never claim I am the creator. I feel I am one of the
individuals in the dream world interacting with the external
world and the world is giving me सुखर्् and दुःखर््, I am
persecuted and praised by the world. Therefore as long as I am
identified with the dream body I am an ordinary individual, but
the moment I wake up I disidentify from the dream body and
identify with this body. Then instead of being an individual
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within the dream I now claim I am the creator, sustainer and
destroyer! Therefore whether I am कायव र्् or कारिर्् depends
upon whether I am identified with the dream body or the
waker’s body. Extending the same principle the वेदान्त says as
long as I am identified with the waker’s body I feel that I am an
individual within this world. I am called a जीवात्र्ा, who is
created and who is experiencing सख ु र््, दुःखर््, etc. I can never
claim this world is within me because the world is very much
outside me, and I am located here and limited by this body. The
moment I disidentify from this body then I am no more the
जीवात्र्ा located in this world, I can claim that I am the
परर्ात्र्ा and from me (not the one identified with the body)
alone with the help of र्ाया, this whole creation has come.
Therefore I have created this world and within this world one
of the creation is this physical body and I am identified with
this physical body, therefore I have become an individual. And
the moment I disidentify from this body I am the creator who is
now obtaining in the form of जीवात्र्ा. The परर्ात्र्ा alone has
entered each and every body and is functioning as the जीवात्र्ा.
And imagine the dreamer argues that there is no waker-creator
in the dream! He says I am the नाशस्तक and I don’t believe in
a waker at all. If he argues like this what can we say. My dear
the very experiencer, you, who are experiencing the स्वप्ि
प्रपञ्ि that you alone are the creator of this स्वप्ि. If you want
to discover the waker, wake up! Then you the experiencer of
this स्वप्ि you alone are the waker, the creator of this स्वप्ि.
Therefore the very existence of the dreamer is the proof for the
existence of the waker. In the same way the very existence of
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the जीवात्र्ा, the experiencer, is the proof for the existence of
the परर्ात्र्ा. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् says, तत् सष्ट ृ ् वा – that
परर्ात्र्ा is dreaming now and that परर्ात्र्ा itself in this dream
world is taking the role of the जीवात्र्ा. So तत् प्रपञ्िम् सष्ट ृ ् वा,
तत् एव – the very same जाग्रत् प्रपञ्ि and specifically the स्र्ल ू -
सक्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् अिुप्रात्तवशत् – the परर्ात्र्ा has entered, and that
परर्ात्र्ा is now the miserable जीवात्र्ा.
स्वप्िे जाग्रत्तत वा एष पुरुषो र्ायापररभ्रात्तर्तः
स्तोत्रर्् ८ ॥
That so called परर्ात्र्ा alone is now in the form of जीवात्र्ा.
And you have to see the reverse and therefore the so called
जीवात्र्ा alone is none other than परर्ात्र्ा. So तत् एव
अिुप्रात्तवशत्. And तत् अिुप्रत्तवश्य – having entered the शरीरर््
as the जीवात्र्ा now the परर्ात्र्ा has become कताव identified
with कर्ेत्तन्रयात्ति and identified with ज्ािेत्तन्रयात्ति he
becomes प्रर्ाता and भोक्ता. And therefore all the transactions
in the form of जीवात्र्ा are done by that परर्ात्र्ा only.
Therefore a wonderful dream show is going on. As long as you
enjoy the dream it is wonderful, but if it becomes a nightmarish
the only way out is उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरात्तन्िबोधत॥
कठोपत्तिषत् १-३-१४॥ to wake up. When you wake up the
dream body is falsified and when you become wise this physical
body is falsified. ब्रह्म सत्यर्् जगत् त्तर्थ्या, i.e., शरीरर्् त्तर्थ्या,
इत्तन्रयात्ति त्तर्थ्या from ब्रह्मि्’s standpoint. So तत् अिुप्रत्तवश्य –
having entered this शरीरर््, that e sentence must be completed
by us, that ब्रह्मैव जीवात्र्ारूपेि व्यविरत्तत – having entered the
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body ब्रह्मि् alone does all the transactions in the form of
जीवात्र्ा. This we have seen in the कैवल्योपत्तिषत्,
स एव र्ायापररर्ोत्तितात्र्ा शरीरर्ास्र्ाय करोत्तत सवव र्् ।
त्तस्त्रयन्िपािात्तदत्तवत्तित्रभोगैः स एव जाग्रत्पररतत्तृ िर्ेत्तत ॥
कैवल्योपत्तिषत् १२ ॥
स्वप्िे स जीवः सुखदुःखभोक्ता स्वर्ायया कत्तल्पतजीवलोके ।
सषु ुत्तिकाले सकले त्तवलीिे तर्ोऽत्तभभत
ू ः सख ु रूपर्ेत्तत ॥
कैवल्योपत्तिषत् १३ ॥
पुिश्च जन्र्ान्तरकर्व योगात्स एव जीवः स्वत्तपत्तत प्रबुद्ः । पुरत्रये
िीडत्तत यश्च जीवस्ततस्तु जातां सकलां त्तवत्तित्रर्् ॥
कैवल्योपत्तिषत् १४ ॥
This जाग्रत् प्रपञ्ि is only one of the fields of my activity, स्वप्ि
प्रपञ्ि is another field of my activity. I enter into each field and
play that particular role. In सुषुत्ति अवस्र्ा I remove the जाग्रत्
शरीरर्् and स्वप्ि शरीरर््. I am िैतन्य मारम्. The very fact that
the जाग्रत् role comes and goes indicates I am neither a waker
nor a dreamer; both are िीडा स्र्ानम् only, पुरत्रये िीडत्तत. It is
only a course field but what has happened is I enter the field
and take it as my real nature. So ब्रह्मैव जीवात्र्रूपेि व्यविरत्तत.
Therefore शङ्करािायव says as an aside note since the existence
of जीवात्र्ा is doubtless, the existence of परर्ात्र्ा also is
doubtless because परर्ात्र्ा alone plays the role of जीवात्र्ा.
Therefore the second argument is ब्रह्म अशस्त जीवात्र्रूपेि
वतय मान्वात्.
And now we go into the third argument. From the next
portion. सत् ि त्यत् ि अभवत् त्तिरुक्तां ि अत्तिरुक्तां ि त्तिलयिां
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ि अत्तिलयिां ि etc. So here what is the essence? All are
important portions. Previously we pointed out that ब्रह्मि् is the
intelligent cause, त्तित्तर्ि कारिर्् of the universe. And therefore
as an intelligent cause ब्रह्मि् alone desired, visualized and
created. Just as a carpenter desires, visualizes and creates the
furniture. Now here we are going to ask the question if ब्रह्मि् is
the intelligent cause of this creation, what is the raw material
out of which the creation has been produced? Because we all
know that any product requires a raw material also. The
building requires cement, bricks etc. Furniture requires wood,
ornaments require gold. The intelligent cause alone cannot
create this world. Therefore the question is what is the material
cause of this creation. Generally the intelligent cause and the
material cause are different. The carpenter is the intelligent
cause and wood is the material cause. The goldsmith is the
intelligent cause and gold is the material cause. Now the
question is if ब्रह्मि् is the intelligent cause, what is the material
cause? Unfortunately, you cannot find out any material cause
because even the five elements you cannot mention, because
they are yet to be created. We are talking about the material
cause of even the five elements. Therefore before the creation
of the five elements what is the material cause? That means
even आकाि is not yet born. So our question is what is the
material cause of आकाि itself. And unfortunately you do not
find anything other than ब्रह्मि्. Because ब्रह्मि् is एकम् एव
अत्तद्वतीयर््. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् says since ब्रह्मि् alone was
there before creation and ब्रह्मि् has to be must be both the
intelligent as well as the material cause also. There is no other
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choice. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् says ब्रह्मि् is the त्तित्तर्ि
कारिर्् as well as उपादाि कारिर््. Then the question comes
how is it possible? Because normally we find त्तित्तर्ि कारिर््
and उपादाि कारिर्् are two separate things. How can you say
ब्रह्मि् is both? For that the उपत्तिषत् says त्तित्तर्ि कारिर्् and
उपादाि कारिर्् are separate as a general rule. And for every
general rule there is an exception. In सांस्कृत they say every
उ्सगय (general rule) has an अपवाद (an exception). And
therefore here also there is an exception. In exceptional cases
the intelligent and material causes are one and the same. Where
do we find the exception? र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत्
यर्ोिव िात्तभः सज
ृ ते गह्णृ ते ि ॥ र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत् १-१-७ ॥
Just as the spider is the intelligent cause behind the web and the
raw material for the web is also found within itself. Another
example which you would have never missed. You yourself.
You yourself are the intelligent and material causes behind
another creation your own स्वप्ि. When you create a dream
building where do you find the raw material? In my own mind
or to be precise my own वासिाs, which are nothing but myself
becomes the material. So the stuff of the dream solid creation;
remember, dream is not non-solid, even though after waking up
the dream becomes a fuzzy thing. In the dream everything is
solid. That solid dream world is nothing but your own abstract
mind. The non-solid mind and thought creates a solid dream in
the dream. Similarly, the non-solid Consciousness can create a
tangible creation. Therefore the stuff of the solid creation is
non-solid Consciousness is possible. Even if you don’t take
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non-solid Consciousness when the scientists talk about energy
as the cause of the creation, intangible energy alone has become
the tangible matter. If intangible energy can appear as tangible
matter why can’t non-tangible Consciousness appear as
tangible matter? Very much possible. Therefore just as I am the
intelligent and material cause of the dream world, ब्रह्मि् is the
intelligent and material cause of this world. To create the स्वप्ि
प्रपञ्ि I make use of mind and वासिाs. ईश्वर to create this world
make use of र्ाया and कर्व . Our mind has to be equated to the
र्ाया at the cosmic level and our वासिाs have to be equated to
the कर्व at the cosmic level. Thus ब्रह्मि् with the help of र्ाया
and कर्व produces this world. Now when the material cause, we
refer to, our language slightly differs. When I say “the carpenter
is responsible for the creation of the furniture” the expression I
use is “the carpenter creates the furniture” So when I refer to
the intelligent cause the verb that I use is “the carpenter creates
the furniture”. “the goldsmith creates the ornament”, “the
weaver creates the cloth”. So the verb used is “creates” when
we refer to the त्तित्तर्ि कारिर््. But when we are referring to
the material cause we don’t say “gold creates the ornament”,
we use a different verb “gold becomes the ornament”, “wood
becomes the furniture”. So the verb is “becomes”. Similarly,
when you refer to ब्रह्मि् as the intelligent cause, you say ब्रह्मि्
creates the world, but when you refer to the same ब्रह्मि् as the
material cause (because ब्रह्मि् is both), you use a different verb,
you don’t say ब्रह्मि् creates, you say ब्रह्मि् Itself becomes the
creation. So “becomes” when we use ब्रह्मि् is उपादाि कारिर््,
when “creates” is used ब्रह्मि् is त्तित्तर्ि कारिर््. Which is
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correct? Both are correct. But you cannot extend this carpenter.
You can use for the dream world. I create a dream world and I
can say I myself become the dream world. Therefore the
उपत्तिषत् says as उपादाि कारिर्् सत् ि त्यत् ि ब्रह्म अभवत्.
अभवत् means becomes or became. Earlier we used असज ृ त
which means ब्रह्मि् created which indicates ब्रह्मि् as त्तित्तर्ि
कारिर््. अभवत् verb indicates ब्रह्मि् as उपादाि कारिर््.
ब्रह्मि् has become everything. That is why in the त्तवश्वरूपदशव ि
योग कृष्ि says अजव ुि, I alone have become आकाश. Therefore,
आकाश is God for us. When you are contacting आकाश, you
are contacting God. When you are contacting ornaments, you
are contacting gold, the material cause. So every time you are
handling the effect, you are handling the material cause only.
similarly when you are handling the universe, you are in touch
with God. Where to see God if asked what will you say? कृष्ि
says you are all the time seeing the त्तवश्वरूप.
ू व योः ॥ गीता ७-८ ॥
रसोऽिर्प्सु कौन्तेय प्रभात्तस्र् शत्तशसय
When you are seeing Sun do िर्स्कार in the early morning.
because the Sun is not just the Sun, but the Sun is Sun-god. The
very raw material behind the Sun is ईश्वर. Similarly, when you
take bath in the river don’t put your feet first because water is
God. आपो वा इदँ सवव र्् त्तवश्वा भत ू ान्यापः. Therefore first put
your hand and do प्रोक्षिम् and then enter. Therefore ब्रह्मि् has
become this world. What type of world? The tangible and
intangible world, स्र्लू सक्ष्ू र् प्रपञ्िरूपेि ब्रह्म अभवत्. Just as
you look at the individual, the physical body comes under the
tangible individual, whereas my mind, thoughts, emotion these
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are all integral part of me, which are intangible, सक्ष्ू र् प्रपञ्ि.
Therefore सत् ि त्यत् ि अभवत्. सत् means the concrete,
tangible, मत ू य प्रपञ्ि, स्र्ल ू शरीरर्् and स्र्ल ू प्रपञ्ि; त्यत् means
the abstract, अमत ू य प्रपञ्ि, सक्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् and सक्ष्ू र् प्रपञ्ि. You
cannot say कारि प्रपञ्ि is created. Why? कारि प्रपञ्ि is
अनाशद which is called मार्ा which is with ब्रह्मि्. So कारि
प्रपञ्ि is beginninglessly there with ब्रह्मि् in the form of मार्ा.
मार्ा is never created, कारि प्रपञ्ि is never created. Therefore
created means स्र्ल ू सक्ष्ू र् प्रपञ्ि only. That is why while
defining कारि शरीरर्् in तववबोध we said
अत्तिवाव च्यािाद्त्तवद्ारूपम्. Therefore सत् means only स्र्ल ू र््
and त्यत् means only सक्ष्ू र्र््. Then त्तिरुक्तां ि अत्तिरुक्तां ि.
त्तिरुक्तम् is another word for स्र्ल ू प्रपञ्ि. It means that which
is clearly definable because anything concrete is very clear, the
with specifications are very clear, the features are very clear
like your स्र्ल ू शरीरर््. Therefore स्र्ल ू प्रपञ्ि is called
त्तिरुक्तम्. शनश्चर्ेन उिम्. And सक्ष्ू र् प्रपञ्ि is called
अत्तिरुक्तम्, which is not clearly definable. That’s why our inner
personality is not clearly known to us. Then त्तिलयिां ि
अत्तिलयिां ि – this is also the description of स्र्ल ू and सक्ष्ू र्
only. Different names for the same स्र्ल ू and सक्ष्ू र् प्रपञ्ि. More
in the next class.
पि
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॥
In the sixth अिुवाक of ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली the teacher is
dealing with the creation and by way of that indirectly he is
answering the questions raised by the student also. We saw that
मार्ा सशितं ब्रह्म is िगतिः शनशमि कारिम्, is the intelligent
cause of the creation. And that itself indirectly proves that
ब्रह्मि् exists in the form of the intelligent cause. Thereafter the
teacher pointed out that ब्रह्मि् Itself descends down as it were,
takes an अवतार as it were in the form of a िरव because
Consciousness is only one. And therefore that ब्रह्मिैतन्यर््
alone has to come down as the experiencer Consciousness
behind the mind of everyone. And that ब्रह्मिैतन्यर्् when it
obtains behind every mind is called the जीवात्र्ा. And in the
form of the जीवात्र्ा ब्रह्मि् alone experiences this universe.
Exactly like a waker creates the स्वप्ि शरीरर््, the waker
himself takes an अवतार, descends down as it were from जाग्रत्
अवस्र्ा, the व्याविाररक सत्यर्् to स्वप्ि प्रपञ्ि the प्रात्ततभात्तसक
सत्यर्् and the waker himself becomes the experiencer of the
dream world. And for all practical purposes the waker
seemingly becomes a member of the स्वप्ि प्रपञ्ि even though
the waker is beyond the स्वप्ि प्रपञ्ि. It is like some cinema
directors who are not only the producers and directors but they
themselves become the hero also. And we are all the producers
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and directors and heroes of our स्वप्ि प्रपञ्ि. And therefore the
very existence of the dream experiencer is the proof for the
waker. Similarly the very existence of the waker experiencer is
the proof for the supra-waking-Consciousness, ब्रह्मिैतन्यर््.
Therefore I said ब्रह्म अशस्त िरवरूपेि वतय मान्वात्. Thereafter
the teacher continued with the story of creation. And now he is
pointing out that ब्रह्मि् is the material cause of the creation also.
Just as the waker is the material cause behind the स्वप्ि प्रपञ्ि
ब्रह्मि् is the material cause of this जाग्रत् प्रपञ्ि. And that is
highlighted here. सत् ि त्यत् ि अभवत् त्तिरुक्तां ि अत्तिरुक्तां ि
त्तिलयिां ि अत्तिलयिां ि त्तवज्ािां ि अत्तवज्ािां ि. Four pairs of
words are there. सत् त्यत् त्तिरुक्तां अत्तिरुक्तां त्तिलयिां अत्तिलयिां
त्तवज्ािां अत्तवज्ािम्. Through these expressions the teacher
points out that the whole universe consists of the concrete part
of the creation as well as the abstract aspect. स्र्ल ू as well as
सक्ष्ू र् प्रपञ्ि both are created by ब्रह्मि्. What about कारि
प्रपञ्ि? It is never created by ब्रह्मि्. कारि प्रपञ्ि is potential
creation, it is already there in ब्रह्मि् in मार्ारूपेि, अव्र्िरूपेि,
प्रकृशतरूपेि. If you want a comparison tonight’s dream,
whatever you are going to dream tonight. All those dreams are
already existent in your mind now. But not in the full-fledged
dream form but in the form of the potential dream. And what is
the name of the potential dream? The name of the potential
dream is वासना. If you remember तत्त्वबोधः,
जाग्रदवस्र्ायाां यद्दष्ट
ृ ां यद् श्रुतर्् तज्जत्तितवासिया त्तिरासर्ये यः
प्रपञ्िः प्रतीयते सा स्वप्िावस्र्ा ।
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Therefore the tiger of the dream is in the form of tiger वासना.
That is why whatever वासना is not there in your mind such a
dream never come. And therefore just as our dream is there in
us in the form of वासनाs, impressions or संस्कारs, similarly in
ब्रह्मि् the whole creation dream is there in the form of मार्ा, in
the form of सर्त्तष्ट पुण्यपाप कर्व . And out of that alone the स्र्ल ू
and सक्ष्ू र् प्रपञ्ि comes. And for स्र्ल ू प्रपञ्ि three words are
used – सत्, त्तिरुक्तां and त्तिलयिम्. सत् is equal to त्तिरुक्तम् is
equal to त्तिलयिम् is equal to स्र्ल ू प्रपञ्ि. And similarly त्यत्,
अत्तिरुक्तां and अत्तिलयिम् these three words refer to सक्ष्ू र्
प्रपञ्ि. When I say स्र्ल ू प्रपञ्ि it includes स्र्लू शरीरर्् and
when I say सक्ष्ू र् प्रपञ्ि it includes सक्ष्ू र् शरीरर््. Why these
three words are used? The स्र्ल ू प्रपञ्ि, the physical world as
well as the physical body are called सत् because they are gross,
र्तू व र््, tangible, concrete. Then the next word used is त्तिरुक्तम्,
which means well-defined. The physical body is very clearly
defined. Everybody can see the body and every feature is
clearly recognizable. त्तिरुक्तां शनश्चर्ेन विंु िक्र्म्,
शनवय चनरर्म्. Whereas the सक्ष्ू र् शरीरर््, the subtle body is not
clearly definable, for others it is invisible and for me it is vague.
So people say I am not able to understand his mind, but the
problem is there is no question of I understanding other’s mind
because I am not able to understand my mind itself clearly.
Whatever I liked a few days before I dislike. Otherwise how
come so many people get married by their own choice, after
moving together for weeks and months and stay together for a
few days. Because they discover सक्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् features when
they are close. Therefore सक्ष्ू र् is अत्तिरुक्तम्, स्र्लू is त्तिरुक्तम्.
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स्र्ल ू व र््; सक्ष्ू र् is त्यत्, अर्त
ू is सत्, र्त ू व र््. Then the third pair of
words we use is त्तिलयिम् and अत्तिलयिम्. Upto that only we
saw in the last class. त्तिलयिम् means that which is a support.
Anything tangible is a support for anything intangible or
abstract. That is why if you want gas for cooking it cannot stay
by itself therefore you require a container. Container is र्त ू व र््,
the content gas is अर्त ू व र््. Therefore grosser it is it is a support,
more subtle it is it is a supported. Therefore त्तिलयिम् means a
supporter. And while अत्तिलयिम् means the supported entity.
That is why the physical body was called आयतिर््, the abode,
the enclosure. The सक्ष्ू र् शरीरर्् is enclosed. Thus even though
three pairs of words are used all the three refer to स्र्ल ू सक्ष्ू र्
प्रपञ्ि. And the verb used we have to carefully note. The
उपत्तिषत् does not say that ब्रह्मि् created, now the verb used is
ब्रह्मि् has become this universe. When you use the verb
“created” it means त्तित्तर्ि कारिर््, when you use the verb
“becoming” it is उपादाि कारिर््. Carpenter creates the
furniture, wood becomes the furniture. You don’t say wood
creates the furniture nor do you say carpenter becomes the
furniture. So here अभवत् ब्रह्मि् has become all these things.
Not only that going further, त्तवज्ािां ि अत्तवज्ािां ि – ब्रह्मि्
became त्तवज्ािर््, the िेति प्रपञ्ि, sentient world and ब्रह्मि्
also became अत्तवज्ािर््, the अिेति प्रपञ्ि, the insentient world.
What do you mean by that? You should remember अिेति
प्रपञ्ि is insentient matter. And िेति प्रपञ्ि is also really
speaking insentient matter only. So त्तवज्ािर्् is also insentient
matter, अत्तवज्ािर्् is also insentient matter only. But the
insentient matter itself is of two types. One is like the table or
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stone which are insentient matter, inert. Then we have a second
type of insentient matter which is our mind. The mind is also
insentient matter, but the uniqueness of mind is even though it
is matter because of its subtlety of matter it is capable of
reflecting the Consciousness or borrowing Consciousness.
Because of the borrowed Consciousness, the material mind
appears sentient. So the sentiency of the mind is not intrinsic,
but it is borrowed. To use the तववबोध expression it is another
insentient matter with RC, the reflected Consciousness.
Therefore one set of matter without reflected Consciousness
and another set of matter with reflected Consciousness. In fact
what is the difference between my body and this table, both are
made of inert matter only? The only difference is table is matter
without त्तिदाभास, whereas this body is matter with त्तिदाभास.
Thus त्तिदाभास सत्तित matter and त्तिदाभास रत्तित matter both of
them ब्रह्मि् became. And when this body becomes dead body it
becomes त्तिदाभास सत्तित matter becomes त्तिदाभास रत्तित
matter. Thus त्तवज्ािां ि – त्तिदाभास सत्तित वस्तु, and अत्तवज्ािां ि
– त्तिदाभास रत्तित वस्तु, both ब्रह्मि् became. Then final pair,
सत्यां ि अितृ ां ि. The creation itself is divided into two – the
जाग्रत् प्रपञ्ि and स्वप्ि प्रपञ्ि. जाग्रत् प्रपञ्ि is called
व्याविाररक सत्यर्् or the relative reality. स्वप्ि प्रपञ्ि is called
प्रात्ततभात्तसक सत्यर््, the subjective reality, otherwise called
त्तर्थ्या or unreal. From the standpoint of स्वप्ि प्रपञ्ि, the जाग्रत्
प्रपञ्ि is more real and therefore जाग्रत् प्रपञ्ि is called सत्यर््
and स्वप्ि प्रपञ्ि is called अितृ म्. And the beauty is what?
When a person wakes upto the absolute reality, ब्रह्मि् that
ब्रह्मि् is called पारर्ात्तर्वक सत्यर््. And from the standpoint of
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that पारर्ात्तर्वक सत्यर्् this world also becomes त्तर्थ्या or
unreal. Now we have three levels of सत्यर््.
1) प्रात्ततभात्तसक सत्यर्् which is स्वप्ि प्रपञ्ि, subjective
reality, dream.
2) व्याविाररक सत्यर्् is जाग्रत् प्रपञ्ि, objective/empirical
reality, waking.
3) पारर्ात्तर्वक सत्यर्् is ब्रह्मि्, the Absolute Reality.
Of these three levels the प्रात्ततभात्तसक सत्यर्् which is स्वप्ि
प्रपञ्ि, appears to be real until you know व्याविाररक सत्यर््,
the जाग्रत्. The moment you wake upto व्याविाररक सत्यर्् then
प्रात्ततभात्तसक सत्यर्् becomes त्तर्थ्या. Now this व्याविाररक
सत्यर्् is सत्यर्् until you wake up to पारर्ात्तर्वक सत्यर््. When
you wake up to पारर्ात्तर्वक सत्यर्् then व्याविाररक सत्यर््
becomes त्तर्थ्या. When पारर्ात्तर्वक सत्यर्् becomes त्तर्थ्या?
पारर्ात्तर्वक सत्यर्् never becomes त्तर्थ्या. That is why it is
called पारर्ात्तर्वक सत्यर््. Now the teacher says that Absolute
reality alone appears as the empirical reality, जाग्रत् प्रपञ्ि as
well as the subjective reality, स्वप्ि प्रपञ्ि. When you wake up
to ब्रह्मि् both are falsified. Now look at this line. सत्यां ि means
व्याविाररक सत्यर््, the waker’s world, अितृ ां ि means
प्रात्ततभात्तसक सत्यर््, the dreamer’s world. Both of them सत्यर््
अभवत् – पारर्ात्तर्वक सत्यर््. The absolute पारर्ात्तर्वक सत्यर््
ब्रह्म alone appears as the व्याविाररक सत्यर््, जाग्रत् as well as
the प्रात्ततभात्तसक सत्यर््, स्वप्ि. Not only that यत् इदां त्तकञ्ि –
whatever else is there in the creation is all ब्रह्मि्’s appearance,
just as gold appears as ornaments and wood appears as
furniture. Therefore ब्रह्मि् is called by a new name तत् ब्रह्म
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सत्यर्् इत्तत आिक्ते ब्रह्मत्तवदः. तत् means that ब्रह्मि् is therefore
called सत्यर्् – पारर्ात्तर्वक सत्यर््, the absolute reality.
Now we have to extract the third reason for the existence
of ब्रह्मि्. What is that reason? ब्रह्म अत्तस्त. Therefore the
conclusion is ब्रह्मि् is existent because It is the उपादाि
कारिर््, the material cause for the creation. ब्रह्म अत्तस्त जगतः
उपादाि कारित्वात्.
So now can you remember all the three?
1) First one is ब्रह्म अत्तस्त त्तित्तर्ि कारित्वात्.
2) ब्रह्म अत्तस्त जीवरूपेि वतव र्ाित्वात्.
3) ब्रह्म अत्तस्त जगतः उपादाि कारित्वात्.
Or the third reason can be presented in another language
also. I will explain through the example. When gold has become
an ornament and I experience the existence of the ornament.
The very existence of the ornament is the proof for the existence
of the gold. How? Because gold alone is existent in the form of
ornament. Therefore the very existence of ornament is the proof
for the existence of the gold. Extend this to ब्रह्मि.् ब्रह्मि् alone
is existing in the form of the world and therefore the very
existence of the world is the proof for the existence of ब्रह्मि्.
कारिर्् एव कायव रूपेि अत्तस्त. Therefore कायव अत्तस्तत्वर्् एव
कारि अत्तस्तत्वस्र् िे तुिः. Therefore the third reason can be
presented in a different format. ब्रह्म अत्तस्त जगत-् रूपेि
वतव र्ाित्वात्. ब्रह्मि् is existent because it is available in the
form of the very universe. Ok, a little bit more we shall see.
When I say “the ornament is”, the very “is”ness of the ornament
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is borrowed from the gold only. How do you prove? If the
ornaments have their own existence, and if they don’t borrow
from the gold, then it will be possible for us to take away the
ornaments. Like what? Watch has got its own existence, clip
has got its own existence, and therefore when I remove the clip,
the watch can exist because it has got its own. Similarly if
bangle has got its own existence and gold has got its own
existence then even after removal of the gold the bangle should
exist. But what is our experience? If you say bangle has separate
existence, gold has separate existence then I will say give me
the gold and you take away the bangle. It is not possible.
Therefore remember the existence of every product originally
belongs to the cause alone. When I am appreciating the
existence of the ornaments I am experiencing the existence of
the gold. Extending this principle when I am appreciating
आकाि is, वार्ु is, अशनन is, िलम् is the earth is, the teacher say
the “is”ness of all these things doesn’t belong to any one of
them, the “is”ness belongs to ब्रह्मि्.
यस्यैव स्फुरिां सदात्र्कर्सत्कल्पार्व कां भासते
शङ्करािायव reveals this truth just in one line of श्रीदत्तक्िार्त्तू तव
स्तोत्रर््. When you experience the existence of anything it is the
experience of ब्रह्मि्. You are asking for the proof of ब्रह्मि्’s
existence! Therefore तत्सत्यत्तर्त्यािक्ते. ब्रह्म अत्तस्त जगत्-
रूपेि वतव र्ाित्वात् or ब्रह्म अत्तस्त जगतः उपादाि कारित्वात्/
जगत्-रूपेि वतव र्ाित्वात्. Then the teacher says तदप्येष
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श्लोको भवत्तत – with regard to this idea also, that ब्रह्मि् alone
has become the creation there is the following ऋनर्न्त्र.
अभयप्रत्ततष्ठा
र्न्त्र 2-7-01
असद्वा इदर्ग्र आसीत् । ततो वै सदजायत । तदात्र्ािगँ
स्वयर्कुरुत । तस्र्ाित्सुकृतर्ुच्यत इत्तत । यद्वै तत् सुकृतर्् ।
रसो वै सः । रसँह्येवायां लब्ध्वाऽऽिन्दी भवत्तत । को ह्येवान्यात्कः
प्राण्यात् । यदे ष आकाश आिन्दो ि स्यात् । एष ह्येवािन्दयात्तत ।
Now the teacher gives the ऋनर्न्त्र quotation. It begins
with असद्वा and it goes upto सुकृतर्् उच्यते इत्तत. सुकृतर्् उच्यते
is the end of the quotation and इत्तत indicates the quotation mark.
Now in this ऋनर्न्त्र the वेद says that the whole creation was
existent even before its arrival. That means the creation is really
speaking is not created. In fact, the most confusing expression
in any language is creation. That word should never exist in the
dictionary because nothing can be created by anyone, including
God. Why? Because science has very clearly proved that matter
cannot be created or destroyed. Science is revealing this truth
now only but we had this millennia before. It is called
सत्कायव वाद in our शास्त्रs. It essentially means matter cannot
be created or destroyed. That means the creation was already
existent before. Why do we use the word creation? We use the
word because before the arrival also it existed but not in this
form. It existed in a potential form, in a dormant form, in an
unmanifest form, अव्यक्त रूपेि असरत्. Then what happened?
Anything that is potentially there it can come to manifestation.
This manifestation alone is falsely called creation. Therefore
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the word creation must be replaced by manifestation. Thus this
universe is always there either in unmanifest or manifest form.
When from manifest form it transforms to manifest form it is
called creation. And from manifest form when it transforms to
unmanifest form it is falsely called destruction. Therefore
creation is a form of transformation and destruction also is a
form of transformation alone of the ever-existent universe. And
knowing this fact alone in our शास्त्र both जन्र् and र्रिम् are
called a form of त्तवकारः. In षड्भावशवकार birth and death are
enumerated as two forms of modification. From unmanifest to
manifest is called birth modification, manifest to unmanifest is
called death modification. जन्र् त्तवकारः and र्रि त्तवकारः.
Therefore the उपत्तिषत् says before its manifestation the
universe existed in the potential form called र्ाया, अव्यक्तर््,
प्रकृत्तत, etc. And this र्ाया is potentially existing in ब्रह्मि्. Just
as the dream world now potentially exists in me, the waker.
Similarly this universe was potentially existing in ब्रह्मि्. That
is what we saw in तत्त्वबोध, ब्रह्माश्रया सत्त्वरजस्तर्ोगुिात्तत्र्का
र्ाया अत्तस्त । Before the universe came it was potentially
existing as र्ाया in ब्रह्मि्. Therefore the teacher says इदर्् – this
universe, अग्रे – before its arrival, before its manifestation,
before its evolution, before its emergence आसीत् – was
existent, असत् वै – in the form of unmanifest. This word again
creates problem. The उपत्तिषत् should have used the word
अव्यक्तर््, it was there in unmanifest form. But the उपत्तिषत्
uses the word असत्. The dictionary meaning of असत् is non-
existent. How can the उपत्तिषत् use the word non-existent,
when it is potentially existent? शङ्करािायव has written a
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wonderful commentary on तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् and
बिृ दारण्यकोपत्तिषत्. So here शङ्करािायव says that whatever is
potentially existent is as good as non-existent, because
whatever is potentially existent is not available for our utility or
transaction, अव्र्विार्य म्. Like butter is potentially existent in
milk. When you have not churned out the butter and you have
got the milk only and somebody asks you for butter, what would
you answer? If you are truthful person you should say yes, I
have butter. But you say no butter, even though it is there in
milk in potential form. Why don’t you accept its existence? The
reason is whatever is potentially existent is not available for my
use until it is extracted out. Therefore you don’t take butter as
existent. Therefore for practical reasons the उपत्तिषत् uses the
term असत्. Before manifestation the creation was unmanifest
and therefore as good as non-existent. असद्वा when split it
becomes असत् वै. वै means indeed. Emphasis. Definitely
doubtlessly the creation was potentially there in ब्रह्मि्. That is
called र्ाया सत्तितं ब्रह्म or ईश्वर. What did that ब्रह्मि् do? ततः –
out of that र्ाया सत्तितं ब्रह्म or ईश्वर; just as we are now
वासिासत्तित wakers. To produce the dream world we require
sleep. The moment we sleep this world is gone and the स्वप्ि
प्रपञ्ि is generated out of the वासिाs located in us, the wakers.
Similarly if ब्रह्मि् sleeps this world. So ततः – out of that र्ाया
सत्तितं ब्रह्म, वै – indeed, सत् अजायत – the manifest world
emerged just as the dream world emerges out of the वासिाs of
the waker. In वासिा form the dream objects are intangible,
whereas when the वासिाs are thrown in dream everything
becomes tangible. So in स्वप्ि you carry a suitcase thought in
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your mind which becomes the suitcase object. As a thought or
वासिा you cannot touch it, but in dream when it has become
an object you carry the suitcase and you open the suitcase.
Therefore ततः – out of that ईश्वर, सत् अजायत – this manifest
world emerged. And therefore the conclusion is तत् आत्र्ािां
स्वयर्् अकुरुत – that ईश्वर converted Himself into the creation.
Just as the waker with the वासिाs converts himself into the
dream world as the subject, object and the instrument without
taking any extraneous matter. Similarly, that ईश्वर converted
Himself into the subject, the object and the instrument world.
स्वयर्् means by Himself, and आत्र्ािर्् means Himself. So,
He converted Himself by Himself into this Universe. What is
the significance of himself and by himself? Himself means he
did not use any separate material cause. Just as the waker does
not take any separate material cause, the material cause is
himself, i.e., mind and वासिाs. That is conveyed by the word
आत्र्ािर््. And the word स्वयर्् means not only I don’t use any
raw material I don’t take any instrument also for this
conversion. Just as a carpenter uses instruments for conversion,
here the Lord does not use any instrument also. So I am the
creator, the raw material and the instrument also; all the three
rolled into one. Whereas when a desk is created, carpenter is
different, wood is different, and the chisel is different. Thus
कताव , कमय , करिर्् are all different. Whereas when I produce a
dream world I am the subject, the object and the instrument
also. Similarly one ईश्वर is कताव , raw material and करिर््.
Therefore आत्र्ािां स्वयर्् अकुरुत. And because of this
extraordinary feet, i.e., the subject, the object and the
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instrument, त्तित्तर्ि कारिर््, उपादाि कारिर्् and करिर््, all
of them rolled into one is extraordinary feet. Because of this
extraordinary feet ब्रह्मि् is given a title – सुकृतर्् उच्यते इत्तत –
सुकृतर्् means self-creator. सु means here self, स्वयर््. And
कृतर्् means कताव . सुकृतर्् means स्वयर्् कताव . He is the self-
creator, He multiples Himself, becomes everything, enjoys the
drama and again withdraws. The only difference is when ईश्वर
creates He is aware of His nature, whereas when I create I get
into a problem. I do not know after entering the dream I forget
the fact that it is a dream. If I experience the dream with the
knowledge that it is a dream it is fun. But when you experience
the dream without knowing then it becomes serious problem.
पि
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We are seeing the seventh अिुवाक of ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली
which begins with a ऋनर्न्त्र quotation असद्वा इदर्ग्र आसीत्
which goes upto तस्र्ाित्सक ु ृ तर्ुच्यत इत्तत. In this ऋनर्न्त्र
quotation the उपत्तिषत् does not give any new teaching, it is a
quotation in support of what has been already said, viz., ब्रह्मि्
is both the intelligent cause as well as the material cause of the
creation. So ब्रह्म अत्तभन्ि त्तित्तर्ि उपादाि कारिर्् िगतिः. And
when I say ब्रह्मि् is the cause of the creation we have to
remember as र्ाया सत्तितं ब्रह्म because केवलं ब्रह्म is neither
cause nor an effect. And र्ाया we do not count as a second
entity because it does not exist separate from ब्रह्म like a िशि
of a person it does not exist separately, र्ाया is the िशि of
ब्रह्मि्. When somebody says so and so is coming that so and so
includes his thinking power, speaking power, writing power,
understanding power, in fact when you come to the class I
assume you are coming with listening and understanding
power. I don’t separately enumerate that because I assume they
are included in you. Therefore wherever we say ब्रह्म कारिर््
even if I forget to tell you, you should automatically add र्ाया
सत्तितं ब्रह्म. And that र्ाया सत्तितं ब्रह्म is indicated by the word
असत् which is a peculiar word used her, a very unconventional
word. Instead of using the word ब्रह्म, instead of using the word
ईश्वर, instead of using the word सत्,
सदेव सोम्येदर्ग्र आसीत् ॥ छान्दोनयोपत्तिषत् ६-२-१॥
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It is said, the उपत्तिषत् uses the most unconventional
expression, i.e., असत्. We saw the reason for using the word
असत्. Before सशृ ष्ट ब्रह्मि् plus र्ाया is there. ब्रह्मि् by itself is
not useful for any transaction. ब्रह्मि् is सवय transaction अतरतम्.
अव्र्विार्य म् it is. And र्ाया is the whole universe in potential
form and that potential universe also is not available for any
transaction. Therefore Consciousness is also transaction
अतरतम्, matter is also transaction अतरतम्. Therefore matter
plus Consciousness, र्ाया plus ब्रह्मि् both are beyond
transaction before सशृ ष्ट. And whatever is not available for
transaction is generally not counted as existent and therefore it
is as though असत्. And the best example is we are all as though
nonexistent when we are in deep sleep state. Therefore is sleep
we are as though असत्. Therefore the word असत् means ब्रह्मि्
plus र्ाया otherwise called ईश्वर, that non-dual ब्रह्मि् was there,
that ब्रह्मि् Itself created the world and the raw material also is
ईश्वर Itself and therefore ततो वै सदजायत. सत् means ब्रह्मि्
plus र्ाया only. The world is nothing but again Consciousness
plus matter only but when it is manifest it is useful, available
for transaction, therefore the world is called सत्. Thus ईश्वर is
called असत् world is called सत्; ईश्वर is also Consciousness
plus matter, world is also Consciousness plus matter; first one
is called असत् because it is in unmanifest form, the second one
is called असत् because it is in manifest form. And तदात्र्ािगँ
स्वयर्कुरुत, ईश्वर to convert himself into the world did not
look for any instrument, any raw material unlike a carpenter.
Carpenter has to look for wood, wood alone is not enough he
has to look for the instruments also. Subject is required –
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carpenter, object is required – wood, instrument is required –
chisel, hammer etc. When subject, object and instrument all are
there the furniture comes out. But in the case of ईश्वर He is the
carpenter, He is the wood and He is the chisel, He is everything.
Don’t ask “Is it possible?” Regularly we create a dream world
for that I am the subject, object and instrument; and
सङ्कल्पमारेि I create. If I can create a dream world why can't
ईश्वर the omniscient and omnipotent one
र्ायावीव त्तवजम्ृ भयत्यत्तप र्िायोगीव यःस्वेच्छया
स्तोत्रर्् २ ॥
And because this versatility, i.e., subject, object and instrument,
of the Lord He is given a title सुकृतर्् उच्यते इत्तत – He is a self-
creator without the assistance of any extraneous factor. तत्
आत्र्ािां स्वयर्् अकुरुत. तत् refers to the subject, in the place
of carpenter. आत्र्ािर्् means Himself, which is the object, in
the place of wood. स्वयर्् means He is the chisel also,
instrument also. So आत्र्ा आत्र्ना आत्र्ािां िगद्रूपेि करोशत.
So this ऋनर्न्त्र quotation is taken as the fourth reason by
शङ्करािायव . So ब्रह्म अशस्त सुकृत प्रशसधे. ब्रह्मि् is existence
because he is well-known as the self-creator. Even though the
fourth reason is the repetition of what has been said before. इत्तत
indicates the end of the quotation mark. Upto this we saw in the
last class. Now we have to go to the next line. यद्वै तत् सुकृतर््
। रसो वै सः । रसँह्येवायां लब्ध्वाऽऽिन्दी भवत्तत. In this line the
teacher says ब्रह्मि् is very much existent as the source of
आिन्द. रसः means आिन्दः. The very fact that आिन्द is
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experienced in the world gives a clue for the existence of ब्रह्मि्
or आत्र्ि्. This is explained in two different ways, in two
stages.
1) In the first stage we say that ब्रह्मि् is the source of
आिन्द for all the ज्ात्तिs, wise people, who never go after the
external world for आिन्द. Thus in this stage, we are dividing
the humanity into two. One is the ordinary ignorant worldly
people who get the आिन्द from the external world – spouse,
children, house, good food, television etc. The worldly people
have got त्तवषयािन्द. Whereas this ज्ात्ति, and that the सन्न्यात्तस
ज्ात्ति who has renounced all the regular conventional worldly
sources of आिन्द must be logically unhappy. He does not have
spouse, children, etc. So all worldly sources of आिन्द he has
renounced. He cannot have even varieties of dress. Therefore
many people sympathize with सन्न्यात्तस. Therefore logically
speaking all conventional sources of आिन्द are not there. This
सन्न्यात्तस must be the most miserable person in the world. But
what is the experience? When we see a wise सन्न्यात्तस,
सरु र्त्तन्दर तरु र्ल
ू त्तिवासः शय्या भत
ू ल र्त्तजिां वासः ।
सवव पररग्रि भोग त्यागः कस्य सुखां ि करोत्तत त्तवरागः ॥
भजगोत्तवन्दर्् १८ ॥
He does not have a house, bank balance, relation etc., and he is
वैरानयजन्य आिन्द.
िन्दत्तत िन्दत्तत िन्दत्येव ॥ भजगोत्तवन्दर्् १९ ॥
In भगवद्गीता,
आत्र्न्येवात्र्िा तुष्टः ॥ गीता २-५५ ॥
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Now the question is what is the source of आिन्द for such a
ज्ात्ति who doesn’t have त्तवषयािन्द. The उपत्तिषत् says if the
external sources of आिन्द are not there and still he has got
आिन्द the source must be internal. Therefore आत्र्ा, otherwise
called ब्रह्मि् is the source of आिन्द for every ज्ात्ति by पाररशेष
न्यायेि. The wise man is happy, his happiness does not come
from outside and therefore it must come from inside. Inside
does not mean that the internal organs like pancreas, kidney
produces happiness. स्र्ल ू -सक्ष्ू र्-कारि शरीरर्् doesn’t produce
आिन्द. Therefore it must be coming from स्र्ल ू सक्ष्ू र्कारि
शरीरात् व्यत्ततररक्तः आत्र्ा. आिन्द आत्र्ा ब्रह्म पुच्छां प्रत्ततष्ठा.
Therefore ब्रह्म अशस्त as the source of आिन्द for the wise
people. This is the first stage of discussion.
2) Now in the second stage what we say is really speaking
not only wise people get आिन्द from ब्रह्मि्, but even the
ignorant people also, the worldly people also, the sensualist
people also get आिन्द from ब्रह्मि् only. But because of their
confusion, they erroneously think that they are getting आिन्द
from house, wife, children, movie etc. And the शास्त्र gives the
example of dog logic. A dog bites a dry bone. The dry bone
does not have even a drop of blood in it. When the dog bites the
bone, and the sharp edge of the bone wounds the mouth of the
dog and blood comes out. Now the dog uses the logic – अन्वय
व्यत्ततरे क. Before biting the bone there was no blood; after
biting the bone there is blood and therefore the bone alone is
the source of blood! Bone सववे blood सववम्, bone अभावे blood
अभाविः तस्मात् bone-एव bloodस्र् कारिम्. Bone alone is the
cause of blood. When dog is thinking in this manner what do
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we do? we laugh at it. Poor dog does not know, really speaking,
the bone is not the cause. Bone only creates a condition for the
emergence/manifestation of the blood which is already within.
If at all there is a contribution by the bone the contribution is
not in the production of the blood, the contribution is for the
manifestation of dog’s own blood. Thus we laugh at the dog
and we think we are wise people but वेदान्त says whenever we
think that the world is giving us आिन्द we are really speaking
using the dog logic only. We are in fact having only dog’s
thinking. But the fact is no object in the world does not have
even a droplet of सुखर््. It is a very difficult thing to swallow,
but according to the वेदान्त no object in the creation, even the
dearest person in the world does not have even a droplet of
आिन्द. The simple logic is if that object should have आिन्द,
then that object should give आिन्द to all the people. The
children are enjoying the noisy music, while the mother is used
to gentle Carnatic music. Now the mother does not see even a
droplet of आिन्द in the noisy music, but the children are
jumping with joy. Therefore what is the source of आिन्द for
one is not the source of आिन्द for the other indicates that
आिन्द depends upon our perspective and attitude. I am
responsible becomes more clear. But knowing this we attribute
आिन्द to the people. What does the वेदान्त say? The external
object creates a mental condition called शान्त वत्तृ िः. And when
there is a शान्त वत्तृ िः which is otherwise called त्तप्रय, र्ोद and
प्रर्ोद, when these वत्तृ िs are generated, in that finer, subtle
mental state आिन्द is not produced, but my own आिन्द
स्वरूपर्् becomes manifest. Therefore even the worldly people
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are enjoying ब्रह्मािन्द only, without knowing that it is
ब्रह्मािन्द. Just as dog is relishing its own blood without
knowing it. The only difference between a ज्ात्ति and an अज्ात्ति
is that when the former enjoys he knows it is his own आिन्द,
while the latter enjoys he does not know the fact. Whether it is
known or unknown ब्रह्मि् alone is the source of आिन्द. Now
the question is how do you prove that. How do you say ब्रह्मि्
alone is the source of आिन्द and no other object in the world,
i.e., अिात्र्ा is not the source of आिन्द? The छान्दोनयोपत्तिषत्
in the seventh chapter called भर् ू ा त्तवद्ा gives a logic. Happiness
is an emotional expression of पि ू व त्वर्् or freedom from want.
Unhappiness is always the emotional expression of अपि ू व त्वर््.
That is why whenever somebody is unhappy, it is because he is
always missing something. A person got a watch in some
gambling in a fair. He has paid only five rupees for the ticket.
And he won a watch worth four hundred rupees. And I was
congratulating him for winning it, but this person was not
happy. Because the day after he won the watch the prize was a
scooter instead of watch. Now this person is not enjoying a
watch he got for five rupees, he is missing the scooter which he
never possessed. He talks as though he has lost the scooter!
Therefore always अपि ू व त्वम् दुःखर््, पि ू व त्वर्् आिन्दः.
Therefore the उपत्तिषत् says
यो वै भर्
ू ा तत्सुखम् ॥ छान्दोनयोपत्तिषत् ७-२३-१॥
भर्
ू ा means infinite. Infinite alone is आिन्द,
ि अल्पे सुखर्त्तस्त ॥ छान्दोनयोपत्तिषत् ७-२३-१॥
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In अल्प वस्तु there is no सुखर्् at all. It is a fake सुखर्् like the
mirage water. If you go by this definition ब्रह्मि् alone is
अिन्तर्् or पि ू व र््. Therefore ब्रह्मि् alone is the source of
आिन्द for a wise person as well as for the other wise person.
No person, object or situation in the world is a source of
आिन्द. Therefore whenever I am enjoying आिन्द I am
knowingly or unknowingly tapping ब्रह्मािन्द alone. Therefore
the उपत्तिषत् says every smile on your face, whenever it comes,
is the proof for अत्तस्त ब्रह्म आिन्द प्रत्तसद्े or रस प्रत्तसद्े.
So what are the two stages? In the first stage of argument
he said ब्रह्मि् is there proved by the happiness of wise people.
The second argument ब्रह्मि् is there proved by the happiness of
not only wise people but also ignorant people. Now look at the
portion. यत् वै तत् सुकृतर्् – that ब्रह्मि् which is called सुकृतर््
in the previous ऋनर्न्त्र quotation, the self-creator, the
जगत्कारिर्् ब्रह्म, सः रसः वै – so ब्रह्मि् is not a dry thing. It is
full of juicy आिन्द. The more you crush ब्रह्मि् through
knowledge, the more joy It gives you. That is why सत्यर््
ज्ािर्् अिन्तर्् ब्रह्म when it expresses in your mind through
knowledge, it is called सत् त्तित् आिन्दः. सत्यर्् is सत,् ज्ािर््
is त्तित् and अिन्त is आिन्दः. रसः वै सः आिन्द स्वरूपिः. And
रसां त्ति एव लब्ध्वा अयां आिन्दी भवत्तत. अयम् means this human
being. He becomes happy only by the contact with ब्रह्मि्. रसां
लब्ध्वा means आिन्द रूपर्् ब्रह्म लब्ध्वा. How does he enjoy
that? The आिन्द reflects in the mind as शान्तम्. We will
analyze this ब्रह्मािन्द expressed in a quiet mind topic very
elaborately in section eight. That section is called आिन्द
र्ीर्ाांसा. Now here note this much ब्रह्मािन्द is manifest in a
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quiet, desireless, contented mind. अयम् refers to both ज्ात्ति and
अज्ात्ति पुरुषः. The only difference is the wise person knows
that it is his आिन्द that is reflected while the ignorant person
thinks that it is external आिन्द. After two lines there is one
sentence. That sentence also we will read in this context. एषः
त्ति एव आिन्दयात्तत – this आत्र्ा alone gives आिन्द to
everyone. The word एव – alone is very important. Generally, in
the beginning of the वेदान्त we introduce there are two
आिन्दs. External आिन्द which is त्तवषयािन्द, finite and
internal आिन्द which is आत्र्ािन्द, infinite. Now we say that
really speaking there is no such thing called sense pleasure,
त्तवषयािन्द. The so called sense pleasure is nothing but
आत्र्ािन्द alone. Because of wrong thinking we say that this
food or music is giving joy. The spouse, children, money etc.,
don’t give joy, they all create a mental condition in which my
joy is manifest. The only thing is to create that mental condition
I require those people. The वेदान्त helps you to make that
mental condition without requiring a spouse, children etc.
