Video 41

41. Katha Upanishad | Mantras 2.3.6 - 8 | Swami Sarvapriyananda

Shanti may the Lord protect us both the teacher and the thought together may the Lord give us the results of knowledge may we attain Vigor together let what we study be Illuminating maybe not Kevin at each other om peace peace peace Namaste and good evening everybody Welcome to the qatopanishad class we are towards the end of the open issue actually we are on the second chapter there are two chapters in the second chapter and the final section of the second chapter where the teacher the teacher is none other than the Lord of death Yama and the student is the brilliant uh an amazing young man a young boy nachiketa so Yama is wrapping up the teaching in this last section he has told us the nature of the Ultimate Reality what is the Ultimate Reality Brahman it is these two aspects pure existence Consciousness Bliss which is our nature we have an unlimited being unlimited uh Limitless Consciousness and Limitless Bliss and also the same sachidan and the Brahman which pervades everything is the reality of this entire universe is our own reality we are that but that also is the God of this universe the saguna Brahman or ishwala same sachidananda Brahman limited by Maya are empowered by Maya becomes the the God of this universe the Creator preserver and destroyer of this universe um and we saw Yama gives us that that this is you know he gave us the the classic Example The Vedic example of the the tree where the roots are Transcendent are subtle and this branches are down below down below means here we see the universe around it those are the branches and the the tree the reality of that tree the substance of that tree is Brahman so Brahman appears as that tree then not only that Brahman is the Consciousness is the intelligence behind this this creation so that also um Yama indicated am I indicated but everything in this universe follows laws and these laws are upheld by the sheer you know awesomeness of God the power of God behind everything else and he said that everything works in this universe because of the fear of the Lord so the the religious side of it a theistic religion God of religion that also he mentioned and then he went on to mention that this if you realize our real nature that we are Brahman you're free of suffering how do you realize that um oh another interesting issue he mentioned was is it only possible to realize it here in this life in human birth or anywhere else and he said yes it is possible you can realize you can become enlightened this knowledge is available in other words in different Heavenly words but he pointed out not as clearly and as directly as it is available here except of course he mentioned brahmaloka which is a spiritual Heaven the highest of all Heavens where it is even more clear even more direct and even more possible however going there is not so all that easy and in any case we are not there yet we are here and lucky for us that here this knowledge Enlightenment is directly available if not so easily it's still available and we should use this time this opportunity to become enlightened and free of bondage no the sixth mantra we're going to enter the sixth mantra the sixth Mantra is [Music] [Music] what is the translation having known the dissimilarity of the senses that originate separately as also the rising and setting the intelligent person does not grieve all right sometimes these translations sound very dry and we we go what what did he say what does it mean but they are they are very subtle and they're wonderful actually they are all doorways pointers to the Ultimate Reality to show us how we can realize Brahman and what is the point of it all of course these things he has said again and again throughout the upanishad however here is summing up again what's the point of this Mantra in his introduction shankaracharya in his commentary on this Mantra shankaracharya points out what's going on in this mantra um shankaracharya's commentary how do you realize this how do you realize your Brahman you know I'm Shiva of the nature of Consciousness and Bliss well how do you realize it how does one realize it so what's the way of realizing it then what's the point of it all he says what is the prayogen of the purpose served what is the goal the point of it all what benefit do I get from realization from Enlightenment so both of these points are uh these questions are answered here there is a method of realizing who am I which is pointed out here and the result the result of course the word means realizing dheera is a literally means the patient one the spiritual hero the one who is a spiritual Seeker the sincere spiritual Seeker does not grieve goes beyond sorrow overcomes suffering the goal is to overcome suffering transcend suffering forever how do we realize our Brahman nature this is going to go into that a particular technique is given indrian Church he says look at the functioning of the senses notice three things the difference they are different and their sources the origins of these senses are different and finally the the senses their functioning originates this function sometime and they're stop functioning at other times the three points he has made one point is the senses are all different what they're doing their functions are different that's one point the second point is the origin of the senses where they come from it's different they're all different and the third point he makes is the senses sometimes function and sometimes do not function these three he says these are the clues to this is one method a Clues to Enlightenment to realize that I am pure Consciousness how we'll go into that we'll go into that but before that just an observation about realization or enlightenment upanishad which we'll get to eventually I don't know when but sometime there the it is said that you one must become enlightened it is said atmaavareth yeah um the Atman is teaching his wife so the Atman my dear he says has to be seen you have to see the Atman now just stop here just stop right there c means what you can't see it why does he say the Darkman has to be seen can it be seen with these eyes we know it can't be the self the Ultimate Reality cannot be seen with eyes not with any other senses it can't be heard by the ears or smelt by the nose or tasted by the Tongue or touched by the skin no it cannot be it's not an object of the senses one might say yeah I have I mean we don't mean it in that crude sense we made it seeing means like you know when you explain something and we say oh I see what do I mean I don't see I understand that's what we mean so seeing is another another meaning a deeper meaning of the uh of seeing is understanding in English in Sanskrit also in fact the word for philosophy in India darshana you see darshana is darshana literally comes from the Sanskrit root drish to see but it doesn't mean in philosophy doesn't mean you have to see something it means you have to understand something knowledge so darshana seeing is equivalent to understanding um in the Indian philosophy there's always this motive of the third eye is third eye supposed to be here and often it's shown we used to read these Comics as children and the third eye of Shiva opens an array of light goes out from there like a superpower or something it means knowledge the eye of knowledge uh realization knowledge it can be worldly knowledge but ultimately it means spiritual knowledge the realization of the ultimate nature of things our own ultimate nature that that comes through knowledge so seeing