Video 27

Ask Swami with Swami Sarvapriyananda | Sept 30th, 2018

[Music] and remember it's not his question or her question or somebody else's question all of these questions are usually our own questions many people have these questions and sometimes I've seen the answers they may not work for the one who was asking the question but they may work for somebody else who is sitting quietly and listening to the answer so let's attentively listen to the questions and the answers we have to begin with several questions on practical Vedanta yes from Uttar on how can we train the mind to get rid of karma versus can someone be aware of his or her progress towards enlightenment can they actually know whether they are progressing towards the final awakening from Subramanya how doesn't person who has experienced a strong love of God fall back into lust and world in this how can it be avoided and how does one regain love of God how to avoid the mind being affected by the hundreds of different hateful and misleading things that happen in life from veikkaus how do we reconcile our need for inner peace on the one hand with our passion to be successful in the world on the other and from annobón why does our nature drag us against the laws of nature even if it is nature itself which has set the laws for example jealousy is not the rule of nature but we as human beings have a tendency to feel jealous is it that the tendency of a human being is to sail the boat against the flow yes all those questions have a common theme spiritual progress spiritual struggle spiritual practice the nature of desire and how it's an obstruction to spiritual growth how do we know that we are growing spiritually and the desire and the nature of activity in the world and how it can be reconciled to practical spirituality so these are the questions the first question was how does one overcome common desire lust the number of questions are related to this I will speak about it in this way levels of practice at four levels first of all when the more we are concerned with ourselves the more we are subjected to our personal whims and desires and ups and downs of the mind the more we think about the welfare of others the less the vagaries the problems of our minds trouble us have you noticed as often seen a mother in a busy household has very little of these personal problems because she's got too many of household problems because it all depends on her and she is busy from the morning till night and running around trying to keep the family together maybe hold a job at the same time do everything at once when you are concerned with many other things especially others and your personal equations not yet so much then you will see these desires which tend to pull us down towards the world they don't function so much so the first thing is unselfishness become immediately concerned with the cause larger than yourself volunteer do something for others if you have the time and energy or make sure that you're working for your organization for your local religious organization for the charity for your family more and more others not me that's one powerful way the second way is what we are doing outside of course one more thing here what we are doing in the world as far as possible it must be within the limits of of ethics and morality if I continuously do something which my own conscience tells me that it is wrong you will find that the mind is continuously disturbed as far as possible within the limits of Dharma within the limits of morals and ethics don't agonize over it but don't keep on doing something that which which we would be ashamed to tell others in public and that basically clean up our own lives then spirituality begins first moral life then unselfish life so unselfish action must be preceded by a basis of morals and ethics the second thing is where do our emotions go our activities externally are of let us assume we will be as far as possible unselfish and concerned with others with the welfare of others even if there are not many opportunities in our lights to do anything for others we can at least think well of others every time we have a problem or even if you do not have a problem when we deal with others let us be well wishes for everybody now the second thing is internally our emotions love desire it's the same force it has to be turned towards God young devotee once I said to straight Amma Krishna he was training to be a monk I don't like the company of women I dislike women and he thought she Ramakrishna would be pleased he see Ramakrishna said you are a fool turn desire towards God that is not the way to deal with with lust with desire the way to deal with lust to desire is to turn it towards God it's a very important point to learn it is the same force which says I want the world the same I want let the I want remain and remove the world and put God in its place it's the same I want God the same I want the same force the same desire positively it must be channelized somewhere and of course there are many many ways of doing this worship is one way have a little ritual in your life and it must be a ritual with life not a lifeless ritual that's about the problem about rituals it comes and maybe small ritual maybe a little incense maybe a little prayer that you start with the day bit and end the day with up to you use music ritual music prayer whatever appeals to you in your format in in the form in which you love and adore God so learn some of the prayers a prayer coming from the heart in your own language is best but also some of the prayers in different religions and Sri Ramakrishna would teach the young people who'd come to him - how do you pray to the divine mother o mother I do not want anything in this world neither wealth nor fame nor success o mother keep my mind pure let me want only thee let me have love only for thee let me not be trapped in your Maya let me have pure devotion at the feet of the Lord and would he would while praying teaching others to pray he would actually cry himself his face would be wet with tears it was a powerful experience for those who saw him so love of God love of God channelized love towards God channelized desire towards God in whichever form you have if you have a faith in God in some way when most of us here - then you are lucky if you are a dry Gani then