Video 40

40. Katha Upanishad | Mantras 2.3.2 - 5 | Swami Sarvapriyananda

foreign [Music] may the Lord protect us both the teacher and the thoughts together may the Lord give us the results of our knowledge may we attain Vigor together let what we study be Illuminating invigorating maybe not Capital at each other om peace peace peace foreign on the last section of the cut upanishad the third section of this second chapter there's two chapters each with three sections so we are in the second chapter and the last section third section of the second chapter and in this section Yama the Lord of death who's been teaching the little boy nachiketa The Secret of self-knowledge is wrapping up things he is going to touch upon what is Brahman the Ultimate Reality which he has already revealed what is the knowledge of Brahman how do we get the knowledge of Brahman and what is the result so Brahma Brahma Ghana sadhana the practices and Palam results this is what he's going to touch upon none of it is new he is already talked about these in pretty good detail here and there across the upanishad now just wrapping it up if I shouldn't say this but slightly anticlimactic after the last section which was full of such wonderful glorious mantras which um talked about the nature of the Ultimate Reality and but the first one the opening Mantra of this section samsara the samsara which we are in is compared to this extraordinary tree with the tree motive upside down tree where the root is transcendent the root is in Brahman and the branches and leaves are down here in this world manifest world in real tree the root is down there and of course the root is above in Brahman above has not been physically above it means subtle or Transcendent beyond our material nature so Brahman is the root it's a philosophical way of saying Brahman is the Karana the cause that which the root as the root nourishes the tree similarly Brahman is that which gives existence and uh in Sanskrit in Hindi we say satta means existence surati means illumination or Consciousness so this is um Brahman gives this to this universe this universe appears samsara is actually sustained by Brahman brahmer is not against samsar this is an interesting thing to understand that the Ultimate Reality is not against the appearance the Rope is not against the snake it's in fact because of the rope that the error of a snake is possible the desert is not against the Mirage it's because of the desert that the illusion of water in the desert in the mirror Mirage is possible what is against the snake what is against the um the illusion of water in the desert knowledge you see we realize that it's not a snake it's a rope that knowledge cancels the illusory snake it's not really water it's just desert it's just an appearance of water that knowledge cancels the illusion of water now the two Illusions are different once you realize it's not a snake actually the snake goes up you don't even see it you see the Rope instead whereas in the case of a mirage you still seem to see water but you think oh it looks like water but it's no longer I don't think it is water anymore I know what it is similarly this samsara we are trapped we seem to be trapped in the samsara and shankaracharya gives such a vivid description of samsara and how awful it really is you know we saw that last time we read through some of the commentary of shankaracharya where he gives a sort of graphic and poetic description of the sorrows and Troubles of samsara and how do you get out of it you get out of it by realizing the base the ground of samsara the reality behind samsara which is Brahman how do you realize it as I am that I am that problem once we realize that we are free of samsara will it disappear like the snake or will it keep appearing like the Mirage water both if you are in samadhi it will actually disappear you will not see the world you will not see the body mind and you'll be immersed in the in pure Consciousness pure being but when the senses are active when the Mind becomes active and the senses become active and then you you see the word as it is before but the difference is this that you no longer consider it to be real you have found the reality and you consider that to be an appearance of that reality or you see that this world is nothing but Brahman this world is an appearance Brahman is the reality or even better the world is nothing but Brahman Brahman alone exists that we we realize and that is freedom that is freedom now we go on further the second mantra [Music] all this universe that there is emerges and moves because there is the Supreme Brahman which is like a great Terror like an uplifted Thunderbolt those who know this become immortal um this Mantra what it does first of all it complements the earlier one the earlier one showed us that Brahman is the material cause of this universe is Brahman alone which is the reality of this universe which appears as this universe in reality what is this universe it's Brahman but Roman is also the intelligent cause of this universe in what is the intelligent cause and material cause so the two kinds of causes we limit the Karan and upadhana Karana like material costs like a carpenter makes a table out of wood the wood is the material table is the product by effect the cause is Carpenter and wood Carpenter is the intelligent cause and the wood is the material cause the intelligent cause the Creator Fashions the product the table out of wood now in the table only the material cause is there intelligent cause is not there because the carpenter is quite separate from the table but in the case of um in this universe vedanta says the intelligent cause in the material cause are both 1. one indivisible intelligent and material cause of course if you're thinking a little more deeply about it you will say Brahman is not the cause of the universe because there is ultimately no Universe at all Brahman alone exists but as far as the universe is concerned we have this world in which which we inhabit so if you want an explanation vedanta in fact any kind of religion gives an explanation that there is a deeper reality an Ultimate Reality which is appearing or which has become this material reality vedanta says that Ultimate Reality Brahman appears as this material reality and that Ultimate Reality Brahman is both material cause and intelligent cause this Mantra points out that Brahman is the intelligent cause now we are talking about Brahman in what sense the god of religion why the moment you talk about the creation of a universe Creator then immediately you're talking about Brahman as God as as a theistic god a god of theistic religions now here in the second Mantra servant this entire universe starting from the tiniest of quarks to the most massive quasars from the physical universe and the biological universe that our bodies all living beings stars and planets to the subtle Universe within our minds thoughts emotions desires mind and intellect and the subtle universe all of this has come from Brahman so here the word Prana is used now here Prana does not mean the vital force or breath you know like in pranayama not in