means knowledge but even there if you say Atma it means knowledge um there also is a problem knowledge you to understand through the mind but can it be understood by the mind we again and again say that it is beyond the mind can it be expressed yes it can't be seen by the eyes or you know not an object for the five senses fine but can it be expressed in language can it be understood by thought can it be conceived by the intellect and we again and again say Beyond language Beyond thought so if it's beyond language and Beyond thought how can you know the Atman how can you know the Atman is it an object of knowledge at all and if it's not then why did the upanishad buys it said my dear the Atman should be seen the first one must appreciate this this whole the conundrum the whole problem here see the Atman all right knowledge of the Atman but is the knowledge of the Atman at all possible and if it's not possible why did he say why did the openish why does the upanishad say the Atman has to be seen so what does it mean here it is true the Atman is not an object of any of the senses and it is also true the Atman is not it cannot be expressed in language this is also true the Atman cannot be conceived of by the intellect so it's not an object of knowledge at all um then what does it mean seeing it's like one of the shankaracharyas recent shankaracharyas he was in kanchi kamakotipita he explained it this way he says when you are told strike um you know piece of wood with the sword you know strike the piece of wood with the sword what is it what is the instruction to cut the piece of wood with the sword but if he says strike the mountain of steel or or iron with a sword well if you do that the sword will will break you can't cut it the sword itself will break similarly when it's when the upanishad says see the Atman dartman is to be seen what it means is we all the attempts to see to understand to objectify the Atman comes to an end the sword of objectifying of objectifying knowledge you know seeing hearing smelling tasting linguistically expressing and conceptually understanding all of that comes to an end it fails now this is this is a dangerous thing to say one must carefully understand this otherwise what will happen is a kind of agnosticism that oh the Atman cannot be known it is something unknowable so let's give it up what's the point no no no Vivekananda says You must not go away with the idea that it is unknown or unknowable it is more than known the the clarity Dawns on us that the Atman is ever known in every bit of knowledge in every sensory knowledge in seeing hearing smelling tasting touching in thinking in imagining in Desiring um in waking dreaming deep sleep all that is actually known is the Atman and it is Atman is revealed to the enlightened one thatman is revealed in every knowledge in every knowledge prati bothanisha says we'll get to that upanishad also prati Botham in every knowledge whatever knowledge we are having whatever experience we are having in every knowledge in every experience when you see the Atman when you see a real nature when you see Brahman then you are then one attains to immortality it's constantly being revealed to us this Clarity becomes so overwhelming there is no question of trying to um you know see the Atman or objectify the Atman or even know the Atman or realize the Atman what is most obvious why would you try to realize it anymore that is the meaning of atmaavara it must become so clear so effortlessly reveal it just as with the eyes we what do we try to do we try to see things but we never ever try to see the eyes with the eyes because we understand what the eyes are they are meant to reveal objects to us to us they are meant to reveal forms to us whatever can be seen we can see it with the help of the eyes and we try to see that with the help of the eyes but the eyes themselves are not an object which they can see how can you um you know if the sword is used for cutting how can you cut the same sword with that the you know that sword which you are using for cutting how can you cut that same sword with that sort you cannot a thing cannot operate on itself you try to you can lift things with your hands but try to lift yourself you can't it's impossible uh you know can hold your shoelaces and try to pull yourself up by your own shoelaces you can't so a thing cannot operate upon itself similarly we know once we realize what the Atman is there's no further desire to try to objectify and realize it as an object that is the deeper meaning of atmaavary that level of clarity effortless realization that then there's no point or this you understand it's um the foolishness of trying to get an objective knowledge of the atmosphere see there are people large numbers of people who have no effort at all they're trying for self-realization we are not talking about them here the vast majority of people around us they will say yeah I also don't want to see the Atman I have no interest at all we are not talking about them we are talking about those who have our spiritual Seekers we want to realize Brahman we want to realize the Atman I want to know who am I then the next step becomes because of all our knowledge is objectifying knowledge we immediately helplessly we objectify this so the upanishad tells us the teachers have told us my real nature is something existence Consciousness Place infinite being infinite awareness good I want to experience that and then we this is this is the next big obstacle that we are trapped in trying to objectify and find it you'll never find it not because it does not exist it because it's not an object of uh seeing it's not an object of understanding uh so then how do we get to this point where my realization of the self is so effortless that I do not seek to objectify anymore the next part of that commandment from the prayer that upanishad is to be seen how not with the eyes the entire process of Ghana yoga first listen to these teachings the vedantic teachings listen to them carefully from a teacher then second um consider them well try to understand what what is being said here third once you have got Clarity you know the teaching you have understood it then stay with it then it will become clear to you and then the first the ignorance will go away but you know there's no what is this Atman I'm just this body mind that ignorance will go away first we will realize yes my real nature is sachidan and will at least get the information next the objectifying nature of our mind but once we get the information I am existence Consciousness please I must somehow try to experience this existence Consciousness please that will be overcome by the deeper understanding that realization will come I am actually always experiencing uh existence Consciousness place all the time all right now how do we do this the different methods are given in the upanishads one method is now mentioned by um Yama he tells these are all methods which have been talked about earlier here he talks about the same thing in a different way what is the method this is consider our sensory experiences we see here smell taste touch what what should I consider about our sensory experiences he says three things first notice that the senses are separate pritak bhavam the separate means if you take a flower the eyes will tell you one thing that it's red like a rose you know the eyes will tell you it's red if you smell it your nose will tell you another thing entirely it's beautiful fragrance no red fragrance you touch it you the skin will tell you something entirely different