Brihadaranyaka Upanishad literally means the "Upanishad of the great forests". The title Brihadaranyaka Upanishad literally means "great wilderness or forest Upaniṣhad". It is credited to ancient sage Yajnavalkya, but likely refined by a number of ancient Vedic scholars. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad starts by stating one of many Vedic theories of creation of the universe. It asserts that there was nothing before the universe started, then Prajapati (gurus) created from this nothing (sound of silence), the universe as a sacrifice to himself (herself), imbued it with Prana (life force) and Nada (sound of silence) to preserve it in the form of cosmic inert matter and individual psychic energy. The world is more than matter and energy, asserts Brihadaranyaka, it is constituted also of Atman or Brahman (Soul, Self, Consciousness, Invisible Principles and Reality) as well as Knowledge. Atman and Brahman are identical Oneness, with the assertion that because the universe came out of nothingness when the only principle existent was "I am he", the universe after it came into existence continues as Aham brahma asmi (I am Brahman). Theory of dreams, positing that human beings see dreams entirely unto themselves because mind draws, in itself, the powers of sensory organs, which it releases in the waking state. It then asserts that this empirical fact about dreams suggests that human mind has the power to perceive the world as it is, as well as fabricate the world as it wants to perceive it. Mind is a means, prone to flaws. The deep sleep works within Vishnu and Lakshmi. When the goal is the highest, in preservation, then all the creation responds for Brahma and Saraswati, with Shiva and Parvati, cleaning the avenue, for the Spirit to flourish. The Upanishad presents a dialogue between a husband and wife, as Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi, on nature of love and spirituality, whether and how is Atman related to deep connection and bonds between human beings. Yajnavalkya states that one doesn't connect with and love forms, nor does one connect or love mind, rather one connects with the Self, the Soul of one's own and one's beloved. All love is for the sake of one's Self, and the Oneness one realizes in the Self of the beloved. He then asserts that this knowledge of the Soul, the Self, the Brahman is what makes one immortal, the connection immortal. All longing is the longing for the Soul, because Soul is the true, the immortal, the real and the infinite bliss. Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi, are the father and mother, of humanity, the door openers, between the old and new world. Maitra, son of Maitreyi, ruled the earth, as the Sun God later. Madhu literally means "honey", or the composite fruit of numerous actions on the field of flowers. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad asserts that "Atman exists" (soul exists), that all organic beings (plants, animals, human beings and gods) are wandering souls yet One with each other and the Brahman (Cosmic Soul); it further asserts that inorganic nature (fire, air, earth, water, space) is the field where the beings act, and where their numerous actions create fruits that they separately and together experience. The Upanishad then states that everything is connected, beings affect each other, organic beings affect the inorganic nature, inorganic nature affects the organic beings, one is the "honey" (result, fruit, food) of the other, everyone and everything is mutually dependent, nourishing and nurturing each other, all because it came from one Brahman, because it is all one Brahman, because all existence is blissful oneness. The last brahmanam of the Upanishads first section is a Vamsa (generational line of teachers) with the names of 57 Vedic scholars who are credited to have taught the Madhu Khanda from one generation to the next. The word Vamsa, relates to the teacher of Hamsa, the wandering birds of the forest, the humans that could connect with animals, even today, at Golden Gate Park, in San Francisco, California this August 2018. Among other things, the chapter presents the theory of perceived empirical knowledge using the concepts of graha and atigraha (sensory action and sense). It lists 8 combinations of graha and atigraha: breath and smell, speech and name (ideas), tongue and taste, eye and form, ear and sound, skin and touch, mind and desire, arms and work respectively. The sages debate the nature of death, asserts the third chapter of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, and whether any graha and atigraha prevails after one dies. They rule out six, then assert that one's ideas (name) and one's actions and work (karma) continues to affect the universe. Brahmananda Saraswati, my guru ji, wrote a book on nada yoga which explains the nomena of granthis, the inner wheels on every human body, on a subatomic level, the inner chakras, but the divine chakras are called granthis, the wheels that are connected to the vedas, the trinity, shiva and parvati, vishnu and lakshmi, brahma and saraswati, tara and padmasambhava, kwan yin and buddha, durga, kali, the seven wheels, with male and female add to 14, multiply it by two, which includes the male and female granthis, and add another two, for ishwar and ishwari, totalling thirty. "It is your soul which is inside all", all souls are one, immanent and transcendent. Soul interconnects and has the oneness through all organic beings, all inorganic nature, all of universe. It asserts that the soul is the inner controller of beings, conflated with the interaction of nature, psyche and senses, often without the knowledge of beings. It is the soul, nevertheless, that is the true and essence, states the Upanishad. The inner experience of a yogi, to nada and bindu, is the same energy particle that is within all human beings, because it belongs to the individual soul, which is connected to the spirit, the brahman. The spirit aggregates the knowledge of all souls into Oneness. The "neti, neti" principle, not this not this, that is discussed later, along with the analogical equivalence of physical features of a man and those of a tree, with the root of a man being his soul. When one tears out the tree from its roots, the tree can grow no more, out of which root the man grows forth, when he is struck down by death? He, who is born, is not born, Who is supposed to beget him anew? Brahman is bliss, Brahman is knowledge, It is the highest good of one who gives charity, and also of one who stands away, renounces and knows it. — Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 3:9 As Buddha, the soul manifests in human life in six forms: Prajna (consciousness), Priyam (love and the will to live), Satyam (reverence for truth, reality), Ananta (endlessness, curiosity for the eternal), Ananda (bliss, contentness), and Sthiti (the state of enduring steadfastness, calm perseverance). The question, "what happens to soul after one dies?", and provides the root of two themes that play central role in later schools of Hinduism: one, of the concept of soul as individual souls (dualism), and second of the concept of soul being One and Eternal neither comes nor goes anywhere, because it is everywhere and everyone in Oneness (non-dualism). The hymn 4.2.4 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is one of many instances in the ancient Sanskrit text where the characters involved in philosophical debate greet each other with Namaste, a practice in the culture of India. The premises of moksha, which is liberation, freedom, emancipation and self-realization, provides some of the most studied hymns of Brihadaranyaka. But when he, Self, fancies that he is, as it were, a god, or that he is, as it were, a king, or "I am this altogether," that is his highest world, This indeed is his true form, free from desires, free from evil, free from fear. Now as a man, when embraced by a beloved wife (soulmate), knows nothing that is without, nothing that is within, thus this person, when embraced by the Prajna, conscious and aware of Self, sound of silence, knows nothing that is without, nothing that is within. This indeed is his true form, in which his wishes are fulfilled, in which the Self only is his wish, in which no other wish is left, he is free from any sorrow with his soulmate. Then a father is not a father, a mother not a mother, the worlds not worlds, the gods not gods, the Vedas not Vedas. Then a thief is not a thief, a murderer not a murderer, a Sramana not a Sramana, a Tapasa not a Tapasa. He is not affected by good, not affected by evil, for he has then overcome all sorrows, all sufferings. Thus did Yajnavalkya teach him. This is his highest Goal, this is his highest Success, this is his highest World, this is his highest Bliss. — Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Chapter 4, Brahmanam 3, Hymns 20-32 Yajnavalkya declares that Knowledge is Self, Knowledge is freedom, Knowledge powers inner peace. In hymn 4.4.22, the Upanishad states, "He is that great unborn Self, who consists of Knowledge, is surrounded by the Pranas, life force of the gurus, the ether, sound of silence, within the heart. In it, the Spirit there reposes the ruler of all or Brahman, the lord of all, the king of all. He, as individual soul (silence) or She (prana), as soulmate, does not become greater by good works, nor smaller by evil works. He is the lord of all, the king of all things, the protector of all things. He is a bank and a boundary, so that these worlds may not be confounded. He who knows him or her, becomes a Muni. Wishing for that world, mendicants leave their homes to be with him and her, in all three realms.” One of the earliest formulation of the Karma doctrine occurs in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. For example: Now as a man is like this or like that, according as he acts and according as he behaves, so will he be; a man of good acts will become good, a man of bad acts, bad; he became pure by pure deeds, bad by bad deeds; And here they say that a person consists of desires, and as is his desire, so is his will; and as is his will, so is his deed; and whatever deed he does, that he will reap. — Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Hymns 4.4.5-4.4. Learn three cardinal virtues – temperance or self restraint, charity and compassion for all life. — Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, V.ii.3 The first ethical precept of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad became the foundation of Yamas in various schools of Hinduism. According as one acts, so does he become. One becomes virtuous by virtuous action, bad by bad action. — Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.5 "That Brahman is infinite, and this universe is infinite. the infinite proceeds from the infinite. Then taking the infinitude of the infinite universe, it remains as the infinite Brahman alone." From untruth lead us to Truth. From darkness lead us to Light. From death lead us to Immortality. Om Peace, Peace, Peace. Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi Yajnavalkya was a Hindu Vedic sage. He is mentioned in the Upanishads, and likely lived in the Videha kingdom of northern Bihar approximately between the 8th century BCE, and the 7th century BCE. Yajnavalkya is considered one of the earliest philosophers in recorded history. Yajnavalkya proposes and debates metaphysical questions about the nature of existence and impermanence, and expounds the epistemic doctrine of neti neti. "not this, not this" to discover the universal Self and Atman. His ideas for renunciation of worldly attachments have been important to Hindu sannyasa traditions. Yajnavalkya is credited for coining Advaita (non-dual, monism), another important tradition within Hinduism. He welcomed participation of women in Vedic studies, and Hindu texts contain his dialogues with two women philosophers, Gargi Vachaknavi and Maitreyi. Yajnavalkya is estimated to have lived in around the 8th century BCE, or 7th century