Suppose I am able to create that mental condition without
having spouse, children etc., thereafter spouse, children etc.,
will be around you but not for the sake of taking joy, but for the
sake of giving joy. What वेदान्त tells you is not to give up the
family members. Don’t have family members for taking joy,
that is a mistake. Have family members for giving joy. If you
have them around for taking joy, you are called संसारर. If you
are having them for giving joy you are a जीवन्र्ुक्त. Therefore
एव means आत्र्ा alone is the source of joy. No other thing in
the world can give you even a drop of joy. And if somebody
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argues that he experience joy from children the उपत्तिषत् says
it is not the children generated joy but it is children manifested
Self joy. This शङ्करािायव takes as the fifth argument for the
existence of ब्रह्मि्.
So what are the previous four arguments?
1) ब्रह्म अत्तस्त त्तित्तर्ि कारित्वात्.
2) ब्रह्म अशस्त जीवात्र्रूपेि वतय मान्वात्.
3) ब्रह्म अत्तस्त उपादाि कारित्वात्.
4) ब्रह्म अत्तस्त सुकृत प्रत्तसद्ेः.
5) ब्रह्म अत्तस्त आिन्द रूपेि/रस रूपेि सवव त्र वतव र्ाित्वात्.
Now we will go to the next topic. को ह्येवान्यात्कः
प्राण्यात् । यदे ष आकाश आिन्दो ि स्यात्. Here the discussion
is this. The physical body is made up of matter only. It is
scientifically proved that the body is made up of varieties of
elements. This is also proved by the शास्त्र which tells body is
made up of five elements which are inert in nature. Therefore
body is logically inert because it is made up of inert chemicals.
But experientially I find this body is sentient. That means this
table or desk is also made up of matter, this body is also made
up of matter but there is some difference in this body and that
is this body is sentient. It means the sentiency must be borrowed
from some other source. It is like a car cannot move by itself.
अचेतनं वस्तु स्वर्ं न प्रवतय ते. And if you see the car moving then
you know that car is blessed by a चेतन factor. Therefore the
law is िेति सिार्ं शवना अिेतिां न चेष्टते. An inert thing cannot
function intelligently without the backup of a sentient principle.
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Therefore in the body there is something other than the body.
Just as in the car there is someone sentient other than the car
making the car moving. Similarly,
श्रोत्रस्य श्रोत्रर्् र्िसो र्िो यद् वािो ि वािर्् स उ प्रािस्य प्रािः
॥ केिोपत्तिषत् १-२ ॥
all these inert organs are functioning because of some
extraneous factor and that factor is called ब्रह्मि,् the
िेतितत्वर््. Therefore the sixth argument is अिेति िररर चेष्टा
दिय नात्. Because we are seeing sensible action in the inert
body. If you say I don’t see it, I will say it is an invisible factor.
Just as the fan cannot move by itself I know, now the fan is
moving, therefore there is an extraneous factor, the invisible
electricity is making it move. Similarly, the body has got an
extraneous factor,
स्र्ल
ू सक्ष्ू र्कारिशरीराद्व्यत्ततररक्तः पञ्िकोशातीतः सि्
अवस्र्ात्रयसाक्ी सत्तच्िदािन्दस्वरूपः सि् यत्तस्तष्ठत्तत स आत्र्ा
Therefore the उपत्तिषत् says if this आत्र्तत्वर्् is not there the
body will be a decaying matter. यत् एषः आिन्दः आकाशे ि
स्यात् – suppose एषः आिन्दः – आत्र्तत्वर््, ब्रह्मतत्वर््. In the
previous portion it was shown ब्रह्मि् is आिन्द स्वरूप.
Therefore the उपत्तिषत् replaces the word ब्रह्मि् with आिन्दः.
Here आिन्दः means आिन्दस्वरूपं ब्रह्म. Suppose this
आिन्दस्वरूपं ब्रह्म, i.e., the आत्र्ा ि स्यात् – is not there in the
body. आकाशे means हृदय आकाश. Even though ब्रह्मि् is all-
pervading, हृदयर्् is taken as the sanctum sanctorum in which
ब्रह्मि् is installed. Really speaking ब्रह्मि् is not in the heart
only. It is all-pervading like we have got God in the temple, not
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that God is in the temple only, in the temple God is installed for
the sake of worship.
So आकाशे means गुिायाां परर्े व्योत्तम्ि in the heart आिन्दः यत्
ि स्यात् – suppose the आत्र्ा is not there, कः अन्यात् – which
living being will breath out. And कः प्राण्यात् – which living
being will breath in. अन्यात् is exhalation, प्राण्यात् is inhalation.
If आत्र्ा is not there nobody will inhale and exhale, that means
no living being will be alive if आत्र्ा is not there. Therefore the
very life principle is a manifest version of ब्रह्मि्. That is why
without understanding ब्रह्मि् life will be a mystery. That is why
the scientists are unable to explain life or death. It is a biggest
mystery because life is a manifest version of ब्रह्मि्, ब्रह्मि् is a
mystery without the वेदान्तशास्त्र. As long as scientists avoid
वेदान्तशास्त्र life will be a mystery for them. Therefore कः त्ति
एव अन्यात् कः प्राण्यात्. And शङ्करािायव takes this portion as
the sixth argument for the existence of ब्रह्मि्. ब्रह्म अत्तस्त
अिेति िररर चेष्टा दिय नात.् I see intelligent activity in the inert
body that intelligent activity itself is the proof for the existence
of ब्रह्मि्. कृष्ि tells this in the fifteenth chapter
उत्िार्न्तां त्तस्र्तां वात्तप भुञ्जािां वा गुिात्तन्वतर्् ।
त्तवर्ढ
ू ा िािुपश्यत्तन्त पश्यत्तन्त ज्ाििक्ुषः ॥ गीता १५-१० ॥
Every movement of yours is a proof for the existence of ब्रह्मि्,
just as every movement of the fan is a proof for electricity. कृष्ि
says त्तवर्ढ
ू ा िािुपश्यत्तन्त one with unrefined intellect will miss
this fact whereas a refined intellect appreciates the presence of
Lord in every breath. Then एषः त्ति एव आिन्दायात्तत, which we
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seen before. So we have seen six arguments, now we will go to
the next topic. The seventh and the final argument.
यदा ह्येवषै एतत्तस्र्न्िदृश्येऽिात्म्येऽत्तिरुक्तेऽत्तिलयिेऽभयां
प्रत्ततष्ठाां त्तवन्दते । अर् सोऽभयां गतो भवत्तत । यदा ह्येवषै
एतत्तस्र्न्िुदरर्न्तरां कुरुते । अर् तस्य भयां भवत्तत । तत्वेव भयां
त्तवदुषोऽर्न्वािस्य । तदप्येष श्लोको भवत्तत ॥ १ ॥ इत्तत
सिर्ोऽिुवाकः ॥
In this portion the teacher says that only by knowing
अिर्् ब्रह्म अत्तस्र् the sense of insecurity will totally go away.
Insecurity is the fundamental expression of सांसार. It is a
constant तम्बुरा श्रुत्तत for an ignorant person. The moment the
child touches the ground from the womb of the mother the sense
of insecurity begins. Always the child clings to the mother, the
child knows the difference between mother’s lap and other’s
lap. And then the child seeks the security, then बालस्तावत्
िीडासक्तः तरुिी त्तिन्ता etc., it is said. And looking for
security is, in fact lifelong we are not pursuing anything
deliberately, in fact there is no deliberate undertaking, every
undertaking is forced by, driven by the sense of insecurity. That
is why it is not an action but a struggle. A deliberate action is
music, that is called लरला. When I act in the world with security
it is a game, it is a pleasure. Thus as long as there is a sense of
insecurity, every action is a struggle. In fact, most of our
reactions are because of insecurity. As children we seek
security from parents, as we grow old we seek security from
children! And when they are married we always have the
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problem the children are wedded to son-in-law or daughter-in-
law and most of the quarrels are because of the fear that the son
is lost, taken away by the daughter-in-law. One daughter-in-law
told this that her mother-in-law will to go to another room just
before her son’s arrival from office just find out to whom the
son comes first. So why can't they make the son’s condition
easier by being together? They want to see the अन्वय-व्यत्ततरे क
logic. Until the daughter-in-law came the son used to come to
me now he goes to her. I have lost the son. That sense of loss
turns into anger towards the daughter-in-law. This insecurity
can never go away, because everything in the creation is finite
and is subject to loss or separation. The only thing that cannot
be lost is ब्रह्मि् because It is infinite. And it can never go away
from me because it is me. Where is the question of I getting
separated from myself? Therefore the day I get established in
my ब्रह्मस्वरूपम् अदृश्ये अिात्म्ये अत्तिरुक्ते अत्तिलयिे ब्रह्मशि
when I am established अभयर्् प्रत्ततष्ठार्् त्तवन्दते. There is no
more insecurity, I give security to all others. So continue to be
in the family not for security but to give security to others. All
wonderful मन्रs, very important and significant मन्रs often
quoted and शङ्करािायव writes beautiful commentary also. The
details in the next class.
पि
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We are in the seventh अिुवाक of ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली in
which ब्रह्मि् was initially revealed as िगतिः अत्तभन्ि त्तित्तर्ि
उपादाि कारिर््. And not only ब्रह्मि् is कारिर्् therefore
named as सुकृतर््, but that ब्रह्मि् is the only source of आिन्द
because पि ू व त्वर्् alone can give आिन्द. Therefore all the
people draw आिन्द from ब्रह्मि् alone knowingly or
unknowingly. The ignorant people draw आिन्द from ब्रह्मि्
and give the credit to the sense objects. And in the case of wise
people they draw आिन्द from ब्रह्मि् and know that it is from
ब्रह्मि् only. Therefore ब्रह्मि् is आिन्द स्वरूपिः known as रसः.
So ब्रह्मि् is सुकृतर््, ब्रह्मि् is रसः and finally it was pointed out
that this ब्रह्मि् is the only source of Consciousness and
therefore any inert thing appears as a sentient one only because
of the touch of ब्रह्मि् and therefore स्र्ल ू , सक्ष्ू र् कारि शरीरर््s
all draw चैतन्र्म् from ब्रह्मि्. Therefore ब्रह्मि् is चैतन्र् प्रदाता.
Directly it lends Consciousness to कारि शरीरर््, through the
pipeline of कारि शरीरर्् it lends Consciousness to सक्ष्ू र्
शरीरर्् and through the pipeline of कारि सक्ष्ू र् शरीरर््s it lends
Consciousness to स्र्ल ू शरीरर््.
उत्िार्न्तां त्तस्र्तां वात्तप भुञ्जािां वा गुिात्तन्वतर्् ।
त्तवर्ढ
ू ा िािुपश्यत्तन्त पश्यत्तन्त ज्ाििक्ुषः ॥ गीता १५-१० ॥
The people of discretion knows that the sentiency I experience
in the skin is the sentiency of ब्रह्मि् expressed through the skin.
Thus every moment we are experiencing ब्रह्मि् manifest
through our body. And therefore ब्रह्मि् was revealed as अिेति
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िररर चेष्टा कारिम्. And while discussing these topics
शङ्करािायव parallelly gave the reason for the existence of
ब्रह्मि् and we have completed six reasons until now.
4) ब्रह्म अत्तस्त सुकृत प्रत्तसद्ेः.
5) ब्रह्म अत्तस्त आिन्द रूपेि/रस रूपेि सवव त्र वतव र्ाित्वात्.
6) ब्रह्म अत्तस्त अिेति िररर चेष्टा दिय नात्.
And now we are entering the next topic which I introduced in
the last class in which the उपत्तिषत् says the only way of
discovering security is ब्रह्मज्ािर््. Other than ब्रह्मज्ािर्् there
is no other way of discovering security. All the other sources of
security are only fake sources of security. And they all are fake
because the sources of security themselves are insecure
including the World Trade Center. So other than ब्रह्मि् there is
no source of security. And therefore ब्रह्मज्ािर्् alone gives
अभय कारिर््. And what type of ब्रह्मज्ािर्् should it be? The
ब्रह्मज्ािर्् should not be that there is ब्रह्मि् is of no use, it
should be that ever the secure ब्रह्मि् I am. So just knowing that
ब्रह्मि् is ever secure does not improve my lot. Suppose I am
suffering from poverty and I know that Tata or Bill Gates is the
richest man, how will it helps in removing my poverty? My
poverty will go only when I discover my richness. In whichever
locus the richness is discovered only in that locus poverty is
displaced. Displacement of poverty requires the discovery of
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richness in the same locus. If there is a darkness in this room
then the light should come to this room only to displace
darkness. Similarly, the knowledge that ब्रह्मि् is ever secure
will not solve my problem. I require the knowledge that I am
ever secure. I can claim I am ever secure only when I know
अिर्् ब्रह्म अत्तस्र्. Can you see the steps? I am ब्रह्मि्, ब्रह्मि् is
ever secure, a is equal to b, b is equal to c, therefore a is equal
to c, like that I am ब्रह्मि्, ब्रह्मि् is ever secure therefore I am
ever secure. Therefore अभेद ज्ञानम् शवना अद्वैत ज्ािर्् शवना भय
त्तिवत्तृ िः न भवत्तत says the उपत्तिषत्. So यदा – only when a
person discovers, अभयां प्रत्ततष्ठाां त्तवन्दते – only when a person is
firmly established, well rooted in ब्रह्मि् as अिर्् ब्रह्म अत्तस्र्.
And what type of ब्रह्मि् is it? We get a description of ब्रह्मि्,
एतत्तस्र्ि् अदृश्ये – अदृश्ये means invisible or unobjectifiable
ब्रह्मि्. And an unobjectifiable ब्रह्मि् can exist only in one form
as the subject I. So अदृश्ये ब्रह्मत्ति दृक् स्वरूपे ब्रह्मत्ति, अदृश्यर््
means दृक् स्वरूपम्, which means I, the observer, the
experiencer, the objectifier. Why is it invisible, unobjectifiable?
Because अिात्म्ये – bodiless, formless. आत्म्यम् means शरीरम्,
अिात्म्यर्् means शरीर रशितम्, formless. Whatever has
embodied has a form, whatever is unembodied is formless.
Therefore अिात्म्ये means शनरूपे, रूप रशिते, unobjectifiable.
अत्तिरुक्ते – that which is undefinable, that which is beyond
verbal description, वाचाम् अगोचरम्, indescribable. Why is it
indescribable? Description of a thing is only through its
attributes. Whenever you describe a thing you describe the
attributes. And ब्रह्मि् is indescribable because It is त्तिगव ुिर््,
attributeless. We will see this elaborately in र्ाण्डूक्तयोपत्तिषत्.
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It is said in the scriptures that anything can be verbally
described only when that thing fulfills five conditions which are
called िब्दप्रवशृ ि शनशमिाशन. Those details we will see in
र्ाण्डूक्तयोपत्तिषत्. So अत्तिरुक्ते means indescribable, िब्दप्रवशृ ि
शनशमि रशिते. Then अत्तिलयिे – that which is not the support of
anything. त्तिलयिर्् means support and अत्तिलयिर्् means
non-support. This is to negate duality. So अत्तिलयिर्् means
अद्वैतर््, आधार आधेय भेद रत्तिते ब्रह्मत्ति. Here also we have to
note in the initial stages of teaching the वेदान्त ब्रह्मि् is
presented as the support of the world, the कारिर्् of the world.
But when we are presenting ब्रह्मि् as त्तवश्व आधारर््, त्तवश्व
कारिर्् etc., in the mind we will get an idea of duality. The
word कारिर्् implies the existence of कार्य म्. The word आश्र्,
support implies the existence of a supported वस्तु. Therefore
these are words implying duality. The word parent implies
duality because it implies the existence of children. The word
husband implies the existence of wife. Thus there are certain
relative words which reveal relationship and through
relationship duality. Therefore even though we use the word
support in the beginning stages, in the ultimate stage we say
ब्रह्मि् is not even a support. It is not even a कारिर््. It is not
even a subject because the very word subject implies the
presence of an object. So therefore अत्तिलयिर्् means आधार
आधेय द्वैत त्तवलक्िर्् अद्वैतर््. And in र्ाण्डूक्तयोपत्तिषत् गौडपाद
irritates us further by saying it is not even अद्वैतर््, because if
you use the word अद्वैतर्् again it presupposes the concept of
द्वैतर््. Then what should we say? मौन वाख्र्ा, it is wordless, it
is silent. In that ब्रह्मि् one has to get established through
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knowledge, wisdom, understanding. What is that knowledge?
Such a ब्रह्मि् I am. अदृश्यां ब्रह्म अिर्् अत्तस्र्. अिात्म्यां ब्रह्म अिर््
अत्तस्र् अत्तिलयनं ब्रह्म अिर्् अत्तस्र् अत्तिरुक्तां ब्रह्म अिर्् अत्तस्र्.
इत्तत त्तवन्दते – if a person gets established. What will he get out
of it? अर् – consequently as a result of this knowledge, सः –
such a wise person, अभयां गतः भवत्तत – discovers security in
himself, discovers emotional self-dependence. We are born
with dependence on the world – depending upon family
members, depending upon neighbors, depending upon
possessions, positions, etc. We start with world-dependence
then the scriptures ask us to change the world-dependence to
God-dependence. That’s what कृष्ि says repeatedly. Rely on
Me, don’t depend upon any perishable object of the world.
Later that God has to be discovered within my heart itself, र्ो
वेद शनशितं गुिार्ाम्. Then God-dependence becomes equal to
Self-dependence. That Self-dependence means discovering the
security in myself. Instead of seeking security from the world,
I lend security to everything.
र्त्तय एव सकलर्् जातर्् र्त्तय सवव र्् प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतर्् ॥ कैवल्योपत्तिषत्
१९ ॥
When I claim I am a wave, my security depends upon ocean.
See the beauty! When I claim I am a wave, my security depends
upon ocean. When I claim I am water, the ocean’s security
depends upon me, the water, because ocean cannot exist
without the support of water. How the table is turned! Meditate
on this. When I claim I am a wave, my security depends upon
ocean. When I claim I am water, the ocean’s security, ईश्वर’s
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security depends upon me. Remember भयर्् represents सांसार,
which is emotional insecurity. That is the तम्बुरा श्रुत्तत behind all
forms of music. In fact all my activities are because of this
तम्बुरा श्रुत्तत. I go to school because of insecurity because I want
to get educated to get a good job with a five figure salary to feel
secure. Often we get children for the sake of security in old age.
What children are going to do भगवान् alone knows. Even
religion is for the sake of this security alone. That भयर्् is gone
by this knowledge. अभयां प्रत्ततष्ठाां त्तवन्दते. So when the security
is not the force behind my activity these activities are called
लरला. ज्ञाशन’s life is लरला, अज्ञाशन’s life is struggle, सांसार.
Now the उपत्तिषत् says suppose I refuse to get this knowledge
of अिर्् ब्रह्म अत्तस्र्, people ask the question what is the benefit.
If a person rejects the वेदान्त thinking that it is only an
academic gymnastics, it is only a hobbies activity and refuses
to gain this knowledge what will happen? The उपत्तिषत् says
यदा त्ति एव एषः – suppose there is an ignorant person, उदरर््
अन्तरां कुरुते – who sees a duality, a division between himself
and ब्रह्मि् or God, अन्तरम् means भेददशव िम्, उदरर्् means
even a slight difference, even a wee bit of difference between
जीव-ईश्वर भेदं पश्र्शत. And जीव-ईश्वर भेद implies जीव-जगत्
भेदम् and जीव-जीव भेदं पश्र्शत. उदरर्् is split as उत plus अरर््.
उत means अत्तप, even, अरर्् means अल्पम्, a little bit उदरर््
means even a little bit. It is not the dictionary meaning where it
is given as stomach, belly. What do you mean by a little
difference? It is to indicate two systems of philosophy. One
system of philosophy says I am totally different from God. This
is big difference, मिाभेदिः, द्वैतर््. And there is another system
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of philosophy which says I am not totally different from God,
but I am part of God. Therefore the difference is not total, but
the difference is a little, अल्पभेदिः, त्तवत्तशष्टाद्वैतर््. Whether you
do मिाभेदम् or अल्पभेदम्, even a slight difference you see what
will happen, the उपत्तिषत् threatens. उदरर्् अन्तरां कुरुते.
एतत्तस्र्ि् means in this ब्रह्मि्. अर् – consequently द्वैत दिय नात,्
भेद दिय नात,् तस्य – for that ignoramus person, भेददशिय पुरुषिः,
भयां भवत्तत – there will be fear. Fear is unavoidable. Even God
becomes a source of fear. If you see God different from you
even God becomes a source of fear. That is why the very रुद्रम्
begins with िर्स्ते रुरर्न्यव उतोत इषवे िर्ः, O Lord, I first
offer िर्स्कारम् to your anger. I see God as an angry God and
therefore do िर्स्कारम्. Even the िर्स्कारम् is backed by
fear. इषुः means a sharp arrow. Therefore िर्स्कारम् to the
arrow. In fact, the entire अिुवाक is a िर्स्कारम् so that You
will not destroy me. you may ask how can you say God is the
source of fear because He is a सत्तृ ष्ट-शस्र्शत कताव . The वेदान्त
says the Lord is not only सत्तृ ष्ट-शस्र्शत कताव , the very same Lord
is संिार कताव , लय कताव also. Therefore as long as you are in
the field of duality, भगवाि् will not only be the creator and
sustainer, but भगवाि् will be the destroyer also. And when
भगवाि् takes the role of destroyer as अजव ुि saw in the eleventh
chapter
ृ ो लोकान्सर्ाितव ुत्तर्ि प्रवि
कालोऽत्तस्र् लोकक्यकृत्प्रवद् ृ ः ॥
गीता ११-३२ ॥
अजव ुि was no more happy seeing त्तवश्वरूप दशव िम्, he asked for
त्तवश्वरूप दशव िम् and the very same अजव ुि says wonderful but I
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don’t want. Therefore even भगवाि् is the cause of fear as long
as you see a difference between yourself and भगवाि्. भगवाि्
will be the source of fearlessness only under one condition
when He is non-different from me. अद्वैतर्् is very sure about it.
वेदान्त is very clear about it. If anybody doesn’t believe in that
the वेदान्त says try duality. As someone nicely said, “if you say
education is expensive, try ignorance.” You will find it is more
costly. Similarly if you consider अद्वैत दिय नर्् is expensive
वेदान्त says try द्वैत दिय नर््, and you will find it is more
expensive. When you discover that fact परीक्ष्य लोकाि्, then
you come I will teach you अद्वैतर््. Therefore अर् तस्य
भेददशिय निः भयां भवत्तत. When we read this we should remember
कठोपत्तिषत्
र्त्ृ योः स र्त्ृ युर्ाप्िोत्तत य इि िािेव पश्यत्तत ॥ कठोपत्तिषत् १-२-
१०/बिृ दारण्यकोपत्तिषत् ४-४-१९ ॥
Ok, what is the source of fear for this ignorant person? तत् तु
एव भयर्् – for the ignorant person the very same ब्रह्मि् is the
source of भयर्् also. Very interesting observation! For the wise
person ब्रह्मि् is the source of fearlessness, security, and the
उपत्तिषत् says for the ignorant person the very same ब्रह्मि् is
the source of भयर्् also. तत् means ब्रह्मि.् एव means itself.
ब्रह्मि् itself is the source of fear also, ब्रह्मि् itself is the source
of fearlessness also. For an ignorant person ब्रह्मि् is the source
of fear, for the wise person ब्रह्मि् is the source of fearlessness.
Or to put in another language – understood ब्रह्मि् is the source
of fearlessness, ज्ञातम् ब्रह्म अभय कारिर््, known ब्रह्मि् is
अभय कारिर््. अज्ञातम् ब्रह्म भय कारिर््, unknown ब्रह्मि् is
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भय कारिर््. If you want an example, we have got well known
Vedantic example of rope and snake. The rope that is in front
of me is never the cause of fear because it is a harmless inert
thing. Therefore it is not a भय कारिर््. Known rope is not a
source of fear. Whereas when the very same rope is unknown,
the unknown rope is a mistaken rope, ignorance leads to
mistake. So unknown rope is a mistaken rope for a snake and
becomes the cause of fear. When I say snake is the cause of
fear, वेदान्त replaces the word ‘snake’ by ‘unknown rope.’ So
snake is equal to mistaken rope is equal to unknown rope and
to unknown rope alone is the cause of fear. Similarly, known
ू व र््, it is
ब्रह्मि् is अद्वैतर््, and अद्वैतर्् never causes fear. It is पि
अभयर्् because there is nothing can frighten you. Unknown
ब्रह्मि् is mistaken ब्रह्मि् and mistaken ब्रह्मि् is द्वैतर्् ब्रह्म,
which is called जीव, जगत् and ईश्वर. This world we call it
world but the वेदान्त calls it mistaken ब्रह्मि.् For वेदान्त world
is equal to mistaken ब्रह्मि् just as snake is equal to mistaken
rope. Thus the mistaken ब्रह्मि् as the world creates the
persecution complex in you. Therefore वेदान्त says तत्
अज्ातर्् ब्रह्म एव भयर्् is the cause of fear for an ignorant
person. The उपत्तिषत् calls an ignorant person त्तवदुषः. This
creates confusion. The dictionary meaning of त्तवदुषः is a wise
person, but for an ignorant person the उपत्तिषत् uses त्तवदुषः.
How do you explain it? It can be explained in three different
ways. One meaning is it is used as a sarcastic expression,
त्तवपरीत लक्ि, opposite meaning. We say that बिृ स्पत्तत did like
this. बिृ स्पत्तत normally means देवगुरु, a wise person. But we
use the word बिृ स्पत्तत in the त्तवपरीत लक्ि, opposite meaning
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which means a foolish person. Similarly त्तवदुषः means बिृ स्पत्तत,
the so called wise person. This is the first meaning. The second
meaning is त्तवदुषः means this person who is learned in all other
sciences except this Vedic शास्त्रम्. So he is wise in अपरा शवद्या,
but in परा शवद्या he is ignorant. There is a story. A ब्राह्मि wanted
to cross a river and he took a boat. And while crossing the river
he picked up a conversation with the boatman. He asked the
boatman whether he knows व्र्ाकरिम्. The boatman said he
doesn’t know. Then he said, “One fourth of your life is gone.”
After sometime he asked whether he knows तकय िास्त्रम्. The
boatman said he has not even heard the word तकय िास्त्रम्. Then
he said, “Another quarter of your life is gone.’’ Then he asked
again whether he knows र्ीर्ाांसा िास्त्रम्. The boatman said, “I
know मरन (fish) and र्ाांसम् (meat), but I don’t know what is
र्ीर्ाांसा.” Then he said, “Three-fourth of your life is gone.’’ As
even they were having this conversation, the boat developed a
leak at the bottom. The water was gushing inside. The boatman
knew there was no way out. Then the boatman asked the ब्राह्मि,
“Do you know how to swim?” तरि त्तवद्ा. तरि means
swimming. Then the ब्राह्मि said he did not know it. The
boatman said, “Your whole life is gone.” Like that we might
have studied different sciences, we might have got different
degrees from different universities but they are not the तरि
त्तवद्ा to swim across the river of सांसार. To cross the river of
सांसार we require a special तरि त्तवद्ा called ब्रह्मत्तवद्ा. This
शविान् is expert in all the other िास्त्रम्s but he doesn’t know
ब्रह्मत्तवद्ा. This is the second meaning of त्तवदुषः. The third
meaning of त्तवदुषः is this person has done the श्रविर्् and
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received the knowledge of िास्त्रम्, even ब्रह्मत्तवद्ा itself he has
received, but he has not done र्ििर्् and developed the
conviction. This knowledge is useful to you only when you are
convinced. That is why the उपत्तिषत् uses the word त्तवदुषः
अर्न्वािस्य. अर्न्वाि means the one who has not got
conviction through र्ििर््. He is not a र्ििर्् कताय but he is
only त्तवदुषः which means केवल श्रवि कताय . That is why people
say वेदान्त is very nice in the class when there is crisis in the
family, then “A painting of a bottle gourd on paper cannot be
used to make bottle gourd curry.” It is not that the वेदान्त is not
known but it has been not made my knowledge. I always say
with long face “the उपत्तिषत् says I am आिन्द स्वरूप.”
Therefore the third meaning is one who is प्रज्ञिः but not a
शस्र्रप्रज्ञिः. For that person ब्रह्मि् becomes a source of fear. So
what is the essence this section? ब्रह्मि् is both the source of fear
as well as a source of fearlessness. In the world we see both.
There are wise who are fearless, even though they don’t possess
anything.
ू र्् तरोः केवलर्ाश्रयन्तः पात्तिद्वयर्् भोक्तुर्ार्न्त्रयन्तः ।
र्ल
कन्र्ात्तर्व श्रीर्त्तप कुत्सयन्तः कौपीिवन्तः खलु भानयवन्तः ॥
कौपीिपञ्िकर्् / यत्ततपञ्िकर्् २ ॥
There are secure people without any possession. There are
infinitely insecure people with a lot of possessions. Thus we see
भयर्् and अभयर्् in the world. And शङ्करािायव argues that the
very existence of भयर्् and अभयर्् reveal their source and that
is ब्रह्मि्. Therefore the seventh reason is ब्रह्म अत्तस्त भय-अभय
कारित्वात्. ब्रह्मि् is there as the source of fear and fearlessness
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for the ignorant and the wise respectively. Thus through this
discussion the उपत्तिषत् gave seven reasons for the existence of
ब्रह्मि् which was the first question of the student. The student
asked three questions. Of these the first and implied question is
ब्रह्म अत्तस्त वा न वा. And we say ब्रह्म अत्तस्त because of सत
िे तु्वात्. Now the उपत्तिषत् says तदप्येष श्लोको भवत्तत – with
regard to this teaching also that ब्रह्मि् भय िे तु, ब्रह्मि् is cause
of fear for all the frightened people there is the following
ऋनर्न्त्र. We will read the eighth अिुवाक.
ब्रह्मािन्दर्ीर्ाांसा
र्न्त्र 2-8-01
ू व ः । भीषाऽस्र्ादत्तनिश्चेन्रश्च ।
भीषाऽस्र्ाद्वातः पवते । भीषोदेत्तत सय
र्त्ृ युधाव वत्तत पञ्िर् इत्तत ।
So this is the ऋनर्न्त्र quotation beginning with भीषा and
ends with पञ्िर् इत्तत. The उपत्तिषत् presents this ऋनर्न्त्र in a
poetic or peculiar way that the whole world is frightened of the
Lord and not only the human beings, even the देवताs are
frightened of ब्रह्मि्. The देवताs in our शास्त्रs generally
represent various presiding deities who are responsible for
various universal laws of the creation. सय ू व देवता presides over
those universal laws because of which the Sun exists and
functions. These laws are presided over by the intelligent
principle called सय ू व देवता. Similarly the laws governing the
rain. It is again because of so many laws, like evaporation,
condensation etc. So we have got वरुि देवता, अशनन देवता,
पशृ र्वर देवता. All the देवताs represent various natural forces and
natural laws. Here the उपत्तिषत् says that all the देवताs are
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functioning perfectly well without shirking from their duties.
The Sun regularly rises and sets, and the earth regularly goes
around its axis. Everything is perfectly happening which proves
perfect functioning of the देवता. That everything is happening
perfectly is proved by the harmony of the creation. So from
harmony of the creation we have to arrive at the perfect
functioning of the universal laws. And from the perfect
functioning of the universal laws we have to arrive at the perfect
functioning of the देवताs, the intelligent principles presiding
over the law. Now how do you know that various देवताs are
functioning over universal laws. The उपत्तिषत् assumes
wherever there is orderliness there is an intelligent principle
maintaining the order. How do you prove it? Look at our own
traffic. Nobody follows the traffic rules including educated
people and even if we stop at the red signal light, the others
behind us would be wildly irritated. And suppose you find all
the people are waiting in front of red signal we infer that there
is a police watching. Therefore if any law is prescribed by the
government, the government has to institute a law enforcing
intelligent principle also. Otherwise by the second law of
thermodynamics which states that “in all energy exchanges, if
no energy enters or leaves the system, the potential energy of
the state will always be less than that of the initial state.”
Anything will go to disorder naturally. And that is the only law
which orderly functions. Therefore if the things are orderly, if
the universal laws are perfectly functioning there are intelligent
principles called अत्तधष्ठाि देवताs, the universal cops, the
भगवाि्s law enforcing department. If these देवताs are
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functioning perfectly it is because of ईश्वर, who is controlling
all of them. Therefore in a company all the people come to the
office at the right time when the boss is there. Similarly when
ईश्वर, the boss is there वातः पवते, सय ू व ः उदेत्तत, अत्तनिः ि इन्रः ि
स्वकार्ं करोशत. यर्धर्व राज अशप स्वकार्ं करोशत. All because
they are mortally afraid of some invisible principle. That
देवानाम् भर् िे तुिः is ब्रह्मि् or ईश्वर. तस्मात् ब्रह्म अत्तस्त देवानाम्
अशप भय िे तुत्वात्. This is the essence of ऋनर्न्त्र, the exact
meaning we will see in the next class.
पि
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Now we are seeing the ऋनर्न्त्र quotation in the
beginning of the eighth अिुवाक and in this ऋनर्न्त्र quotation
the उपत्तिषत् points out that ब्रह्मि् becomes a source of fear if a
person does not understand ब्रह्मि् as it is. ब्रह्मि् ‘as it is’ is
अद्वैतर््. So when अद्वैतर्् ब्रह्म is understood it is only पि ू य
आिन्द स्वरूपम्. Whereas when अद्वैतर्् ब्रह्म is lost sight of it
is mistaken as द्वैतर्् ब्रह्म which alone is the universe.
जीवजगदीश्वर भेदिः is द्वैतर्् ब्रह्म. And once अद्वैतर्् is mistaken
as द्वैतर्् it becomes the source of fear because in द्वैतर्् duality
and division there is time and space. And where there is time
and space there is finitude. And where there is finitude there is
mortality. And where there is mortality there is anxiety. Death
comes only once but fear of death is constantly there lingering
in the mind. Therefore अज्ञातम् ब्रह्म भय िे तु, ज्ञातम् ब्रह्म अभय
िे तु. Unknown ब्रह्मि् is the source of fear. This was pointed out
in the seventh अिुवाक. And in support of this idea a ऋनर्न्त्र
quotation is given. And in this मन्र it is said wherever there is
duality भयम् is unavoidable. Therefore not only there is भयम्
in भल ू ोक even in the heaven, even the देवs who are supposed
to be more powerful than us, who have got various miraculous
powers and who are supposed to have better पुण्यर््, a longer
life, a more favorable environment etc., even those देवs are
mortally afraid. Because in देवलोक also there is द्वैतर््.
Wherever there is द्वैतर्् there is fear. Therefore the उपत्तिषत्
says all the देवताs are living and functioning in utter fear of that
ईश्वर. Therefore भीषा अस्र्ात् वातः पवते. वातः means वायु
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देवता. He is perfectly functioning out of fear of that ईश्वर. The
देवताs see that ईश्वर as different from them. So इन्र looks upon
ईश्वर as the boss of the universe. And he is a िरव who is given
a particular duty, if you remember कठोपत्तिषत् there is an
expression र्िद्भयां वज्रर्ुद्तर्् ॥ कठोपत्तिषत् २-२-३॥ The Lord
is like a master keeping the वज्रायुध in hand, constantly
supervising. Anyone who violates the धमय or स्वधमय the duty he
will punish them. And this भयम् is gripping even the देवताs.
There वातः वायु देवता पवते – moves about. वायु is never
stagnant out of भीषा – fear, भयेि. What is the proof that वायु
देवता is functioning? You are alive. भीषा उदेत्तत सय ू व ः – even सय
ू व
देवता is perfectly doing his स्वधर्व of rising and setting out of
fear for that ईश्वर alone. What is the proof for that? We have
day and night without fail. भीषा अस्र्ात् अत्तनिः ि इन्रः ि.
अत्तनिः means अत्तनि देवता. You have to supply the verb
स्वकायव र्् करोत्तत. अत्तनि देवता, the fire principle does his duty
of heating everything around because of fear of ईश्वर only.
अस्र्ात् means ईश्वर’s, ब्रह्मििः. What is the proof that अत्तनि is
doing his duty? The very fact that we are cooking and eating is
because of अत्तनि. In fact anything that ripens and grows is
because of अत्तनि only. Incubation is required for ripening of
anything, for the growth of everything. Even the child is formed
and grown in the womb only because of the right temperature.
That is why in the case of a premature baby a specially designed
incubator is required. And if you take figuratively, even mind
grows because of the heat of sorrow only. So sorrow difficulties
are called र्िस्तापः. So अत्तनि does it job because of ब्रह्म भयम्.
इन्रः does his function of supervising over all the देवताs and of
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course thunder, lightening, rain etc., are supposed to be इन्र’s
job and that is why the lightening and thunder are called इन्र’s
weapons. And not only all the देवताs are functioning there is
another देवता the fifth one, is very important. So पञ्िर्ः – the
fifth one. र्त्ृ युः – र्त्ृ यु देवता, यर्धर्व राज is the most important
देवता because of which all events are happening. The birth of
everyone is because of काल, the growth and our disappearance
are also because of काल. And this is happening constantly
which means यर्धर्व राज has got twenty-four hour duty, busy
all the time. And he also functions perfectly according to law,
that is why he is called
यर्ाय धर्व राजाय र्त्ृ यवे िान्तकाय ि । वैवस्वताय कालाय
सवव भत
ू क्याय ि ॥ गरुडपुराि १-५२-१७ ॥
This comes in सन्ध्यावन्दिर््. A boy is introduced to
यर्धर्व राज during the seventh year itself. Never be afraid of
death because यर् is धर्व राज what he does he does at the right
time according to the laws of creation. And this यर्धर्व राज who
frightens everyone is afraid of ईश्वर. That is why if you
surrender to that ईश्वर यर् will not come anywhere near you.
Therefore र्त्ृ युः पञ्िर्ः देविः धावत्तत means he runs because he is
very busy. The essence is even the देवताs are frightened of
ब्रह्मि्. Therefore ब्रह्मि् is भय िे तु and अभय िे तु. So with this
the seventh argument is also over which are the arguments
proving the existence of ब्रह्मि्.
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4) ब्रह्म अत्तस्त सुकृतम् प्रत्तसद्त्वात्.
5) ब्रह्म अत्तस्त रस इशत प्रत्तसद्त्वात्.
6) ब्रह्म अत्तस्त अिेति िररर चेष्टा दिय नात्.
7) ब्रह्म अत्तस्त भय-अभय िे तुत्वात्.
Thus seven arguments were given to establish the existence of
ब्रह्मि् which is the implied question asked by the student.
And here we have to make an aside note. We have
presented the seven points for proving the existence of ब्रह्मि्,
but elsewhere in the वेदान्त we vehemently argued and
established that ब्रह्मि् is beyond logical reasoning. We have
seen this in कठोपत्तिषत्,
िैषा तकेि र्त्ततरापिेया प्रोक्तान्येिवै सुज्ािाय प्रे ष्ठ ॥
कठोपत्तिषत् १-२-९ ॥
So तकेि न आपिेया through logic you cannot prove the
existence of ब्रह्मि्. If logic or science can prove all the
scientists would have uniformly accepted God. And God would
have become a scientific factor and then it will be one of the
chapters in the science book. In fact religion would become an
integral part of science if ब्रह्मि् can be logically established. In
fact, there are group of philosophers called ताशकयकािः who claim
God can be proved the existence of ब्रह्मि् through reasoning,
whereas Advaitins and शङ्करािायव vehemently argue against
the न्याय philosophers. शङ्करािायव establishes that God
cannot be proved through logic. He does it in his commentary
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upon second सत्र ू of the ब्रह्मसत्र
ू . – िन्माद्यस्र् र्तिः. Not only
that there are subcommentators who elaborate that. When the
logician, नैय्र्ाशर्क proves God through logic, these Advaitins
show the loopholes in the logic and establish that the logical
proof for God given by you is illogical. Therefore we strongly
believe that ब्रह्मि् cannot be logically established because He
belongs to the field that does not fall within logic, exactly like
sound cannot fall within the field of visual perception. Not
because sound does not exist but because sound does not fall
within the visual range. Similarly ब्रह्मि् exists, but logic cannot
prove it not because ब्रह्मि् does not exist is beyond but because
It goes beyond the purview of logic. This is said almost in every
उपत्तिषत्. That being so how can you then claim that there are
seven logical reasons to establish ब्रह्मि्? You are blowing hot
and cold. For that what we say is logic is of two types.
Independent logic and scripture backed logic. Independent
logic is called केवल तकवः, शुष्क तकवः, dry logic. The second is
श्रुत्तत सम्र्त तकवः, श्रौत तकवः. And wherever Vedantin talks
about logic it is not independent logic but it is scripture backed
logic. Once you remove the scripture part you will find sheer
logic will not be able to establish God. It is not because God is
not there, but because the dry logic is deficient in handling the
topic. In ब्रह्मसत्र
ू there is a particular सत्र
ू again talking about
the deficiencies of the logic process. That सत्र ू is तकयस्र्
अप्रशतष्ठानात्. So there is no deficiency in God or ब्रह्मि्, but
the deficiency is in the logic. That deficiency can be remedied
by supporting it with शास्त्र. Therefore शङ्करािायव says in his
well-known साधि पञ्िकर््,
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वाक्तयार्व श्च त्तविायव ताां श्रुत्ततत्तशरःपक्ः सर्ाश्रीयताां
दुस्तकाव त्सुत्तवरम्यताां श्रुत्ततर्तस्तकोऽिुसांधीयतार्् ॥ साधि
पञ्िकर्् ३॥
शङ्करािायव refers to two तकवs. दुस्तकव and श्रुत्तत-सम्र्त तकव.
दुस्तकव is mere logic, not backed by the शास्त्र, while the other
शास्त्र backed logic. Suppose a person says that he will not
accept the शास्त्र backed logic and he want to prove the
existence of God through mere logic. The Vedantin’s approach
is sorry, I will not be able to do that. Better don’t attempt to
establish God through sheer logic. And even if you establish
God through sheer logic if the listener is unintelligent he will
be convinced, whereas an intelligent person can easily find
loopholes in that logical approach. That is why in साधि
ितुष्टय सम्पत्ति we have included श्रद्ा as an important thing.
And if श्रद्ा is not there we will not discuss these topics at all.
Therefore these seven reasons mentioned are not the केवल
तकवः, but they are all श्रुत्तत सम्र्त तकवः. So with this the first
question has been answered. The other two questions still
unanswered are – will an ignorant person attain ब्रह्मि् after
death? Will a wise person attain ब्रह्मि् after death? These are
the two questions left out. The teacher does not answer them
here, but he is going to answer them later. Therefore you keep
those two questions aside. Now we go to an aside topic, a very
important topic which is called आिन्द र्ीर्ाांसा. The
significance and relevance I will tell at the end. र्ीर्ाांसा means
analysis. It is derived from the √मन् which means to analyze.
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आिन्द र्ीर्ाांसा means an analysis of, an exploration into the
topic of आिन्द, which is joy, happiness etc.
सैषाऽऽिन्दस्य र्ीर्ाँसा भवत्तत । युवा स्यात्साधुयुवाऽध्यायकः ।
आत्तशष्ठो दृत्तढष्ठो बत्तलष्ठः । तस्येयां पत्तृ र्वी सवाव त्तविस्य पि
ू ाव
स्यात् । स एको र्ािुष आिन्दः ।
सा एषा आिन्दस्य र्ीर्ाँसा भवत्तत. सा एषा means the
following portion of the eighth अिुवाक. So वक्ष्र्मानिः भागिः is
dealing with आिन्दस्य र्ीर्ाँसा भवत्तत – is an enquiry into
आिन्द. I will just give you the list of the discussion that is
going to come. It is slightly a longer discussion. I will give a
bird’s eye view of the significance then it will be easier for us
to understand. Before in the ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली at the end of the
fifth अिुवाक we talked about आिन्दर्य कोश and आिन्द
आत्र्ा.
तस्य त्तप्रयर्ेव त्तशरः । र्ोदो दत्तक्िः पक्ः । प्रर्ोद उिरः पक्ः ।
आिन्द आत्र्ा । ब्रह्म पुच्छां प्रत्ततष्ठा ॥ तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् २-५-१ ॥
In that portion आिन्द was divided into two types. One आिन्द
is आत्र्ा my real nature, we will call it आत्र्ािन्दः. The second
आिन्द is my original nature आत्र्ािन्द is can be reflected in
a calm and quiet mind, प्रसन्न अन्तिःकरि and that reflected
आिन्द or manifest आिन्द in the quiet mind was called
कोशािन्द, otherwise called आिन्दर्य कोश. These two are
going to be analyzed in this portion. Five distinct differences
between आत्र्ािन्द and कोशािन्द are going to be indicated
here.
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1) The first distinction is कोशािन्द is the reflected आिन्द
like my face getting reflected in the mirror. The mirror face is
reflected face. दपय िस्र् मुखम्. The face on my shoulder is
original. In सांस्कृत प्रत्ततत्तबम्बर्् and त्तबम्बर््. So what is the first
distinction? कोशािन्द is reflected आिन्द, आत्र्ािन्द is the
original आिन्द. When I use the word reflected आिन्द you
have to mention the reflecting medium. In the case of face the
reflecting medium is a mirror. Whereas in the case of आिन्द
the reflecting medium is the calm and quiet mind which is
called आिन्दर्य कोश. This is the first difference.
2) The second difference is that कोशािन्द is impermanent
whereas आत्र्ािन्द is permanent. कोशािन्दः अत्तित्यः,
आत्र्ािन्दः त्तित्यः. How do you say so? कोशािन्द is a
reflection, a reflection will be there only as long as there is an
unobstructed reflecting medium. If the reflecting medium is
either destroyed or disturbed then the reflection will go away.
Therefore कोशािन्दः अत्तित्यः. Whereas आत्र्ािन्द, the
original will continue even when the reflection is destroyed.
That is why when the mirror is broken the reflected face is
destroyed still you are not upset because you know even when
reflected face is gone, the original face is right on my shoulders.
In fact I can even produce reflection if I can bring a mirror.
Therefore कोशािन्दः अत्तित्यः, आत्र्ािन्दः त्तित्यः is the
second difference.
3) The third difference is कोशािन्दः is graded – happy,
happier, happiest. In सांस्कृत it is called साशतिर्िः. It is subject
to positive, comparative and superlative degrees. Whereas
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आत्र्ािन्द, the original is ungraded. It is शनरशतिर् आिन्द.
तारतम्य रत्तितः, तारतम्य सत्तितः. In सांस्कृत तर is comparative
degree and तम is superlative degree. What is the reason? very
simple. कोशािन्द is reflection. Reflection will be always
graded, depending upon the condition of the reflecting medium.
If the mirror is very clean you get a bright reflected face. If the
mirror has got a coating of mist or steam, when you take a hot
water bath in the closed bathroom there will be a mist on the
mirror and then the face is not clear. When you wipe the mirror
the face becomes clear. The mirror has become bright and
therefore you seem to have become brighter. Similarly, the
tranquility of the mind, the reflecting medium is subject to
gradation. The gradation is in the form of त्तप्रय वत्तृ िः, र्ोद वत्तृ िः
and प्रर्ोद वत्तृ िः. The grade in tranquility will cause grade in the
reflected आिन्द. That we discussed in आिन्दर्य कोश When
you see an object it is त्तप्रय. When you buy that object it is र्ोद.
When you enjoy the object it is प्रर्ोद. These are the gradations.
Therefore reflected आिन्द is graded, the original आिन्द is
ungraded. This is the third distinct feature.
4) Then the fourth one is all कोशािन्दs are experiential in
nature. That is why all the experiential आिन्दs are
impermanent and also graded because they are reflection. Even
the so called सर्ात्तध आिन्द is available only during सर्ात्तध.
And therefore it comes under कोशािन्द. During सर्ात्तध the
mind is extremely fine and nice and therefore the reflection is
extremely bright. But that आिन्द is gone once the person
comes out of सर्ात्तध. Therefore any impermanent, reflected
आिन्द is called experiential pleasure. आत्र्ािन्द is non-
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experiential आिन्द. Reflected alone you can experience, the
non-reflected you cannot. You cannot see your own original
eyes. To see your eyes you have to compromise and you have
to be satisfied with the experience of the reflected eyes alone
which will be subject to fluctuation and disappearance.
Similarly, आत्र्ािन्द is never a matter for experience in its
original version. It can be experienced only in its reflected
version which reflected version is subject to तारतम्य. So the
fourth difference is कोशािन्द is experiential and आत्र्ािन्द is
non-experiential.
5) Then the fifth and the final is कोशािन्द can be
accomplished through two different methods, शिसाधि साध्र्.
आत्र्ािन्द can be accomplished only by one method, एक
साधि- साध्र्. First we will analyze कोशािन्द. How do you
get कोशािन्द? When the mind is tranquil, undisturbed,
contented. Then alone the mind is fine mind, साशववक mind, in
that fine mind आत्र्ािन्द can be reflected which is called
कोशािन्द. Therefore to get कोशािन्द I should enjoy a
tranquil mind. So by attaining the tranquil mind कोशािन्द can
be attained. Like to get a reflected face I should acquire a clear
mirror. Now this tranquil mind can be attained by two different
methods. And therefore tranquility based कोशािन्द also can
be attained in two ways. How? Mind is generally disturbed
because of its dissatisfaction with the setup. Because I have got
certain specifications for the setup. If the setup fulfills the
specifications, my mind is relaxed and satisfied. If the setup is
reversed it becomes ‘upset’. When I am not satisfied with the
setup there is the struggle in the mind and a struggling mind is
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a disturbed mind. And in a disturbed dissatisfied mind which is
called रिोगुि mind, शवशक्षत mind there is no आिन्द. There is
anxiety, tension, irritability, discontentment etc. Therefore we
have to handle this problem which is caused by the non-
alignment of my mind and the setup. This disturbance which is
because of the non-alignment of my expectations and the actual
setup has to be set right by appropriate methods. When it is set
right mind becomes tranquil. This alignment can be brought
about by two different methods. One is by adjusting, by
changing the external setup to suit my expectations,
specifications. There is another method where you learn to
adjust my mind to the available and often choiceless setup. It is
an internal adjustment. External adjustment is कर्व or त्तवषय
प्रात्ति method. It is expensive, difficult and time consuming
method because the factors outside are innumerable. The
second method is changing my attitude. It is called the वैरानय
method; not depending upon the external conditions which
method is used because of my त्तववेक. An intelligent person uses
the internal method, because there I have to handle only my
mind. In external method I have to handle so many factors.
When the road is dirty and full of small pebbles etc., and the
road is too long and you have to walk without hurting your feet.
You can use two methods to avoid the pain. One method is
carpeting the whole road. Another is wear shoes. Which is
inexpensive and easier? and Wearing shoes.
सवव त्र सांपदस्तस्य सांतुष्टां यस्य र्ािसर्् । उपािद्गढ
ू पादस्य ििु
िर्ाव वतृ ेव भःू ॥ स्कन्दपुरािर्् ७-२५५-३२ ॥
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उपािद्गढू पाद means the one whose feet are protected by shoes
for him the entire earth is carpeted without expenditure. Thus
कोशािन्द can be attained by quieting the mind either by
changing the world and the condition or changing the attitude.
One is कर्व method and another is वैरानय method. Then to get
आत्र्ािन्द what is the means? The very question is wrong
because आत्र्ािन्द is my very nature. There is no means at all.
But if at all you want a ‘means’ is through ज्ािर््. What type of
ज्ािर््? The ज्ािर्् that I am आत्र्ािन्द; it is not an object to
be attained by me. This is owning up through knowledge. And
ज्ािर्् is the only means for attaining आत्र्ािन्द. This is the
topic to be discussed in this portion. More in the next class.
