The Taittiriya Upanishad introduces Brahman as the proximate cause (upadana karanam) of the entire universe, meaning it is the cause that exists wherever the effect is found. This Brahman is characterized as limitless consciousness (nirguna Brahman) that is both the intelligent cause (nimitta karanam) and the material cause (upadana karanam) of the world. The teaching emphasizes that Brahman is not a newly created entity but an eternal reality that exists here and now, and that the individual self (atma) is fundamentally identical to this limitless Brahman. The knowledge of this identity (brahmavidya) destroys the illusion of limited existence (samsara) and leads to liberation.
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001 Taittiriya Upanishad Bhashya with Vartika - Mangalacharana Verse 1Added:
systemat.
Those mechanism Mom, mom shanty shanti.
[clears throat] So today we'll start the titriishad with shankarrahashia.
So I'm using the adita sharada site.
Okay. Adasaraada.net.
You can go to the grunta here and choose the titria.
Okay. Vindasha.
So in the same site you also have the vanamala is there. Vanamala vaka is there.
Anandiri tikka also is there. So these two tikkas I won't be covering in the class although I will refer to it wherever required. In fact during our gurulavasa we used to refer the vanala. Vanamala also is basically following similar to anandari but it has something extra also. So that's why I think most people nowadays read traditionally those who read they read the titri of dhasha along with the vanamala tikka of course the vartika also we are going to see here that is the interesting thing or important thing vartika also is available in this site okay you can go and see here the titriad vartika also is available and so all the vartikas for a particular section If you click thea here, it should come.
Okay, this is the shanti mantra I chanted here and also the sahana. These are all thea shanti mantra. We'll see the meaning of that later.
So here of course all these vakyas are all available. Banana and Anandiri also you can see here all three are available and if you go to a particular vaka you can read it what the tika has is there okay in fact here you can see anandiri also is starting with the mangla charnum here vashakara has written three slokas as mangla charnam for this t3 which is unique and we'll see that also. So before that this Titria belongs to the Azurea. Okay.
The Ajurua itself is actually divided into two Russian sense. There is a Krishna and a Shukla.
So this titria brahana all of them are called titria. This is a titria shaka.
So this shaka was actually taught by okay originally the aurveda was this Krishna only in fact viasa maharishi is the one who you can say categorized or divided the veda into four because before that veda was supposed to be one body of knowledge but it became too much.
So during the Gasachara's time itself he thought that human beings can no more study the entire body of knowledge which is Veda.
So we will divide it into four and then we'll create four groups of people for whom that will become the sashaka as it is called correct. So first you have to always do the study or the adham of your own swasha that is supposed to be the swadharma of a brahmana particularly the brahmanas their main dharma is to study the veda so that they can pass it on to the next generation and this was studied in an oral tradition which you all know and that's why we still have all the vic because if it was written down and all that people could have burnt it.
Correct. In fact, in India due to invasions and those invaders were barbarians.
Correct? They had no uh no value for knowledge. First thing they did was burn libraries. In fact, it is said that the Nalanda University was burnt and it was burning for months.
It seems they had to burn it so much because so many manuscripts and all were there. They kept on burning it.
But still people ran away because it is a oral tradition.
They could run and again take somebody they can go to some other kingdom.
Like that it was protected.
So to memorize and protect his oral tradition only vasara divided into four. So pila was the sisha who was interested with riguea. Visham pana was given thea and then jaimi was given sama veda and sumantu was given atana.
So four Vedas the body of knowledge the Veda itself got divided and four different shishas and from there the lineage is there and even another thing he said is that even piranhas were composed by Vedavasa correct. So for that he had a shisha called Roma. Roma was the shisha to whom Vedavasa taught the puranas. So he had five main shishas. Four for the Vedas, one for the purana and dithasa and all that and pana there's a story in that why the name titria also came okay so pana had 86 disciples it seems and yadya also was one of the disciples and he had uh like 86 sitas he taught to 86 different disciples but he didn't teach anything into Yagna but Yagya was a very bright student and he was somewhat arrogant also you can say or proud.