not red not fragrance soft petal you taste it you will get the rose tasting um it's a kind of a sherbat can also be made with the with the rose flavor so it will give you a taste it will not give you red not at all it will not give you a smell fragrance not at all nor will it give you a soft touch no it will only give you a a taste every sense gives you different um experiences all right then I know all of those experiences are revealed to you to ourselves we experience it because of one thing in the background this Consciousness which you are which I am our real nature so the senses are multiple but the experience of all those senses uh is possible the multiple experiences they're all possible because of the one Consciousness in the background this is one point the difference of the senses senses cannot reveal they one sense even cannot reveal the object of another sense your eyes cannot give you the fragrance of the Rose the eyes cannot give you the taste of the Rose the tongue cannot show you the redness of the Rose impossible they cannot they operate separately do you see what is being said and yet we we you we all of us effortlessly we see the red rose we smell the fragrance of the Rose we taste the rose flavor We Touch The Petal of the Rose and we feel the softness all of these things we clearly experience I one person how because of the that unifying that the thing at the background is one consciousness which enables us to experience color and taste and smell and flavor and all of that so five senses running out in five different ways very different from each other but when they bring in their data and they dump it into the mind in the mind illumining all of this information is one thing only notice in our own experience the consciousness of our own conscious experience the objects are different sight is different from Red is different from soft is different from rose smell is different from Rose taste seeing is different from smelling is different from tasting is different from touching and yet all of this becomes unified in consciousness all of these experiences are revealed to one Consciousness is it not it's very interesting just meditate upon the the various activities of the senses and notice how they are all unified in one radiance the radians which illumines all the information from the senses is one right where does this happen in our first person experience in your experience of seeing hearing smelling tasting touching it's all made possible by one light that light is one they're not different that one consciousness all right then the second one it requires a little bit of vedantic cosmology India indrayana the sources the origin of these senses are is different what does it mean here we have to go back a little bit to our vedanta Sara um what did vedanta Sarah tell us about the senses it says there are five elements the vedantic cosmology five elements so space air fire water Earth now what do we have to remember if you remember vedanta it tells us that each of these elements has qualities as certain qualities so Akash is the substratum space is the substratum of sound then air value is has got two qualities sound and touch fire has got three qualities sound touch and form um water has got four qualities sound touch form and taste and Earth prithvi has got five qualities sound touch form taste and smell so the ancient cosmology was the year the you know the the sense organ which gives us an experience of sound it has its origins in the uh element space so the power to here is connected with the element of space the power to sense touch is connected with the element of air the power to see is connected with the element of fire the power to um to uh you know taste is connected with the element of water and the power to smell is connected with the element of Earth all right that's what it means the sensory Powers have their origins in the five different elements space air fire water Earth five senses five sensory powers and they are originating in five different elements their Origins lie in five different elements and yet what does the upanishad say upanishad where did these five elements come from that and there's another upanishad will eventually get to that also so the titiri upanishad says from you the Atman from Consciousness emergency space from water emerges the Earth so this is the old ancient cosmology the whole sentence from the upanishad is so the five elements emerge from each succeeding emerges from the earlier one from the subtler the more gross one but the subtlest of all of them space it emerges from Consciousness from you the Atman which means you are prior to these five elements you are prior to these five elements yeah you are prior to these five elements means who is older who is senior you the Atman or or space you are senior because Atman space comes from you and the capacity for hearing sound and the capacity for hearing comes is a modification of space element that comes afterwards who is senior you are um or you know um touch you are senior because from you has come space from you the Consciousness arises space from space arises uh air from the power of air from The Element air arises the the sense organ for touch and The Sensation of touching and so like this so the point here is you are prior to the emergence of the elements and the emergence of the uh sense organs based on those elements and the emergence of the sensory experiences so yeah basically it means Consciousness is prior to all of all Sensations sensory functioning origin of the senses and the functioning of the senses Consciousness is prior to all of them this is the meaning of they all originate separately but you are prior to them not only you are Pride to them you are more pervasive than them pervasive than means um seeing and hearing they don't go together their operation is different but you pervade both you have Consciousness hearing and touch are different but you pervade both you as Consciousness because if you didn't there would be no experience of hearing touching seeing all of those are made possible by you because you as Consciousness pervade the activities of all these senses you are more pervasive you are prior to these senses so this is the meaning of the the separate origination of the senses you are before all of them that's another way of appreciating what you are or what we are and then the most important the separate um arising functioning and seizing of the senses now notice our waking State we in this waking State we see we hear we smell we taste We Touch there are forms there is taste there is touch there is sound there is smell we are contacting a world through the gates of the five senses this is what is called waking and now in the dream state when we fall asleep all the gates are shut the five gates are shut yet in the dream state you still continue without when the senses shut down you still continue what continues the Mind continues not only that notice the Mind does something magical when all your eyes are closed in sleep your sense organs are not connected your all your you are offline you're the sleeping offline and yet in our dreams we actually we see we hear we smell we taste We Touch we feel like we can hear people talking not only that we act also we feel that we are walking around talking to people we feel our sense organs are functioning we feel our motor organs are functioning we feel that we are seeing hearing smelling tasting actually the physical senses are not functioning there um and we are walking and talking actually the physical