Shloka # 4:

मया ततमिदं सर्वं जगदव्यक्तमूर्तिना।
मत्स्थानि सर्वभूतानि न चाहं तेष्ववस्थितः।।9.4।।

The entire world has been pervaded by Me in my unmanifest form. All beings dwell in Me, but I dwell not in them.

Continuing his talk on chapter 9, Swamiji said, in the first three shlokas of Chapter 9, Sri Krishna has introduced Ishwara Gyanam. This comes in the middle section of the Gita. Chapters 1 through 6 dealt with Jiva swarupam while Chapters 7-12 deal with Ishwara swarupam. While talking about the nature of Ishwara, his higher nature, PP, and lower nature, AP, PP is beyond conditioning of space and time. It is not subject to space and time as such not subject to divisions.

So that which is the absolute principle, which is the relative empirical world, and therefore that which is not subject to time and space and consequently not subject to division and change. So this division-less, changeless, timeless, space-less Being is the absolute form of God.

In Upanishad Para Prakriti is called Brahman while Apara Prakriti is called Maya. The knowledge of PP is known as Gyanam while knowledge of AP is known as Vigyanam. Having introduced both now Sri Krishna is dealing with PP or Brahman.

From Shloka # 4 through # 10 the topic is Brahma Swarupam. These shlokas are considered to reveal the essence of the Upanishads.

First feature of Brahman:

In last class we noted that PP, the higher nature, is formless and not available to any sense organs, as such it is not revealed by any sense organs as well. It does not have properties that can be perceived by sense organs of shabda (hearing), rupa (sight), gandha (smell), rasa (taste), and sparsha (touch) respectively.

The PP is described as Avyaktam meaning beyond all sense organs or formless.

Second feature of Brahman:

The second feature of Brahman is it is Sarvagatam. It is all pervading, with no spatial limitation; a natural consequence of Avyaktam, meaning having no form and as such it has no boundaries. Form is determined by boundaries. Since God is formless, he is boundless or all pervading. He is here and now. You need not travel to merge with the Lord, if at all there is a merger it is only through the wisdom that the Lord is never away from me. So in Vedanta, merger is the wisdom that the Lord is never away. Dropping the notion of division is merger.

Third feature of Brahman:

Whole world is resting in Me. I am Vishwa Adharam. Thus, in the following shloka we see this description of Lord as: Shantakaram bhujagashayanam padmanabham sureshsam vishvadharam gaganasadrsham. This is a description of God lying on a snake. The snake is his bed. Snake is the adhara or support for the Lord; However, in the second line it says, Vishvadharam; meaning snake does not support the Lord; the truth is that the Lord is not supporting the snake alone; the Lord is supporting the whole creation.

Thus, I am not supported by this world. I am the supporter, not the supported. Jagat adhishtanam is the third feature or support of all.

Shloka # 5:

न च मत्स्थानि भूतानि पश्य मे योगमैश्वरम्।
भूतभृन्न च भूतस्थो ममात्मा भूतभावनः।।9.5।।

Neither do beings exist in Me-behold My sovereign Yoga! My Self brings beings into existence and sustains them, yet does not dwell in them.

Fourth feature of Brahman:

Brahma satyam; jagan mithya

Sri Krishna says this world or the beings do not rest in Me. They are not in Me at all. Here Sri Krishna is contradicting his previous shloka. Gita has several seemingly contradictions. Sri Krishna said previously, all beings are in Me; now he says, all beings are not in Me.

Shankaracharya resolves this contradiction. He says, suppose you say X exists and then you say X does not exist. Both are coming from the Lord. Shankaracharya says there is only one way this can be resolved. He says, X should be considered as seemingly existing (meaning it appears as if it is there); however, upon closer examination one sees that the seeming existence is not real existence.

Thus, from one angle it seems to exist; from another angle, it is really non-existent.

Several examples of this exist. One example is our own dreams. Did your dream exist? Yes, you have experienced it and it was very tangible during the dream. A Nightmare can, after all, even frighten you.

So, from dreamers point of view the dream exists. From Waker’s point of view the dream is not real. Whatever you dreamt did not exist other than as a thought in mind.

And therefore the question is, is there a dream or not? From dreamer’s angle, it is there; from waker’s angle, it is not there; from a lower order of reality, it is there; from a higher order of reality, it is not there; and this unique phenomenon in Vedanta is called mithya; mithya means experientially available, but factually non-existent. Anything experientially available, apparently available; capable of invoking responses from you; but upon waking (from a higher angle) it is not there; such a thing is called seemingly existent. In Vedanta, it is defined as sad-asadbhyam-anirvachaniyam.

You cannot say it is there; you cannot say it is not there also; you cannot say it is not there because it frightens you; you cannot say it because when you wake up, it is not seen. Otherwise the lottery you won in dream; that money should be available to you upon waking; in reality, it does not benefit your bank balance; but in dream state it did give you enough happiness.

That which is in lower order of reality is called Mithya; or from body’s stand point the world exists. From Brahman’s stand point World does not exist.

So, therefore, Sri Krishna says may you appreciate my higher yoga. And what is my higher yoga? It is my higher nature. In Vedanta, the higher order of reality is called paramarthika satyam; the worldly (lower) order of reality is called vyavaharika satyam; thus, from Vedanta’s perspective: empirical reality is non-existent from the standpoint of the absolute reality; empirical reality is existent only from the standpoint of the ordinary worldly perception. And therefore this is My higher nature; may you recognize Brahma satyam; jagan mithya. This is the Vedantic essence that Sri Krishna gives us here. Not only that; this is the third feature; I am formless; I am all pervading; I am the substratum of the mithya universe.

Then what is the fourth feature: Krishna says: I am the srishti, sthiti, laya karanam of this entire universe; thus the waker is the srishti, sthiti, laya karanam of the dream world; the dream world comes out of me; and the irony is I create the dream world and I myself get frightened by the dream. Then I wake up and entire dream world is resolved back in me, the Waker.

Similarly, the Universe is a dream in Brahman that rises and resolves in Brahman.

Therefore my atma; the higher nature; the PP, is bhutabhavanah; bhavana is srishti karanam.  So I am the srishti kartha.  Just as the waker is the supporter of the dream world, I am also the Sthiti karta. Thus, once you wake up, the dream world cannot be sustained. Therefore you project; you support; similarly Brahman projects, Brahman supports:

I am the supporter of the creation; but I am not

supported by the creation; I do not depend on the world; that means the world cannot exist without me but I can exist without the world. That is the definition of the Satyam. Satyam can exist without mithya; mithya cannot exist without Satyam. Dream cannot exist without Waker but Waker can exist without dream.

You exist without dream; but dream cannot exist without you. Lord can exist without the world; World cannot exist without the Lord. This is called sathya-mithya sambhanda in the Upanishadic literature.

Shloka # 6:

यथाऽऽकाशस्थितो नित्यं वायुः सर्वत्रगो महान्।
तथा सर्वाणि भूतानि मत्स्थानीत्युपधारय।।9.6।।

Just as the vast (expanse of) air, eternally subsists in space while moving everywhere, even so know that all beings exist in Me.

Fifth Feature of Brahman:

Here Sri Krishna introduces the fifth feature of Brahman as Asangatvam or unsullied nature of Brahman. It is an important shloka that says, I support the whole universe and the universe is resting in me.

Then whatever impurities of universe will also affect God? Sri Krishna says, this does not happen. I am not tainted by anything.

Space also is formless; the real Ishvara is also formless; space is all-pervading; the higher nature of Lord is also all pervading; space accommodates everything; everything is in space. Similarly the Lord accommodates everything. Fourthly, even though space accommodates everything, space is not burned by fire, wet by water; you cannot cut space, you cannot burn space, even though fire is in space. So this nature of space is called asangatvam. Similarly, the Lord accommodates everything including all akramams that are going in the world; but Lord is not tainted by kramam and akramam.

Sri Krishna says, God is beyond good and bad; because good and bad belongs to the relative empirical world, in which pairs of opposites are there; if Lord comes within the pairs of opposites, Lord will again be within the empirical world of time and space. And therefore here, Sri Krishna says, I am neither beautiful nor ugly; neither good nor bad; neither punyam nor papam; who am I; I am beyond dvandatvam. God is not in a pair of opposites; it is beyond dvandva.

Space accomodates Vayu. What type of Vayu? Vayu that is sometimes fragrant and sometimes not so fragrant. Akasha accommodate both, but Vayu does not affect Akasha. Vayu is located in space. Vayu moves everywhere; all this does not affect Space. So, also, there are good and bad people, but they don’t impact Me.

Shloka # 7:

सर्वभूतानि कौन्तेय प्रकृतिं यान्ति मामिकाम्।
कल्पक्षये पुनस्तानि कल्पादौ विसृजाम्यहम्।।9.7।।

All beings, Arjuna! at the end of a cycle repair to My nature; again, at the beginning of the (next) cycle, I loose them forth.

In the sixth shloka Sri Krishna pointed out that he is Srishti Sthiti Laya Karanam. This is now explained further in shlokas # 7 and # 8.

How does Lord create? Before I created the Universe, universe was already in Me in an un-manifest form. Nothing in universe can be newly created. The world already existed in Me in a seed form.  Thus, a huge tree exists within a seed and a baby exists in the womb of the mother. So when she looks up at a grown up child and the mother says, this is my son; you wonder; how can such a big person be in the stomach of the mother; even though he is so big now; previously he was a tiny fetus, who was existing in an un-manifest form.

They say the information contained in DNA is equal to 300 books of information. If hair has to turn gray at 43, it was coded in the gene. It is same with disease. This is called Avyakta rupam.

Similarly, Sri Krishna says, all the details of this universe is already coded in me in ayaktha rupam; that unmanifest universe is called prakrti or maya or the world in seed form or matter in potential form. You may also call it energy; and it is this un-manifest universe that evolves into manifestation. The world comes to manifestation and again it goes back to unmanifestation; like the expansion and contraction of the heart; the creation also expands and contracts; unfolds and folds.

This is also true of the dream world. Everybody gets dreams; it is universal. All dreams one has are impressions from our observations or experiences, including one’s from previous janma. Therefore, your dream already exists in a potential form in you, the Waker. Similarly the dream-like-world is in Brahman, in an Unmanifest form, which is called maya or prakrti.

All the beings come back to me alone; in what form; prakrti form; unmanifest form; otherwise called maya form. That prakrti is also dependent on Me, just as the manifest world is dependent on Me.

Similarly, the unmanifest prakrti is also dependent on Me. Just as the manifest dream is dependent on the waker; similarly the unmanifest dream vasanas; the imprints or samskaras are also dependent on the Waker. So the imprint becomes dream; dream again becomes the vasana; I am the substratum for both.

Similarly, Sri Krishna says, the world resolves into prakrti; which is dependent on Me.

And when does this happen? It happens at the end of a kalpa; a Brahmaji’s day, which is 2000 chatur yugas; So therefore at the end of a kalpa, they all

resolve into Me. At the beginning of the next Kalpa; when Brahmaji gets up again the creation comes;

There is no end to creation, only a temporary rest.

Shloka # 8:

प्रकृतिं स्वामवष्टभ्य विसृजामि पुनः पुनः।
भूतग्राममिमं कृत्स्नमवशं प्रकृतेर्वशात्।।9.8।।

Resorting, again and again, I loose forth this entire multidude of bound beings, swayed by and dependent on that nature.

