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Parameshvara

A discourse on the essence of Brahman and the Self from the Kenopaniṣad.

"That which breathes through the life force, that by which the prāṇa itself is animated—know that alone to be Brahman. It is not this form that is seen."

"The ātmā is not born and will not die. No weapon can kill it, no elements can destroy it, death cannot take it away. Unborn and undying, immortal, everlasting, eternal, blissful, divine—that is Ātmā."

Swami Sarvapriyananda explains the nature of the Supreme Reality (Brahman/Parameśvara) which is beyond sensory perception. He discusses the endless universe, the governing principles of Īśvara and Parameśvara, and the individual Self (Ātmā) that is immortal and distinct from the qualified individual soul. The talk uses Vedic references and analogies, concluding with the idea of becoming one with the infinite Brahman.

Recording location: Czech Republic, Strilky, Summer seminar

Yad prāṇena prāṇiti yena prāṇaḥ prāṇīyate tad eva brahmatvaṁ vidhi nedam yad eva paśyate. That which breathes through the life force, that by which the prāṇa itself is animated—know that alone to be Brahman. It is not this form that is seen. That Parameśvara, the Supreme One, is beyond all this. About Him, the ṛṣi said only this much: whatever knowledge or subject of the prāṇa is, that which inspires and gives us the power to understand, must contain some essence of that Brahman. And that One is leading us further. That is the Almighty, that is Parameśvara or Brahman. Now, that is called Parameśvara, Īśvara, and Ātmā. The entire universe is divided. It is said in the Vedas, ananta brahmāṇḍa sūryas. We know the Vedas are the oldest scriptures; no other scriptures exist. In written form, the Vedas have existed for more than 8,000 years. It is said this universe, what we see with our eyes, is endless. No end has been found yet. In this endless universe, there are thousands of sun systems, like the one we are living in. Therefore, it is said: ananta brahmāṇḍa, ananta Hari, and ananta Hari kathā. The universe is endless. Hari, God, is endless. And His glory is endless. No one has realized or come to the border of His glory. But we have divided it now into three: the endless universe, our part of the cosmos, and our body. So it is Ghaṭākāśa, Bhaṭākāśa, Ākāśa, and Mahākāśa. Ghaṭākāśa means our body, the space within the body. You are yourself a separate individual, an entire universe. The governor of this body is the Ātmā, the Self, which has no form, cannot be seen, touched, or smelt, but it is there. Sometimes it is very interesting to know that when we speak of self-realization, the self is searching for the self. You go to some office or to the police with your ID card and say, "I am searching for this person." The policeman will say, "Yes, please sit down, relax," and they will call a psychologist or an ambulance. So it's funny: when I come to you and tell you, "Do you know where this Swāmījī is?" Perhaps he took LSD. He lost the sense of reality. Now, which reality? We are talking about physical reality. So the Self, our Self, is within us, and we are searching, yet we do not realize. The Self is searching for the Self. So we have to find some police inside who will make us aware of what your Self is. Anyhow, the ātmā is not born and will not die. No weapon can kill it, no elements can destroy it, death cannot take it away. Unborn and undying, immortal, everlasting, eternal, blissful, divine—that is Ātmā. And that has no individual quality. Individual quality makes an individual. The quality of the salt makes the salt, and sugar makes the sugar. So salt has quality. All our destiny, good luck and bad luck, the karma which leads us to heaven or hell, and who is going to heaven and hell, is that individual soul. But when the individual quality is dissolved into the universal quality, there is no more soul like this. This is called Ātmā. Paramātmā then is called Īśvara. Īśvara is that power which is governing within our sun system, this solar system. As far as this sunlight goes, that is this part of the cosmos. And that Īśvara Śakti is governing this. And then the same Śakti, which is called Parameśvara, is governing the entire universe, where there are thousands and thousands of sun systems. That's called Parameśvara. And this is called Parameśvara, Īśvara, Ātmā, Jīvātmā, and Nature. So that essence, the Supreme One, is everywhere. When you become one with that, then you are in ananta Brahman. It is no more necessary to come into this world. Therefore, it is said: whatever is realized and understood through the senses, the physical senses, and the intellect, is not that Brahman. We only have to practice and pray for that, so that in the end, we will become one with that. This was the first part of the Kenopaniṣad. Now, what he is saying in the second chapter, we will speak next time. Śrī Rām Jaya Rām Jaya Jaya Rām, Śrī Rām Jaya Rām Jaya Rām. Recording location: Czech Republic, Strilky, Summer seminar

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt, what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

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