that sense here Brando means Brahman he said Swami you're forcing things to mean something else no the commentator shankaracharya also agrees he says Brahman itself the entire universe has emerged has emerged how did it emerge accredited the upanishad says from that Atman from that pure being emerges the void the sky from the sky emerges um uh wind or air from Air emerges fire from fire water from water Earth and then they all mix up and form this physical unit the old cosmology is so from that art when emerges Akasha from Akasha emerges um why you wind from why you emerges fire Agni and from fire emerges water from water emerges Earth so it is like the upanishad this was sort of the shared cosmology of most ancient civilizations so this is how the entire universe he says nisrita has emerged from Brahman from saguna Brahman why would from Pure being why would uh sky and Earth and fire all of this emerge from being itself why would Exist by from existence itself why would existing things emerge why like a mind fine there's a mind but why would it start dreaming there is a movie screen but why would it suddenly start showing you movies so because the potentiality is there the potentiality is called Maya in Maya the the seeds are already there and those are manifested because of Maya the Atman Brahman appears as Sky appears they start writing more precise athletic way of looking at it and then the evolution takes place within the appearance um and then what does it do having appeared vibrates so if you ask a vedantin the upanishad the Lord of death Yama what is this universe it's just vibrating what happens when the all the elements of this universe emerge well they emerge and they start vibrating what's going on in this universe vibration and the Primal primordial elements are vibrating and that's what we see as the sky and the Earth As Cities and Villages as human beings and animals and plants it's all vibration of matter so it vibrates and it vibrates in patterns there are laws and regularity here it's not chaos shankaracharya and his commentary says the entire universe proceeds forth and yamina in regularity in law in patterns the the activity of the universe is spread out this is creation this is the creation of or in Sanskrit srishti which is projection what accounts for the regularity why would this pure being appear as this universe because of Maya if you ask why Maya but there's no answer to that because Y is included within Maya causality is within Maya why does this proceed in a regular fashion because of causality cause and effect this universe is Guided by causality so there is there are laws of this universe why should these laws be there at all it is because there's the big boss he says there ishwara out of fear of ishwara Mahatma foreign literally means vast vast means Unlimited it's not a Lim one thing among many things it is the unlimited reality which appears as all these limited universe so it is vast and what else is it it is it is Terror it is fear why is it fear or Terror because of the uplifted Thunderbolt as if it is holding an uplifted thunderboat so mahad bhayam and then he says those who know this they become immortal but little bit about fear the universe appears from Brahman and there is regularity and law in this universe why is there regularity in law at all because it is enforced this law in the universe the laws of nature are enforced by Brahman by this there's an intelligence behind all of this and that explains why this universe follows laws all the physical laws which we know see here a question may be raised that this is the old religious thinking which has been which is has been brought into doubt by modern science mod science would say yes there are laws in this universe that's what we are studying and we're trying to discover them but nowhere do we find evidence or even the need of a of a supreme intelligence to guide those laws those laws are self-regulated they don't need a police or a thunderbolt wielding deity to you know impose Terror and regulate the laws um so who was that scientist he was someone someone by the French Emperor and uh said that it was asked by the emperor in your treaties in science was it Pascal why have you not mentioned God and the scientists said I have no use for that hypothesis I have no use for that hypothesis who was that Pascal or yes I think so yes I have no use for that hypothesis the scientist will say when he reads this what Yama has said the whole universe is regulated by laws no doubt we agree there but behind the laws is god with a raised Thunderbolt scaring all the universe into obeying the laws of God scientists will say it's a hypothesis and I have no need for such a hypothesis because the laws seem to function very well if it was otherwise if there was any clear need for an intelligence to guide those laws all our school textbooks would say when they teach physics and chemistry and biology all the chapters would end with that all of this is true but it's because God is threatening every other the universe with a thunderbolt no um so that's where this idea of a lawful universe but the laws are enforced by a deity and also a scary deity behind everything is is not at all persuasive to Modern thinkers scientists and philosophers let's look a little bit deeper into this um first of all in our human world fear is indeed important a fear is a decisive Force um in our society well for example we are good in great measure because the good is enforced by law by police by legal sanction by threatened punishment penalties and that's why we are good and most societies across the world even the most advanced societies you remove the police and the Army for a few days and you see what chaos the city descends into um yeah in the um shankaracharya's masterful introduction to the Brahma sutras he uses this language he says for the most part people human beings thinking educated human beings are no different from animals how are they no different from animals he explains he says there shankaracharya sabhasha he says there that um um that means a man coming with a raised stick like the Thunderbolt like the raised Thunderbolt a man coming with raised uh stick the cow runs away from this man and harita that means with a handful of green grass if you approach the cow the cow comes towards you so the cow recognizes here is Temptation yeah Green Grass and I'm going to go towards the Temptation and here is Terror pain because the man is coming to beat me with a stick I'll run away from the stick and this instinctive behavior in an animal is copied by human beings is replicated by human beings we even with all our intelligence our culture we tend to be attracted by Temptation and repelled or scared by Terror so Terror and Temptation guide Our Lives I am reminded many years ago I think it was about 20 years ago um not 20 exactly about 18 years ago in haridwar I was sitting with this Monk and studying a group of people were there a traditional monk he was teaching vedanta in Hindi and uh non-dual discussions were going on suddenly somebody asked a question which seemed to be irrelevant asleep tell us what's