organs are not functioning unless you are sleepwalking or talking in your sleep then the physical organs are not functioning and yet the mind in it by itself can do all that showing thereby even in the waking state all the sensors are acting but they all depend on the mind in the connected with the mind the eyes are able to see connected with the mind the ears are able to hear and so on anyway in the dream the point here is ask them the five physical senses have said means like Sunset the senses have set they are not functioning and yet you are there not only that you are active in your dream things are happening your experience is going on furthermore even the Mind shuts down even the Mind shuts down then there is no objective experience anymore there is no differentiation of experience anymore there's a blankness but that blankness is also an experience blankness does not mean the universe has disappeared that there is nothing no it was nothing then you could not wake up come back again when we come back again to our waking State all our memories are there all our Tendencies are there the external world is revealed to us we are still there that means in the blank State also if it's like a seed state where in the seed state in the blank state that blankness it's not an absence of experience I always say it's an experience of absence you know it's like I'm showing you the book here this is the presence of the book now you're seeing the presence of the book If I immediately remove the book you're aware of the absence of the book but if I remove everything you're aware of the absence of everything see when I removed here's the book you're seeing the book are you conscious yes they've removed the book you're not seeing the book the book is absent are you conscious yes has it made any difference to your Consciousness not at all similarly when this entire world is removed by the shutting down of the senses his mind is still active you are conscious there is many many difference to your Consciousness no senses have shut down your Consciousness is still there and it is experiencing whatever the mind generates Consciousness has not gone away when the Mind shuts down in deep sleep it's experiencing the absence of the mind no difference is made to Consciousness this is the point so let me repeat that what is being said here notice the activity and the cessation of activity of the senses I mean what do you understand from that in all the senses various activities they're behind it all I am the Consciousness I am there without me no none of the senses would give any kind of experience if eyes were if the eyes are there I can see I can see the color red of the Rose if my eyes are shut I cannot see the color red of the Rose but I am still there the conscious being the one which saw the red rose when the eyes are shut I cannot see the red rose but I am there however if this I this Consciousness were not there even if the Red Rose is their eyes are open you can't see there would be no experience of seeing hearing smelling tasting nothing it would go dark the universe would disappear into darkness so this Consciousness is there then the senses are active when the senses shut down and you go into Dreamland in the world of Dreams Consciousness is there when the Mind shuts down neither the senses are functioning nor the mind is functioning blank everything is removed Consciousness continues revealing the absence of everything the absence of sin the sensory world the absence of the mind since the mind is absent you cannot even think oh I am now watching absence that you cannot think because the thinking is also mind so the mind has gone but you Consciousness you continue this is the Clue the pointer so this is the analysis of the activity and the LA and the cessation of activity of the senses if we focus on these three points you will realize you are Consciousness this is what he's trying to point out here implicit of course is the method of the three states waking dreaming deep sleep by observing waking dreaming and deep sleep we realize I am the Consciousness to which waking dreaming deep sleep are coming and going that is basically what he's trying to point out but there's a little more here this is little more beyond that because here the focus is on the senses so three things he has pointed out by pointing out the origin of the senses from the five elements he shows that you are prior to the origin of the senses you're prior to the five elements the senses come from the five elements and the you are prior to the five elements that's point one what is prior to the five elements you the consciousness second the senses are separate you are the one light which unites all the sensory activities the separation of the senses they all have their areas of operation you know none can duplicate the activity of the other the eyes cannot hear the ears cannot see the nose cannot touch so none of the them can duplicate each other's activities yet behind all of them is one common Radiance Consciousness that's the second Point third Point most important this waking dreaming deep sleep activity of the senses waking world cessation of activity of the sensation senses but mind goes on active dream world cessation of activity of senses and mind Deep Sleep World all three words appear to you the Consciousness they come and disappear in front of you the Consciousness you don't come and go you are constant this constant Consciousness revealed by the origination of the senses the difference of the senses and the activity and cessation of activity of the senses this is what he's pointing out this is the meaning then he says if you know yourself as this consciousness and then you are in the middle of the world let the Mind start working let the senses start working experience the word see hear smell taste touch think remember all thoughts and emotions come and go you are safe as Consciousness you are Beyond sorrow he says explains how do you go beyond sorrow if your consciousness isn't sorrow also possible because your Consciousness yes because the Atman is eternally of the same nature Consciousness in making State Consciousness you are aware in dream state Consciousness you're aware in the blankness and absence which is in the Deep Sleep State your Consciousness awareness and that does not change that neither comes nor goes neither increases nor decreases if somebody says no no when I take a cup of coffee I'm more con um more conscious your mind is more active that's why you feel more alert when I'm sleepy and then I'm less conscious no the mind has become duller that's why you you feel like that way Consciousness reveals the sharpness of the mind and the sleepiness of the mind also Consciousness reveals deep sleep complete shutdown of the senses and the mind so Consciousness is ever the same neither increases nor decreases but sorrow notice Consciousness is ever the same the body is not ever the same the senses are not ever the same the mind is not ever the same if you talk about oh uh I am old and wrinkled and you know bent and my teeth have fallen out my hair I've lost my hair I'm old body Consciousness exactly the same if I am strongly centered that I am the awareness whole body body was born it age not just old I'm perfectly all right Consciousness is supposed to be purana very interesting ancient yet ever knew Consciousness is ever new every moment it is new so you are ever young what do they call Forever 21 so Consciousness is Forever 21 really speaking Forever 21 is consciousness only so ever knew then hungry thirsty