This is also an explanation of Jagat karanatvam. In a cyclic process, I repeatedly create this world. Per Vedanta, creation is not a linear process; i.e., a process with an end. Rather it is a cyclic process, endlessly manifesting and un-manifesting. It does not have a beginning or an end. So, when did creation begin is an illogical question.

For Brahman, for creation, Prakriti, the potential universe, has to be there. So multitudes of beings are created. They are helpless beings. So even committing suicide is not a solution. One can’t stop the process. One can only get out of it through Moksha.

Take away:

1. In Upanishad Para Prakriti is called Brahman while Apara Prakriti is called Maya. The knowledge of PP is known as Gyanam while knowledge of AP is known as Vigyanam.
2. In Vedanta, merger is the wisdom that the Lord is never away. Dropping the notion of division is merger.
3. From dreamers point of view the dream exists. From Waker’s point of view the dream is not real. Strangely, you are both the dreamer and Waker.
4. The lower order of reality is called Mithya; thus from body’s standpoint the world exists. From Brahman’s stand point World does not exist.
5. Brahma satyam, jagan mithya. This is the essence of Vedanta.

With Best Wishes,

Ram Ramaswamy

Greetings All,

Ch 3, Anuvakaha 10, Shloka # 5:

The Reality in the core of man and the Reality that is in the sun are one. He knows this, on leaving this world, first attains this Atman made of food, next attains this Atman made of Prana, next this Atman made of mind, next this Atman made of buddhi and lastly, this Atman made of bliss. And, thereafter, eating what he likes and assuming any form according to his wishes, he roams upon the face of this globe and sits singing the following Sama song of joy.

Swamiji said, in anuvakaha # 10, the Upanishad taught Vrthams and three groups of Upsasanas. The three groups of Upasanas included:

Adhyatmika Upasanani, Adhidaivika Upasanani and Akasha Upasanani. Now, however, the Upanishad wants to come to its main topic, that is knowledge.

Upasanas are only preparatory disciplines. They help prepare a one pointed mind. After preparation one still has to come Gyana Yoga for knowledge. This was discussed in Brahmanandavalli as well. Brahma vidya sangraha and Brahma vidya phalam are being discussed in the last portion. The essence of Brahmavidya was discussed in the Mahavakya of CH 2. It says that

the Bimbananda that is in the individual body and Bimbananda, original ananda, in Samashti are all Saha Eka. If there are differences, they are not of Bimbananda but of Pratibimbananda. Pratibimbananda is formed in the individual mind hence it is a reflected ananda or experiential ananda that will vary. There will be gradations in this ananda in the form of moda, pramoda etc, in the form of manushyananda, gandharvananda etc. The original ananda, which is not an objectifiable ananda, is Chaitanyam and it is the same in everyone.

One who has gained the knowledge that I am myself the Bimbananda and not Pratibimbananda, he will dis-identify from the external world, or from mamakara; his identification with external world stops. Mamakara is ownership of external world and this stops. Thus our external object identification is in form of Mama Griham, Mama Putram, etc are a result of Mamakara. He gives up this mamakara abhimana as all relationships are only for sthula sharira; atma does not have relationships. Dependence on external world is given up. For such a person the world becomes anatma.

Upasankramya means he does not identify with his body. Identification with body is Ahamkara. Here, the aham abhimana is transcended.

This withdrawal from body and external world is a gradual process after identification from annamaya, pranamya etc. Now he dis-identfies himself from Annamaya, Pranayama, Manomaya, and Vignanamaya as well. With dis-identification they all become anatmas. Suffix of maya indicates it is subject to change. I am the changeless atma and not the changing samsara.

All experiential ananda is anatma, as it is experienced. All such experiential pleasures have arrival and departure; as such they are not atmananda. Experiential means it is in the past, that it is no more in the present, hence not in atmananda. Any experience, however great, including mystical ones, is all, anatma alone. In Mandukya Upanishad, Gaudapada says, this identification with experiential bliss is called Rasa Vada obstacle.

Now we need to complete the sentence with Atma Nishta Bhavati.

Now the Gyana Phalam of jivan mukti is discussed. This Jivan mukta enjoys Purnatvam. It is not a temporary experience and it is in the form of knowledge and the knowledge is that I am purnam. He owns up to Atmananda. His sense of fulfillment is expressed in a song. So the Gyani also sings. It is expressed as Sama Ganam, a Vedic song.

Ch 3, Anuvakaha 10, Shloka # 6:

Oh!Oh!Oh! I am the food. I am the food. I am the food. I am the eater of food. I am the eater of food. I am the eater of food. I am the author of the shloka. I am the author of the shloka. I am the author of the shloka. I am the first born (hiranyagarbha) of the True (of the eternal and Immortal). I am the centre of immortality, prior to the Gods. Whoever gives me, he surely does save thus. I am the food that eats him who eats food. I have conquered all, in this world. I am luminous like the sun. He who knows thus (also attains aforesaid results). This is the Upanishad.

The word Haavu occurs in sama danam. So, for a jivan mukta it is enjoyment of being free from samasara. This Gyani moves about freely without any ties. Shankaracharya says he is a sanyasi gyani. Grihasta Gyani will still have duties to perform. Such a Sanyasi moves all over. For him any place is my place. Wherever he gets Bhiksha he takes it.

The word Kamarupi in shloka means he is ready to play any role according to requirements of society. He may speak of karma kanda at one time; in another context he may become a Vedanta guru; with children he becomes a child and with a grammarian he becomes one of them. Hence he is considered a Kamarupi. Shankaracharya has written a text named Jivanmuktananda Lahiri, describing roles of Jivan mukta. In all roles he has no regrets. He may become a family counselor too. He recognizes all these roles are mithya alone.

He sings the following song. The word Sama in shloka has to two meanings: 1) Song and 2) Brahman. Why is Brahman Sama? Because Brahman is everywhere he is Sama.

What is the song?

From Haavu upto SuvarnaJyotihi in shloka # 6 is the song of the Gyani. For a Gyani, Brahman is himself. He is singing his own glory. He says my glory is wonderful. Brahman glorification is self-glorification. The question can rise, is this not arrogance; remember that the Gita says, handover all your glories to God. Which position is correct? Is this not a contradiction?

If you identify with anatma, you are in microcosm, that is, identification with the body. Glory belongs to macrocosm alone. Identification with microcosm is identification with Ahamkara. If not identified with body and mind then one can claim identification with atma; as such I am infinite; here he can claim the glory. This glory is from atmadrshti.

Haavu Haavu is Sama Veda version of Aho. Aho becomes Haavu. Narada Muni is considered originator of music. By chanting the name Narada continuously, the word becomes Tarana. In a similar manner Aho became Haavu. Aho means ascharya or astonishment. The Upanishad is astonished: How did I become samsara? How did infinite become finite? How did Nirvikara become Savikara? How is paramatma appearing as Jivatma? This astonishment is repeated three times indicating a superlative degree of astonishment.

Aham annam, Aham annam Aham annam chanting three times , here Annam in shloka means object of experience. I alone appear as object of experience. I am bhojya Prapancha or the object of experience; I am the bhokta, the annadaha, the subject as well. I am playing both the roles, of experiencer and experienced, as in a dream. In dream I become experiencer as well as the experience.

ShlokaKrit in shloka means the instrument that links Bhokta and Bhojyam. Thus, seer and seen are linked by the eye; hearer and the heard are linked by the hearing instrument; Pramata and Prameya are linked by Pramanam. Karta and Karma are linked by Karanam. In all these, I am, all the three factors of subject, object and the experience. Thus, I am the Triputi. I am Nirvikapla Aham appearing as Savikalpla Prapancha.

That which is beyond time and space cannot be divided. I am the creator Brahma, the first-born. Who is this Brahmaji? I am that Brahmaji. I am Hiranyagarbha, the Prathamaja. I am oldest product in entire universe.

In universe I am first born, even before the Devas came into being. I appear as Saguna as well as Nirguna Swarupam.

The word Nabhayi is Nabhi. I am the center of immortality. I appear as mortal universe as well. Originally, I am immortal.

Gyani now wants to remind people of Anna Danam. Gyani says normally people consider the best way of saving is by not giving. Vedas, however, say the best way of saving is to give to the world. When you give, you will be fed by the world, when you need it. Save by giving, say the Vedas.

Ma means annam. One who gives annam to others is really saving annam for his own future use.

Now Upanishad brings in Vedanta as well. One who gives Me the annam, he will get annam back.

If you don’t share the food with others the unshared food will not nourish the eater; rather the food will destroy eater. The food eats the non-sharing eater and destroys him.

I, annam, will enter into non-sharing eater. I, in the form of annam, as a Toxin, will destroy him. Therefore, utilize annam properly. So anna danam is important.

Abhyabhavam, I pervade the Vishwam, universe. This I is not a body specific I, rather I as Atma am all pervading; just as in a wave, I am the water.

I, the Pancha Kosha Vilakshanam, aham, I pervade.

Suvarna Jyoti means self-effulgent or eternally effulgent. I am self-effulgent like Surya Prakasha. With this quotation, the shloka is complete. I am Brahman.

The phalam is over. Enjoy Brahmanhood. Upanishad now says whoever gains this knowledge he will enjoy jivan mukti. Thus ends Chapter 3 as well as the Taitrtirya Upanishad.

Take away:

1. Identification with body is Ahamkara.
2. Mamakara is ownership of external world. Thus our external object identification is in form of Mama Griham, Mama Putram, etc are a result of Mamakara.
3. Danam is emphasized.

Vedas say the best way of saving is to give to the world.

Thus, when you give, you will be fed by the world when you need it. Save by giving, say the Vedas.

Not sharing food is considered bad.

With Best Wishes,

Ram Ramaswamy

Greetings All,

Starting his talk on chapter 9, Swamiji said, we have completed chapter 8, a unique chapter dealing with Krama Mukti, a topic discussed by the Upanishads as well. Sri Krishna is trying to cover all aspects of the Upanishads including Krama Mukti.

And in this krama mukti topic, a person is asked to follow saguna Ishvara upasana throughout the life and a person need not come to Vedanta at all; because Vedanta deals with nirguna Ishvara Gyanam which some people may find either difficult or may not be able to follow and therefore without coming to

Vedanta, a person follows saguna upasana, and even dies thinking of only moksha or Ishvara as the goal, and such a person will not have punarjanma at all; which means no punarjanma in this loka; he will go to Brahma loka and attain Gyanam and moksha from there.

Sri Krishna is not interested in promoting Krama Mukti as it is meant only for inferior people. I too do not consider all of you inferior in any way. So Sri Krishna wants everybody to obtain Jivan mukti in this very lifetime because we would like to live a happy life here. After death whether we will be reborn or not, it is not even verifiable; whereas here the benefit is something verifiable and therefore Sri Krishna wants to emphasize only jivan mukti.

In this chapter, we are not gong to be confined to Saguna Upasana since we are interested in Jivan Mukti. We wish to spend more time on Nirguna Ishwara Gyanam, which means Vedanta sravana manana nidhidhyasanam; which will give jivatma-paramatma aikya Gyanam in this life itself; and we will be able to enjoy jivan mukti.

Thus in Chapters 9,10, 11 and 12 respectively, Sri Krishna is going to prescribe Upasanas as the means of Vedanta Vichara. Ch 9 concentrates on Nirguna Ishwara Gyanam as a means of liberation. Saguna Upasana is only a stepping-stone towards it. In this regard this chapter is similar to Ch 7.