पि
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In the eighth section of ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली after the ऋनर्न्त्र
quotation the उपत्तिषत् has entered into आिन्द र्ीर्ाांसा.
र्ीर्ाांसा means an analysis or शवचारिः. आिन्द र्ीर्ाांसा means
आिन्द शवचारिः, an enquiry into the nature of आिन्द. And the
उपत्तिषत् itself gives an introduction सैषाऽऽिन्दस्य र्ीर्ाँसा
भवत्तत – the following portion is an enquiry into आिन्द. In the
last class we saw the outline of the type of enquiry. आिन्द is
going to be divided into two – कोशािन्द and आत्र्ािन्द, the
आिन्द obtaining in आिन्दर्य कोश and the आिन्द obtaining
in the आत्र्ा itself as the very nature. We will call them
कोशािन्द and आत्र्ािन्द. And five differences are going to
be shown.
1) The first difference is कोशािन्द is the reflected आिन्द
or manifested आिन्द. And आत्र्ािन्द is the original आिन्द,
it is myself. Remember the example. The reflected face obtains
in the mirror and the original face I don’t see at all. But I am the
very possessor the owner of the face. So reflected and
unreflected is the first difference.
2) The second difference is that कोशािन्द is impermanent
whereas आत्र्ािन्द is permanent. You know the reason.
कोशािन्द is an आिन्द experienced only when the reflecting
medium is in a fit condition. If the mirror is covered by anything
then the reflection will not come. Therefore it is subject to
arrival and departure. It is a conditional thing when the
conditions are fulfilled. Whereas आत्र्ािन्द is permanent one
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because it doesn’t depend upon condition. Therefore
impermanence and Permanence is the second difference.
3) The third difference is कोशािन्द is graded आिन्द
because as the reflecting medium becomes finer and finer, the
reflection also becomes brighter and brighter. That is why in
कोशािन्द it was said त्तप्रय, र्ोद and प्रर्ोद gradations are there.
Whereas आत्र्ािन्द, the original आिन्द being not a reflected
one, there is no difference at all in आत्र्ािन्द where the
reflecting medium is bright or not. The original face is the same
whatever be the condition of the mirror. Therefore graded and
ungraded is the third difference.
4) The fourth difference is reflected आिन्द obtains in
आिन्दर्य कोश. And आिन्दर्य कोश is अिात्र्ा which is an
object and therefore कोशािन्द is an objective आिन्द,
therefore experienceable आिन्द; it is an experiential pleasure.
Just as my reflected face is available for my experience, I can
clearly objectify my reflected face and therefore it is
experienceable, objective, it is त्तवषय, it is experiential. Whereas
my original face is never experienceable even though people
may praise it unfortunately I can never experience my own face.
Therefore the original one is non-experiential or non-
experienceable. Therefore nobody can claim I experienced
आत्र्ािन्द. People can claim I have experienced
आत्र्प्रशतशबम्बािन्द which is कोशािन्द, nobody can claim I
have experienced आत्र्ािन्द. It is a matter for owning up, it is
never a matter for objectification. Thus experiential and non-
experiential is the fourth difference.
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5) The fifth and the final difference is कोशािन्द can be
obtained by two methods because कोशािन्द requires a tranquil
mind. And the tranquility can be attained by adjusting the
external setup and the other method is by internal adjustment
otherwise called त्तववेक. A person can become less and less
dependent on external condition. When my mind is no more
dependent on external condition, no more expecting things
from external condition, the very non-expectation born out of
maturity gives me a tranquility. That is त्तववेकजन्य, वैरानयजन्य
त्तििप्रसादः. A tranquility of mind which is gained through
dispassion which dispassion is gained through maturity,
discrimination for which I am expending only the inner wealth
of intellect. And those people who are very stingy in using the
intellectual wealth they have to use the external wealth and go
on adjusting the knobs of external factors. Whatever be the
method of tranquility the tranquil mind is capable of reflecting
my own आिन्द called आत्र्ािन्द. Thus by changing the setup
or by becoming independent of the setup a person can get
कोशािन्द, the reflected आिन्द. And how to get आत्र्ािन्द?
For आत्र्ािन्द there is only one method which is also within
quotation. Only by the knowledge that आत्र्ािन्द is not an
object to be seen or contacted or experienced as an object but
आत्र्ािन्द happens to be I, the experiencer, the very subject
itself. अिमेव आिन्द स्वरूपर्् अत्तस्र्. And when my mind is
tranquil my आिन्द is reflected, when the tranquility of the
mind goes away the reflected आिन्द will go away but I, the
original is never subject to loss at all. So I need not sit and cry
if my face on the mirror is destroyed because a carbon copy is
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destroyed, the original master copy is me myself. Thus त्तवषय
प्राप्या कोशािन्दः, वैरानय प्राप्या कोशािन्दः and ज्ाि प्राप्या
आत्र्ािन्दः. These are the three lessons. त्तवषय प्राप्या
कोशािन्दः – by acquiring external things we can get
कोशािन्द, the reflected आिन्द. And वैरानय प्राप्या कोशािन्दः
– by getting वैरानयम् also we can get कोशािन्द. And ज्ाि
प्राप्या आत्र्ािन्दः. These are the three points to be highlighted
in the आिन्द र्ीर्ाांसा.
Of these three points first the उपत्तिषत् deals with
कोशािन्द and shows that this कोशािन्द or experiential
pleasure can be attained by two methods – the external method
and the internal method. First we will get the external method,
then the उपत्तिषत् parallelly talk about the internal method also.
Whether it is the external method or the internal method the
common destination is making the mind quiet. It is called
त्तििप्रसादः प्रसाद here means प्रसन्नता, िान्तता, tranquility.
प्रसादे सवव दुःखािाां िात्तिरस्योपजायते ।
प्रसन्ििेतसो ह्याशु बुत्तद्ः पयव वत्ततष्ठते ॥ गीता २-६५ ॥
When the mind is प्रसन्नम् there is no disturbance caused by
कार्, िोधः, लोभिः. So कार्िोधाशद afflictions are gone from
the mind then we have got the condition that we have ordered.
And during that condition there is no कार्, िोधः, लोभिः and
there is an आिन्द. And the next moment another कार्, िोधः,
लोभिः again mind is disturbed. If the child passed the exam with
high marks, त्तििप्रसादः, then in which University will he get a
seat, anxiety. Thus त्तिि प्रसाद alone gives आिन्द. This is the
topic. With this back ground we will go. And in this कोशािन्द
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the उपत्तिषत् wants to show that there is a gradation. Because
in कोशािन्द there is gradation. And if you have to show the
gradation, you have to show in terms of some unit to indicate
the gradation. If you want to show the gradation of the height
of the building you measure it in feet. So you require a
particular unit to reveal the gradation. Either you have to show
in terms of foot or meter, some unit is required. Similarly for
आिन्द also the उपत्तिषत् introduces one unit of आिन्द called
र्िुष्य आिन्द. And this र्िुष्य आिन्द is going to be
described. What type of र्िुष्य has been mentioned? There are
different type of र्िुष्यs. Some are unhappy, some are happy,
some are happier, some are happiest. Therefore what is the
condition of the र्िुष्य who will enjoy one unit of आिन्द?
What is that one unit of र्िुष्य आिन्द? र्िुष्य आिन्द is an
ideal unit for all practical purposes it doesn’t exist. The
उपत्तिषत् says युवा स्यात् – let us assume that there is a young
human being. Because if the human being is a child he cannot
enjoy all the आिन्दs because immature. A child cannot
understand music or poetry because mind maturity is not there.
And old people have a lot of maturity but all the instruments of
enjoyment gone. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् says let us assume a
youthful human being, therefore capable of enjoying maximum
sense pleasure. So युवा स्यात्. And also let us assume he is a
साधु युवा. It looks like oxymoron. So साधु युवा means a
cultured, refined, and Dharmically educated युवा. That means
the one who has got values mentioned in the thirteenth chapter
अर्ात्तित्वर्् अदत्तम्भत्वर्् अत्तिांसा क्ात्तन्तः. So साधु युवा means
धात्तर्वक युवा. Because if धर्व is not there the mind will not be
540
healthy. A youth may be physically sound and healthy and
strong, but if there are no values, his mind will be a sick mind.
In fact, values are the parameters for the healthy mind. Just as
a both body has got parameters like blood pressure, blood
count, cholesterol etc. If they all are in correct condition then
physical health is there. Similarly mental health parameters like
अर्ात्तित्वर्् अदत्तम्भत्वर्् are there then the mind is also healthy.
When both body and mind are healthy happiness derivable is
high. Therefore साधु युवा – a youth of character. How did he
get all the values? It seems to be rare. Normally youth and value
do not go together. The first problem is arrogance whereas the
first value is अर्ात्तित्वर््. Why should I study scriptures, why
should I bow down to सन्न्र्ाशसs, why should I go to temple.
शङ्करािायव says
प्रौढोऽिां यौविस्र्ो त्तवषयत्तवषधरै ः पञ्ित्तभर्व र्वसांधौ दष्टो िष्टो
त्तववेकः सतु धियुवत्ततस्वादसौख्ये त्तिषण्िः ॥
त्तशवापराधक्र्ापिस्तोत्रर्् २॥
Youth means प्रौढः, proud. This youth is humble which
represents all the other characters. How did he develop
humility? अध्यायकः – because he is a student of scriptures.
Scriptural studies alone primarily contribute to humility.
त्तवद्ा ददात्तत त्तवियां त्तवियाद्ात्तत पात्रतार्् । पात्रत्वाद्िर्ाप्िोत्तत
धिाद्र्ं ततः सुखर्् ॥
त्तवद्ा ददात्तत त्तवियर््. Not any other त्तवद्ा but शास्त्र त्तवद्ा. What
शास्त्रर््? धर्व शास्त्र त्तवद्ा त्तवियर्् ददात्तत. Therefore अध्यायकः
means the one who has studied धर्व शास्त्र in गुरुकुलर््. So
physical health is there, education, a healthy mind is there. Not
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only that आत्तशष्ठः – this youth is a dynamic and efficient
person. Only then he can accomplish all the objects of sense
pleasures. आत्तशष्ठः means आशास्ततृ र्ः, िरघ्रतमिः. The one
who is a go getter, the one who accomplish things
instantaneously. The one who is not a procrastinator. Then the
next character he enjoys is दृत्तढष्ठः. दृत्तढष्ठः means a youth of
will power. He is not cow downed by any number of obstacles;
he goes and accomplishes. And बत्तलष्ठः – he is very strong also.
Thus all the internal wealth required for sense pleasures this
youth has. Physical and mental health, education, character,
dynamism, will power and strength. But that is not enough. To
enjoy we require external sense objects also. Otherwise he is
healthy and hungry, but no food. What is the use? Therefore the
उपत्तिषत् says this youth has not only internal wealth he has got
all the external pleasures also. What is the external wealth? The
उपत्तिषत् says तस्य इयां सवाव पत्तृ र्वी स्यात् – he is not the owner
of the small land, he is the owner of the entire earth. Is it
possible? We are only imagining an ideal र्िुष्य आिन्द. Like
an ideal gas does not exist, similarly here also let us assume this
person is the owner of the entire earth. सवाव पत्तृ र्वी तस्य स्यात्.
What type of earth? Not only mere land, but all the wealth
which are underneath the earth – all the diamond mines, gold
mines and petroleum oil etc., belongs to him. So सवाव त्तविस्य
पिू ाव – the earth long with all the wealth belonging to earth is
his possession. Thus he has got external sources of pleasure and
internal conditions for enjoyment. Only when sense objects are
there and sense organs are fit for enjoyment then alone their
combination will give pleasure. For enjoyment we require both
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आध्यात्तत्र्क and आशधभौत्ततक सम्पशििः in full measure. The
उपत्तिषत् says the experiential pleasure, कोशािन्द,
प्रशतशबम्बानन्द enjoyed by such a human being let us call one
unit of र्िुष्य आिन्द. So सः एकः र्ािुषः आिन्दः.
Now hereafter we are going to see higher grades of
pleasure. You will think anything higher is possible. The
उपत्तिषत् says this is one unit. And it is going to give higher
levels of कोशािन्द. We are going to see ten higher levels. We
will read that portion.
ते ये शतां र्ािुषा आिन्दाः ॥ १ ॥
र्न्त्र 2-8-02
स एको र्िुष्यगन्धवाव िार्ािन्दः । श्रोत्तत्रयस्य िाकार्ितस्य । ते
ये शतां र्िुष्यगन्धवाव िार्ािन्दाः । स एको देवगन्धवाव िार्ािन्दः
। श्रोत्तत्रयस्य िाकार्ितस्य । ते ये शतां देवगन्धवाव िार्ािन्दाः । स
एकः त्तपति ृ ाां त्तिरलोकलोकािार्ािन्दः । श्रोत्तत्रयस्य
िाकार्ितस्य । ते ये शतां त्तपति ृ ाां त्तिरलोकलोकािार्ािन्दाः । स
एक आजािजािाां देवािार्ािन्दः ॥ २ ॥
र्न्त्र 2-8-03
श्रोत्तत्रयस्य िाकार्ितस्य । ते ये शतां आजािजािाां
देवािार्ािन्दाः । स एकः कर्व देवािाां देवािार्ािन्दः । ये कर्व िा
देवाित्तपयत्तन्त । श्रोत्तत्रयस्य िाकार्ितस्य । ते ये शतां कर्व देवािाां
देवािार्ािन्दाः । स एको देवािार्ािन्दः । श्रोत्तत्रयस्य
िाकार्ितस्य । ते ये शतां देवािार्ािन्दाः । स एक
इन्रस्याऽऽिन्दः ॥ ३ ॥
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र्न्त्र 2-8-04
श्रोत्तत्रयस्य िाकार्ितस्य । ते ये शतत्तर्न्रस्याऽऽिन्दाः । स एको
बिृ स्पतेरािन्दः । श्रोत्तत्रयस्य िाकार्ितस्य । ते ये शतां
बिृ स्पतेरािन्दाः । स एकः प्रजापतेरािन्दः । श्रोत्तत्रयस्य
िाकार्ितस्य । ते ये शतां प्रजापतेरािन्दाः । स एको ब्रह्मि
आिन्दः । श्रोत्तत्रयस्य िाकार्ितस्य ॥ ४ ॥
Now the उपत्तिषत् is going to talk about ten higher
levels. In each higher level the आिन्द is going to hundred
times more than the previous level. It means the first level will
have hundred units of र्िुष्य आिन्द and then second unit will
have ten thousand units, then the next will have one million
units. So you have to add two zeroes at each level. That means
the tenth and highest level will have twenty zeroes after one.
This is called त्तिरण्यगभव आिन्द. And between that त्तिरण्यगभव
आिन्द and र्िुष्य आिन्द we are going to have so many levels
which is described here. ते ये शतां र्ािुषाः आिन्दाः – hundred
units of र्िुष्य आिन्द is enjoyed by another superior being
who is not available anywhere around, they are all in higher
लोकs. Because the highest र्िुष्य आिन्द we have seen. So the
next higher level is not even a र्िुष्य but he is a र्िुष्यगन्धवव .
So र्िुष्यगन्धवव ’s आिन्द is hundred units of र्िुष्य आिन्द.
And how come he has got better pleasure? Better pleasure is
possible only because of the superior quality of both the organs
of enjoyment as well as the objects of pleasure. Because you
know as the instrument becomes finer and finer your capacity
to enjoy is more. As a child you cannot enjoy nice music, but
as you grow up your mind is more refined you can enjoy music,
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poetry, scenery etc. An educated scientist when he reads an
advanced article on science he will get an आिन्द. For us it all
appears same only. Thus as the कोश – अन्िर्य प्रािर्य
र्िोर्य and त्तवज्ािर्य become finer, and also the objects of
enjoyment become finer. So if you go to foreign countries
everything is so pure, fine and nice. And they come here and
next day food poisoning. Their objects are clean and fine and
therefore their pleasure is also higher. Therefore in
र्िुष्यगन्धवव लोक the उपाशध, the instrument of enjoyment are
superior and the objects of enjoyment are also superior,
therefore the pleasure is hundred times greater. Therefore ते ये
शतां र्ािुषा आिन्दाः स एको र्िुष्यगन्धवाव िार्ािन्दः. This is
the कोशािन्द caused by the external setup or लोक. And now
the उपत्तिषत् says the very same pleasure of र्िुष्यगन्धवव can
be attained by a human being also. What type of human being?
श्रोत्तत्रयस्य ि अकार्ितस्य – if a person who enjoys वैरानयर््,
dispassion, अकार्ितिः. कार् means desire; ितिः means
afflicted; therefore all the time disturbed. A wanting mind is
called कार्ितिः. कामेन ितिः कार्ितः. There is self-
insufficiency. अकार्ितिः is the opposite of it – a mind which
does not want or miss anything. This dispassion or वैरानयर्् can
come out of suppression also or it can come out of wisdom also.
‘Grapes are sour’ dispassion is there. ‘Grapes are sour’ because
I am not able to get. If somebody is willing to supply the grapes
I am ready. So therefore if dispassion is a suppression it will
never give happiness. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् wants to say the
w dispassion is born out of education, enlightenment, wisdom,
शववेकिः. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् says श्रोत्तत्रयस्य. श्रोत्तत्रय means
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the one who has educated himself and he has understood that
the external objects do not give even an iota of आिन्द. He
remembers the dog and bone example. Similarly this श्रोत्तत्रय
understood and therefore he has got त्तववेकजन्य वैरानयर््.
श्रोत्तत्रय्वम् indicates त्तववेक and अकार्ितिः indicates
त्तववेकजन्य वैरानयर््, maturity born dispassion. What intensity
of वैरानयर्् does he have? शङ्करािायव writes this person’s
वैरानयर्् is not ultimate or absolute. This person has got
वैरानयर्् for र्ािुषः आिन्दः. So अकार्ितिः here means the one
who has got वैरानयर्् for र्िुष्य आिन्द and therefore he gets a
pleasure which is equivalent to र्िुष्यगन्धवव आिन्द. How
does he get that आिन्द? It is not because of a superior body or
a better environment, but because his mind is tranquil. His
tranquility is born out of lack of desire for all these worldly
things. So therefore श्रोत्तत्रयस्य ि अकार्ितस्य indicates
कोशािन्द born out of वैरानयर््; the second method.
र्िुष्यगन्धवव आिन्द indicates कोशािन्द born out of
गन्धवव लोक. Are you able to understand? कोशािन्द is of two
types. र्िुष्यगन्धवाव िार्् आिन्दः is कोशािन्द produced by
the higher लोक. श्रोत्तत्रयस्य ि अकार्ितस्य means the same
कोशािन्द produced by वैरानयर््. Thus कोशािन्द can be got
by going to higher लोक or by getting वैरानयर््. Then ते ये शतां
र्िुष्यगन्धवाव िार्् आिन्दाः – hundred units of र्िुष्यगन्धवव
आिन्द is one unit of देवगन्धवाव िार्् आिन्दाः, another person
who is called देवगन्धवव . He has got ten thousand times of
र्िुष्य आिन्द. What is the difference between a र्िुष्यगन्धवव
and a देवगन्धवव ? शङ्करािायव writes in his commentary that
र्िुष्यगन्धवव is one who is born as a र्िुष्य and by doing कर्व s,
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by getting पुण्यम् he has migrated to गन्धवव लोक. Whereas
देवगन्धवव is not the one who has gone to गन्धवव लोक by
migration but at the time of सशृ ष्ट itself is born in the
गन्धवव लोक. Because of that he has got some advantages such
as more power etc. therefore his आिन्द is hundred units of
र्िुष्य गन्धवव . His आिन्द comes because of a better external
setup. Therefore naturally they will have better pleasures born
of external reasons. Now the same कोशािन्द, the same
देवगन्धवव आिन्द you can get here itself. The condition is
श्रोत्तत्रयस्य ि अकार्ितस्य. You should have त्तववेक and
त्तववेकजन्य वैरानयर््. But the previous person also had त्तववेक
and वैरानयर््, this person also has त्तववेक and वैरानयर््. How do
you say that this person has greater आिन्द? शङ्करािायव says
in this person’s case the वैरानयर्् is more intense, तरव्रतर
वैरानयर््. There is a graded वैरानयर््. What is the difference in
the grade? शङ्करािायव says the previous person had वैरानयर््
only for र्िुष्य आिन्द whereas this person has वैरानयर्् for
र्िुष्य आिन्द and र्िुष्यगन्धवव आिन्द. Then what happens?
ते ये शतां देवगन्धवाव िार्् आिन्दाः – hundred units of देवगन्धवव
आिन्द is सः एकः त्तपति ृ ाां त्तिरलोक लोकािाां आिन्दः – one unit
of त्तपतदृ ेवताs. त्तपतल
ृ ोक is supposed to be a higher लोक. And
not only that there the longevity is also supposed to more and
therefore it is called त्तिरलोक. त्तिरलोक means त्तपतल ृ ोक.
त्तिरलोक लोक is there. The second लोक means वाशस,
inhabitant. So त्तिरलोक लोक means त्तिरलोक वाशस, त्तपत ृ देवता.
Those त्तपतsृ will have hundred units of देवगन्धवव आिन्द, one
million units of र्िुष्य आिन्द. Then the उपत्तिषत् says
श्रोत्तत्रयस्य ि अकार्ितस्य – the same one million units of
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र्िुष्य आिन्द you can get here and now if you have got still
greater वैरानयर््. The greater the वैरानयर््, the calmer the mind.
The greater the राग, attachment and desire the more disturbed
the mind. And if this person has got greater वैरानयर्् how do
you measure it? शङ्करािायव says this person has got वैरानयर््
for र्िुष्य आिन्द, र्िुष्यगन्धवव आिन्द and देवगन्धवव
आिन्द. If he has these three levels of वैरानयर््, he will get the
fourth level, the त्तपत ृ आिन्द. More in the next class.
पि
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In the eighth अिुवाक of ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली we are seeing
आिन्द र्ीर्ाांसा, an analysis of आिन्द or happiness. And I said
in the शास्त्र the आिन्द is divided into two – कोशािन्द and
आत्र्ािन्द. We saw five difference between these two.
कोशािन्द is the reflected form of आिन्द, whereas
आत्र्ािन्द is the original unreflected form.
कोशािन्द being reflected is impermanent, whereas
आत्र्ािन्द being original is permanent.
कोशािन्द being reflected has gradation depending
upon the fineness of the reflecting medium, whereas
आत्र्ािन्द is ungraded.
Since कोशािन्द is reflected in the medium of mind
which is an object of experience, the कोशािन्द is available for
experience. Therefore it is experiential आिन्द, whereas
आत्र्ािन्द is non-experiential आिन्द. It is never an object of
experience, in fact it is the very subject of experience. In fact as
the subject of experience आत्र्ािन्द is identical with
Consciousness itself. It is not an experience but it is the name
of िैतन्यर््.
Then the fifth and the final difference is कोशािन्द can
be accomplished through two different methods – वैरानर् प्राशतिः
and शवषर् प्राशतिः. When you acquire an object of your desire and
the desired object is accomplished the mind enjoys the
calmness because the disturbing desire has subsided. And
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therefore the moment the object comes the mind is relieved and
therefore the mind is साशवचकम्, िान्तम्. And in that िान्त
अन्तिःकरि कोशािन्द becomes manifest. And according to
वेदान्त the very same िान्त अन्तिःकरिम् can be attained
without acquiring the sense object by developing वैरानर्म्
towards the object by शववेक िशििः, by दोष दिय नम् we remove
the काम or राग, a mind without काम or राग, a mind without
the शवक्षेप of रिोगुि, a mind which is soaked in सवव is a calm
mind. Therefore also through वैरानर्म् without acquiring any
external object the mind becomes िान्त. And therefore this
person is a pauper and the whole world sympathizes with him
but this person is कौपीिवन्तः खलु भानयवन्तः, doesn’t possess
anything but he is happy. Thus शवषर् प्राशत िारा कोशािन्द,
वैरानर् प्राशत िारा कोशािन्द. Whereas आत्र्ािन्द is
accomplished only by ज्ािर्् and through ज्ािर्् I don’t acquire
आत्र्ािन्द, I come to know that I am आत्र्ािन्द. Therefore
ज्ञानेन आत्र्ािन्द प्राशतिः, there is only one साधिर््.
And of these two आिन्दs तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् has taken up
कोशािन्द in the beginning. And it talks about various
gradation of आिन्द. First it gives the unit आिन्द which is
enjoyed by an ideal human being, i.e., र्िुष्य आिन्द who has
got inner wealth as well as external wealth. Then ten levels of
graded आिन्द are being talked about. And in each higher level
hundred times more आिन्द. And the उपत्तिषत् parallelly points
out the same higher आिन्द can be got by increasing the
intensity of वैरानर्म्. Just as there can be gradation in
possession there can be gradation in वैरानर्म् also. One is
outside gradation which is in terms of possession, another is
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internal gradation in terms of वैरानर्म्. For external possession
you require external wealth that is the money. And the internal
dispassion can be bought not by external wealth but by शववेक
सम्पत्. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् parallelly talks about both
methods. So ते ये शतां र्िुष्यगन्धवाव िार्ािन्दाः when it says it
is talking about a कोशािन्द caused by a better possession.
Because गन्धवव has got a better infrastructure. Thus गन्धवव
आिन्द indicates शवषर् प्राप्त्र्ा कोशािन्द and immediately
after that the उपत्तिषत् says श्रोत्तत्रयस्य िाकार्ितस्य. That च is
important. The very same pleasure is enjoyed by this human
being also without going to गन्धवव लोक. What is the cause of
the enjoyment? अकार्ितस्य sheer वैरानर्म्. And this वैरानर्म्
can be suppression. Suppressed वैरानर्म् will not give pleasure,
suppression of the problem will only give psychological
problem. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् does not want us to suppress,
therefore it uses the word श्रोत्तत्रयस्य. श्रोत्तत्रय means शास्त्र
अध्याशर्, who has an enlightened mind, who has studied the
scriptures, who has understood the limitation of external
objects. And therefore it is a dispassion born out of maturity
and therefore it gives better आिन्द. And similarly the next
grade is देवगन्धवव आिन्द, he has got better possession,
श्रोत्तत्रयस्य िाकार्ितस्य, he has got better dispassion. Thus
there is an increase in possession and there is an increase in
dispassion, both of them will enjoy कोशािन्द. What about
आत्र्ािन्द? That we will see later. Now we are only discussing
कोशािन्द. We have seen three upper levels – र्िुष्यगन्धवव
आिन्दः, देवगन्धवव आिन्दः and त्तपति ृ ाां त्तिरलोक लोकािाां
आिन्दः. Now we have to go to the fourth higher level. Upto
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this we saw in the last class. Now the उपत्तिषत् says ते ये शतां
त्तपति
ृ ाां त्तिरलोकलोकािार्ािन्दाः – hundred units of त्तपतल ृ ोक
आिन्द is स एक आजािजािाां देवािार्ािन्दः. आजािः means
स्वगव लोकः. The previous one is त्तपतल ृ ोक, this is one stage
higher स्वगव लोक. And आजािज means the people occupying
स्वगव लोक. Those who have gone to स्वगव लोक by doing पुण्य
कर्व . And they will have hundred units. स्वगव लोक can be
reached by two different types of कर्व s. And depending upon
the type of कर्व in the स्वगव लोक the colony differs. What are
the two varieties? One type of कर्व is called स्र्ातव कर्ाव त्ति, the
कर्व s or activities prescribed by स्र्त्तृ त ग्रन्र्s, the secondary
scriptures. Any scriptures other than the वेद, non-vedic
scriptures come under स्र्त्तृ त ग्रन्र्s. Like स्र्त्तृ तs, इत्ततिासs and
पुरािs. By doing स्र्ातव कर्व s these people will go to
आजािलोक and they will have hundred units of त्तपतल ृ ोक
आिन्द. Then what will happen? The same आजािज आिन्द,
the आिन्द enjoyed by स्वगव लोक वाशस is enjoyed by श्रोत्तत्रयस्य
िाकार्ितस्य. This person who has got वैरानयर्् is higher than
the वैरानयर्् of श्रोत्तत्रयस्य िाकार्ितस्य of the previous one.
Although the words are the same, the grade of वैरानयर्् is
higher. How do you measure this वैरानयर््? He has got वैरानयर््
for all the लोकs lower to आजािलोक. Therefore upto त्तपतल ृ ोक
you have got वैरानयर््, you will get स्वगव लोक आिन्द. If you
have got वैरानयर्् for स्वगव लोक also then the आिन्द will be
still higher. That is said here. ते ये शतां आजािजािाां
देवािार्ािन्दाः – a hundred units of आजािज आिन्द is one
unit of । स एकः कर्व देवािाां देवािार्ािन्दः. कर्व देव is the one
who has reached स्वगव by doing श्रौत कर्व . The previous one did
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स्र्ातव कर्व whereas this person has done श्रौत कर्व . श्रौत कर्व s
are the कर्व s prescribed by the original scriptures, the वेदs.
Since these Vedic कर्व s are primary कर्व s, they have a superior
status. Therefore they go to स्वगव लोक where they have more
facilities and better उपात्तध also and therefore hundred times
more आिन्द. And the same कोशािन्द can be experienced by
श्रोत्तत्रयस्य िाकार्ितस्य and he has got वैरानयर्् for all the
लोकs upto आजाि लोक. Here the उपत्तिषत् gives a definition
ये कर्व िा देवाित्तपयत्तन्त. These people are called कर्व देवs
because they have done श्रौत कर्व . ये कर्व िा means ये श्रौत
कर्व िा. देवाि् means देव लोक, अत्तप यत्तन्त means प्राप्तनुवशन्त.
Then ते ये शतां कर्व देवािाां देवािार्ािन्दाः स एको
देवािार्ािन्दः. The previous one is called कर्व देव and the
present one is called देव. What is the difference between कर्व देव
and देव? कर्व देव is an ordinary citizen in स्वगव लोक, of course
with better facilities, whereas देव is not an ordinary citizen but
he has got an higher position like an M.L.A. or M.P. or as
cabinet minister. These देवs are only thirty-three त्रयत्तस्त्रांशत्
देवाः – अष्टौ वसवः, एकादश रुराः, द्वादश आत्तदत्याः, इन्रश्च,
प्रजापत्ततश्च. The ordinary citizens are thirty-three crores. But the
special qualified M.L.A. or M.P. or as cabinet ministers are
only thirty-three who have got still higher. Now the question is
how can one become a देव. To become आजाि देव you have to
do स्र्ातव कर्व s and to become a कर्व देव you should do श्रौत कर्व .
To become a देव, शङ्करािायव says त्रयत्तस्त्रांशद्त्तवभव ुजः, they all
receive oblations during rituals also. Thus they have a position.
Not only should you do कर्व s, you have to boost the कर्व s by
adding उपासि. कर्व -उपासि सर्ुच्िर्ेन you get better पुण्यर््.
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If you chant त्तवष्िु सिस्रिार् mechanically you will get only
पुण्यर््. But suppose when the ध्यािर्् portion comes –
क्ीरोधन्वत् प्रदेशे शुत्तिर्त्ति त्तवलसत् सैकते र्ौत्तक्तकािार््, if you
mentally chant the ध्यािर्् part, and as even you chant, you
visualize the Lord as described in the ध्यािश्लोक. In all the
ध्यािश्लोकs the verses will give the description of the देवताs.
If you visualize that the सिस्रिार् पारायिर्् will not be केवल
पारायिर्् but it will become उपासि-सत्तित-पारायिर्् for that
higher पुण्य is there. Similarly any कर्व . Even नाशचकेत ritual,
that we saw in कठोपत्तिषत्, along with the त्तवराि् उपासि will
give a higher result. What is that higher result? You will
become one of the cabinet ministers – अत्तनि, वरुि, र्मदेवता
etc. In fact, if you remember कठोपत्तिषत्, यर्धर्व राज tells
ित्तिकेतस्, O ित्तिकेतस् you are interested in र्ोक् but when I
was a human being I desired to become र्म.
जािात्तर् अिर्् शेवत्तधः इत्तत अत्तित्यर्् ित्ति अरुवःै त्ति तत् रुवर््
प्राप्यते । ततो र्या िात्तिकेतत्तश्चतोऽत्तनिः अत्तित्यैरवव्यैः
प्रािवाित्तस्र् त्तित्यर्् ॥ कठोपत्तिषत् १-२-१० ॥
There यर्धर्व राज clearly says I was a human being, I did ritual
and उपासि and now I have become र्म. So देवािार्ािन्दः.
श्रोत्तत्रयस्य िाकार्ितस्य – the same आिन्द you can get in
भल ू ोक also if you have got वैरानयर्् for all the लोकs upto
कर्व देवािाां लोक. Then what is the next one? ते ये शतां
देवािार्ािन्दाः – a hundred units of देव आिन्द is स एक
इन्रस्याऽऽिन्दः. So all other MPs can be many but PM is only
one. So देवs are like MPs, इन्र is the साक्षात् PM. He is the
देवराज. Naturally he will be having more powers and he will
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be controlling all the देवताs. Therefore he has got better आिन्द
which is hundred times देव आिन्द. And the same इन्र आिन्द
you can get here if you have got वैरानयर्् for all the लोकs upto
देव आिन्द. In तत्त्वबोध we very casually said
इिार्ुत्रार्व फलभोगत्तवरागः. वैरानयर्् for इि लोक and पर लोक.
Here that is dramatized. Then what is the next one? ते ये
शतत्तर्न्रस्याऽऽिन्दाः – a hundred units of इन्र आिन्द is equal
to स एको बिृ स्पतेरािन्दः – one unit of बिृ स्पत्तत’s आिन्द.
Who is बिृ स्पत्तत? देवानां गुरुिः. बिृ शत means वाक्. Therefore
बिृ स्पत्तत means वाचस्पशत, the lord of words. Words represent
wisdom. In English a man of letters means a man of wisdom.
Therefore बिृ स्पत्तत being the गुरु of even इन्र, इन्र would have
provided him with better facilities. And that आिन्द श्रोत्तत्रयस्य
िाकार्ितस्य – that आिन्द is possible for a शवराशग पुरुषः also.
Then the next one ते ये शतां बिृ स्पतेरािन्दाः – a hundred units
of बिृ स्पत्तत’s आिन्द is स एकः प्रजापतेरािन्दः – equal to one
unit of प्रजापत्तत’s आिन्द. प्रजापत्तत is त्तवराि्, the one who has
got सर्त्तष्ट स्र्ल ू प्रपञ्ि अत्तभर्ाि, whereas बिृ स्पत्तत has got a
एक िररर अत्तभर्ाि. And the same आिन्द is for this man of
dispassion also. And ते ये शतां प्रजापतेरािन्दाः – a hundred units
of त्तवराि्’s आिन्द is स एको ब्रह्मि आिन्दः – equal to one unit
of ब्रह्म’s आिन्द. Here ब्रह्म means त्तिरण्यगभव . It is not ब्रह्मािन्द
or आत्र्ािन्द, because ब्रह्मािन्द is the original आिन्द. Any
amount of multiplication of reflection can never be equal to the
original. Therefore ब्रह्मिः also refers to reflected आिन्द only.
Why do we say त्तिरण्यगभव is superior to त्तवराि्? त्तिरण्यगभव has
got सर्त्तष्ट सक्ष्ू र् शरीर अत्तभर्ाि whereas त्तवराि् has got only
सर्त्तष्ट स्र्लू शरीर अत्तभर्ाि. In fact त्तिरण्यगभव is the cause of
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त्तवराि्. सक्ष्ू र् प्रपञ्ि is the cause of स्र्ल
ू प्रपञ्ि. So त्तिरण्यगभव
has got a subtler equipment and therefore he has got a higher
आिन्द. The very same त्तिरण्यगभव आिन्द belongs to श्रोत्तत्रयस्य
िाकार्ितस्य – the one who has got वैरानयर्् for all लोकs upto
प्रजापत्तत’s आिन्द. Suppose there is a person who has got
वैरानयर्् for त्तिरण्यगभव आिन्द also. Then naturally his आिन्द
will be hundred times greater than even त्तिरण्यगभव आिन्द.
Therefore श्रोत्तत्रयस्य िाकार्ितस्य means the who has got
वैरानयर्् for all लोकs upto प्रजापत्तत लोक. In the sense pleasure
field the highest pleasure possible is त्तिरण्यगभव ’s आिन्द. That
is why in the seven लोकs – भल ू ोक, भुवलोक, सुवलोक,
मिलोक, िनलोक, तपोलोक and सत्यलोक (ब्रह्मलोक);
सत्यलोक is the highest लोक and there alone in the sense
pleasure one can have the maximum pleasure. So in कोशािन्द
the highest is ब्रह्मलोक आिन्द. And that कोशािन्द you can
get by वैरानयर्् also. There is a well-known श्लोक
यच्ि कार्सुखां लोके यच्ि त्तदव्यां र्ित्सुखर्् ।
तष्ृ िाक्यसुखस्यैते िािव तः षोडशीं कलार्् ॥ र्िाभारत शात्तन्तपवव
१७४-४६ ॥
You imagine the sense pleasures obtaining in the world, यच्ि
कार्सुखां लोके. In this र्िुष्यलोक, इि लोक you imagine any
type of sense pleasures by objects or by relationship and यच्ि
त्तदव्यां र्ित्सुखर््, similarly, you imagine any pleasure
obtainable in heaven. And all this इि लोक and पर लोक सुखर््
is not even a speck of सुखर्् which can be attained through
dispassion. तष्ृ िाक्यसुखस्य, the आिन्द that a person enjoys
by saying “no” to all of them; not out of frustration or
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disappointment, very careful, but out of maturity, वैरानयर््
सुखर््, and of that सुखर्् षोडशीं कलार्् ि अिव शत, all the sense
pleasures cannot be even one sixteenth of the तष्ृ िाक्यसुखर््.
Therefore वैरानयर्् also can give. In fact the greatest
contribution of India is this wisdom only. We can be happy by
possession and we can also be equally or more be happy by
dispossession also. If भोग can give happiness, त्याग also can
give happiness. In fact, त्याग can give more happiness is the
more unique spiritual lesson given by India. All the other
societies talk about materialistic pleasures which can be
improved by scientific and technological advancement. India
does not condemn that सुखर््, but India only tells that the same
सुखर्् can be obtained by त्याग also. Therefore in our culture
त्यात्तगs are respected more than भोशगs. A saint (formerly the
prime minister of king) who had renounced everything was
sitting under a tree and the king comes and asks standing,
“What did you get out of renunciation?” The saint says, “I am
sitting, whereas you are standing. In Normal course I would
have seek an appointment with you. Now instead of I going to
you, you have come to me. You are standing and I am sitting.
This is the difference between a त्याग and a भोग.” So with this
the कोशािन्द part is over. He has talked about both means –
त्तवषय प्रात्ति as well as वैरानय प्रात्ति.
Now the teacher wants to talk about आत्र्ािन्द.
र्न्त्र 2-8-05
स यश्चायां पुरुषे । यश्चासावात्तदत्ये । स एकः । स य एवांत्तवत् ।
अस्र्ाल्लोकात्प्रेत्य । एतर्न्िर्यर्ात्र्ािर्ुपसङ्िार्त्तत । एतां
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प्रािर्यर्ात्र्ािर्ुपसङ्िार्त्तत । एतां
र्िोर्यर्ात्र्ािर्ुपसङ्िार्त्तत । एतां
त्तवज्ािर्यर्ात्र्ािर्ुपसङ्िार्त्तत ।
एतर्ािन्दर्यर्ात्र्ािर्ुपसङ्िार्त्तत । तदप्येष श्लोको भवत्तत ॥
५ ॥ इत्यष्टर्ोऽिुवाकः ॥
स यश्चायां पुरुषे । यश्चासावात्तदत्ये । स एकः. These three
sentences put together is called a र्िावाक्तयर््. र्िावाक्तयर््
occurs in several places like तत् त्वर्् अत्तस, अिर्् ब्रह्म अत्तस्र्,
etc. This is another र्िावाक्तयर््. र्िावाक्तयर्् is जीवात्र्-परर्ात्र्
ऐक्तय बोधक वाक्तयर््. Any statement which reveals the essential
identity of the जीवात्र्ा, the microcosm and परर्ात्र्ा, the
macrocosm is a र्िावाक्तयर््. Look at the मन्र. सः अयां आिन्दः
– this आिन्द, यः पुरुषे – which obtains in a र्िुष्य, असौ
आिन्दः – that आिन्दः, यः आत्तदत्ये – in आत्तदत्य. आत्तदत्य
stands for त्तिरण्यगभव , the macro. So, that आिन्द which obtains
in त्तिरण्यगभव , the macro, with the best उपात्तध. So thus this
आिन्द obtaining in र्िुष्य, the individual and that आिन्द
which obtains in त्तिरण्यगभव , सः एकः – both the आिन्दs are one
and the same. If you look at this statement it openly contradicts
what we have seen before. What did we see before? We said
र्िुष्य आिन्द is one unit and we went to many upper levels
adding two zeroes at each level and the tenth and final level is
the त्तिरण्यगभव आिन्द which आिन्द has one followed by
twenty zeroes. Therefore र्िुष्य आिन्द is one unit, त्तिरण्यगभव
आिन्द is one followed by twenty zeroes so many units, and
when these आिन्दs are so diagonally opposite which are like
glowworm light and sunlight. Thus in the previous portion
र्िुष्य आिन्द and त्तिरण्यगभव आिन्द were said to be totally
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different but here the उपत्तिषत् says र्िुष्य आिन्द and
त्तिरण्यगभव आिन्द are both one and the same. If we have the
reverence for the शास्त्र then we have to look into the statement
and understand properly. Here we have to remember the
discussion that we have seen before. Every word can have
different meanings like primary meaning, वाच्यार्व and
secondary meaning, लक्ष्यार्व . Direct meaning and indirect
meaning or primary meaning and secondary meaning. So when
you say that there is going to be a music program Jambangudi
lalgudi and Karaikudi. Jambangudi, lalgudi and Karaikudi are
the name of places in Tamilnadu. Now suppose you ask how
can the places have music concert. If you are in the Carnatic
music field you understand without questioning. Jambangudi
the primary meaning is the name of place, the secondary
meaning is a singer from Jambangudi. That singer is referred to
लक्िा वशृ ि. Lalgudi refers to a violinist belonging to that place,
Karaikudi means a mrdangist belonging to that place. Therefore
the place is वाच्यार्व and the person is लक्ष्यार्व . The rule is that
लक्ष्यार्व must be closely connected to वाच्यार्व . Here what is the
connection? वाच्यार्व is the place and लक्ष्यार्व is the person
belonging to that place. We saw this in the context of सत्यर््-
ज्ािर््-अिन्तर्् ब्रह्म. The general rule of interpretation is you
should always apply the primary meaning alone in the
beginning. If the primary meaning does not fit in properly, then
you should apply the secondary meaning and see whether it fits
properly. And if the statement comes from a sane person either
primary meaning will fit or secondary meaning will fit. If both
meanings do not fit, then the statement is absurd. The उपत्तिषत्s
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are sane which are given out by the Lord, and therefore
उपत्तिषत् will have either वाच्यार्व or लक्ष्यार्व . Now for the word
आिन्द also we have वाच्यार्व and लक्ष्यार्व . What is the वाच्यार्व
of the word आिन्द? Whenever a person uses the word आिन्द
everybody understands only experiential pleasure. I was happy
or I am happy or I will be happy. Therefore the वाच्यार्व of the
word आिन्द is experiential pleasure. And experiential pleasure
is कोशािन्द. Therefore if you take the primary meaning र्िुष्य
आिन्द is कोशािन्द and त्तिरण्यगभव आिन्द is also कोशािन्द.
The कोशािन्द of a र्िुष्य and the कोशािन्द of त्तिरण्यगभव
definitely there will be difference because र्िुष्य आिन्द will
be only one unit and त्तिरण्यगभव आिन्द will be one followed by
twenty zeroes. Therefore if you take the primary meaning the
equation will not fit. And since the equation does not fit in the
primary meaning, you drop the primary meaning and you take
the secondary meaning. What is the secondary meaning of
आिन्द? So by elimination the secondary meaning is
आत्र्ािन्द, the original आिन्द, the शबम्ब आिन्द. And the
आत्र्ािन्द obtaining behind the र्िुष्य and the आत्र्ािन्द
obtaining behind the त्तिरण्यगभव that आत्र्ािन्द happens to be
one and the same. Because there is no gradation. That is why
we call it ungraded आिन्द. Therefore आत्र्ािन्द of र्िुष्य
and आत्र्ािन्द of त्तिरण्यगभव it will be only one. But what
happens? र्िुष्य has got a small mirror therefore the reflection
will be duller reflection. त्तिरण्यगभव has got a bright mirror and
therefore reflection is brighter. There are differences in the
reflection but there is no difference in the original. And
therefore अयां आत्र्ािन्दः यः पुरुषे and असौ आत्र्ािन्दः यः
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आत्तदत्ये is एकः. This you arrive at by taking लक्ष्यार्व , the
secondary meaning. Now that I have understood that there is
only आत्र्ािन्दः in all, there is no difference in the original, the
difference belongs to the reflection. Now the difference is, look
at this, सः एकः – that आत्र्ािन्दः is only one. How many
methods are there to get that आत्र्ािन्द? For कोशािन्द two
methods we saw. Go to higher लोकs or get वैरानर्म्. Now for
आत्र्ािन्द how many methods are there? आत्र्ािन्द need not
be got at all because आत्र्ािन्द is the name of the very subject,
the experiencer, the आत्र्ा.
ि तत्र सय ू ो भात्तत ि िन्रतारकर्् िेर्ा त्तवद्ुतो भात्तन्त
कुतोऽयर्त्तनिः । तर्ेव भान्तर्िुभात्तत सवव र्् तस्य भासा सवव त्तर्दर््
त्तवभात्तत ॥ र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत् २-२-१० ॥
आत्र्ािन्द is the I the िैतन्यर््. Therefore getting आत्र्ािन्द
is removing the ignorance and seeking आत्र्ािन्द. Drop the
seeking be knowing that it is not a sought object but it is the
very seeker. Then very seeking is the denial of आत्र्ािन्द.
Because the more I seek the more I think it is an object and the
object will be invariably कोशािन्द only. And कोशािन्द will
come and leaves me high and dry. Therefore ज्ञानेन
आत्र्ािन्द. सः यः एवां त्तवत्. एवां त्तवत् means the one who knows
र्िावाक्तयर्् attains आत्र्ािन्द. More in the next class.
पि
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In the eighth अिुवाक of ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली we get the
आिन्द र्ीर्ाांसा topic which culminates in the र्िावाक्तयर्् – स
यश्चायां पुरुषे । यश्चासावात्तदत्ये । स एकः. The आत्र्ािन्द
obtaining in an ordinary human being and आत्र्ािन्द obtaining
in the त्तिरण्यगभव , the most exalted being that आत्र्ािन्द, the
original आिन्द is one and the same. Even though the
कोशािन्द, the प्रशतशबम्ब आिन्द obtaining in these two will be
diagonally opposite. The कोशािन्द obtaining in the human
mind will be a feeble one because the mind has got a lot of
limitations. And the कोशािन्द obtaining in the त्तिरण्यगभव will
be definitely superior; one followed by twenty zeroes. It is like
the light coming through the bedroom bulb and the light coming
through the floodlight, the light will vary because of the
difference in the manifesting medium but the electricity behind
the smaller bulb and the bigger bulb will be one and the same.
Thus स्वरूप आिन्द दृष्ट्या जीवात्र्-परर्ात्र् ऐक्तयम् was
revealed. And this स्वरूप आिन्द we get by only one method,
i.e., ज्ािर््. And through ज्ािर्् we do not स्वरूप आिन्द in the
literal sense of the term, we own up the स्वरूप आिन्द as
ourselves and therefore we stop seeking आिन्द. The cessation
of seeking आिन्द is figuratively called the acquisition of
आिन्द. No more search! Now the teacher wants to conclude
the आिन्द र्ीर्ाांसा by giving the स्वरूप आिन्द and आिन्द
elsewhere. The sensation of seeking आिन्द in the फलर्् of this
wisdom – I, the आत्र्ािन्द behind my body-mind and the
आत्र्ािन्द behind the superior body-mind is one. That is given
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here. सः यः एवां त्तवत् – the one who knows this fact regarding
कोशािन्द as well as आत्र्ािन्द अस्र्ात् लोकात् प्रेत्य – he
turns his attention away from the external world. प्रेत्य has got
the meaning of मरिम् also, but in this context शङ्करािायव
does not take that meaning, he translates प्रेत्य as turning away
from the external world, because he does not depend upon the
external world for आिन्द. Until then I was seeking आिन्द
from the त्तवषयs, I was after त्तवषय आिन्द before. Now I have
understood the secret that all the source of all आिन्द is I
myself. Therefore I no more depend upon people for my peace
and fulfilment. I no more depend upon situation for my peace
and fulfilment. I no more depend upon objects. This
independence is called turning away. No more I hold onto
things. एतर्् अन्िर्यर्् आत्र्ािर्् उपसङ्िार्त्तत. The word
उपसङ्िार्त्तत literally means crosses over or transcends. This
wise person crosses over or transcends अन्िर्य-कोश. What do
you mean by transcending? शङ्करािायव translates
transcendence means giving up the अत्तभर्ािम् upon the कोश,
giving up the mistake of taking the अन्िर्य as myself. I look
upon अन्िर्य as an incidental appendage caused by प्रारब्धर््,
which is a gift from the पञ्िभत ू s. Once the प्रारब्धर्् time is over
this अन्िर्य will go back to the सर्त्तष्ट अन्िर््. This अन्िर्य
अत्तभर्ाि त्याग is उपसङ्िार्िम्. Then what happens? एतां
प्रािर्यर्् आत्र्ािर्् उपसङ्िार्त्तत – he does not identify with
प्रािर्य also. प्रािर्र्े आत्र् अत्तभर्ािर्् त्यजत्तत. This प्रािर्य
also belongs to the सर्त्तष्ट प्राि. It is matter, whereas I am the
Consciousness principle. Similarly एतां र्िोर्यर्् आत्र्ािर््
उपसङ्िार्त्तत – र्िोर्य is no more आत्र्ा but it is reduced to
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a कोश. Do you remember? अिात्र््व त्तिश्चयः (कोश्व
त्तिश्चयः), कायव ्व त्तिश्चयः, िार्रूप्व त्तिश्चयः, शमर्थर्ा्व त्तिश्चयः
and finally प्रशवलापनम्. When we did अन्योऽन्तर आत्र्ा
र्िोर्यः, अन्योऽन्तर आत्र्ा प्रािर्यः we saw. Similarly एतां
त्तवज्ािर्यर्् आत्र्ािर्् उपसङ्िार्त्तत. आत्र्ािर््
उपसङ्िार्त्तत word is used. It means the आत्र्ा notion is given
up and त्तवज्ािर्य is seen as अिात्र्ा. It is reduced into a dress
वासाांत्तस जीिाव त्ति यर्ा त्तविाय. Not only that एतां आिन्दर्यर््
आत्र्ािर्् उपसङ्िार्त्तत – even in आिन्दर्य कोश he does not
have अत्तभर्ाि. No doubt आिन्दर्य कोश enjoys कोशािन्द,
but he is not even attached to कोशािन्द because he knows the
very कोशािन्द is a reflection of his own स्वरूप आिन्द,
आत्र्ािन्द. Why should I be attached to my mirror reflection,
when the original face I am possessing? Therefore even
कोशािन्द he may enjoy but he is not hooked to it, he is not
attached to कोशािन्द. When original gold is there, why should
I be after the fake one? Therefore आिन्दर्यर्् आत्र्ािर््
उपसङ्िार्त्तत. Then we have to add one sentence. आत्र्ािन्द
त्तिष्ठः भवशत. After transcending all the five कोशs he falls back
on to his own lap. That means he abides in his very nature of
आत्र्ािन्द. When I say ‘he abides in his nature’ don’t try to
take literally that आत्र्ािन्द is sitting down as a carpet and he
is there standing up and he goes and sits upon आत्र्ािन्द.