tired Prana it's the sense of the the pranama equation that is what generates health and tiredness and illness and all of that you are the when the Brahma generates hunger you the Consciousness reveals the hunger in the body mind but you are not hungry Consciousness doesn't eat nor does Consciousness become hungry it gives us the experience of hunger in the because of The Prana depression unhappiness restlessness Consciousness reveals all of that where is that in the mind not in consciousness if Consciousness were depressed or Restless see as we said Consciousness is constant then deep sleep also you would be depressed or Restless never it goes with the moment the Mind shuts down it goes away why only shuts down even if there's depression or restlessness momentarily it is there within few weeks within few months again it's not there within few minutes within few hours again it's not there so that's the nature of the mind and that is revealed by Consciousness Consciousness itself is not Restless Consciousness itself is not depressed Consciousness itself is not unhappy okay um then understanding not understanding remembering forgetting these are memory and intellect but Consciousness is the witness of all of them illumines all of them so Consciousness because of its constant nature he says it does not flicker Consciousness does not flicker it's a constant light which does not figure flicker does not change its essential nature and therefore there is no possibility of sorrow in the Consciousness nature in our real nature as pure being or pure awareness knowing that matwa you're realizing that in the midst of this aging body in the midst of the tidal waves of Prana sweeping through our body sickness hunger thirst energy Health the derise and decline of the body and health we are perfectly all right we notice it we are all right we can say I mentioned Swami shivananda suffering from asthma uh you know and then somebody next in the morning a monk asked Swami how are you today and he said I am perfectly all right but but Swami we heard last night you suffered terribly from asthma he says Oh you mean the body not at all all right and not good at all so he is so clear that as Atman as Consciousness I'm perfectly ordered what can happen to me whereas the body no no I can understand the body is not doing well at all it's going and then he goes on to say it's the nature of the body it will become old and decorate and it will die that's all right the one who realizes the conscious nature of the Consciousness nature of the self goes beyond sorrow then the next two mantras further he goes on to explain how does one realize herself so the next two mantras will tell us something is already taught in the first chapter the five levels of the human personality the five sheets of the human personality the body The Prana the mind the intellect and the causal body beyond that the Karana sharir so you know the five sheets he's going to talk about that now said it earlier also shown it by The Chariot example the you know the Chariot example now he's going to again remind magiket of this method number seven the translation is the mind is superior to the organs the intellect is superior to the mind the Great Soul is superior to the intellect done manifested is superior to Mahatma then the eighth one foreign [Music] but superior to the unmanifest is the purusha who is pervasive and is indeed without worldly attributes knowing whom a man becomes freed and attains immortality basically the analysis of the five sheets what is done here to realize that I am the witness Consciousness I am Consciousness I am Atman Brahman we start with the most the most gross the most out outermost aspect of the human personality and step by step we go into subtler and subtler aspects why do we do that this is known as arundhati nyaya Shakra Chandra it's a method used you know in philosophy where in teaching basically it's a pedagogical method you go from what is most obvious to something that is less obvious and then to the subtlest from the growth to the subtle to the subtlest if you straight away say you are pure Consciousness it makes no sense um I I think I am this person here sitting on this in this chair how am I pure Consciousness what is pure Consciousness I have no idea of that at all it's impossible for me to grasp now this step will this methodology will take us to our real nature as pure Consciousness and then the statement you are brahmanasi then it makes sense you are Brahman only when first we realize I am the witness Consciousness that is the first step to realizing our Brahman nature as a body I am you just can't see your brahmana what is Brahman the Ultimate Reality of this universe that in which this your entire universe appears how can I this person sitting in this chair here how can I be the ultimate reality of this universe and it's not it's impossible it's crazy so first I have to be shown something that is subtler deeper closer to my real nature and more pervasive then that statement that you is Brahman that one which you have understood so that understanding first has to be generated the understanding as the the self as witness consciousness so he starts as the mind is superior subtler more inwards Superior in what sense it's subtler and more inwards so the external objects the entire world he that is external and he doesn't mention that because nobody identifies and you know I don't identify myself with this book or this laptop or this even this cloth or this this shirt these are all external to me so we don't identify ourselves with that but we do identify ourselves with the body so he starts with the body this is this body which is revealed to us by the five senses these senses are external to the mind the mind is internal to the senses so the sensory system is external gross object compared to the mind which is subtle and internal what do we do with this we have to first understand what is being said and then notice it notice it so how does it work look at our experience of the world what is our experience of the world right now in the waking state I see forms and color and shapes I hear it sounds I smell fragrance I touch and I taste now if I ask you what is closer to you the things which you see or the eyes which are seen closer to you as the self I'll say the eyes are closer to me what is closer to you the sound which you are hearing or the ears by which you are hearing the sound I'll say the ears are closer to me the senses are closer to me than the objects is this clear see the teaching is we have to move with the teacher so every step stay with you know you go from the objects to the senses stay there go from the senses to the Mind stay there stop mind to the intellect stop and then like that you have to go so are we clear here that the objects are external the senses are closer to me they are more internal senses are superior to the objects he has not even said that he's already assumed that Superior means inwards closer to me subtler to me and I notice yes it's a fact now consider the senses themselves the eyes and the capacity for seeing ears and the capacity for hearing and all of that all of them are cognized understood experienced by the mind you know what is the Mind thoughts emotions perceptions memories what's going on inside first person experience so that mind is the common ground where all the five senses dump their information that mind is where seeing is actually happening seeing is not happening in the eyes not even happening in the brain no matter what neuroscientists might tell you