So once what happened this is from the Brahmand Purana this story of Vishana is there in the Brahmandap Purana it is there also in Mahabharata.
The story is that once some rishies and sages they wanted to meet and discuss something. Okay. They called sabha and they said that within 7 days everybody has to come here and take part in this sabha in the discussion whatever we are going to have. If somebody does not come here then they will have the brahhati dsha.
Okay they have to do pihara for brahhati dsha.
So that is what they decided.
So after this decision after 7 days everybody met but visham did not go there. Okay he missed this assemblage.
Therefore he got the brahhati dsha.
So now he has to do the parhara for that.
So he asked all his to do par.
But also was there he said I myself will do you don't have to do or other sishas and all need not do because I am qualified to do this. I know everything whatever is to be done I will do it.
So once he said that became angry he thought that he is very arrogant and proud.
So he said that you now return everything whatever you have learned from me you have to return it back I don't want to teach you anymore you are too arrogant but in his mind I think he thought that basically he thought that he's qualified to do everything by himself. Why others should do all these things if he himself can finish it? But anyway once told this it seems that he vomited all this knowledge out and then the other shishas became titri birds. Titri means in English you can say it's a partridge. In fact we have these birds even in our gurulam a lot.
So in Tamil we call it kowari.
So these are all I think it is called gray frankle in English. These birds are all like small birds but very active.
They will be in groups and if you go near them they'll just fly out uh very low flying. They don't fly very high. They basically they'll be foraging in the ground only mostly. Anyway so they became this birds and they consumed whatever threw out. Okay.
So or we have to consider it like symbolically if you take it if you don't take it literally means recited everything back whatever he had learned then the other fish grasped it. So for the sake of other fish only this whole story happened like this also we can take because everybody else was not as bright as Yagya.
But anyway so has to give back whatever he learned to later on he went and did lot of tapas penance to surya adita and then from surya bhagavan he received thea again independently that is called shukla. So alone we have two different branches, Sama are all only one but within then also there are many shakas are there.
Originally more than thousand vic shakas were there. Now around 10 or 11 only are left. Most of them are uh they are not there anymore. There are no people who know that anymore.
And if you take themselves and then they allrishna so this belongs to theria correct there is a samita brahana So samita is where the ve the mantras are there. Brahmanas are all pro portions. Mantra means it has to have a chandas.
It has to have a meter and every mantra has a rishi.
It has a chandas and a data to whom the mantra is a prayer or it is addressed to.
The pros portions are called brahmanas.
In each veda there are pros portions also.
The pros portion is where details are given how to use the mantras in different karma. Okay. Then aryakas are all forest related means it is for vanapa that is more upasana oriented and mostly the oponyishads are all found in the arandas. So titria also is part of the titria but oneish opishad alone is part of the samita itself. It is called samita. It is part of the samita that's why ishaw is very special that way and then we have ka and chandoga are froma okay and then we have we have three correct mundaka and so like this 10ishads commented by aishankara are from different Vedas and Taitria.
Okay, another story is that Bashakar wanted to be the first basha because it is his own sashaka because Krishna are mostly found in South India.
Kuklis are mostly found in North India.
In south also you have some Krishna but not that much.
And Shankarachara is also supposed to have written uh a viti or a commentary a brief commentary on the adhma of apast dharma sutra. Okay. So why did he write it?
Because aastamba sutra is his sutra. The apasta sutra those who follow the aastamba sutra dharma sutra are all Krishnais. So we can assume that Adish Shankara his own swasha is Krishna and he wanted to write a commentary on Taitriishad first. But the traditional story is interesting. It says that he asked his sisha to bring the manuscript to write the commentary but every time he asked they brought Vishnuama manuscript instead of Taitriisha.
So then he decided that okay this is the isharasalpa. So we I will first write the Vishnuasha and then he wrote the titraish bhasha which is the first commentary ofas like this the traditional story is there but if you read paramachara's in kura okay in this parachary makes another interesting point he says that must have been written first because in the braharish certain things which Hankachara says are different from what he says in other options. Even like definition for shama and dhama he gives differently the opishad compared to other places.