Abides in आत्र्ािन्द means he knows that he is आत्र्ािन्द.
Abidance is non-forgetting knowledge. There is no abidance in
आत्र्ा as a physical event, it is nothing but not forgetting the
fact that I am आत्र्ािन्द. अभेद ज्ाि अत्तवस्र्त्तृ तः. So आत्र्ािन्द
त्तिष्ठः भवशत. As a result of not a physical action, not even long
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meditation but the process is in the form of understanding, a
gradual grasping of this knowledge that I am आत्र्ा. Then the
teacher says तत् अत्तप एषः श्लोकः भवत्तत – with regard to this
आिन्द र्ीर्ाांसा that आत्र्ा is आिन्द स्वरूप there is a ऋनर्न्त्र
support also. We will read.
र्न्त्र 2-9-01
यतो वािो त्तिवतव न्ते । अप्राप्य र्िसा सि । आिन्दां ब्रह्मिो त्तवद्वाि्
। ि त्तबभेत्तत कुतश्चिेत्तत ।
So this is a ऋनर्न्त्र. It starts with यतो वािो and ends
with कुतश्चि. This ऋनर्न्त्र says आिन्दां ब्रह्मिः त्तवद्वाि् ि
त्तबभेत्तत कुतश्चि इत्तत. The main sentence is त्तवद्वाि् ि त्तबभेत्तत –
the wise person is no more afraid of कुतश्चि – anything in the
creation. Why? Because he has recognized that the आिन्द or
the fullness he has is his very स्वरूपर््. आिन्द being his very
nature there is no question of losing the आिन्द. When I get
आिन्द depending upon the external condition, the conditional
आिन्द is highly risky, highly unpredictable and very fragile.
Somebody is going to come and I am going to be happy. It is
conditional आिन्द. Therefore I am all the time anxious that
person should come, or that promotion should come etc. And
until it reaches me there is an anxiety because there is lot of slip
between cup and lip. And once it has come another type of
anxiety – not to lose it. First I look for status then I look for
status quo. That is called योग and क्षेम. External आिन्द means
tension. Whereas for a wise man the source of आिन्द does not
depend upon external condition. Therefore he is neither worried
about its arrival nor is he worried about its departure. Therefore
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कुतश्चि ि त्तबभेत्तत. And the wise man has the wisdom of ब्रह्मिः
आिन्दां त्तवद्वाि् – the wise man who knows ब्रह्मािन्द,
आत्र्ािन्द to be himself, is never afraid of losing it because
nature is defined as that which is never lost. What type of ब्रह्मि्
it is? यतः वािः र्िसा सि त्तिवतव न्ते – that ब्रह्मि् from which
both the words and mind retreat. How do they return? अप्राप्य –
without reaching. Here reaching means objectification. Neither
the words nor the mind can objectify ब्रह्मि्. Therefore ब्रह्मि् is
unobjectifiable thing. And the only unobjectifiable this is the
subject. Therefore the one who knows ब्रह्मि् to be
unobjectifiable subject, that is to be himself. अिम् आिन्दां
ब्रह्माशस्म इशत त्तवद्वाि्. Thereafter ि त्तबभेत्तत कुतश्चि इत्तत –
nothing can take away my स्वरूप आिन्द from me. Therefore
why should I be frightened. This alone was said before
अभयर्् प्रत्ततष्ठार्् त्तवन्दते ॥ तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् २-७-१ ॥
For that the ऋनर्न्त्र support has been given. And with this
ऋनर्न्त्र quotation आिन्द-र्ीर्ाांसा topic is over. A few points
we have to add in this context. A few corollaries not given in
the text we have to add. Now through आिन्द-र्ीर्ाांसा we have
known that आत्र्ािन्द is attained through ज्ािर्् and
कोशािन्द can be attained through sense objects or वैरानयर््.
This is the gist of आिन्द-र्ीर्ाांसा. Now let us look into a ज्ात्ति.
A ज्ात्ति has got ज्ािर्् and therefore certainly he has got
आत्र्ािन्द as a result of his very ज्ािर््. This is point one.
Then the next point is if a person should attain ज्ािर्् he
should have acquired all the necessary qualifications because
without the eligibility one cannot attain ज्ािर््. And if you look
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into the qualifications four are there known as साधि ितुष्टयम्
– त्तववेक, वैरानय, शर्ात्तद षि्क सम्पत्ति and र्ुर्ुक्षुत्वर््. Every
ज्ात्ति must have got these four-fold qualifications just as a post-
graduate must be necessarily be a graduate. And in that the
second qualification is वैरानय. Therefore every ज्ात्ति has got
वैरानय also because without वैरानय he would not have attained
ज्ाि. Therefore a ज्ात्ति has got two things – ज्ाि and वैरानय.
Now we have seen before that वैरानय is a means for attaining
कोशािन्द. Therefore a ज्ात्ति has got ज्ाि and वैरानय, so
through ज्ािम् he has got आत्र्ािन्द and through वैरानय he
will enjoy कोशािन्द. That means every ज्ात्ति has got both
शबम्ब आनन्द and प्रशतशबम्ब आनन्द, both आत्र्ािन्द and
कोशािन्द. That means all the joys of the world will fall within
only in these two categories – कोशािन्द or आत्र्ािन्द.
Therefore a ज्ात्ति has got all the possible pleasures of the world,
even though he does not possess anything. Therefore through
आिन्द-र्ीर्ाांसा the उपत्तिषत् corroborates a statement which
was given in the beginning
सोऽश्नुते सवाव ि् कार्ाि् सि ॥ तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् २-१-१ ॥
That statement has been validated now – he enjoys आत्र्ािन्द
through ज्ािम् and he enjoys कोशािन्द through वैरानयम्.
Therefore आिन्द-र्ीर्ाांसा is a commentary upon सोऽश्नुते
सवाव ि् कार्ाि् सि. So this is one corollary we have to note.
Then the next point we have to note is the student has
asked three questions.
1) Whether ब्रह्मि् exists or not (implied question),
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2) Whether the wise person attains ब्रह्मि् or not,
3) Whether the ignorant person attains ब्रह्मि् or not.
Of these three questions the first question the teacher answered
elaborately by giving seven reasons. Then the next two
questions the teacher never answered, he quietly slipped into
आिन्द-र्ीर्ाांसा. So these questions are left behind. And when
you look at the उपत्तिषत् we have got only four lines left and in
those line the of the two questions are not answered. Therefore
it appears as though the teacher has forgotten these.
शङ्करािायव in his commentary says that the two answers are
implied in this फलश्रुत्तत. एतर्न्िर्यर्ात्र्ािर्ुपसङ्िार्त्तत ।
एतां प्रािर्यर्ात्र्ािर्ुपसङ्िार्त्तत । The wise person
transcends the five कोशs and gets established in ब्रह्मािन्द.
That gives the answer through implication. What is that answer
we have to know. We say we cannot give an answer to the
question because the question itself is wrong. For a wrong
question there cannot be a right answer. How many kilograms
is the distance between Adyar and Alwarpet. You will not
answer, because the question is wrong. Now the question of
reaching or not reaching ब्रह्मि् comes only when ब्रह्मि् is a
destination away from me. ब्रह्मि् is not a destination to be
reached, but it is the very nature of the traveler. Therefore the
question is wrong. Nobody reaches ब्रह्मि्. Nobody can reach
ब्रह्मि्. But still if you want to your name want and I have to
give you some answer, I will give you some kind of an answer.
Until I know that ब्रह्मि् is not a destination but ब्रह्मि् is myself,
I will imagine that ब्रह्मि् is away. This sheer ignorance causes
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an imaginary or a notional distance. This notional distance will
continue as long as ignorance continues. Whereas when I get
the wisdom, because of the wisdom the notional distance
disappears. The notion that ब्रह्मि् is away, I have to reach that
ब्रह्मि् that very expectation drops, that means the notional
distance is gone in the case of a wise person, the notional
distance exists in the case of an ignorant person. And therefore
we say that in the case of an ignorant person since the notional
distance exists, he has not reached ब्रह्मि् as though. In the case
of a wise person since the notional distance does not exist, he
has reached ब्रह्मि् as though. So this is the answer to those two
questions. Therefore the second and the third questions are
answered. An ignorant person continues to be away because of
his notion, wise person is always with ब्रह्मि् because his
notional distance is gone. With this all the three questions are
answered. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् wants to conclude by
glorifying that ज्ात्ति. How a ज्ात्ति will live the rest of his life,
how will he face his later period etc. That is given here.
एतँि वाव ि तपत्तत । त्तकर्िँसाधु िाकरवर्् । त्तकर्िां
पापर्करवत्तर्त्तत । स य एवां त्तवद्वािेते आत्र्ानगँ स्पि
ृ ुते । उभे ह्येवषै
एते आत्र्ानगँ स्पि ृ ुते । य एवां वेद । इत्युपत्तिषत् ॥ १ ॥ इत्तत
िवर्ोऽिुवाकः ॥
So an ignorant person always suffers from सांसार,
whereas a ज्ात्ति as a result of this knowledge becomes free from
सांसार. He enjoys जीवन्र्ुत्तक्त. This is the essence of this portion.
He enjoys freedom from सांसार. सांसार always expresses in
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different types of psychological problems. Even though the
cause of सांसार is intellectual, because ignorance is an
intellectual problem, but the effect of ignorance is always
experienced in the form of psychological problems, emotional
problems. And emotional problems are many. One expression
of this emotional problem is the regrets over the past. As we
grow older and older, the duration of future period becomes
smaller and smaller and the duration of my past life becomes
bigger and bigger. When I was young, I had got lot of dreams
because I had a long life to go. And as I become thirty, forty,
fifty etc., what I have crossed through is more number of years
and what is left is lesser. And therefore gradually the dreams of
the future are replaced by the regrets over the past. In fact a
person defined old age in this manner. “When the dreams of the
future are replaced by regrets over the past it is an indication of
old age setting in.” More and more I look back to the past, and
even my talk also more about past days. And what all actions I
did and what all actions I did not do, omissions and
commissions of the past occupy my mind. And I always dwell
on “should have been”, “would have been”, and “could have
been” which is a typical सांसार trait. I can never escape from
सांसार because in old age I cannot use activity as an escapism.
In young age I can become a workaholic to forget my worries.
But in old age silently I have to be in my bed, nobody will be
around me.
वाद्व क्तये िेत्तन्रयािाां त्तवगतगत्ततर्त्ततश्चात्तधदैवात्तदतापैः पापै
रोगैत्तववयोगैस्त्विवत्तसतवपुः प्रौत्तढिीिां ि दीिर्् ।
त्तर्थ्यार्ोिात्तभलाषैभ्रवर्त्तत र्र् र्िो धज ू व िेध्याव िशन्ू यां क्न्तव्यो र्े
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पराधः त्तशव त्तशव त्तशव भो श्रीर्िादेव शम्भो ॥
त्तशवापराधक्र्ापिस्तोत्रर्् ४ ॥
I planned for meditation after retirement but after retirement I
am re-tired. What is सांसार? The उपत्तिषत् says this two-fold
worries. त्तकां अिां साधु ि अकरवर््? – why didn’t I do these good
actions? This is called worry over omissions. And त्तकां अिां पापर््
अकरवर््? – why did I do such inferior actions? This is regret
over commission. This omission-commission regret is a typical
सांसार trait which is otherwise called guilt. And this guilt एतां ि
वाव ि तपत्तत – will not disturb a ज्ात्ति. Even though ज्ात्ति also
has committed mistakes before acquiring ज्ािर््. He also has
committed blunders. Except भगवाि् everybody has committed
blunders even पञ्िमिापातकम्s, if not in this जन्र्, in the
previous जन्र्s. And these two ि तपत्तत – do not hurt him. And
why these two do not hurt him? The उपत्तिषत् gives the reason.
ृ ुते – the wise person sees all
सः यः एवां त्तवद्वाि् एते आत्र्ािां स्पि
these omissions and commissions as part of त्तर्थ्या सांसार
enjoying the lower order of reality. They don’t exist separate
from आत्र्ा. So एते आत्र्ािां त्तवद्वाि् – the wise man knows these
two – पुण्यर्् and पापर््, omissions-commissions as आत्र्ा, they
are non-separate from आत्र्ा. Just as the dream पुण्यर््s and
पापर््s do not exist separate from the waker, therefore having
woken up I do not feel guilty of dream murder or any other
dream action. In short, the essence is he looks at all the पुण्यर््s
and पापर््s from a higher order of reality. When he looks from
a higher view they become insignificant like the candle light
becomes insignificant when the sun rises. This is called
अशभभविः. When the sun rises the candle light continues to burn
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but in the vision of the Sun it is as good as non-existent.
Similarly for the wise person the शरीरम्, अिङ्कार, प्रारब्धर््
etc., appear to be pinpricks in the vision of this knowledge.
Therefore एते उभे आत्र्ािां त्तवद्वाि् स्पि ृ ुते. स्पि ृ ुते means he
strengthens himself by going to that higher level. This is
repeated. उभे ह्येवषै एते आत्र्ािां त्तवद्वाि् स्पि ृ ुते. The one who
sees both the पुण्यर्् and पापर्् to be non-different from आत्र्ा,
that means त्तर्थ्या, exactly like looking at the dream after
waking up. So आत्र्ािां स्पि ृ ुते – he strengthens himself by
raising his level. Therefore neither omissions nor commissions
bother him. They all belong to the कताव , I am अकताव .
िन्ता िेन्र्न्यते िन्तुँ ितश्चेन्र्न्यते ितर्् । उभौ तौ ि त्तवजािीतो
िायँ ित्तन्त ि िन्यते ॥ कठोपत्तिषत् १-२-१९ ॥
उभे एते refers to both the पुण्यर्् and पापर््. एषः means the wise
person. आत्र्ािां त्तवद्वाि् – the one who looks upon both of them
as none other than आत्र्ा, that means there is no अिात्र्ा
existing separate from आत्र्ा, just as in a movie the dragon does
not exist separate from the screen. Once I know that there is no
dragon separate from the screen, where is the question of
screaming? They are all falsified. यः एवर्् वेद – the one who
knows thus is free from all forms of regrets and guilts. This is
the ज्ािफलर्् in the form of सांसार त्तिवत्तृ िः. Guilt is the worst
form of suffering. For a wise person the past is past. This is
called जीवन्र्ुत्तक्त. इत्तत – thus, उपत्तिषत् – so this उपत्तिषत् ends.
॥
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The शात्तन्तपाठ is repeated at the end also. The first शात्तन्तपाठ
in the beginning is for ज्ािप्रात्ति and the last one is for
ज्ाित्तिष्ठा प्रात्ति. सि िाववतु stands for ज्ािप्रात्ति, सि िौ
भुिक्तु stands for ज्ाित्तिष्ठा प्रात्ति. Only then this knowledge
will be there for me, not only during the class, but also for the
rest of the life.
पि
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Summary
The second chapter is the main chapter of the
तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् because this alone gives the Vedantic teaching.
The first and third chapters are dealing with preparatory
disciplines only to indicate that without preparatory disciplines,
the second chapter will not be much relevant at all. Therefore it
is very well protected. We shall see the summary by topic wise
for the sake of our convenience. The ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली consists of
nine अनुवाकs or sections or paragraphs and it begins with a
सत्रू भागिः which presents the teaching in a nutshell. सत्र ू means
capsule like aphorism. This सत्र ू is briefly commented through
a portion called वत्तृ िभागः, वत्तृ ि means short notes. भागः means
portion. And later the वत्तृ िभागः is further elaborated which is
called व्याख्यािभागः. So the entire ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली can be
divided into सत्र ू भागिः, वत्तृ िभागः and व्याख्यािभागः. First we
will take up सत्र ू भागिः which is the first sentence – ब्रह्मत्तवत्
आप्िोत्तत परर्् – the knower of ब्रह्मि् attains the highest. The
highest can be translated as infinite, र्ोक् or ब्रह्मि्. शङ्करािायव
says that the knower of ब्रह्मि् attains ब्रह्मि्, becomes one with
ब्रह्मि्. This is the सत्र
ू भागिः. This leads to three basic questions,
1) What is ब्रह्मि्?
2) What is the method of knowing ब्रह्मि्?
3) What is meant by attaining the highest?
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To put it in सांस्कृत, ब्रह्म लक्िर््, ब्रह्म वेदन प्रकारः, परप्राशत
फलर्् respectively.
So these three topics that arise out of the सत्र ू भागिः. All these
three topics are briefly dealt with in the next portion known as
वत्तृ िभागः. वत्तृ िभागः begins with तदेषाभ्युक्ता । सत्यां ज्ािर्िन्तां
ब्रह्म । यो वेद त्तित्तितां गुिायाां परर्े व्योर्ि् । सोऽश्नुते सवाव ि्
कार्ाि् सि । ब्रह्मिा त्तवपत्तश्चतेत्तत upto त्तवपत्तश्चतेत्तत.
What is the first topic? What is the definition of ब्रह्मि्?
the answer given is सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् अिन्तर्् ब्रह्म. सत्यर्् – pure
Existence; as a noun and not as an adjective. Pure existence or
Existence with capital E. ज्ािर्् – pure Consciousness; not an
adjective of matter but Consciousness as an entity in itself.
Existence as substance and Consciousness as substance; and
not two substances. It is the substance which is called Existence
and which itself is called Consciousness. अिन्तर्् –infinite,
limitless; it is an adjective. Thus सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् अिन्तर्् means
the limitless Existence Consciousness as a substance is called
ब्रह्मि्. This is the brief definition. And you are not supposed to
understand. Only then there can be व्याख्यािम्.
And the second topic briefly dealt with is the method of
knowing ब्रह्मि,् वेदन प्रकारः. A brief answer is given यो वेद
त्तित्तितां गुिायाां परर्े व्योर्ि्. ब्रह्मि् is to be recognized in one’s
own mind. गुिा means mind. How should one know? As the
witness of the presence and absence of thoughts, वत्तृ ि भाव
अभाव सात्तक् रूपेि. And also as non-different from myself. So
ब्रह्मि् has to be recognized as I, the witness of the presence and
absence of thoughts in the mind. In short, अिम् ब्रह्म अत्तस्र्.
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And the third topic is what is meant by attaining the
highest? The answer is given briefly again सोऽश्नुते सवाव ि्
कार्ाि् सि. It is the attainment of everything, attainment of all
the pleasures simultaneously, it is the simultaneous fulfilment
of all the possible pleasures. सि means simultaneous. The word
कार् refers to आिन्द. So सवाव ि् कार्ाि् अश्नुते means सवव
आिन्द प्रात्तिः एव परप्रात्तिः. So मोक्ष means all joy. िन्दत्तत
िन्दत्तत िन्दत्येव ॥ भजगोत्तवन्दर्् १९ ॥ That is the state of
mind. You need not jump up and down and get a catch in the
back. You feel light in the mind, that is why it is called
enlightenment! Enlightenment means mind gets lightened. भार
शनवशृ ििः एव िोक शनवशृ ििः एव enlightenment. So सः अश्नुते
सवाव ि् कार्ाि् सि । ब्रह्मिा त्तवपत्तश्चता upto this is the brief
answer for the third question. And with that the वत्तृ िभाग is over.
All these are given in the first अनुवाक itself.
Now we go to the third portion called व्याख्यािभागः,
the elaboration of these three topics. This elaboration begins
from तस्र्ाद्वा एतस्र्ादात्र्ि आकाशः सम्भत ू ः । आकाशाद्वायुः ।
वायोरत्तनिः । अनिेरापः । अद्भ्यः पत्तृ र्वी । पत्तृ र्व्या ओषधयः ।
ओषधीभ्योन्िर्् । अन्िात्पुरुषः । स वा एष पुरुषोऽन्िरसर्यः ।
The elaboration is in this manner.
a) The first topic of the definition of ब्रह्मि् is elaborated
through सत्तृ ष्ट प्रकरिर््.
b) Then the method of knowing ब्रह्मि् is elaborated
through पञ्चकोश त्तववेक.
c) And the attainment of the highest is elaborated through
आिन्द र्ीर्ाांसा.
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The सत्तृ ष्ट प्रकरिर्् begins with तस्र्ाद्वा एतस्र्ादात्र्ि
आकाशः सम्भत ू ः and it goes upto स वा एष पुरुषोऽन्िरसर्यः.
Upto the creation of this physical body beginning from the
creation of आकाश is सत्तृ ष्ट प्रकरिर््. Through this सत्तृ ष्ट
प्रकरिर्् the definition of ब्रह्मि् is clarified. This is done in two
ways – in सत्तृ ष्ट प्रकरिर्् ब्रह्मि् is presented as कारिर्् and the
world as कायव र््. From this we should extract all our ideas. The
first point to be noted is कारिर्् is that which exists before the
creation, which exists during the creation and which will exists
after the creation also. शरकाले अशप कारिर्् शतष्ठशत. Clay
exists before the production of pot, clay exists even after the
production of pot and clay exists even after the destruction of
pot. Whatever remains at all the three periods of time is called
सत्यर््. So ब्रह्म सत्यर्् कारित्वात्. कायव र्् does not exist in all
the three periods of time. It comes when pot is created and it
goes.
आदावन्ते ि यन्िात्तस्त वतव र्ािेऽत्तप तिर्ा ॥ र्ाण्डूक्तय काररका
२-६ ॥
िासतो त्तवद्ते भावो िाभावो त्तवद्ते सतः ॥ गीता २-१६ ॥
Therefore the point to be noted is ब्रह्मि् is eternal because it is
कारिर्् therefore it is सत्यर््.
And the second idea to be extracted is कायव र््, the effect
does not exist separate from कारिर््. This means the world, the
कायव र्् does not exist separate from ब्रह्मि्, therefore world
cannot be counted as a second thing. Therefore you cannot say
ब्रह्मि् and world, you cannot say water and wave, because there
is no wave other than water. Therefore there is no द्वैतर्् at all;
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in the form of ब्रह्मि् and world there is no duality, therefore
ब्रह्मि् is non-dual. Once you know the world as a second thing
there is nothing to limit ब्रह्मि् because a second thing alone can
cause limitation. World cannot limit ब्रह्मि्, because there is no
world other than ब्रह्मि्. Ornament cannot limit gold, furniture
cannot limit wood, wave cannot limit water, world cannot limit
ब्रह्मि्. And therefore ब्रह्मि् is limitless, अिन्तर््. Thus सत्तृ ष्ट
प्रशक्रर्ा reveals the सत्यर्् nature and अिन्तर्् nature very
clearly. The ज्ािर्् nature is not discussed here. It will come
later in पञ्िकोश त्तववेक. So with this the first topic has been
elaborated.
Now we have to go to the elaboration of the second topic
which is through पञ्िकोश त्तववेक. This topic begins from
तस्येदर्ेव त्तशरः । अयां दत्तक्िः पक्ः । अयर्ुिरः पक्ः । अयर्ात्र्ा ।
इदां पुच्छां प्रत्ततष्ठा । तदप्येष श्लोको भवत्तत ॥ And it continues upto
the fifth अिुवाक – आिन्द आत्र्ा । ब्रह्म पुच्छां प्रत्ततष्ठा । तदप्येष
श्लोको भवत्तत ॥ Here the उपत्तिषत् takes the mind of the student
from the grosser plane to subtler plane. This method is called
अरुन्धत्ततदशव ि न्याय or िाखाचन्द्र न्याय. So the mind is
acclimatized for the appreciation of the subtlest principle.
अन्िर्य is the grossest, प्रािर्य is subtler, र्िोर्य, त्तवज्ािर्य,
आिन्दर्य. And once we come to आिन्दर्य we have got the
subtlest form of mind when the mind is in आिन्दर्य it enjoys
calmness and fulfilment. Calmer the mind the more fulfilled it
is. It is presented as त्तप्रय, र्ोद, and प्रर्ोद experiences. So in a
calm mind we have come to आिन्दर्य कोश. And then we will
ask the question I have come upto आिन्दर्य कोश tell me how
to come to आत्र्ा? So in meditation this person starts operation
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search आत्र्ा. And he thinks once the mind becomes extremely
calm आत्र्ा will rise. दर्ािन्द स्वात्तर्शि called it submarine
psychology! The उपत्तिषत् says never look for आत्र्ा. The
onlooker, who is looking for an experience or an object to come
up that I, who am the witness of त्तप्रय आिन्द, र्ोद and प्रर्ोद
and who will continue to be there even after that आिन्द goes,
that I am आिन्द आत्र्ा. So आत्र्ािन्द is not an object of
experience, but आत्र्ािन्द is the subject of all experiences.
And आत्र्ािन्द as the subject of all experiences is available all
the time. And even when there is a sorrowful experience आत्र्ा
is आिन्द. This आत्र्ािन्द alone which is the witness is called
ब्रह्म. So र्िावाक्तयर्् आिन्द आत्र्ा ब्रह्म पुच्छां प्रत्ततष्ठा is the first
र्िावाक्तयर्् occurring here. But it is not a very explicit
र्िावाक्तयर््. So with this the पञ्िकोश त्तववेक topic is over.
Now we have to go to the third topic. What is meant by
परप्रात्तिः, which is the फलम्? This is given through आिन्द
र्ीर्ाांसा which occurs in the eighth अिुवाक. Therefore after
fifth अिुवाक we are going to now skip the sixth and seventh.
They should be taken as an side topic. For the flow of
तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् after fifth we go to the eighth अिुवाक. Here
there is आिन्द र्ीर्ाांसा, an analysis of आिन्द wherein the
उपत्तिषत् said there are two types of आिन्द – आत्र्ािन्द and
कोशािन्द. The differentiating features between the two are
thus. आत्र्ािन्द is त्तबम्बािन्द, I, the original; whereas
कोशािन्द is प्रत्ततत्तबम्बािन्द, the reflection of my pleasure, my
स्वरूपम् in the mind. आत्र्ािन्द is the subject of experience; it
is never an object, whereas कोशािन्द is always an object.
आत्र्ािन्द is not subject to gradation, whereas कोशािन्द, the
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experiential आिन्द is always subject to त्तप्रय, र्ोद, and प्रर्ोद.
कोशािन्द can be attained through two methods – sense objects
and contentment.
र्ढ
ू जिीत्ति धिागर्तष्ृ िाां कुरु सद्बुत्तद्ां र्ित्तस त्तवतष्ृ िार्् ।
यल्लभसे त्तिजकर्ोपािां त्तविां तेि त्तविोदय त्तििर्् ॥
भजगोत्तवन्दर्् २ ॥
One is by acquiring thing and another is by वैरानयर्् or
contentment. You can use any one of the methods for
कोशािन्द. And for getting आत्र्ािन्द there is only one
method – knowing that आत्र्ािन्द is never different from me
for me to hunt. It is not something to be sought but it is the very
nature of the seeker. The one who has got sense objects will get
कोशािन्द but he will not get आत्र्ािन्द. The one who has got
only वैरानयर्् and no ज्ािर्् he will also get कोशािन्द and not
आत्र्ािन्द. Whereas the one who has got ज्ािर्् will get both
आत्र्ािन्द and कोशािन्द. Do you follow? The one who has
got all sense objects will get कोशािन्द, the one who has got
वैरानयर्् will get कोशािन्द but both will not get आत्र्ािन्द.
But the one who has got ज्ािर्् will get both आत्र्ािन्द and
कोशािन्द. One who has got ज्ािर्् will definitely get
आत्र्ािन्द because that is the means of getting आत्र्ािन्द.
And more importantly one who has got ज्ािर्् will necessarily
have वैरानयर््. A ज्ात्ति without वैरानयर्् is oxymoron. It doesn’t
exist. वैरानयर्् is a necessary साधिर््, therefore everyone with
वैरानयर्् need not have ज्ािर््, whereas everyone with ज्ािर््
will necessarily have वैरानयर््. A graduate may not be a
postgraduate, but a postgraduate has to be necessarily a
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graduate. Therefore a ज्ात्ति will enjoy आत्र्ािन्द all the time,
अिर्् आिन्दः अत्तस्र् and because of his वैरानयर््, he is always
contented and therefore he will enjoy कोशािन्द also. This
accomplishment of two आिन्दs is called परप्रात्तिः. सोऽश्नुते
सवाव ि् कार्ाि् सि means the attainment of both आत्र्ािन्द
and कोशािन्द. Suppose this ज्ात्ति gets sense pleasures, what
will he do? It becomes a bonus for him. Whether he gets sense
pleasures or not, it doesn’t make any difference to him. It is like
a person having plenty of borewell water and he uses
corporation water. So this is सवय काम अवाशत which is
concluded with स यश्चायां पुरुषे । यश्चासावात्तदत्ये । स एकः । स य
एवांत्तवत् । अस्र्ाल्लोकात्प्रेत्य ।
एतर्न्िर्यर्ात्र्ािर्ुपसङ्िार्त्तत etc. And with this eighth
अिुवाक the फलम् is also over which is the elaboration of the
third topic. So all the three topics have been elaborated. Now
that the उपत्तिषत् has elaborated all the topics the उपत्तिषत्
concludes itself in the nineth अिुवाक which is called उपसंिारिः,
conclusion. The ज्ात्ति is not afraid of losing both आिन्दs.
Even if by chance कोशािन्द goes because he is sharing the
sorrow of someone. Suppose he goes to a place where
somebody has lost a near and dear one. And this ज्ात्ति is
sharing. And that person is grieving. Do you think that the ज्ात्ति
will go and tell him that this person has gone and still I am
happy. That means that ज्ात्ति doesn’t know practical व्र्विार.
When somebody is suffering from sorrow ज्ात्ति has empathy,
ज्ात्ति goes through their feeling. And only because he goes
through their feeling he is able to help them. Otherwise without
empathy sympathy won’t come and without sympathy, he
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won’t help others. And therefore at the time of sharing the grief
of others, कोशािन्द is not expressed, but then also ज्ात्ति
knows that whether कोशािन्द exists or not, they are all carbon
copies of his own आिन्द and that he is the source of all
आिन्द. Therefore he doesn’t have fear. यतो वािो त्तिवतव न्ते ।
अप्राप्य र्िसा सि । आिन्दां ब्रह्मिो त्तवद्वाि् । ि त्तबभेत्तत
कुतश्चिेत्तत । And incidentally the उपत्तिषत् adds one more
important point that ज्ात्ति does not go back to his past, i.e., pre-
ज्ािर्् era. Before gaining knowledge he might have committed
many mistakes, he is not going to dig deep for those mistakes,
and he is not going to feel the twin expressions of सांसार called
hurt and guilt. As a कताव I suffer from guilt. I did this, I did that
etc., कताव is associated with guilt. And as भोक्ता one is
associated with hurt. Because that person did to me like this or
like that. The ज्ात्ति sees both कतव त्ृ वर्् and भोक्तृत्वर्् as त्तर्थ्या
and therefore he doesn’t have this सांसार. And even if somebody
creates guilt like sometimes children say that you did not bring
us up properly. You cannot again make them small babies and
redo the whole thing. So they may not appreciate then we can
only say that it is your प्रारब्धम् that you became my child.
Therefore no hurt and guilt. That is called परप्रात्ति or मोक्षप्रात्ति.
With this the वशृ िभाग and व्र्ाख्र्ानभाग also are over. Now
the main teaching of ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली is over.
Now only those two sixth and seventh अिुवाकs which
are the aside topics are left out. असन्िेव स भवत्तत । असद्ब्रह्मेत्तत
वेद िेत् etc., and असद्वा इदर्ग्र आसीत् । ततो वै सदजायत etc.,
these two are aside topics and are not required for the smooth
flow of ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली. And in these two अिुवाकs we get three
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questions from the student called अनुप्रश्ािः. Of these three
questions one is implied and other two are explicit.
1) The first and implied question is “is there ब्रह्मि् at all?”
Because ब्रह्मि् is not available for any transaction. Either
transaction in the form of ज्ञान व्र्विार or transaction in the
form of कमय व्र्विार or transaction in the form of phycological
व्र्विार like emotion. So what is the proof for the existence of
that blessed ब्रह्मि्? There are systems of philosophy like
त्तवत्तशष्टाद्वैतर्् which totally negate the existence of त्तिगव ुिर््
ब्रह्म. So it is clear that it’s a very genuine doubt.
2) The second and the third questions are “does a wise
person attain ब्रह्मि् after death?” and
3) “does an ignorant person attain ब्रह्मि् after death?”
Of these three questions the first question is which is an implied
question has been answered very elaborately. And for
expressed question implied answers are given. We saw seven
reasons given to show the existence of ब्रह्मि्. त्तित्तर्ि
कारित्वात्, जीव रूपेि वतव र्ाित्वात्, जगत् रूपेि
वतव र्ाित्वात्, सुकृतर्् प्रत्तसद्त्वात्, रस रूपेि प्रत्तसद्त्वात्,
िररर चेष्टा दिय नात् and finally भय-अभय कारित्वात्. Because
of these seven reasons ब्रह्म अत्तस्त. Then the other two questions
– Does a wise person attain ब्रह्मि् after death? Does an ignorant
person attain ब्रह्मि् after death? For these two explicit questions
the उपत्तिषत् does not give an explicit answer at all. The answer
is implied. What is that implied answer? The question is wrong.
There is no question of anybody attaining ब्रह्मि्. The very
thought of attainment is based on the wrong notion that ब्रह्मि्
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is an object of attainment, whereas the उपत्तिषत् reveals that
ब्रह्मि् is I myself. Whether I am wise or ignorant I am ब्रह्मि्.
किव was the son of कुशन्त after he knew the fact and before
also. Therefore there is no question of anybody reaching ब्रह्मि्
at any time. I was, I am and I ever will be ब्रह्मि्. As long as I
am ignorant I feel ब्रह्मि् is away from me. There is a notional
distance caused by ignorance. Therefore we say that an ignorant
person has not attained ब्रह्मि्. Because an ignorant person
continues to think that ब्रह्मि् is away and ask If I can’t attain
र्ोक् in this जन्र्, will I attain it in next जन्र्? Will you yourself
come as my गुरु in the next जन्र् also? There is a prayer. O
Lord! वेदान्त should be the main शास्त्र for me in every जन्र्
and शङ्करािायव must be my गुरु in every जन्र्. If seek
शङ्करािायव to be my गुरु in every जन्र्, it means his गुरु्वम्
has no meaning. Therefore the very idea that next जन्र् at least
I will attain ब्रह्मि् is because of the notion and therefore
ignorant person has, as though, not attained ब्रह्मि्. In the case
of a wise person there is no notional distance. He does not crave
for reaching ब्रह्मि्. He does not crave because he has reached
ब्रह्मि्. Suppose you ask him, “O my dear ज्ात्ति now you don’t
crave for ब्रह्मि् I see, does it mean you have reached ब्रह्मि्.”
What will he say? Again ज्ात्ति is in trouble. He cannot say, ‘ I
have reached ब्रह्मि्’ because to say I have reached ब्रह्मि् is to
again betray my ignorance. So the teaching is we have never
been बधs to become मुिs. Does it mean that after this
knowledge you will attain मुशि? So therefore remember the
wise person has as though attained ब्रह्मि्. Ignorant person has
as though not attained ब्रह्मि्. this is the answer to the second
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and third question which has been implied in the sixth and
seventh अिुवाक. With this ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली teaching which is
the main portion of तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् is over.
पि
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तत
ृ ीया भग
We are now going to enter the third chapter of
तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् which is named भग ृ ुवल्ली. The main teaching
of ब्रह्मत्तवद्ा is already completed in the second chapter called
ब्रह्मवल्ली. ब्रह्मत्तवद्ा is not given importance in the third chapter.
It is only hinted at. And now in the third chapter the उपत्तिषत्
is going to focus on some other allied topics. What are those
topics? Mainly two topics are going to be highlighted.
1) ज्ाि साधनाशन – the preparatory disciplines in the
presence of which alone ब्रह्मत्तवद्ा can take place and not only
ज्ािर्् can take place, ज्ािर्् can remain in the personality and
bring fruit. Therefore preparatory disciplines are going to be
highlighted. In the preparatory disciplines also two types of
disciplines. One साधि which is remotely connected to
knowledge and another साधि which is closely, intimately,
directly connected to knowledge. In सांस्कृत we call साक्ात्
साधिम् and परम्परा साधिम्. The साक्ात् साधिम्, the direct
discipline which is to be highlighted is वेदान्त वाक्तय त्तविारः,
analysis of or enquiry into the Vedantic statements. It is the
most important साधि which alone will directly lead to
knowledge. So वाक्तय त्तविारः, प्रमाि त्तविारः. In this वल्ली the
त्तविार highlighted is पञ्िकोश त्तविारः which has been already
done in ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली. The word used for this त्तविार is तपस्.
So the word तपस् or तपिः is used to convey this idea. Here the
उपत्तिषत् repeats this word again and again.
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तपसा ब्रह्म त्तवत्तजज्ासस्व । तपो ब्रह्मेत्तत । स तपोऽतप्यत । स
तपस्तप्त्वा ॥
Here itself four times the word तपस् comes and this is repeated
almost every section of this वल्ली. Therefore साधिम् one
highlighted is तपस् in the form of वेदान्त वाक्तय त्तविार or
पञ्िकोश त्तविार. This comes under साक्ात् साधिम् direct
means of Self-knowledge. Of course the word तपस् has got
other meanings also. Varieties of penance and austerity are also
called तपस,् but in भग ृ ुवल्ली the word तपस् means त्तविारः, तप
आलोचने. Then some secondary disciplines are also highlighted
which are indirectly connected and they are certain forms of
उपासनाशन. A few उपासिs or meditations are highlighted
which are very useful for integrating the mind. They come
under परम्परा साधनाशन because उपासिs cannot directly give
knowledge. Even the greatest उपासक for getting आत्र्ज्ािर््
he has to come to वेदान्त त्तविार. Whether you are देवर उपासक
or आञ्िनेर् उपासक the उपास्य देवता cannot directly produce
knowledge. It has to produce knowledge only through त्तविार.
Therefore the देवता will produce conditions for enquiry. The
देवता will bless the उपासक with a गुरु. If no गुरु is available
the देवता itself will become a गुरु. In short वेदान्त त्तविार is a
must for knowledge. Therefore उपासनाशन is the second topic.
Also as part of उपासि the उपत्तिषत् prescribes certain vows or
disciplines called व्रतात्ति.
अन्िां ि त्तिन्द्ात् । तद्व्रतर्् । अन्िां ि पररिक्ीत । तद्व्रतर्् ।
अन्िां बिु कुवीत । तद्व्रतर्् । ि कञ्िि वसतौ प्रत्यािक्ीत ।
तद्व्रतर्् ।
587
Four व्रतर््s or austerities or disciplines or vows are given. Thus
certain vows are given, certain उपासिs are given, and वेदान्त
त्तविार is given. All the three come under ज्ाि साधनाशन. So
व्रतर््, उपासनाशन, त्तविारः all of them come under ज्ाि
साधनाशन. And of all these साधिs what is direct and what is
indirect must be clear. त्तविार alone is साक्ात् साधिम्, while
उपासिs and व्रतर््s are परम्परा साधिम्s. This ज्ाि साधिम् is
the first topic in भगृ ुवल्ली.
2) Then another topic discussed is ज्ाि फलर््. If a person
follows these व्रतर््s, these उपासिs and वेदान्त त्तविार certainly
he will attain knowledge. What he gets out of this knowledge is
called ज्ाि फलर््. This is the second major topic.
ज्ाि साधिम् and ज्ाि फलर्् are the two major topics
of भग ृ ुवल्ली. Of course these topics are already discussed in the
first chapter itself. शीक्ावल्ली talked about the preparatory
disciplines. कर्व योग, five types of उपासिs were talked about.
सांत्तितोपासिर््, व्याहृत्तत उपासि, त्तिरण्यगभव उपासि, पाङ्क्त
ब्रह्म उपासि and ॐकार उपासि we have seen. Then why
should the उपत्तिषत् talk about that once again? The reason is if
a person is studies वेदान्त and does not find any benefit, the
उपत्तिषत् wants to tell us that the mistake is not in वेदान्त but
the mistake is in us only, we have not prepared the mind
properly. If this is not known we will tend to blame the वेदान्त
शास्त्र. As somebody nicely said “To err is human, to put the
blame on somebody else is more human. ” So never blame the
शास्त्रर््. It has blessed people, it will bless me also. And if
शास्त्रर्् doesn’t me, the problem is with the प्रर्ाता and not the
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प्रर्ािर््. Similarly the problem is not with the poor गुरु also
and the problem is not with the Lord also. The receiver has not
prepared, therefore go back and checkup if anything is lacking
in साधि ितुष्टय सम्पत्ति. The fundamental problem is he
doesn’t know what साधि ितुष्टय सम्पत्ति is. Therefore if you
don’t know what is साधि ितुष्टय सम्पत्ति itself, find out what
it is and make sure, शङ्करािायव tells elsewhere शर्ात्तद सत्तितः
श्रविात्तदकां कुयाव त्. When you study वेदान्त regularly check
your mind whether साधि ितुष्टय सम्पत्ति is present and
whether they are intact. One may drop the rituals and may
become सन्न्यात्तस, in सन्न्यास he can give everything but not
साधि ितुष्टय सम्पत्ति. Therefore to emphasize that भग ृ ुवल्ली
is repeating the importance of preparations. This third chapter
also begins with the शात्तन्तपाठ which is the same as the
शात्तन्तपाठ of ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली. We have seen the meaning. The
student prays to the Lord first for ideal relationship with the
गुरु. Unless the relationship is proper it will not fructify. Unless
the relationship between husband and wife is proper the family
will not be a functional family. Psychologists divide the family
into functional and non-functional family. Similarly गुरु त्तशष्य
relationship will be fruitful only when it is proper. Proper
means त्तशष्य must have श्रद्ा and भत्तक्त to the गुरु, गुरु must
have (do not say श्रद्ा and भत्तक्त) compassion and love for the
त्तशष्य. This is functional relationship; prayer number one. The
second prayer is we should put forth the necessary effort like
revising the previous classes. The third prayer is the teaching
must culminate in ज्ाि प्रात्ति, because that is the purpose of the
श्रविर््. The fourth prayer is ज्ाि प्रात्ति alone is not the aim,
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there is a higher aim that is ज्ािफल प्रात्ति. The ज्ािर्् must
transform my personality. It should not be an academic
knowledge sitting in one corner of the intellect just to read out
र्न्त्रs in front of others and to claim that I am a scholar of
वेदान्त; that is not the aim; it should transform me. That is
called ज्ािफल प्रात्ति. Thus ideal relationship, appropriate
effort, acquisition of knowledge and getting the benefit of
knowledge O Lord! all these four should happen for me and if
there are any प्रारब्ध obstacles, O Lord, remove that प्रारब्ध
प्रशतबन्ध. This is the significance of the शात्तन्तपाठ. With this
background we will enter into भग ृ ुवल्ली.
र्न्त्र 3-1-01
भगृ ुवै वारुत्तिः । वरुिां त्तपतरर्ुपससार । अधीत्ति भगवो ब्रह्मेत्तत ।
तस्र्ा एतत्प्रोवाि । अन्िां प्रािां िक्ुः श्रोत्रां र्िो वाित्तर्त्तत । तँिोवाि
। यतो वा इर्ात्ति भत ू ात्ति जायन्ते । येि जातात्ति जीवत्तन्त ।
यत्प्रयन्त्यत्तभसांत्तवशत्तन्त । तत्तद्वत्तजज्ासस्व । तद्ब्रह्मेत्तत । स
तपोऽतप्यत । स तपस्तप्त्वा ॥ १ ॥ इत्तत प्रर्र्ोऽिुवाकः ॥
The third chapter also is in prose form only because this
is a ब्राह्मिोपत्तिषत्. Every ब्राह्मिोपत्तिषत् will be in prose form
whereas र्न्त्रोपत्तिषत् will be in metrical from. The entire
chapter is divided into several paragraphs and each paragraph
is called अिुवाकः or section. This third chapter has got ten
अिुवाकs. This is the first अिुवाकः or section. The first word
of this chapter is भग ृ ुः वै वारुत्तिः. Since the first word is भग
ृ ु, the
chapter itself is named भग ृ ुवल्ली. The second chapter began
with the word ब्रह्म, ब्रह्मत्तवदाप्िोत्तत परर््, and therefore the
second chapter was called ब्रह्मवल्ली. The First chapter began
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with the word शीक्ा, therefore it was called शीक्ावल्ली. Thus
every chapter is named after the first word. The उपत्तिषत् begins
with an introduction of a गुरु and त्तशष्य. The whole teaching is
given in the form of a गुरु त्तशष्य सांवादः. This method is adopted
in the उपत्तिषत् to tell us and to remind us that always Vedantic
teaching should only in the form of a गुरु त्तशष्य सांवादः; self-
study is strongly discouraged. Even though translations are
there, even translations of शङ्कर भाष्यर््s are available. Even
though translations are available never attempt self-study of the
उपत्तिषत्s. In तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् in the first two chapters गुरु
त्तशष्य were not there. So the उपत्तिषत् was worried and therefore
at least in the third chapter let us introduce गुरु and त्तशष्य. Here
the peculiarity is गुरु and त्तशष्य happen to be father and son.
Father is converted into गुरु and son is converted into त्तशष्य.
How does the conversion takes place? When the son is
interested in knowledge, and if fortunately the father happens
to be a wise man (this is important), then we have an ideal setup.
At home itself ब्रह्मत्तवद्ा takes place. And it is such a situation
we see here. The उपत्तिषत् says भग ृ ुः वै वारुत्तिः. Once upon a
time there was a great saint called भग ृ ु र्ित्तषव who is considered
to be one of the greatest sages, acknowledged even by कृष्ि in
the tenth chapter wherein कृष्ि says
र्िषीिाां भग
ृ ुरिां त्तगरार्स्म्येकर्क्रर्् ॥ गीता १०-२५ ॥
कृष्ि Himself claims I am भग ृ ु र्ित्तषव among the ऋशषs. It seems
भगृ ु appeared, took birth two times as भग ृ ु र्ित्तषव. One time he
was born out of ब्रह्मात्तज himself as मानस पुत्र and later he again
took birth as the son of वरुि. To differentiate the second भग ृ ु
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he is called वारुत्ति भग
ृ ु. It seems during दक्याग भग ृ ु र्ित्तषव also
got destroyed. Therefore after दक्याग he came again as वारुत्ति
भग ृ ु, the son of वरुि. What did this वारुत्ति भग ृ ु do?
त्तपतरर्ुपससार – he approached his father. What is his name?
वरुिम्. That is why he got the name वारुत्ति, like just as दशरर्
पुत्रः दािरशर्िः. Similarly वरुि पुत्रः वारुत्तिः. Why should
उपत्तिषत् talk about a son approaching his father? Every son
approaches his father everyday several times. It is an everyday
event in every house. Why should this come in the उपत्तिषत्?
Because other sons approach their fathers for so many other
purposes, but here the son approaches his father not for pocket
money or this and that, but for ब्रह्मत्तवद्ा. How many sons are
there approaching their father for ब्रह्मत्तवद्ा. Therefore this event
is to be highlighted. That is why भग ृ ुः वै that वै indicates a very
important event in the tradition. So वरुिां त्तपतरां उपससार. We
have to supply, he approached in proper form. What is the
proper form?
तत् त्तवज्ािार्व र्् सः गुरुर्् एव अत्तभगच्छे त् । सत्तर्त्पात्तिः श्रोत्तत्रयां
ब्रह्मत्तिष्ठर्् ॥ र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत् १-२-१२ ॥
He approached with श्रद्ा and भत्तक्त. How do you know that? It
only says वरुिां त्तपतरां उपससार. You are adding with श्रद्ा and
भत्तक्त; what is the proof? What was his expression? That is
given in inverted commas. From the next sentence onwards it
is the words of भग ृ ु. “अधीत्ति भगवो ब्रह्म” इत्तत. इत्तत indicates
quotation marks. So he addresses his father not as father, but as
भगविः – O lord, O adorable one! That means the attitude as a
father himself he is to be respected, now he is going to be father
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cum guru. Like in the उपनर्न ceremony. In the उपनर्न
ceremony father becomes गुरु also for गायत्तत्र उपदेश. That is
why the son does पादपज ू ा to his father before receiving गायत्तत्र
र्न्त्र. Therefore he addresses िे भगविः – O lord, ब्रह्म अधीत्ति –
may you teach me ब्रह्मि्, may you give me ब्रह्मज्ािर््. That
means the student is a highly evolved student because he has
already gone through several stages. वैरानय, र्ुर्ुक्ुत्वर्् etc., he
has gone through उपासि and has attained शर्ात्तद षि्क
सम्पत्तिः. He has diagnosed the problem as self-ignorance, ब्रह्म
अज्ञानम् and he has also understood the medicine for self-
ignorance as ब्रह्मज्ािर्् and also he has understood that
ब्रह्मज्ािर्् comes only through गुरु उपदेश. Therefore
refinement of the mind is over, discovery of the problem is
over, knowledge of the solution he already knows, and he also
has understood the requirement of a teacher. That means भग ृ ु is
a very advanced student. And therefore straightaway he says
give me ब्रह्मज्ािर््. Father perhaps might have been shocked or
might have understood also because he is already a ज्ात्ति and
after all as a father he certainly knows the condition of his son.
So here father must have known the stature of his son cum
student. What did he do? तस्र्ा एतत् प्रोवाि. This is the word
of the उपत्तिषत,् the previous one is the word of भग ृ ु. Now the
उपत्तिषत् says तस्र्ा, तस्र्ा if you spilt the सशन्ध it becomes
तस्र्ै. तस्र्ै भग ृ वे to that prepared student, शिज्ञासु student,
प्रोवाि – the father taught, एतत् – the following. He taught the
following to his son cum disciple. What is his teaching? अन्िां
प्रािां िक्ुः श्रोत्रर्् र्िो वािर्् इत्तत. This is within inverted
commas. First the father gives him the necessary clues for
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पञ्िकोश त्तववेक, because he is confident that the son can work
on that. What are the clues? अन्िम् which represents अन्िर्य
कोशः, then प्रािम् and वािर्् should be taken together. प्रािम्
stands for पञ्च प्रािािः, वािर्् stands for पञ्च कर्ेत्तन्रयात्ति. वाक्
means the organ of speech which is a कर्ेत्तन्रयर््, and it
represents all the other कर्ेत्तन्रयर््s – वाक्, पाशि, पाद, पार्ु,
उपस्र्. पञ्च प्रािs and पञ्च कर्ेत्तन्रयात्ति put together becomes
प्रािर्य कोशः. Then the next one is िक्ुः श्रोत्रर्् र्िः. िक्ुः
श्रोत्रर्् represents the पञ्ि ज्ािेत्तन्रयात्ति. िक्ुः means the eye
which is ज्ािेत्तन्रयर््, श्रोत्रर्् means the ear which is
ज्ािेत्तन्रयर््. These two are उपलक्िर््s or indicators for all the
पञ्ि ज्ािेत्तन्रयर््s. And र्िः means the mind. If you combine
the mind and ज्ािेत्तन्रयर््s we get र्िोर्य कोशः. Thus
अन्िर्य, प्रािर्य, र्िोर्य have been taught. The other two
कोशs we have to supply – त्तवज्ािर्य and आिन्दर्य. Thus
पञ्िकोश are mentioned. Based on that भग ृ ु has to conduct the
enquiry. This is one clue and शङ्करािायव calls these clues,
hints or indicators as – ब्रह्म उपलशब्ध िाराशि. िारम् means clue.
