Transcript
[0:00] All right.
[0:04] Good.
[0:05] >> [sighs]
[0:09] >> Om sahanavavatu
[0:12] sahanao bhunaktu saha viryam karavavahai
[0:18] tejasvinavadhitamastu
[0:22] ma vidvishavahaihi
[0:25] Om shanti shanti shanti.
[0:35] >> [sighs and gasps]
[0:35] >> Om.
[0:37] Good. Welcome to all. Welcome also to
[0:41] all of you attending online. We have
[0:43] lots of great questions, so let me
[0:47] begin. First question from
[0:50] Krishna
[0:52] who lives in Boston.
[0:55] Now, question about the role of
[0:58] willpower
[0:59] before enlightenment. Specifically for
[1:03] Karma Yoga. In my corporate life, I've a
[1:06] goal to get a promotion, blah blah blah.
[1:08] If I approach it with He didn't say blah
[1:11] blah blah, right?
[1:13] >> [laughter]
[1:13] >> That's me.
[1:14] I shouldn't put in my editorial
[1:17] comments. Okay, I have a goal to get a
[1:19] promotion and be recognized. I approach
[1:22] it with a prayerful attitude and give it
[1:24] my best, leaving the fruits to Ishvara.
[1:27] Karma Yoga.
[1:29] Suppose I don't get the results.
[1:32] Then moments when my mind will have
[1:36] tendencies to contract, which means you
[1:39] have that kind of You know that feeling
[1:40] of anger, frustration, etc.
[1:43] >> [snorts]
[1:43] >> Along with other emotions, fear, anger,
[1:46] self-doubt. At that moment, to step
[1:49] back, listen carefully. At that moment,
[1:52] to step back and break the cycle cycle
[1:55] of suffering is a matter of willpower,
[1:58] correct?
[2:02] Yeah?
[2:03] How are you if when you're angry,
[2:07] can you overcome anger with willpower?
[2:11] Can you just choose to stop being angry?
[2:15] You know, I've given you the example
[2:17] before. If you can use your will to
[2:19] control your emotions, then for the next
[2:22] 5 seconds be really angry.
[2:25] Use your will. Come on.
[2:28] So, if you're really if you're angry,
[2:31] you cannot use your willpower
[2:35] to get out of it.
[2:37] Um
[2:39] for the un-enlightened, I cannot
[2:41] experientially say I am okay no matter
[2:45] what. That's true. So, if you're
[2:46] enlightened, you won't get angry in the
[2:48] first place
[2:50] because you won't feel threatened.
[2:52] So,
[2:53] uh Krishna has correctly identified for
[2:56] an un-enlightened person how to handle
[3:00] those feelings of anger that come up.
[3:03] So,
[3:04] uh is it fair to say in everyday karma
[3:06] yoga for the un-enlightened, the act of
[3:09] surrender and forced suppression of
[3:12] emotions that cause suffering through
[3:14] sheer willpower. Um that's not at all
[3:18] karma yoga.
[3:20] It's not even emotionally healthy.
[3:23] Um to to
[3:26] to forced suppression of emotions,
[3:31] to use your will to try to throttle
[3:34] your emotions is generally considered to
[3:38] be unhealthy repression.
[3:41] So, a mature person doesn't repress his
[3:46] or her emotion. You deal with your
[3:48] emotions,
[3:49] which means why am I so angry?
[3:53] And explore that.
[3:56] And then learn how to better manage your
[4:00] anger, which means
[4:02] with the help of meditation can help.
[4:04] Karma yoga can help if if you have
[4:08] really assimilated the teachings of
[4:11] karma yoga thoroughly. If you really
[4:13] understand everything is in Ishvara's
[4:16] hands. In fact, here's an application of
[4:18] of karma yoga and to show how
[4:22] challenging it is
[4:24] to really be
[4:26] Let me Let me preface this comment with
[4:28] with an observation. In my opinion,
[4:31] to be a great karma yogi
[4:34] is more difficult than being
[4:35] enlightened.
[4:38] I'm convinced about it. And let me show
[4:39] you why.
[4:42] If you're to be a great karma yogi
[4:45] when your boss denies you
[4:48] your promotion that you really worked
[4:51] for and you really deserve
[4:54] and you feel that anger welling up in
[4:57] you,
[4:58] a good karma yogi understands
[5:01] that this
[5:03] denial of my promotion
[5:07] is coming to me according to the results
[5:11] of my own deeds,
[5:13] deeds in this life and deeds in
[5:16] prior lives as well.
[5:18] And those results are coming to me
[5:21] through the hands of Bhagavan.
[5:24] Ishvara as karmaphaladata
[5:27] as a giver of the fruits of my deeds is
[5:30] giving me this denial of my promotion.
[5:34] How can I be angry with Ishvara?
[5:39] That's not easy to do. I'm not say You
[5:42] can do it, but you get the idea that you
[5:46] have to really have developed two
[5:48] things. One is your understanding of the
[5:52] several things. One is first of all,
[5:54] your understanding of the doctrine of
[5:56] karma.
[5:58] If you're getting denied your your
[6:01] promotion that you deserve it's
[6:04] according to the laws of karma.
[6:07] Now, you say, "But But I deserve it."
[6:09] Well,
[6:10] according to you,
[6:13] and according to your narrow view,
[6:16] looking only at your deeds in this life,
[6:21] you think you deserve it.
[6:23] If you had a broader view, you might see
[6:26] that you don't deserve it. Based on that
[6:30] broader perspective, which includes
[6:32] karmas from prior lives. So, that's one
[6:34] step. Step two is understanding Ishvara
[6:38] as karma paladatta, as the giver of
[6:40] fruits of action. And step three is
[6:43] developing a very
[6:46] close, intimate, emotional relationship
[6:49] with that Ishvara, so that you won't
[6:52] even feel How can How do you How do you
[6:54] feel angry
[6:55] when somebody has given you everything?
[6:59] How do you get angry at that person?
[7:03] Of course we do.
[7:06] As children, our mom and dad gave us
[7:09] everything. We got angry at them as
[7:11] children.
[7:12] And as adults, we still have some
[7:15] childish behaviors. So, it's
[7:19] >> [clears throat]
[7:19] >> we can call it It's a tall order at to
[7:23] really be a great karmayogi.
[7:26] It is
[7:28] not easy.