So he thinks that initially Shankara wrote Bhar Neka and later on his some of his views changed and then he wrote other opishads like that also there is a view. Anyway whatever it is we can say that titraishad is one of the firstishads he would have written the commentary for because it is swasha and the oponyishad itself has three or chapters you can say. Shikai is the first one.
Then there is a Brahmani or Anandali and then Bhui we say then there's a fourth chapter also which is called Mahanara and also that for that Bashakara has not written a commentary. Okay. The fourth chapter basically is a big one with a lot of it is like an appendix of different sutras.
In fact very commonly chanted veda suttas are all found in the mahanara and upanishad. Even lot of upta mantras mantras which are used in day-to-day rituals are all found in the mahanara and upon even different gaitri mantras are all there in that.
So it is more it also has lot of upas and some yana related also is there at janaam also is there in the fourth chapter also but mainly it is upasana and karma and all that.
So another way of classifying is the sikshai is called sabhitas and the brahmanandha and briali is called waruni because wuna is supposed to have the rishi for that. Okay, Vuna is supposed to have given out the uh Brahmani and Briui and the fourth chapter is called Yagniki because it is related to and doing karma and all that that way also the is categorized.
So the sika the first here is again having it is called samita because it has again lot of upasanas based on the samita and we'll see that so first we'll see the the mangala the pashakara has written three shlokas most other doesn't write any mangalacham especially like this so that also is something unique here.
So, So that is the first verse of the mangala.
So from which this entire world correct the entire universe is born or from which also you can take can have two meanings because it is punchi apadana correct.
So both the nimit and upadana karaana can be taken as the meaning format because esmath can be taken as from which or because of which. If you take it as because of which it is the nimita correct it is the intelligent cause like a potter is for the part. Correct.
But if you take from which then it is the like the clay is for the part.
But can be taken as also here because into which it resolves and by which it is supported. Those two definitely mean that it is correct. Only the the means the resolution can only happen into the karma. Correct. The pot if you break the pot where did it go? Means it went back into the clay. We have to say correct.
So or also the pot itself is supported by the clay. If the clay is not there, there is no part. If you touch the pot, it is clay only. If you the part, it is clay only. So clay only is really there as a which is supporting the name and form and function of the pot.
So that way into which it resolves and by which it is supported those two are definitely can be both and we can take intelligent cause.
Therefore is introducing Brahman correct here as the of this entire world. It is they both the intelligent and the the cause which is proximate. Proximate cause is better translation for upadana or material cause also you can say but material means people get confused by that word material because the upadana need not be really a matter or material. Understand that we even say maya is the is the upadana for this entire jagat and maya itself is the cause for space itself. So maya is very subtle sukma. It is not some matter like you think it is like a solid concrete thing and all that. Even in modern science if you go to subatomic level and quarks and all that it is not really matter. Understand that only the macro world we have matter and solid, liquid, gas, plasma and all that whatever states of matter are there but at the quantum level in fact most of it is only energy and space 99% is space but it is so energetic and spin and all that they say because of which it looks like it is occupying more than whatever it is occupying.
So the better translation is In the tradition we define as the cause which is found wherever the effect is there. So wherever the effect is there which cause is there correct that is the upadana.
So the English translation proximate cause is a better translation because even for Rajuarpa.
So the the snake which is appearing on a rope we say aidya is the if you say aidya is a matter or a material cause then it confuses people.
Aidya but aidya is there. Correct.
Wherever you see the snake rope Aidya has to be there otherwise you will not see the snake.
So that way rope aidya the ignorance of rope is the upadana for the appearance of snake because wherever the snake appears there the ignorance of the rope has to be there. If you know the rope as rope then you cannot see the snake.
So in all these situations it is better to translate upadana karnum as proximate cause that which is there wherever the effect is found.
Anyway coming back here. Why does Vashakara start the mangla churnam like this?
That is because the opanishad itself is brahma vidya. Correct. So the meaning for opishad also bashara gives in differentishad introductions.
Soad is the correct and are prefixes. Sh is the and comes in three meanings.