ब्रह्म उपलशब्ध means ब्रह्मज्ािर््. This is one part of the teaching.
Then later he says तँ िोवाि – thereafter his father वरुि
continues the teaching and gives the definition of ब्रह्मि् which
is called in सांस्कृत, ब्रह्मलक्िर््, the definition of ब्रह्मि्. What
is that definition? यतः वा इर्ात्ति भत ू ात्ति जायन्ते येि जातात्ति
जीवत्तन्त यत् प्रयत्तन्त अत्तभसांत्तवशत्तन्त तद् त्तवत्तजज्ासस्व तद्ब्रह्मेत्तत.
This is the definition of ब्रह्मि्. We have already seen one
definition of ब्रह्मि् in the second chapter ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली which
is सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् अिन्तर्् ब्रह्म. That is a very important
definition and that definition is known in the शास्त्र as स्वरूप
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लक्िर््, the direct definition of ब्रह्मि्. Here also we get a
second definition which is equally important. It is called तिस्र्
लक्िर््, indirect definition of ब्रह्मि्. Thus one direct definition
and another indirect definition, two definitions of ब्रह्मि् occur
in तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् and this one of the reasons why
तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् is considered very important. In ब्रह्मसत्र ू in the
very beginning itself व्यासािायव uses the second definition of
ब्रह्मि्. For that definition the source is this definition. The सत्र ू
is िन्माद्यस्र् र्तिः and is based on यतो वा इर्ात्ति भत ू ात्ति
जायन्ते. व्यासािायव writes भागवतर्् wherein in the beginning
also he gives the same definition. जन्र्ाद्स्य
यतोऽन्वयात्तदतरतश्चार्ेष्वत्तभज्ः स्वराि् । Thus this र्न्त्र is an
extremely important र्न्त्र. What is the meaning of this
definition? ब्रह्मि् is the जगत् सत्तृ ष्ट त्तस्र्त्तत लय कारिर््, the
cause of the creation, the preservation and the resolution of the
world. यतः वा इर्ात्ति भत ू ात्ति जायन्ते. यतः means ब्रह्मििः. So
ब्रह्मि् is that from which all these भत ू s originate. भत ू ात्ति has
two meanings. One is all the living beings and the second is all
the five elements. This indicates ब्रह्मि् is the सत्तृ ष्ट कारिर््, the
cause of creation. Then the next teacher says येि जातात्ति
जीवत्तन्त – ब्रह्मि् is that because of which all these भत ू s are
living, surviving. भत ू ात्ति we have to supply. जातात्ति भत ू ात्ति
जीवत्तन्त. This indicates ब्रह्मि् is the त्तस्र्त्तत कारिर््, the cause
of preservation. And finally यत् प्रयत्तन्त अत्तभसांत्तवशत्तन्त. प्रयत्तन्त
means at the time of destruction. यत् अत्तभसांत्तवशत्तन्त – all these
things and beings resolve into ब्रह्मि्. अत्तभसांत्तवशत्तन्त means
totally merge into ब्रह्मि् which means it is लय कारिर््, the
cause of destruction also. That is why ब्रह्मि् gets three names -
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as सत्तृ ष्ट कारिर्् it is called ब्रह्मा, as त्तस्र्त्तत कारिर्् it is called
त्तवष्िु, as लय कारिर्् the same ब्रह्मि् is called त्तशव. Remember
ब्रह्मा, त्तवष्िु and त्तशव are three functional names of one ब्रह्मि्.
We don’t have three gods. People ask why Hinduism has got
many gods. Biggest confusion. We don’t have many gods, we
don’t have three Gods also, we have got three functional names
for one and the same ब्रह्मि.् Not knowing this fundamental we
have concluded that there are three gods and we have even
started comparing who is the greatest. Generally ब्रह्मा is not in
the race. The main contenders are त्तवष्िु for the वैष्िव group and
त्तशव for the शैव group. Vedantin is neither वैष्िव nor शैव,
remember. वैष्िव is one who says त्तवष्िु is superior and त्तशव is
inferior. शैव is one who says त्तशव is superior and त्तवष्िु is
inferior. Vedantin is one who says there is no question of
inferiority or superiority because there are no two at all to
compare. Then, according to Vedantin who is great? Again
another question. That is what कृष्ि said
यो यो याां याां तिुां भक्तः श्रद्यात्तिवतुत्तर्च्छत्तत ॥ गीता ७-२१ ॥
Don’t unnecessarily waste your energy by hating each other.
Vedantins are called स्र्ाताय िः who are neither वैष्िवs nor शैवs.
Since they put शवभशू त, they should not be mistaken as शैवs. In
त्तित्य िोम the िोम शवभशू त has to eb worn, and therefore he
wears शवभशू त and because of any other purpose. There is also a
श्लोक which says
यो ब्रह्मत्तवष्िुरुरािाां उर्ुिर्ाधर्भावतः । कल्पयेत्
उदरव्यात्तधयुक्तो भवत्तत पुरुषः ॥ (यो ब्रह्मत्तवष्िुरुरािाां
भेदर्ुिर्भावतः । साधयेत् उदरव्यात्तधयुक्तो भवत्तत र्ािवः ॥)
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If any person compares gods ब्रह्मा, त्तवष्िु and त्तशव and also
grades these gods the punishment will be उदरव्यात्तधयुक्त,
stomach pain. Therefore never say त्तवष्िु is great or त्तशव is great.
For your इष्ट देवता you can choose one, but the other देवताs
should not be अशनष्ट देवता or िेष देवता. All are great. In fact
the word ‘all’ itself is wrong. When I say all are great it appears
as though there are many. What is the proof for that? This र्न्त्र
is the proof. ब्रह्मि् alone is सत्तृ ष्ट कारिर्् ब्रह्मा, ब्रह्मि् alone is
त्तस्र्त्तत कारिर्् त्तवष्िु, ब्रह्मि् alone is लय कारिर्् त्तशव. Then
what should you do? तत् त्तवत्तजज्ासस्व – may you know that
ब्रह्मि्. How should you know? Through तपस्. सः तपः अतप्यत
– based on these two clues, ब्रह्मोपलत्तब्धद्वारात्ति is one set of
clues called पञ्िकोश and the other is ब्रह्मलक्िर््, the
definition. So keeping the ब्रह्मोपलत्तब्धद्वारात्ति and ब्रह्मलक्िर््
clue this भग ृ ु started his enquiry. Therefore we get another very
important idea here. Whenever we talk about Self-enquiry, it is
the enquiry into the वाक्तयर््s or statements coming from गुरु or
शास्त्रर््. Many people have missed out this point. Therefore
they say I am conducting Self-enquiry. How do I do that? I sit
in one corner and I withdraw from the world and I dive deep
into my heart and I ask the question who am I. this many people
present as Self-enquiry. This independently sitting in a corner
without गुरु and शास्त्रर्् and asking who am I is not Vedic
traditional enquiry. Vedic traditional enquiry is with गुरु
वाक्तयर्् and with शास्त्र वाक्तयर््. Therefore आत्र्त्तविारः is equal
to गुरु-शास्त्र-वाक्तय-त्तविारः. Otherwise technically they say
प्रर्ाि त्तविारः is आत्र्त्तविारः. If you reject the गुरु and शास्त्र
and sit quietly you will keep on enquiring. One person told, I
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have been practicing this enquiry, I am able to reject all my
thoughts, I am able to come to a state of blankness, thereafter I
don’t know what I should do. I have been practicing this for the
last twelve years. What a tragedy and waste of time! He thought
he doesn’t require गुरु or शास्त्र. He thought the answer will
come from inside by mere asking. If answer will come from
inside, कृष्ि would not have asked अजव ुि
तत्तद्वत्तद् प्रत्तिपातेि पररप्रश्नेि सेवया ।
उपदेक्ष्यत्तन्त ते ज्ािां ज्ात्तििस्तत्त्वदत्तशविः ॥ गीता ४-३४ ॥
Therefore तपः अतप्यत means वाक्तय त्तविारर्् कृतवाि्. तपः
means enquiry based on ब्रह्म उपलत्तब्धद्वारात्ति and ब्रह्मलक्िर््.
सः तपः तप्त्वा – having conducted this enquiry he came to a
particular conclusion. He is not very sure whether his
conclusion is right or wrong. Therefore he comes to the गुरु
once again to cross check whether his enquiry is in the right
direction. Those details will come in the next अनुवाक which
पि
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We were seeing the first अनुवाक of भग ृ ुवल्ली in which
the student and son भग ृ ु approached his गुरु and father वरुि
and asked for ब्रह्मत्तवद्ा. And वरुि taught him two things. The
first one is ब्रह्म उपलशब्ध िाराशि certain clues for recognizing
ब्रह्मि् in the form of अन्िर्य प्रािर्य र्िोर्य etc., कोशs. And
along with ब्रह्म उपलशब्ध िाराशि वरुि also gave him the
definition of ब्रह्मि् which we called ब्रह्मलक्िर््. The definition
he gave was जगत् सत्तृ ष्ट त्तस्र्त्तत लय कारिर्् ब्रह्म. ब्रह्मि् is the
cause of the creation, the preservation and the resolution of the
world. Such a definition of ब्रह्मि् is called तिस्र् लक्िर््.
Whereas in the second chapter a different definition was given
– सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् अिन्तर्् ब्रह्म which is called स्वरूप लक्िर््,
the direct definition. The previous one is called the direct
definition because there ब्रह्मि’् s nature is directly pointed out
whereas here ब्रह्मि्’s nature is not directly pointed out but it is
revealed in relation to the universe. When ब्रह्मि् is defined as
कारिर््, कारिर्् is a relative definition, because कारिर्् can
be understood only through कायव प्रपञ्ि. So through the कायव
प्रपञ्ि, the universe ब्रह्मि् is indirectly revealed as the cause of
the universe. Since ब्रह्मि् is revealed through the कायव प्रपञ्ि it
is called indirect definition. In सांस्कृत it is called तिस्र्
लक्िर््. When ब्रह्मि् is defined as सत्तृ ष्ट त्तस्र्त्तत लय कारिर््,
in simple language we can present it as the उपादाि कारिर्् of
the universe. We have seen before that the कारिर्् is of two
types – त्तित्तर्ि कारिर््, the intelligent cause and उपादाि
कारिर््, the material cause. What is the difference between the
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intelligent and the material cause? Intelligent cause is
intelligence, material cause is material, of course this is a
known thing. But if you have to differentiate from another
angle, you know that the intelligent cause is responsible only
for the production or creation. A carpenter is responsible only
for the production of furniture but he is not responsible for the
maintenance or survival of the furniture. If carpenter is required
for the survival of the furniture also, then what will be the
tragedy? Along with the furniture you will have to get the
carpenter also. But thank god त्तित्तर्ि कारिर्् is responsible
only for सत्तृ ष्ट, it is not responsible for त्तस्र्त्तत and लय.
Therefore in the शास्त्र the intelligent cause is defined as सत्तृ ष्ट
र्ात्र कारिर््, त्तित्तर्ि कारिर््. When you take the material
cause, you find, material cause is required not only for the
production of the effect, but even the survival of the product
depends upon the material cause. The survival of the furniture
requires the material cause, i.e., wood. Without wood, the
material cause, the furniture cannot survive. Without gold, the
material cause, the ornaments cannot survive. Without brick,
the material cause, the building cannot survive. Therefore
material cause is सत्तृ ष्ट कारिर्् and त्तस्र्त्तत कारिर्् also, unlike
the intelligent cause. Interestingly enough not only the material
cause is the cause for the survival, त्तस्र्त्तत कारिर््, but
ultimately when all the products are destroyed, all the destroyed
products are absorbed into the material cause alone. All the
melted ornaments will ultimately get reduced to the gold alone.
All the destroyed furniture will get reduced to the wood alone.
All the resolved waves will get reduced to the water alone.
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Therefore we come to know that the material cause swallows
the effect at the end and it is the swallowing cause also,
resolving cause also, the लय कारिर्् also. Thus सत्तृ ष्ट त्तस्र्त्तत
लय कारिर्् can be only the material cause or उपादाि कारिर््.
Thus there is a difference in the definition – सत्तृ ष्ट र्ात्र कारिर््
त्तित्तर्ि कारिर््, सत्तृ ष्ट त्तस्र्त्तत लय कारिर्् उपादाि कारिर््.
Here ब्रह्मि् is defined as उपादाि कारिर्् because ब्रह्मि् is
defined as सत्तृ ष्ट त्तस्र्त्तत लय कारिर््. यतो वा इर्ात्ति भत ू ात्ति
जायन्ते – सत्तृ ष्ट कारिर््, येि जातात्ति जीवत्तन्त – त्तस्र्त्तत
कारिर््, यत्प्रयन्त्यत्तभसांत्तवशत्तन्त – लय कारिर््. In the second
chapter ब्रह्मि् has been already defined as ज्ािर््, the
Consciousness principle. सत्यर्् ज्ािर्् अिन्तर्् ब्रह्म. In this
third chapter the उपत्तिषत् says the Consciousness ब्रह्मि् is the
material cause of the Universe. Joining together we come to
know that the material cause of the universe is nothing but the
non-material Consciousness is the ultimate material cause of
the universe. This is the most unique teaching of वेदान्त. The
scientists have not been able to arrive at this. तकव शास्त्र, र्ोग
शास्त्र, न्र्ार् शास्त्र, no other philosopher has been able to arrive
at this. वेदान्त is the most unique teaching which says the
ultimate stuff of the universe is not matter, but Consciousness
ब्रह्मि्. Therefore this definition becomes extremely important.
Before going further, one more incidental but important
point to be noted. When we say ब्रह्मि् is the ultimate cause of
the universe, responsible for the creation we have to understand
one thing. When the उपत्तिषत् says ब्रह्मि् is the कारिर्् you
have to understand its significance the word कारिर््. We
should not totally take it in the literal sense. It is like a figurative
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expression, a गौि प्रयोग. It is like saying this person is the
pillar of the organization. We have seen this before, but being
important I will remind. When we say this person is the pillar
of the organization you should not take it in the total sense. In
certain aspects this person is like a pillar, but not hundred
percent. You should find out in which aspect he is like a pillar
and in which aspect he is not like a pillar. We have to
understand the common features and the uncommon features.
In सांस्कृत, we call it साधम्यव र्् – common features and वैधम्यव र््
– uncommon features. When I say he is a pillar the common
feature that I keep in mind is just as a pillar supports the whole
building similarly this person supports the organization. In the
supporting aspect alone he is a pillar. But you should not ask
pillar is an insentient matter, अचेतनम्, is he also an अचेतन
वस्तु. With regard to िेतित्वर्् and अिेतित्वर्् they are
different. Similarly the pillar does not move from place to place.
When I say he is the pillar of the organization, you should not
say does he also stand there without movement. In these cases
we should not extend the example, we should extend only in the
support aspect. Similarly, which aspect you have to take when
we say ब्रह्मि् is कारिर्् and world is कायव र््? कारिर्् is the
only substance and कायव र्् is always िार्-रूप alone. By saying
ब्रह्मि् is कारिर््, world is कायव र््, what the उपत्तिषत् conveys
is ब्रह्मि् is the only substance available, all the other things are
names and forms. आकाश is िार्-रूप, वायु is िार्-रूप, अत्तनि,
जलर््, पत्तृ र्वी, fourteen लोकs, स्र्ल ू शरीरर््, सक्ष्ू र् शरीरर््,
कारि शरीरर््, you name anything it is a name. All of them do
not have a substantiality of their own. Therefore ब्रह्मि् is
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कारिर्् is equal to ब्रह्मि् is the ultimate substance. You have
to take this aspect. Which aspect you should not take?
Generally, whenever something is said to be a कारिर््, it is
subject to modification. Generally, the word कारिर्् conveys
the sense of modification. Wood undergoes a modification to
become furniture, the modification is brought out by the
carpenter. Similarly, gold undergoes a modification which is
brought about by the goldsmith, milk undergoes a modification
to become curds, seed undergoes a modification to become a
tree, food undergoes biochemical modification to become our
flesh and bone and marrow. Therefore generally, कारिर््
conveys the sense of त्तवकारः. त्तवकारः means modification,
change. But in the case of ब्रह्मि,् when you say ब्रह्मि् is
कारिर्् you should not take the modification part or feature to
ब्रह्मि्. Just as when saying a pillar of the organization, the
inertness of the pillar is not extended to the man, similarly, the
modification aspect of कारिर्् should not be extended to
ब्रह्मि्, because उपत्तिषत् defines ब्रह्मि् as त्तित्तववकारम्.
Therefore ब्रह्मि् is the changeless cause of the creation. It is
non-modifying cause of the creation. Therefore in सांस्कृत we
use the expression त्तववतव उपादाि कारिर््. The adjective त्तववतव
is added to उपादाि कारिर्् to convey the idea that ब्रह्मि् is
कारिर्् without undergoing a change. If it doesn’t undergo a
change, in what respect is it called a कारिर््? It is called a
कारिर्् only in one respect. What is that respect? Being the
ultimate substance of the creation just as wood is the substance
and gold is the substance, ब्रह्मि् is the substance behind the
creation, but don’t take it as a changing entity. This is conveyed
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by the word त्तववतव उपादाि कारिर््. Whereas wood is not a
त्तववतव उपादाि कारिर््, wood is changing material cause called
पररिार्ी उपादाि कारिर््. All the other material causes are
पररिार्ी उपादाि कारिर््. ब्रह्मि् alone is the unique material
cause, it is the substance of the creation, but it doesn’t undergo
a change.
ि जायते त्तम्रयते वा कदात्तिि्
िायां भत्ू वा भत्तवता वा ि भय
ू ः।
अजो त्तित्यः शाश्वतोऽयां पुरािो
ि िन्यते िन्यर्ािे शरीरे ॥ गीता २-२० ॥
Therefore what is the definition of ब्रह्मि्? The ultimate
changeless material cause of the universe. Keeping this
definition of ब्रह्मि् and keeping the clues of कोशs – अन्िर्य
प्रािर्य र्िोर्य, our student भग ृ ु has to do a lot of homework.
With the home work he should arrive at ब्रह्मि्, the ultimate,
changeless material cause. That is going to be the development.
He goes through various stages like अन्िां ब्रह्मेत्तत व्यजािात्,
प्रािो ब्रह्मेत्तत व्यजािात्, र्िो ब्रह्मेत्तत व्यजािात्, step by step, at
the end भग ृ ु successfully arrives at ब्रह्मि्. आिन्दो ब्रह्मेत्तत
व्यजािात् । आिन्दाद्ध्येव खत्तल्वर्ात्ति भत ू ात्ति जायन्ते । That is
going to be the direction of भग ृ ु’s journey. भग ृ ु is going to take
the direction called पञ्िकोश त्तववेक. This third chapter is going
to quickly go through the पञ्िकोश त्तववेक because already it
has been elaborately done in the second chapter. Therefore we
are going to get a quick review of पञ्िकोश त्तववेक. It starts from
second अिुवाक onwards; we will read.
पञ्िकोशान्तःत्तस्र्तब्रह्मत्तिरूपिर््
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र्न्त्र 3-2-01
अन्िां ब्रह्मेत्तत व्यजािात् । अन्िाद्ध्येव खत्तल्वर्ात्ति भुतात्ति
जायन्ते । अन्िेि जातात्ति जीवत्तन्त । अन्िां
प्रयन्त्यत्तभसांत्तवशन्तीत्तत । तत्तद्वज्ाय । पुिरे व वरुिां त्तपतरर्ुपससार
। अधीत्ति भगवो ब्रह्मेत्तत । तँिोवाि । तपसा ब्रह्म त्तवत्तजज्ासस्व । तपो
ब्रह्मेत्तत । स तपोऽतप्यत । स तपस्तप्त्वा ॥ १ ॥ इत्तत
त्तद्वतीयोऽिुवाकः ॥
So the first stage of भग ृ ु’s homework. He took the
अन्िर्य कोश for study. Keeping अन्िर्य कोश in view he
wanted to find out the सत्तृ ष्ट त्तस्र्त्तत लय कारिर्् of अन्िर्य
कोश. अन्िर्य कोश means the physical body. On enquiry he
found out that this अन्िर्य कोश, the physical body is born out
of अन्िर््. अन्िर्् literally means food, food is nothing but the
gross matter available on earth. We saw in the ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली
आकाशाद्वायुः । वायोरत्तनिः । अनिेरापः । अद्भ्यः पत्तृ र्वी । पत्तृ र्व्या
ओषधयः ॥ तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् २-१-१ ॥
The earth alone gets converted into all the vegetations,
vegetable kingdom. ओषधीभ्योऽन्िर्् । अन्िात् पुरुषः ॥ पुरुषः
means अन्िर्य कोश. Therefore पत्तृ र्वी in general or ओषत्तध,
i.e., vegetable in particular are further refined. The food that
अन्िर्् alone is the material cause out of which the body is born.
All this we have seen in ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली.
अन्िाद्वै प्रजाः प्रजायन्ते । याः काश्च पत्तृ र्वीं त्तश्रताः । अर्ो अन्िेिवै
जीवत्तन्त । अर्ैिदत्तप यन्त्यन्ततः ॥ तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् २-२-१॥
So अन्िर्् alone becomes the body, not directly. अन्िर्् enters
the father’s body and gets converted into the seed. अन्िर्् enters
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the mother’s body and gets converted into egg. And during
conception the seed from the father and the egg from the mother
join together. Both of them are अन्िर््’s modification only.
Because of their combination the physical body is created.
Therefore the body is born out of अन्िर्् alone. After the
physical body is born, the body survives because of अन्िर््.
Therefore अन्िात् अन्िर्य कोशः जायन्ते, अन्िेि अन्िर्य
कोशः जीवत्तन्त and at the time of death it is buried or cremated.
The buried body mingles with earth and becomes fertilizer for
the plant kingdom. The next generation consumes the plant
kingdom. Therefore indirectly we are consuming ourselves, we
alone are indirectly the food for the next generation. त्तस्र्त्तत लय
कारिर्् of not only my अन्िर्य कोश, but of all the अन्िर्य
कोशs of all human beings, plants and animals and therefore
अन्िर्् fits in with the definition of ब्रह्मि्. ब्रह्मि् is defined as
सत्तृ ष्ट त्तस्र्त्तत लय कारिर्् and अन्िर्् happens to be सत्तृ ष्ट
त्तस्र्त्तत लय कारिर््. Definition being identical, what should be
the conclusion? अन्िां ब्रह्म. Whose is this conclusion? भग ृ ु’s
conclusion. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् says भग ृ ुः, भग
ृ ुः is
understood, this has to come from the previous अिुवाकः which
contains the subject. स तपोऽतप्यत । स तपस्तप्त्वा ॥ Here सिः
means भग ृ ुः. सिः भग
ृ ुः अन्िां ब्रह्म इत्तत व्यजािात् – that भग ृ ु
concluded that अन्िर्् is ब्रह्मि्. And also the word ब्रह्मि् means
all pervading, infinitely big. अन्िर्् the gross matter is also all
pervading. Therefore अन्िां ब्रह्म. He satisfies himself by
applying the definition. अन्िात् त्ति एव – out of अन्िर्् alone.
That त्ति indicates the popularity, it is very evident. What is very
evident? अन्िर्् alone is the सत्तृ ष्ट त्तस्र्त्तत लय कारिर्् for the
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body is प्रत्यक् त्तसद्र््. खलु – indeed, इर्ात्ति भत ू ात्ति. When he
says इर्ात्ति भत ू ात्ति he keeps all the अन्िर्य कोशs in mind. All
the अन्िर्य कोशs are born out of अन्िर््. Not only that अन्िेि
जातात्ति जीवत्तन्त – all the अन्िर्य कोशs survive because of
अन्िर््. If you have any doubt don’t eat for some days. Why
some days, skipping one meal itself will shows. If you are in
the habit of any उपवास monthly or at least in any other
frequency you will know that अन्िर्् goes means life will ebb.
जातात्ति refers to all the अन्िर्य कोशs which are born, they
survive because of अन्िर््. Therefore अन्िर्् is सत्तृ ष्ट कारिर््,
अन्िर्् is त्तस्र्त्तत कारिर््. Not only that अन्िर्् प्रयत्तन्त
अत्तभसांत्तवशत्तन्त. प्रयत्तन्त means र्रिकाले, while dying. अन्िर््
अत्तभसांत्तवशत्तन्त – they all merge into, resolve into अन्िर््. They
means all the अन्िर्य कोशs. Therefore अन्िर्् is लय कारिर््
also. Thus his conclusion is अन्िां ब्रह्म. But having done this
homework he was initially very happy. Eureka! I have
discovered. But he thought whether his conclusion is right or
wrong, he re-checked and on re-checking he found that he had
not yet arrived at ब्रह्मि्. He got dissatisfied, because on re-
enquiry he found a problem. What is the problem? That is not
said in the उपत्तिषत्, but we have to supply a problem that भग ृ ु
discovered. The problem is – no doubt अन्िर्् is the सत्तृ ष्ट
त्तस्र्त्तत लय कारिर्् of all the अन्िर्य कोशs. That is perfectly
alright. But unfortunately अन्िर्् is not the ultimate कारिर््.
अन्िर्् is only an intermediary कारिर््, but not the ultimate
कारिर््. ब्रह्मि् is defined as the ultimate कारिर््, whereas
अन्िर्् is only intermediary कारिर््. In सांस्कृत ultimate
कारिर्् is called र्ल ू कारिर्् and intermediary कारिर्् is
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called आपेत्तक्क कारिर््. For example, our parents are कारिर््,
because they have given birth to us. Even though our parents
are कारिर््, they are not र्ल ू कारिर्् because they themselves
are born out of their parents. Therefore र्ल ू कारिर्् is that
which is the cause of everything, but which itself is not an
effect. To put it in another language, it doesn’t have another
cause. Causeless cause is र्ल ू कारिर््. On enquiry we find
अन्िर्् is not the causeless cause, because अन्िर्् itself is a
product. The gross matter itself is a product, which can be
proved by different प्रर्ािर््s. One प्रर्ािर्् that proves अन्िर््
is a product is श्रुत्तत प्रर्ािर््. श्रुत्तत itself says अन्िर््, the स्र्ल
ू
प्रपञ्ि, the gross matter itself is a product born out of subtle
matter. युत्तक्त प्रर्ािर््, logic also proves it. This reasoning is
very important. Anything subject to change is a product. र्त्
सत्तवकारर्् तत् कायव र््. How do you know this? Understand this
properly. If a thing is subject to change, it should have six-fold
modifications. In शास्त्र modification is divided into six. अत्तस्त,
जायते, वधव ते, त्तवपररिर्ते, अपक्ीयते and त्तविश्यत्तत. Of the six-
fold change one of the changes is called जायते, birth itself is a
form of modification. Birth of furniture is a modification of
wood, birth of ornament is a modification of gold. Therefore
anything subject to change will have six-fold change. Anything
having six-fold change means it has birth, since it has birth it is
a product, कायव र््. Therefore भग ृ ु concludes अन्िर्् is subject to
modification. Gross food or matter or earth that I experience is
सत्तवकारर्् and therefore it is कायव र््. Since अन्िर्् itself is a
product, it cannot be र्ल ू कारिर््, the ultimate cause of the
universe. What should be र्ल ू कारिर््? That which is never a
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कायव र्् that alone is र्ल ू कारिर््. Therefore भग ृ ु got
disappointed. Initially he jumped with joy like आञ्जिेय. When
he went in search of सीता in रावि’s palace, he saw र्ण्डोदरर.
He thought र्ण्डोदरर is सीता and jumped up and down.
वाल्र्ीत्तक describes it as वािर िेष्टा. He climbed over the pillars
and kissed the tail, it seems. One of the वािर िेष्टा is kissing
the tail. After two minutes आञ्जिेय got disappointed. Because
he started thinking how can सीता comfortably sleep in रावि’s
palace. Therefore happiness gives way to disappointment. In
the same way भग ृ ु jumped and now he is disappointed. And he
doesn’t know how to travel further. Therefore again he went
back to his father. Therefore तत् त्तवज्ाय – having concluded
अन्िर्् is ब्रह्मि् and – later being dissatisfied with that
conclusion; we have to supply this – पुिः एव वरुिां त्तपतरां
उपससार – once again he approached वरुि his father cum गुरु.
What did he say? The same thing. अधीत्ति भगवो ब्रह्मेत्तत – please
teach me ब्रह्मि,् the र्लू कारिर््. I know अन्िर्् which is only
आपेत्तक्क कारिर््. तँिोवाि – to that भग ृ ु, the disciple cum son
वरुि uttered the following words. What did he say? I am not
going to do anything further. I have already given you the clue.
Like the jigsaw puzzle. All the things are there, only you should
know how to rearrange. The beauty of jigsaw puzzle is the
problem itself contains the solution. The very bits which is the
problem those very bits itself contains the solution. वरुि says
I have given you ब्रह्म उपलत्तब्धद्वारात्ति and I have given you ब्रह्म
लक्िर््. This much only I am going to give. But I can give you
one clue that you are travelling in the right direction, and
therefore think further. As somebody nicely said, when you
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have a problem and you feel all the doors of solution are closed,
remember one thing that all the doors are not closed. That
means probe further. Therefore he says तपसा ब्रह्म त्तवत्तजज्ासस्व
– may you seek to know that ब्रह्मि् through तपस् or enquiry.
तपो ब्रह्मेत्तत – तपस् alone is ब्रह्मि्. How should you understand
this? तपस् is not ब्रह्मि्. It means तपस् is ब्रह्मज्ाि साधिर््.
When a person says money is everything, what does it mean?
Let him eat a few currency notes for breakfast? Money is
everything means money is a means to get everything. You can
get food, clothes, academic admission and degree, temple ईश्वर
दिय नम्. Similarly तपस् is ब्रह्मि् means तपस् is a साधिर्् for
ब्रह्म प्रात्ति. So तपो ब्रह्मेत्तत. Therefore भग
ृ ु was helpless, because
father is not willing to help him further, so he went back. What
did he do? सः तपः अतप्यत –started further enquiry and having
done enquiry he came to the next conclusion. We will read.
र्न्त्र 3-3-01
प्रािो ब्रह्मेत्तत व्यजािात् । प्रािाद्ध्येव खत्तल्वर्ात्ति भत
ू ात्ति जायन्ते
। प्रािेि जातात्ति जीवत्तन्त । प्रािां प्रयन्त्यत्तभसांत्तवशन्तीत्तत ।
तत्तद्वज्ाय । पुिरे व वरुिां त्तपतरर्ुपससार । अधीत्ति भगवो ब्रह्मेत्तत ।
तँिोवाि । तपसा ब्रह्म त्तवत्तजज्ासस्व । तपो ब्रह्मेत्तत । स तपोऽतप्यत
। स तपस्तप्त्वा ॥ १ ॥ इत्तत ततृ ीयोऽिुवाकः ॥
He had another clue given by his father वरुि which was
प्रािर्य कोश. Keeping the प्रािर्य कोश in mind he asked
about the सत्तृ ष्ट त्तस्र्त्तत लय कारिर्् of प्रािर्य कोश and he
arrived at प्राि, the सर्त्तष्ट प्राि as the cause of all the individual
प्रािर्य कोश. This also we have seen in the second chapter.
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प्रािां देवा अिु प्राित्तन्त । र्िुष्याः पशवश्च ये । प्रािो त्ति भत
ू ािार्ायुः
। तस्र्ात्सवाव युषर्ुच्यते ॥ तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् २-३-१ ॥
Therefore he found प्राि is the सत्तृ ष्ट त्तस्र्त्तत लय कारिर्् of all
the beings. Here the meaning of the word being is प्रािर्य कोश.
Therefore he concludes प्रािो ब्रह्मेत्तत व्यजािात् – the प्राि
तत्वर््, the energy principle is subtler than अन्िर््. Always
subtler thing is a higher cause. In cause hunting we always go
from grosser to subtle. The scientists arrived at several elements
as the cause of the creation. From the elements they went to
molecules, from molecules to atom, from atom to sub-atomic
particles, from there to energy. Always the cause hunting is
travel from grosser level to subtler level. अन्िर्य is grosser,
physical, tangible; प्राि is subtler, non - physical, non –
tangible. Therefore भग ृ ु was happy. He thought he had come to
ब्रह्मि्. प्रािो ब्रह्मेत्तत व्यजािात्. Because the definition seems to
be perfectly alright. What is the definition? प्रािाद्ध्येव
खत्तल्वर्ात्ति भत ू ात्ति जायन्ते. भत ू ात्ति means all the individual
प्रािर्य कोशs are born out of प्राि. प्रािेि जातात्ति जीवत्तन्त –
all of them survive because of प्राि, and at the time of र्रिर््
all the व्यत्तष्ट प्रािs merge into सर्त्तष्ट. That is why all the
अन््र्ेशष्ट र्न्त्रs, the र्न्त्रs chanted at the time of final कर्व s
after death let the प्राि, अपाि, व्याि, etc., of the deceased
person merge into the सर्त्तष्ट and blessed by the सर्त्तष्ट let that
person travel. That is a different thing. So व्यत्तष्ट merges into
सर्त्तष्ट. Then what happened? Initially he was happy. After two
minutes he applied the same logic and he was dissatisfied
because प्राि happens to be आपेत्तक्क कारिर्् and not र्ल ू
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कारिर््. Therefore he decided to go to his father. More in the
next class.
पि
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In the भग
ृ ुवल्ली the third chapter of तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् भग
ृ ु
has approached his father and asked for ब्रह्मत्तवद्ा. Instead of
giving the teaching completely the teacher वरुि gave two clues
with the help of which भग ृ ु has to make an enquiry and arrive
at ब्रह्मि्.
1) The first clue is ब्रह्म उपलत्तब्ध द्वारात्ति consisting of
पञ्िकोशs at the individual level like अन्िर्य etc.
2) The second clue h gave was ब्रह्मलक्िर््, the definition
of ब्रह्मि् as सत्तृ ष्ट त्तस्र्त्तत लय कारिर््.
Keeping these two clues भग ृ ु is making an enquiry and the
enquiry is moving in the direction of पञ्िकोश त्तववेक. Since in
the second chapter पञ्िकोश त्तववेक has been elaborately dealt
with, here in the third वल्ली the उपत्तिषत् moves faster. So first
भग ृ ु took the अन्िर्य कोश and keeping the अन्िर्य कोश, the
individual body he arrived at अन्िर्् as the कारिर््. Because
every अन्िर्य कोश is born of अन्िर््, sustained by अन्िर्् and
goes back to अन्िर््. Thus through अन्िर्य he arrived at अन्िां
ब्रह्म, the जगत् कारिर््. Then we saw that भग ृ ु was not satisfied
with this discovery, because even though अन्िर्् is the कारिर््
of all the स्र्ल ू शरीरर््, अन्िर्् is not the ultimate कारिर््.
अन्िर्् is स्र्ल ू प्रपञ्िः, the gross universe and this अन्िर्् itself
is subject to origination. Therefore अन्िर्् is only आपेत्तक्क
कारिर््, an intermediary cause not the र्ल ू कारिर््, the
ultimate cause. Then he went to his father because he was not
satisfied. Father only said that you are making enquiry in the
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right direction, so carry on with it. Then भग ृ ु went back and took
प्रािर्य कोश as the उपलत्तब्ध द्वारर््. With the help of प्रािर्य
कोश he arrived at सर्त्तष्ट प्राि as the कारिर््. Because every
individual प्रािर्य कोश is born out of सर्त्तष्ट प्राि otherwise
called त्तिरण्यगभव . It is sustained by प्राि and goes back unto
प्राि. Therefore he arrived at प्रािां ब्रह्म. Here also he faces the
same problem. No doubt प्राि is the cause of everything, but
प्राि itself is not the ultimate cause, it is only आपेत्तक्क कारिर््.
How did he know that? We saw two reasons. श्रुत्तत प्रर्ाि itself
says प्राि is itself born.
एतस्माज्िार्ते प्रािः ॥ र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत् २-१-३ ॥
So प्राि itself is subject to birth. Therefore it is not the ultimate
cause, it has some other cause. Not only श्रुत्तत reveals this fact I
can know this fact through reasoning also. प्राि itself is subject
to origination because it is subject to modification. र्त् र्त्
सत्तवकारर््, तत् कायव र्् भवत्तत, whatever is subject to
modification has to be necessarily a product. How do you know
that? Because anything subject to modification has got six-fold
modifications and among the six-fold modifications one is
जन्र्. अत्तस्त, जायते, वधव ते, त्तवपररिर्ते, अपक्ीयते and
त्तविश्यत्तत. So if anything is subject to change, it is subject to
birth, because birth itself is a form of change. Therefore भग ृ ु
concludes प्रािः कायव र्् सत्तवकारत्वात् अन्नवत.् प्राि is also a
product. Therefore it is not the ultimate cause. Being
dissatisfied he again goes to his father. तत्तद्वज्ाय । पुिरे व वरुिां
त्तपतरर्ुपससार in the third अिुवाकः which we were seeing in
the last class. Having approached his father he put the same
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question – अधीत्ति भगवो ब्रह्मेत्तत । तँिोवाि – father replied. तपसा
ब्रह्म त्तवत्तजज्ासस्व. तपस् means त्तविारः. May you continue the
enquiry with the help of the two clues I have already given. तपो
ब्रह्मेत्तत । स तपोऽतप्यत । स तपस्तप्त्वा – he did one big enquiry
and came to the following conclusion.
र्न्त्र 3-4-01
र्िो ब्रह्मेत्तत व्यजािात् । र्िसो ह्येव खत्तल्वर्ात्ति भतू ात्ति जायन्ते
। र्िसा जातात्ति जीवत्तन्त । र्िः प्रयन्त्यत्तभसांत्तवशन्तीत्तत ।
तत्तद्वज्ाय । पुिरे व वरुिां त्तपतरर्ुपससार । अधीत्ति भगवो ब्रह्मेत्तत ।
तँिोवाि । तपसा ब्रह्म त्तवत्तजज्ासस्व । तपो ब्रह्मेत्तत । स तपोऽतप्यत
। स तपस्तप्त्वा ॥ १ ॥ इत्तत ितुर्ोऽिुवाकः ॥
From प्रािर्य कोश भग ृ ु went to the next subtler layer,
viz., र्िोर्य. Keeping the र्िोर्य कोश in mind he applied the
definition of ब्रह्मि् and he arrived at the conclusion that every
individual र्िोर्य is born out of the सर्त्तष्ट र्िोर्य which is
otherwise called र्िः. We have already seen this point in the
second chapter. When we add the suffix र्य it refers to the
individual, the product. When you remove the suffix, it refers
to the सर्त्तष्ट, the कारिर््. अन्िर्य is व्यत्तष्ट, कायव र््, the
individual, the product. अन्िर्् is the macro, the cause, सर्त्तष्ट,
कारिर््. प्रािर्य is व्यत्तष्ट and कायव र््, प्राि is सर्त्तष्ट and
कारिर््. Extending the same principle र्िोर्य is कायव र््. In
सांस्कृत grammar the suffix र्य conveys the idea of कायव र््.
र्यि् त्तवकारार्े. त्तवकार means कायव र््. When we say स्विव र्यर््
आभरिर्् it means स्विव कायव र्् आभरिर््. When we say
रजतर्यर्् पत्रर्् it means रजत कायव र्् पत्रर््. Thus from र्िोर्य
the व्यत्तष्ट कायव र्् he arrived at र्िः which is the सर्त्तष्ट
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कारिर््. That mind fulfils the definition of ब्रह्मि् because the
सत्तृ ष्ट त्तस्र्त्तत लय कारिर्् of every र्िोर्य is the सर्त्तष्ट र्िः.
Therefore र्िो ब्रह्मेत्तत व्यजािात् । र्िसो ह्येव खत्तल्वर्ात्ति
भत ू ात्ति जायन्ते – सत्तृ ष्ट कारिर््, र्िसा जातात्ति जीवत्तन्त–
त्तस्र्त्तत कारिर््, र्िः प्रयन्त्यत्तभसांत्तवशन्तीत्तत – लय कारिर््.
Then briefly he was excited that he has arrived at ब्रह्मि्, i.e.,
र्िः. You should understand the word र्िः as a subtler form of
matter. When we study शास्त्रर््, we should remember the mind
in शास्त्र is a subtle form of matter. Sometimes people define
mind as a flow of thoughts, but that is not the accepted
definition of the mind in the शास्त्रर््. Mind is not defined as the
flow of thought, mind is defined as the locus, like a lake, out of
which thoughts arise, in which thoughts exist and into which
the thoughts dissolve. Mind is a रव्यर््, a substance, a material.
The only thing is it is a non-tangible material. Material need not
be tangible, mind is not a tangible material. In सांस्कृत we call
it सक्ष्ू र् रव्यर््, in which thoughts arise and even in the absence
of thoughts, even if the flow of thoughts subside, mind, the
material, continues to survive. If mind is a mere flow of
thoughts, the end of thoughts will be the end of mind. Not so.
In सुषुत्ति thoughts are absent but still mind, the material
continues. How do you know? If in सुषुत्ति mind goes away or
mind is destroyed, you won’t wake up. Therefore the very fact
that you and the mind wake up indicates that thought is not the
mind, but thought is a function of the mind. Functions may be
there, functions may subside, but mind the subtle matter
continues. This subtle material in the total level is called र्िः
ब्रह्म. इशत शवज्ाय – he concluded this. The excitement was only
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for a brief period because later, he himself discovered that mind
is the cause alright, but not the ultimate cause. What is the
reason? You have to apply the same thing. Mind also is a
कायव र््, a product. How do you prove that? Here also श्रुत्तत
प्रर्ािर्् is there as well as logic is there.
एतस्र्ाज्जायते प्रािः र्िः सवेत्तन्रयात्ति ि ॥ र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत् २-
१-३ ॥
So the total mind, otherwise called त्तिरण्यगभव is also subject to
birth. Therefore the first मन्र of र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत् is
ब्रह्मा देवािाां प्रर्र्ः सम्बभवू ॥ र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत् १-१-१ ॥
ब्रह्मा means सर्त्तष्ट र्िः. That ब्रह्मात्तज, the total mind itself is
born and therefore it is a कायव र््. And logic also supports it. The
same logic only. Mind is a product, because it is subject to
modification. So र्िः कायव र्् सत्तवकारत्वात् अन्िवत्, प्रािवत्
or घटवत.् And again he rushed back to his father. तत्तद्वज्ाय ।
पुिरे व वरुिां त्तपतरर्ुपससार । अधीत्ति भगवो ब्रह्मेत्तत । तँिोवाि ।
तपसा ब्रह्म त्तवत्तजज्ासस्व । तपो ब्रह्मेत्तत – then भग ृ ु again went
back and conducted the enquiry. What was his next conclusion?
र्न्त्र 3-5-01
त्तवज्ािां ब्रह्मेत्तत व्यजािात् । त्तवज्ािाद्ध्येव खत्तल्वर्ात्ति भत ू ात्ति
जायन्ते । त्तवज्ािेि जातात्ति जीवत्तन्त । त्तवज्ािां
प्रयन्त्यत्तभसांत्तवशन्तीत्तत । तत्तद्वज्ाय । पुिरे व वरुिां त्तपतरर्ुपससार
। अधीत्ति भगवो ब्रह्मेत्तत । तँिोवाि । तपसा ब्रह्म त्तवत्तजज्ासस्व । तपो
ब्रह्मेत्तत । स तपोऽतप्यत । स तपस्तप्त्वा ॥ १ ॥ इत्तत
पञ्िर्ोऽिुवाकः ॥
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भगृ ु came to the next layer of matter, viz., त्तवज्ािर्य
कोश and then applying the definition of ब्रह्मि् he arrived at the
conclusion that सर्त्तष्ट त्तवज्ािर्् is the cause out of which all
the individual त्तवज्ािर्य कोशs are born, by which they are
sustained and unto which they go back. Therefore त्तवज्ािर्् is
ब्रह्मि्. For our understanding we can take त्तवज्ािर्् as still
subtler form of matter. प्राि is subtler than अन्िर््, mind is
subtler than प्राि, त्तवज्ािर्् is subtler than mind. To understand
the gradation in subtlety we can use a general logic also.
Always our activity in life is from ज्ाि शत्तक्त to इच्छा शत्तक्त to
त्तिया शत्तक्त. These are the three powers we use to conduct our
life. First thing we have is ज्ािर््. To know what all is there in
the world. Once we have ज्ािर्् about various things that ज्ािर््
leads to have those things; desire. So without knowing a thing
we can never desire a thing. In the last century nobody would
have had a desire for computer games. Why? अज्ािर््.
Therefore ज्ाि शत्तक्त is responsible for the activation of इच्छा
शत्तक्त. ज्ािर्् is कारिर््, इच्छा is कायव र््. Therefore ज्ािर्् is
subtler, इच्छा is grosser, because कारिर्् is subtler, कायव र्् is
grosser. Once the इच्छा शत्तक्त is activated, it will activate त्तिया
शत्तक्त. Will desire allow me to sit quiet, it will whip me up into
activity. Therefore इच्छा is the कारिर्् for त्तिया. त्तिया is
indicated by प्राि, because प्राि is made of सर्त्तष्ट रजोगुि;
रजोगुि stands for त्तिया. Therefore त्तवज्ािर्य activates
र्िोर्य, त्तवज्ािर्य represents ज्ाि शत्तक्त, it activates र्िोर्य
which represents इच्छा शत्तक्त, which activates प्रािर्य which
represents त्तिया शत्तक्त. If we are going from grosser to subtler,
the direction is प्रािर्य to र्िोर्य to त्तवज्ािर्य. सर्त्तष्ट
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त्तवज्ािर्् which is also otherwise called त्तिरण्यगभव . In fact, the
very definition of त्तिरण्यगभव is त्तिरण्यम् सवव ज्त्वर्् गभे अन्तिः
र्स्र् स त्तिरण्यगभव ः. You should not look at the dictionary
meaning. According to dictionary त्तिरण्यम् means gold, गभव ः
means womb. So त्तिरण्यगभव ः is one who has got a golden
womb. त्तिरण्यगभव is presented as a male, from where did he
womb. So गभव ः means within, womb only means within. We
say time is the womb of all future events, it means within time
everything resides. Similarly, त्तिरण्यगभव is said to be a गभव
because he contains त्तिरण्यम् within himself. त्तिरण्यर्् literally
means gold. Gold stands for unfading knowledge. Gold does
not fade, knowledge also does not end. Gold is bright and
knowledge also is bright. So त्तिरण्यम् means ज्ािर््, that too
सवव ज्ािर््, गभव ः means within. Therefore सर्त्तष्ट त्तवज्ािर्् is
त्तिरण्यगभव ः. And he is ब्रह्मि् thus भग ृ ु concluded. But what
happened? Then that excitement did not last long, later he
discovered त्तवज्ािर्् also is a कायव र््, otherwise called सर्त्तष्ट
बुत्तद् is also a कायव र््. सर्त्तष्ट बुत्तद् alone is called र्ित् तत्वर्् in
कठोपत्तिषत्. That र्ित् तत्वर्् is also a कायव र््, it cannot be the
ultimate कारिर््. Now only we arrive at it with the help of श्रुत्तत
but logic also supports that. Because त्तवज्ािर्यर्् also is subject
to change. Therefore तत्तद्वज्ाय – having concluded that and later
being dissatisfied with that conclusion, पुिरे व वरुिां
त्तपतरर्ुपससार । अधीत्ति भगवो ब्रह्मेत्तत । तँिोवाि । तपसा ब्रह्म
त्तवत्तजज्ासस्व । तपो ब्रह्मेत्तत – continue your enquiry. Then सः
तपः अतप्यत सः तपः तप्त्वा. So he has crossed now four कोशs
successfully. Then what happened?
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र्न्त्र 3-6-01
आिन्दो ब्रह्मेत्तत व्यजािात् । आिन्दाध्येव खत्तल्वर्ात्ति भत ू ात्ति
जायन्ते । आिन्दे ि जातात्ति जीवत्तन्त । आिन्दां
प्रयन्त्यत्तभसांत्तवशन्तीत्तत । सैषा भागव वी वारुिी त्तवद्ा । परर्े व्योर्ि्
प्रत्ततत्तष्ठता । स य एवां वेद प्रत्ततत्ततष्ठत्तत । अन्िवािन्िादो भवत्तत ।
र्िान्भवत्तत प्रजया पशुत्तभब्रव ह्मविव सेि । र्िाि् कीत्याव ॥ १ ॥ इत्तत
षष्ठोऽिुवाकः ॥
आिन्दः ब्रह्म इत्तत व्यजािात्. Here the word is आिन्दः.
भगृ ु skipped आिन्दर्य कोश and he has come to आिन्द itself.
Therefore here the word आिन्द does not mean the कोश, but it
refers to the आिन्द आत्र्ा itself which we have already seen
in the second chapter.
तस्य त्तप्रयर्ेव त्तशरः । र्ोदो दत्तक्िः पक्ः । प्रर्ोद उिरः पक्ः ।
आिन्द आत्र्ा । ब्रह्म पुच्छां प्रत्ततष्ठा ॥ तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् २-५-१ ॥
If you join these two statements you get a very interesting
corollary. In the second chapter आिन्द was equated to आत्र्ा
– आिन्द आत्र्ा. In this chapter आिन्दो ब्रह्मेत्तत व्यजािात् –
आिन्द is equated to ब्रह्म. If you keep these two equations
together we will get a third equation. Can you guess what is the
third equation? आत्र्ा is equal to आिन्दः in the second chapter
and आिन्दः is equal to ब्रह्म in this third chapter. आत्र्ा is equal
to आिन्दः, आिन्दः is equal to ब्रह्म therefore आत्र्ा is equal to
ब्रह्म. आत्र्ा and ब्रह्म are one and the same आिन्द alone. Since
here ब्रह्म or आत्र्ा is equated to आिन्द as ब्रह्म itself, the जगत्
कारिर््, we should understand that the word आिन्द does not
refer to any experience. Here आिन्द is equated to ब्रह्मि्, the
जगत् कारिर््. Then he himself explains it beautifully.
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आिन्दात् त्ति एव खलु इर्ात्ति भत ू ात्ति जायन्ते – replace the word
आिन्द with ब्रह्मि्. So ब्रह्मििः एव इर्ात्ति भत ू ात्ति जायन्ते – from
ब्रह्मि् alone all the beings are born. आिन्देि जातात्ति जीवत्तन्त
– because of ब्रह्मि् alone all the beings exist. आिन्दां
प्रयन्त्यत्तभसांत्तवशन्तीत्तत – they all go back to आिन्द. What
should be the meaning of the word आिन्द here? If आिन्द is
taken as any particular experience because generally, the word
आिन्द in English we translate as happiness, bliss, ecstasy, joy
etc. All these words represent varieties of experiences. Are
experiences eternal or non-eternal? Every experience is finite,
impermanent. That impermanent experience itself is a product,
that product cannot said to be the cause of everything.
Therefore here the word आिन्द refers to िैतन्यर््, the very
Consciousness principle. It is not referring to any particular
experience which is temporary, but it is referring to the very
Consciousness. Then why do we use the word आिन्द?
Because by आिन्द our mind thinks of temporary experience.
So we say the word आिन्द refers to अिन्तत्वर्् in this context.