the brain they will show you some neurological activity some little bursts of electricity which fmri scans will reveal to you but your actual experience of seeing your mind is happening in the mind pay no attention no seeing will happen even if the eyes are open and the objects are there no hearing will happen your mind is distracted no hearing will happen even if Swami is talking and ears are open nothing so the mind is where all sensory inputs are dumped and sensory experience actually happens so the mind is superior to the senses all five senses the mind is superior which is closer to you the eyes are the mind the mind of course not only closer most of us think I am the mind we feel that I am the mind so I the self the mind is very close to me or I am the Mind senses are comparatively external they are objects to the mind just as sights or objects to the eyes sounds or objects to the ears similarly eyes and ears are objects to the mind the mind is superior too notice what is superior controls the other one the Mind controls the senses the mind is aware of the senses the eyes cannot see the mind but the mind is aware of the eyes ear cannot hear the mind but the mind is aware of their ears and the functioning of the ears so the mind is superior inwards that's the first step actually which Yama says then manasa so he has satwam the word satwa does not means the three gunas no here means buddhi intellect intellect so the indrias are actually taken as part of the pranamaya kosha and then higher than the pranamaya kosha is the manomaya kosher the Mind sheath higher than the Mind sheet is the intellect sheet the vigyanamayakosha what do I mean normally we take the intellect as part of the Mind here is making a distinction the intellect is the higher Mind by which we understand things even vedanta if you are trying to do is with this analysis we are doing with the help of the intellect not with emotions with the capacity of unnoticing and understanding so this intellect is higher than the rest of the mind let's put it that way kosha is subtler than the other parts of the Mind the intellect again stay with me here just this faculty of understanding now he does something a little different he says Yama says the cosmic mind what does he mean here if we proceed along this track what will happen is the way he's doing external world two senses senses to mind mind to intellect from intellect back to the um the causal body anandamaya will come to the witness Consciousness I am the Consciousness which is the experiencer the witness of the five sheets but it will be tainted with the sense of individuality of limitation I will always have this intuition the intellect will have this intuition that I am the one cons witness Consciousness in this five sheets in this individual body together is known as server priyana the label server this is the body these are the senses this is the mind this is the intellect beyond that is the blankness of the Ananda my kosha I am the Consciousness Illuminating the five sheets but wait a minute there are so many other people here and they all have type sheets and they all must be having a separate Consciousness with it this Oneness of existence that will not be revealed from there it will be difficult to jump to one consciousness so what he does here is at the level of understanding intellect he opens a doorway to the cosmic mind so just as here there is understanding buddhi the vigyanamaya kosha similarly it is the same thing in all beings whichever embodied beings are there all the these sentient beings they also have an intellect sheathosha and all the minds are connected their power part of one Cosmic mind what will be the advantage if we do this if we do this when we come to the witness Consciousness it will be the one witness Consciousness behind the cosmic mind one light which illumines all minds and all senses and all bodies all sentient beings behind that one light one Consciousness not this this intuitive feeling that there are many lights in many bodies and mind this is this is the goat that's why when the the teaching you are Brahman will become active which become will make sense at that time foreign the cosmic mind higher than this Cosmic mind is Maya see now he has gone from the individual to the cosmic instead of saying the causal body now in our dream in our deep sleep he's saying Maya the causal body of ishwara of God so higher than the cosmic mind is object or Maya and you are the Consciousness the one Consciousness which illumines Maya the cosmic mind of which our individual minds and sensory systems and bodies are Parts okay now the next one it comes to the point in the ninth verse eighth verse beyond the Beyond Maya beyond the causal body Beyond Ananda my question what is this experientially what what are we talking about our deep sleep experience when we fall asleep in deep sleep external World senses are not experienced senses are not being not working mind is not working sense of ego is not working intellect is not working all of it is shut down that blankness but it's not nothing it's a seed state where everything is contained similarly as we have a seed State individually the entire universe has a total seed state all our causal bodies together comprises the causal body of ishwara called Maya so this Maya beyond that purusha purusha means consciousness beyond that is consciousness how do you know because you are experiencing it the very fact that you experience deep sleep the very fact that you experience dreams the very fact that you experience a physical world the gross the subtle and the causal they're all revealed to you because this Consciousness and you are that Consciousness you are purusha transcending the causal State transcending the causal body if you look at it in terms of the five sheets physical body where the senses are also implicated actually senses are in the pranic body anyway physical body annamaya then the pranic body pranamaya then the mental body manomaya the intellect beganamaya and then the causal body anandamaya all five are appearing to you in Consciousness you want that consciousness in the waking State all five are appearing and the physical body is primary in the dream state the pranic body and the mental body are primary and in the Deep Sleep State the current sharira the causal body is primary blankness the seed state but all or all five are appearing to you the Consciousness what is the proof that your Consciousness because you are experiencing all these five you transcend all five all pervasive this Consciousness is not limited in one body we are not talking about one little Consciousness experiencing the five sheets in This Server piano in the body mind it's a one Consciousness in all our bodies and Minds you know we are one there means here any characteristic any sign so there is the intellect the mind the senses the body the external World they have all characteristics there is color shape sound you know the distinct characteristics are there for everything but Consciousness by itself has no objective characteristics and that's why one there is important you one should not try to objectify that all right now I have I understand what the world is I understand what the body is I understand what the senses are I can track what the mind is I can even understand what the intellect is doing and I sort of understand the causal State the blankness Beyond everything now I want to understand Consciousness don't do it you will find nothing will find nothing you'll just find the void but notice it will be a luminous