BCE. In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, a set of dialogues suggest Yajnavalkya has two wives, one Maitreyi who challenges Yajnavalkya with philosophical questions like a scholarly wife; the other Katyayani who is silent but mentioned as a housewife. While Yajnavalkya and Katyayani lived in contented domesticity, Maitreyi studied metaphysics and engaged in theological dialogues with her husband in addition to "making self-inquiries of introspection". In contrast to the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the epic Mahabharata states Maitreyi is a young beauty who is an Advaita scholar but never marries. His name Yajnavalkya is derived from yajna which connotes ritual. Adi Shankara, a scholar of the influential Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy, wrote in his Brihadaranyakopanishad bhashya that the purpose of the Maitreyi and Yajnavalkya dialogue in chapter 2.4 of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is to highlight the importance of the knowledge of Atman and Brahman, and to understand their oneness. Concluding his dialogue on the "inner self", or soul, Yajnavalkya tells Maitreyi: One should indeed see, hear, understand and meditate over the Self, O Maitreyi; indeed, he who has seen, heard, reflected and understood the Self – by him alone the whole world comes to be known. — Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.4.5b After Yajnavalkya leaves and becomes a sannyasi, Maitreyi becomes a sannyasin – she too wanders and leads a renunciate life. In ancient Sanskrit literature, she is known as a brahmavadini (an expounder of the Veda). In the latter, Maitreyi explains Advaita philosophy of monism to King Janaka and is described as a lifelong ascetic. In the Rigveda about ten hymns are attributed to Maitreyi. After Yajnavalkya achieved success in the first three stages of his life, brahmacharya as a student, grihastha with his family and vanaprastha in retirement, he wished to become a sannyasi, a renunciant in his old age. He asked Maitreyi for permission, telling her that he wanted to divide his assets between her and Katyayani. Maitreyi said that she was not interested in wealth, since it would not make her "immortal", but wanted to learn about immortality: Then said Maitreyi: "If now, Sir, this whole earth filled with wealth were mine, would I be immortal thereby?" "No", said Yajnavalkya. "As the life of the rich, even so would your life be. Of immortality, however, there is no hope through wealth." Then said Maitreyi: "What should I do with that through which I may not be immortal? What you know Sir, that indeed tell me!" Yajnavalkya replied to Maitreyi: "Ah! Lo, dear as you are to us, dear is what you say! Come sit down. I will explain to you. But while I am expounding, do seek to ponder thereon." — Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.4.2 The Maitreyi and Yajnavalkya dialogue includes a discussion of love and the essence of whom one loves, suggesting that love is a connection of the soul and the universal self, related to an individual: Lo, verily, not for love of a husband is a husband dear, but for the love of the soul a husband is dear. Not for the love of the wife is a wife dear, but for love of the soul a wife is dear. — Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.4.2 "The Devas and gods are not dear to one out of love for gods, but because one may love the Self or Atman that the gods are dear". In the dialogue "the Brahman-class, the Kshatra-class, these worlds, these gods, these beings, everything that is what this Soul is", and when "we see, hear, perceive and know the Self, then all is known". Concluding his dialogue on the "inner self", or soul, Yajnavalkya tells Maitreyi: One should indeed see, hear, understand and meditate over the Self, O Maitreyi; indeed, he who has seen, heard, reflected and understood the Self – by him alone the whole world comes to be known. — Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.4.5b Maitreyi, who is also mentioned in a number of Puranas, "is regarded as one of the most learned and virtuous women of ancient India" and symbolizes intellectual women in India. A college in New Delhi is named after her, as is the Maitreyi Vedic Village, a retreat location in Tamil Nadu. In the Hindu epic Mahabharata and the Gṛhyasutras, however, Maitreyi is described as an Advaita philosopher who never married. The verses 1-2 of Baudhayana Shulba Sutra state that the squares of any rectangle's width and length add up to the square of its diagonal. This is known in western literature as the Pythagorean theorem. Kalpa,means "proper, fit" and is one of the six disciplines of the Vedanga, or ancillary science connected with the Vedas, the scriptures of Hinduism. This field of study focused on procedures and ceremonies associated with Vedic ritual practice. The major texts of Kalpa Vedanga are called Kalpa Sutras in Hinduism. The word is widely used in other contexts, such as "cosmic time", one day for Brahma equals 4.32 billion human years, because time is not linear, the implementation is universal, in nadam and bindu worlds, universes with many dimensions, as well as for precepts or procedures that are "proper, fit" in medicine or another profession, connecting the experience to human visions, as healing for the past, and building future blue prints, as a butterfly effect. This is the experience of Brahma Vidya, the inspiration for this book. End of Kali Yuga, beginning of one day of Brahma and Saraswati, after resolution of mathematical point 0, "the moment when he is received in his mother's womb to the hour of his death", and beyond during his cremation. Multiply that to the years of Brahma, but before dissolution, Brahman always remain, as the internal sound of silence, from whom, the trinity of Shiva and Parvati, Vishnu and Lakshmi, Brahma and Saraswati, melt into dissolution, for the mother, Amma, mathematical point 0, and Dalai Lama, the father, as Her supporter, to begin. This is the end of a kalpa, and beginning of a new one.