It is said. So like that if you go to the you can see the is the letter it is an indicator letter based on the indicator letters how the datu changes into anga correct how it changes uh that is all decided by the indicator letters and where it appears in the datu part also because there are 10 different groups and all that but comes in the meaning of vishara.
So vishara means this shiry and all we say correct something which is decaying disintegrating. So that is the meaning of vish isana and gi means get.
Okay mean get in the sense of knowledge here because even in English get can be obtaining something correct or reaching somewhere. Gi can also mean traveling but here so getting somewhere getting out also it can mean but get here is actually in terms of knowledge understanding. So gatya and then aasadana means completely destroy along with the cause.
So these three meanings and point to what is being destroyed by what or the knowledge of basically destroys and disintegrates something that is the meaning. So up means what? Upa means that which is the nearest.
So the nearest to oneself is yourself.
Correct?
So the upa there points out to atma only and ni is mischarly.
Clarity is very important in knowledge.
It cannot be vague. It cannot be doubtful.
It has to be clear. So gi means the knowledge is there. Means the atma is nothing but brahmanagyanam here. So you know yourself as brahman.
That is very clear. That is the brahavidya we are talking about. And that brahavidya will make this samsara to disintegrate.
Correct?
Means samsara means a life of becoming a life of suffering and duka.
Why? Because everybody takes oneself as a limited being because you identify yourself with your body mind sense complex. The physical body is limited.
It is born and it is going to die. So time wise it is limited. Space wise also it is limited because it can occupy only some space. If you are there in this room enjoying something, you can only enjoy one thing at a time also. You can there are so many things in the world but you cannot be everywhere enjoying everything. Correct. Physically, specially you are limited. Time wise you are limited. Knowledge wise you are limited. Power wise you are limited.
Resources wise you are limited.
Enjoyment wise also you are limited.
Whichever way you look at yourself you are limited. Now if you are able to accept that as it is, it is okay. But everybody is instinctively struggling to get rid of these limitations. Okay.
That is the problem. In fact, they do not even recognize this properly. See, one of the simple things which you can ask yourself is what do you really want in life? Okay, you can go and do uh some kind of a survey. Okay, you can go and survey what do you really want in life? What do you want to pursue?
Means some people may say certain things but if you again ask why do you want that? Basically you want something because it will make you happy. Correct.
Everybody is pursuing happiness. Suka or ananda is the basic human pursuit. Even though we may classify pura and all that correct is thereas that which is pursued by or desired by human beings that is pura that is classified into four but the first three dharma and kama so these three things why do you pursue means it is for your own happiness correct to please yourself to find happiness So everybody wants happiness. Okay.
Now what kind of happiness you want? Did you analyze that? Suppose I ask you when do you want to be happy? In the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, at night? What will you say? You say I want to be happy always. Correct? All the time. Then where do you want to be happy? You want to be happy at home while commuting at the office or somewhere else movie theater [snorts] cricket stadium whatever it is correct some sports arena where do you want to be happy means I want to be happy everywhere so everybody wants to be happy everywhere all the time means what kind of happiness you are really seeking you are really seeking unqualified happiness correct which is not limited by space and time.
But will you be able to get that with all the worldly pursuits you are doing?
Because society also has conditioned you to seek certain things and think that if you get wealth, if you become popular, if you become knowledgeable, if you attain some status in the society, that is it. You are successful. But that's not like that. Correct? Even after attaining all that, you are still the same limited being.
In fact, to gain anything, you have to lose something always. Either you have to lose your time, you have to put in some effort, you have to lose some money, then you gain something. So every gain in the world is coming along with a loss.
Okay? Every suka in the world is mixed with duka da we say because you have to lose something. Further maintaining something is also a pain.
Okay. Yoga sham that's what we say. Yoga means you are getting connected with something, you gain something, it's called yoga. Cha means you have to maintain it, preserve it. That itself is a problem.
So the worldly suka or ananda which you are pursuing thinking that it is successful or it will make you successful and satisfied and all that.
It is never going to do that because it is limited.
