KAIVALYA UPANISHAD : 16. Swami Advaitananda.

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Chinmaya Mission  :

Chinmaya Mission members of Auckland New Zealand were waiting with bated breath during the second week of November 2022 to host Pujya Swami Swaroopananda at their new Centre - Chinmaya Nikunj. 

Due to the pandemic Swamiji could not be there in person for the grand inauguration of the new centre in 2021. Members rejoiced and celebrated Pujya Swamiji's presence with a special weekend retreat and public talk series on the topics Re-Program Your Mind and Discover the Wellbeing Code respectively. 

During the weekend retreat the workshops and lectures emphasized on how our mind, thoughts and our world are all inter-related, hence the emphasis on auspicious thoughts to bolster transformation and change for a happier living.

When speaking on Wellbeing, Swamiji reiterated how a life lived in line with the teachings of our scriptures can facilitate the rediscovery of our natural state - that of wellbeing.

A special event of the week encompassed the Brahmachari Deeksha of Anish Aya who studied in the 17th Batch of Vedanta Course at Sandeepany Sadhanalaya who has now committed to serve Auckland residents as Br. Ishaan Chaitanya through his Selfless Seva.

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From the Atharva Veda (26 Mantras) : “The HOMOGENEITY of Brahman”

5. OUR SPIRITUAL ROOTS :

Mantras : 15-19, 5 no.

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Saturday, Novembber 19, 2022. 09:00. 

Mantram - 16: The Efficient Cause of All :

Post -16.

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Mantram - 16: The Efficient Cause of All - With Translation :

5 yat param brahma sarvaatmaa,     = That supreme Brahman is also the Self in all,

6 vishwasyaa yatanam mahat;        = the ample support of the universe,

7 sookshmaat sookshmataram nityam, = subtler than the subtle, and eternal –

8 tat twam eva twam eva tat. “That = alone thou art; thou alone art That!”

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Commentary :

The last verse gives us a little hint as to what our real spiritual roots are. We learnt 

that God is immanent in the gross creation. That immanence is shown to be not just 

‘synthetic’ but totally identical to it – God IS Creation. God was found to be the material 

Cause of the gross world. Well, if that is the case can that identity be extended to us, the 

living beings of the world? Is Brahman also the same as our very own Self?

It may sound blasphemous, but the answer is “Yes!” and this section sets out to 

show us precisely that identity – that the individual soul is in fact the Supreme Brahman in

the deepest possible sense of the word. All Upanishads state this identity, but Kaivalya 

Upanishad brings this home to us most gently, logically and step by step.

1 At the very outset, the conclusion is stated. What we are trying to prove is stated 

categorically as a fact here – that the Supreme Brahman is the Atman or the Self. This 

statement can only be understood at the end of verse 19, after all the facts have been given 

to us bit by bit in each of these four mantras.

4 This is the Mahavakya of this Upanishad. The same truth of Identity is expressed 

here in cryptic form as a Mahavakya – that the individual Self is the same as the universal 

Brahman. A Mahavakya is a concise, emphatic expression of this identity. How do we 

intellectually grasp the Truth represented in these two lines? That is the purpose of this 

section.

The first direct step to take us to that understanding is to establish that God is not 

only the Upadana Karana or material Cause (15), but also the Nimitta Karana or Efficient 

Cause of this entire world, i.e. He is the Designer of this whole world in every detail. 

This fact gets established here by showing all the three conditions of an efficient cause are present in Brahman:

1 The word “Param” is used here as it was in the Katha Upanishad: to denote that 

which is innermost in all beings. 

2 Secondly, it is shown to be all-pervading, providing the basis for all Creation as its 

substratum.

3 And thirdly, Brahman is shown to be the subtlest factor in all creation.

These three conditions are sufficient to show that Brahman is the efficient cause of 

everything in creation, including all living beings. The efficient cause of a thing is always 

subtler than Its effects. 

At the pinnacle of creation is Brahman, who is the Cause of this 

whole universe, being the subtlest of all principles.

The next three mantras fill in the gaps in the logic that takes us from Brahman as the 

material and efficient Cause to Brahman as identical to our own inner Self.

*****

Next-

Mantram - 17 : The Experiencer is Brahman -

To be continued

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