The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad : Dis-1- Ch.1.5. Swami Krishnananda.

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#Glimpses of First Anniversary Celebration of 18th Vedanta Course

First Anniversary Celebration of 18th Vedanta Course was celebrated on 5 February 2022 on the occasion of Vasant Panchami, in the holy presence of Pujya Swami Tejomayananda and Pujya Swami Swaroopananda at Sandeepany Sadhanalaya, Powai, Mumbai.

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Tuesday, February 08, 2022. 20:00.

Discourse-1.

Chapter- I 

FIFTH BRAHMANA  : 

PRAJAPATI'S PRODUCTION OF THE WORLD AS FOOD FOR HIMSELF

Spoken on 8 February 1977.

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Now, this object of desire, in the language of the Upaniṣhad, is generally called 'food'. It is a peculiar term used in the Upaniṣhads only. 'Anna' is the word that is used in the Upaniṣhad. Anna means food, or a diet of the senses. So, the diet of the sense is the object of desire. All objects of desire are the food of the senses and the mind. The whole world of manifestation may be regarded as the food of consciousness. All that is material is a food for the spiritual contemplating principle. Prakṛiti is the 'food' of Puruṣha, you may say. Now, what is this food? What is an object, and how many kinds of objects are there towards which the desire moves? This is a subject that is taken up subsequently in the following section.



The Supreme Being created food for the Spirit, which is this vast world of creation. Anything that you cognise; anything that you perceive; anything that you can sense and think through the mind, is the food thereof. The object placed in any context whatsoever, whether it is an object of the senses or of the mind, is in the position of a food that is grasped by the subject. That food is of various kinds. What these are, the Upaniṣhad answers in the following section.


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    Mantram-1.

 "yat saptānnāni medhayā tapasā janayat pitā, ekam asya sādhāraṇam, dve devān abhājayat; trīṇy ātmane' kuruta, paśubhya ekaṁ prāyacchat. tasmin sarvam pratiṣṭhitam, yac ca prāṇiti yac ca na. kasmāt tāni na kṣīyante adyamānāni sarvadā? yo vaitām akṣitim veda, so'nnam atti pratīkena; sa devān api gacchati, sa ūrjam upajīvati. Iti ślokāḥ."

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Yat saptānnāni medhayā tapasā janayat pitā: The Supreme Father created food, when He manifested Himself as this universe. The spirit, contemplating the Cosmos, is actually consciousness contemplating its own food. What are these? There are seven kinds of food, says the Upaniṣhad. The seven objects of satisfaction are the seven types of food manifested in the process of creation. One food is the common food of all – Ekam asya satharanam. 


Dve devān abhājayat : Two foods were allotted for the celestials, or the gods. 


Trīṇy ātmane'kuruta : Three foods were appropriated to one's own self. 


Paśubhya ekaṁ : One food was kept aside for the animals. So, you have got seven types of food. What are these, will be mentioned later on. 


Tasmin sarvam pratiṣṭhitam : Everything is rooted in this sevenfold form of food. 


Yac ca prāṇiti yac ca na : Whether one is animate or otherwise, everything can be said to be dependent on the existence of these types of food. 


Kasmāt tāni na kṣiyante adyamānāni sarvadā? yo vaitām akṣitim veda, so'nnam atti pratīkena : People consume food of various types endlessly, for ages, over centuries, and yet the food is not exhausted. Why is it so, is the question of the Upaniṣhad. 


How is it that food is not exhausted? 


You go on eating it for centuries; it will not be exhausted. If anyone knows the reason why food is not exhausted in spite of its being consumed endlessly, such a person is provided with immeasurable food. 


So'nnam atti pratīkena,  sa devān api gacchati : He goes to the gods and partakes of the immortality, or ambrosia of the gods. 


Sa ūrjam upajīvati. iti ślōkaḥ : He rejoices in the nectarine realm of the celestials. This is the thesis, mentioned in an outline, in the first Mantra of this section, whose meaning is explained in greater detail in the following section.

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What is this sevenfold food that you mention, and how is it connected with the consumers or eaters of food question?

To be continued ....



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