this is one thing don't be too proud of yourself you know I don't believe in those guys that well it's your loss it's a great power often you see in the path of knowledge in Vedanta a weaknesses that of why why devotion is prescribed agree I remember hearing a great Vedanta teacher saying that for those who are in the path of knowledge the path of bhakti of devotion is very useful for them it's very necessary why the reason is I may understand what we just did at the meditation before this I am the bear awareness and mind plays it starts the waking dreaming and deep sleep come and go so that means all my desires my troubles my guilt my jealousy all is in the mind I am the witness of it now it's logical to say this rational to say this you may even accept it but you will see it's not very effective in day to day life the reason is this when the mind is impure when it is full of these this kind of turbulence the intellect may understand something but the lower mind does not accept it so the lower mind goes in its own way and until it goes in another way and you have this conflict Vedanta tells you what it is what this world is what we are but there it stops but what about the mind which has been conditioned deeply for years and years maybe lifetimes so devotion works at that level emotion devotion works at the level of the heart of emotion it replaces negative worldly tendencies with divine tendencies that's why the path of devotion is very useful for somebody on the path of knowledge the contrary may not be true for those who are on a devotional path it may not be particularly necessary to practice separately the path of knowledge so anyway this is the second thing that learn to channelize devotion love towards the divine more and more does that mean you will not love human beings does that you mean you will not love the dog yesterday I was walking in Central Park and I saw this lady it was admittedly a very cute dog but this he was fussing so much over it and she had a professional photographer photographing her in different poses in front of the lake and the the the fountain and the different places so so does it mean I cannot love the dog or love people in the world you can but it's by seeing divinity in all of them my love goes to God in all of these forms I am NOT attached to the particular form so that is the second second one party the first was unselfishness second is devotion love of God third thoughts of God emotion directed to God did the person your thoughts will go but where you love what we love we tend to think about that so you know where your treasure is there your heart will be what you value that you will love what you love that you will think of where your heart is there your mind will be we should add add there that too so so fill the mind with thoughts of God the stories and the prayers and the you have the photographs and the images whatever yeah this is the second one the third one is even thoughts of God even devotion to God even love of God that also has to be stopped and abundant for at least once or twice in a day where you make the mind absolutely calm not even good thoughts let alone worldly thoughts disturbing thoughts turbulent thoughts let alone those are gone replaced by good ones now twice a day at least in meditation in calmness in quietness in serenity just because we have a mind does it mean you have to keep thinking just because you have legs you don't have to keep running just because your hands you don't have to keep grasping things I remember see that modern life Charlie Chaplin movie in which modern times he works in a factory an assembly line and challenge happen his whole job throughout the day is to tighten a couple of screws he has these wrenches and he does this and for hour after hour after hour he does this things keep coming in front of him those lesson please and he just tightens a couple of screws and when the break comes lunch break he can't stop doing this he's walking around and the four man comes in scolds him and he was a silent movie with background music as Foreman comes in Scott yells at him this big guy you know comes in yells at him it's tough to stop doing that you can feel that he's saying that you stop doing that and what challenge happened does is he wrenches the nose of the form and he does like like that but we have become like that because we have the mind which is thinking all the time the moment you wake up worries have to do this have to catch the bus and all the subway go to my job or this is not done that is not done the groceries the dishes have to be clean and this and that it's the mind chattering of it this this why do you have to do that mind they say is a good servant a very bad master and when it becomes pathological we are mostly on the verge of on the borderline subfactor but then it becomes pathological then there's you see somebody pointed out and people commit suicide and shoot themselves a shoot themselves here make it stop yes just like an instrument just because I have a pen doesn't mean I'll keep writing you put it down sometimes put the mind down sometimes so twice a day I am I can exist without the mind ten minutes 15 minutes 20 minutes meditation techniques there are a wealth of meditation techniques but don't keep changing your technique that's also the mind try this try this try this you want to make me quiet okay try this method doesn't not working try this other method it's still the mind so pick a method and many of us we have been initiated with the mantra nothing like it because the mantra replaces every other thought every other thought of the mind is replaced with the mantra every thought is replaced no the mantra mantra is basically a name of God with some mystical syllables tell me one thing those who have been initiated by the mantra of all these thousands of thoughts we have in a day somebody said we have 16,000 thoughts in a day in your waking life of all the thousands of thoughts we have in a day how many many of them are more important than the mantra how many are more important if you just sit this thought and mantra almost none almost none such a waste of mental energy chattering away hour after hour day after day month after month year after year replace it with something that will give permanent peace and joy and elevation and nobility to the mind