[7:29] But
[7:30] it is
[7:32] it certainly is better than
[7:35] using your willpower to repress your
[7:39] emotions,
[7:41] which is unhealthy
[7:43] and ultimately impractical.
[7:47] You can What you do repress is acting on
[7:51] your anger.
[7:52] When your boss says no,
[7:55] you don't curse
[7:56] You don't curse him out. That's where
[7:59] repression is required. You must
[8:01] restrain your behavior.
[8:03] And you can and must use your willpower
[8:07] to choose and res- choose proper
[8:11] behaviors and restrain that behavior.
[8:14] You can choose your behavior. You can
[8:17] control your behav-
[8:19] You can choose your behaviors. Can you
[8:21] choose your emotions?
[8:23] There you have it.
[8:26] You can choose your behavior. You cannot
[8:29] choose your emotions. Okay, enough said.
[8:33] Next question is from Patrick who lives
[8:36] in Kentucky.
[8:38] Patrick says, "Would the event of the
[8:41] discovery of my true nature as
[8:44] Satchidananda Atma be considered an
[8:47] experience?"
[8:49] [snorts]
[8:53] Your true nature as pure consciousness.
[8:58] Tell me,
[8:59] is
[9:01] is pure consciousness present in your
[9:03] experience right now or not?
[9:10] It's already here
[9:13] in your experience.
[9:16] Satchidananda Atma is 100%
[9:20] present in your experience right this
[9:24] moment
[9:26] because it's you. It's your true nature
[9:30] as a conscious being.
[9:32] Are you not present in your experience?
[9:34] Of course you are.
[9:36] You are present right now as
[9:40] Satchidananda
[9:42] Atma in this ordinary experience. The
[9:45] problem is the so-called veil of
[9:49] ignorance.
[9:50] >> [snorts]
[9:51] >> You don't recognize
[9:53] the nature of your consciousness. You
[9:57] think your consciousness is affected by
[10:00] whatever happens around you, whatever
[10:02] happens in your body and mind. That
[10:05] wrong conclusion is due to ignorance.
[10:08] You think your consciousness was born so
[10:11] many decades ago and will die in in a in
[10:14] a few more years. That conclusion is due
[10:17] to
[10:18] ignorance. So,
[10:21] enlightenment,
[10:23] the discovery of your true nature as
[10:25] Satchidananda
[10:27] Atman, to refer to return to Patrick's
[10:29] words here,
[10:30] >> [snorts]
[10:30] >> that discovery is a discovery in terms
[10:34] of understanding,
[10:36] not in terms of experience.
[10:40] It's
[10:41] to
[10:43] You know, there there are several
[10:45] stories that are commonly used to
[10:47] describe this. A famous story is that of
[10:50] Karna in the Mahabharata,
[10:53] who is actually the son of eldest son of
[10:56] Kunti, but he doesn't know it. Mother
[10:58] gave away his son when she was a girl.
[11:01] So,
[11:02] um he's never known her as a mother.
[11:05] >> [snorts]
[11:05] >> At some point, they meet. There's a two
[11:09] There's a long, complicated story. I'll
[11:12] spare you all the details. At some
[11:14] point, they meet and his mother says,
[11:16] "Hey, I'm your mother."
[11:19] Now, tell me.
[11:20] So, he was kind of that's symbolically,
[11:23] that's symbolic of enlightenment. He
[11:26] Karna discovered his nature as the son
[11:31] of Kunti.
[11:33] Tell me, did Karna experience himself
[11:36] prior to that?
[11:39] He had the complete experience of
[11:40] himself
[11:42] prior to this revelation.
[11:46] The discovery I'm The point I'm making,
[11:49] it's a discovery, not an ex not in terms
[11:53] of experience.
[11:55] It's a discovery in terms of
[11:57] understanding, like it was for
[12:00] Karna.
[12:01] You
[12:03] You to my love my my guru's words. You
[12:06] already are that which you want to
[12:11] become.
[12:14] But you have to discover that truth.
[12:17] Okay.
[12:18] Another question from Vidya Sagar, who's
[12:22] part of our Vedanta crew in Vancouver. I
[12:26] We There seem to be quite a few
[12:29] students in in Vancouver. Anyway,
[12:34] Vidya Sagar asks, "Does a devotee need
[12:37] to pick only one Ishta Devata?
[12:42] You can be seated, please.
[12:46] Um
[12:48] Should I pick only one Ishta Devata? Or
[12:52] is it okay to have many?
[12:56] If I have two Ishta Devatas, do I have
[12:58] to gradually give up one?
[13:01] You think they'll get ang- One if
[13:03] >> [laughter]
[13:04] >> One will get angry at you. You're You're
[13:06] not You're You're spending Krishna says
[13:08] you're spending too much time worshiping
[13:10] Shiva.
[13:11] You should be worshiping me. What's
[13:13] wrong with you?
[13:16] I'm I'm being silly, and I'm sure this
[13:18] is not the not how Vidya Sagar is is
[13:22] thinking about it, but you get my point.
[13:25] Um
[13:26] It's not about the Devata, it's about
[13:30] you. And it's about what works for you.
[13:34] Um
[13:36] You can love a mother and a father.
[13:41] Is When you When you love two, does it
[13:43] mean less love for one and more love for
[13:47] the other? It's not What What do they
[13:48] What do they say? Finite sum?
[13:51] It's not a finite sum. In fact, you have
[13:54] infinite love, so it's not a matter of
[13:56] you give some to mother and you give
[13:58] some to father. You give what you You
[14:00] give what you have.
[14:02] So, um
[14:07] Ishta Devata And I think the real point
[14:10] here that needs to be made is that Ishta
[14:13] Devata, the very word Ishta describes
[14:16] the whole thing. Ishta is what you
[14:19] choose.
[14:21] It means whatever form or forms of
[14:26] Ishvara that are most meaningful
[14:30] and I would add most relatable
[14:34] for you.
[14:36] For example, I give I give you a funny
[14:38] example. Um having
[14:41] you know, I I didn't grow up in India,
[14:44] but I've come
[14:45] my whole adult life has been immersed in
[14:48] Hindu culture.
[14:50] But I've noticed that certain things
[14:52] don't work for me.
[14:54] For example, not having been raised in
[14:56] India,
[14:58] um
[15:00] Hanumanji doesn't work for me as a
[15:03] deity.
[15:06] I think you have to grow up with the
[15:08] Ramayana and those stories.