Whenever we use the word आिन्दः for either आत्र्ा or ब्रह्मि्,
आिन्द should be translated as अिन्तः. You should not
translate it as happiness, because it becomes a fleeting
experience and cannot go with ब्रह्मि्. You cannot call it bliss,
because bliss is again a fleeting experience and cannot go with
ब्रह्मि्. आिन्दः is equal to पि ू व त्वर्् is equal to अिन्तः. सत्यर््
ज्ािर्् अिन्तर््. What is that अिन्तत्वर्् or पि ू व त्वर््? It is
nothing but िैतन्य तत्वर्् or सत् तत्वर््, the principle of
Existence, the principle of Consciousness is called here
आिन्दः. And therefore आिन्दः, the सत् शचत् आत्र्ा, ब्रह्म इशत
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व्यजािात्. And आिन्दात् त्ति एव means सत् त्तित् आ्मनिः एव
इर्ात्ति भत
ू ात्ति जायन्ते. Here also we can see another interesting
aspect. Previously, when talking about Consciousness, we have
seen four points connected with Consciousness.
6) Consciousness is not a part, product or property of the
body.
7) Consciousness is an independent entity which pervades
the body.
8) Consciousness survives even after the fall of the body.
9) The surviving Consciousness is inaccessible.
In fact, you can extent these four principles to Existence also.
1) Existence is not a part, product or property of the body.
2) Existence is an independent entity which pervades the
body. Existence is not an adjective, it is a noun.
Now you can extend this to happiness also. We think happiness
is an adjective for a person. A happy man, a happy woman and
that too a temporary adjective which comes and goes we think.
According to वेदान्त Happiness is not a part, product or
property of the individual. Even though happiness appears as
an adjective, happiness itself is an independent entity. And it
pervades the body and makes the body mind complex,
especially the mind happy, temporarily. That happiness as an
entity survives even after the fall of the body. That surviving
happiness तत्वर्् is not accessible not because it is non-existent
but because the medium of expression is not there. Therefore
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happiness is not a property of the mind but happiness is an
entity by itself which is otherwise called Consciousness
principle, otherwise called Existence principle. It is that
आिन्द; not adjective आिन्द; adjective आिन्द is experiential,
noun आिन्द is non-experiential, it is myself. Thus आिन्देि
जातात्ति जीवत्तन्त । आिन्दां प्रयन्त्यत्तभसांत्तवशत्तन्त इत्तत. Once he
came to आिन्द, the Consciousness principle, he was satisfied
for good. On rethinking also he found, unlike अन्िर््, प्रािम्,
र्िः, etc., the आिन्द, the आत्र्ा, the Consciousness principle
is not an intermediary cause but Consciousness is the ultimate
cause. How do you prove that? Again श्रुत्तत and logic we can
use. श्रुत्तत also points out that Consciousness is never a product,
but the ultimate cause.
ू ः ॥ तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत्
२-१-२ ॥
Therefore Consciousness is the ultimate cause. And using the
logic also we can arrive at the same thing. In the previous cases
we said of शवज्ािर््, र्िः etc., are subject to birth, because they
are subject to change. Similarly, if Consciousness is also
subject to change, then Consciousness also would have been
subject to birth. But we find Consciousness is the witness of all
the changes, but itself does not undergo any change.
ि जायते त्तम्रयते वा कदात्तिि्
िायां भत्ू वा भत्तवता वा ि भय
ू ः।
अजो त्तित्यः शाश्वतोऽयां पुरािो
ि िन्यते िन्यर्ािे शरीरे ॥ गीता २-२० ॥
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Since Consciousness is त्तित्तववकारम् it cannot be a product.
Therefore there is no other cause for Consciousness, that is the
ultimate cause. Thus Consciousness is equal to आिन्द is equal
to ब्रह्म. इत्तत व्यजािात्. And that is otherwise called आत्र्ा.
आत्र्ा means अिर््, the subject. Therefore आिन्दो ब्रह्मेत्तत
व्यजािात् means अिर्् ब्रह्मात्तस्र् इत्तत व्यजािात्. Therefore he
was very happy. There is no more further journey. He did not
go back to his father at all. Father might have waited or perhaps
he himself later went to his son to find out what happened. We
don’t know for sure. The उपत्तिषत् says भग ृ ु was totally
satisfied. Therefore the teacher had no more further work and
the student also had no more further work, the dialogue is over,
the purpose is also over. Therefore the उपत्तिषत,् the master of
ceremonies comes. सैषा भागव वी वारुिी त्तवद्ा – this wisdom that
I am आिन्दः and that I, the आिन्द am ब्रह्मि् and that I ब्रह्मि्
am the जगत् कारिर््. So remember the कैवल्योपत्तिषत्.
Everything is based on me. When we say ‘everything is based
on me’, which ‘me’ should we take? अन्िर्य or प्रािर्य?
Neither. र्िोर्य or त्तवज्ािर्य? Neither. Not even आिन्दर्य,
but only the पञ्िकोश त्तवलक्ि सात्तक् िैतन्यर्् अिर््. Therefore
this knowledge is given a new title. The previous title given was
ब्रह्मत्तवद्ा, now this ब्रह्मत्तवद्ा is given two new titles. भागव वी
त्तवद्ा and वारुिी त्तवद्ा. Why is it called भागव वी त्तवद्ा? Because
it is received by the student भग ृ ु. भग
ृ ुिा प्राता इशत भागव वी. And
it is also known as वारुिी त्तवद्ा. Why is it called वारुिी त्तवद्ा?
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If you see the dictionary meaning of वारुिी it means liquor. It
will become spiritual knowledge. It is not that spirit here. Here
वारुिी means वरुिेन प्रोिा वारुिी. सैषा – this wisdom is
called भागव वी and वारुिी त्तवद्ा. And परर्े व्योर्ि् प्रत्ततत्तष्ठता –
this wisdom started with अन्िर्य कोश, अन्नं ब्रह्मेत्तत व्यजािात्
and culminated in the सात्तक् िैतन्य आत्र्ा. प्रत्ततत्तष्ठता means it
got culminated, it reached its climax in सात्तक् िैतन्यर््. Where
is the सात्तक् िैतन्यर्् located? परर्े व्योर्ि् – it is located in the
inside the heart, हृदय आकािे.
Within the हृदय आकाश, in the सात्तक् िैतन्यर्् this wisdom
culminated. Then the उपत्तिषत् says not only भग ृ ु got the
wisdom, but whoever goes through the same पञ्िकोश त्तववेक,
otherwise called तपस्, they all will get this wisdom. It is valid
even now. यः एवां वेद – whoever travels, whoever goes through
the internal journey, प्रत्ततत्ततष्ठत्तत – he will get well established
in life, he will get settled in life. The उपत्तिषत् says there is only
one method of getting settled in life. That method is this
wisdom. Only with this wisdom you will be settled. If you have
any other accomplishment it is only a fake settlement, because
sooner or later another responsibility looms. It is like taking
bath after wave subsides. Therefore the one who gets this
wisdom प्रत्ततत्ततष्ठत्तत. And not only he gets settled which is
called जीवन्र्ुत्तक्त which means freedom from unsettlement!
र्ुत्तक्त means freedom from the unsettled condition of mind,
being relaxed, being comfortable. I am O.K; you are O.K. As it
is said in transactional analysis. For some time you are not O.K,
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I am also not O.K. That is how we start. Then you are O.K, I
am not O.K. Then I am O.K, you are not O.K. Both are O.K
statement does not come at all. जीवन्र्ुत्तक्त means I am O.K, you
are O.K, the world is O.K, everything is O.K. That O.K is called
जीवन्र्ुत्तक्त. Not only he will get this spiritual benefit, he will
also get worldly benefit. Many people do not understand the
value of spiritual benefit. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् tempts people
with worldly benefit also. It is like giving गीता for
management. भगवाि् spoke गीता for something, now it is
taken for management! What is अष्टाङ्ग योग for? To reduce
blood pressure! So they have understood people want
something else. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् says अन्िवाि् भवत्तत.
The grossest form of benefit is mentioned here. He will get
plenty of अन्िर््. What is the use of plenty of अन्िर्् if I cannot
eat well? A person cannot eat salt because of blood pressure,
cannot eat sour or bitter because of ulcer, cannot eat sweet
because of diabetes. What can you eat? Three times pumpkin
juice. So here it is said, even a Vedantin can eat well because
he has no problem. The idea is the wisdom will even keep your
physical health alright because most of the ill-health is caused
by psycho-somatic problems. मिान् भवत्तत – he will also
become great in the world in different fields. प्रजया – through
wonderful children, he will get good children. If he is a
सन्न्यात्तस? Whenever a सन्न्यात्तस comes they chant either न
कमय िा or आिन्दो ब्रह्मेत्तत. If you chant र्िान्भवत्तत प्रजया
पशुत्तभब्रव ह्मविव सेि it will look a little bit odd. Here the word प्रिा
in the context of a सन्न्यात्तस should be translated as त्तशष्यs.
Because all the students are as good as children for the गुरु,
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because ्वमेव माता च शपता च. Therefore he will have plenty
of disciples, then पशुत्तभः – because if there are many disciples
गुरुकुलर्् is required and once गुरुकुलर्् comes then all the
other things are required. Therefore पशुत्तभः – he will get plenty
of wealth to teach and spread the message. Literally पशु means
cattle, cattle stands for wealth. ब्रह्मविव सेि – he will be great
because of his very personality. ब्रह्मविव स् means an attractive
personality, brilliant personality, because of the very wisdom.
There is brightness in his face because he is happy. Not only he
will be great in terms of प्रिा, पशु and ब्रह्मविव स,् मिान् कीत्याव
– he will also become famous. Any teacher will become well-
known in the society, because the students are always after the
teacher. Therefore he will become a famous teacher also. This
is लौत्तकक फलर््. प्रत्ततष्ठा is the spiritual benefit. With this the
पञ्िकोश त्तववेक part is over. More in the next class.
पि
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We have completed the first six अिुवाकs of the third
chapter भग ृ ुवल्ली and in these first six अिुवाकs the उपत्तिषत्
gave the summary of ब्रह्मत्तवद्ा because ब्रह्मत्तवद्ा has been
elaborately taught in the second chapter. In this summary
through पञ्िकोश त्तववेक जीवात्र्-परर्ात्र्ा ऐक्तयर्् was
revealed. ब्रह्मि् was defined as जगत् कारिर्् and that ब्रह्मि्
was equated with पञ्िकोश त्तवलक्ि आत्र्ा. The जगत् कारिर््
ब्रह्म is identical with पञ्िकोश त्तवलक्ि आत्र्ा. This is ब्रह्म-
आत्र्ा ऐक्तयर््. The पञ्िकोश त्तवलक्ि आत्र्ा was named
आिन्दः, आिन्द आत्र्ा. Thus आिन्दो ब्रह्मेत्तत व्यजािात् means
पञ्िकोश त्तवलक्ि आत्र्ा ब्रह्मेत्तत व्यजािात्. Thus in ब्रह्म-आत्र्ा
ऐक्तयर्् the teaching reaches its culmination. This systematic
पञ्िकोश त्तविार was named तपस्. This is a unique तपस् in the
context of वेदान्त. In the context of वेदपवू व भाग, तपस् is in the
form of उपवास, in the form of varieties of austerities, but in the
context of वेदान्त, तपस् does not involve self-denial, तपस्
involves one-pointed enquiry. मनसश्च इत्तन्रर्ािाञ्च ऐकाग्र्र्म्
परमं तपः. Thus पञ्िकोश त्तववेक रूप तपस् was discussed.
Incidentally the necessity of a गुरु also was indicated through
the story. भग ृ ु approaches his father वरुि; even though भग ृ ु
himself is a great ऋत्तष, that does not give him a freedom for
independent enquiry. Even a भग ृ ु र्ित्तषव requires a गुरु then
what to talk of we ordinary people? In this portion, the
important thing often quoted is the ब्रह्म लक्िर््, the definition
of ब्रह्मि् as सत्तृ ष्ट त्तस्र्त्तत लय कारिर््. In fact, the entire
भग ृ ुवल्ली is well-known for this definition. With this the first
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part of भग ृ ुवल्ली is over. The teacher gave the ब्रह्मत्तवद्ा फलर््
also. What is the benefit of ब्रह्मत्तवद्ा? य एवां वेद प्रत्ततत्ततष्ठत्तत –
first he will be psychologically settled. सांसार can be defined as
permanently unsettled mind. जीवन्र्ुत्तक्त can be defined as
enjoying a psychologically settled condition all the time,
relaxed condition, relieved conditioned, lightened condition.
Enlightened is lightened. Also worldly benefits were mentioned
र्िाि् भवत्तत । प्रजया पशुत्तभब्रव ह्मविव सेि । र्िाि् कीत्याव . With this
the first part is over. Now we are going to enter into the second
part of भग ृ ुवल्ली which begins with the seventh अिुवाक. We
will read.
अन्िब्रह्मोपासिर््
र्न्त्र 3-7-01
अन्िां ि त्तिन्द्ात् । तद्व्रतर्् । प्रािो वा अन्िर्् । शरीरर्न्िादर्् ।
प्रािे शरीरां प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतर्् । शरीरे प्रािः प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतः । तदेतदन्िर्न्िे
प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतर्् । स य एतदन्िर्न्िे प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतां वेद प्रत्ततत्ततष्ठत्तत ।
अन्िवािन्िादो भवत्तत । र्िान्भवत्तत प्रजया पशुत्तभब्रव ह्मविव सेि ।
र्िाि् कीत्याव ॥ १ ॥ इत्तत सिर्ोऽिुवाकः ॥
In these following अिुवाकs the उपत्तिषत् is going to
prescribe certain meditations or उपासिs. All these meditations
are meant to prepare the mind for Self-knowledge. Along with
these meditations the उपत्तिषत् gives certain disciplines also.
Four to five disciplines otherwise called व्रतर््s are suggested.
Most of the disciplines or व्रतर््s are connected with अन्िर््.
Why अन्िर्् is given so much importance? The reason is
अन्िर्य कोश happens to be the first stage of Vedantic enquiry.
That happens to be our grossest personality and our maximum
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identification is with अन्िर्य. In fact, most of our worries are
connected with अन्िर्य, most of our time and energy also are
spent for security and any form of security is connected with
अन्िर्य. This अन्िर्य is the grossest form of I. Beginning
with the grossest form of I, we reach the subtlest form of I.
Therefore to reach the subtlest I, the अन्िर्य happens to be the
first rung of the ladder. Therefore to express our gratitude
towards अन्िर्यर््, we have got a special respect and also
reverence for अन्िर्् which is the essence of अन्िर्य. Why is
it called अन्िर्यर््? Because it is made up of अन्िर््. Therefore
several व्रतर््s are given connected with अन्िर््. This is one
series of topic – disciplines or व्रतर््. A particular meditation
group is going to be prescribed in these three अिुवाकs. The
intention behind these meditations is learning to look at the
whole universe as the body of the Lord. The उपत्तिषत् wants to
give us a new perspective. What is that new perspective? The
universe is not a fragmented one, but the whole universe is like
the body of one cosmic organism. Therefore we can look at the
universe as ईश्वर शरीरर्् and that macro ईश्वर is called त्तवराि्
ईश्वरः or त्तिरण्यगभव ईश्वरः. This is a very important and unique
teaching of the वेद. In the other religions also the concept of
God is there, but in all other religions God is a separate entity
remaining away from the world in some unknown, unseen,
unseeable place. Such a concept of ईश्वर is called technically
तिस्र् ईश्वरः. तिस्र् ईश्वरः means a Lord who is away from the
world, who is away from us the जीवs and somewhere safely
sitting. वेदान्त says, ईश्वर is not away from the world, in fact
the very world is a manifestation of ईश्वर. Then the next
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question is how can we assimilate this concept that the whole
universe is one body, because I see things are far apart. How
can I look at the world as one whole principle? To assimilate
this idea we generally take the example of our own body. If you
study the individual body there are several organs in the body.
Even though there are many organs why do we look upon the
whole bunch of organs as one organism? You can give only one
logic which is, even though there are several parts they are all
interconnected to one whole. No organ is an isolated entity,
every organ is invisibly connected to every other organ. In fact
every organ is dependent on every other organ. They are
interconnected and interdependent and therefore we count it as
one principle. That is why if any organ is affected, in due course
every other organ will be affected. Take diabetes. Only
pancreas is affected, sufficient insulin is not there, but gradually
it affects every other organ. Eyes, heart, feet, brain etc., are
affected. So even though the organ is in one corner of the body,
invisibly it is connected to every other. The connection is to be
appreciated, it is not physically perceptible. If you apply this
principle, the उपत्तिषत् says the whole cosmos also is like one
organic whole. It is like one organism because every part of
creation is connected to every other part of the creation. Why
are they now studying about environmental balance and
ecological balance, etc? Somewhere deforestation takes place
and they talk about its consequences and how the rains doesn’t
come, therefore there is famine and people suffer etc. Thus the
more we study the various parts of creation, the more we
understand the interconnectedness between human beings and
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animals, human beings and plants, human beings and rivers,
human beings and forests, human beings and the Sun and the
moon. They call it butterfly effect. Some small disturbance
caused by a butterfly’s throbbing wings can affect the distant
galaxy. Somebody said, ‘you cannot pluck a flower without
disturbing a star.’ It all looks like a poetic statement. It is not
poetry, it is truth. Everything is interconnected. This alone they
call as symbiotic relationship. Now the उपत्तिषत् wants to
reveal this interdependence of the creation. As a sample the
उपत्तिषत् takes three pairs of objects and asks us to practice a
meditation. What is the meditation? Seeing the interdependence
of each pair. We should take each pair and see the dependence
of one on the other. This interdependence is presented in the
form of two types of relationships.
1) One is called अन्ि-अन्िाद सम्बन्धः, consumer-
consumed relationship. For example, when we are alive we
consume things from nature in the form of plant etc. Therefore
we consume the earth in the form of plant, after death the earth
consumes the body. At one time we consume – we are the
consumers and the world is consumed. At another time the
world becomes the consumer and we become consumed. This
is called अन्िर््, consumed and अन्िादः means consumer.
2) Then the second type of relationship revealed is प्रत्ततष्ठा-
प्रत्ततत्तष्ठत सम्बन्धः, mutually supporter-supported relationship.
If you take any pair, each one mutually supports the other. For
example, when we are born as children, incapable of managing
ourselves we are supported by the parents. Parents provide
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everything – food, clothing and shelter. How much do they
charge? Can it be calculated? Therefore as children we are
supported and the parents are supporters. When the very same
parents grow old and they are not be able to do anything
because it is their second childhood. What all problems are
there for children that all old people will have including
adamancy. Whatever it is, now it is the children’s responsibility
to support the parents. Thus at one time the children are
supported and at other time they become supporters. This is
called mutually प्रत्ततष्ठा-प्रत्ततत्तष्ठत सम्बन्धः. Even in those
गुरुकुलर्् days also when the ब्रह्मिाररs studied in the
गुरुकुलर््, the गुरुकुलर्् provides everything free of cost. They
went with the dress on the body. The idea is when the ब्रह्मिारर
completes the education and becomes a गिृ स्र् he should not
forget the गुरुकुलर्् he studied in. As a गिृ स्र्, as a part of
ब्रह्मयज्, he has to support that गुरुकुलर््. So is the गुरुकुलर््
the supporter or the supported? At one time it is the supporter,
at another time it is supported. Thus we can extend this to
anything as an example. Thus अन्ि-अन्िाद सम्बन्ध and
प्रत्ततष्ठा-प्रत्ततत्तष्ठत सम्बन्ध between three pairs of objects.
The first pair of उपासि is given in the seventh अिुवाक
and that is प्राि and शरीरर््. What should be our उपासि?
Seeing the अन्ि-अन्िाद सम्बन्ध between प्राि and शरीरर््.
Similarly प्रत्ततष्ठा-प्रत्ततत्तष्ठत सम्बन्ध between प्राि and शरीरर््.
In the eighth अिुवाक अत्तनि and जलर्् are taken as the
second pair. Here our उपासि is seeing the अन्ि-अन्िाद
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सम्बन्ध between अत्तनि and जलर्् and प्रत्ततष्ठा-प्रत्ततत्तष्ठत
सम्बन्ध between अत्तनि and जलर््.
In the nineth अिुवाक the third pair is taken which is
पत्तृ र्वी and आकाश. Here our उपासि is seeing the अन्ि-
अन्िाद सम्बन्ध between पत्तृ र्वी and आकाश and प्रत्ततष्ठा-
प्रत्ततत्तष्ठत सम्बन्ध between पत्तृ र्वी and आकाश.
If you take these three pairs and practice this उपासि,
your mind begins to see the interconnectedness of everything.
In fact, धर्व is defined as a lifestyle in which this cosmic
interdependence or connection is not disturbed. When I am
cutting the trees in the city I am disturbing the balance between
the trees and the human beings. भगवाि् has intelligently
balanced we breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon-di-oxide
whereas the plant kingdom breathes in carbon-di-oxide and
gives out oxygen. What a nice interdependence! What are we
doing foolishly? By destroying the trees which are called the
lungs of the society, we are creating lung problems and suffer
from varieties of diseases. This is called disturbance of the
cosmic rhythm or harmony. If I am aware of the cosmic श्रुत्तत,
rhythm, the cosmic orchestra whatever I do will not be अपश्रुत्तत.
Imagine people are chanting गुरु स्तोत्रर््. अखण्डर्ण्डलाकारां
व्यािां येि िरािरर्् । All the people are chanting in that श्रुत्तत
which is very nice to hear. Imagine there is one person who
doesn’t understand what is श्रुत्तत. When he chants in a totally
different श्रुत्तत, it is so jarring and disturbing. Similarly, अधर्व is
disturbance of the cosmic harmony. The negative consequence
will not be felt immediately. அரசன் அன்று தகால்வான்,
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तैत्तिरीय उपत्तिषत् भग ृ ुवल्ली
ததய்வம் நின்று தகால்லும் (अरसऩ् अऩ्ऱु कोल्वाऩ्, दैवर््
त्तिऩ्ऱु कोल्लुर््, The mills of God grind slow but sure. The rulers
will give punishment the day of the crime itself, but the God
will punish after some time.) Be it greenhouse effect or be it
ozone hole all these disturbances are not immediately felt, but
after decades they discover certain diseases are cause and we
don’t know how to reverse. Some of the effects are irreversible.
Lord कृष्ि presented this in गीता,
एवां प्रवत्ततवतां ििां िािुवतव यतीि यः ।
अघायुररत्तन्रयारार्ो र्ोघां पार्व स जीवत्तत ॥ गीता ३-१६ ॥
A gross, immature, selfish person is one who is not aware of
this balance in the family, in the society, in the nature.
Therefore his selfish life destroys the whole creation. Thus this
is a very beautiful meditation. In fact in the daily
सन्ध्यावन्दिर्् we are asked to be aware of the cosmic balance.
In the िवग्रि तपव िर्् – आत्तदत्यां तपव यात्तर् सोर्ां तपव यात्तर्
अङ्गारकां तपव यात्तर् बुधां तपव यात्तर् बिृ स्पत्तत तपव यात्तर्. What do you
mean by तपव यात्तर्? I propitiate. I am aware of this solar system
and its interconnectedness. I don’t want to forget the totality in
my preoccupation with my family duties. ॐ प्राच्यै त्तदशे िर्ः ॐ
दत्तक्िायै त्तदशे िर्ः ॐ प्रतीच्यै त्तदशे िर्ः ॐ उदीच्यै त्तदशे िर्ः
etc., indicates we have to be aware of the cosmic balance.
Therefore we can say these three उपासिs together is equivalent
to त्तवराि् उपासि or त्तवश्वरूप उपासि which is very important
before understanding त्तिगव ुिर्् ब्रह्म. It is from एक रूपर्् to
अिेक रूपर्् and to अरूपर््. Without the त्तवश्वरूप appreciation
त्तिगव ुिर्् ब्रह्म cannot be appreciated. This is the topic in seventh,
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eighth and nineth अिुवाकs. With this background we will go
to the details.
The first व्रतर्् or discipline is अन्िां ि त्तिन्द्ात्. What is
that discipline? अन्िर््. When you are given food for eating do
not criticize the food that has been served. ि त्तिन्द्ात् – don’t
complain that it is saltless, spiceless, not boiled properly, etc.
Some people are experts in criticizing however well it is
cooked. First give it up. यदृच्छा-लाभ-सन्तुष्टः ॥ गीता ४-२२ ॥
If you have got good food you have got पुण्य प्रारब्धर््, otherwise
you get what you deserve. Never complain against अन्िर््. Stop
it. From when onwards? From tonight itself. उपत्तिषत् is telling
अन्िां ि त्तिन्द्ात् – don’t criticize food. तत् व्रतर्् – it should be
taken as a vow because अन्िां ब्रह्मेत्तत व्यजािात्, अन्िर्् is ब्रह्म.
That is the first stage of भग ृ ु’s discovery. अन्िर्् is god and
therefore don’t criticize. This is the first व्रतर््. Now we have to
go to the first उपासि of the first pair – प्रािम् and शरीरर््. So
the उपत्तिषत् says प्रािो वा अन्िर्् – from one angle when you
look at the प्राि शत्तक्त is comparable to अन्िर््, food that you
consume. And शरीरर्् अन्िादर्् – the physical body is as
though the consumer. So प्राि is consumed, शरीरर्् is the
consumer. Whereas when you look from another angle the roles
get reversed. That we have to supply प्रािो वा अन्िादः. We have
to add two sentences – प्रािो वा अन्िादः and शरीरर्् अन्िर््. So
from two different angles प्राि and शरीरर्् become consumer
and consumed. How are we to assimilate this concept? When
we are breathing, at that time the external प्राि शत्तक्त or प्राि
वायु is taken inside the body and therefore the body becomes
the consumer and the प्रािवायु outside is consumed through the
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nose. Therefore at the time of breathing प्राि is अन्िर््, शरीरर््
is अन्िादः. If you look at it from another angle, especially when
you are doing activity, you are physically active, you are
sweating out because the doctor has said to reduce obesity
(extra food gone to waste). So to reduce the obesity one has to
do lot of exercise. At the time of exercise प्राि is activated and
when प्राि becomes active it eats up the extra weight in the
body. Therefore activated प्राि consumes your own body, it eats
up the body, extra fat is consumed. Therefore body becomes
अन्िर्् and activated प्राि becomes अन्िादः. So this is the first
relationship, mutual अन्ि-अन्िाद सम्बन्धः. Thereafter the next
relationship is प्रत्ततष्ठा-प्रत्ततत्तष्ठत सम्बन्धः. प्रािे शरीरां
प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतर्् – body is supported by the प्राि. शरीरे प्रािः
प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतः – प्राि is supported by the शरीरर््. First प्राि is the
supporter, शरीरर्् is supported. Next शरीरर्् is the supporter,
प्राि is supported. How to assimilate this? You can see how both
are mutually dependent. The body cannot be alive at all if it is
not backed by प्राि शत्तक्त. This physical body is alive and
sentient only because of प्राि शत्तक्त. From this angle we can say
प्राि is the supporter to keep the body alive. That is why when
somebody dies we say प्राि has left, the support is gone and
body becomes a corpse. When you look from another angle प्राि
शत्तक्त which has the energy, the capacity to act. In fact प्राि is
full of शक्रर्ा िशि. Even though प्राि has the शक्रर्ा िशि it can
function only when it is enclosed in a body. Therefore body
enclosure is required for प्राि to function. That is why after
death प्राि is very much there, but that प्राि cannot do any
activity until that प्राि finds another body enclosure. Thus body
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supports the प्राि by providing an enclosure for the प्राि to be
functioning. Therefore for body to be alive प्राि is required, for
प्राि to be functioning the physical enclosure is required.
Suppose without physical enclosure if the प्राि can be active
then it will be doing all the works. You will suddenly find that
the pages of the book will be turned, you will run away.
Remember प्राि cannot turn the pages by itself, it requires a
cabinet called शरीरर््. Therefore शरीरर्् supports the प्राि in its
activity, प्राि supports the शरीरर्् to be alive. Therefore their
relationship is प्रत्ततष्ठा-प्रत्ततत्तष्ठत सम्बन्धः. They are mutually
supporters and supported. What is the conclusion? तत् एतत्
अन्िर्् अन्िे प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतर््. अन्िर्् number one refers to प्राि and
अन्िर्् number two refers to शरीरर््; अन्िर्् अन्िे means
अन्िर्् number one, i.e., प्राि and अन्िर्् number two, i.e.,
शरीरर््, they are mutually supported. There is interdependence
between them. This is the meditation to be practiced. Then what
will I get? The उपत्तिषत् says सः यः एतत् अन्िर्् अन्िे प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतां
वेद. वेद means meditate, उपासिम् करोशत. So whoever
meditates upon the mutual dependence, the interdependence of
प्राि and शरीरर््, प्रत्ततत्ततष्ठत्तत – that meditator will be well
supported in his life. He need not worry about who will take
care in his old age, etc. Somebody or other will provide as a
result of this उपासि. प्रत्ततष्ठा उपासिेि प्रत्ततष्ठार्् प्राप्तनोशत. Not
only he will get good support from family, from society, from
world, from nature etc., he will get other worldly benefits also.
What are the other benefits? अन्िवाि् अन्िादः भवत्तत । र्िाि्
भवत्तत । प्रजया पशुत्तभब्रव ह्मविव सेि । र्िाि् कीत्याव . We have
already seen this line in the previous अिुवाकः. To condense it,
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they will get all the worldly benefits like name, fame, food,
health etc. Thus we have got one व्रतम् and one उपासि in this
अिुवाक. Now we will go to the next व्रतम् and the next उपासि.
र्न्त्र 3-8-01
अन्िां ि पररिक्ीत । तद्व्रतर्् । आपो वा अन्िर्् । ज्योत्ततरन्िादर््
। अप्सु ज्योत्ततः प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतर्् । ज्योत्ततष्यापः प्रत्ततत्तष्ठताः ।
तदेतदन्िर्न्िे प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतर्् । स य एतदन्िर्न्िे प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतां वेद
प्रत्ततत्ततष्ठत्तत । अन्िवािन्िादो भवत्तत । र्िान्भवत्तत प्रजया
पशुत्तभब्रव ह्मविव सेि । र्िाि् कीत्याव ॥ १ ॥ इत्यष्टर्ोऽिुवाकः ॥
The second व्रतर्् or discipline is अन्िां ि पररिक्ीत –
don’t waste the food in the leaf or plate. Literally पररिक्ीत ि
means don’t reject. That means don’t leave the food in the plate.
Let अन्िर्् be not wasted. That is disrespect to अन्िर््. If you
waste food, they say in old age you will go without food.
Therefore if you don’t want that pathetic condition, don’t waste.
Naturally a question will come suppose I am already full? You
say don’t waste the food, wasting is disrespect to food you say.
But suppose I don’t want to waste food and even if I am so full
I keep on eating, then that is also equally bad because it is
disrespecting the body. Now I am stuck. Should I disrespect the
अन्िर्् or should I disrespect the अन्िर्य? The best method is
don’t bring in such a situation. Make sure that you avoid such
a situation, take only whatever you can eat, so that you don’t
leave anything on the plate. Suppose the one who serves goes
on serving even after you refuse to take more, naturally you will
be forced to leave food and that पापम् does not go to the eater,
but it goes to the one who serves too much. Therefore be careful
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in serving also. Therefore be careful in taking on the leaf, and
be careful in serving also so that there is no occasion to
disrespect अन्िर्् also and अन्िर्य also. This is your व्रतर््.
This is the second व्रतर््. Now we are going to the second
उपासि where we are going to take the second pair and see
अन्ि-अन्िाद and प्रत्ततष्ठा-प्रत्ततत्तष्ठत सम्बन्ध. अत्तनि and जलर््
are the second pair. So the उपत्तिषत् says आपो वा अन्िर्् – आपिः
means जलर््, water is अन्िर्् which is consumed and ज्यौत्ततः
अन्िादर््. ज्यौत्ततः means अत्तनिः, fire which is the consumer.
We have to add another two sentences where the role is
reversed आपो वा अन्िादः – from another angle water is the
consumer and the fire is the consumed. So thus they have got
mutual consumer-consumed relationship. Now the question is
how do I assimilate this idea. By looking at the external world
and the internal body we can understand this. At the internal
level when we drink water, the water is consumed by the
वैश्वािर अत्तनिः inside. The digestive fire is called वैश्वािर
अत्तनिः, समान प्रािः. That internal अत्तनि is the consumer and
water is consumed. From another angle externally when you
quench the fire by pouring water when there is a fire hazard,
water consumes the fire. The fire is destroyed as though eaten
by water. Therefore externally water is consumer, fire is
consumed. Internally fire is consumer, water is consumed.
Details in the next class.
पि
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In the first six अिुवाकs of भग ृ ुवल्ली the उपत्तिषत्
summarized the पञ्िकोश त्तववेक as a means of ब्रह्मशवद्या. And
now from the seventh अिुवाक onwards the उपत्तिषत् gives
certain secondary disciplines, preparatory steps to make the
mind ready for this knowledge. These are going to be in the
form of उपासिर््s and व्रतर््s. In the three sections seven, eight
and nine, three व्रतर््s or disciplines are given along with a form
of meditation which is similar to त्तवश्वरूप उपासिर््. In this type
of meditation three pairs of things are taken and then the
interdependence of each pair is revealed, so that we will
understand the whole universe is an interdependent creation.
Therefore it is like one cosmic organism. It is the त्तवश्वरूप of
ईश्वर. The first pair that we took for meditation was शरीरर्् and
प्राि and the second pair that we have taken in the eighth
अिुवाक is अत्तनि and जलर््. The interdependence of these pairs
were revealed in the form of अन्ि-अन्िाद सम्बन्ध as well as
प्रत्ततष्ठा-प्रत्ततत्तष्ठत सम्बन्ध. अन्ि-अन्िाद सम्बन्ध is mutually
they are consumer and consumed, and प्रत्ततष्ठा-प्रत्ततत्तष्ठत
सम्बन्ध is mutually they are supporter and supported. And we
were seeing how this relationship exists between अत्तनि and
जलर््. The first relationship is अन्ि-अन्िाद सम्बन्ध. When
you look from the individual angle, अत्तनि seems to be the
consumer and जलर्् is the consumed. But when you look from
the external angle, when the fire is quenched by water then the
roles seems to be reversed. अत्तनि is there in our own body in
the form of the digestive principle, which we call जाठरात्तनिः or
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वैश्वािर अत्तनिः which is nothing but सर्ाि प्रािः. That is why
when we are thirsty we use the expression दाििः. दािम् means
the burning of the inner system because the सर्ाि प्राि, the
digestive fire is activated and therefore we give water. The
inner fire consumes the water that we take. So from this angle
अत्तनि becomes अन्िादः and जलर्् becomes अन्िर््, consumer
and consumed. But when you take the same pair outside, when
there is fire, somebody extinguishes the fire by pouring water,
then the fire is as though consumed by water. So from that angle
water is the अन्िाद, the consumer and अत्तनि is as though
अन्िर््, eaten by water. Thus between अत्तनि and जलर्् there is
mutual अन्ि-अन्िाद सम्बन्ध. Similarly they do have प्रत्ततष्ठा-
प्रत्ततत्तष्ठत सम्बन्ध also. They mutually support. How do they
support each other? We can say अत्तनि is the supporter of जलर््,
based on the shastric description of creation. When you study
the creation as revealed by शास्त्र, we know that
आकाशाद्वायुः । वायोरत्तनिः । अनिेरापः । अद्भ्यः पत्तृ र्वी ॥
तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् २-१-२ ॥
So in this series of creation from आकाश वायु is born, that
means आकाश is कारिर््, वायु is कायव र््. Then from वायु अत्तनि
is born, वायु is कारिर््, अत्तनि is कायव र््. Then from अत्तनि जलर््
is born, अत्तनि is कारिर््, जलर्् is कायव र््. It is this portion
which is relevant to us अत्तनिः जलस्य कारिर््, जलर्् अननेिः
कायव र््. Ok, from this what do you derive? The corollary that
we derive is कारिर्् is always the support for कायव र््. कारिर््
is always the प्रत्ततष्ठा of कायव र््. Just as the gold supports the
ornaments, the gold being the कारिर््, wood supports all the
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furniture, because wood is the कारिर््. Similarly अत्तनि is
प्रत्ततष्ठा and जलर्् is प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतर््. Thus they have got प्रत्ततष्ठा-
प्रत्ततत्तष्ठत सम्बन्ध. When you look from another angle, जलर््
becomes the प्रत्ततष्ठा and अत्तनि becomes the प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतर््. जलर््
is the supporter and अत्तनि is supported. In what context do we
find? In two contexts we find this. One commentator writes,
when there is rain bearing clouds, there we experience
lightning. The rain bearing clouds in the sky is the cause for
lightning. Rain bearing clouds means िल तत्वर्् and lightning
is अत्तनि तत्वर््. Therefore from that angle, जलर््, the rain
bearing clouds is प्रत्ततष्ठा, the support, the cause for the arrival
of the अत्तनि तत्वर््, i.e., lightning. Therefore जलर्् is प्रत्ततष्ठा
and अत्तनि is प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतर््. Again when we study our own body
condition, our physical body has got अत्तनि तत्वर््. How do we
experience the अत्तनि तत्वर््? In the form of the body
temperature. We know that we should have a constant
temperature of 98.4 Fahrenheit. But externally the temperatures
are violently changing. But even though the external
temperatures are changing the अत्तनि तत्वर्् in the individual
body is maintained and supported. How does nature manage to
maintain the temperature? The method is जल तत्वर्् only.
When the temperature goes beyond, by sweating, by giving up
water the body temperature is maintained. When we are
sweating too much, we will feel very uncomfortable, but if only
we don’t have the sweating mechanism we cannot survive for
long. Therefore whenever we sweat instead of cursing we
should learn to thank the Lord. There was a peculiar case of a
boy in whom the sweat glands were not functioning properly
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and the boy cannot survive at all. Therefore they had to invent
a special mechanism spending lots of money to maintain the
sweating. We are cursing what has been given freely to us by
god, remember letting the water out is for maintaining the body
temperature. And also consumption of the water by the intake
and also by exit of water भगवाि् has made an ingenious
system, that is the thermostat of भगवाि.् Therefore the bodily
अत्तनि तत्वर््, the अध्र्ाश्मक अत्तनि तत्वर्् is maintained by
जल तत्वर््. Therefore what is प्रत्ततष्ठा and प्रत्ततत्तष्ठत? जलर्् is
प्रत्ततष्ठा and bodily अत्तनि is प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतर््. Thus we find अत्तनि and
जलर्् have अन्ि-अन्िाद सम्बन्ध and प्रत्ततष्ठा-प्रत्ततत्तष्ठत
सम्बन्ध. in short, interdependence is evident. Therefore the
उपत्तिषत् says अप्सु ज्योत्ततः प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतर्् ज्योत्ततत्तष आपः
प्रत्ततत्तष्ठताः. Upto this is the two-fold interdependence – अन्ि-
अन्िाद and प्रत्ततष्ठा-प्रत्ततत्तष्ठत. Then the उपत्तिषत् says may you
meditate upon this interdependence. Not only between अत्तनि
and जलर्् but of the entire cosmic phenomenon, the ecological
harmony, the environmental balance may you meditate. सः यः
एतत् अन्िर्् अन्िे प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतां वेद. वेद means उपास्ते; not mere
knowledge. One should dwell upon this fact. Then the फलर्् is
प्रत्ततत्ततष्ठत्तत – because he meditates upon प्रत्ततष्ठा the benefit is
also प्रत्ततष्ठा. Because the general rule of meditation you should
remember
Whichever aspect of the creation you meditate upon, in that
aspect you grow. Or the simple law as you think, so you
become. This is the principle of meditation. Not only will he
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get the प्रत्ततष्ठा फलर््, he will get the other benefits also. What
are they? अन्िवाि् भवत्तत अन्िादः भवत्तत प्रजया र्िाि् भवत्तत
पशुत्तभः र्िाि् भवत्तत ब्रह्मविव सेि र्िाि् भवत्तत कीत्याव च र्िाि्
भवत्तत. This particular portion is the repetition of what we found
in the seventh अिुवाक. Therefore c/o the seventh अिुवाक.
With this the second meditation is over. Two व्रतर््s and two
उपासिs have been taught. Now we have to enter the nineth
अिुवाक which gives the third व्रतर्् and उपासि. We will read.
र्न्त्र 3-9-01
अन्िां बिु कुवीत । तद्व्रतर्् । पत्तृ र्वी वा अन्िर्् । आकाशोऽन्िादः
। पत्तृ र्व्यार्ाकाशः प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतः । आकाशे पत्तृ र्वी प्रत्ततत्तष्ठता ।
तदेतदन्िर्न्िे प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतर्् । स य एतदन्िर्न्िे प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतां वेद
प्रत्ततत्ततष्ठत्तत । अन्िवािन्िादो भवत्तत । र्िान्भवत्तत प्रजया
पशुत्तभब्रव ह्मविव सेि । र्िाि् कीत्याव ॥ १ ॥ इत्तत िवर्ोऽिुवाकः ॥
Now comes the third व्रतर्् and उपासि. The third व्रतर््
is अन्िां बिु कुवीत – may you produce plenty of अन्िर््. Let
there not be any scarcity or famine. Let there be plenty to eat,
let there be prosperity. Even if you produce more than what you
require, may that extra produce be shared with all the people
because that is the basic necessity for survival and only after
that all other higher pursuits are possible. Therefore अन्िां बिु
कुवीत. It can be in the form of grains also, may you produce
more. And in those days they also advised may you also cook a
little bit extra for अन्िदािर््. Don’t cook only for we two, ours
two, but cook for somebody else also and distribute. For that
purpose may you produce. तत् व्रतर्् – that also must be your
व्रतर््, discipline. It means you should not think of yourself only,
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you should learn to think of others also. Let your mind expand,
let your mind have consideration for others. In fact some people
say that the एकादशी उपवास has got so many benefits, but one
benefit is to know what is hunger. Only when we practically go
through the pangs of hunger, then alone we will know when the
other person is hungry, how much pain the other person
undergoes. Therefore also एकादशी उपवास is prescribed. In
short, I should be able to identify with others. तत् व्रतर्् – this
is the third व्रतर््. Now comes the third उपासि in which another
pair is taken into account – पत्तृ र्वी and आकाश. पत्तृ र्वी means
earth, आकाश means space. This pair also has got अन्ि-अन्िाद
सम्बन्ध as well as प्रत्ततष्ठा-प्रत्ततत्तष्ठत सम्बन्ध. How do you see
the अन्ि-अन्िाद सम्बन्ध? At the individual level when you
take various objects in the creation, they are all nothing but
various forms of earth only, पत्तृ र्वी त्तवकार only. We all know
that they consume space. We are very much aware of it
especially in the city, and that too in a small flat. We say I have
sold all the sofas because they are eating, consuming lot of
space. So we know all the objects consume space. From the
angle of independent objects earth is the consumer of space by
occupying. From another angle when you study the space
becomes the consumer. How do you say so? Again we have to
go back to the creation principle. The order of creation is
आकाशाद्वायुः । वायोरत्तनिः । अनिेरापः । अद्भ्यः पत्तृ र्वी. And
when there is प्रलय, the resolution of the whole creation, and
the scriptures point out when there is प्रलय the dissolution takes
place in the opposite order. In the opposite order means it starts
from earth. When you talk about creation you start from space.
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When you talk about destruction you have to start from earth.
Therefore the scriptures point out the earth resolves into जल
तत्वर््, and जल तत्वर्् resolves into अत्तनि तत्वर््, अत्तनि तत्वर््
resolves into वायु तत्वर््, वायु तत्वर्् resolves into आकाश
तत्वर््. Therefore the पत्तृ र्वी, the earth is ultimately consumed
by आकाश. Therefore आकाश is consumer, the earth is
consumed. Thus they have got mutually अन्ि-अन्िाद सम्बन्ध.
Similarly we should also see their प्रत्ततष्ठा-प्रत्ततत्तष्ठत सम्बन्ध
also. From the cosmic angle when you see since आकाश is the
कारिर्् for the other four elements, all the four elements
including the earth are the products of आकाश. Remember
आकाश, according to शास्त्र, is not emptiness. The space is
considered to be the subtlest form of matter. And that आकाश
is कारिर्् for everything including the earth. Therefore
आकाश is the कारिर््, the earth is the final product, कायव र््.
And we know कारिर्् supports the कायव र््. So आकाश
becomes the प्रत्ततष्ठा, कारित्वात् and पत्तृ र्वी becomes
प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतर््, because of कायव र््. Therefore they have got
प्रत्ततष्ठा-प्रत्ततत्तष्ठत सम्बन्ध. Now we have to see the other way
round also. पत्तृ र्वी is the प्रत्ततष्ठा, the supporter and आकाश is
the supported. How? Again, when you look at the individual
plane, you know that आकाश has got the accommodating
capacity, आकाश is useful for all व्यविार, but if space has to
be useful for transaction it has to be enclosed within an
enclosure. This hall is useful because this space is
accommodating us and the space is useful only when it becomes
a hall. Hall is a name not for the walls, because walls are not
useful. Hall is the name of the enclosed space. When you pour
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water into the vessel what accommodates water is not the
vessel, but what accommodates is the space. What is the role of
vessel? Vessel provides an enclosed space, which alone is
useful for transaction. Therefore space becomes useful only
when it is enclosed. Therefore space requires the support of an
enclosure to be useful or functional. When you say you are
building a house, remember house is not the wall, house is the
inside space and the space alone houses you. But the space
becomes a house housing the people only because it is blessed
by or supported by the wall. Therefore what is supporting the
space? The enclosure! The enclosure is made up of पत्तृ र्वी.
Therefore पत्तृ र्वी तत्वर्् as an enclosure supports आकाश to
make the आकाश useful and transactable. आकाशस्य व्यविार
योनयता त्तसद्ध्यर्व र्् if आकाश should have a functional
capacity, it requires the blessing of the earth in the form of an
enclosure. Therefore from this angle, पत्तृ र्वी is the supporter as
the enclosure and आकाश is supported. Thus they have got
mutual प्रत्ततष्ठा-प्रत्ततत्तष्ठत सम्बन्ध also. Now look at this र्न्त्र.
पत्तृ र्वी वा अन्िर्् । आकाििः अन्िादः and we have to add two
more sentences as we did before - पत्तृ र्वी वा अन्िादः आकाशः
अन्िर््. Therefore they have अन्ि-अन्िाद सम्बन्धः. Not only
that पत्तृ र्व्यार्ाकाशः प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतः । आकाशे पत्तृ र्वी प्रत्ततत्तष्ठता –
these two sentences reveal their प्रत्ततष्ठा-प्रत्ततत्तष्ठत सम्बन्ध.
Therefore the conclusion is everything in the creation is
mutually dependent. तत् एतत् अन्िर्् अन्िे प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतर्् –
everything is interdependent. सः यः एतत् अन्िर्् अन्िे
प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतां वेद – the one who meditates upon this cosmic
symbiotic relationship. The फलर्् he gets is प्रत्ततत्ततष्ठत्तत – in
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life he will be supported. As somebody said nicely, if you want
the society to support you, make yourself inevitable,
indispensable for the society. If the society finds that your
existence is useful to the society, the society will go out of the
way to dress you, to feed you, to give any amount of money
also for the treatment. On the other hand if you are parasite in
the society only consuming all the time, the society will
consider you to be a burden. Even if you are dying on the road
nobody will bother. So if you contribute you will be contributed
too. You give, you will be given. This is called symbiotic
relationship. Therefore प्रत्ततत्ततष्ठत्तत this is the प्रत्ततष्ठा फलर््.
Not only that he will get the worldly results also. अन्िवाि्
भवत्तत अन्िादः भवत्तत प्रजया र्िाि् भवत्तत पशुत्तभः र्िाि् भवत्तत
ब्रह्मविव सेि र्िाि् भवत्तत कीत्याव च र्िाि् भवत्तत. Thus three
pairs are taken to see the interdependence. We should
remember that it is not compulsory that we should take these
three pairs alone. Modern science is regularly proving how the
whole creation is interconnected. How if वायु is polluted your
life is in danger, if जलर्् is polluted your life is in danger, if
earth is polluted your life is in danger. But what is important?
The universe is one cosmic organism. That is what is given in
the त्तवष्िु सिस्रिार् – भःू पादौ यस्य िात्तभर्-त्तवयदसुरत्तिल-
िन्रसय ू ौ ि िेत्रे. The cosmos is God. Thus these उपासिs
become त्तवश्वरूप उपासि.
And शङ्करािायव in his commentary adds another
important corollary also for this portion. It is an incidental
corollary which is useful for our Vedantic knowledge also.
What does शङ्करािायव say? He says, if everything in the
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creation is interdependent, we come to know that nothing in the
creation is independent. शङ्करािायव points out if anything has
got a dependent existence, that is called technically त्तर्थ्या.
त्तर्थ्या is that which does not have an independent existence of
its own. Therefore the conclusion is the entire creation is त्तर्थ्या.
Whatever you experience is त्तर्थ्या because it is dependent. If
you know the entire creation is त्तर्थ्या it must have some other
अशधष्ठानम्, because if the entire creation has borrowed
existence, dependent existence, then there must be something
else other than the universe, other than the त्तर्थ्या प्रपञ्ि there
must be some other अत्तधष्ठािर््. That अत्तधष्ठािर्् is the one
which lends existence to the entire creation. That अत्तधष्ठािर्् is
called ब्रह्मि्. Even the subject and object are interdependent
because subject cannot enjoy the subjectness without the object.
The object cannot enjoy the objectness without the subject.
Therefore वेदान्त says subject is also त्तर्थ्या, object is also
त्तर्थ्या, प्रर्ाता is also त्तर्थ्या, प्रर्ेयम् also is त्तर्थ्या because they
are all interdependent. Even teacher cannot enjoy the
teacherhood without the blessings of the students. The students
cannot enjoy the studenthood without the teacher. Similarly,
parent-child, husband-wife relationship. Therefore प्रार्ात ृ प्रर्ेय
त्तवलक्ि, other than the subject and object there must be a
reality which is called तुरीयर्् in र्ाण्डूक्तय language. Therefore
शङ्करािायव points out that this उपासि helps in understanding
the त्तर्थ्या्वम् of the universe. The universe enjoys only an
empirical reality, but it does not enjoy an absolute reality. That
is the corollary that we get through this meditation. With this
the त्तवश्वरूप ध्यािर्् part is over. Continuing;
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सदािारप्रदशव िर्् ब्रह्मािन्दािुभवः ।
र्न्त्र 3-10-01
ि कञ्िि वसतौ प्रत्यािक्ीत । तद्व्रतर्् । तस्र्ाद्या कया ि
त्तवधया बह्वन्िां प्राप्िुयात् । अराध्यस्र्ा अन्ित्तर्त्यािक्ते । एतद्वै
र्ुखतोऽन्िँराद्र्् । र्ुखतोऽस्र्ा अन्िँराध्यते । एतद्वै
र्ध्यतोऽन्िँराद्र्् । र्ध्यतोऽस्र्ा अन्िँराध्यते । एदद्वा
अन्ततोऽन्िँराद्र्् । अन्ततोऽस्र्ा अन्ि राध्यते ॥ १ ॥
य एवां वेद ।
Now begins the tenth and final अिुवाक of भग ृ ुवल्ली. In
this portion the उपत्तिषत् introduces two more व्रतर््s or vows
or disciplines. In the previous three अिुवाकs we have been
given - अन्िां ि त्तिन्द्ात्, अन्िां ि पररिक्ीत, अन्िां बिु कुवीत.