Shloka # 1:

श्री भगवानुवाच
इदं तु ते गुह्यतमं प्रवक्ष्याम्यनसूयवे।
ज्ञानं विज्ञानसहितं यज्ज्ञात्वा मोक्ष्यसेऽशुभात्।।9.1।।

Now I shall reveal to you, who carp not, this most recondite knowledge and its realization by mastering which you will be liberated from evil.

Sri Krishna introduces the subject in the first three shlokas. Subject is Ishwara Gyanam. Ishwara consists of inferior and superior natures i.e., Apara Prakriti and Para Prakriti. AP is Saguna Swarupam, the personal God. Even Vishwa Rupam is AP as it has name and form. Whatever is subject to change is inferior.

On the other hand the higher nature of the Lord is beyond time and space, which is the absolute nature, which is called chaitanya svarupam, which is also called para prakrti (PP); If you remember the seventh chapter the higher nature that is attribute-less; change-less; division-less; consciousness; is the higher nature of God.

The lower self is full of modifications, divisions, and is material in nature. In this chapter Arjuna, I am going to give you information on both Gyanam (lower nature) and Vigyanam ( higher nature). Gyana Vigyana Yogam was the title of Chapter 7 as well.

When you have got saguna Ishvara Gyanam; certainly you will see the differences between Ishvara and you; therefore saguna Ishvara Gyanam comes under bheda Gyanam or dvaita Gyanam. God is different; I am different; God is perfection; I am imperfection; God is great; I am miserable; this is always saguna; whereas when a person comes to the higher nature of God; since there are no attributes at all; there will be nothing to differentiate between God and me; Therefore when I come to vigyanam; it will be abheda Gyanam; or advaita Gyanam; and O Arjuna! I will give you both bheda and abheda Gyanam; I will give you both dvaita and advaita Gyanam; both saguna and nirguna Gyanam this is what I am going to impart to you.

What is the glory of this teaching? It is a rare knowledge that you cannot get anywhere else.

Citing an anecdote Swamiji said, I used to teach in Govindappanayakar Street; a very crowded street. Here there was a huge temple but not many frequented the temple. Even the few that came only wanted to talk about Saguna Ishwara.

The word secret, in shloka, is used to capture everybody’s interest as well. It is not mere study. You will obtain practical benefits.

Therefore Sri Krishna promises that gaining this knowledge, you will be released from the ashubham samsara. You will be released from a samsara; which consists of all kinds of psychological problems such as raga-dvesha; kama krodha, lobha, moha, mada, matsarya, etc. All kinds of agony and pain that you have, will all go away and you will have a free life called Jivan mukti; this is the benefit of this knowledge.

Why did I choose to teach you? I chose you because you have a rare quality of a non-critical mind.  The word Asuya means critical indicating a negative attitude and even intellectual arrogance. It is also called Vidya Garvam. This is a weakness. Arjuna is intellectually humble and has an open mindedness. Arjuna! You have that attitude and hence you are Ansuya, one who is not looking for faults. Dayanada Swamiji used to say, Asuya means looking for faults, or one with a proofreader mentality.

Shloka # 2:

राजविद्या राजगुह्यं पवित्रमिदमुत्तमम्।
प्रत्यक्षावगमं धर्म्यं सुसुखं कर्तुमव्ययम्।।9.2।।

It is the sovereign science, the sovereign mystery, the best of purifiers. Its apprehension is immediate; it is righteous, imperishable and exceedingly easy to achieve.

Sri Krishna continues with glory of this Ishwara Gyana Mahima. This Royal Knowledge is greatest among all disciplines of knowledge. Why is it called Raja Vidya? The higher Nirguna Swarupam is the highest knowledge. So therefore this knowledge deals with reality; all the other disciplines of knowledge, deal with the unreal or mithya; Therefore this is glorious.

And secondly, this is the only liberating knowledge; which will give you fulfillment at all levels.  We generally have a sense of limitation at different levels:

A physical sense of limitation as such not satisfied with my physical personality.

Then there is dissatisfaction with my psychological personality; I am not loved by all people; I am not loved by my son; my daughter does not talk to me; these are psychological deprivations that cause other problems. So, psychologically dissatisfied.

There is greater dissatisfaction for the intellectual; an intellectual person wants to understand the creation in its totality but there are many questions unanswered, even though he has studied a lot; and therefore intellectual dissatisfaction is another sense of limitation.

So, for a rational person, there is a sense of limitation at intellectual level.

Vedanta is a wisdom that destroys the limitations at all the levels. It solves the emotional problems as well as intellectual problems. That is why in the 7th chapter, Sri Krishna said you do not have anything further to know for intellectual satisfaction; it gives total intellectual satisfaction also; and therefore it is greatest knowledge; it is rajavidya and at the same time it is the greatest secret as it is not easily available.

The next glory of this knowledge is that it is greatest purifier. It removes all impurities such as punya, papa karmas, psychological impurities and Agyanam. All impurities are destroyed. It is the greatest purifier. We will also not acquire impurities in future after obtaining this knowledge.

This knowledge is available here and now. The experience can be obtained here and now. This knowledge is in keeping with Vedic teachings.

We consider Vedas as basic source of knowledge. Anything not in keeping with Vedas cannot survive. Buddhism is an example. Buddha rejected the Vedas as nastika. Nastika means non-believer of Vedas. For, this reason Buddhism was not accepted in India.

During time of Sri Krishna Vedas were very important; hence his emphasis on Vedic tradition. Sri Krishna does not claim to be the originator, rather, he says, it is the Vedic teaching. Even though Buddha is accepted as an Avatara, his teaching is not.

And gaining this knowledge and jivanmukti is far easier; you can get nirguna Ishvara Gyanam and Jivan mukti more comfortably than krama mukti; because for krama mukthi there are rules to be followed; not only you have to do upasana throughout, with consistency, more importantly at the time of death, you have to sit in proper position; you have to withdraw all the pranas and sense organs and bring it to the heart and then you have to force it through the sushumna nadi, and carefully release it through bramarandram and then you go to Brahma loka and attend Vedanta classes there. Therefore, krama mukthi is tough. Compared to kramamukthi jivanmukthi is easier and you can get the benefit here and now. And therefore Sri Krishna says compared to krama mukti, jivan mukti is far easier.

Finally, this knowledge is imperishable. One gets benefit of Moksha. Remember even going to higher Lokas is a perishable benefit. Such a wonderful Gyanam I am going to impart to You, O Arjuna.

Shloka # 3:

अश्रद्दधानाः पुरुषा धर्मस्यास्य परन्तप।
अप्राप्य मां निवर्तन्ते मृत्युसंसारवर्त्मनि।।9.3।।

Men who have little faith in this spiritual law, O hero! Return to the way of repeated deaths, failing to reach Me.

Sri Krishna says in spite of all glorifications of this wisdom unfortunately many people don’t resort to this Ishwara Gyanam.  It is even provided freely. But still, many people don’t vote for it. People don’t trust it as it is free and touts the highest benefits. Many people don’t have shradha in this teaching.

Dharma here means Vedantic teaching. What happens to them, the one’s who don’t opt for this teaching? All such people lose an opportunity to attain Me, the infinite Ananda. The loss of infinite ananda is an infinite loss for them. They will definitely continue in Samsara in the cycle of birth and death. In Samsara, Mrithyu is the biggest problem or fear. It is a permanent source of insecurity. Such a person stays in this insecurity.

Shloka # 4:

मया ततमिदं सर्वं जगदव्यक्तमूर्तिना।
मत्स्थानि सर्वभूतानि न चाहं तेष्ववस्थितः।।9.4।।

The entire world has been pervaded by Me in my unmanifest form. All beings dwell in Me, but I dwell not in them.

With the previous shloka, introduction is over. Subject of Ishwara Gyanam and its glory were introduced. Shradha and Anasuya were also introduced.

Citing story of Athri, Anasuya is Atri’s wife.

And why has Athri got Anasuya? Atrihi means the one who has transcended the three. The three are: stula, sukshma and karana sharira trayam; another way of seeing it is as one who has transcended satva, rajas and tamo gunas. Such a person will never have the problem of asuya and whoever is atri, his wife, will be anasuya; this is the symbolic significance Atri and Anasuya.

Now Sri Krishna enters subject matter, the central theme of chapter # 9 and this continues from shloka # 4 till Shloka # 10. This central theme is said to contain the essence of all Upanishads. Here the higher nature of God, Para Prakriti (PP), is discussed.

God, in his higher nature, is formless. Vyaktam means perceptible to Indriyas. Avyaktam means it is not perceptible to senses of sight, touch, taste, smell and hearing.

Lord in his higher nature is not available to any sense organs. Lord is free from all attributes. So, God with a form, is a lower nature of God. Thus Krishnamurthy, Ramamurthy are all forms of god. If you experience God as an object, it is a lower form of God. Vedanta says they are still not the real one. How do you experience the higher God? It is free from all attributes. Once you understand God is formless, the question comes where will he be located; you cannot have location; when will that Lord come; that Lord can never come; that Lord can never go as well.

All this is possible with Saguna Ishwara. The Ultimate one is one who never comes and goes. Once you discover this God, he is always there.

And the next glory or feature of that God is that he is Nirgunam or avyaktam. He is also all pervading.

Ram Ramaswamy

Ch 3, Anuvaka 10, shloka # 3:

Now follows the meditation upon the adhidaivika; as satisfaction in the rains, as power of lightning; as fame in the cattle, as light in the stars, as off-spring, immortality and joy in the organs of procreation and as all in the akasha.

Swamiji said we are in anuvakaha # 10, the final one of Brghuvalli. After talking about Athiti Puja and Anna Danam the Upanishad is now discussing some more upasanas. They are: Adhyatmika Upasana, Adhidaivika Upasana and Akasha Upasana. They are three types of meditations.

We have complete Adhyatmika Upasana. Now we are in adhidavika upasana. In this there is one odd Upasana that really belongs to adhyatmika upasana. It is a meditation on one of the organs of the body. It is meditation on the organ of procreation. This organ is also looked upon as a sacred one. Everything given to us by God is sacred. No organ in itself is good or bad. An organ is only an instrument. Good or bad depends on how it is used by the Karta. Thus, a surgeon for healing uses a knife, while same knife maybe used by a criminal to hurt somebody. Gyana-indriyas are neither good nor bad; it same with Karma indriyas; it so for the organ of procreation as well. May you meditate on Upastha. Meditate on power of propagation or the generative power or Prajathihi.

The other power is amrithum or immortalizing power of oneself. Through propagation every species immortalizes itself. The material cause of a child is the parent; flesh and blood of parent is now in child. So it is an indirect form of perpetuation or immortalizing. Thus we have the saying that when one dies he is survived by so and so. Immortality is always ananda. That is why we crave for it. So, we take pictures. That is one of the reasons we name a child. Hence the reason we start an endowment in a name. Mortality is Dukham. Immortality is ananda. One’s child is ananda. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says one’s son is ananda. Parents consider their child special and unique. He sees child as himself or an extension of himself. So it leads to prajathihi, then to amrutam and through it to ananda. Through these three glories, prajathihi, amritum and ananda we should meditate on organ of procreation. It is an Adhyatmika upasana.

Chapter 3, Anuvakaha # 10, Shloka # 3 continued:

The adhidavika Upasanas are now discussed. Here natural forces are seen as Ishwara.