[15:12] And worship of Hanumanji in order to
[15:15] connect, at least for me. This is my
[15:17] personal perspective, doesn't apply to
[15:19] anyone else.
[15:21] But I'm saying that because I wasn't
[15:22] raised in India, I wasn't raised hearing
[15:26] stories, mostly I wasn't raised hearing
[15:29] stories of Ramayana.
[15:31] And for that reason
[15:33] I find it difficult to relate to
[15:35] Hanumanji. Now, is that a
[15:38] Is Is Hanumanji going to be angry at me?
[15:41] Do you think?
[15:43] Should I watch out for you that he
[15:44] carries that big gada?
[15:46] >> [laughter]
[15:50] >> So, the point is, okay, Hanumanji may
[15:53] not work for me due to my own cultural
[15:57] conditioning,
[16:00] but other deities do.
[16:03] Any problem?
[16:05] No problem.
[16:07] And if
[16:09] if one deity works for you, great. If
[16:14] two deities work for you,
[16:17] twice as good.
[16:18] >> [laughter]
[16:19] >> Three days is three times as I'm being
[16:21] silly, but you get my point. Um, the
[16:24] bottom line here is that developing
[16:28] bhakti devotion
[16:31] is an issue of being emotionally
[16:33] engaged.
[16:36] And to choose
[16:38] a path that is emotionally compelling
[16:43] for you
[16:45] is really really important. Okay.
[16:49] Let's see some uh
[16:51] questions here. We have questions coming
[16:54] in this online chat.
[16:56] Uh
[17:01] Okay.
[17:03] Uh this one.
[17:04] And I'll remind you if if you leave uh
[17:07] things in the online chat, questions
[17:09] only. I see some
[17:11] uh messages are being deleted because
[17:13] they're not questions.
[17:16] Um
[17:19] This question comes from
[17:22] uh Jayendra.
[17:24] He asks uh
[17:30] To
[17:31] To complete a task well, there needs to
[17:34] be an emotional content.
[17:39] How do I exhibit emotional content
[17:44] without being invested in the truth?
[17:47] With with without being invested in the
[17:50] result.
[17:51] I'm not sure exactly what what he means
[17:54] by
[17:55] uh emotional content.
[17:58] In fact
[17:59] what we say is that
[18:02] the principle of dharma is such
[18:05] that you have to do your duty
[18:08] whether you're emotionally engaged in it
[18:13] or not.
[18:15] Many times we have to do things that we
[18:18] don't love to do.
[18:22] You know,
[18:24] lately for me it's answering emails,
[18:27] getting too many emails.
[18:29] And it's not something I don't love to
[18:32] answer emails. I answer emails. Why?
[18:38] Dharma.
[18:40] I don't need to be emotionally engaged
[18:43] >> [laughter]
[18:44] >> in answering emails to follow Dharma.
[18:48] So, following Dharma is not a matter of
[18:52] emotion be exhibiting emotional content.
[18:56] And maybe I've misunderstood the
[18:58] question.
[18:59] I'm If I did, I'm sorry.
[19:01] This question from
[19:04] Subhashini? Subhasini?
[19:07] Um pain is not optional, but suffering
[19:12] is, she begins with a
[19:15] a quote that I've used many times.
[19:18] Su- or or send I've put it the other way
[19:21] around and that is
[19:23] uh suffering is option- suffering is
[19:26] optional. Pain is not optional,
[19:29] suffering is optional.
[19:31] But how to enable the tea- teaching of
[19:34] Vedanta to seep into oneself?
[19:38] I am unable to use this understanding of
[19:41] my true nature when I feel pain.
[19:44] Yeah, that's it. And and Subhashini
[19:47] Subhasini correctly says, Vedanta has to
[19:50] seep in, which means it has to be more
[19:55] than an intellectual understanding or
[19:58] conceptual understanding. To seep in,
[20:02] I'll give a commentary on her words. I'm
[20:04] good at that commenting.
[20:07] I I read lots of Sanskrit commentaries
[20:10] on scripture. So, I'll give you a
[20:12] commentary on Subhasini's
[20:14] use of the expression to have Vedanta
[20:18] seep in.
[20:21] My commentary would be this. To have
[20:23] Vedanta seep in is a process of
[20:28] your intellectual understanding
[20:32] gradually
[20:33] altering your world view.
[20:38] These two things are very different.
[20:40] Intellectual understanding and world
[20:42] view. My favorite example of this is you
[20:45] have an intellectual understanding that
[20:49] the sun
[20:50] that the Earth goes around the sun.
[20:54] But what is your world view when you
[20:56] watch the sunset?
[20:59] See the gap?
[21:01] You have an intellectual understanding
[21:05] that the that the sun is stationary
[21:10] and it looks like it's setting because
[21:12] we're on this giant ball tilting over
[21:15] backwards.
[21:17] >> [snorts]
[21:19] >> You have an intellectual understanding
[21:21] of that. But when you watch the sun in
[21:23] the evening,
[21:26] >> [laughter]
[21:26] >> it's going down. There is a gap.
[21:31] That gap has to be overcome.
[21:35] How?
[21:37] We call that the practice of
[21:39] Nididhyasana, Vedantic meditation. And I
[21:43] instead of getting technical about it,
[21:45] let me give an example I've given many
[21:48] times about uh that describes how
[21:51] Nididhyasana works. Suppose
[21:54] you go out tonight at sunset
[21:57] and as you're watching the sun go down,
[22:01] you envision yourself on top of a huge
[22:04] globe tilting over backwards.
[22:07] >> [snorts]
[22:08] >> You watch the sun going down envisioning
[22:11] yourself tilting over backwards. You do
[22:14] that tonight.
[22:15] You do that tomorrow night. You do that
[22:18] the next evening. You do that 40
[22:21] evenings in a row.
[22:24] On the 41st evening, what will be your
[22:27] experience?
[22:30] That's right.
[22:33] You won't say if if you're standing next
[22:35] to someone and they say look the sun is
[22:37] going down, you'll correct them.
[22:39] It's no, it's not going down. We're
[22:42] tilting over backwards because that will
[22:45] be
[22:46] your world view.
[22:48] You have
[22:49] you already had the intellectual
[22:52] understanding.
[22:54] But now you've converted your world
[22:57] view.