real education tell us what's real education and I still remember some of us looked around with you know little irritation because the question was not directly relevant to non-dual philosophy what's really education But the teacher I can tell his name ramananda Saraswati was passed now a very great traditional teacher of vedanta wondering traditional wandering Monk his answer was instantaneous and it was so vedantic non-dualistic I mean from from his he quoted from the adhya sabhasya this portion which I just quoted to you that portion he quoted question was what is truly education he said education is that which enables us to rise above the level of animals normally we are attracted like the cow with a grass of with a handful of green grass we go towards that and with the threaten with a man with a appraised stick we run away from the cow runs away from that and human beings also operate that way what is education when I know better because of my education then and I am Guided by my education I'm not tempted by the promise of pleasure and I'm not scared by the threat of pain but I do what is what I know to be right what I have learned is right true and good and that is true education which was really great I thought and and he quoted directly from the shankarabhasha commentary of ADI shankaracharya education is that which helps us to overcome fear but until that time it cannot be um denied that though fear is a bad thing but fear is a factor in maintaining human civilization in training human beings even in you know education so there is a threat of penalty and Punishment in religion too in religion too that's why we have the English phrase the God-fearing man God-fearing man why would you fear God because of God is of the appraised Thunderbird he says Thunderbolt religions in a text like the Old Testament or religions and some parts of Judaism Christianity are Islam they stress the awesome nature of God the Wrath filled God the fear of God now God loving man is much better than God-fearing man love of God is far better and far superior it's much better to teach the love of God rather than the fear of God however these religions are not wrong they're simply stating a fact God is awesome God not in the devalued sense of the awesome which is used in America Everything is Awesome a cookie is also awesome no but God is Not Awesome like a cookie God is truly truly awesome and God can also be truly truly scary in the bhagavad-gita itself when Arjuna sees he asked for the vision of God but when he actually sees the cosmic uh yes awe-inspiring so the cosmic form of God vishwarya what happens what happens is Arjuna does he feel uh Sublime does he feel inspired no he's scared he's terrified his reaction is Terror and he begs Krishna to take back that Vision to take it away and appear before him as a human being again so it is true that in our unregenerate form the Divine can Inspire Terror in us but that terror is good for us because it pulls us out of our limited mortal you know sense of priorities and awakens us to the reality that God exists and God is awe-inspiring and indeed even terrifying of course above that and beyond that God is our very own and lovable and loving um the moral laws somebody might argue that yes yes that's true but these moral laws you can break these moral laws these are not like the laws of nature physics which we were talking about earlier those cannot be broken these laws can be broken and that's why fear of God is necessary to make you and to enforce these laws and the laws of the police the legal laws they can be broken that's why police and courts and jail is necessary to enforce these laws but I like that saying you know moral ethical laws it's not that you can break these laws with impunity rather we can we break ourselves against these laws so by repeatedly so-called trying to violate laws of honesty self-control of unselfishness you know we try to do that we damage ourselves more and more and so you know you you cannot break moral laws you can break yourself against these moral laws um one more thought before I go on to the next topic but what about this universe what about the laws of the universe the laws of by which the stars and the planets stay on their courses shankarachary will talk about stars and planets staying on their courses um so is it because as if with their appraised Thunderbolt they're being threatened um not not likely not not in that sense however it's the science is not the last word on it that uh you know these laws are self-regulating and self-promoting self-maintaining you don't need a thunderbolt behind them to you know enforce these laws but I'm often reminded of saying some scientists talk about it Stephen Hawking also says we we know how to describe the universe with these mathematical equations but then he says but who put the fire in the equations there's a phrase if you Google it you will find fire in the equations that yes these laws are there and that describes this universe so that's the structure being described by mathematics but why does it exist at all why does it exist at all who puts the fire in the equation who makes it real so they are still the question remains I'll leave it at that and just that the whole question is that the deity by the fear of deity there is an intelligence a power controlling this universe that doesn't seem convincing to a modern thought or scientists and philosophers today foreign 's commentary here he says he gives an example just as when the servants they see the master with the Thunderbolt appraised and they they carefully stick to their tasks because they are scared of getting a beating if if they don't do their work are punished Tata just like that Adam when he says [Music] um exactly in the same way this entire universe full of constellations and stars and planets and Suns and moons they whirl around you know on their allotted paths and tasks because of the presence of this great deity ishwara God saguna Brahman as if with a raised Thunderbolt you might say it's a very gross exam primitive example it sounds like one of those ancient slave masters you know like in Egypt you get the the picture in your mind of the slaves making the pyramids and the slave master standing with the whips or sticks and the poor slaves working away day and night and because of the presence of the slave master with the raised stick or the whip Not So Different today not so different it's just that the um the slave masters have got much more subtle Thunderbolts they are now what are they uh somebody showed me in San Francisco look this is the well the it is called I think sales force or something a company is there with some software which will monitor minute to minute use of the time of the employees yeah all for good reasons we are paying you so you are minute to minute your activity online activity what you are doing how you are spending your time everything is monitored what is that software it is the upgrade Thunderbolt which is controlling as shankaracharya say is exactly like that they stick to their tasks moment to moment because of the appraised Thunderbolt of uh of that software