Vrishti: Rain is one of the natural forces. Drought is a problem in some parts of India. It has many affects. It is crucial for human beings. It brings food and many other benefits. When rain comes don’t take it for granted. Hence the idea of storing rain water and harvesting it. Meditate on it as fulfillment. Eating well and drinking water requires rain. Several Upanishads talk of rain. Even Tirukural talks of the glory of rain.

Lightning and Thunder:   It is also known as Vidhyut Brahma Upasana. Keno Upanishad also talks about it. Meditate on lightning. Meditate on its power and energy. We unfortunately cannot tap this energy yet.

Pashu: Cattle or wealth was worshipped. Cattle are worshipped through fame. Cows, in those days, represented wealth. So, a wealthy person is well known in society. Whether a scholar is well known or not, a wealthy person is. A wealthy man can perform a lot of dharma for society; hence he is well known. So, see Brahman as fame in Pashu.

Nakshatreshu:  See the glory of Brahman in stars. The lights of the stars are their originals light not a borrowed one. Gayathri mantra refers to Savithaha, which is about stars. Meditate on Brahman in the light of the star and the sun.

The whole creation is seen as God’s Vibhuti or Vishwarupa Upasana. Sarvatra Ishwara darshanam is goal of Upanishad. See God in your body as well as around you.

Akasha Upasana:

This is the subtlest of all upasanas. In akasha alone everything exists. So everything is akasha. In Brahmanandavalli, akasha is one that creates; it is karanam of Vayu, the karyam. Agni is also creation as is jalam; all finally come from Akasha. Nothing exists separate from akasha. Akasha is closest to Brahman. So it is the best Alambanam or symbol for Brahman. Both Akasha and Brahman are invisible; both are non-tangible; both are non-pollutable; both are non-divisible; both are ekam; both are all pervading; both are sarva-adharam. There are many features that are common to both. Both are sukshmam. If one trains one’s mind to meditate on akasha our intellect will get refined enough to understand Brahman. Hence it is an important Upasana. So, Upanishad gives us a group of Akasha Upasanas next.

Ch 3, Anuvaka 10, shloka # 4:

 Let him meditate the Supreme as the support; he becomes well supported. Let one worship Brahman as great, one becomes great. Let one worship IT as mind; he becomes thoughtful. Let him worship That as namah (obeisance); to him all desires shall come to pay homage. Let him meditate upon That Supreme; he becomes supremacy in life. Let him contemplate upon That as the “destructive aspect” of Brahman; all those enemies who hate him and those rivals whom he does not like “die around him”.

This is the last group of Upasanas of the Upanishad.

All upasanas here are related to akasha. Different glories of akasha are meditated upon. The benefit of this meditation is that intellect becomes subtle, as it has to conceive the inconceivable.

Prathishta: Or support.

 Shankaracharya says don’t take akasha as inert; rather take it as Devata. It is the support of everything. May you meditate on this Support. The phalam depends on the type of meditation performed. Nishkama Upasana will refine the intellect. Sakama Upasana will get the person enough support during his life. It is the Phalam. Upto middle age we don’t worry about support. As one grows older our sense of insecurity grows. So, practice this upsana. One’s with insecurity should practice this upasana.

Shankaracharya says same phalams are applicable to other adhidaivika upasanas as well. As the upsana, so is the benefit. Thus, with upasana on rains one gets fulfillment. It is the same with Pashu and Nakshatra as well. If one is not interested in the benefits he will certainly obtain spiritual gains.

Mahaha:  Here he sees Brahman as the glorious one. It appears as if it is infinite; in reality it is not. However, it is subtlest. Here meditator becomes mahan. This is the benefit of this upasana.

Manaha: It is the thinking faculty or intelligence. So, meditate on akasha as intelligence. He will have benefit of intelligence.

Namaha: May you meditate on Akasha as Namaha. All his desires will perform namaskara to him. They will come to him without asking. Meditation on service gets the service of objects and people. This is the phalam he gets.

Brahma: The infinite. May you meditate on Akasha as the limitless one. He will also become limitless in terms of glory, family extension, fame etc.

Tataha: means the Akasha Tatvam. Parimara means destructive agent; Nashakaranam means Akasha tatvam is the destructive agent of Ishwara. At time of pralaya everything resolves into akasha finally, in the reverse order of creation. Thus during dissolution, the process reverses as follows:

Prithvi>Jalam>Agni>Vayu>Akasha.

Therefore, Akasha is considered an agent of destruction. If you meditate on this destructive power of akasha, all your enemies will be destroyed. Enemies are of two types:

• Disliking enemies are ones who do not like you.
• Disliked enemies are the ones who I don’t like.

Both types of enemies will perish. A question can come up as to why the Upanishad is talking about destruction of people one likes or dislikes? What the Upanishad is communicating to us that it is enmities that are destroyed. That person is no more an enemy. They will not dislike me anymore. Their attitude towards me will change. I too will stop disliking my enemies; my attitude too will change. So, an all round attitudinal change comes about due to this Upasana. With this akasha related upasanas are all over.

Suppose the Taittiriya Upanishad ends in an upasansa, we will tend to remember the last upasana; this is a human tendency. Therefore, Taittiriya Upanishad wants to remind us that Brahma Gyanam is still its final goal. So it concludes by reminding us of Brahma Gyanam and of jivatma paramatma aikya gyanam. This topic was also discussed in Chapter 2, Brahmanandavalli, via a mahavakya. The Upanishad now talks about Brahma Gyanam and its phalam.

Ch 2, Anuvakaha 10, Shloka # 5:

The Reality in the core of man and the Reality that is in the sun are one. He knows this, on leaving this world, first attains this Atman made of food, next attains this Atman made of Prana, next this Atman made of mind, next this Atman made of buddhi and lastly, this Atman made of bliss. And, thereafter, eating what he likes and assuming any form according to his wishes, he roams upon the face of this globe and sits singing the following Sama song of joy.

The earlier part of this mantra has already been quoted in Brahmananda Valli, section Vi.

Meaning wise we can say this portion is same and has been lifted from chapter 2. It says anandatma is jivatma. Aditya is Ishwara. Atmananda is same in everyone. The difference is only in reflected ananda. Bimba ananda is same in all. Prati-bimba ananda varies from person to person. Experiential pleasure varies from person to person while original ananda is my own nature. Original ananda, my nature, does not vary.

With Best Wishes,

Ram Ramaswamy

Swamiji provided a summary of the chapter today. He said this chapter is in the middle section of the Gita. The middle section is from Chapter 7 through chapter 12. Here one of the sadhanas highlighted is Upasana. Upasana is discussed all the way up to chapter 12. It is an important sadhana. It is Saguna Brahma Upasana. It is defined as Saguna Brahma Vishaya Manasa Vyaparah. It is a mental activity. Puja is not Upasana. Puja is a physical activity as such it is a part of Karma Yoga. Japa and Parayana are also part of Karma Yoga. Upasana, however, is a Manasa Vyapara. Upasana is not a mental activity such as say worry. It is a Saguna Brahma Vishaya; or mental activity associated with a God with attributes. This upasana is one of the important topics of Madhyama Shatakam. Two types of upasanas were discussed.

1. Sakama Upasana performed for Material benefits in this world or other worlds. Going to a higher Loka is also a material benefit. It includes miracles. Miracles are not considered spiritual.
2. Nishkama Upasana is where one practices meditation without hankering for material benefits. This nishkama upasana is the topic of the middle section. It is meant for inner and spiritual growth. Nishkama upasana is of two types.

First one one is sakama upasana, in which a person practices this for material benefits; either material benefits belonging to this world or the material benefits belonging to the other world. And remember going to higher lokas, also will come under material benefits only because, higher lokas means superior material pleasures. This includes miraculous powers; powers to do miracles; they also will come under material benefits; remember; miracles have nothing to do with spirituality. All this a person can accomplish by practicing sakama upasana.

And there is another form of upasana, which is nishkama upasana, in which a person practices the same meditation, saguna Brahma vishaya manasa vyaparah; but without hankering for material benefit. So without seeking material benefits, a person can practice nishkama upasana. And this nishkama upasana is the primary topic of the middle section. Sri Krishna is not keeping in mind sakama upasana at all in the Gita, he deals with the topic of nishkama upasana primarily. That is an upasana, which is meant for the inner growth of a person; which is meant for the spiritual progress of a person. A person who values spiritual growth more than material accomplishments practises Nishkama upasana; and this Nishkama upasana is divided into two types.

Nishkama Upasana First Type:

In one, a person practices nishkama upasana for a length of time, which will give sufficient spiritual maturity or inner growth or spiritual qualification. The qualifications which are required for Gyana yoga abhyasah; and if a person has acquired those qualifications, known as sadhana cathushtaya sampathi, technically Then he withdraws from nishkama upasana and turns his attention towards Gyana yogaha or Vedanta vichara. Gyana Yoga does not come under upasana.

In what way is Gyana yoga different from upasana? Upasana concentrates on saguna Ishvara; whereas Gyana yoga concentrates upon nirguna Ishvara, the attribute less Brahman; and this nirguna Ishvara is persuaded not by meditation; but through Vedanta sravana manana nidhidhyasana; Gyana yoga means learning from an acharya. Gyana yoga involves Vedanta sravana consistently for a length of time under the guidance of a competent acharya. And this will give the knowledge of nirgunam Brahma or nirguna Ishvara and then by practising mananam, this knowledge is consolidated, made free from all the doubts in the intellect; and by nidhidhyasanam; this nirguna Ishvara Gyanam is assimilated; all these are done in this life itself.

So thus practice nishkama upasana; acquire qualifications, withdraw from nishkama upasana; apply yourselves in vedanta vichara or shravana manana nidhidhyasana and attain nirguna brahma Gyana nishta; and by acquiring Gyana Nishta; a person gets liberation; here and now, which is called sadyomukthihi; or jivan mukthih;

And having attained jivan mukthi and enjoyed the benefit of jivan mukthi, throughout the life, at the end of prarabdha, this Gyani dies and after the death, the Gyani does not have any travel at all; there is no shukla gati; there is no krishna gati; there is no gati at all; Gyani is one with the Lord; here and now. This is one route of nishkama upasana; it is also known as sadyomukthi route or jivan mukthi route.

And this is the niskama upasana topic, which Krishna wants to highlight in the Gita; because he wants all of us to get liberation; here and now; not postponing; for Posthumous benefit. Sri Krishna dwells upon that; and therefore nishkama upasana as a means of jivan mukthi is the primary sadhana, Sri Krishna deals with in the 7th chapter, in the 9th chapter, in the 10th, in the 11th and in the 12th also. Whereas in the 8^th chapter alone, in the odd man out chapter, the unique and peculiar chapter, Sri Krishna deals with nishkama upasana of another type.

Nishkama Upasana, Second type:

Here a person practices nishkama Ishvara upasana or meditation; he does not want any material benefit other than moksha; and the difference is he continues nishkama upasana throughout the life. Whereas the other person practices nishkama upasana and changes the direction and comes Gyana yoga; whereas in the second type, a person does not come to nirguna Ishvara Gyanam at all; he does not come to Vedanta sravanam manana etc.; Why, whatever be the reason; either he feels he has not qualified enough to think of nirgunam or he does not get an acharya for nirguna Ishvara vichara or for some other problem; a person continues nishkama upasana throughout the life; and because of that his mind is imbued with Ishvara chintha in the form Rama, Krishna or Devi and naturally at the time of death also, his mind thinks of only God; because what you value most in life is the one remembered at the time of death.