[22:58] You have to do that with regard to your
[23:00] true self as such atmananda atma exactly
[23:04] the same way. You have to
[23:08] What what what it is and and just a
[23:12] little technical, not too technical. The
[23:14] problem with the sun
[23:17] sunset is
[23:18] a habitual
[23:20] conclusion.
[23:22] How many times have you watched the
[23:24] sunset and think that the sun is
[23:27] actually moving down?
[23:29] You've developed a mental habit.
[23:33] That mental habit in Sanskrit we call a
[23:36] vasana.
[23:38] Vasana means a mental habit.
[23:41] You have to erase that mental habit
[23:45] of thinking that the sun actually goes
[23:47] down, which is why you need that 40-day
[23:50] practice that I suggested. That 40-day
[23:52] practice represents these the the
[23:55] vedantic practice of nididhyasana.
[23:59] So, in vedanta the practice of
[24:02] nididhyasana
[24:04] is to remove a different kind of vasana.
[24:08] It's called deha vasana.
[24:11] Deha here refers not just to your
[24:13] physical body, but your body, mind,
[24:17] senses, everything you identify with.
[24:20] This is me.
[24:22] It's called deha vasana.
[24:25] You've had that vasana for a long time.
[24:30] It's not going to go away overnight.
[24:33] It's going to take a lot of knitted
[24:35] vasana to overcome
[24:39] that deha vasana. Okay.
[24:42] Um
[24:50] Okay.
[24:51] Let me pick Let me pick up a question
[24:54] here and then I'll see if we have any
[24:55] questions from
[24:57] local students. This question has come
[25:00] from Lucas, who lives in Brazil.
[25:04] Lucas asks, um
[25:06] "How can we deal with negative emotions
[25:09] and thoughts
[25:10] >> [snorts]
[25:12] >> and difficult circumstances without
[25:14] feeling completely overwhelmed
[25:17] by them
[25:19] when we haven't yet attained moksha?"
[25:22] And correctly Lucas identifies when you
[25:24] attain moksha, when you're enlightened,
[25:27] emotions
[25:29] Emotions are like clouds in the sky.
[25:32] They just keep passing over. When a dark
[25:36] cloud
[25:37] is in front of the sun, it gets all dark
[25:41] and gloomy out,
[25:43] but you're enlightened about the sun,
[25:46] right? You know that the sun continues
[25:49] to shine brightly in spite of the
[25:52] gloominess. You know that the light of
[25:55] the sun isn't a affected at all
[25:58] by that dark cloud. In the same way, an
[26:01] enlightened person, if a
[26:03] gloomy cloud of emotion is in your mind,
[26:07] same thing. It's just a passing cloud.
[26:10] Who cares?
[26:12] Let it come.
[26:14] Let it go. Doesn't cause any harm.
[26:17] So now the So Lucas correctly identified
[26:20] that after enlightenment, after you get
[26:22] moksha, there's no problem. Question is
[26:25] what to do in the meanwhile.
[26:27] Well, dealing with emotions is more the
[26:30] subject matter of psychology, isn't it?
[26:34] Um Vedanta is not
[26:36] psychotherapy.
[26:39] So, you need to find psycholo- For a
[26:42] psychological problem, you need a
[26:45] psychological
[26:47] solution.
[26:49] For an emotional problem, you need an
[26:53] emotional solution.
[26:56] Vedanta is not the solution to emotional
[26:59] problems.
[27:02] It's a It's a solution to the problem of
[27:05] suffering, but that's at a very
[27:07] fundamental level. It doesn't address
[27:11] particular emotions. So, you need to
[27:14] address those particular emotions. How?
[27:18] Well, one thing I would absolutely
[27:20] recommend is meditation. Whatever
[27:22] difficult emotions and situations you're
[27:25] facing, meditation, regular daily
[27:28] practice of meditation, will make all
[27:31] those emotions and difficult situations
[27:34] much easier to handle.
[27:37] And then, if you need more
[27:40] If you need more to handle your
[27:42] difficult emotions, then you need to
[27:43] look for an emotional solution.
[27:47] There are many ways of doing that.
[27:48] Sometimes talking to a close friend is
[27:51] all it takes.
[27:53] Sometimes you need to talk to a
[27:55] professional. Sometimes you need to talk
[27:58] to
[28:00] I I'm smiling cuz I remember the Hindi
[28:03] word for Ishwara, I just love. Sometimes
[28:05] you need to talk to Upparwala.
[28:10] >> [laughter]
[28:10] >> I love that expression.
[28:15] Wonderful.
[28:16] Okay, so it means talk talk it out if
[28:19] you have some some problem. Okay,
[28:22] any questions here? Yes. You don't need
[28:24] the microphone.
[28:30] And
[28:34] Okay.
[28:37] >> Yeah, you'll need a microphone.
[28:40] >> Mhm.
[28:41] I can't
[28:43] stand up and give it to you.
[28:45] >> Okay. So, Swami ji, uh last uh week
[28:48] Tattva Bodha class, you talked about
[28:50] Atma and
[28:52] it is referenced with this different
[28:55] perspective in different scriptures like
[28:58] how Lord Krishna refers in Gita versus
[29:01] other scriptures. And then you talked
[29:03] about soul.
[29:05] But, um somehow
[29:07] I'm not confident if someone ask me what
[29:09] is the difference between soul and Atma.
[29:11] Can you touch this?
[29:12] >> That's a very good question.
[29:14] And in that uh
[29:16] thank you. In in the context of that uh
[29:19] discussion,
[29:21] I mentioned that the word soul
[29:26] is a ma- is a mass causes massive
[29:29] confusion.
[29:31] It is so imprecise. Everyone has their
[29:34] own definition of soul. So, that
[29:38] it it's If you want to explain to
[29:42] someone, the first thing you have to
[29:44] tell them is the word soul is imprecise.
[29:48] We don't use the word soul.
[29:50] So, if you want to explain to someone,
[29:53] first point out the fact that the word
[29:55] soul is very imprecise. So, we don't
[29:57] [snorts] use it.
[29:59] We do, however, make a very clear
[30:01] distinction between your true nature,
[30:05] that so-called inner divinity,
[30:08] which upon
[30:10] deep
[30:11] reflection,
[30:13] you discover your true nature to be pure
[30:16] consciousness, Satchidananda.
[30:18] There's a big difference between that
[30:21] and what is said to travel.
[30:24] The entity that is said to reincarnate.