It is mixed with some loss always and maintaining it also is a problem and there is a law of diminishing return also. Whatever you enjoy today first time 100th time it is not the same thing you get bored with everything.
In fact too much of even a good thing is a problem.
That is the human condition. So in reality you want unqualified limitless happiness. But where are you seeking that? In the world where you can only get limited and also the happiness which is mixed with some kind of a suffering that alone you are getting. That's why you are never satisfied. You are always struggling for something else something else something else. Even after accomplishing something that accomplishment is no more great. Once you have accomplished something it is it is not the same. Now your sights are set on something else. That is what is called samsar. You are traveling from one thing to another to another to another samsara. You are well traveling going from one thing to another to another you are doing that very well. That is the life of a samsara.
Even after achieving everything you are dissatisfied with yourself. So the fundamental problem of a human being is what it is one of self nonacceptance.
You cannot accept yourself.
Why? Because you think you are limited.
So okay then how do I solve this? There is only one solution. Correct. You have to become limitless because you have to get rid of all limitations. You have to be free from all limitations. Freedom from all limitations is the solution really because that is what I'm seeking. Even though I'm seeking limited things in this world, that is because of not really understanding what I want. If you really understand what you want, the understanding is that I really seek freedom from all limitations or I seek the limitless.
So once I understand that I seek the limitless, the unqualified happiness, how am I going to get that? Is it there or not? First question is, is anything like that there?
The other question is if it is there it being limitless it cannot start in time correct limitless means it should have been there it should be there it should be there forever that is real limitless so time wise it should have been there already similarly limitless means space wise also I need not go somewhere to get it should be here and now correct it should be here right here specially also it should be available to me right here.
So a limitless happiness if it is really available it should be available to me here and now.
Is is it available or not? Means our shastras say that it is available. First you should have that shredda because otherwise you can say you can become a some kind of a cynic or a stoic person. Correct or existentialism and all this there is a philosophy what this is how it is. You are all limited.
Whatever you can do here, you do enjoy.
Like a charvaka also in our our dana says so whatever you can enjoy here you enjoy. He says so take loan and enjoy ghee. Okay.
So don't worry about anything any consequences.
Because once your body is burnt, nothing is there. That's it. Everything is gone.
Nothing is going to come back or you are not going to go anywhere. That is your reality.
In fact, that is that aligns very much with even the modern thinking I think because they think everything is matter and once the physical body is gone, you are gone.
That is one view. But our shastras, our saints, our gurus, they are all showing a different reality. They say that there is this limitless Brahman. Brahman itself means limitless. Correct? It comes from the data.
So means big in the sense of in the sense of growing and greatness. It comes in the meaning of but the brick or big or great is not an adjective. Understand that because a big mosquito can mean means something. A big mountain can mean something else. Correct? Big as an adjective still has some taratamy.
It has some differences. Correct? A big mosquito is very different from big mountain as I told you. But here brick brah big is only noun unqualified big as a noun means that is limitless. So there is brahman.
So this brahman you have to accept that it is there then you are correct. Even in this it will come later. Very interesting.
So the one who accepts that the Brahman is there he becomes a Santa he becomes a son he becomes existence and he becomes a sadhu or a good person but the one who says the Brahman is not there it's also the opishad says it's as good as he has committed suicide he's not at all there Okay.
So, first you have to accept that the limitless is there.
Our shastras are saying that our ancestors, our gurus, they they are all saying that okay if it is there then the only other thing is it should be there here and now. Like I already told you, it cannot be newly created. It cannot be reached.
It should be there already.
If it is already there then what is the problem?
Why am I why am I not knowing it?
Correct? If it is already there I should know but I don't know.
So the the desire for freedom from all limitation is called muka in Sanskrit correct mta.
So mumuka much data means it is a deciderative suffix. It comes with the meaning of desiring something. So much is the datu.
From that you get mumuka desire for freedom.
And the one who has that desire is called mumukshu.
The one who desires for freedom from all limitation.
