1 Flowering of Supreme Bliss Discourses by Sadguru Prabhuji On Taittiriya Upanishad (March-April 2014) Transcribed and Edited by Atmajyothis Published By Light of the Self Foundation Publication Price: Rs 200 2 Contents Preface ........................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 5 Brahmananda Valli .................................................................................................... 13 The Sheaths of Food, Prana and Mind ................................................................. 19 The Sheath of Intellect ............................................................................................. 30 The Blissful Sheath .................................................................................................... 39 Brahman, the Foundation of all .............................................................................. 48 Supreme Bliss ............................................................................................................. 53 Bhrigu Valli ................................................................................................................. 62 Annexure: Questions ................................................................................................ 79 3 Preface Existence is Bliss. It is Bliss Supreme. In this very life we can realize the Supreme Bliss which is our own true nature. One who realizes the Supreme Bliss becomes immortal in this very life. We are indeed fortunate to have the gift of Taittiriya Upanishad from Krishna Yajurveda. It describes the Nature of Supreme Realization in a very lucid way. For any success in life, it is important to have a disciplined noble way of living. A way of living in tune with the Universal Law – Dharma. The Dharmic way of life leads to purification of the mind leading to increased awareness and Self realization. The first chapter of Taittiriya Upanishad is an instruction in Dharmic way of living by the Spiritual Master to the disciple at the time of graduation. The Spiritual Master lovingly instructs the disciple to lead a life Dharma after he leaves the abode of the Master and takes up a householder’s life. The second chapter of the Taittiriya Upanishad describes the glory of the Self Realized. The degree of bliss experienced by Self Realized soul – Brahma Jnani is far greater than the bliss experienced by any being in existence. This chapter also beautifully describes the 5 sheaths of human being – Annamaya (Physical), Pranamaya (Vital), Manomaya (Mental), Vijnanamaya (Intellectual) and Anandamaya ( Blissful sheath) and the Self beyond these sheaths thus giving a clear model for contemplation for Self Realization. The third chapter describes the way Bhrigu the son of Sage Varuna realizes the Supreme Bliss. This book covers the lectures on selected shlokas from Chapter 2 and 3 given by me to the members of Atmajyothi Satsang. Prabhu 12th July 2014 Guru Purnima 4 Introduction My respectful Pranams to all Atmajyothis. Today we shall begin the study of Taittiriya Upanishad. It is a part of Yajur Veda. There is an interesting story behind this Upanishad. There was a Rishi by name Yajnavalkya and his Guru was Vaishampayana, a very famous Master who used to teach Yajur Veda. People used to come from far and wide to study under his guidance. The king of that country had some disease and he came to Vaishampayana Rishi’s ashram seeking treatment. Vaishampayana agreed to treat the king. He would go to the palace and recite some Yajur Veda mantras and conduct some Upasanas. This went on for a month but the king did not find any relief. The king then came to Vaishampayana’s Ashram and said that the Mantras are useless and Vaishampayana Rishi was cheating him. Yajnavalkya who was a student there could not withstand the accusations made by the king. He told the king that the Veda mantras have the ability to bring about any desired results; he pointed to a dry piece of wood lying nearby and said that the mantras have the ability to bring life into it. He then chanted some Yajur Veda mantras and sprinkled some water on the dry wood and much to the king’s surprise it came to life and green leaves appeared on it. The king then humbly requested Yajnavalkya to come to his palace and cure his disease and Yajnavalkya obliged. When Vaishampayana learnt that his disciple had cured the king’s disease which he was unable to cure, he was angry that his disciple had spoilt his reputation. Vaishampayana cursed Yajnavalkya for having insulted him. A Master’s curse is very effective; the disease that the king was suffering from, now came on to Yajnavalkya. The other students were very sad to see him suffer from the