void why is it a luminous void because you will find no objective reality corresponding to this Atman Brahman but there will be awareness this Luminosity this emptiness this will be revealed to you the Consciousness that Consciousness is the Atman set free jantu chantoo literally means animal but the technical meaning of jantu is that which is born that which is born janma you are set free the first the preliminary reading will be oh so as so many times I was born in various bodies and various lives now it is at an end I will never be born again into this world of Sorrow again but deeper philosophical meaning we see that as Consciousness I was never born I was never born Consciousness was never born at all it's bodies which are born and bodies which die I am released from my juntu nature literally I'm released from my animal Nature by Nature the nature of being born that I am released from forever attains immortality attains immortality does not mean that I was Mortal earlier now I have become immortal I realized I was always Immortal it was always all right I never was born I never did die as awareness this magical display of samsara of the five sheets which encaps encapsulated media awareness and then it's not a problem anymore if you have a causal body and a mental an intellectual body and a mental body and a chronic body and a physical body they are all your glory or your power because they can't trap you anymore as long as we think we are that and we don't realize our Consciousness nature trapped when step by step we come to this Consciousness nature and we realize here I am not beyond the five bodies foreign states of waking dreaming deep sleep and not I'm other than the five bodies the five sheets when I realized that then I also realized this is the one reality behind all bodies and Minds I I am the Oneness of this universe then I am free and then I continue to function through this system of five sheets this body mind complex but then you will be called a G1 booktube enlightened while living all right I'll stop here more we will discuss it more next time let's quickly take a look at the question so Priya says can you explain the sword analogy again yes the sword analogy is this it's important to note what are we trying to do when we try to I want to realize the Atman bhupanishad says Atman should be seen But it cannot be seen the five senses cannot objectify it the Mind cannot think of it language cannot express it intellect cannot understand it then how do you see the Atman well then you generate this knowledge by shravana Manana which will not knowledge of the Atman it will it's a knowledge which removes the misconception that I am not the Atma which makes it obvious to you that I always was the Atma and effortlessly so so that's like So when you say know something it's like telling cut something with a sword cut the piece of wood with the sword understood pretty clear instruction but if you say know the unknowable cut a mountain of Steel with the sword this is chandrashekhar and the Saraswati um was the shankaracharya of kanchi kamakotive he gave this example so he says cut that mountain of Steel it simply means that sword will be broken will be smashed then the whole project of objectifying the Ultimate Reality will fail you realize you are the Ultimate Reality that's what it means Michael bird says one has a miraculous vision of God has God not become an object being revealed to the person through the background of the Atman yes but remember when you have visions of God devotees have visions of God and entirely possible mystical visions of God are entirely possible SRI ramakrishna had so many visions and Saints and mistakes throughout the ages throughout different religious traditions have had visions of deities now what's that it's not the pure Consciousness as such because that can never be an object there can never be an object however so are these delusions not at all from an advaithic perspective we are always experiencing pure Consciousness if pure Consciousness can at all be experienced all experience is experience of pure Consciousness in one sense all experiences experience of Consciousness itself what else is there which will experience except Consciousness however the experience in the world sight smell taste touch you know people objective objects and subjects activities uh desires passions memories all of these real the reality there's a wave and it obscures the reality that is pure Consciousness it doesn't allow us to see that we are pure Consciousness and this universe is just the radiance of that pure Consciousness we don't see that however these mystical visions of God which Ram Krishna sees Kali whichever mystical Vision one has those Visions though they seem objective in nature they don't Avail the reality they are different ways of manifesting that same reality so they are very helpful advaita and non-dualist will say they're very helpful in your realization of the non-dual reality they are not they will not trap you in samsara they'll in fact help you to be free of samsara mystical visions of God Girish says what is it that you say stay within needed yasm you still advaithic concept of unitary Brahman only a concept expressed in language in babaric domain how do we know that is truth and how does that get us to the truth yes so stay with it if you see the techniques of niridhyasana then you will see what is meant by stay with it but let me put it simply as far as I can by listening to the teachings and by deliberating upon them shravana and Manana one comes to a Clarity one can say that I now know the teaching that I am Brahman what is meant by Brahman what is pure Consciousness I know it and I understand it also now what do you mean stay with it you say is it a concept it's only a concept no because when you understand it you realize you are it are you a concept are you a concept no see for example let me ask you this body is it a concept or is it real this is real these senses by which you are aware of the body you can see smell taste touch the body with the senses the senses sensory powers are the concepts or are they real they're real go make it subtler the thoughts which are behind the mind which is behind the senses is it a concept or is there really a mind it is really a mind go deeper the intellect which you are using to organize to understand all this is that a concept or is there really an intellect are we brainless or is we have a brain we are we have an intellect yes it's real beyond the intellect the Consciousness which makes all of this possible conscious experiences is that Consciousness a concept or is it a reality if it was a concept it would be a concept to Consciousness after all what is the concept A concept concept appears in the vigyanamaya question the intellect which appears in consciousness so Consciousness cannot be a concept Consciousness is you yourself if Consciousness is only a concept then you would be a concept what vedanta does what it does is it clarifies you which you exist nobody doubts it that was Descartes you know firm conclusion the indisputable conclusion that I exist that I exist that I is pure awareness that is clarified by Shabana and Marana I exist the sense of my existence now is understood to be pure awareness stay with that pure awareness not as an object bhargava says having known a dissimulated senses that originates separately as well they're rising and setting the intelligent man was not great yes Rick says synesthesia will census overlap true but notice even when the senses overlap you seem to um