So, technically he is an Agyani but nevertheless a nishkama Upasaka. So, remembering God at time of death, is the topic of chapter 8. He does not get liberation here. He travels through shukla gathi to Brahma Loka. There he changes track to Nirguna Ishwara Upasana. Brahmaji himself teaches him. He gets liberation there. This route is called Krama Mukti and it is the topic of chapter 8. Sri Krishna is not suggesting this path to us. He prefers following the jivan mukti route. Therefore chapter 8 can also be called Krama Mukti Chapter. With this background we have to study this chapter.

Shlokas 1-4: Sri Krishna answers questions of Arjuna. Arjuna asked seven questions in Chapter 7. The questions were:

1. What is Brahman?
2. What is Adhyatmam?
3. What is Karma? While dictionary meaning of word is action, what does it mean here?
4. What is adhibhutam?
5. What is adhidaivam?
6. Who or what is Adhiyagna?

6.b. How does Adhiyagna reside in the body; a side question.

7.a. What is significance of remembering god at time of death?

7.b. How can one remember god at time of death?

The seven questions are described in chapter 7, shlokas 7.29 and 7.30.

First six questions were answered in brief answers in shlokas 1 and 2.

Adhyatmam and Brahman are one and same that is the consciousness principle. Two names come from different angles of observation; just like a person is a father, brother, husband etc depending on the relationship. Person is same, however, he is called by different titles.

Thus one consciousness from an individual level is adhyatmam. Same consciousness from macro level is called Brahman.

Adhibhutam is the material universe made of the five elements or the pancha bhutas.

Then adhi daivam; is the hiranyagarbha tatvam or the total mind, governing the material universe. Just as the individual body is governed by the individual mind, and it is your mind that is driving this body; Similarly the total adibhutham is governed by the total mind; which is called hiranyagarba tatvam; which is called adhidaivam.

Adhiyagnam is Ishwara Tatvam that is above Hiranyagarbha Tatvam. He is the Karma Phala Data and the one who presides over laws of Karma. He is seated in my own body noting every action of mine.

Karma is responsible for creation and thus also responsible for punyam and papam. One’s sukham and dukham exhaust our punyams and papams. It requires a body to exhaust punyam and papam. Since there are innumerable jivas with their respective and many punyams and papams, is the reason God has created this law of Karma.

Shloka 5-14:

Six topics were addressed in shlokas 1 and 2. Seventh question was then addressed from shloka # 5 to Shloka # 14. This dealt with the significance of remembering god at time of death. Whatever is remembered at time of death shows the personality of the individual. As we grow older our will power gets weaker and weaker. We are dominated by our vasanas and less by our will. Even addiction, the first time you will be strong and you can say no; but once you don’t say no, a vasana forms in form of samskara and you will become weaker. This goes on and on and you will become weaker and weaker with addiction. In AAA they say surrender to God.

As we grow older our habits become stronger than our will power. Our final thoughts are determined by our lifestyle. The last thought is an indication of my lifestyle. Significantly it also determines my next janma as well. Since our will is weak and Vasanas strong; we need to develop good vasanas starting now. So, therefore what you read; what you utter, what you see, and the people that you move with; should all be noble and good, so that they will generate shubha vasanas.

Only them our subconscious mind will be saturated with mangala samaskaras. This way, even in a comatose mind, there will be Shubha Vasana. This will lead to Ishwara prapthihi.

Let everything you do including your satsang help you. Choose even the company you keep carefully. Initially this will be an effort but gradually it will become a habit.

You can use any symbol or Devata (alambanam). One can even use Omkara. The symbol is used to remember god through out life. In such a person, at time of death, his mind withdraws and he thinks of God and then dies. Nishkama Upasaka remembers god effortlessly. This we saw till shloka # 14.

Shlokas # 15-22:

Human beings have two types of goals. First goal is God himself; and the second goal is the world that is other than god. God symbolizes immortality, security, peace and happiness. Hence we say Achytayanamaha that means one who does not slip from immortality. If I chose any other goal than god keep in mind that it is risky. The object of your goal may leave me or I may leave it, at any time.

All the 14 lokas and the higher positions will also come under time and space and therefore there is nothing wrong in using them; nothing wrong in handling them; but don’t depend on them. For security and peace depend upon Ishwara. These two goals known as Shreyas and Preyas were discussed in shlokas # 15 through 22.

Shlokas 23-27:

Two types of paths leading to two types of goals were discussed.

Krishna Gathi: leads to finite goals; it will provide you with enjoyment but you will have to return from some higher loka than Brahma loka.

Shukla Gathi: takes one to Brahma Loka, where he gets Gyanam which in turn leads one to Krama mukti.

One who goes through Krishna gathi is a Karmi or a ritualist. These rituals can include Pancha Maha Yagna, social service and all such activities.

One who travels the Shukla gathi meanwhile is a Nishkama upasaka and he attains god in the form of Krama mukti.

In all this we are only discussing a Karmi or Upasaka. We have not included Gyani in this discussion. So, we are talking about an Agyani Karmi or an Agyani Upasaka. Gyani has been excluded from chapter 8.

Shloka # 28: concludes the chapter. Between karma and upasana, Sri Krishna says, upasana is better as it gives Krama mukti after death. A Karmi, however will not get any mukti. So, Arjuna! choose Upasana, says Sri Krishna.

Sri Krishna then glorifies the Nishkama Upasaka Yogi. This chapter is called Akshara Brahma Yoga.

Take away:

What you read; what you utter, what you see, and the people that you move with; should all be noble and good, so that they will generate shubha vasanas.

Ram Ramaswamy

Ch 3, Anuvakaha 10, Shloka # 1:

Do not turn away anybody who seeks shelter and lodging. This is the vow. Let one, therefore, acquire much food by any means whatsoever. They should say: “Food is ready”. If the food is prepared in the best manner, the food is given to him (the guest) also in the best manner. If the food is prepared in a medium manner, food is also given to him in a medium manner. If food is prepared in the lowest manner, the same food is also given to him in a lower manner. He who knows thus, will obtain all the rewards as mentioned above.

Continuing his teaching Swamiji said, we are in the tenth and final anuvaka of Brghuvalli. Here

Upanishad prescribes some more disciplines and upasanas. Two Vrtham’s were introduced in the last class. They were: 1) Athiti Puja and 2) Anna danam.

Anna danam has been glorified in our tradition. Scriptures say: no danam is equal to anna danam and Jala danam; No vrtham is greater than Ekadasi vrtham; No mantra is greater than gayathri mantra; and no Devi is greater than mother.

May you procure enough annam. It is not enough to have food but we should also have the heart to share it with others. Generosity is a faculty that requires a lot of punyam. They say that among 100 people you will only find one with courage; one with wisdom is found only one in a thousand; a scholar who can communicate what he knows is rarer still and found only one in a hundred thousand; but the rarest of all is one who wants to give, such a person is rarely found.

Internal bankruptcy is weakness in a human being. The ability to give is a big internal strength. May you experience a willingness to share. We saw until this in last class.

Even in anna danam there is a gradation. Quality of danam varies as per his attitude at time of giving. Following three grades are seen:

• Superior one where both in verbal and body language indicate that one is giving from his heart.
• Inferior one known as adhama danam.
• Intermediate one is where one has a neutral attitude towards giving. This is also known as Madhyam danam.

According to one’s danam; and according to one’s attitude at time of giving; one gets dana phalam.

In what form will I get the result of danam? Phalam is received as annam from others. As I give, so I receive. You will be treated exactly as you treat others. The world is like a mirror; smile begets smile while frown begets frown.

If annam is prepared and served in best manner the anna data will also get his phalam in same manner. One who does so in a medium manner gets a result that is an also medium in effect.

One who has understood this basic principle that the world is like a bank where whatever good you do is a deposit in this bank that you can withdraw later on; be it sukham or dukham. Benefit of this knowledge is that he performs the best anna danam and accordingly receives the best from the world.

Ch 3, Anuvakaha 10, Shloka # 2:

The supreme resides in speech as well as “well-being”; in prana and apana as acquirer and preserver; in the hands as action, in the legs as movement, in the anus as the activity of excretion. Thus, is the meditation of Brahman in respect of man.

Now, the Upanishad wants to prescribe two groups of meditations.

• Adhyatmika Brahma Upsanani: here one meditates on his own inner world.
• Adhidaivika Brahma Upasanani: here one meditates upon an unmanifest ideal.

Adhyatmika Brahma Upsananani:

Here each one is a meditation on Brahman or Brahma upsana. Different organs of body are used as a locus of invocation. Normally we take an external symbol such as lingam or shaligramam as a pratikam (alambanam). God is invoked on the symbol.  On the symbol, upsana body organs are invoked. They are internal and subjective hence called adhyatmika. Brahman is meditated upon as various faculties or powers in respective organs.

I take an organ, see its power and take that power as manifestation of god. It is similar to vibhuti yoga of gita. It is not my glory but as God’s glory manifest in that organ. Adhyatmika is replaced by the word Manushi in shloka. Also Upasanani is replaced by the word Samaagya.

What are the organs meditated upon?

1. Vachi:

First organ meditated upon is vachi. In organ of speech may you meditate on wellbeing or Kshema. We have to add the words Brahma Upasati meaning meditates upon.

In speech one sees God as wellbeing. Vak indriya has only the faculty of speech. Why does the Upanishad say it has wellbeing? If speech is auspicious, then it will bring all round wellbeing. Inappropriate speech will bring discord. In the tip of tongue Lakshmi Devi will come. Where inferior words are used amangalam will come. Friends and relatives are retained by good speech. Nobody can withstand a rude mouthed person. Even bondage is at tip of tongue. A speech on a negative topic also has its own results. If you blaspheme, many countries prescribe capital punishment.

The best ornament of a person is his speech; here absence of other ornaments will not be noticed. With bad speech, one’s all other good qualities are also negated.

 Pray to Saraswati Devi that I speak only good words. Good words don’t cost anything.

• Yoga Kshema:

This resides in the exhalation and inhalation breath. Both Prana represents accumulation of money wealth health etc and is also known as Yoga.

Apana represents Kshema meaning preservation of accumulation.

Thus, both, Yoga and Kshema reside in breathing. Only so long as you breathe there is possibility of yoga and kshema. In this context a story by Tolstoy was cited. A man offered his huge land to anyone who would run from sunrise to sunset. Whatever distance he covered would be given to him as his land. One person ran and ran until he was about to fall. He wanted to run a little more but then he fell down and died. Who will enjoy the land now? So, a Bhokta has to survive to enjoy. All yoga kshema is relevant only when breath is there. So, meditate on this breath.

• Karmeti Hastha yoho:

Meditate on power of activity residing in hand. Karma affects everything including moksha. Karma does not directly affect moksha but it does so indirectly as it contributes to chitta shudhi. With Chitta shudhi one gets Gyanam and then Moksha. Karma also gets all four purusharthas as well. At end of Rudram mantra, man thanks his own hands. We recognize our hand only when becomes powerless due to a disease. Rudram says, look at both hands. Left hand is good, as it performs noble karma such as shiva puja. Right hand is even more divine as it is used for abhishekha. May you meditate on God in your hand.

• Padayoho:

Don’t forget importance of legs. You have to walk to temple. Legs are the power of locomotion that transports hands.