disease. Yajnavalkya told them not to worry and he cured himself by uttering the Prayaschitta mantra. This made Vaishampayana angrier; he went wild with fury as his disciple had insulted his curse too. He then asked Yajnavalkya to give back everything that he had learnt from him. Then Yajnavalkya chanted the entire Yajur Veda and said that he has returned everything that he had learnt and he would never chant the Yajur Veda mantras again. The story says that the other disciples at the Ashram were very eager to learn the mantras and they took the form of Tittiri bird (partridge) and swallowed the Yajur Veda mantras vomited by Yajnavalkya. These are only symbolic, don’t be under the impression that they had an extraordinary ability to take the form of the bird and swallow the vomit of Yajnavalkya. It is a figurative way of speaking. The Yajur Veda mantras that he gave back his Master came to be known as Krishna Yajur Veda (Black Yajur Veda). Yajnavalkya from that day onwards stopped practicing the Yajur Veda mantras learnt from Vaishampayana. He then decided to get the Yajur Veda mantras directly from the Sun and did Surya Upasana. Vedas have three portions: Karma Kãnda for rituals, Upasana Kãnda for worship and Jnana Kãnda for 5 knowledge. Upasana is worshipping, contemplating or meditating upon divinity through a form. He meditated on Suryanarayana, Narayana in the form of sun. Upasana requires a Pratika (form). Surya was very pleased with his Upasana and he came in the form of Hayagriva (horse) and taught the Yajur Veda mantra again to Yajnavalkya. The mantra which Surya (in the form of Hayagriva) taught to Yajnavalkya became Shukla Yajur Veda (White Yajur Veda). What does acquiring a mantra from Surya mean? Is such a thing possible today? Is it possible to realize the mantra, is it possible to experience the mantra, to understand and receive the mantra from God? One who receives the mantra from God, from the divine directly is called seer of the mantra Mantradrishtara or Rishi. Veda mantras are called Shrutis, ‘Shruthi’ means heard, Veda mantras are heard. Hearing the mantra and seeing the mantra are different. When one sees the mantra, he experiences the mantra directly. For example, there is a mantra in the Purushasukta which goes like this, ‘Purusha yevedam sarvam yadbhutam yaccha bhavyam, sahasra seersha purushaha sahasraaksha sahasrapaat’. The Purusha is ‘Sahasrapurusha’, he has thousands of heads, eyes and ears. Everything in this existence is Cosmic Consciousness. The Rishi who wrote down this Mantra not only heard the mantra but also experienced the mantra simultaneously and that is why he is called Mantradrishtara. The mantra is not just heard, mantra is experienced. Yajnavalkya is the Mantradrishtara of Shukla Yajur Veda. Yajnavalkya is a very famous Rishi of the Upanishads. The entire Brihadarankyaka Upanishad is dedicated to the teachings of Yajnavalkya. There is another story about Yajnavalkya. There was a king called Janaka in Mithila, at the time of Ramayana. He was Mother Sita’s father. He used to host Vidvatsabhas and invite many saints and scholars for discussions. He would ask questions and would honour those who gave the right answers. In one of those Vidvatsabhas, Yajnavalkya was present and King Janaka announced that the one who is recognized as the greatest Brahmajnani would be presented one thousand cows that are decorated with golden ornaments. Nobody came forward as nobody had the courage to claim that they are Brahmajnanis. Brahmajnani is the knower of Brahman, Brahman is the absolute Reality behind all names and forms that we see in the world. Brahman is the axle behind the revolving world; Brahman is the unchanging substratum that supports the ever changing world. Brahman is not available for knowledge, cannot be experienced by the senses. Like how an electric bulb cannot understand electricity, similarly, a human mind and intellect cannot understand Consciousness. One might wonder that this being the case, how can anybody be a Brahmajnani, how can anyone know that, which cannot be reached by any human faculty? A Brahmajnani is not a knower in the ordinary sense. A 6 knower is always in relation to an object, ‘knowing’ is the relationship between a subject and an object. If I say I know this book, I have read this book, the book is the object and I, the knower am the subject. Whereas Brahman is not an object to be known, Brahman is the subject and that is why it is said that the knower of Brahman becomes Brahman himself ‘Brahmavid brahmaiva bhavati’, the object, the subject and the process of knowing is Brahman. So when we say Brahmajnani or Brahmana do not be under the impression that he is a knower