recently I think some company is it Amazon or some other company the employees complained even their bathroom time was being monitored it was in the news so this is more efficient than ancient slave masters with the Thunderbolts and sticks and whips This Modern Thunderbird of software monitoring of your uh what what is it your uh at home work working at home but then there is another group of people who are monitoring how you are working and how you are how much time you're spending actually uh on your alerted task so it's not all that different there is an intelligence monitoring you and in place of the old Thunderbolt there are new software tools to monitor us then he says what about vedanta what does vedant have to do with this this sounds like old-time religion you know there is a God and God created the universe and God is monitoring everything in the universe fine what do I have to do with it those who know this that that deity behind this universe because of which the entire universe is functioning from which the entire universe has come and because of which the entire universe is functioning vibrating those who know it amritas they go beyond death they attain immortality they become free of the cycle of birth and death but how how what do you mean no How Will I Know It And how will that knowledge Set Me Free from Death how will it Set Me Free From Fear and the Thunderbolt so shankaracharya explains this is the commentary of shankaracharya those who know this know this how swatma so means mind swatma pravity foreign those who know this Brahman as the one witness of all the activities of our mind so the mind right now it's thinking enjoying hurting remembering forgetting Desiring active brilliant dull sleepy all these activities of the mind all the time they are illumined by one consciousness and you realize that one but who is that one Consciousness it's you right now it's you isn't it if you if you do the and vedantic Analysis here is the body and the witness of the body I am not the body here is the mind I am the witness of the mind I am not the Mind mind is there here is the intellect which is doing all this thinking I am the witness the I am aware of the activities of the intellect I lumine the activities of the intellect but I am not the intellect it's an instrument then that one consciousness which illumines the activity of the intellect mind senses body and the absence of the activities of the Mind senses intellect and body all are illumin activity and absence of activity are illumined by this one Consciousness which you are once you realize this and then you appreciate the limitlessness of that Consciousness see once I realize I am the witness Consciousness the next step is easier the real big step is to see that I am not Body Mind and then know myself as the witnessing illumining consciousness once I know that the next step only would be to see that this Consciousness is free it has no problems it is no birth or death it is not limited by anything it's Limitless it is Brahman Atman is Brahman moment we realize this it's done it's done only because nothing needed to be done you realize that you always wear free as that witness Consciousness as that infinite Consciousness you are always free of birth and death what is Bond a body is born what ages the body ages what Falls sick body and Prana may fall sick what recovers the body recovers and what ultimately dies the body dies even the mind doesn't die the mind the subtle Body Mind intellect memory the subtle body continues from Lifetime to Lifetime it will last as long as we are in samsara we are in that tree so that will go on but even that one what is the one which is frustrated mind what is the one which enjoys suffers mind not awareness awareness reveals the experience of or makes possible the experience of enjoying the suffering Desiring remembering forgetting even understanding vedantic understanding all of that is enabled because you are that one Consciousness enabling the intellect to do all that so the Consciousness is free of all the problems of body senses mind intellect and all of that this ever free Consciousness is going to be realized knowledge we do this is knowledge it is worth considering you know the first Sutra of the Brahma sutras Isa hence therefore an inquiry into Brahman that's the beginning of the Brahma sutras the first Sutra of 555 sutras and therefore inquiring to Brahman what hence is and what therefore is Page after page of discussion is necessary for that but for today I just want to focus on one word inquiry inquiring to what Brahman an inquiry into Brahman have you ever thought I mean if you study the brahmasutras why inquiry to Brahman that sounds like a like a minor thing why not realization of Brahman why not attaining Brahman why not God realization God attainment getting you know attaining to God why not such Grant things why just inquiry into Brahman inquiry seems to be a not a very very big deal because attaining Brahman is not possible you are Brahman it would be a wrong project where you are already Brahman going to brahmana is not possible because you are already Brahman it's already attained what we need is to remove the misconception that we are not Brahman that we are not Brahman is a misconception this has to be removed wrong idea you have to remove what is required is not attaining the Rope it what is required is removing the the error of a snake and how do you remove error you remove error by removing the ignorance about reality all error is corrected by truth and where does truth come from truth comes from inquiry so inquiry into Brahman this is a subtle point but very important what is the spiritual project at the highest remember I am not denying the importance of Karma Yoga bhakti Yoga that Raja yoga meditation is important devotion is important selfless work even rituals all of those are important in their own place they have their role to play but at the final the Crux of the whole spiritual project is this inquiry into what's real what especially about myself not trying to attain something anything that is attained will be lost so um it is to realize the truth about ourselves and the truth will set us free then developing this theme and he points out you'd realize the truth about yourself how do you realize the truth about yourself look at the mind yes what do what do we see in the mind thoughts feelings emotions coming and going memories sense of ego all of those all the activities of the Mind mind intellect memory ego sakshibhutam the Consciousness a come it's one thoughts are many perceptions are many emotions are many but Consciousness is always one that one you realize to be Brahman the reality of the universe then it's done you go beyond death next developing the same theme Yama the Lord of death says [Music] from fear of Brahman fire burns from fear of Brahman shines the Sun from Fear run Indra and air and death the fifth oh so the deities who are in charge of various natural phenomena the gods with small G they are all doing the duties they're running this universe but out of fear of the of God God with capital G why because remember