• Vimuktiriti payayoho: Meditate on organs of excretion. Vimukti means emptying, cleansing, liberation from impurities.

From this we learn every organ of body is sacred.

Don’t look down upon any organ. Even though the organ of excretion appears impure, it is keeping the body healthy and fit. When one gets diarrhea or constipation one understands the importance of this organ.

In Shikshavalli it said that I have to look upon myself as sacred only then, can I claim, I am Brahmasmi. Don’t have an inferiority complex. If I don’t respect myself how will I get respect from others. When somebody says, you are wonderful, you wonder! Learn to respect yourself.

In Vedanta body is presented as anatma. We are asked to give up deha abhimana. This can lead to Deha dvesha. Don’t have attachment or hatred but look at body as an instrument of liberation.

With this the first group of Upasanas are over.

A small point made by shankaracharya is worth noting. Whenever Vedas talk of karma or upsana they also talk of phalam. Usually at the end there is a phala shruti. Here, however, the Upanishad has not mentioned any phalam. Shankaracharya says we have to supply them. Two fold phalams are mentioned.

• Sakama upsana phalam
• Nishkama upsana phalam.

Nishkama upsana gives spiritual growth. Sakama Upasana benefits will depend upon the type of meditation performed.

The saying goes, as one thinks, so one becomes. If one performs Kshema Brahma Upasana, one gets Kshema. For Karma Upsana, karma itself is the phalam. Vimukti upsana, however, does not men one will be going to a toilet constantly.

Ch 3, Anuvaka 10, shloka # 3:

Now follows the meditation upon the adhidaivika; as satisfaction in the rains, as power of lightning; as fame in the cattle, as light in the stars, as off-spring, immortality and joy in the organs of procreation and as all in the akasha.

Here, before going to next group of upsanas we have to address an odd part of the shloka. The portion of shloka that states “Prajatirmrutmananda itiupasthate” is an odd fit here. In this shloka all upsanas are adhidaivika. This part, however, is an adhyatmika upsana and as such belongs to previous shloka. It means meditation on the organ of procreation or reproduction. These organs are also auspicious.

Take away:

1. Among human beings, one who wants to give is difficult to find. Such a person, a Dani, is rarely found.
2. The best ornament of a person is his speech; here absence of other ornaments will not be noticed. With bad speech, one’s all other good qualities are also negated.

With Best Wishes,

Ram Ramaswamy

Shloka # 22:

पुरुषः स परः पार्थ भक्त्या लभ्यस्त्वनन्यया।
यस्यान्तःस्थानि भूतानि येन सर्वमिदं ततम्।।8.22।।

 The supreme Spirit, O Arjuna! may be won by means of unswerving devotion-the Spirit in whom all beings dwell and by whom all this is pervaded.

Continuing his teaching Swamiji said, Sri Krishna made a comparative and contrasting study of two possible destinations for a human being. Although one can have many goals including the four purusharthas, Sri Krishna compressed all those goals into two types. One is an infinite goal while the other is a finite goal. Every goal is finite or infinite. Even dharma, artha, kama moksha are finite. Because dharma means punyam and any amount of puṇyam you acquire, it is born out of finite actions. Wealth accumulated is finite; Kama that includes all forms of entertainment is also finite. The 14 Lokas including Brahma loka, even Brahmaji himself, are all finite. They may have a long duration of existence, but nevertheless they are finite. Even the sun will explode one day showing its finite existence.

Finite goals can also be called anatama while infinite goal can be termed as atma or god himself. God is sashvatham everything else is ashashvatham. Intelligent person must see god alone. So choose god alone as your goal. This is what Krishna’s advice or teaching is. And to drive home this point, he just discussed this elaborately from shloka’s #15 through # 22.

And when we say God is the destination, initially we present God as a person, situated in some loka, like Vaikuntha or Kailasa. However, Sri Krishna wants to remove that idea because, if God is a person located in a place, even God will come under finite goal, bound by time and space. Anything not bound by space and time has to be formless. So, God is the formless consciousness principle. God is neither matter nor energy. If god is energy it cannot be transformed. However, both mechanical energy and electrical energy are all inter transformable; meaning it is part of time. So, God is neither matter nor energy; God is the witness consciousness that witnesses change. It itself is changeless. It is infinite. It should be your destination.

Shloka # 23:

यत्र काले त्वनावृत्तिमावृत्तिं चैव योगिनः।
प्रयाता यान्ति तं कालं वक्ष्यामि भरतर्षभ।।8.23।।

Best of Bharata Princes! I shall declare the time departing in which, the Yogins do not return and also that, departing in which, they return.

Having talked about two destinations from shloka 23 onwards Sri Krishna now talks about two types of paths that lead to the two types of goals. A route is required to reach a destination. So, we have two margas. This also means there are two types of travellers travelling the two routes to two different destinations. Shloka # 23 through # 27 discuss the two margas then the two travellers.

In the shloka Kala means marga. Yogin means traveller or seeker. Yanti means reaches. Anavrthi means infinite goal; it is a goal from which one does not return. The other goal is called Avrithi, where they go and return. Avrithi is a finite goal. These two margas, I shall teach, O Arjuna, says Sri Krishna.

The two margas are:

Shulka Marga: Bright path

Krishna marga: Gloomy path. In this path one enjoys pleasures of another world and then returns. It is known as Devayanam or Krishnayanam.

Shloka # 24:

अग्निर्ज्योतिरहः शुक्लः षण्मासा उत्तरायणम्।
तत्र प्रयाता गच्छन्ति ब्रह्म ब्रह्मविदो जनाः।।8.24।।

The fire, light, day, the bright fortnight, the six months of the northern solar movements, departing in time marked by these, Brahman-knowers reach Brahman.

Sri Krishna defines Shukla Gathi or Devayanam here. Those who go through shukla marga attain God or Krama mukti. To attain karma mukti one goes first to Brahma loka, gets Gyanam there and then gets liberation. The nature of shukla marga is now described. Vedas talk of Shukla and Krishna margas. Brahmasutra provides greater details of both these paths. There are guides, devatas, to help travellers in these paths. They take you to a particular destination and hand you off to another guide. Who are these devatas? They are: Agni, Jyoti, Ahaha, Shukla and Uttarayanam. These are the five devatas for Shukla marga.

Uttarayanam is the six-month period when sun travels north. Devata here means the intelligent principle governing laws of nature. All devatas put together is Hiranyagarbha Tatvam. These five devatas are the guides.

Who is the traveller? They are special people entitled to this travel. They are Saguna Brahma Upasakas or worshippers of God with attributes. Ritualists or Karmi’s don’t get to travel in this marga.

A Gyani will also not get to travel this path because he gets his liberation here itself. A Gyani does not need Krama mukti. The karmi, ritualist, does not get any mukti, jivan or krama. So, the route is shukla gathi and the traveller is also known.

Shloka # 25:

धूमो रात्रिस्तथा कृष्णः षण्मासा दक्षिणायनम्।
तत्र चान्द्रमसं ज्योतिर्योगी प्राप्य निवर्तते।।8.25।।

Smoke, night, the dark (fortnight) the six months of the sun’s southern course-passing away during time marked by these, the Yogin reaches the lunar light and returns.

In shloka:

Tatra means the second path or Krishna marga.

Yogi means Karmi or ritualist; they don’t practice upasanas. They obtain punyams of a lower quality. Upasana gives the highest quality of punyam, as mental sadhana is more difficult. Karmi reaches swarga loka or Chandra loka that are lower than Brahma Loka (satya loka).

The guides here are: Dhuma Devata (smoke); Ratri devata; Krishna paksha devata and Dakshinayana Devata. More devatas are cited by Chandogya Upanishad to take one to Swargaloka.

Why is swarga loka path a dark one? Here he will go and enjoy, but once punyam is over he has to come back to this world. Even thinking of his return adds to his misery. The traveller here is a karmi or a ritualist.

Shloka # 26:

शुक्लकृष्णे गती ह्येते जगतः शाश्वते मते।
एकया यात्यनावृत्तिमन्ययाऽऽवर्तते पुनः।।8.26।।

These two are indeed the light and dark courses held to be eternal for the world. By means of the first one goes and does not return; by the other one comes back again.

 Sri Krishna is gives the names of the paths here. The two paths are known as Shukla gathi and Krishna gathi. When were the two roads created? They were created with the creation of the universe and vedas when the Karma Upasana teaching came down, as did human beings. With this the sadhaka also came into being, as did the two paths. So, they are all eternal until next pralayam. They are as eternal as the universe. A person going via shukla gathi will obtain Krama Mukti also known as anavrithi.

Through Krishna gathi one goes to Swarga loka due to his punyam; he will however have to return. The two paths have been detailed in the Brahma sutra.

The previous two shlokas have some confusing aspects. In the previous two shlokas, Sri Krishna mentions uttarayanam and shukla paksha, and day-time and Sri Krishna says whoever dies in those times, a person will go to karma mukthi. So the confusion that can come is we may think the time of death will determine whether we will get shukla gati or Krishna gati.

Similarly if you study the 25th shloka, it appears as though if you die in dakshinayanam, Krishna paksha or nighttime, it appears as though you will get Krishna gati. Therefore it appears as though the time of death will determine the direction of travel because the word kala is used there.

Brahma sutra however clarifies by saying that time of death does not determine direction of journey; rather it is quality of death that determines which route one takes. For any confusion in understanding the Gita, Brahma sutra’s interpretation is considered the final word.

Shloka # 27:

नैते सृती पार्थ जानन्योगी मुह्यति कश्चन।
तस्मात्सर्वेषु कालेषु योगयुक्तो भवार्जुन।।8.27।।

Knowing these courses, Arjuna no Yogin falls into delusion. Therefore, at all times apply yourself to Yoga.

 Sri Krishna says, I have talked about two paths and two travellers. Knowing the difference between the two margas a Yogi, an intelligent seeker, a viveki, is never confused with respect to the path.

O Arjuna I assure, you are an intelligent seeker; so become an upsaka or take the path of upsana. Continue with karma but also perform Saguna Ishwara Upasana.

Yoga in shloka means Saguna Ishwara Upasana. Between Karma and Upasana choose upasana. Keep in mind Gyanam is still superior to both Karma and Upasana. It is, however, not discussed in chapter # 8.

Gyanam comes back in Chapter # 9. With this the discussion on this topic has concluded. Now Sri Krishna glorifies God as the destination.

Shloka # 28:

वेदेषु यज्ञेषु तपःसु चैव
दानेषु यत्पुण्यफलं प्रदिष्टम्।
अत्येति तत्सर्वमिदं विदित्वा
योगी परं स्थानमुपैति चाद्यम्।।8.28।।

The meritorious fruits (of learning) the Vedas, of sacrifices, penances and gifts-all these the Yogin transcends by knowing this, and he also reaches the supreme Primal State.

Yogi Idam Sarvam in shloka means Saguna Ishwara Upasaka. Having understood the teaching, this upsaka votes for Krama mukti and attains God.

Here God is described as Param adhyam sthanam; the supreme and beginning less abode; or destination; So adhyam means sarva karanam; param means the highest and sthanam means destination, which is none other than nitya Ishwaram upaiti.

What is glory of Nithya Ishwara? It is greater than all karma phalam’s including Veda parayanam, rituals, vows, charity and many more such karmas.  Veda promises punya phalam. However, Upsana phalam transcends all these karma phalams. Upasana gets God, so take to saguna Ishwara Upasana. So, O Arjuna! remember God at time of death, says Sri Krishna. With this the seventh question of Arjuna also has been answered.