[30:31] Is Often times the word soul is applied
[30:33] to that entity,
[30:35] but that entity is completely different,
[30:39] utterly different
[30:42] than your true nature as Satchidananda
[30:45] Atman.
[30:46] That which travels from one life to the
[30:49] next or from a biblical uh perspective,
[30:54] that which goes to heaven or hell
[30:58] after you die,
[31:01] that's completely different than the
[31:04] fundamental reality
[31:07] that is Satchidananda Atman, your true
[31:09] nature.
[31:11] Then the more complicated So, now we
[31:13] have two huge issues. If you're going to
[31:16] explain this to someone in detail, you
[31:18] better be ready to spend several weeks
[31:23] because these are some big big
[31:26] teachings.
[31:29] It might be more helpful to point out
[31:31] misconceptions
[31:33] rather than go through a very detailed
[31:36] Vedantic explanation.
[31:40] So, what you can
[31:41] If If I were to explain it to a
[31:44] non-Hindu,
[31:46] um what I would explain is the
[31:48] difference between an entity that leaves
[31:54] your body at the time of death
[31:57] is different from your essential nature.
[32:02] There's an entity that travels
[32:07] at the time of death
[32:09] and that entity that travels at the time
[32:11] of death is different from your true
[32:14] nature as Satchidananda Atman. In
[32:18] non-Hindu traditions, this idea of of a
[32:22] fundamental reality Satchidananda Atman
[32:24] is not present. It does no There's no
[32:27] equivalent in the in biblical religion
[32:31] to Satchidananda Atman. They only have
[32:34] the soul. But
[32:37] the I I have to share with you this this
[32:39] observation uh just to show the
[32:42] confusion that comes with the word soul.
[32:45] So, the way it's taught, I was raised
[32:48] Christian, so I was taught that I have
[32:50] an eternal soul.
[32:52] And when I die, that eternal soul will
[32:56] go to heaven or hell.
[32:58] And even as a child, I wondered,
[33:01] "Okay, that's what happens to the soul
[33:03] when I die. What happens to me?"
[33:07] Because I was taught you possess
[33:11] an eternal soul.
[33:13] Who is the possessor?
[33:18] That's Vedanta.
[33:20] Who is the possessor? If you possess an
[33:22] eternal soul, it's possessed by whom?
[33:28] Ultimately, the possessor is what we
[33:30] call Atma Satchidananda.
[33:33] Okay, good question.
[33:36] Some more questions here from
[33:40] from Oliver. Oliver lives in Montreal.
[33:47] In your Tattva Bodha class that Pinky
[33:49] was also referring to,
[33:52] I discussed the problem of blind faith.
[33:56] In Tattva Bodha, we talked about the
[33:58] importance of Shraddha,
[34:01] which is the best translation for
[34:04] Shraddha is faith, but we said it most
[34:07] certainly is not blind faith.
[34:11] We we used various expressions to kind
[34:14] of
[34:15] trust pending verification. How's that?
[34:20] Instead of faith,
[34:22] trust pending verification.
[34:26] Okay.
[34:28] You said
[34:29] and you said that
[34:32] oh, and further I said and just to lead
[34:34] into Oliver's question, I said that
[34:36] asking questions is an integral part of
[34:41] the spiritual practice that we call
[34:43] Advaita Vedanta.
[34:46] So, in Advaita Vedanta we say the main
[34:48] practices the main practices Shravana,
[34:50] Manana, Nididhyasana. Shravana, hearing
[34:54] these teachings and doing Atma Vichara,
[34:56] self-reflection based on these
[34:58] teachings. Then this third,
[35:01] Nididhyasana, we've already talked
[35:03] about. Manana
[35:05] is largely asking questions and having
[35:08] your doubts resolved.
[35:10] That's one of the three main Look at
[35:13] that.
[35:14] Vedanta as elevates question answer
[35:20] to
[35:21] one of three primary
[35:25] practices.
[35:27] That's how important it is.
[35:29] It's equal It's given equal importance
[35:33] to Shravana, hearing these teachings and
[35:36] doing self-reflection based on them, and
[35:38] Nididhyasana,
[35:40] uh that Vedantic contemplation we talked
[35:42] about before. So, Manana, which is not
[35:46] entirely but mostly question answer, is
[35:49] given equal status.
[35:51] >> [snorts]
[35:51] >> That's how important it is. Oliver
[35:54] recognizes this importance
[35:57] and he says, "The question answer
[35:59] interaction between guru and shishya in
[36:03] the tradition." He says, "I live in
[36:05] Canada. I completed the 6-month course.
[36:08] Applied to the 2-year course, but I have
[36:11] a doubt that I will ever have access to
[36:13] the kind of close relationship that you
[36:16] describe having had with your guru."
[36:20] I was
[36:21] indeed fortunate. I lived with him
[36:27] almost constantly for 3 years and over a
[36:31] period of 5 years mostly.
[36:34] So, I mean, it was That was my
[36:36] relationship with him.
[36:38] Not easy to have that relationship with
[36:41] your guru.
[36:43] Um
[36:45] but is it necessary
[36:48] to
[36:49] have that particular kind of
[36:51] relationship with your guru to ask
[36:54] questions?
[36:55] In that case, what should I do with all
[36:57] my doubts and questions if and when they
[37:00] arise?
[37:02] You're asking a question now.
[37:07] I'm answering the question and we have
[37:12] Is it
[37:13] an observation?
[37:18] They talk about they meaning traditional
[37:21] scriptures and traditional teachers talk
[37:23] about the importance of sitting at your
[37:26] guru's feet
[37:28] for the sake of asking questions.
[37:32] Oliver, if you're sitting in front of
[37:35] your computer right now
[37:39] or sitting with your phone or whatever
[37:41] you're you're using
[37:44] and who's in front of you is guru.
[37:49] What's missing?
[37:52] There's nothing missing. You we live in
[37:55] a different age. You know,
[37:59] ancient rishis had no choice. They had
[38:02] They had to go.
[38:05] They couldn't
[38:06] They couldn't even write letters, right?
[38:09] There was no postal service in ancient
[38:12] India.
[38:14] You don't go to your local dark guard.
[38:17] >> [laughter]
[38:19] >> post office. There was no dark guard in
[38:21] those days.
[38:23] So,
[38:24] you had to go to your guru's ashram
[38:29] to ask questions. There was no other
[38:31] way.
