3. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad - Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi Samvada: Mantras 2.4.1 to 2.4.5

Jan 26, 2026

A deep dive into the Yajnavalkya–Maitreyi dialogue from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. Discussions cover renunciation versus Vedic ritual, why rituals cannot grant liberation, and what qualifies one to pursue Vedanta. The talk explores the nature of love as longing for the Self and how realizing the Self transforms limited attachment into universal love.

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INSIGHT

Renunciation As A Stage Shift

Vedantic renunciation means rising above a life stage, not rejection of relationships or responsibilities.
Swami Sarvapriyananda explains renunciation as an inward switch toward sole pursuit of self-knowledge.

ANECDOTE

Yajnavalkya 'I Just Wanted The Cows'

Yajnavalkya once told his student to take the prize cows before a debate and later joked he 'just wanted the cows'.
Swami Sarvapriyananda uses this story to illustrate Yajnavalkya's humor and worldly savvy.

INSIGHT

Wealth Cannot Buy Immortality

Wealth grants the lifestyle of the rich but cannot grant immortality or freedom from samsara.
Swami Sarvapriyananda stresses that material prosperity cannot solve the problem of death and suffering.

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The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (Sanskrit: बृहदारण्यकोपनिषद्, IAST: Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣad) is one of the Principal Upanishads and one of the first Upanishadic scriptures of Hinduism. A key scripture to various schools of Hinduism, the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is tenth in the Muktikā or "canon of 108 Upanishads".

Brihadaranyaka literally means "great wilderness or forest". The Upanishad forms the last part, that is the fourteenth kānda of Śatapatha Brāhmana of "Śhukla Yajurveda". The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad has six adhyayas (chapters) in total. It includes three sections: Madhu kānda (the 4th and 5th chapter of the fourteenth kānda of Satapatha Brahmana), Muni kānda (or Yajnavalkya Kanda, the 6th and 7th chapter of 14th kānda of Satapatha Brahmana) and Khila kānda (the 8th and 9th chapter of the fourteenth kānda of Satapatha Brahmana).

The first and second chapters of the Upanishad's Madhu kānda consists of six brahmanas each, with varying number of hymns per brahmana. The first chapter of the Upanishad's Yajnavalkya kānda consists of nine brahmanams, while the second has six brahmanas. The Khila kānda of the Upanishad has fifteen brahmanas in its first chapter, and five brahmanas in the second chapter.

In the fourth brahmana of the Second chapter of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Yajnavalkya and his wife Maitreyi engage in a dialogue about love and spirituality. 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 Self 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 Self, the Self, and Brahman is what makes one immortal, and the connection is also immortal. All longing is the longing for the Self, as the Self represents the true, the immortal, the real, and infinite bliss.

Reference material:

Book:

https://a.co/d/iQqKCWM

PDF of the entire Upanishad can be found https://dn790002.ca.archive.org/0/ite....