So thus is concluded the 8th chapter titled, aksharam brahma yoga. Better title for this chapter might have been prayanakala smarana yoga. In some books, this chapter is titled, Taraka Brahma yoga. They are all acceptable.

Ram Ramaswamy

Scriptures (and Swamiji) frequently emphasize that to acquire vedic knowledge, one should have sadhana sadhusta sambandhi or improve up on four requirements.  I am writing this post for easier recollection.

Swamiji introduces the concept of sadhanasadhustasambandhi in TatvaBodha class and calls them as four “D’s”.  Swamiji elaborates this concept in other classes as well.  The four “D’s” are:

1. Discrimination (Vivekaha)
2. Dispassion (Vyragyam):  Free from ragha, krotha and bayam; one who enjoys calm mind.
3. Desire (Mumukshutvam)
4. Discipline:  Six fold self-discipline

The fourth requirement, Discipline, consists of six fold self-discipline:

1. Samaha (Mastery over mind obtaining poise and tranquility)
2. Dhamaha (Harmony and control over sensory organs – eyes, ears etc.)
3. Uprahamaha (Spiritual living; Increase spiritual activities and reduce material activities)
4. Thithiksha (Improve the threshold of endurance for pain)
5. Shradha (Faith in scriptures and the guru teaching the scriptures)
6. Samadhanam (focus on the goal)

Dr. Devarajalu Naidu has written an excellent post on the second requirement, Vyragyam at http://www.advaidam.com/2018/05/05/vyragyam-detachment/

Ch 3, Anuvakaha 8, Shloka # 1:

Do not reject food. That is duty. Water is food. Fire is the food eater. Fire is fixed in water, water is fixed in fire. So food is fixed in food. He who knows that food is fixed in food, gets established in Brahman. He becomes possessor of food and and eater of food. He becomes great in progeny, in cattle and in his spiritual lustre. He becomes great in fame.

In first six anuvakas of Brghuvalli the Upanishad summarized pancha kosha viveka as a means of Brahmavidya. Now in anuvaka # 7 it gives some secondary preparatory disciplines as well. These disciplines are in the form of Upasanas and Vrthams and are described in anuvaka’s 7, 8 and 9 respectively. Three Vrthams were given along with disciplines including Vishwarupam upasana. In these upasanas three pairs of things were taken and their inter dependence meditated upon. We see everything as one cosmic organism or as Vishwarupam.

The first pair was Sharira and Prana.

The second pair was Agni and Jalam.

Interdependence of these pairs was revealed as annam and annada Sambandham. It can also be termed as consumer and consumed relationship. Furthermore, for these pairs, the prathishta and prathishtita relationship or the supporter supported relationship was also revealed.

Thus we saw the relationship of agni and jalam in this context. From an individual perspective agni is consumer and jalam is consumed. From external perspective, when fire is quenched by water, the role is reversed. In an individual’s body, Agni is in the form of Vaishwanara agni or digestive fire. Hence, when one is thirsty, it is known as Daham or burning of inner system; hence we give water. Our inner fire consumes this water. Here water in annam and agni is annada.

In the instance when fire is extinguished by water, water is consumer and fire is consumed. So, here we see the mutual annam annada sambandam.

In case of agni and water how is prathishta and prathishtita relationship established? Agni is supporter of Jalam based upon shastric desrciption of universe. Thus we have:

Akasha> Vayu> Agni> Jalam. Here, Agni is the karanam of Jalam, the karyam. A Karanam is always a support of Karyam. Thus, gold supports ornament; wood supports furniture etc. This is prathishta and prathishtita

sambandham. Another angle is agni is supporter and jalam the supported. When rain-bearing clouds are there, they are the cause of lightning. The clouds are the jalatatvam while lightning is the agnitatvam.

Our body too has agnitatvam in form of body temperature that is maintained at an even 98.4 DF. However, while the outside atmospheric temperature can change continuously yet our body’s agni tatvam is maintained. Jalatatvam maintains it. Sweating reduces the high temperature of body.

Citing a story, a boy’s sweat glands were not functioning properly. They had to invent a mechanism to maintain his sweat.

For consumption of water and exit of water from body god has created this thermostat. Agni tatvam (prathistha) is maintained by Jala tatvam (pratitishita). They are interdependent. May you meditate on this interdependence or ecological harmony. When we meditate on this sambandham then the phalam is Prathishta. The benefit is, whatever you meditate upon, so you will become. Citing another phrase, whatever you think about, you become. Other phalams include: Whoever benefits from this mutual dependence of agni and jalam will be well supported in his life. Not only will he have good support, he will also get other worldly benefits, namely name, fame, food and health.

 The second Vrattham and upasana are now complete.

CH 3, Anuvaka # 9, Shloka # 1:

Accumulate plenty of food. That is duty. The earth is food. Akasha is the food eater. In earth is fixed akasha. In Akasha is fixed earth. So food is fixed in food. He who knows that food is fixed in food, thus rests in food; and is established well for ever. He becomes rich in food and becomes the eater of food. He becomes great in progeny, in cattle and in spiritual lustre. He becomes great in fame.

 This is the third Vrattham that says May you produce plenty of annam. Let there be prosperity. May extra produce be shared with all people; it can be in the form of grains as well. May you cook a little more food for annadanam. This is your vrtham. You should learn to think of others as well. One benefit of Ekadashi upavasam is to know what hunger means, then alone we come to know of others hunger. I should learn to identify with others.

The third upsana identifies another pair. The pair is Prithvi and Akasha. They have annam annada sambandham as well as Prathista and prathishtita sambandham.

At individual level every object is a different form of earth alone. These objects also consume space. In a small flat people are very conscious of space. In one house plastic chairs are hung from the wall. Tables are folded for the same reason. So, all objects consume space. Therefore, earth is a consumer of space.

From another angle space is a consumer. We can show the creation principle as follows:

Akasha>Vayu> Agni> Jalam> Prithvi.

During dissolution the process reverses:

Prithvi>Jalam>Agni>Vayu>Akasha.

Here Prithvi is consumed by Akasha, finally. So here akasha is consumer and earth is consumed. This is the annam annada sambandam.

Prathishta and prathishtita relationship is seen where Akasha is karanam for all four elements including earth. They are all products of akasha. Space is subtlest form of matter. While akasha is karanam (prathishta), Earth is karyam (prathishtita). Karanam supports Karyam.

Another angle: Prithvi is supporter and akasha is supported. Akasha can accommodate, but for space to be useful it has to be enclosed, such as in a hall. A Hall is not name of the walls; rather it is the name of enclosed space. Water is accommodated by space in a vessel. Vessel provides enclosed space. Space is useful only when enclosed. Space is supported by enclosure to be useful. Enclosure is made up of prithvi. So Prithvi supports Akasha to make Akasha useful for transactions.

Prithvi and Akasha have annam annada sambandham. They have Prathishta Prathishitita Sambandam as well. Everything is interdependent. One who meditates on this cosmic symbiotic relationship will be supported in his life as well. Remember society has to be supported and if you can make yourself indispensible to society, it will also support you. However, if you are a parasite on society you will be considered a burden. You give and you will be given. He will get worldly results as phalam.

So three pairs were reviewed to understand their interdependence. Modern science shows how the whole earth is interconnected. Universe is one cosmic organism.

Vishnu sahsranamam also says the same. It says cosmos is Perumal. Thus the three upsanas lead us to Vishwrupa Dhyanam.

Shankaracharya adds a corollary to this through his commentary. He says if everything in universe is interdependent; it means nothing in creation is independent. Everything is dependent on some factor(s). If anything has a dependent existence, it is a mithya. So, entire creation is a mithya. Creation has a borrowed existence because something else is the adishtanam. Adishtanam is one that lends existence to creation. This adishtanam is Brahman. Subject cannot enjoy subject-ness without an object. Object also cannot enjoy object-ness without a subject. They are all interdependent. Thus student cannot enjoy student-hood without a teacher. This is known as Turiyam. Shankaracharya says this upasana shows the Mithyatvam of Universe. With this meditation the Vishwarupa dhyanam is over.

Ch 3, Anuvaka # 10, Shloka # 1:

Do not turn away anybody who seeks shelter and lodging. This is the vow. Let one, therefore, acquire much food by any means whatsoever. They should say: “Food is ready”. If the food is prepared in the best manner, the food is given to him (the guest) also in the best manner. If the food is prepared in a medium manner, food is also given to him in a medium manner. If food is prepared in the lowest manner, the same food is also given to him in a lower manner. He who knows thus, will obtain all the rewards as mentioned above.

Now we are in the tenth and final anuvaka of Brghuvalli. Here two more Vrthams are introduced. In previous anuvaka’s three Vrthams were given. Thus the fourth Vrtham is Athiti Puja. This topic was already discussed in shikshavalli. The fifth Vrtham is anna-danam.

Athitipuja: When a person comes to your place give him shelter. This advice should be taken in context of the Vedic times when it was written, when there were no hotels and eateries for a traveller. Nowadays hotels and restaurants are available so don’t force yourself on others. Don’t go unless invited. Dont entertain unknown people. Be very careful of Swamiji’s. Act according to situation. In olden times, when a guest came without his planning for it, it was considered God’s will. To such a guest one has to provide food. Scriptures say when a guest is standing outside and you continue to eat inside the house, it is like committing a big crime. So share food. So, always have extra food in the house. Dayanadaswamiji said a house is not a home if cooking does not take place. Whatever you eat, first offer it to God. So, food has to be cooked so that you may have plenty of annam. Somehow procure food although legitimately. Remember when an Athithi (guest) comes he feels he is imposing upon you; the householder should remove any feeling of guilt on part of guest in this regard. Make him feel welcome.

With Best Wishes,

Ram Ramaswamy

Greetings All,

अव्यक्ताद्व्यक्तयः सर्वाः प्रभवन्त्यहरागमे।
रात्र्यागमे प्रलीयन्ते तत्रैवाव्यक्तसंज्ञके।।8.18।।

At break of day, all individuals are born of the Unmanifest; when night falls, they are dissolved in the same Unmanifest.

Continuing his teaching Swamiji said, from shloka # 15 to shloka # 22, Sri Krishna is comparing two forms of human goals.

One attainable through karma through a  varieties of actions, loukika and vaidika; scriptural and non-scriptural; secular and religious. They can give one set of results and the other type of goal attainable is through Nishkama upasana.

Sri Krishna wants to point out that Karma phalam is finite while upasana phalam is infinite. We are not comparing gyanam to any other sadhana here. Here comparison is between karma phalam and upasana phalam. Upasana phalam is superior to karma phalam. Karma can give all types of results upto Brahma loka but they are all finite in nature. Nishkama Upasana gives one Krama Mukti, which is an infinite result.

Therefore, karma phalam is parichinnam whereas Nishkama upasana phalam, krama mukthi, is aparichinna. This is the idea Sri Krishna wants to convey through the shlokas beginning from the 15th to 22nd.

While talking of material results, the highest goal possible, within time and space, is Brahma Loka prapthihi, which is also finite.  Sri Krishna admits that while Brahmaji’s life is a long one even he finally faces an end. He spoke about one day of Brahmaji as being 2000 Chatur Yugas. It appears as though it is infinite, while in reality it too is finite.