[38:32] Now, we have all kinds of means
[38:36] including letters and now we have emails
[38:39] and better than that, we have online
[38:43] satsang.
[38:45] What's missing?
[38:48] Physical proximity is not
[38:51] necessary.
[38:54] What we have is an intellectual and
[38:58] emotional and personal connection.
[39:03] That is necessary and it doesn't need to
[39:07] be done necessarily
[39:09] in person.
[39:17] Let's see some questions. Um
[39:21] Arun
[39:23] And when you're writing questions,
[39:25] please give your when you're leaving
[39:27] questions in the chat, please give your
[39:29] name and location. It's just nice to
[39:32] acknowledge.
[39:33] Arun asks um
[39:36] At death, does the mind go back to a
[39:39] potential's unmanifest state? What
[39:41] happens to the mind? What happens to
[39:44] that entity that travels after death?
[39:49] One thing we can say for sure is it does
[39:52] not become non-existent.
[39:58] Whatever it is that travels after death,
[40:00] there's something that continues to
[40:02] exist. Let me try this. At death
[40:06] Trick question. At It's not even a trick
[40:08] question. It's a very obvious one. At
[40:11] death, does your body become
[40:13] non-existent?
[40:17] In fact, your body becomes a problem.
[40:20] >> [laughter]
[40:22] [panting]
[40:24] >> And if we don't do something, everyone
[40:26] knows about that problem.
[40:29] Very unpleasant.
[40:31] So, we have to do something about this
[40:33] problem. Okay.
[40:35] We deal with it. It certainly doesn't
[40:37] become non-existent and if you bury it
[40:41] or you burn it, it's still not
[40:42] non-existent. It just takes different
[40:44] forms. Okay.
[40:47] So, if your body does not become
[40:49] non-existent at death, try this.
[40:53] What is it that enlivens your body?
[40:58] Many factors.
[41:00] Um from a medical standpoint, you can
[41:03] talk talk about it, but instead of a
[41:05] medical standpoint, from a standpoint of
[41:07] of Advaita Vedanta and the model that
[41:10] they had in pre-scientific
[41:13] ancient India, from that perspective,
[41:15] your body is enlivened by prana, life
[41:18] force.
[41:19] And not just prana, life force, but
[41:22] mental faculties, faculties of your
[41:25] senses, sight, hearing, taste, touch,
[41:27] smell, powers of of motion and grasping,
[41:30] etc. All of these factors are present
[41:35] within the physical body,
[41:38] enlivening
[41:40] that physical body.
[41:42] At death, that which enlivens your
[41:45] physical body, obviously, is no longer
[41:48] present in your physical body after
[41:51] death.
[41:53] But here's the point.
[41:55] All that enlivened your body when you
[41:58] were alive, when you die, does it become
[42:02] non-existent?
[42:04] Your body doesn't become non-existent.
[42:08] So, therefore, what enlivens your body
[42:11] cannot become non-existent.
[42:15] It continues to exist. And we say it
[42:18] continues to exist in an unmanifest
[42:22] state. We call that avyakta
[42:25] avastha.
[42:27] And avyakta avastha, unmanifest state,
[42:31] that which enlivens a body, and the
[42:34] technical term for it is sukshma
[42:36] sharira, subtle body.
[42:39] That sukshma sharira remains in an
[42:42] unmanifest condition, and then,
[42:45] according to the doctrine of karma, it
[42:47] is driven by by the unfructified karmas
[42:51] to a suit to acquire another physical
[42:54] body for the sake of fructification of
[42:56] those karmas. Okay.
[42:58] Enough said.
[43:00] Um
[43:06] This question comes from
[43:08] uh Kevin
[43:10] who lives in Ontario. Is heaven in the
[43:13] mind's eye? Is heaven a mental creation?
[43:22] Scriptures
[43:24] of every religion
[43:25] describe different kinds of heaven and
[43:28] hell.
[43:29] All of those descriptions are
[43:31] unverifiable.
[43:34] No one's ever gone there and come back
[43:36] and you know
[43:37] you know, how many people are in heaven?
[43:39] Somebody should come back and tell us.
[43:42] No one's ever come back and told us.
[43:44] Okay.
[43:45] Unverifiable
[43:46] matters of belief. Are they in the mind?
[43:51] Actually, I think I think
[43:54] that I think what Kevin means to say
[43:59] is that heaven and hell th- this might I
[44:03] might be wrong
[44:04] but it's a nice spiritual perspective.
[44:07] Heaven and hell are states of mind. I
[44:11] think is perhaps what what Kevin means.
[44:15] Heaven and hell are states of mind which
[44:17] means according to your mind
[44:21] you experience a wonderful according to
[44:24] your attitude, let us say.
[44:26] Depending on your attitude, when you
[44:28] wake up in the morning, if you're in a
[44:30] good mood
[44:32] heaven.
[44:33] You wake up in the morning in a bad mood
[44:37] the whole day
[44:39] can be hellish
[44:41] depending on your mood.
[44:44] Perhaps that's what Kevin means. So,
[44:46] does it mean that heaven and hell are in
[44:49] your mind?
[44:50] Our definition of heaven First of all,
[44:53] what do we mean by heaven hell? We're
[44:55] talking about good moods and bad moods,
[44:57] which we know very, very well.
[45:00] A good mood is not heaven. A bad mood is
[45:03] not hell.
[45:05] A
[45:07] scripturally sound definition of heaven
[45:12] is a lifetime
[45:14] in which there is no suffering
[45:16] whatsoever.
[45:19] A scripturally sound definition of hell
[45:22] is a lifetime in which there is only
[45:26] suffering.
[45:29] So,
[45:30] hell is defined not as a place. This is
[45:34] a scriptural definition of heaven and
[45:36] hell.
[45:36] Heaven and hell are not places. They're
[45:38] not locations. They're lifetimes.
[45:42] A lifetime of pure suffering is hell.
[45:48] A lifetime of no suffering is heaven.
[45:53] According to the doctrine of karma,
[45:55] though, every lifetime is limited.
[45:59] Every lifetime is
[46:01] due to the fructification of karmas. So,
[46:05] if you are born with 100%
[46:09] good karmas,
[46:11] in principle, you have a lifetime where
[46:14] there's no suffering.
[46:16] That's called a life in heaven.
[46:18] But you're born with finite good karmas,
[46:21] so your time in heaven comes to an end.
