by Srila B.B. Tirtha Goswami Maharaja
Sree Sree Guru Gauranga Jayatah!
The atma is sacchidananda—an eternally existing entity of knowledge and blissfulness. Upadhi means ‘denomination or denotation’ which an individual gets due to contact with the body and sense organs (gross and subtle). We get any designation by our actions in this world. A person may be a doctor, professor, engineer or have any other qualification due to his karma (action) and this is termed as upadhi. Brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra, brahmacharya, grhasta, vanaprastha and sannyasa (the four varnas and four asrama), any denotation regarding his birth in any country, any material ego, any relationship with the world or universe—are all upadhis. We should be completely freed from any relationship with the non-eternal world to perform bhajan.