Sri Krishna gives some incidental information now. When Brahmaji’s day starts, creation comes into being. When he goes to sleep creation goes into an unmanifest condition. Similar process plays out with an individual as well. When he wakes up everything rises. And when he goes to sleep his private world is resolved. This is known as Laya.

In Brahmaji’s world, objective world rises and resolves. In shloka # 18 all Vyaktas arise from Avyakta condition. They were resting in Brahmaji in a potential form.

We   also experience this through our dream world every day. We throw our dream world from our own mind; our today’s dream is potentially there in our mind in form of Vasanas and impressions. We throw out the dream-space; dreamtime and dream objects and we have duration for the dream as well. In the same way, with Brahmaji, he withholds the creation and again throws them out. And that form withheld by Brahmaji is called avyaktam.

Similar idea was discussed in chapter 2 as well. Thus we learn that the universe is never created by anybody. Creation is wrong word to use; nothing is created or destroyed. This applies to the creation of the world as well.  So the question of why god created does not arise for us. For us, the world is there eternally. Nobody created the world. It is against law of conservation of energy. Thus the word creation must be replaced by the word manifestation.  The world was always there, God did not create; it was there in potential form; and the potential matter; the potential world in time acted upon by time, undergoes a modification and the unmanifest, now modified, becomes manifest.

Time is an integral part of matter and creation. Matter and time cannot be separated. They are inseparable. That is the reason we do not know about time before the big bang.

With time everything goes back into unmanifest condition then it comes back as manifest. This cycle of manifest and unmanifest is an eternal process. So, unmanifest does not mean an end of the world.

Shloka # 19:

भूतग्रामः स एवायं भूत्वा भूत्वा प्रलीयते।
रात्र्यागमेऽवशः पार्थ प्रभवत्यहरागमे।।8.19।।

This same host of beings after repeated births, get dissolved, helplessly, O Arjuna! at the time of nightfall and are born at day break.

 If universe goes to unmanifest and then again manifests, what happens to all jivas?

Sri Krishna says the individual will also have the same destiny. They also will go to unmanifest condition; in which all the Jivas will remain potentially inactive, dormant, like the hibernation of some animals; we all will go back to hibernation. And after remaining in potential form for many yugas; again the jivas will emerge with their own karmas, punyam and papam intact.

How will we remain in pralayam? God has given us a simulated experience. We get a taste of it when we go to sleep. In sleep, our ego gets resolved and it remains dormant without destruction.

Citing an example, suppose in tonight’s sleep, all the 8th chapter knowledge was destroyed, then next class I have to again start with the same topic. But how am I able to continue with the same topic? Because, during sleep, your knowledge is not destroyed, it goes to a potential condition. In the same way, during pralaya, all the Jivas go to their potential condition and again come back in the next srishti.

The same group of Jivas will go dormant, but will come back again and again in an eternal process. Thus, no new jiva is created. The question comes up, if no new jiva is created why is there a population explosion? When we think of jivas we tend to think of human beings alone. In reality jivas include all beings including human, animal, plants, insects, lokas, asuras, devas etc. All of them put together, the number remains same as per our scriptures.

Swami Chinmayananda used to say; previously there were many forests with animals. They were hunted and killed. They all were converted to human beings.

New Jivas can’t be created. Even if one can be created what type of body should it get? A Jiva has to have past karmas. Only based on its past karma a body comes up. If there is no past karma available on what basis will a new body come into being? Remember the body is not determined by Bhagavan’s wish; the body is determined by purvakarma; a fresh jiva will never have a purva karma; therefore it is not possible. And this defect is called krita akrita dosha.

If a fresh jiva cant be created, when were we created first and what was its basis? We were never created; we are anadi. Same jiva remains and goes through the manifesting and unmanifesting cycle.  If it is cyclic process why not call it a merry go round. In a merry go round you can get out. Here, in this cycle, one can’t get out, one is a helpless being, Avashaha. Whether I like it or not I have to die. Thus, mortality can’t be escaped so long as you choose time bound results.

Shloka # 20:

परस्तस्मात्तु भावोऽन्योऽव्यक्तोऽव्यक्तात्सनातनः।
यः स सर्वेषु भूतेषु नश्यत्सु न विनश्यति।।8.20।।

But beyond that Unmanifest is another eternal Unmanifest Being; It perishes not (even) when all beings perish.

Up to the previous verse, Krishna has talked about all the finite result, which will come under the field of matter; and any result which falls within matter, is bound by time and therefore it will have two conditions; manifest and unmanifest. In Sanskrit, it is called manifest matter and unmanifest matter, which you may call energy. So energy becomes matter, and matter becomes energy and again energy becomes matter.

There is another goal a human can achieve beyond this cycle of karya and karana prapancha, vyakta avyakta prapancha, where maya becomes the world and then world becomes Maya. They both exist within time. There is another condition known as Unmanifest # 2 also known as Consciousness principle. It is the witness of unmanifest and manifest condition of matter. That witness consciousness does not fall within the witnessed field because the observer is different from and beyond the observed.

To understand this, in the waking state, material world, time and space are experienced. In dream too I experience a world conditioned by time and space.

When I go to the sleep state, the whole material world is resolved; and the time and space also go to unmanifest condition; and there is total blankness; but even at that time, there is someone who is aware of that condition. Who is aware of that; I am aware; how do you know, I am aware; because when I wake up, I am able to talk about the blank state, that means I was continuing, unchangeably, even when the duality came and the duality got resolved, I remained unaffected by that. This observer of the matter, this observer of the change, is the changeless consciousness principle, which is beyond time and space. Consciousness does not fall within time. Consciousness does not fall within space.

It is beyond time and space.

Consciousness therefore does not fall within matter and therefore consciousness does not fall within the physical and the chemical laws.  That is reason the scientists are struggling to understand Consciousness; the physical and chemical laws do not appear to apply to it. It does not follow physical and chemical laws. Therefore, scientists are not able to understand it. Some scientists have started saying consciousness is beyond these laws and cannot be located. Only something in space can be located. Who is this consciousness? It is the witness consciousness. It is God, says Sri Krishna. It is Satyam, Gyanam, Anantam Brahman.

What about various forms attributed to God? A gross mind cannot grasp the subtle consciousness, which is beyond space and time.

Therefore until the intellect gets sufficiently sensitized, until it is sufficiently prepared, we have to attribute a form. We have to worship form. Ultimately God is Shudha Chaitanya Swarupam. O Arjuna! Become one with this God.

And O Arjuna, I want to you to discover oneness with that God. That is the aim of all religious and spiritual struggles.

One, avyaktha is nothing but unmanifest matter; other than that unmanifest matter, there is something else, which is a third entity. So the three entities are:

1) manifest matter No.1;

2) unmanifest matter No.2; you may call it energy and

3) 3rd one is consciousness, which is beyond manifest and unmanifest matter.

These three principles exist. Consciousness is known as Sanatana, one not affected by time. It witnesses time, its arrival and dissolution without being affected by time. Hence it is called immortal or timeless. Where is it present? It does not perish even when all beings perish through un-manifestation. Its location—it does not have a location; rather time and space are located in consciousness.

A God is located in space is the basis for the question where is god? It cannot be answered.

In field of god, cause and effect do not enter. So you cannot ask the when, where, why, how etc in relation to God, all these questions can be answered only with regard to a thing, which are time, space and causality

If you remember Kathopanishad’s definition of

Brahman; it is one which is beyond the concept of causality; so, we have to go to that Brahman. When we say go, it is again a problem, because go is a concept in time, space and travel. That is why any word you use in Vedanta, you get trapped; because intellect can function only in the field of time space and causality; that is why

we say it is a matter to be understood.

Shloka # 21:

अव्यक्तोऽक्षर इत्युक्तस्तमाहुः परमां गतिम्।
यं प्राप्य न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम।।8.21।।

The Unmanifest is said to be “the imperishable”; they say that He is the supreme goal. My supreme abode is that, attaining which none returns.

Sri Krishna talks more about God, the limitless goal; the real goal of life, which is worth attempting; which is  avyaktha No.2 mentioned in the previous verse. This avyaktha No.2 mentioned in the previous verse is the Consciousness principle; and this consciousness or chaitanyam is also known in the scriptures as akshara.

It is also known as Akshara, the imperishable or timeless. This word is used in Mundako Upanishad.

Mundako Upanishad calls consciousness as aksharam and defines it as: colorless, formless, smell-less; tasteless; touch-less; etc.

Accomplishing such a Brahman is the real goal. Only then you go beyond time and space. Space is within time. Liberation does not mean going to a place. It is going to Brahman, reaching which one does not return.

How to reach Brahman? There is no travel required to reach Brahman. It is possible only through wisdom. It was never away from me. It is “I” myself. So you reach Brahman in the form of claiming Brahman as myself.

Through knowledge you do not reach Brahman,

Through knowledge you drop the notion that Brahman is away.  So all these are the important fundamentals of Vedanta, which you have to reflect upon and it is about reaching one from whom one never returns.

Sri Krishna, Rama etc are my inferior nature or Apara Prakriti. Consciousness is Para Prakriti. Start with AP then one day goes to PP.

Shloka # 22:

पुरुषः स परः पार्थ भक्त्या लभ्यस्त्वनन्यया।
यस्यान्तःस्थानि भूतानि येन सर्वमिदं ततम्।।8.22।।

The supreme Spirit, O Arjuna! may be won by means of unswerving devotion-the Spirit in whom all beings dwell and by whom all this is pervaded.

O Partha! So this avyaktha No.2; this consciousness

principle is called Para purusha; So he is the supreme purusha; supreme Brahman, the highest reality; the absolute truth. I have given two meanings of the word

purusha. One is that it is the absolute Brahman in which all beings rest.  The other is the idea that Brahman does not exist within the creation rather the whole creation rests in that Brahman.

Purushsa is a description of nature of Brahman.

In him alone all beings rest. By this Consciousness whole creation is pervaded. If anything exists, consciousness must be there. To know it exists, the being requires consciousness. Existence presupposes knowledge; it pre-supposes consciousness. So, this consciousness pervades whole creation. Sri Krishna feels this may be too high a matter to understand. Don’t get disheartened, he says. What is required is sincere desire to get this knowledge.

So, Sri Krishna says, You can go to nirgunam brahma by your Nishkama bhakthi; once you understand that alone is the ultimate goal; because anything else falls within domain of time and space and therefore mortality; I am no more interested in mortality and the tyranny of time. But once you have understood tyranny of time, and once you are sincerely devoted to the timeless Brahman, you are called a Nishkama bhaktha; or a mumukshu; and with this sincere desire, you continue your saguna bhakthi; sooner or later, you will get the qualifications required for that nirguna bhakthi; therefore he says that Brahman is attainable.

So with this Sri Krishna completes his comparative study of God as higher goal and world as the lower goal, and an intelligent person would vote for god and not for

world and if you vote for God you become a Nishkama upasaka.

Take away:

1. The world was always there, God did not create; it was there in potential form; and the potential matter; the potential world in time acted upon by time, undergoes a modification and the unmanifest, now modified, becomes manifest.
2. The same group of Jivas will go dormant, but will come back again and again in an eternal process. Thus, no new jiva is created.
3. Nothing is created or destroyed. Thus the word creation must be replaced by the word manifestation.
4. Through knowledge you do not reach Brahman;

Through knowledge you drop the notion that Brahman is away.

Ram Ramaswamy