music has colors for example music has colors some people experience that way um sound set color or now there also it is actually Consciousness which is revealing all this that principle Remains the Same equated understood to mean bigyanama kosher here so one meaning of satwa is mind because there's a reason it is connected to the satwagon actually the mind is so the senses and the physical body is why it also makes sense to call the vigyanamay kosha is the approach in Mantra 7 using ekaji bawad after the first two steps which are at individual level uh no actually it avoids the uh the conundrum if you don't do that you will end up with here it goes takes you to the cosmic mind which is the mind of all the jivas so you admit there are many Divas right here a little discussion might be their side discussion my one might object wait a minute um until we come to this Cosmic mind until that the sense body the senses I am aware of it and directly I can experience it if you direct my attention to it I am aware of it mine my contents of my mind I'm aware of it the my intellect I'm aware of it but from that if you ask me Cosmic minor Cosmic intellect I'm not aware of those things the reason is why are you not aware of course you cannot be aware because all this awareness is these processes are going on in one mind but we are just being asked to understand that this slice of mind is part of an ocean of mind and the whole mind is lit up by Consciousness if the whole mind is lit up by one Consciousness why am I not aware of I right now I am aware of all the contents of all Minds it's because the operations are going on in one mind in each mind this experience is going on because of that one consciousness see because we are unable to separate Consciousness from mind in our understanding we keep thinking if I am one Consciousness in all bodies and Minds I should be able to know what's going on in the minds of all beings no no not necessarily it's like many pots and in all the parts there is water and all the water one sun is reflected our tiny little Suns and imagine that little Sun illumine illumines the contents of each part it is true that there's one sun behind all those little Suns but it's also true that each little sun will only illuminate the contents of the water in that pot bhargava says the seventh mantra for meditative perspective yes it is true first understanding and then noticing but the meditation here will be a non-dual meditation that is noticing not the meditation of sitting quietly first notice the world you can shut the eyes and notice the senses then then turn your attention to the contents of the mind then turn your attention to this very intellect which is trying to understand and then turn your attention even further inwards blank notice that the blankness is appearing to you that U2 which the blankness is appearing don't don't try to objectify what will happen is you'll immediately drop the all sensing thinking remembering understanding drop into a blankness drop that blank missiles that's the interesting part of it yes and then to think of Maya as Manifest not unmanifest because when Maya is Manifest it's the universe and Maya in itself is called object or unmanifest it's the power of God it's that which makes Brahman into God saguna Brahman who makes nirguna Brahman pure Consciousness into saguna Brahman raka says how would you say that we are experiencing done in the mycosa is the mind not active how can we actually know that we are experiencing it that state aside from deducing it once the mind is back on right yes so deep sleep is it a deduction or is it an experience it first of all it's clearly not an experience that kind of experience we have in the waking or the dreaming the way we are because waking dreaming is always subject object experience I see things through with my eyes that's waking I imagine things in my dream that's in my mind that's dreaming but when it shuts down the Mind shuts down there's no sense of IELTS there's no sense of an experienced object also but that that uniform blankness that's also an experience quote unquote it's not a deduction that's a big argument in advaita vedanta every culture every civilization in the world from the most primitive native civilizations you know the to them you know every religion every philosophy everywhere you have language corresponding to Deep Sleep experience in every language how if it was not an experience then we would only talk about waking and dreaming we would not even talk about um deep sleep anesthesia coma don't talk about it it's a blank nothing I knew nothing that's also experience that's why I say it's not an ex absence of experience it's an experience of absence not that it's a done deal there are like there are schools of philosophy which will object to this um advaithic formulation of deep sleep advaitians have to defend that because for them Consciousness generates experience and if there is no experience at one point that's an introduction in consciousness that's not allowable so they will argue for that deep sleep is also a kind of experience some some mother says are we perturbation fluctuations in pervasive Cosmic Consciousness no Universe bodies Sensations thoughts emotions and perturbations in Cosmic Consciousness we are that Consciousness and that not even Cosmic here's one little thing let me leave you with that it's not even Cosmic you see when upanishad says all pervading it says Consciousness is all pervading but actually Consciousness is not all pervading this pervading nature is because of accepting space once you accept space because space appears in Consciousness then you say Consciousness must be everywhere it pervades page pace Consciousness is not even eternal so once you accept time then his Consciousness cut up in time or is it throughout time then you say Consciousness is throughout time it's eternal nitya it's not even all pervasive it is all it's once you accept object all living beings non-living beings stars planets quasa or squarks once you accept them all you say sarubham Brahma all of it is Brahman all of them are brahmanas but even this all is imagined in consciousness so really speaking Consciousness is not even Eternal not even pervasive not even all so is it something small no no is it something Limited in space no no located no is it something Limited in time beginning and end no no no in order to remove those doubts in order to remove those misconceptions about the limited nature of Brahman we say Brahman is a pure Consciousness is um all pervasive it is everything and it is eternal foreign but actually it's only in relation to space relation to time and relation to object that these episodes are given in itself you can't even say that what Consciousness is parul says samaya's causal expression of pure Consciousness yes is it embedded even deeper than my question yes a part of Maya it's the seeds which are kept in Maya from which our individuality originates and these are not theories just like our deep sleep experience imagine everything is obliterated in deep sleep yet we all Sprout back every day in the morning we come back quickly kick back into action just the same persons again where does this Sprout come from Rodrigo can we be Concepts to ishwara um we are like children to each one I sometimes think what would God think of us like a mother thinks of children so we are like children to each other because we are we are from ishwara like children are from The Mother We are from Esurance so we means individual sentient beings um [Music] [Music] thank you