[46:23] Or, if you're born with 100% papa
[46:27] karmas, bad karmas,
[46:29] then you have a lifetime of pure
[46:31] suffering, which we call a lifetime of
[46:34] in hell, naraka.
[46:36] Um but that again, finite bad karmas, so
[46:40] your lifetime in heaven in hell comes to
[46:44] an end. So, some perspectives on on
[46:47] heaven and hell.
[46:50] Uh this question comes from Shravanti,
[46:54] who lives in Switzerland.
[46:57] Please explain Karana Sharira.
[47:03] That
[47:04] technical term Karana Sharira leads to
[47:08] so much confusion. To explain it
[47:11] thoroughly, we have to explain the other
[47:13] two, Vistula and Sukshma Shariras.
[47:17] Instead of going through all of that,
[47:19] can I simply say
[47:23] on analysis, Karana Sharira is ignorance
[47:28] and nothing else.
[47:29] >> [snorts]
[47:30] >> Karana Shari Karana means cause.
[47:34] The cause for the other two Shariras,
[47:36] the cause for the physical body, the
[47:39] cause for the subtle body, the cause for
[47:42] getting reborn.
[47:44] And the cause for getting reborn is
[47:48] ignorance. When we it's called Sharira
[47:52] figuratively.
[47:55] Even your subtle body
[47:58] is a figurative Sharira. So that which
[48:01] enlivens your physical body, we call
[48:03] Sukshma Sharira, subtle body.
[48:07] What does it look like?
[48:09] You know what your physical body looks
[48:11] like. Stand in front of a mirror.
[48:14] What does your subtle body look like?
[48:16] How tall is it?
[48:18] What color is it?
[48:21] You get the idea. It's a body in a
[48:24] figurative
[48:25] sense. In the same way for the
[48:30] for the um
[48:31] Karana Sharira.
[48:34] This question is comes from uh
[48:36] Shakuntala.
[48:37] Shaku, she lives in Texas.
[48:42] I am not intentionally sitting down to
[48:45] do Atma Vichara except when I'm
[48:47] listening to your teachings. I employ
[48:49] the method sometimes when I feel sad,
[48:52] angry, annoyed. Sometimes when I'm happy
[48:55] or upbeat, I thank God for grace and
[48:58] blessings. Is this the correct way to do
[49:00] Atma Vichara?
[49:03] There might be a misunderstanding of
[49:04] what Atma Vichara is. Atma Vichara is
[49:07] not a a general word for spiritual
[49:10] practice.
[49:12] And I think what Shakuntala is
[49:13] describing is a general kind of
[49:15] spiritual practice. That when you feel
[49:18] sad or angry,
[49:20] when she says when I'm happy or upbeat,
[49:22] I thank God for his grace and blessings.
[49:25] That's a very beautiful spiritual
[49:27] attitude.
[49:29] And a spiritual practice, a prayerful
[49:31] attitude, karma yoga is part of that.
[49:34] Atma Vichara is not a a general
[49:37] spiritual practice. In Advaita Vedanta,
[49:40] we use it in a very precise technical
[49:43] sense.
[49:45] Atma Vichara we translate as
[49:48] self-inquiry.
[49:49] And it's a practice in which you turn
[49:52] your attention within
[49:55] >> [clears throat]
[49:55] >> to discern the difference between your
[50:00] essence as pure consciousness
[50:03] and how your essence as pure
[50:05] consciousness is different from your
[50:07] physical body, is different from your
[50:10] mind, different from your thoughts,
[50:13] different from your emotions. So, Atma
[50:16] Vichara we use in this very specific
[50:20] sense.
[50:23] Can you do Atma Vichara while you're
[50:26] engaged in other activities?
[50:29] >> [snorts]
[50:30] >> I don't see how.
[50:34] It takes your full attention.
[50:37] To really
[50:39] discern
[50:41] who am I in a fundamental way
[50:46] which
[50:47] as pure consciousness independent of my
[50:50] body and mind. That kind of inquiry
[50:54] requires your full attention.
[50:57] And I it cannot be done while you're
[51:00] engaged in in worldly activities, which
[51:04] is why it's often done in association
[51:08] with meditation. Meditation is a
[51:10] different practice. In fact, meditation
[51:12] is a whole lot of different practices,
[51:15] but one thing that meditation in general
[51:18] and Atma Vichara have in common is that
[51:21] they're done
[51:23] generally
[51:24] sitting quietly.
[51:27] Um
[51:28] The other time Although, let me add one
[51:31] thing. The other time Atma Vichara can
[51:34] be done
[51:36] is right now, when you're listening to
[51:38] the teachings of Vedanta.
[51:41] In fact, I would suggest that one of the
[51:44] best times to do Atma Vichara
[51:48] is during class.
[51:52] Which has an interesting consequence. I
[51:54] told the story recently, and I apologize
[51:56] for repeating my my stories again and
[51:59] again.
[52:00] So, Atma Vichara means to do this deep
[52:03] self-inquiry, and I just said it's it's
[52:07] good to do it during class.
[52:09] This is what happened to me. When I was
[52:12] sitting at my guru's feet during our
[52:14] 3-year residential course, he would go
[52:17] on teaching and teaching, and I would be
[52:19] there and really fully engaged,
[52:22] and sometimes I would get so engaged in
[52:25] Atma Vichara,
[52:27] I would close my eyes in class, and I
[52:31] was one of those those nerds sitting in
[52:33] the front row.
[52:35] >> [laughter]
[52:36] >> I closed my eyes.
[52:39] And I don't know if he thought I was
[52:41] sleeping or what, but I would get
[52:44] I would do it. I would close my eyes.
[52:49] Because it's an inward turn. But he
[52:52] would go on talking. I was still aware
[52:53] that he was talking.
[52:56] But my attention
[52:58] was inside.
[53:00] My attention was no longer on his
[53:02] physical presence in front of me.
[53:05] My attention was
[53:07] on what he was teaching, on the content
[53:10] of what he was teaching. And what he was
[53:12] teaching is
[53:14] such ananda atma. That's where my
[53:17] attention was.
[53:18] Okay.
[53:20] Couple more questions and we'll wrap it
[53:22] up. This question comes from Vishal who
[53:25] lives in Brooklyn.
[53:29] Um
[53:30] During
[53:31] in my classes, I begin each class, I
[53:34] recite om and at the end I say om tat
[53:37] sat.