appraised Thunderbolt sort of symbolic because of the presence of God the sheer awe-inspiring presence of God everybody is running around doing their duties tirelessly agnis Deputy fire gives light and heat why because of fear of Brahman gives heat and light why because of fear of Brahman Indra the king of the Gods and why you the Mighty God of wind they are all um doing their functions because of fear of Brahman and panchava even I the god of death the god of death I am running I'm running to do my work because God is observing God is watching all all our activities out of sheer fear of Brahman out of the terror the awe inspired by the presence of God God with capital Jesus the same topic is being developed here then the next mantra is fourth mantra let me see how Swami gambiranji translates it if one succeeds in realizing here before the falling of the body one becomes freed else because of that failure one becomes fit for embodiment in the world of creatures so this we have heard earlier you realize that you are Brahman played if he had if you realize that we are Brahman we become free of samsara we have set free from that awful tree of samsara that is cut down for us am I at least my own personal samsara has cut down from us and I'm freed of it and um you have to do it before death the cane open itself which we will study eventually it says In This Very life if you realize your real nature your Brahman hence there is truth that means you you are centered in reality you're free from samsara if we do not realize the truth while we are in this life great is the destruction great is the loss this human life is meant for illumination for realization and freedom from samsara and if we do not use this if we waste our human life then it's a great great loss it's a disaster um what will happen then it means one will go on to attain other bodies in other lives and not only that when the worlds are created very poetic some geishu location when the worlds are created and so we will become free at the end of this universe billions and billions years hence when the whole entire universe merges with Brahman we will become one with God and we something like that no even then you merge back into the jivas will merge back the Tendencies everything will be preserved merges back into a causal form into prakriti into Maya and again when the surge location in the worlds are created the universes are created again in the next cycle we are sent out back to play we are sent back into the tree of samsara that that tree again so there is no way out until you become enlightened and we must get enlightened here here before the destruction of this body now a question might arise what about other places I mean I'll try here I know I'll try but I don't think I'm going to become enlightened so can I continue this project sort of carry it over into you know after death if I go to heaven and places like that um what's it like or do we have you know like teachers and vedanta books there and connectivity and zoom Wi-Fi is there or not in heaven so can I attend the zoom classes from there also in heaven after death is that possible and Yama actually answers this question he takes up the next question what about other places apart from Human birth can I attain Enlightenment there I understand can't do it in animal births because the equipment is not good enough the hardware will not run the vedanta app software but what about higher births open issues and Gita and all they talk about other words and better words than this surely one can be spiritual in other words also after death I'm a pretty good person and I have been doing uh you know I'm led a decent life and I'm spiritual so I'm sure after that I won't go to hell I'll go to heaven and can I carry on my spiritual practices in heaven it's a serious question then he gives a famous answer here Yama so Yama knows what happens after death so he tells us okay as one sees in a mirror so in one's intellect as in a dream so in the world of the mains it's the forefathers as it is seen in water so in the world of the kantharvas as it is seen in this case of shade and light so in the world of Brahma brahmaloka what does this mean so what he says here is right now in this world as a vedanta student if you become enlightened it will be like seeing your face in a mirror as we see our face very clearly in a polished clean mirror so will Enlightenment be here you realize I am Brahman it's as clear as that here and you will be set free what about other words okay after death one goes to what is called Petri loka there are different Heavens which according to all the merits which we have gained we go to this is the world of the forefathers our ancestors brothers and mothers have gone to uh those worlds and they stay there for a while depending on their past Good Karma and these words are of different gradations so can I become enlightened in that world I promise to you know keep listening to the zoom classes there also he says unfortunately you can but it will be like a dream not clear as it is vague and unstable in a dream whatever we see and why are things vague and unstable in a dream remember what's a what a dream is constructed of thought mind activity and look at our minds just now how fickle and unstable they are so they are they keep generating images experiences that's our dream and our realization grasp on self-knowledge even if it comes in a dream it'll still be vague and unstable it will not be as clear as seeing your face in the mirror so it's not not a particularly good state to be enlightened in why shankaracharya will explain here foreign [Music] one kind of Heaven because of Good Karma those places are fun places and because they are fun places we are engaged in having fun Karma hello attached to the in the experience of the results of our past Good Karma so because it's a nice place present place things are very nice there's really no time and you know the inquiry is not sharp enough and the results also are vague and fleeting so uh spirituality gained in the heavens will be like a dream fickle not strong not clear there are other worlds apart from the heavens in now which are forefathers today they are specialized worlds they come a whole description in um you know multiple layers of Heavens heaven after heaven after 14 worlds we talk about seven of which are hellish and seven are heavenly um so one of the words is mentioned here in the world of the gandharvas if you become spiritual it's like seeing your Atman realizing that I am Brahman it's like seeing your face in moving water again not clear not not clearly delineated so what is the word of the converse the gandhar was a Celestial musicians because they are super cultivated art and music and you know dance this is what the conservas keep doing uh all the time so um it's a bit like these are not just run-of-the-mill ancestors these are highly cultivated people people who have cultivated um you know classical music to a very high degree like that they have extremely high musical sense or artistic sense so after death also they they attain to a super rarified world of celestial Artisan