Here two more are given. One is अत्ततत्तर् पजू ा which has already
been mentioned in शीक्ावल्ली. र्ातदृ ेवो भव । त्तपतदृ ेवो भव ।
आिायव देवो भव । अत्ततत्तर्देवो भव । That अत्ततत्तर् पज
ू ा is one व्रतर््.
And the fifth व्रतर्् is अन्िदािर््. So first अत्ततत्तर् पज ू ा is
mentioned. कञ्िि वसतौ ि प्रत्यािक्ीत – when a person
comes to your place seeking shelter. वसतौ means shelter,
residence to stay. ि प्रत्यािक्ीत – may you not refuse, may you
provide the shelter. This advice should be taken keeping in
mind the Vedic tradition and society because in those days
hotels were not there and food could not be sold. Therefore they
had to necessarily depend upon somebody or the other, but
nowadays we need not create problem for others by becoming
a guest. The best advice is don’t force yourself and become the
guest of someone. Previously it was required because there was
no choice. Nowadays the best and safest policy is don’t go
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unless invited by a known person. If the people are unknown,
never do that. Because even the police advice is if any unknown
person comes, whatever be the reason the police says, never
allow that person inside. Therefore अत्ततत्तर् पज ू ा is the व्रतर््
given at a particular society, at a particular time. We should
understand the spirit and we have to act according to the
situation. But the idea is when a guest comes without his
planning and our planning, it is taken as the will of God. That
was the original spirit, but now it is difficult to implement. तत्
व्रतर््. Once you have allowed a guest to stay, naturally you
have to provide food. You cannot ask the अत्ततत्तर् to wait outside
and quietly eat inside. According to धर्व शास्त्र
अत्ततर्ौ त्ततष्टत्तत द्वारर ह्यपो गह्णृ ात्तत यो िरः । आपोशिां सुरापािां
अन्िां गोर्ाांसभक्िर्् ॥
When an अत्ततत्तर् is standing outside, if a person without asking
the अत्ततत्तर् to eat he quietly eats within, आपोशिम् – taking
water is equal to drinking liquor and taking food is equal to
eating beef. Such powerful धर्व शास्त्र rules are there. Once you
accommodated someone you have to share the food. Since you
have to feed such अत्ततत्तर्s, who were more in those days, one
should always have extra अन्िर््. Therefore the उपत्तिषत्
advices तस्र्ात् – since you have to entertain the अत्ततत्तर्s and
consequently feed them, always have some extra stock.
दयािन्द स्वात्तर्त्तज says a house is not a home if cooking does
not take place. अत्तनि is supposed to be गिृ पशतिः, गािव पत्य
अत्तनि. Not only that we may be eating old food kept in the
refrigerator or purchased food, but according to the शास्त्र we
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cannot offer that food to the Lord. Since whatever we are going
to eat is supposed to be offered to the Lord first, whether we
require or not, for the Lord of the house we have to cook.
Therefore in our tradition a home is a home only when cooking
is there. तस्र्ात् – since you have to feed others, बिु अन्िर््
प्राप्िुयात् – may you always have plenty of अन्िर््. How to
procure? उपत्तिषत् says how you procure, I don’t know, यया
कया ि त्तवधया – somehow you have to procure plenty of
अन्िर््. Somehow means by some legitimate means. Somehow
does not mean beg, borrow or steal. When an अत्ततत्तर् comes to
your house, already the guest is going to feel guilty because he
is imposing himself upon you, the householder and therefore it
is the responsibility of the host to remove the guilt from the
guest. How should he remove the guilt? By pointing out your
arrival is not a burden for us. We are prepared for such
contingencies, you can also join, we have plenty. Thus the host
has to say. The उपत्तिषत् says अस्र्ै अन्िर्् अरात्तध. अस्र्ै means
for this unexpected guest also. Expecting this contingency, it
was a Vedic society, now such contingencies may not come;
अन्िर्् – the extra food, अरात्तध – has already been prepared.
Therefore it is not going to disturb our routine or our
arrangement, please come and join. इत्तत आिक्ते – thus all
Vedic householders followed this principle. आिक्ते means
they declare. Who declares? The householder declares.
Declares to whom? To the guest. What do they declare? They
declare that enough अन्िर्् is there, therefore you can come and
join. More in the next class.
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पि
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We are now in the tenth and final अिुवाक of भग ृ ुवल्ली.
In this अिुवाक the उपत्तिषत् prescribes some more व्रतर््s or
spiritual disciplines as well as some more उपासिर््s. Two
व्रतर््s are introduced in the beginning which were mentioned
in the last class. The first व्रतर्् is अत्ततत्तर् पज
ू ा or स्कार,
honoring a guest if he happens to visit you. And अन्िदािर्् is
glorified in our tradition.
िान्िोदकसर्ां दािां ि द्वादश्याः परर्् व्रतर्् । ि गायत्रयाः परो
र्न्त्रो ि र्ातुदैवतां परर्् ॥
There is no दािर्् equivalent to अन्िदािर्् and जलदािर्् and
there is no व्रतर्् equal to एकादशी उपवास व्रतर्् and there is no
र्न्त्र which is as great as गायत्तत्र and there is no deity as great
as one’s own mother. This is a popular verse. What is relevant
for us is न अन्न उदक समं दािर््. Therefore the उपत्तिषत्
instructed for the sake of अन्िदािर्् may you procure enough
of अन्िर्् by one legitimate method or the other. तस्र्ात् यया
कया ि त्तवधया बिु अन्िर्् प्राप्िुयात्. It is not enough that we
have enough of grains, but we should have the heart to share
also. Some people may not possess and therefore they don’t
give, but some people may possess but still they do not have the
heart to give. That generosity is a faculty which requires lot of
पुण्यर्् to acquire.
शतेषु जायते शरू ः सिस्त्रेषु ि पांत्तडतः । वक्ता शतसिस्त्रेषु दाता
भवत्तत वा ि वा ॥ सांस्कृत सुभात्तषत सांग्रि ॥
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Among hundreds of people there will be only one truly
courageous person. Courage is a rare faculty. सिस्त्रेषु ि पांत्तडतः
– whereas scholarship and wisdom we can find only one among
thousand. And वक्ता शतसिस्त्रेषु – even among scholars there
will be only one among lakh, who has the capacity to
communicate what he knows. Courageous man is rare, wise
person is rarer, a good communicator is rarest, but a person who
is really willing to give things to others, a generous person,
perhaps does not exist at all in the world. It is the rarest of the
rarest. दाता भवत्तत वा ि वा. Generous person may be there, may
not be there. Therefore the heart to give requires freedom from
internal bankruptcy. As long as there is internal bankruptcy,
even if you have got crores and crores you cannot give. That
inner richness is the prerequisite for दािर््. A person with ten
rupees in hand may part with one or two, but a person with ten
crore may not be able to part with one rupee. Therefore दािर््
primarily depends upon the internal condition rather than the
external condition. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् says may you
express your willingness to share with others. Therefore अरात्तध
अस्र्ै अन्िर्् इत्तत आिक्ते – those generous minded people tell
the guests and visitors that they have got enough to share with
and therefore they need not feel bad or guilty. अस्र्ै refers to the
अत्ततत्तर्, अन्िर्् अरात्तध. अरात्तध means has been cooked or
prepared. इत्तत आिक्ते – all the generous people openly declare.
Their readiness to share. Upto this we saw in the last class. Then
the उपत्तिषत् points out that even in अन्िदािर्् there is
gradation. Many people may take to दािर््, but the quality of
दािर्् can vary, depending upon one’s attitude. This is
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indicated by the verbal expression of joy and also expressed
through the body language. A frowning face indicates negative
attitude. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् divides the quality of
अन्िदािर्् into three grades. उिर् दािर्् – the superior one
wherein the verbal and body language indicate that this person
is happy to share. He considers it a blessing that he got an
opportunity to share. अधर् दािर्् – the inferior one wherein a
person half-heartedly, grumblingly gives to another person.
र्ध्यर् दािर्् – intermediary one, neither happy nor unhappy, a
neutral attitude. The उपत्तिषत् says according to the quality of
दािर््, दाि फलर्् also will vary. उिर् दािर्् will produce उिर्
फलर््, र्ध्यर् दािर्् will produce र्ध्यर् फलर््, अधर् दािर््
will produce अधर् फलर््. How will the फलर्् express itself?
How will I get the result back to myself? The उपत्तिषत् says the
फलर्् expresses in the form of my receiving अन्िर्् from
others. As I give to others, so will I receive also. If I happily
give, in my old age I will happily receive. The children will be
happy to keep me and give me. If it is so-so, I will also receive
in the same manner. If it is inferior दािर््, then I am also going
to be treated in the same way. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् gives a
general law, you will be treated exactly as you treat others. The
world is like a mirror you smile at the mirror, you see a smiling
face on the opposite side; you frown at the mirror, you will get
the same thing in return. This is the basic principle of कर्व and
फलर््. र्र्ा कर्व तर्ा फलर््. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् says एतत्
वै र्ुखतः अन्िँ राद्म् – if the अन्िर्् is prepared and served in
the best manner, र्ुखतः means उिर् प्रकारे ि. Even in the
preparation there is an attitude remember. I can have a healthy
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attitude even at the time of preparing or I can say it is my
headache that I have to do it. Therefore र्ुखतः राद्म् – prepared
well and also served well (we have to supply the word served),
then the फलर्् will be र्ुखतः अस्र्ै अन्िर्् राध्यते – this
अन्िदाता also will be served in the same manner in future.
When he has to get food from others he will be treated in the
same way. On the other hand एतत् वै र्ध्यतः अन्िँ राद्म् – if
the food is prepared and served in a mediocre way, र्ध्यर्
प्रकारे ि, the same thing will happen. र्ध्यतः अस्र्ै अन्िर््
राध्यते – he will receive in the same way. Then एतत् वै अन्ततः
अन्िँ राद्म् – if food is prepared and served in an inferior
manner, then अन्ततः अस्र्ै अन्िर्् राध्यते – he will receive in
the same inferior way. So as you give so you will be given. Then
the उपत्तिषत् says य एवां वेद – the one who understand this basic
principle that the world does not give anything new to you, what
you have given alone will you get. World is like a bank,
whatever you do to the world is like a good deposit in the bank,
whatever you have deposited you can withdraw later. सख ु र््
you deposit you can take सुखर्् later, दुःखर्् you deposit take
that alone later. य एवां वेद – the one who knows the principle of
अन्िदािर्् in this manner. Then the sentence is left incomplete.
We have to complete it by adding सिः तत् फलम् आप्तनोशत. That
person who has this knowledge will get the benefit of this
knowledge. What is the benefit? He will do the best अन्िदािर््,
hopefully, and he will reap the best result also. So य एवां वेद
adding सिः तत् फलम्, तत् फलर्् means अन्िदाि फलर््
आप्िोत्तत. With this the two व्रतर््s are over. Now the उपत्तिषत्
wants to introduce some more उपासिs. We will read.
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र्न्त्र 3-10-02
क्ेर् इत्तत वात्ति । योगक्ेर् इत्तत प्रािापाियोः । कर्ेत्तत िस्तयोः ।
गत्ततररत्तत पादयोः । त्तवर्ुत्तक्तररत्तत पायौ । इत्तत र्ािुषीः सर्ाज्ाः ।
The उपत्तिषत् now wants to prescribe two groups of
meditation. In each group several meditations are there. The
first group of meditation is called आध्यात्तत्र्क ब्रह्म उपासनाशन.
And later we will get आत्तधदैत्तवक ब्रह्म उपासनाशन. So first we
are going to see आध्यात्तत्र्क ब्रह्म उपासनाशन. In this group of
उपासि every उपासि is a meditation on ब्रह्मि् only, therefore
each one is called ब्रह्म उपासिर््. For this ब्रह्म उपासिर्् the
उपत्तिषत् wants to take different organs in our body as the locus
for invocation. उपासिर्् requires a locus of invocation. For
these ब्रह्म उपासिर््s the locus of invocation is going to be our
own organs of the body. Normally we take an external symbol,
आलम्बिर्् or प्रतीकर्् like a त्तशवत्तलङ्ग or a शात्तलग्रार्. We saw
the word आलम्बिर्् in
एतदालम्बिां श्रेष्ठर्ेतदालम्बिां परर्् । एतदालम्बिां ज्ात्वा
ब्रह्मलोकेर्िीयते ॥ कठोपत्तिषत् १-२-१७ ॥
Normally the Lord is invoked upon an external symbol, but in
these उपासिs, our own organs are going to be आलम्बिर््. The
organs are subjective आलम्बिर््s, therefore the उपासिs are
called आध्यात्तत्र्क उपासनाशन. ब्रह्मि् is going to be meditated
upon as various faculties, powers obtaining in every organ.
Thus I take a particular organ and see the faculty or the power
of that organ and I take that power as the manifestation of ब्रह्मि्
or the Lord. It is very much similar to the त्तवभत्तू तयोग of the
भगवद्गीता. भगवाि्’s त्तवभत्तू त or glory is manifest everywhere. I
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take the glory obtaining in every organ and see it, not as my
glory, but I see it as भगवाि्’s glory manifesting in that organ.
So these are आध्यात्तत्र्क ब्रह्म उपासिात्ति. Here in the उपत्तिषत्
the word आध्यात्तत्र्कर्् is replaced by the word र्ािुषीः. You
can see this word at the end of this portion. र्ािुषीः means
आध्यात्तत्र्कर््, subjective. The word उपासिात्ति is replaced by
the word सर्ाज्ाः. Therefore र्ािुषीः सर्ाज्ाः means
आध्यात्तत्र्क ब्रह्म उपासिात्ति. We will see the organs and the
faculties. The first organ is वात्ति – वाशगशन्द्रर्े, in the organ of
speech may you meditate upon ब्रह्मि्. In what form should you
meditate? क्ेर्ः इत्तत – in the form of well-being. क्ेर्ः means
र्ङ्गलर््, auspiciousness, all-round well-being, all-round
welfare. You have to complete the sentence by adding two
words ब्रह्म उपासीत. The complete sentence is क्ेर्ः इत्तत वात्ति
ब्रह्म उपासीत. In the वाशगशन्द्रयर्् may you meditate upon ब्रह्मि्
as क्ेर्रूपेि, auspiciousness. Then you may wonder
वाशगशन्द्रयर्् has the faculty of speech only. Why should the
उपत्तिषत् say that it is क्ेर्ः? Through this the उपत्तिषत् wants to
convey that if a person’s speech is appropriate, proper,
auspicious then the right and proper speech can bring in our all-
round well-being. Our speech can lead to our all-round growth
and inappropriate speech can lead to all-round destruction also.
लक्ष्र्ीवव सत्तत त्तजह्वाग्रे त्तजह्वाग्रे त्तर्त्रबान्धवाः । बन्धिां िैव त्तजह्वाग्रे
त्तजह्वाग्रे र्रिां रुवर्् ॥
On the tip of the tongue लक्ष्र्ीः वसशत. If you speak properly
auspicious words, लक्ष्र्ी देवी will come to that house, whereas
that house in which all kinds of swearing, inferior, lowly words
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are used लक्ष्र्ी देवी will go away and it is said her elder sister
will come. It is an idiom, it means अर्ङ्गलर््. त्तजह्वाग्रे
त्तर्त्रबान्धवाः – all the friends and relatives are retained if you
know how to speak properly. If your words are rude and sharp,
one by one the friends will disappear, the relatives will
disappear. Nobody can withstand a sharp-tongued rude-
mouthed foul-tongued person. बन्धिां िैव त्तजह्वाग्रे – even
bondage is at the tip of the tongue. If you don’t use proper
words, if you give a public speech supporting a banned
organization you will suffer. त्तजह्वाग्रे र्रिां रुवर््. If you talk
against a religion in certain countries immediately capital
punishment. Therefore negative consequences can happen
because of tongue, positive consequences can also happen. And
our शास्त्रर्् says, the best ornament of a person is his speech.
केयरू ात्ति ि भषू यत्तन्त पुरुषां िारा ि िन्रोज्ज्वला ि स्िािां ि
त्तवलेपिां ि कुसुर्ां िालङ्कृता र्ध ू व जाः । वाण्येका सर्लङ्करोत्तत
पुरुषां या सांस्कृता धायव ते क्ीयन्ते खलु भषू िात्ति सततां वानभषू िां
भषू िर्् ॥ िीत्ततशतकर्् १९ ॥
If we have got the best refined speech the absence of others will
not be noted. On the other hand, if the speech is negative even
the most attractive and the best bedecked person is avoided by
people. So वाक् is the real भषू िर््. Therefore all these happen
because of वाशगशन्द्रय. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् says in the form
of वाक् शत्तक्त. That is why we have got श्रीसरस्वतीध्यािर््
वानदेवी वदिाम्बुजे वसतु र्े त्रैलोक्तयर्ाता शुभा ॥
श्रीसरस्वतीध्यािर्् ॥
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O mother सरस्वत्तत! You should reside in my tongue, so that
every word I utter is auspicious. And for uttering auspicious
words I don’t have to spend money.
वििे का दरररता ॥ िािक्तय िीत्तत १६-१३ ॥
Why should you be so miser in expressing nice words? वात्ति
ब्रह्म उपासीत is meditation number one.
Then the next one is योगक्ेर्ः इत्तत प्रािापाियोः ब्रह्म
उपासीत. We have to add ब्रह्म उपासीत for each one. May you
meditate on ब्रह्मि् as योग and क्ेर् residing in प्राि and अपाि.
प्राि means the exhalation breath. प्राक् गर्िवाि् वायुः. अपाि
is inhalation breath. अधोगर्िवाि् वायुः. अधोगर्िवाि् means
from the nostrils it goes down to the lungs. In this प्राि and
अपाि, योगक्ेर्ः is there. योगः means all forms of acquisition.
अप्रािस्य प्रात्तिः योगः. All forms of accumulation whether it is
money, house, health, food anything. क्ेर्ः means preservation
of whatever I have acquired, not loosing whatever I have
acquired. प्रािस्य रक्िर्् क्ेर्ः. So योगः and क्ेर्ः both of them
are residing in your breathing. Why do we say so? Because only
as long as you are breathing, you are alive. Only as long as you
are alive, there is a possibility of योगः or क्ेर्ः. योगः and क्ेर्ः
are impossible and irrelevant if one is not breathing. Remember
the story of Tolstoy ‘How Much Land Does a Man Need’. A
rich man offered that he had a huge property and whoever is
interested can take as much land as he wants. But he has to go
in for a competition. What was that? He should run from sunrise
to sunset. Whatever distance he covers that much land will be
his. He need not spend a penny also. There is no registration
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fees also. And this person ran and ran and the sun was about to
set and he has covered lot of distance and in fact he is gasping
for breath and has almost fallen, still he feels if he only runs a
little more distance he would get some more land. He struggles,
gets up and runs the last few meters until the sun sets and
reaches some more distance, falls down and dies. Now who is
going to enjoy this land? So therefore whatever you acquire is
meaningful, only when the भोक्ता survives. कताव ’s activity is
meaningful only when भोक्ता is alive. Therefore all योगक्ेर् are
relevant only as long as प्राि and अपाि are there. Therefore
may you meditate upon ब्रह्मि् as योगक्ेर् in प्राि and अपाि.
This is the second ब्रह्म उपासिम्.
The third उपासिम् is कर्व इत्तत िस्तयोः – may you
meditate upon ब्रह्मि् as कर्व . कर्व means the power of activity
which faculty is in the hands. कर्व रूपेि ब्रह्म उपासीत. कर्व alone
is responsible for धर्व अर्व कार्, all benefits are attained by कर्व .
In fact even र्ोक् indirectly depends upon कर्व . How does र्ोक्
indirectly depend upon कर्व ? You have taught ि कर्व िा र्ोक्ः.
कर्व िा ि र्ोक्ः means कर्व does not directly give र्ोक् but कर्व
indirectly contributes to र्ोक्. How? कर्व िा त्तििशुत्तद्,
त्तिििुद्ध्र्ा ज्ाि प्रात्तिः, ज्ाि प्राप्त्र्ा र्ोक्ः.
कर्व िवै त्ति सांत्तसत्तद्र्ात्तस्र्ता जिकादयः ॥ गीता ३-२० ॥
Therefore कर्व is very much necessary for धर्व अर्व कार् र्ोक्
पुरुषार्व s and that कर्व is residing in the hands. That is why at
the end of रुरर््, this person thanks his own hand, which we
generally don’t do. We do a lot of work through our hands but
we never wait for a moment look at the hand and appreciate
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what a wonderful power these two hands have. And often we
recognize when the hands have become powerless. Either it
moves when I don’t want, by Parkinson or it doesn’t move
when I want – stroke or paralytic attack. Therefore श्र रुरर््
tells us at the of daily पि
ू ा to look at our hands.
अयां र्े िस्तो भगवाि् अयां र्े भगविरः ।
अयां िस्तः means the left hand is भगवाि्. भगवाि् is there in the
form of the faculty of the noble कर्व – त्तशव पज
ू ा. If this hand is
divine, अयां र्े भगविरः – the right hand is more divine because
he uses the right hand for the अत्तभषेक etc. Therefore all the
noble कर्व s are done by both the hands. Therefore may you
meditate upon ब्रह्मि् in that form.
Then the next one गत्ततः इत्तत पादयोः – in your
preoccupation with the appreciation of the hand, don’t lose
sight of the importance of legs. Legs are also equally important.
You have to walk to the त्तशव temple or to the पज ू ा room. The
hands are carried to various places by the legs only. In the form
of transporting power may you meditate on ब्रह्मि् on the locus
of your own feet.
Then त्तवर्ुत्तक्तः इत्तत पायौ. पार्ु means the organ of
evacuation, the waste removing organ or the cleansing organ.
Upon that organ may you meditate upon ब्रह्मि् as त्तवर्ुत्तक्तः.
त्तवर्ुत्तक्तः means evacuation, removal, emptying, cleansing. Here
त्तवर्ुत्तक्तः should not be translated as liberation. If you translate
it as liberation you have to take it as liberation from impurity.
The body becomes free from impurity. So from this we learn a
very important lesson that every organ in the body is
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auspicious, sacred. Don’t look down upon any organ. Even
though it appears that the organ of excretion is impure organ,
वेद says no, you have to meditate upon that also, because that
is doing a very great service by keeping the body healthy and
fit. If you have got any doubt, that doubt will go when that organ
becomes over active, diarrhea or underactive, constipation and
we will run to the doctor, we will know भगवाि्’s मशिमा.
Therefore understand that every organ is divine. So त्तवर्ुत्तक्तः
इत्तत पायौ. Thus we have to look upon our entire body as divine
and sacred.
This has lot of significance and we have seen this in the
शीक्ावल्ली also. Primarily, we have to learn to look upon
ourselves as a sacred one. That self-depreciation, self-
degradation should go away because only then we can
ultimately claim अिर्् ब्रह्म अत्तस्र्. A person who looks down
upon himself can never claim his ब्रह्म स्वरूपर््. Therefore don’t
have inferiority complex. Learn to respect your own body and
mind. If I don’t respect myself and I expect others to respect
me, how will it work? In fact if I respect myself, I don’t depend
upon others’ respect. Often I seek others’ respect because I am
doubtful about myself. As स्वात्तर्त्तज says if somebody says you
are wonderful, you wonder and ask for explanation. Why
should you doubt? Therefore learn to respect yourself. That is
one significance. The other significance is in the teaching of
वेदान्त often the body is presented as अिात्र्ा, not to be
attached to. We are asked to give up अिात्र्ा attachment, देि
अत्तभर्ाि. This may lead to देि द्वेष. If a person is asked to leave
attachment, he may go to the other extreme and hate it.
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Therefore वेद wants to say don’t have attachment to the body
also, don’t have hatred also. Learn to look upon the body as an
instrument for liberation. Therefore देिे ईश्वर बुत्तद्ः कतय व्र् to
neutralize the possibility of द्वेष. With this the first group of
उपासिs is over. And therefore the उपत्तिषत् says, इत्तत – thus
ends, र्ािुषीः सर्ाज्ाः – आध्यात्तत्र्क उपासिात्ति.
We have to note a small point which शङ्करािायव
indicates; so thorough observation. Generally whenever वेद
talks about any कर्व or उपासिर्् it will talk about the फलर््
also. That is the style of tradition. We have फलश्रुत्तत in त्तवष्िु
सिस्रिार्,
इतीदां कीतव िीयस्य केशवस्य र्िात्र्िः ॥
त्तवष्िुसिस्रिार्स्तोत्रर्् १२१ ॥
You take any श्लोक the last verse will be फलश्रुत्तत. Here the
उपत्तिषत् prescribes certain उपासिs and the उपत्तिषत् does not
mention the फलर््. So शङ्करािायव says that we have to supply.
How to supply? We have to supply two fold फलर््s depending
upon the motive of उपासिर्् – सकार् उपासिर्् or त्तिष्कार्
उपासिर््. For त्तिष्कार् उपासिर्् the फलर्् is spiritual growth.
ज्ाि र्ोनर्ता प्राशतिः is the फलर्् for desireless meditation. Then
if it is सकार् उपासिर्् the फलर्् will depend upon the type of
उपासिर््. As the meditation is so will be the फलर््.
As a person thinks so he becomes. If you practice क्ेर्रूप ब्रह्म
उपासिर्् – क्ेर् इत्तत वात्ति – the फलर्् is क्ेर् फलर््. For योगक्ेर्
उपासिर्् – योगक्ेर् इत्तत प्रािापाियोः – the फलर्् is योगक्ेर्.
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For कर्व उपासिर्् the फलर्् is we will do many कर्व s. For गत्तत
उपासिर्् the फलर्् is he will always be moving around. Thus
as the उपासिर्् is so the फलर््. For त्तवर्ुत्तक्त उपासिर्् should
not be taken that he will always be in bathroom. It means the
impurities will be removed. So इत्तत र्ािुषीः सर्ाज्ाः.
Now we have to go the आत्तधदैत्तवक उपासिर््. We will
read.
र्न्त्र 3-10-02 & 03
अर् दैवीः । तत्तृ िररत्तत वष्ट
ृ ौ । बलत्तर्त्तत त्तवद्त्तु त ॥ २ ॥
यश इत्तत पशुषु । ज्योत्ततररत्तत िक्त्रेषु । प्रजात्ततरर्त
ृ र्ािन्द
इत्युपस्र्े । सवव त्तर्त्याकाशे ।
Before we go to the next group of उपासि, we have to
see the last but one sentence प्रजात्ततरर्त ृ र्ािन्द इत्युपस्र्े. -
This sentence alone we will take out first and see. This sentence
is an odd उपासि, because all the other उपासिs prescribed in
this portion are आत्तधदैत्तवक उपासिात्ति, but only this sentence
is another आध्यात्तत्र्क उपासिर््. Therefore we have to take
this sentence and add it to the previous group. Since it is वेद
र्न्त्र we won’t correct it, we only make the correction
internally. In that line the meditation prescribed is ब्रह्म
उपासिर्् upon the organ of procreation. उपस्र् इत्तन्रयर्् means
the organ of generation, procreation, reproduction. That is also
auspicious. Remember in Vedic tradition nothing is
inauspicious. Nothing should be rejected. Nothing should be
looked down upon. What type of meditation it should be?
प्रजात्ततः अर्त ृ त्वप्रात्तिः पुत्रेि ऋित्तवर्ोक्द्वारे ि आिन्दः
ृ र्् अर्त
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इत्तत – as three-fold faculty. Those details we will see in the next
class.
पि
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We are in the tenth and final अिुवाक and in this
अिुवाक after talking about अत्ततत्तर् पज ू ा and अन्िदािर्् as two
important व्रतर््s the उपत्तिषत् is now talking about certain
groups of उपासिs. The first group of उपासिs is called
आध्यात्तत्र्क उपासिात्ति. The उपत्तिषत् uses the word र्ािुषीः
सर्ाज्ाः. The next group of उपासिs is दैवीः सर्ाज्ाः otherwise
called आत्तधदैत्तवक उपासिात्ति. And later we will come to
आकाश उपासिात्ति. Of these we have completed आध्यात्तत्र्क
उपासिs and now we have entered into आत्तधदैत्तवक उपासिs.
अर् दैवीः । तत्तृ िररत्तत वष्ट
ृ ौ । बलत्तर्त्तत त्तवद्ुत्तत etc. In this group
there is one odd उपासि which should not be in the list of
आत्तधदैत्तवक उपासिs, we have to lift that उपासि and put it back
in आध्यात्तत्र्क उपासि. That उपासि is प्रजात्ततरर्त ृ र्ािन्द
इत्युपस्र्े. This comes under आध्यात्तत्र्क उपासि, because here
also it is the meditation upon ब्रह्मि् in one of our own organs.
Just as we had वाक् उपासि, प्राि उपासि, िस्त उपासि etc.,
previously, now this उपासि is उपस्र् उपासि. उपस्र्ेत्तन्रयर्् is
the organ of generation or procreation and the उपत्तिषत् wants
us to look upon that organ also as a sacred organ. As we saw in
the last class everything given to us by the Lord is sacred,
nothing should be looked down upon. Because ultimately no
organ by itself is good or bad, because every organ is an
instrument. No instrument can be classified as a Dharmic
instrument or Adharmic instrument. Whether the instrument is
good or bad will depend upon how that instrument is used by
the कताव , the holder. A knife by itself is neither Dharmic nor
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Adharmic. When the knife is used by a robber to destroy
someone the action becomes Adharmic. The very knife we use
to cut vegetables and cook for नैवेद्यम् becomes dharmic.
Therefore ज्ािेत्तन्रयs are neither good nor bad by themselves,
they are sacred gifts from the Lord. Similarly कर्ेत्तन्रयs and
अन्तःकरिर््. Extending that even उपस्र्ेत्तन्रयर्् by itself is
neither good nor bad. It is a gift from the Lord. Therefore the
उपत्तिषत् says may you meditate on ब्रह्मि् upon उपस्र्. In what
form should ब्रह्मि् be meditated upon? In three-fold forms -
प्रजात्ततः अर्तृ र्् आिन्दर््. प्रजात्ततः means the power of
procreation, the power of propagation of one’s own species.
The generative power is प्रजात्ततः. By extension this प्रजात्ततः
itself becomes अर्त ृ र््. अर्त ृ र्् means a method of
immortalizing oneself indirectly. Through propagation of
species any particular animal immortalizes itself in the form of
सन्तत्तत. The child is nothing but the image of the parent only.
Even logically speaking the material of the cause is the parent.
Therefore it is the very flesh and blood of the parent which is
now in the form of child. The child is therefore an extension of
the parent. Its child becomes further extension; therefore it is an
indirect form of perpetuating immortalizing oneself,
सन्तत्ततरूपेि. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् calls it अर्त ृ र््. Therefore
we have an expression when somebody dies we say that person
is survived by wife and children. That means the dead person
continues to survive not in that form, but in the form of wife
and children. Therefore अर्त ृ र्् – immortality. Immortality is
always आिन्द. That is why everybody craves for immortality.
If as a person you cannot immortalize yourself, you take a few
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pictures and hang them. Or name your grandchildren by your
name. So that नामरूपेि you continue. Or at least start some
endowment lectures in your name, so that your name will be
perpetuated somewhere. The innate urge of a person is
immortality. Therefore mortality is दुःखर््, immortality is
आिन्दः. One’s own child represents one’s immortality,
therefore one’s own child is आिन्दः. बिृ दारण्यकोपत्तिषत् says
पुत्र आिन्दः. Sometimes it may appear doubtful, but generally
the parent loves looking at the child. Every parent considers his
child to be unique with extraordinary faculty because
आ्मानन्दिः I am seeing in the child because child is extension
of myself. Therefore उपस्र्ेत्तन्रयर्् is the cause of three-fold
faculty. Directly it leads to प्रजात्ततः, propagation, indirectly it
leads to अर्त ृ र््, immortality and through immortality it leads
to आिन्दः. Therefore in the form of these three glories one
should meditate on ब्रह्मि् upon the organ of procreation.
प्रजात्ततः अर्त
ृ र्् आिन्दः इत्तत उपस्र्े ब्रह्म उपासीत. This will
come under आध्यात्तत्र्क उपासिात्ति.
Now we are entering into आत्तधदैत्तवक उपासिर्् in which
various natural forces are taken and all those forces are seen as
ईश्वर or ब्रह्म त्तवभत्तू त. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् says अर् दैवीः –
दैवीः means आत्तधदैत्तवकर््. We have to supply the word सर्ाज्ाः.
Previously we had र्ािुषीः सर्ाज्ाः. दैवीः सर्ाज्ाः means
आत्तधदैत्तवक उपासिात्ति.
What is the first and foremost उपासिम्. तत्तृ िः इत्तत वष्ट
ृ ौ
ब्रह्म उपासीत. वत्तृ ष्टः means rain. A very relevant उपासि
because we are very much feeling the absence of rain. In other
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parts of India drought is staring at us. They are discussing
varieties of consequences, somewhere in the newspaper they
have put, even textile industry will be affected by drought and
from there some other thing will be affected and so on. Rain is
a very crucial for the human beings. Rain alone gives fulfilment
both directly through food and indirectly through various other
means. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् says वष्ट ृ ौ – when the rain comes
don’t take it for granted, worship the rains. Now they are trying
to propagate rain water harvesting also. ब्रह्म उपासीत – see
ब्रह्मि् or God in the form of तत्तृ िः इत्तत, fulfilment. What is the
primary तत्तृ ि? तत्तृ ि in the form of removing the hunger or eating
well. Physical तत्तृ ि. Economic तत्तृ ि is all extension. The direct
physical तत्तृ ि of drinking water and eating food require rain. So
तत्तृ ि रूपेि. This is said in several contexts like
छान्दोनयोपत्तिषत्, प्रश्नोपत्तिषत्, बिृ दारण्यकोपत्तिषत्. In
त्ततरुक्तकुरल् also after talking about the glory of र्ित्र्ाs,
immediately वल्लुवर् talks about the glory of the sky, the clouds
and rain.
Then the next one बलर्् इत्तत त्तवद्ुत्तत ब्रह्म उपासीत. So rain
means lightning and thunder. So the next उपासि is त्तवद्त ु ब्रह्म
उपासि. We had lightning meditation before in केिोपत्तिषत्.
There यक् appeared like lightning and went away. Here also,
may you meditate upon ब्रह्मि् on त्तवद्ुत or lightning in the form
of बलर्् इत्तत – power or energy. त्तवद्ुत is supposed to contain a
tremendous amount of energy. The only unfortunate thing is
still we don’t have the technology to tap that energy. The
electrical power in सांस्कृत is called त्तवद्त ु ् शत्तक्त.
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Then the third meditation is यशः इत्तत पशुषु ब्रह्म उपासीत
– पशु here means the cattle wealth – both cow and bull, which
was considered wealth in those days. Currency notes were not
there then. It was a barter system and always cows were the
representatives. And even दत्तक्िाs were in the form of cows
only. That is why we find in बिृ दारण्यकोपत्तिषत् we find जिक
promises one thousand cows and even more. So पशुषु ब्रह्म
उपासीत in the form of यशः इत्तत – fame. What is the connection
between cow and fame? Since the cows represented wealth a
person who had plenty of cows will be a wealthy person and a
wealthy person will certainly be well known in the society.
Whether a scholar will be well known or not, a ज्ात्ति will be
well known or not, a rich person will be well known because
everybody will go to him to seek donation. Not only that the
उपत्तिषत् assumes a wealthy person can do a lot of Dharmic
activity like maintaining schools, पाठिालs, आश्रर्s, etc.
Because of the धमय कार्ाय शि, philanthropic activities a person
will be well known in the society. Therefore पशु represents
fame. Therefore see ब्रह्मि् as fame in the पशु.
Then the next उपासि ज्यौत्ततः इत्तत िक्त्रेषु ब्रह्म उपासीत
– may you see the glory of ब्रह्मि् in the stars in the form of
ज्यौत्ततः इत्तत – natural light. The planets also are luminaries but
the luminosity or the light of the planets is always borrowed
light but the िक्त्रs have got original light. We have in the गीता
यदात्तदत्यगतां तेजो जगद्भासयतेऽत्तखलर्् ।
यच्िन्रर्त्तस यच्िानिौ तिेजो त्तवत्तद् र्ार्कर्् ॥ गीता १५-१२ ॥
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In the daily गायत्तत्र र्न्त्र itself - तत् सत्तवतुः वरे ण्यर्् भगव ः, भगव ः
means ज्यौत्तत or light. The light of सत्तवतुः, of Sun. And we
know the Sun is also a star only. Therefore in the form of
sunlight and in the form of star light may you meditate on
If you see all these meditations you can find all natural
forces are taken. That means the whole creation will be seen as
ईश्वर’s त्तवभत्तू त only. Therefore these उपासिs also are indirectly
ईश्वर त्तवभत्तू त उपासि or त्तवश्वरूप उपासि only. So सवव त्र ईश्वर
दशव िर्् is the aim of the शास्त्र. It should include not only the
world but it should include your own body also. See the Lord
in you as well as in others also. ईशावास्यर्् इदँ सवव र््.
Now comes प्रजात्ततरर्त ृ र्ािन्द इत्युपस्र्े which we have
already seen. It has to be shifted to the previous उपासि.
Our next उपासि is सवव र्् इत्तत आकाशे ब्रह्म उपासीत.
Here the उपत्तिषत् enters into the subtlest form of उपासि –
आकाश उपासि. How should you see ब्रह्मि् in the आकाश?
सवव र्् इत्तत – as everything. In the आकाश alone everything is
there and therefore see everything as ब्रह्मि् in the आकाश. Why
do we say so? If you go back to ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली we know that
आकाश alone has created वायु. आकाशत् वार्ुिः. Therefore
आकाश is the कारिर्् of वायु, वायु is a कायव र्् and we know
कायव र्् doesn’t have an existence different from, separate from
कारिर््. Similarly, अत्तनि, जलर््, पत्तृ र्वी and all other things
were all later कायव र््s. Therefore we can say सवव र्् आकाश
कायव र््s only. Since everything is a product of आकाश nothing
exists separate from आकाश and therefore कारि रूप आकाशे
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सवव कायव रूपं जगत् इत्तत ब्रह्म उपासीत. And this उपासि is very
important and very useful. As we have seen in the thirteenth
chapter of गीता, आकाश is closest to ब्रह्मि्. Therefore the best
आलम्बिर््, symbol for ब्रह्मि् has to be आकाश only. We saw
the common features between आकाश and ब्रह्मि्. Both आकाश
and ब्रह्मि् are invisible, cannot be seen with the eyes. Both are
non-tangible. Both are non-pollutable. Both are non-divisible.
Both are एकर््, non-dual. Both are all-pervading, सवव गतम्.
Both are सवव -आधारम्. Both are सक्ष्ू र्म्, non-comprehensible to
the sense-organs. Therefore if we train our mind to meditate
upon आकाश our mind will get refined enough to comprehend
ब्रह्मि्. So आकाश उपासि helps to make our intellect very
sharp and refined, to understand ब्रह्मि् which is only one step
higher to आकाश. Therefore आकाश उपासि is important and
therefore the उपत्तिषत् wants to give a group of आकाश
उपासिs. That comes in the next portion. We will read.
र्न्त्र 3-10-03 & 04
तत्प्रत्ततष्ठे त्युपासीत । प्रत्ततष्ठावाि् भवत्तत । तन्र्ि इत्युपासीत ।
र्िान्भवत्तत । तन्र्ि इत्युपासीत । र्ािवान्भवत्तत ॥ ३ ॥
तन्िर् इत्युपासीत । िम्यन्तेऽस्र्ै कार्ाः । तद्ब्रह्मेत्युपासीत ।
ब्रह्मवाि् भवत्तत । तद्ब्रह्मिः पररर्र इत्युपासीत । पयेिां त्तम्रयन्ते
त्तद्वषन्तः सपत्िाः । परर येऽत्तप्रया भ्रातव्ृ याः ।
Now we are coming to the last group of उपासिs. In this
group all the उपासिs are आकाश उपासिात्ति. In each उपासि
we take one glory of आकाश – आकाश गुिािः, आकाश शवभत ू र्िः,
आकाश मशिमा and we meditate upon that glory of आकाश.
What is the advantage in all these उपासिs? The intellect will
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become subtle because it has to conceive the inconceivable
आकाश. It has to objectify the unobjectifiable आकाश. What
are the various glories of आकाश?
The first one is तत् प्रत्ततष्ठा इत्तत उपासीत. प्रत्ततष्ठा means
the support, the आधार. शङ्करािायव adds a note here. Don’t
take आकाश as the inert आकाश; आकाश here refers to आकाश
देवता. तत् देवता रूप आकाशम्, प्रत्ततष्ठा is the support, the
आधारम् of everything. त्तवश्वाधारर्् गगिसदृशर्् र्ेघविव
शुभाङ्गर््. इत्तत उपासीत – may you meditate. What is the
फलर््? प्रत्ततष्ठावाि् भवत्तत – the फलर्् will depend upon the type
of उपासि. If it is a त्तिष्कार् उपासि, the benefit is the
intellectual refinement or ज्ाि योनयता. But if the same उपासि
is practiced as सकार् उपासि the फलर्् is प्रत्ततष्ठावाि् भवत्तत –
he will get enough support in his life. Because of support
meditation, the फलर्् also is support. We are all worried about
that one thing. Upto middle age we never think of support
because we are physically fit, mentally fit and financially fit.
As we grow older and older the sense of insecurity gradually
overpowers. Therefore we look for support. We are worried
whether our children will be around. We don’t want them to be
far away. They will call us to America and we will call them in
India, the tug of war goes on. What is the basic thing? The sense
of insecurity. What is the remedy? Practice this उपासि and you
will get support. What is the guarantee? There comes the role
of faith which is the most difficult thing. That faith is required.
That भगवाि् will support
अिन्यात्तश्चन्तयन्तो र्ाां ये जिाः पयव ुपासते ।
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तेषाां त्तित्यात्तभयुक्तािाां योगक्ेर्ां विाम्यिर्् ॥ गीता ९-२२ ॥
How भगवाि् will accomplish is none of our concern. Why
should we bother? Therefore प्रत्ततष्ठावाि् भवत्तत. Therefore
whoever has got the insecurity feeling practice this उपासि.
शङ्करािायव says from this we have to extent the same type of
फलर्् for the previous आत्तधदैत्तवक उपासिs also. These are all
the observations of शङ्कर, which we never observe. In the
previous उपासि the फलर्् was not mentioned. Whereas in this
उपासि the उपत्तिषत् mentions the फलर््. So naturally we will
have doubt regarding the फलर्् of the previous उपासि.
शङ्करािायव says as the उपासि so the फलर््. Therefore going
back what should we read? तत्तृ िररत्तत वष्ट ृ ौ ब्रह्म उपासीत, the
फलर्् is – तत्तृ िमान् भवत्तत, he will get fulfillment in life. बलम्
इत्तत त्तवद्ुत्तत ब्रह्म उपासीत, the फलर्् is बलवान् भवत्तत. Then यश
इत्तत पशुषु ब्रह्म उपासीत, र्िस्वर भवत्तत. ज्योत्ततररत्तत िक्त्रेषु ब्रह्म
उपासीत, ज्यौत्ततष्मान् भवत्तत. In short, as the उपासि is so the
फलर्् will be. Suppose a person says he is not interested in
बलम् etc., then these उपासि will give ज्ाि योनयता.
Now the next उपासि is तत् र्िः इत्तत उपासीत. तत्
means आकाश देवता. So may you see the आकाश देवता as -
र्िः इत्तत; र्िः means the glorious one. It is the most glorious
material. It is not like any other material tangible. Therefore it
appears as emptiness, but really speaking the space is not
emptiness but is the subtlest form of matter. Therefore र्िः
means glorious. As a result of that the फलर्् is र्िाि् भवत्तत –
the meditator also will become र्िाि्, glorious.
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Then the next उपासि is तत् र्िः इत्तत उपासीत – तत्
again means आकाश देवता. र्िः इत्तत उपासीत. The word र्िः
in this context means the thinking power or faculty, the
intelligence. मनुते अनेन इत्तत र्िः. So meditate upon ब्रह्मि् as
र्िि शत्तक्त. What is the फलर््? र्ािवाि् भवत्तत. Here र्ािवाि्
means he will have plenty of intelligence, मेधाशव भवत्तत.
Then the next उपासि is तत् िर्ः इत्तत उपासीत – may
you meditate upon the आकाश देवता as the िर्स्कार principle.
What is the फलर््? अस्र्ै कार्ाः िम्यन्ते – all his desired objects
in his life will come and do िर्स्कार to him. It means they all
will fall at his feet, they will come without his asking for them.
Not only will they come but they will also come and serve him.
So service meditation will lead to the service of all the desirable
objects. Objects include people also. कार्ाः here means the
objects of desire. िम्यन्ते – they will all fall, prostrate at his
feet.
Then the next उपासि is तत् ब्रह्म इत्तत उपासीत. Here the
word ब्रह्म means the infinite, the limitless one. May you
meditate upon the आकाश तत्वर्् as the infinite, the limitless
one. Then what will happen? ब्रह्मवाि् भवत्तत – this person also
will become limitless. Not physically. Limitless in terms of his
glory, possession, family extension. He will have a huge family
spread all over the world. In those days huge family was valued.
Therefore his name and fame will spread far and wide.
Then the next उपासि is तत् ब्रह्मिः पररर्रः इत्तत
उपासीत. In every उपासि तत् means आकाश तत्वर््. पररर्रः
means the agent of destruction. पररत्तम्रयन्ते, पररतिः सवव र्् त्तम्रयन्ते
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अनेन इत्तत पररर्रः. Final meaning is destructive agent, नाि
कारिर््. What is नाि कारिर््? आकाश तत्वर्् is the
destructive agent. Of Whom? ब्रह्मिः – of भगवाि् or ब्रह्मन्. So
आकाश is the destructive agent of ईश्वर. How do you say so?
Because at the time of प्रलय everything will be swallowed by
आकाश. Everything will resolve into the earth, earth will get
resolved into जलर््, जलर्् will get resolved into अत्तनिः, अत्तनि
will get resolved into वायु, वायु will get resolved into आकाशर््
because the law is whatever be the order of the creation, the
reverse order will be the order of प्रलय. Therefore आकाश
swallows everything. Therefore आकाश becomes the agent of
destructions of ईश्वर. If you meditate upon that सांिार शत्तक्त,
destructive agent, the उपत्तिषत् says all your enemies will be
destroyed. As the meditation is so the फलर्् will be. I am
meditating upon the destructive power of आकाश. What फलर््
will I get? All my enemies will be destroyed. The उपत्तिषत्
divides the enemies into two types. What are the two types? The
disliking enemies and the disliked enemies. Disliking enemies
are those who dislike me. Even though I do not dislike them,
somehow or other they dislike me. And disliked enemies are
those who are disliked by me. Even though they themselves
may not dislike me, I dislike them. त्तद्वषन्तः सपत्िाः. सपत्िाः
means िरविः, the enemies; त्तद्वषन्तः means disliking. It means
they dislike me, hating enemies. अत्तप्रर्ािः भ्रातव्ृ याः. भ्रातव्ृ याः also
means enemies. It is the same as सपत्िाः. What type of
enemies? अत्तप्रर्ािः भ्रातव्ृ याः – disliked enemies. So त्तद्वषन्तः
सपत्िाः means disliking enemies, अत्तप्रर्ािः भ्रातव्ृ याः means
disliked enemies. In short, all the enemies. What will happen to
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them? पररत्तम्रयन्ते. पयेिम् should be split as परर एिम् and परर
should be joined with त्तम्रयन्ते – they all will perish. In the next
sentence परर means पररत्तम्रयन्ते – they all will perish. When we
hear this we will all be disturbed. What is this? The उपत्तिषत् is
talking about the destruction of all the enemies. In fact,
everybody will be either disliking or disliked. Imagine they will
all be finished means sooner or later there will be no one in the
world at all. Therefore we should not interpret this portion in
the literal sense. Destruction of enemies should be understood
as the destruction of the enmity. It does not mean physically
wiping out the concerned person but wiping out the enmity.
Once the enmity goes that person no more enjoys the status of
an enemy. Therefore when the उपत्तिषत् says disliking enemies
are destroyed you should interpret it as they will no more dislike
me. This उपासि does something, for some reason they were
disliking me, but as a result of the उपासि something happens
in their mind, their attitude towards me changes. Similarly, the
disliked enemies are destroyed means they will no more be
disliked by me. I will stop disliking those persons. There will
be a change in my attitude. Therefore two benefits – there will
be a change in their attitude towards me and there will be a
change in my attitude towards them. There will be an attitudinal
change as a result of this उपासि. Everybody will be loving and
lovable. Therefore don’t think anybody is destroyed, nobody
need be destroyed, only we have to destroy our unhealthy
tendencies. Because ईश्वर सत्तृ ष्ट is wonderful. It is our mental
poison which is extended and which pollutes ईश्वर सत्तृ ष्ट
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because of our subjectivity. It the subjectivity goes away as
शङ्करािायव says
ू व र्् जगदेव िन्दिविर्् सवेऽत्तप कल्परुर्ाः ॥ धन्याष्टकर््
सम्पि
१० ॥
The whole world is wonderful. Or as कृष्ि tells in the गीता
अद्वेष्टा सवव भत
ू ािाां र्ैत्रः करुि एव ि ॥ गीता १२-१३ ॥
Therefore पयेिां त्तम्रयन्ते त्तद्वषन्तः सपत्िाः परर येऽत्तप्रया भ्रातव्ृ याः
– all the enmity goes away. With this the आकाश उपासिs are
also over. So we have got three groups of उपासिs. आध्यात्तत्र्क
उपासिात्ति, आत्तधदैत्तवक उपासिात्ति and आकाश उपासिात्ति.
With this the उपासि portions of भग ृ ुवल्ली are over. The
primary aim of the third chapter is prescribing exercises for
refining the mind for getting knowledge. That purpose is over.
In fact, सि िाववतु should have come, but the उपत्तिषत् thinks
otherwise. Suppose the तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् ends with उपासि,
there is a problem. Generally we remember the last portion
alone, because they are fresh and green in our mind because that
is the latest portion. So if तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् ends with उपासि,
we will say तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् was wonderful and because it talks
about वाक् उपासि, चक्षुिः उपासि etc. Therefore the उपत्तिषत्
wants to tell us that the primary topic of तैत्तिरीयर्् is not
उपासि, but ब्रह्मज्ािर्् which was discussed in the second
chapter. उपासि is only a stepping stone. ज्ािर्् alone is
important. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् concludes the भग ृ ुवल्ली by
reminding us of the ब्रह्मज्ािर्् once again. What is ब्रह्मज्ािर््?
जीवात्र्-परर्ात्र्ा ऐक्तय ज्ािर््. This was revealed in the second
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chapter already through a र्िावाक्तयर््. What is the र्िावाक्तयर््
occurring in the second chapter?
स यश्चायां पुरुषे । यश्चासावात्तदत्ये । स एकः ॥ तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् २-
८-५ ॥
So the उपत्तिषत् reminds that portion and talks about ब्रह्मज्ाि
फलर्् and concludes. Now in the following portion we get
ज्ािर्् and फलर््. We will read.
र्न्त्र 3-10-04 & 05
स यश्चायां पुरुषे । यश्चासावात्तदत्ये । स एकः ॥ ४ ॥
स य एवांत्तवत् । अस्र्ाल्लोकात्प्रेत्य ।
एतर्न्िर्यर्ात्र्ािर्ुपसङ्िम्य । एतां
प्रािर्यर्ात्र्ािर्ुपसङ्िम्य । एतां र्िोर्यर्ात्र्ािर्ुपसङ्िम्य
। एतां त्तवज्ािर्यर्ात्र्ािर्ुपसङ्िम्य ।
एतर्ािन्दर्यर्ात्र्ािर्ुपसङ्िम्य ।
This portion is bodily lifted from the second chapter. It
is a repetition with a very small difference.
