Passage 7

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In plain words

Brahman is the offering, Brahman the oblation, poured by Brahman into the fire that is Brahman; Brahman alone is reached by one absorbed in action that is Brahman.

He says, “We are offering everything to Brahman.” Where is Brahman? When we enquire, where is Brahman:

Becoming Vaiśvānara, I dwell in the bodies of living beings, united with prāṇa and apāna, I cook the food of four kinds.

“You foolish one! I live within you. In the form of Vaiśvānara I am within you,” He replies. If I were not in the fire of digestion, what would become of what you eat? You would die of indigestion. I digest the four kinds of food you eat. So there is no room for doubt. If you still doubt, there is no one to give an answer to such a doubter. One who is sleeping soundly can be roused with two or three taps; or one who has only closed his eyes without sleeping, we can call and wake in a moment; but one who is not asleep and only pretends to sleep, no one can ever wake. This is just what the Gopīs said.

One who sleeps, forgetting the body, anyone can wake; but the great one who closes his eyes and pretends to sleep, who is able to rouse? Why this delay, enough now of these games …

Kṛṣṇa! You are not simply sleeping. Nor are you simply not waking. You are awake and pretending to be one who sleeps. Is it possible to wake one like You? Impossible. “Put an end now to these games,” said the Gopīs.

For God there is no such thing as sleep. If God were to sleep, the whole world would sleep soundly. For God there is no waking. When is there waking? There is waking only if there is sleep. Why waking for One who has no sleep at all? Sleep and waking are for the human being alone. Sleep and waking are only for one who knows the difference of night and day. If you look truly, there is no such thing as day and night. Night and day come about according to the place where a person lives, and according to his time. When the sun comes up above the equator, we call it day. When it goes down below the equator, we call it night. So even for natural life in the ordinary world there are no night and day. For it there is no east, west, north or south. Only by the place where we are, and by the sign of sunrise, do we decide, this is east, this is west.