artists gandharbas he right here is a very famous Juliet school of music classical music it's one of the best schools of classical music in the world so imagine the gandhar with the world of the gandharavas is a Perpetual Juliet school you know they're always immersed in music and dance and all of that so can one become spiritual there you can but again it's not clear it's vague it's like seeing your reflection in moving water and if the water is polluted or dirty the reflection becomes even worse it's unsteady and it's not clear so self-realization will not be clear and will be unsteady in the world of the converse then what about the highest of all heavens the final the greatest brahmaloka where you're in the presence of God himself so there it has been promised one can get Enlightenment and Yama says you're right you can get Enlightenment there like light and darkness in Brahma local the enlightenment is absolutely clear and it is the best conditions you have 5G connectivity and God himself is your Guru and uh or you have the best vedanta library and all of that is there and you are also focused very ready and receptive and you get Enlightenment just like that and very clear so that's the best place except except this is Brahma local they're talking about and one attains this through enormous Merit lifelong prayer and devotion a very devout life and at the time of death one has to remain completely absorbed in the thought of God and then you attain to this heaven to the presence of God these are the heavens talked about in religions this brahmaloka when you say I'm not talking about the fun Heavens I'm talking about a spiritual Heaven I go and live in the presence of God yes that's what vedanta calls brahmaloka and go and live in the presence of Vishnu Nara and a Shiva Father in Heaven Allah or even the Buddhists who don't talk about God to talk about the pure land after death we talk about it in our tradition so this is definitely extremely exalted and there what about the knowledge of Brahman I am Brahman that also you will get there pretty easily except that it's rare and difficult it's really really difficult and uh therefore in this human birth where you can realize Brahman and very clearly like seeing your face in a mirror one one should try to become enlightened here that's the point of the whole uh mantra shankaracharya says what is it like in human birth human birth is rare but we've already got it I just said ramalok is rare and difficult but so is human birth and the thing is we have already got a human birth he says as in this word victim he says very clearly delineated and with Clarity you see your own reflection in one's own mind or intellect just like a clear mirror nirmali bhutayam purified intellect purified mind the mind has to be purified a clear realization of the self I am Brahman it is possible it's possible in this mind this is called is immediate realization and Liberation you you realize your Brahman you're liberated now and this results in twofold Liberation one is one is called jivan mukti as long as this body mind apparatus continue you are the enlightened one embodied Body Mind from our perspective you know you are Brahman you know it doesn't matter to you whether you're embodied or not but from for us you are the most venerated liberated one and the source of spiritual knowledge and blessings so you continue like that for a while and then this body goes away as it's proud of the karma is over it dies and you then it is what is called that you remain as infinite existence Consciousness placed as Brahman both of these are called Satya mukti straight away Liberation here and now if we do not attain to that then the other kind of Moksha Liberation is called karma mukti sequential liberation I go from here not liberated but highly spiritual highly devoted by the grace of God attained to the Abode of God the Brahma local and from there by the grace of God and attaining Enlightenment who knows when in a far future I become enlightened and attain freedom there so that's the grama mukti sequential Liberation and the upanishad speak about that also but why not now why not here let's the upanishads all strongly recommend here here now now if only in this life here itself become enlightened Brahman is available here you are Brahman shankaracharya he says he says brahmaloka you can get it he says it's really difficult and it requires very specialized karma karma means ritual ritualistic life of Vedic ritualistic performances strictly done Pure Life Ghana here means meditation our holy life of service and meditation let's put it in a very general term and then only one is and again of course by the grace of God it does Smart therefore what's the upshot of it all what's the point of it all yeah try here itself for realization of the cell work hard here itself all right I won't go to the next Mantra because he will again summarize the technique for self-realization in the next Mantra but let's just take a look at the comments sriram says world is an appearance and it is the ultimate and above upon realization world is Brahman is an intermediate teaching to appease radhika's no no no the other way around Brahman is the only reality that is the ultimate realization world is an appearance it's false it's mithya is an intermediate teaching in order to help us to realize um uh realize Brahman why if you say world is an appearance and that's the Ultimate anubhava Experience no it's not like saying it's not like the snake is the is false is the ultimate realization no snake is false it is the teaching given to us to make us realize the Rope is real what are we left with we are left with a real rope we are not left with a false snake at the end of our inquiry similarly at our end of our vedantic inquiry we are left with Brahman I am Brahman not with a false word not only that after realization that uh that I am Brahman you can even say the world is real that's the amazing thing she says that who can say that the world is real he says only the enlightened one can say the world is real that is surprising for us because we think the is ignorant people worldly people who say the world is real worldly people don't even know what the world is they have no idea of the Ultimate Reality and their live it's like living in a dream in a bit like a sleepwalking when you snap out of it you realize the world is an appearance and there is an underlying reality which is Brahman and then you transcend that also and then only Brahman is is there so whatever you think is the word is nothing but Brahman and Brahman is real in that sense world is also real as Brahman after all what is the essence Brahman is real the world is an appearance and you the sentient being you are none other than Brahman in that sense the world is also none other than Brahman but that teaching in the beginning that the world is none other than Brahman a world is real is not helpful it helps to realize that the world is an appearance and there is an underlying reality which is Brahman and I am that after that the world will continue to appear you will see it as Brahman and you can say happily it's