But that has to change into jyasa. the desire for knowledge because if you are really seeking limitless it has to be available to me here and now and if it is available here and now I should already be that in fact it cannot also be other than me it cannot leave me out correct if something is limitless I cannot be separate from that limitless correct it has to include me it has to be available here and now if that is the case then why I do not know that that is the ignorance That is the atma aidya.
The avidya which is centered on oneself.
There is a fundamental problem in selfidentification for all of us. So you have to get rid of that. The only way is to get and what is thatam? Brahma the knowledge of the limitless as oneself. Correct. Brahma brahan as atma one has to know. That's why the brahman is introduced here.
And how this Brahman is introduced again Brahman can be revealed in two different ways. Okay. One is called tatastam another is called surupa.
So the tatastam means what you you reveal something using some transient attributes which is not really there.
Okay.
It is called in samskrum. If you say something which is which is not part of its very nature but which still can be a vari which differentiates it from everything else and reveals it to you.
So for example I ask that which is your house. So we both are standing on the street and then I ask on the street which is your house. Then your friend says the house on which the crow is sitting is my house.
Now there all other houses do not have crow sitting on them. So this is good enough. Correct. Crow is not really an attribute or a characteristic of the house itself. It is but still it is useful to reveal. But anyway if you use the tastam you should be already experiencing that whatever but there is no knowledge of that that's why another important thing you understand atma is not something you have to newly experience or anything you don't require any new experience atma because it is yourself correct you are already experiencing yourself intimately all the time so you don't require any new experience because in modern vanta this is a big problem. Everybody is searching for some experience. Experience is not a problem.
Okay. You already are experiencing yourself but you don't know yourself properly. So you are already seeing the house. You already you also see the crow but you don't know it is your friend's house. Correct? So knowledge is the one which is lacking and you are so you are already experiencing yourself but you don't know that you are already the limitless perma. So that is the thing you have to have proper self identification. In fact you have to give up all wrong notions about yourself.
That is the main thing because already you are as you are or whatever you want to be you are already that. So the teaching here is you are Brahman. You are already Brahman but you don't know that. So we are revealing it to you that you are already Brahman. And for that what is this Brahman? I have to tell you and that Brahman itself now I'm using action because without the I cannot account for the world. I can reveal Brahman as that is called here uses means one who has one sura asam or consciousness to that Brahman I do my namaskcara he's doing a namaskcara in the manga prayer so that is su collection is Brahman's very nature is of consciousness being conscious but if I only reveal the still you will experiencing this world how do you account for this world then and still say that Brahman is limitless if Brahman is limitless it has to account for the world I'm experiencing correct that is why the tata is very important because we have to tell you that Brahman is the cause it is the for the entire world and by world we mean both subject and object. It is not just objective world. Scientists only study everything objectively and they miss the most important thing which is the subject. They have no clue about the nature of the subject. In fact by definition they have they are like horses which this which are restricted in their vision. Correct? They make they want everything objective. Then what about the subject? Subject is the most important thing.
So the nature of the subject is what we are discussing here. And the nature of the subject is limitless. And subject and object both are not independent also. Correct? They are interdependent.
And if something is interdependent or mutually dependent, there has to be an independent reality which is you really.
That independent reality which is limitless is your very nature. That is you. That is atma. That is I. Whatever you say as I I I that I is independent of being a subject also understand that because in deep sleep there is no subject object duality but I am there.
So being a subject or being an individual is not need not be my real nature. If something is my real nature it can never leave me. It should always be there as it is.
So that is my nature.
And by showing that that limitless Brahman itself is the jagatam or the cause or the upadana for this entire world world also is accounted for because the entire objective world and the subject both are nothing but Brahman. That alone is the reality that is satyam and everything else is mity.
It is only an appearance and they are all transient. Whatever is transient is only an appearance. Whatever is unchanging, invariable that alone is the reality that is satyam that is yourself that is Brahman that is the teaching. So the first mangala presents Brahman as the jagataranam and also the suru collection of Brahman as nyanam correct as the consciousness which is limitless that is also presented here to that brahman my namaskara like that bashakara starts we'll see the rest of the things in the next Bless Shant Shant Shanti.
He
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