एतर्न्िर्यर्ात्र्ािर्ुपसङ्िार्त्तत was the reading in the
second chapter, here it is एतर्न्िर्यर्ात्र्ािर्ुपसङ्िम्य. It
has got only a grammatical difference, but meaning wise both
are same only. So the उपत्तिषत् reminds the ऐक्तयर््. यः आिन्दः
पुरुषे वतव ते – the आिन्द आत्र्ा which is in the जीवात्र्ा and यः
आिन्दः आत्तदत्ये वतव ते. आत्तदत्य here represents ईश्वर, the total.
The आिन्द आत्र्ा obtaining in ईश्वर that आिन्द आत्र्ा is one
and the same. So आत्र्ािन्द is the same in everyone. But if at
all there is a difference in आिन्द, it is not in the original
आिन्द, but the difference is only in the reflected आिन्द,
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which is the experiential आिन्द. So त्तबम्ब आिन्द is the same
in all, but प्रत्ततत्तबम्ब आिन्द will vary from person to person.
When the mind is gross, the reflected आिन्द is lesser, as the
mind becomes finer and finer, the reflected आिन्द will become
hundred-fold like र्िुष्यगन्धवव , देवगन्धवव , प्रजापत्तत, बिृ स्पत्तत
etc. The experiential pleasure will vary depending upon the
conditions of the mind, but original आिन्द which is my very
nature will not vary at all. Therefore आिन्द स्वरूप दृष्ट्या,
जीवात्र्परर्ात्र् ऐक्तयर््. Normally िैतन्य दृष्ट्या we talk about
ऐक्तयर््, but uniquely here आिन्द स्वरूप दृष्ट्या ऐक्तयर्् is
mentioned. More we will see in the next class.
पि
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In the tenth and final अिुवाक of भग ृ ुवल्ली the उपत्तिषत्
taught certain व्रतर््s which was followed by three groups of
उपासिs. आध्यात्तत्र्क उपासिात्ति, आत्तधदैत्तवक उपासिात्ति and
आकाश उपासिात्ति. With those उपासिs all the preparatory
disciplines have been dealt with. Therefore the उपत्तिषत् wants
to come back to the main topic. उपासिs are not the main topic
of the उपत्तिषत.् उपासिs are only preparatory disciplines for
attaining a mind which has got one-pointedness. After
accomplishing this qualifications one has to come to the
knowledge. This is the central theme of the उपत्तिषत्. This
knowledge has been dealt with in the second chapter, ब्रह्मवल्ली.
Therefore the उपत्तिषत् wants to sum up that knowledge given
before. Therefore ब्रह्मत्तवद्ा सङ्ग्रि and also ब्रह्मत्तवद्ा फलर््, the
benefit of this knowledge, are being talked about in the last
portion. The essence of ब्रह्मत्तवद्ा is given in the form of a
र्िावाक्तयर््, which र्िावाक्तयर्् was given in the second chapter
itself. स यश्चायां पुरुषे । यश्चासावात्तदत्ये । स एकः ।. That त्तबम्ब
आिन्द, the original आिन्द which obtains within the
individual उपात्तध or body and also the त्तबम्ब आिन्द, the original
आिन्द obtaining in the सर्त्तष्ट, the त्तिरण्यगभव उपात्तध that
original आिन्द स एकः, is same. And if at all there are
differences they do not belong to the त्तबम्ब आिन्द, but the
differences belong to the प्रत्ततत्तबम्ब आिन्द. The प्रत्ततत्तबम्ब
आिन्द is formed in the mind of everyone and since the quality
of the mind differs from जीव to जीव, the reflected आिन्द
otherwise known as experiential आिन्द will vary. There will
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be gradations in the form of त्तप्रय, र्ोद, प्रर्ोद and also there will
be gradations in the form of र्िुष्य आिन्द, र्िुष्य गन्धवव
आिन्द, देव गन्धवव आिन्द etc., but the gradations belong to
the प्रत्ततत्तबम्ब, the reflection. The original आिन्द which is never
experiential आिन्द, which is never an objectifiable आिन्द,
which is of the nature of the very िैतन्यर्् itself, that आिन्द is
the same in everyone. That is reminded here. स यश्चायां पुरुषे ।
यश्चासावात्तदत्ये । स एकः. सः यः एवांत्तवत् – the one who has gained
this knowledge that I am the त्तबम्ब आिन्दः and I am not
प्रत्ततत्तबम्ब आिन्दः. प्रत्ततत्तबम्ब आिन्दः is only my own
manifestation in the reflecting medium. इशत यः एवांत्तवत् – the
one who has owned up the त्तबम्ब आिन्दः as himself, what will
happen to him is अस्र्ात् लोकात् प्रेत्य – that person
disidentifies from the external world. He gives up अत्तभर्ाि in
the external world. Identification with the external world is
called र्र्कारः. He gives up र्र्कार or ownership with regard
to the external thing. Here लोक refers to the external objects,
which are objects of identification in the form of र्र् गिृ म्, र्र्
पुरिः, र्र् पत्तत्ि etc. Why he gives up that अत्तभर्ाि? He gives up
because the र्र् अत्तभर्ाि, all forms of relationships belong to
the स्र्ल ू शरीरर्् only. आत्र्ा is not related to anything.
Therefore he gives up ownership with regard to the external
world. शङ्करािायव says he gives up dependence on the
external world. That means world becomes अिात्र्ा for him.
And then coming closer एतर्् अन्िर्यर्् आत्र्ािर््
उपसङ्िम्य. उपसङ्िम्य again means disidentification. He
does not mistake his body as himself. Identification with the
body is called अिङ्कार. Identification with the outside world
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is called र्र्कार. That अिम् अशभमान उपसङ्िम्य – he
transcends. Of course this has been said in the ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली
itself. Then एतां प्रािर्यर्् आत्र्ािर्् उपसङ्कम्य. This
withdrawal is gradual process. After disidentifying from
अन्िर्य then he has to withdraw from प्रािर्य which is subtler
अिात्र्ा. Literally the word उपसङ्कम्य means transcending,
here transcendence is अत्तभर्ाि ्र्ागिः. Then एतां र्िोर्यर््
आत्र्ािर्् उपसङ्िम्य – again he disidentifies from the
र्िोर्य आत्र्ा also; that means he reduces र्िोर्य into
अिात्र्ा. Until you disidentify it is आत्र्ा, the moment you
disidentify it is reduced to अिात्र्ा. I don’t know whether you
remember अिात्र््व त्तिश्चयः (कोश्व त्तिश्चयः), कायव ्व
त्तिश्चयः, िार्रूप्व त्तिश्चयः, शमर्थर्ा्व त्तिश्चयः and finally
प्रशवलापनम्. You have to go back and read those portions, they
are very important aspect of वेदान्त. Then तां त्तवज्ािर्यर््
आत्र्ािर्् उपसङ्िम्य – he disidentifies with त्तवज्ािर्य आत्र्ा
also, which means त्तवज्ािर्य is also reduced into अिात्र्ा.
Everyone is called मर् – अन्िर्य, प्रािर्य etc. The suffix मर्
indicates they are subject to change. I am the changeless आत्र्ा,
not the changing अन्िर्य, सत्तवकार प्रािर्य. मर्ट् शवकारार्े.
So अन्िर्य is सत्तवकार, I am त्तित्तववकार िैतन्यर््, therefore I am
not अन्िर्य. Similarly प्रािर्य is सत्तवकार, I am त्तित्तववकार
िैतन्यर््, therefore I am not प्रािर्य. Then एतर्् आिन्दर्यर््
आत्र्ािर्् उपसङ्िम्य – this is the subtlest version of अिात्र्ा
which is in the form of experiential pleasure. All the
experiential आिन्द should be understood as अिात्र् आिन्द.
Why? Because it is experiential. Any experiential pleasure
however great it might be it is subject to arrival and departure.
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Therefore it cannot be taken as आत्र्ािन्द. So if any person
says I experienced आत्र्ािन्द, the very statement is a
contradiction. Experienced is past tense. Past tense means that
आिन्द was associated with the past time, which means it is not
in the present, which means it cannot be आत्र्ािन्द, it will
come under अिात्र्ा. Then you will ask the question how to
experience आत्र्ािन्द? Never ask the question how to
experience आत्र्ािन्द. Any experienced आिन्द, however
great, however extraordinary and however mystical it might be
also coming under आिन्दर्यर्् आत्र्ािन्द. Therefore disown
that also. So we will be dealing with this topic in the next
उपत्तिषत् र्ाण्डूक्तयोपत्तिषत् where गौडपादाचार्य will say this
identification or owning up of the experiential bliss is a defect
or an obstacle called रसास्वाद. Enjoying आिन्द in meditation
is a रसास्वाद obstacle. There we will see the details. So
आिन्दर्यर्् आत्र्ािर्् उपसङ्िम्य. Then we have to
complete the sentence by adding आत्र्शनष्ठिः भवशत. so he will
abide in the आत्र्ा which is non-experiential, non-objectifiable
witness अिर््. Upto this is ज्ािर््, hereafter ज्ाि फलर्् is going
to come. It is otherwise called जीवन्र्ुत्तक्तः.
The उपत्तिषत् wants to say this जीवन्र्ुक्त enjoys
पिू व त्वर््, which पि ू व त्वर्् is in the form of knowledge that I am
पि ू व ः. प ि
ू व त्वर्् is not a temporary experience that comes, but the
पि ू व त्वर्् is in the form of knowledge that I am always पि ू व . And
this आत्र्ािन्द he owns up. This is called जीवन्र्ुत्तक्तः or
freedom from सांसार. It is given in the form of a song. Because
whenever a person has a sense of fulfilment it always expresses
in the form of a song. Song means आिन्दः, normally.
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Therefore this ज्ात्ति also sings expressing his पिू व त्वर््. Since it
is expressed in the form of a Vedic song it is called सार् गािर््.
आत्र्ािन्द expressed by a जीवन्र्ुक्त is presented in the form
of a सार् गािर््. Therefore in the following portion we have
certain expressions which are unique to सार् गािर््. If you see
the second line, you can see िा ३ वु िा ३ वु िा ३ वु is written.
These are all expressions occurring in सार् गािर््. There you
can see numbers also written. You can see number three there
which means those letters have to be lengthened as they do in a
song. Therefore when we chant these lines we will be
lengthening the vowels.
र्न्त्र 3-10-05 & 06
इर्ाँल्लोकन्कार्ान्िी कार्रूप्यिुसञ्िरि् । एतत् सार्
गायन्िास्ते । िा ३ वु िा ३ वु िा ३ वु ॥ ५ ॥
अिर्न्िर्िर्न्िर्िर्न्िर्् ।
अिर्न्िादोऽ३िर्न्िादोऽ३अिर्न्िादः ।
अिँश्लोककृदिँश्लोककृदिँश्लोककृत् । अिर्त्तस्र् प्रर्र्जा
ऋता३स्य । पवू ं देवेभ्योऽर्तृ स्य िा३भाइ । यो र्ा ददात्तत स इदेव
र्ा३ऽवाः । अिर्न्िर्न्िर्दन्तर्ा३त्तद्म । अिां त्तवश्वां
भुविर्भ्यभवा३र्् । सव ु िव ज्योतीः । य एवां वेद । इत्युपत्तिषत् ॥ ६
॥ इत्तत दशर्ोऽिुवाकः ॥
So the जीवन्र्ुक्त’s enjoyment of freedom, the freedom
from सांसार is given here. अिुसञ्िरि् – this ज्ात्ति freely moves
about all over the world without any tie or relationship.
शङ्करािायव takes this ज्ात्ति as a सन्न्यात्तस ज्ात्ति. Because in
the case of a गिृ स्र् ज्ात्ति, he might have an internal freedom,
but because of the गिृ स्र् आश्रर् external freedom is limited. So
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here शङ्करािायव takes a परर्िांस पररव्राजक ज्ात्ति who does
not have any relationship with anyone. Such a पररव्राजक
सन्न्यात्तस अिुसञ्िरि् – he moves about. Where does he move
about? इर्ाि् लोकाि् – all over. Because any place is his place.
Where will he get his food? He says कार्न्िी – so करतल
त्तभक्ा तरुतल वासः wherever he gets any type of त्तभक्ा he takes.
यदृच्छा-लाभ-सन्तुष्टः. कार्न्िी means
कार्तोऽन्िर्स्येत्तत कार्ान्िी. Here कामम् means whatever
comes. अन्िर्् means food. He takes any food without any
reservation. And कार्रूपी – since he doesn’t have any
particular role to play, he being a सन्न्यात्तस, according to the
requirement of the situation he is ready to play any role.
Therefore कार्रूपी means playing any role according to the
necessity. If the society needs lots of पज ू ा, temples, etc., he
becomes a great भक्त in front of them and doesn’t talk about
वेदान्त at all. He talks about only कर्व काण्ड, पज ू ा, temple, etc.,
because that society requires that particular thing. On the other
hand, if there is another set of prepared people who have
transcended all this, who are ready for वेदान्त, he drops the
कर्व काण्ड role and takes up the role of a गुरु and becomes
ब्रह्मत्तवद्ा उपदेश कताय . If he is moving with children he becomes
a child. If he is moving with grammarians he becomes a
grammar teacher. If he is moving with र्ीर्ाांसक he becomes a
र्ीर्ाांसा teacher. Since he doesn’t have a particular role he can
play any role as required. शङ्करािायव writes a work called
जीवन्मुिानन्द लिरर. There he talks about a ज्ात्ति taking any
role according to the necessity. Therefore कार्रूपी. Here रूपर््
can be understood as roles. Whatever role he takes he doesn’t
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have any regret. He enjoys कर्व काण्ड role also, he enjoys
ज्ािकाण्ड role also. If he has to encourage social service he
enjoys that also. शङ्करािायव established several मठs. There
the त्तवग्रिs were established and पज ू ा is done. A सन्न्यात्तस
doesn’t require पज ू ा at all, but still he does पज
ू ा for the sake of
the society. Left to himself he will enjoy reading some more
Vedantic books. He has to take the role of a counsellor also.
Sometimes the devotees come and say son is not married,
property problems, etc. Poor शङ्करािायव has to settle property
issues also. What a role he has to play! But he doesn’t have any
difficulty because he knows all these are त्तर्थ्या roles. He is
different from all of them. Therefore in and through all these
activities एतत् सार् गायि् – he sings the following song. एतत्
means that which is going to come hereafter, beginning from िा
३ वु. The word सार् has two meanings. One meaning is song,
गािर््. The second meaning शङ्करािायव gives is ब्रह्म. सार् is
equal to ब्रह्म. Why is ब्रह्मि् called सार्? सर्त्वाद्ब्रह्मैव सार्.
Since ब्रह्मि् is the same everywhere it is called सार्. Therefore
सार् गायि् means he sings about the glory of ब्रह्मि्. आस्ते
means he remains, he lives in the world. What is the song? The
following portion is within inverted commas. This is the song
of a ज्ात्ति. Beginning from िा ३ वु onwards upto सुविव ज्योतीः
is to be within inverted commas. These are the words of a ज्ात्ति.
When he sings the glory of ब्रह्मि् you should remember for a
ज्ात्ति, ब्रह्मि् is not an object elsewhere. He has recognized
ब्रह्मि् as himself and therefore the glory of ब्रह्मि् is his own
glory. Therefore he doesn’t wonder at the glories of someone
else, he says my glories are wonderful. I am the most glorious
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thing in the universe. Therefore ब्रह्मि् glorification is self-
glorification. This may create a doubt in our mind, if we talk
about our own glories will it not come under arrogance or pride,
दत्तम्भत्वर््, अिङ्कार, etc? In गीता you say we should not take
any glory to ourselves, we should hand over all the glories to
the Lord. In the उपत्तिषत् class you say that all the glories are
ज्ात्ति’s glories. Which one is correct? The answer is if you are
identified with अिात्र्ा then the glories can never belong to you
because from अिात्र्ा standpoint you are small, you are
microcosm and you are an individual. From body standpoint no
glory belongs to you, from mind standpoint no glory belongs to
you, because the glory of the micro always belongs to the
macro, the totality. Therefore if I am identified with my body-
mind complex, I am अिङ्कारः. As अिङ्कार I can never claim
any glory. I have to surrender all the glories to the Lord. But if
I am not identified with the body-mind complex, if I claim my
nature as आत्र्ा, from the आत्र्ा standpoint there is nothing
wrong in claiming all the glories because as आत्र्ा I am not
micro, as आत्र्ा I am not individual, as आत्र्ा I am infinite.
Therefore देि दृष्ट्या surrender, आत्र्ा दृष्ट्या claim your glory.
In the thirteenth chapter, before आत्र्ज्ािर्् from body angle
surrender is prescribed. After आत्र्ज्ािर्् from the सात्तक् angle
I can say
र्त्तय एव सकलर्् जातर्् र्त्तय सवव र्् प्रत्ततत्तष्ठतर्् ॥ कैवल्योपत्तिषत्
१९ ॥
So these glories are from आत्र्दृत्तष्ट. It is not arrogance, it is
wisdom. What is the first glory? He says िा ३ वु िा ३ वु िा ३ वु.
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िा वु is the सार्वेद version of the सांस्कृत word अिो. The word
also occurs in सार्गािर्् it becomes िा वु. In Carnatic music
they say रागम्, तानम्, पल्लशव. Really speaking it is not तानम्.
It is nothing but अनन्त. अनन्त means the infinite God. During
Carnatic music also we are supposed to remember the Lord,
therefore we sing अनन्त, अनन्त. अनन्त multiple times put
together तानम्. In the same way the अिो has become िा वु
सार्गािर््. What is the meaning of the word अिो ? अिो means
आश्चयव र््. What is the greatest आश्चयव र््? I, the ever-free ब्रह्मि्
have somehow become a miserable सांसारर, which is never
logically possible, because the infinite through a process cannot
become finite. The indivisible by a process cannot become
divisible. The त्तिगव ुि by a process cannot become सगुि.
त्तित्तववकार cannot become by a process सत्तवकार. All these
impossible things have somehow happened. Thus परर्ात्र्ा is
appearing as जीवात्र्ा. What an आश्चयव र््! This अिो is repeated
thrice to indicate that this is not an ordinary आश्चयव र््, but this is
superlative आश्चयव र््. First अिो means आश्चयव र््, second अिो is
आश्चयव तरर््, third अिो is आश्चयव तमर्् – positive degree,
comparative degree, superlative degree. Who am I? अिर््
अन्िर्् अिर्् अन्िर्् अिर्् अन्िर््. Here the word अन्िर्् means
an object of experience, the भोनय प्रपञ्ि. I alone appear in the
form of the भोनय प्रपञ्ि, the object of experience and it is
repeated thrice to indicate आश्चयव र््. And not only I am the
भोनयम् अिर्् अन्िादः. अन्िादः means भोक्ता, the subject also I
am. I, the indivisible have bifurcated myself and I am putting
the role of भोनयम् also and the role of भोक्ता also, as I do in the
dream. I go to bed alone as a single individual, but in the dream
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I divide myself into the experiencer in the dream world and I
become the object of experience also. Therefore भोक्ता अिर््
अत्तस्र्, भोनयर्् अिर्् अत्तस्र्; प्रर्ाता अिर्् अत्तस्र्, प्रर्ेयम् अिर््
अत्तस्र्. And not only that अिँश्लोककृत्. श्लोककृत् means one
which brings them together.
श्लोको िार् अन्िान्िादयोः सङ्घातः. It is the instrument which
links the भोक्ता and भोनयर्् together. Just as the seer and the
seen are linked by the eye called the seeing instrument, hearer
and the heard are linked by the hearing instrument, प्रर्ाता and
प्रर्ेयम् are linked by प्रर्ािर्् instrument. He says that linking
factor also I am. कताव I am, कर्व I am, करिर्् I am. Therefore
श्लोककृत् means the one who joins them together. If you take
all these three statements together it means I am the त्तत्रपुत्ति, the
अखण्ड अिर््, the त्तित्तववकल्प अिर्् am now appearing as
सत्तवकल्प प्रपञ्िः. So अिर्् श्लोककृत् also is repeated thrice to
indicate आश्चयव र््. It is not logically possible because that which
is beyond time and space can never be divided. And not only
that अिर्् अत्तस्र् प्रर्र्जाः. प्रर्र्जः means त्तिरण्यगभव or ब्रह्मात्तज.
I am the creator ब्रह्म who was first born. We saw in
र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत्,
ब्रह्मा देवािार्् प्रर्र्ः सम्बभवू ॥ र्ुण्डकोपत्तिषत् १-१-१ ॥
In पुरािs also from त्तवष्िु’s naval, ब्रह्मात्तज comes and then
ब्रह्मात्तज takes over the job of creation. Who is that ब्रह्मात्तज? Here
the ज्ात्ति says, I am that ब्रह्म also.
गुरुब्रव ह्मा ग्रुरुत्तववष्िुः गुरुदेवो र्िे श्वरः । गुरुः साक्ात् परां ब्रह्म तस्र्ै
श्री गुरवे िर्ः ॥
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Therefore I am त्तिरण्यगभव . What type of त्तिरण्यगभव ? प्रर्र्जाः –
who is born first. ऋता३स्य – ऋतस्य ऋतस्य सत्यस्य
र्त ू व स्यास्य जगतः, in the world. ऋतम् means the जगत् or
प्रपञ्िः. ऋतस्य means प्रपञ्िस्र् ज्र्ेष्ठपुरिः अिम्. I am the eldest
product in the entire universe. पवू ं देवेभ्यः. The expression पवू ं
देवेभ्यः must be joined with the previous sentence. So पवू ं
देवेभ्यः प्रर्र्जाः ऋता३स्य अिर्् अत्तस्र् is one sentence. In the
universe I am the first born even before the creation of the देवs.
पवू ं देवेभ्यः means even before इन्र, वरुि, अत्तनि were created
I was born as ब्रह्मा, the first creator. Not only I appear in this
सगुि स्वरूपर््, my original nature is त्तिगव ुि स्वरूपर््. अिर््
अर्त ृ स्य िा भात्तय अत्तस्र्. िा भात्तय is the सार् expression for the
word िात्तभः. िात्तभः means the center, the source of अर्त ृ र्् –
immortality. I am the center of immortality as त्तिगव ुिर्् ब्रह्मि्
and I myself appear as the mortal universe also, mortal जीवs
also, mortal finite objects also and originally I am immortal.
Then this ज्ात्ति wants to remind the people of the glory of
अन्िदािर््. In fact, one important value stressed in भग ृ ुवल्ली is
अन्िदािर््. Therefore here the ज्ात्ति tells the people that the
best way of saving anything is the unique Vedic method.
Normally what is the best way of saving anything? Normally
we will think saving anything is by not giving to others. How
do you save money? Never give any donation. How do you save
grains? Never feed any one. So our normal logic is you save
thing by not giving. But Vedic logic is you save thing for
yourself by sharing with others. The best way of saving is hand
over to the world. When you give to the world at the appropriate
time it will come back to you. If you do अन्िदािर्् when you
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are hungry in future the world will feed you. If you share your
money when the need comes you will get the money. It is very
difficult to believe in that but this is Vedic logic. Save by giving.
Therefore the teacher says a person saves अन्िर्् by giving
अन्िर्् to others. That is said here. यः र्ा ददात्तत सः इत् एव र्ा
अवाः. यः अन्िां ददात्तत. Here र्ा you have to take as अन्िर््. The
one who gives अन्िर्् to others, सः अवाः. अवाः – he is really
saving अन्िर्् for his own future use. अवाः means he protects,
he saves. इत् एव means इत्र्म् एव – in this manner alone, not
by hoarding you save things but only by giving you save things.
But here the ज्ात्ति uses a peculiar expression. What he wants to
say is the one who gives अन्िर्् will save अन्िर्् for his future
use, but he wants to mix the Vedantic teaching also here.
Therefore instead of using the word अन्िर््, he uses the word
myself. Because previously he has already told I am in the form
of अन्िर््, अन्िादः, श्लोककृत्. To remind us of that instead of
using the word अन्िर्् he says the one who gives me, the अन्िर््
will save the अन्िर्् for his own future use. Therefore र्ा here
means अन्िर्् रूपर्् र्ार्् यः ददात्तत सः अन्िर्् रूपर्् र्ार्् अवाः
he saves. Then the ज्ात्ति threatens also. If you don’t share the
food with others and within the closed doors you quietly enjoy
the food, then that unshared and quietly enjoyed food will not
nourish the eater. Even though the normal function of the food
is nourishing the eater, here the ज्ात्ति gives a warning. An
unshared and quietly eaten food will not nourish the eater. On
the other hand that food will destroy the eater. Therefore he says
अन्िर्् अदन्तर्् अत्तद्म – the food eats the eater. Eats means
destroys. It is peculiar language. The food eats the eater means
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the food destroys the eater. Which eater? Not the eater who
shares food with others, but the non-sharing eater the food
enters his stomach and destroys him. This is what he wants to
say, but here also, he brings in the Vedantic idea. He has already
said I am in the form of अन्िर््. Therefore instead of using the
word अन्िर््, he says I. How should you understand the
sentence? I, the अन्िर््, will enter into the eater, a non-sharing
eater and I in the form of अन्िर्् will destroy him. That means
I will become food poisoning and I will become toxin in his
system and he will get all forms of diseases and will die. Who
is causing that? अन्िर््. Who is that अन्िर््? Me. Therefore
utilize अन्िर्् properly. Therefore अिर्् अन्िर्् – I, the अन्िर््,
अन्िर्् अदन्तर्् अत्तद्म – will eat the eater of अन्िर््, who eats
without sharing with others. Therefore अन्िदािर्् is important.
Then he says अिां त्तवश्वां भुविर्् अभ्यभवार््. अभ्यभवार्् means I
pervade, व्र्ाप्तनोशम, गछिाशम. I pervade त्तवश्वां भुविर््. त्तवश्वर््
means the entire, भुविर्् means the universe. त्तवश्वां भुविर््
means the entire universe. I pervade the entire universe. What
is the meaning of the word I? If I means the body, the statement
will be only arrogance because he doesn’t pervade even this
hall. When he is not hall pervading, how can he be all
pervading? Therefore from body’s standpoint if I say I am all
pervading, it is arrogance; if from mind’s standpoint if I say I
am all pervading, it is arrogance and falsehood also. But as
आत्र्ा if I say I am all pervading, it is like the wave saying I am
all-pervading water. What is wrong in that statement? As a
wave it is not all pervading, but identified with water it can
claim that. Therefore अिर्् which means पञ्िकोश त्तवलक्ि
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अिर््, त्तवश्वां भुविर्् अभ्यभवार्् – I pervade. And सुविव ज्योतीः –
I am effulgent. Effulgence here refers to िैतन्य स्वरूपर््. I am
of the nature of Consciousness which is self-evident, self-
effulgent and eternally effulgent like सुवः न. सुवः means
आत्तदत्यः, सय ू व प्रकाििः. न means like, िकार उपर्ार्े. In this
context the word न means like; do not take it as ‘not’. Therefore
I am self-effulgent and eternally effulgent like the सय ू व प्रकाश.
In the thirteenth chapter कृष्ि says आत्र्ा is like the one sun
which illumines. Similarly, I am effulgent eternally like सय ू व
प्रकाश. With this the quotation is over. The essence is अिर्् ब्रह्म
अत्तस्र्. With this the जीवन्र्ुत्तक्तफलर्् topic is over. What is the
फलर््? Enjoy your ब्रह्मि्-hood. Don’t be in भ्रम, but be in
ज्ात्ति has completed his song. Now the उपत्तिषत् takes
over. यः एवां वेद – whoever gains this knowledge, whether he is
ब्राह्मि क्त्तत्रय वैश्य शरू ; young or old; ब्रह्मिारर, गिृ स्र्,
वािप्रस्र्, सन्न्यात्तस; male or female; so without any restriction
whoever has this knowledge. Then we have to complete the
sentence. सिः मुििः भवत्तत – he will enjoy जीवन्र्ुत्तक्त. इत्तत
उपत्तिषत् – thus ends the third chapter भग ृ ुवल्ली. Not only it is
the end of the third chapter, it is the end of the entire
तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत्. इत्तत तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् समाता.
ॐ सि िाववतु । सि िौ भुिक्तु । सि वीयं करवाविै । तेजत्तस्व
िावधीतर्स्तु र्ा त्तवत्तद्वषाविै ॥ ॐ शात्तन्तः शात्तन्तः शात्तन्तः ॥
पि
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Summary
Today I will give the summary of भग ृ ुवल्ली. भग ृ ुवल्ली is
the third and the final chapter of तैत्तिरीय उपत्तिषत्. The main
teaching of the उपत्तिषत् which is ब्रह्मत्तवद्ा has already been
given in the second chapter called ब्रह्मािन्दवल्ली. Therefore
the third chapter deals with certain other incidental but
important topics of the Vedantic teaching. This chapter is called
भगृ ुवल्ली because it begins with the word भग ृ ु, just as the other
two chapters were titled based on the first word. This is also in
prose form divided into paragraphs. Each paragraph is called an
अिुवाक and we have got ten अिुवाकs or sections in this
chapter. The topics dealt with in this वल्ली are ज्ाि साधिात्ति
and ज्ाि फलर््. By the word ज्ािर्् we mean not any other
knowledge but ब्रह्मज्ािर्् discussed in the second chapter.
Therefore ज्ाि साधिात्ति it means ब्रह्मज्ाि साधिात्ति, the
preparatory disciplines or the means for gaining this
knowledge. ज्ाि फलर्् means ब्रह्मज्ाि फलर््, the benefit or
fruit of this knowledge. These are the two main topics of this
वल्ली. For the sake of our convenience we can divide the entire
वल्ली into three portions.
1) The first portion dealing with the direct means of
ब्रह्मज्ािर््. ब्रह्मज्ाि साक्ात् साधिर््.
2) The second topic is the indirect means of ब्रह्मज्ािर््.
ब्रह्मज्ाि सिकारर साधिर््.
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3) The third and the final topic is the ज्ाि फलर््, the result
or benefit of this knowledge.
Thus ज्ाि साक्ात् साधिर््, ज्ाि सिकारर साधिर्् and
ज्ाि फलर््, these are the three parts that we can see in this
वल्ली. We will briefly see each of these topics.
The first one is ज्ाि साक्ात् साधिर्् which is discussed
from the first अिुवाक to the sixth अिुवाक. What is the direct
means of ब्रह्मज्ािर््. It is nothing but ब्रह्म त्तविारः, enquiry into
ब्रह्मि्. This ब्रह्म त्तविार is technically termed in this portion as
तपः स तपोऽतप्यत । स तपस्तप्त्वा. The word तपस् occurring
in this portion is ब्रह्म त्तविारः. The उपत्तिषत् wants to make it
clear that this enquiry should be done only with the help of गुरु
and शास्त्र. Without गुरु and शास्त्र, any independent enquiry
attempted will lead to only speculative conclusion, it will not
lead to definite knowledge. Therefore whenever we talk about
enquiry in वेदान्त, we should immediately bring in two factors
– गुरु and शास्त्र. Both of them play equally important roles. If
both of them are absent, enquiry will be non-existent and even
if one of them is absent, enquiry will be inadequate. Therefore
both are emphasized. The importance of a गुरु is indicated by
introducing a गुरु and a त्तशष्य. गुरु in the form of वरुि and
त्तशष्य in the form of भग ृ ुवै वारुत्तिः । वरुिां त्तपतरर्ुपससार.
ृ ु. भग
By presenting the teaching in the form of भग ृ ु वरुि सांवाद the
उपत्तिषत् says गुरु is a must. The importance of शास्त्र is also
indicated when the teacher वरुि gives two clues or indicators
for enquiry. ब्रह्म उपलत्तब्ध द्वारर्् and ब्रह्म लक्िर््.
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ब्रह्म उपलत्तब्ध द्वारर्् means certain factors which are
useful for ब्रह्मि् enquiry. The factors are the पञ्िकोशs. अन्िां
प्रािां िक्ुः श्रोत्रां र्िो वाित्तर्त्तत. Thus अन्ि प्राि िक्ु श्रोत्र मनिः
they are called ब्रह्म उपलत्तब्ध द्वारर््. द्वारर्् means gateway,
stepping stone. उपलत्तब्ध means ज्ािर््. ब्रह्म उपलत्तब्ध द्वारर््
means ब्रह्मज्ाि सोपानम्. The stepping stones for ब्रह्मज्ािर््.
These पञ्िकोश clues were given which indicates the role of
शास्त्र.
Then the गुरु also gives the definition of ब्रह्मि्, ब्रह्म
लक्िर्् which is a very important definition for which the
entire भग ृ ुवल्ली became very famous. That लक्िर्् is यतो वा
इर्ात्ति भत ू ात्ति जायन्ते । येि जातात्ति जीवत्तन्त ।
यत्प्रयन्त्यत्तभसांत्तवशत्तन्त । तत्तद्वत्तजज्ासस्व । तद्ब्रह्मेत्तत. Upto this
is लक्िर््. The meaning of this definition is ब्रह्मि् is जगत्
सत्तृ ष्ट त्तस्र्त्तत लय कारिर््. It is the cause for the origination,
existence and dissolution of the entire universe.
So both ब्रह्म उपलत्तब्ध द्वारर्् and ब्रह्म लक्िर्् indicate the
role of the शास्त्र. And the गुरु is involved. Keeping these two
भग ृ ु conducted the enquiry. The enquiry can be conducted in
many methods, different ways. The particular method
employed by भग ृ ु in this वल्ली is पञ्िकोश त्तववेकः. पञ्िकोश
त्तववेक is one of the methods of ब्रह्म त्तविारः. This त्तववेक was
already discussed in the second chapter, therefore the उपत्तिषत्
does not elaborate. And what is the significance of पञ्िकोश
त्तववेकः? It takes the intellect of the student gradually from the
grossest to the subtlest. From the grossest अन्िर्् upto the
subtlest आिन्द. This भग ृ ु successfully goes, अन्िां ब्रह्मेत्तत
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व्यजािात् प्रािो ब्रह्मेत्तत व्यजािात् र्िो ब्रह्मेत्तत व्यजािात् त्तवज्ािां
ब्रह्मेत्तत व्यजािात् आिन्दो ब्रह्मेत्तत व्यजािात्. Thus in each
अिुवाक we find भग ृ ु travelling from the grossest अन्िर्् to
प्रािः, र्िः, त्तवज्ािर््, of course आिन्दर्य कोश is skipped and
beyond that he discovered आिन्दः ब्रह्मेत्तत व्यजािात्. The
meaning of the word आिन्दः we have to discern from the
second chapter. आिन्द आत्र्ा । ब्रह्म पुच्छां प्रत्ततष्ठा । तदप्येष
श्लोको भवत्तत. The word आिन्द used here means िैतन्यर््, not
experiential pleasure. Experiential pleasure is not called
आिन्द. It is called आिन्दर्य. If र्य is added it is experiential
pleasure, if र्य is removed it is non-experiential िैतन्यर््, the
subject. Therefore the word आिन्दः means सत्, the word
आिन्दः means शचत्, and therefore सशछचदािन्दः ब्रह्मेत्तत
व्यजािात्. From that आिन्द, िैतन्यर्् alone the whole creation
arises, in िैतन्यर्् it rests and into िैतन्यर्् it goes back. भग ृ ु
arrived at this knowledge. अिम् िैतन्य रूपिः आत्र्ा एव ब्रह्म.
With that the त्तविार is over. सैषा भागव वी वारुिी त्तवद्ा । परर्े
व्योर्ि् प्रत्ततत्तष्ठता. So this is त्तविारः. This is साक्ात् साधिर्् for
ब्रह्मज्ािर््. With this the first part of भग ृ ुवल्ली is over.
Now we will enter into the second of भग ृ ुवल्ली which is
talking about the सिकारर साधिात्ति, the supportive साधिs by
which we mean these साधिs will not directly produce
ब्रह्मज्ािर््. Just as water will not directly help in the production
of any fruit. Water is required, it is extremely important but
water is not the producer of the fruit. Water is a सिकारर, it will
support the seed. Seed is the साक्ात् साधिर््. Water will assist
the बरिम् and that बरिम् alone produces the fruit. त्तविारः is
comparable to the seed or बरिम् and the following साधिs are
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not the बरिम्, they don’t produce the fruit, they are like water
assisting the त्तविारः. What are those सिकारर साधिात्ति?
The first सिकारर साधि, supportive साधि, auxiliary
साधि emphasized in भग ृ ुवल्ली is कर्व otherwise called
कर्व योग. In this कर्व or कर्व योग list the उपत्तिषत् gives several
disciplines. And later the उपत्तिषत् gives the second सिकारर
साधि which is in the form of उपासिs or meditations. These
two supportive means are given from seventh अिुवाक upto
middle of the tenth अिुवाक. Now we will briefly see these
सिकारर साधिs. For the sake of presentation the order is
rearranged. The first सिकारर साधि is कर्व or कर्व योग. And
कर्व योग involves certain attitudes, healthy, proper attitudes,
सत्-भावनािः. It also involves appropriate action स्कमाय शि. So
proper attitude plus healthy action is कर्व योग. Some of the
attitudes prescribed are the attitudes towards अन्िर््. अन्िर्् in
the form of अन्िर्य कोश is a stepping stone for spiritual
progress. Therefore we should have a healthy attitude towards
अन्िर््. What are the attitudes? The उपत्तिषत् says अन्न शनन्दा
विय नम् – never criticize the food, don’t pass negative remarks
about the food that you are going to eat or you are eating or you
have eaten. The second attitude is अन्न ्र्ाग विय नम् – don’t
leave the food on your plate or the leaf. It is an indirect form of
insult. Then the third is अन्न वशृ धकरिर्् – produce plenty. The
fourth is अन्िदािर्् – don’t merely produce but also share.
Without production sharing is impossible, without sharing
production is useless. Therefore production and sharing they
are all part of कर्व योग. And finally अत्ततत्तर् सेवा – service shown
to any guest who comes to your house. You can take अत्ततत्तर् as
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a representative of humanity. Therefore अत्ततत्तर् सेवा is मानव
सेवा. Thus it represents one of the पञ्िर्िायज्ाः. One of the
पञ्िर्िायज्s is र्िुष्ययज्. र्िुष्ययज् is service to humanity
and अत्ततत्तर् सेवा means र्िुष्ययज्. Therefore the उपत्तिषत्
indirectly hints at the पञ्िर्िायज्ाः. पञ्िर्िायज् is all forms of
service to the entire creation. And all of them will come under
कर्व योग proper attitude plus healthy service or contribution to
the entire. This is सिकारर साधिम् number one.
Then the next सिकारर साधिम् is in the form of
उपासिs. भगृ ुवल्ली gives four groups of उपासिs. Not four
उपासिs but four groups of उपासिs.
The first group of उपासिs is त्तवराि् उपासिात्ति which is
the meditation upon the entire creation as the body of the Lord.
त्तत्रभुवि वपुषर्् त्तवष्िुर्ीशर्् िर्ात्तर् ॥ त्तवष्िु सिस्रिार् स्तोत्रर्् २
॥
The त्तवराि् उपासि presented here is in a peculiar form. Three
pairs of things are taken. The first pair being प्राि-शरीरर्् pair,
thereafter अत्तनि-जलर्् pair, and then पत्तृ र्वी-आकाश pair.
These three pairs in the creation are taken and we are asked to
see their interdependence. अन्ि-अन्िाद सम्बन्धः प्रत्ततष्ठा-
प्रत्ततत्तष्ठत सम्बन्धः. By seeing the interconnectedness of these
three pairs, we are supposed to appreciate the
interconnectedness of the whole cosmos. The entire creation is
interconnected like the various organs of the body. If every
factor in the creation is like an organ then the whole cosmos
becomes a cosmic organism. An organism is one living being
with many organs which are interconnected. Thus the sky, the
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Sun, the moon, the stars, the waters, the rivers, the plant
kingdom, the animal kingdom, the human beings are all like
different organs of one organism. The cosmic organism is
called त्तवश्वरूप ईश्वरः. We are asked to meditate on him in two-
fold ways – सकार् उपासि and त्तिष्कार् उपासि. सकार्
उपासि will give material benefits and त्तिष्कार् उपासि will
give spiritual benefit, सकार् उपासि will give external growth
and त्तिष्कार् उपासि will give internal growth, सकार् उपासि
will give tangible benefits and त्तिष्कार् उपासि will give
intangible benefits. So this is the first group of उपासिs called
शवराट् उपासिात्ति.
Then the second group of उपासिs are called
आध्यात्तत्र्क उपासिात्ति those meditations in which the Lord or
ब्रह्मि् is invoked as various faculties in our own body. We have
been taking for granted these faculties. They are all brought to
our mind and then they are seen as ब्रह्मि.् For this उपासि all
the five कर्ेत्तन्रयs are taken – वाक्, पाशि, पाद, पायु, उपस्र् and
each कर्ेत्तन्रयर्् has got a very significant faculty. Not only all
the five कर्ेत्तन्रयs are important, but all types of pursuits are
also important. Behind all the कर्ेत्तन्रयs there is the energy
giving प्राि शत्तक्त. Therefore meditation has to be done upon the
प्राि also. So पञ्ि कर्ेत्तन्रयात्ति plus प्राि six factors are taken.
क्ेर् इत्तत वात्ति । योगक्ेर् इत्तत प्रािापाियोः । कर्ेत्तत िस्तयोः ।
गत्ततररत्तत पादयोः । त्तवर्ुत्तक्तररत्तत पायौ । प्रजात्ततरर्त
ृ र्ािन्द
इत्युपस्र्े ।
Here also if the उपासि is सकार् we will get worldly benefit
and त्तिष्कार् we will get spiritual benefit. This is the second
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group of उपासिात्ति called आध्यात्तत्र्क उपासिात्ति, subjective
meditation.
Then we get the third group of meditations called
आत्तधदैत्तवक उपासिात्ति, the objective meditations in which we
take various forces existing in nature, without which the human
survival itself is not possible. Four such forces are taken –
िक्त्र, त्तवद्ुत,् वत्तृ ष्ट, पशु, the stars, lightning, the rains and the
cattle respectively. All of them are connected with an agrarian
society. We can value this only if we keep the agriculture in
mind. If you take the stars it represents a sunny, bright summer
season. In summer alone the Sun is very bright and only in
summer the water is absorbed from ocean
तपाम्यिर्िां वषं त्तिगह्णृ ाम्युत्सज
ृ ात्तर् ि ॥ गीता ९-१९ ॥
भगवाि् beautifully says in the गीता in the summer through the
Sun I alone absorb the water from ocean. Once sufficient water
has been evaporated the clouds are formed and rainy season
comes उत्सज ृ ात्तर् ि. Thus stars represent summer in which the
water is absorbed, then rain comes, before rain lightning comes.
Lightning meditation, star meditation, rain meditation and then
to till the land we need पशु therefore पशु meditation. In fact our
very livelihood is dependent on all these natural forces.
Therefore don’t take them for granted. Meditate upon all these
natural forces as भगवाि्. तत्तृ िररत्तत वष्ट
ृ ौ । बलत्तर्त्तत त्तवद्ुत्तत । यश
इत्तत पशुषु । ज्योत्ततररत्तत िक्त्रेषु । So this is the third group of
उपासिs called आत्तधदैत्तवक उपासिात्ति.
Then we get the fourth group of उपासिs called आकाश
उपासिात्ति in which various glories or गुिs of आकाश are
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meditated upon. आकाश is very close to ब्रह्मि् in several
respects. Both आकाश and ब्रह्मि् are infinite, both are all
supportive, both are unaffected by anything. Thus आकाश
त्तवभत्तू तs and ईश्वर त्तवभत्तू तs are common. Therefore see ईश्वर
त्तवभत्तू तs in आकाश. त्तवभत्तू त means मशिमा. This meditation is
considered to be a very significant meditation, because in
subtlety आकाश is closest to ब्रह्मि.् If we can conceive of
आकाश, if our mind is subtle enough to visualize the formless,
the colorless, the intangible, the unobjectionable subtle
आकाश, our intellect is subtle enough to understand ब्रह्मि्. If
you are able to conceive आकाश, you can ‘perceive’ ब्रह्मि्.
Thus आकाश उपासिात्ति was the fourth group of उपासिs in
which various glories of आकाश are taken.
With this all the four groups of meditations are over.
These उपासिs also will not directly give ज्ािर्् or र्ोक् but
one has to follow कर्व and उपासि and make the mind साधि
ितुष्टय सम्पन्ि. कर्व plus उपासि is equal to साधि ितुष्टय
सम्पत्ति. With this qualified mind one has to do पञ्िकोश त्तववेक.
If a person does that he will get ज्ािर्् and also ज्ाि फलर््.
This ज्ाि फलर्् is given in the second half of the final section.
तत्प्रत्ततष्ठे त्युपासीत । प्रत्ततष्ठावाि् भवत्तत । तन्र्ि इत्युपासीत ।
र्िान्भवत्तत । तन्र्ि इत्युपासीत । र्ािवान्भवत्तत ॥ तन्िर्
इत्युपासीत । िम्यन्तेऽस्र्ै कार्ाः । तद्ब्रह्मेत्युपासीत । ब्रह्मवाि्
भवत्तत । तद्ब्रह्मिः पररर्र इत्युपासीत । पयेिां त्तम्रयन्ते त्तद्वषन्तः
सपत्िाः । परर येऽत्तप्रया भ्रातव्ृ याः । Upto परर येऽत्तप्रया भ्रातव्ृ याः of
the tenth अिुवाक is सिकारर साधि portion. And the later
portion is ज्ाि फलर््.
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स यश्चायां पुरुषे । यश्चासावात्तदत्ये । स एकः ॥ स य एवांत्तवत् । etc.,
upto the end of the उपत्तिषत् is ज्ाि फलर्् which in simple
language is र्ोक् or जीवन्र्ुत्तक्त or liberation even while living.
Not only one enjoys liberation while living and after death also
one continues to be liberated, which is called त्तवदेिर्ुत्तक्त.
त्तवदेिर्ुत्तक्त is defined as freedom from rebirth. पुिजव न्र् अभाविः
जीवन्र्ुत्तक्त इ्र्ुछर्ते. In भग ृ ुवल्ली त्तवदेिर्ुत्तक्त is not mentioned,
but it is understood.
In the scriptures जीवन्र्ुत्तक्त is talked about differently in
different contexts. In this portion, र्ुत्तक्त is presented in four
different forms. The first form of जीवन्र्ुत्तक्त is पञ्िकोश
अत्तभर्ाि त्यागः, अत्तभर्ाि रत्तितत्वर््, freedom from
identification, attachment. And the पञ्िकोश represents the
entire अिात्र्ा प्रपञ्ि. Therefore freedom from attachment or
identification with अिात्र्ा, the पञ्िकोश. सवव अत्तभर्ाि
रत्तितत्वर्् is first benefit. And when a person disidentifies from
all the पञ्िकोशs, he can abide in his स्वरूपर््. The स्वरूपर्् is
आत्र्स्वरूपर््.
अदृश्ये अिात्म्ये अत्तिरुक्ते अत्तिलयिे अभयर्् प्रत्ततष्ठार्् त्तवन्दते
॥ तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् २-७-१ ॥
ू व ः, infinite; which is आिन्द
He abides in his nature which is पि
स्वरूपः, अभर् स्वरूपः, ever secure, ever full, ever unaffected.
This is indicated by एतर्न्िर्यर्ात्र्ािर्ुपसङ्िम्य । एतां
प्रािर्यर्ात्र्ािर्ुपसङ्िम्य । Disidentifies from everything,
असङ्गम् ब्रह्म भवत्तत.
And the second is if ज्ात्ति is bored with this
disidentification then he takes to अत्तभर्ाि. But the uniqueness
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of ज्ात्ति’s अत्तभर्ाि is he identifies with the entire creation, सवव
अत्तभर्ाि सत्तितत्वर््. I am everything.
अिर्न्िर्िर्न्िर्िर्न्िर्् ।
अिर्न्िादोऽ३िर्न्िादोऽ३अिर्न्िादः ।
अिँश्लोककृदिँश्लोककृदिँश्लोककृत् । When a ज्ात्ति identifies
with the whole creation it is called सवव अत्तभर्ाि सत्तितत्वर््.
Earlier it is रत्तितत्वर््. When I am identified with the totality I
am one with ईश्वर. ईश्वर is the one who is with total उपात्तध.
Either he remains as ब्रह्मि् withdrawn from everything or he
remains as ईश्वर identified with everything. What वेदान्त says
either get detached from everything or get attached to
everything. Partial attachment is सांसार. With total attachment
you become ईश्वर, total detachment you become ब्रह्मि्, partial
attachment you become सांसारर जीव. Only I should be happy or
a few members of my family should be happy; let all others go
to hell, I don’t care – this makes you an ego, individuality. And
that promotes राग-द्वेष. In total attachment also there is no राग-
द्वेष and in total detachment also there is no राग-द्वेष, partial
attachment produces the ego, produces राग-द्वेष and therefore
causes problem. Suppose there is a queue in front of शतरुपशत
वेङ्कटाचलपशत and you are the hundredth person in the queue
and you complain that queue is not moving at all, people are
unnecessarily taking time. Therefore you say let all the people
move very fast, because only then the queue will move very
fast, and I can go in front of the Lord quickly. But the problem
is when I go to the front, I change my philosophy, I want to
stand for long and don’t want anybody to push me. This is
called partial application of any law. This is caused by ego.
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Therefore सवव अत्तभर्ाि रत्तितत्वर्् is ब्रह्म्वम् first benefit and
सवव अत्तभर्ाि सत्तितत्वर्् is second benefit.
Then the third benefit is once I give up the partial
identification, I become a free person. Partial identification
alone makes me bound to a set of people, bound to a set of
possessions. The moment a person gives up this partial
identification the whole creation is his house. The whole sky is
the ceiling.
ू व र्् जगदेव िन्दिविर्् सवेऽत्तप कल्परुर्ाः ॥ धन्याष्टकर््
सम्पि
१० ॥
Therefore इर्ाँल्लोकन्कार्ान्िी कार्रूप्यिुसञ्िरि् । He is not
bound to any particular thing in the creation. That is called
स्वातन््र्म्. The internal freedom, because he doesn’t claim
anything as his or he claims everything as his. This inner
freedom from अिङ्कार and र्र्कार is जीवन्र्ुत्तक्त.
The fourth and the final result is आिन्दः. I can
appreciate every event in creation objectively. The birth of
people I appreciate objectively. The death of people is not a
tragedy, I appreciate objectively. Union I appreciate objectively
and separation I appreciate objectively. Growth I appreciate
objectively and decay I appreciate objectively. There is nothing
to complain in the creation. This is called आिन्दः. They say in
transactional analysis I am Ok, you are Ok, everything is Ok.
This is indicated by सार् गािर््. एतत् सार् गायन्िास्ते । Inner
freedom leads to आिन्द, आिन्द is indicated by सार् गािर््.
Thus सवव अत्तभर्ाि रत्तितत्वर््, सवव अत्तभर्ाि सत्तितत्वर््,
स्वतन्रत्वर्् and आिन्दः. All these are the ज्ाि फलर््. With
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this ज्ाि फलर्् the third वल्ली is completed and also the
तैत्तिरीयोपत्तिषत् is over.
तेजत्तस्विावधीतर्स्तु र्ा त्तवत्तद्वषाविै ॥ ॐ शात्तन्तः शात्तन्तः
शात्तन्तः ॥
पि
710

Swami Paramarthananda Saraswati

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Swami Paramarthananda Saraswati

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