real that Brahman alone exists that is the vigyan of Sri ramakrishna he talks about it after when Sri Lanka was asked is the world false he says no no why should the world be false that he doesn't say it's the word is real he says that is a stage in vedantic inquiry an advaithic inquiry so it's the stage falsity of the world is a stage in advaithic inquiry to make you realize the truth what does this stage do what purpose does the teaching of the falsity of the world serve it serves two purposes one to take our mind away from the world from people and objects in the world from our mind also subtle desires and frustrations and you know Cravings takes it our attention is taken away from that if it's an appearance if it's false why am I chasing this or why am I being bothered by it at all I'm not bothered by or not neither do I change something I see in a movie right so it develops develops dispassion this passion is very important for advaita vedant the primary condition so the teaching of the falsity of the world immediately develops vairage if we grasp the teaching but a deeper meaning of the teaching of all city of the world is there much deeper meaning what does falsity of x mean it means that something is not X it's actually y what is the teaching that you are seeing a snake yes well the snake is false the reality is a rope the one might ask the snake is false reality is the Rope where is the real rope the moment you say snake is false what does it mean it's not really a snake it's really a rope where is the real rope there itself where you are seeing a snake why because it's a false snake really it's a rope similarly if I say world is an appearance then what does it mean then what's real Brahman is real okay where is this real Brahman those who say world is real in itself they'll have to say Brahman is in heaven somewhere else points out that reality which you are experiencing as the world is really speaking it is Brahman here itself look around you what appears to you in in form in sound in smell and taste and touch in thought and emotion all of which we are relating as if it's the world it should be recognized here itself is Brahman you are immersed in the ocean of Brahman there's a ancient text paramatasar um where um patanjali is actually teaching essentially or capila Kapil I think is teaching very ancient text it starts with this verse which says the condition of sentient beings is so pitiable they are immersed in the ocean of nectar they do not see it they are chasing the water of a mirage for quenching their thirst so you are immersed in the water which will quench your thirst you don't see it but what you are seeing is the water of a mirage that tree of samsara and we are chasing it continuously that's what we are seeing there no water is there we're trying to quench our thirst with that so that one is false it's a mirage that's the teaching of jagat mithya false City what is the water of the Mirage jagat World samsara where is the reality you're immersed in it all the time you're Brahman you're Limitless existence your Limitless Consciousness you are Bliss itself whatever little pleasure uh Bliss you are finding in the world is borrowed from you so that is the teaching of the falsity of the world it does these two things it generates viraga dispassion you can be cool and calm about the world ups and downs in the world in the midst of it in the midst of all actions you can be peaceful because by that is passion is there second it points out where Brahman is it reveals to you if this world is false false means then what is it really yeah dualism what dualism does is that here is this word it's real and there is another reality I must tell you about that's called God so if God is a real thing and this world is also real then this world is not God it's a real word then where is God is somewhere else heaven then you have a duality there is a spiritual world and a secular World a sacred word in a secular world there is a heaven and earth but in non-duality there is only one reality which is Divinity which is existence Consciousness place and that's right here right now and the way to realize it so the do I have to look at the world as false and then find out Brahman everywhere no start with yourself foreign look into yourself through the techniques which will be taught to you next Mantra is there and you will find that you are pregnant then you will see everything that you experience is Brandman Michael bird says in the Rope snake analogy is Brahman the rope and the apparent World snake or does Brahman Trans in both the rope and the snake with the latter then what does the Rope represent Brahman in the example Brahman is supposed to be the rope and the world is a world appearance is like the snake and remember after Enlightenment for example the Rope snake analogy after we realized it's not a snake it's a rope we are not left with a real rope and a false snake there's no more fall snake anymore it's just the Rope similarly after Enlightenment we're not left with real Brahman and a false universe like a shadow or something it is only Brahman I remember and asked this question to Swami nirmuktan and we have told this story earlier also upen Maharaja it was a disciple of Swami Shivan and then belur mat he was sitting in the temple of Masha Radha one day when I was a young monk I went and bowed down to him he was at that time 98 or 99 years old I asked him in my view in my opinion he's one of the few whom I would consider if not enlightened fully enlightened at least very Advanced spiritually so I asked him how does the enlightened one see this world and I stepped my hand around like this you know the ganga river is there the Ganges is there then the Temple of Vivekananda is in front of you you're facing the law and the devotees are walking around so how does the enlightened one see this sword does the Enlighten one see that there is Brahman and this world appears as a shadow in Brahman as an appearance or something then he told me something very perceptive he corrected my error he said in Bengali I'll translate he said no why should that be there is only one that is prominent it's not that the Brahman and the world is like a shadow Brahman alone exists in the golden ornaments in the clay pottery are there two things is there clay and a pot vaguely is there gold and necklace vaguely a necklace no this is gold and gold only the name and form do not constitute a second shadowy thing apart from the gold it is the gold which by the power of um you know the Ingenuity of the Jeweler appears as a necklace and you can call it a necklace and use it as a necklace but it's nothing but gold similarly by the the extraordinary power of Maya it's frame Brahman appears as this word but it's true and through Brahman after Enlightenment before Enlightenment it is that upside down tree terrible Rick says someone said to me if you grant us science one Miracle the laws of nature exist at all we can explain everything oh yeah so the laws of nature exist that that itself is the first and greatest miracle Abhijit says the laws of nature worked well and explained using science only