[53:38] Is there a specific reason or
[53:40] traditional convention behind this
[53:42] practice?
[53:44] Yeah, lots of traditions, lots of
[53:46] convention. Om is simply
[53:49] an invocation of Ishvara, of God.
[53:53] So,
[53:54] all of our prayers begin with om. The
[53:57] Vedas themselves begin with om.
[54:00] Scriptures begin with om.
[54:03] Om tat sat is a conventional way of
[54:06] concluding a class.
[54:10] Uh om, tat, that, sat is the truth. Om,
[54:16] that is the truth. Om tat sat is just a
[54:18] convention. Um if you want to learn
[54:21] more, I think
[54:22] Shri Krishna
[54:24] teaches in a number of verses, I
[54:26] believe,
[54:27] in the end of chapter 14, if I remember
[54:30] right, of the Bhagavad Gita series of
[54:33] verses on om tat sat. You can You can
[54:36] look at those.
[54:38] Okay.
[54:44] This is uh
[54:45] Harsh who lives lives in Lucknow.
[54:48] Harsh asks, "My question is it seems
[54:51] that smoking and drinking has no
[54:54] adrishta phala.
[54:57] So, they are not considered papa
[55:00] and hence they have no bad karma."
[55:04] I
[55:04] Harsh, I don't think so.
[55:06] >> [laughter]
[55:10] >> Yeah, and by the way, if you drink and
[55:12] smoke, it's fine as far as I'm
[55:15] concerned. If somebody wants to drink
[55:17] and smoke, it's their prerogative.
[55:21] But drinking and smoking are harmful to
[55:23] the physical body.
[55:25] So, therefore, it's
[55:27] a himsa it's himsa, harm.
[55:31] We define Dharma in terms of ahimsa.
[55:36] So, if you're harming your body,
[55:39] if you're harming your body, there's a
[55:40] drishta phala.
[55:42] Drishta phala means
[55:45] your body is harmed now.
[55:48] And if you're performing an act of
[55:50] adharma by causing harm to your body,
[55:53] then there's further adrishta phala,
[55:56] which means you're going to suffer the
[55:57] consequences twice in [snorts] this
[56:00] lifetime
[56:02] and in the next lifetime. Anyway,
[56:05] but I and
[56:08] and
[56:09] All right.
[56:12] This question comes from Kia, originally
[56:14] from Japan, now living in London.
[56:18] Once we achieve moksha,
[56:20] we will not have to exist in any kind of
[56:23] body, be it physical or non-physical.
[56:29] Huh, even now,
[56:31] huh,
[56:32] we'll we'll let this be the last
[56:34] question, I think, because it it's just
[56:36] an interesting perspective.
[56:38] People wonder, what is it like after
[56:40] death?
[56:42] We call it to be to be a videha mukta,
[56:46] to to be to be liberated after death,
[56:50] after dropping the body.
[56:53] Or in in old-fashioned Indian English,
[56:57] to give up the mortal coil.
[57:01] I remember reading books published in
[57:03] India as a young man. I read, "What is
[57:06] mortal coil?" I've never heard that
[57:08] expression except in books published in
[57:11] India. Anyway,
[57:13] it's not a common It's not in American
[57:15] English very common though in in Indian
[57:17] English. So, what happens to an
[57:20] enlightened person at the time of death?
[57:25] You know, just reflect on this a moment.
[57:27] It's a trick question by the way. What
[57:30] happens to an enlightened person at the
[57:33] time of death? And the answer is
[57:36] absolutely nothing. You got it.
[57:40] Nothing.
[57:43] Watch this. What happens to an
[57:47] unenlightened
[57:49] person at the time of death?
[57:53] Depends.
[57:54] Suppose we define an unenlightened
[57:57] person
[57:58] in an essential way, Atman.
[58:03] So, I've rephrased it. What happens to
[58:06] Atman
[58:07] of an unenlightened
[58:10] person
[58:11] at the time of death?
[58:14] You're forgetting that.
[58:16] What happens to Atman
[58:19] for an unenlightened person at the time
[58:22] of death? Nothing.
[58:28] Then what are we doing here?
[58:32] These teachings are not for Atman.
[58:36] These teachings are for the person who
[58:40] walked into the satsang hall or for the
[58:43] person who's watching, who's attending
[58:45] the satsang online, the person who says
[58:49] I suffer.
[58:51] These teachings are for that person.
[58:54] Atman is already
[58:57] The term used is nitya mukta,
[59:01] eternally liberated. Shankara's fond of
[59:05] that expression.
[59:06] Nitya mukta.
[59:08] Never got into a state of bondage in the
[59:10] first place.
[59:11] >> [snorts]
[59:12] >> There's no metaphorical fall from a
[59:16] state of grace. You know, the biblical
[59:18] story of Adam and Eve.
[59:20] There's no Hindu equivalent to that
[59:23] story, falling from grace.
[59:26] Instead,
[59:28] what the ancient rishis said is you
[59:32] your essence
[59:35] is divine.
[59:39] And that divinity
[59:42] is
[59:44] >> [snorts]
[59:44] >> unborn, uncreated, unchanging,
[59:49] eternal.
[59:51] Your true nature is eternally divine.
[59:54] So, whether you're enlightened or not,
[59:58] makes no difference to that eternal
[1:00:00] divinity at the time of death.
[1:00:04] On the other hand,
[1:00:06] while you're alive,
[1:00:09] if you fail to recognize that divinity,
[1:00:14] you'll suffer.
[1:00:15] And our whole focus with these teachings
[1:00:18] is to discover that inner divinity
[1:00:23] for the sake of becoming free from
[1:00:26] suffering. And how that happens, of
[1:00:28] course, that's a long story, which which
[1:00:31] is which we'll drop at this point and
[1:00:34] conclude with a prayer.
[1:00:38] Om Sarve
[1:00:41] Bhavantu Sukhinah,
[1:00:44] Sarve
[1:00:45] Santu Niramayah,
[1:00:49] Sarve Bhadrani Pashyantu,
[1:00:54] Ma
[1:00:54] Kashchid Duhkha Bhak Bhavet. Asato Ma
[1:01:00] Sadgamaya,
[1:01:02] Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya, Mrityor Ma
[1:01:09] Amritam Gamaya. Om Shanti Shanti
[1:01:16] Shantihi.
[1:01:17] Om Tat Sat.
[1:01:20] See you next time.