after their emergence science is still unable to explain much about the emergence Big Bang the laws are propelled and manifested through space and time are the momentum of the initial emergence much like a roller coaster travels through the course after accumulating the potential energy and initial crime right that's a good point uh Gita Dev says Swami brahmananda used to tremble while going near Master is it the same reason true true that's a very good example that the simplest of women are not so affectionate and loving and so simple SRI ramakrishna at least displayed the glory of samadhi and all the time different spiritual moods Vivekananda was a formidable intellect a great orator and a very energetic Dynamic person you know you could just be overwhelmed by his presence but mashada was the quietest kindest gentlest person and yet notice the most spiritual of the lot around her what they thought of her one common thing was awe which we as Ordinary People won't feel we feel that she is the most approachable and then you know the most ordinary it seems of all of them what did SRI ramakrishna himself say about Maharaja when I think it was um no who was misbehaving with him on this uh so he says to this this man that look say whatever you will to me but be careful don't don't misbehave with that one the one who lives there that means where mashada was living if she but um he says once Brahma Vishnu maheshwara also cannot save you so you have to be very careful in in the presence of the power of the Devi of the Divine mother Shiva is easily pleased but uh one has to be very careful in the worship of the Divine mother brahmananda is to tremble like a child so they are the most spiritually developed of all then they knew what mashada was so literally the mother of the universe everything here in this universe every little thing depends on her so they were they were most terrified Vivekananda was most terrified of coming close to the Divine to the holy mother and brahmananda also they were like children before her and they notice really can't even thought nothing not twice about making fun of Sri ramakrishna one day he was joking about SRI ramakrishna and one of his disciples vivekan is only a monk said is this proper Swami you are joking about SRI ramakrishna and Vivekananda said so should I joke about you meaning thereby even my joking and making fun will be about higher will be high spiritual themes the object of my fun also will be nothing less than God however there is no instance anywhere that he ever made fun of the holy mother or even came close to ever criticizing her or questioning her even the simplest commands were taken without a single question and immediately executed by Vivekananda brahmananda Shivan and the ones who really knew who she was this makes more sense or comfortably replace the word fear and Terror with power yes Abhijit since we are discussing brahmasutras we have heard so much about importance about you be possible to cover only after finishing before we start the next upanishad I think about it we'll keep this class for upanishads but we might have a special class for adhya Sebastian so if you are interested we can do that separately which is really worth doing it's a masterpiece Rick is the verse certainly all fear is born of Duality how would you compare the use of fear in the case yes promise I think it's criteria um yatra udharam uh this is definitely upanishad whoever sees the slightest difference for that one there is fear if there is even the slightest existence of the other there is fear and that is primal so how does this compare with the this verse it actually is is very compatible because the moment we realize I am Brahman then the fear has gone out forever as long as Brahman is the other there will be fear and that one did not be a bad thing it can start as the fear of God the awe of God it's much better better to be afraid of God than to be afraid of the universe fear of God then it goes into you know the continuous feeling of the presence the awesome presence the power of God then closer God is like a parent then closer God is like a uh like a master well first God is like a master and I'm the servant then closer God is like the parent I'm the child um or God is like a friend I'm a friend of God then God is like a parent I am the child and so on and towards the end God is like the child and I am the parent you see how much close at every step you're coming closer and closer and less and less fear and fear goes away completely does the bhakta attain uh only the bhaktate in Brahma you know anybody who's LED this life of um meditative and ritualistic life Karma um who have done it very seriously but these people are also very devotional and the devotees of God will also attain Rama loka Priya says what does the Sanskrit word means immediate straight away right here mukti right here Sangeetha says the magician attack would say the magician alone is real his magic show is unreal yes Brahman alone is real the magic show of Brahman is the universe the world so how does this work now with saying that the world to Israel in that sense that there's no more magic show the the example has to be changed now Brahman alone exists the magician alone exists in that sense alone the magic show is real it is it's nothing other than the magician as even when one discovers the magician the magic still cannot be termed real ultimately right yes that's true you have to abandon that example you have to see that Brahman alone exists Brahman alone exists but isn't Leisha Vidya necessary meshavidya is that little bit of ignorance which we sort of we say that that must remain over because of which the body of the jivan mukta continues so this is something this is a post-shankara development now the question always arises if ignorance is removed Enlightenment is received you realize your Brahman why would you still continue as this human being why wouldn't everything disappear and you remain as infinite existence Consciousness place and they will say that no because though all the ignorance is removed and you realize everything is Brahman a little bit remains which propels this body forward until proud of the karma is exhausted so that's one Theory yes sir Nobel Prize is given to physicists who used quantum mechanics quantum physics to show the world is not real as real as it appears a lot of cutting-edge physics you know it sounds a lot like vedanta I asked what's his name Brian Green the cosmologist here at Columbia University who wrote that elegant universe made into a very beautiful PBS documentary he was launching his latest book until the end of time which is more metaphysics than physics I think so I asked him about vedanta conclusions to sankhya and cosmology and the latest developments in physics and he said what you you have in sankyar vedanta is not science but it's a like a poetic rendering of the same truths it seems to be the same thing but put poetically Shiva prayer says everything is in Brahm and happening reflecting Ingram and hence it's only Brahman it's the cause reason of the universe it's real or problem good OMG [Music] together