there are very few times when you actually need to think other things in the world they demand your attention think do it finished replace it with the mantra stay with the mantra keep become it's a get your best friend in the world so meditation it could be mantra meditation could be anything is it could be if you don't like all of that it could be a neutral follow the breath meditation and awareness that is the third one if you're worried what was there for the first well don't worry I'll summarize at the end and the last one is even in in meditation in the quietness of meditation if that is spiritual then the other other times when the mind is thinking and chattering and you know engaged in the world in that will be not spiritual you have divided your life into quiet time spiritual time meditation time that's one and the non meditation time the non quiet time that is also not the ultimate reality the ultimate reality is that we are this ever silent ever peaceful ever desire free consciousness realize that as your own identity and after that the body and mind can go and do their thing you are not touched by it you are ever at peace so these are the four things I suggest unselfishness more concerned with others than yourself it helps you to overcome the base tendencies of the mind second directing desires towards God remember where your treasure is what you do your heart will be what you value that you will love what you love that you will think of so love God value God love God and the wide range of techniques are there for in in in the path of of love I don't like the word technique technique and spirituality sometimes there's a sense of doing some something clever Sri Ramakrishna would never speak in that way he would just say if you have an entire intensity earning that's all you need where Coolatta he said in intense yearning it's sincerity that that itself is the most important thing then the second thing is love of God will place love of the world with love of God the third thing is quiet time morning and evening stop the chatter of the mind meditation daily meditation whatever form you have got if you've got mantra meditation nothing like it and the last one is reality orientation what am i when they truly discover what I am then I will be automatically forever be free from the troubles of the mind desires which pulled me worldwide and towards the world those who are been listening closely you will see that oh Swami all that you said was karma yoga bhakti yoga Raja yoga and gamma yoga of course how do we know that we are progressing Sri Ramakrishna said yearning for God increases and this passion disregard for the world increases Bishoy birra birra is surely Anurag in Bengali this passion for the world and a pull God word put God becomes more if it's if you don't like the guard talk then this idea that I am the witness consciousness and they were pure awareness unchanging that becomes not just like a slogan like a few words or a few memorized verses it's a fact and you take more and more delight in it and you we are all about how to stabilize myself in that how to know more about that so that's the sign of progress and the last question was how do i reconcile activity ambition in the world with God realization with spirituality you cannot reconcile worldliness with spirituality God and Mammon the two do not go together but what you can do is spiritual eyes your worldly activity remember the Prince Arjuna he wanted to give up worldliness and become spiritual and Sri Rama Sri Krishna told him yes you can but what is in front of you the duty that you have to do spiritual eyes that you don't have to abandon everything and go over and sit in a in a cave and the mountain cave it's not possible not desirable whatever we are doing do unto God so instead of saying I am doing and climbing the corporate ladder out of my personal ambition won't work if you can give up that ambition and spiritual eyes that work good if the ambition is strong within you and yet spiritually it is also the desire for spiritual growth and development is strong that also can happen then offer that ambition unto the Lord it is all mental forces are the forces of God it's a divine mother Shakti connect it with God he is one thing if it is not absolutely immoral if it is invites it's worldly all right if it's worldly but if you connect it with God it becomes spiritual eyes I am doing this work I would like to climb the corporate ladder but I offer the whole thing unto you my lord you have put me in this place let me see you will see cool slowly the worldliness will grow out of it and divinization spirituality and expansion will occur there it'll occur automatically it might seem funny to you I'll say this and it's not politically correct also today because smoking has gone out of people may all sorts of problems may be there but smoking is very bad so all over the in corporate offices airports everywhere but at one time it was very common I remember I was on a tour of of NASA in Houston tourist so every interested in the space race and all of that so somebody took me for a guided tour of NASA in Houston and we went to Mission Control where the moon missions were controlled from its historical it's a museum now you can go and sit there you can sit there and actually the seats which were used by them in the viewing gallery and every in every seat has a little box here and slightly yeah the older people here know what it is younger people don't know what it is and and the tour guide said if you are wondering about that curious contraption on the size of your chair every chair has it that's an ashtray a remanent effect of an older age and he says I remember when this was really Mission Control and space missions were being controlled from here and the whole room would be full of cigarette smoke for hours and hours and hours and days and days and days okay why am I saying this there was this wonderful old Swami who is to smoke cigarettes and the story is a very cute here he another Swami noticed that he he was nearly in his a it was in his 80s this old Swami whose disciple of swami sivananda Maheshwara it was an Irishman he would smoke a cigarette and put it out and keep it down later light it up again and smoke it again this little stub then his other Swami said don't do that we can just throw it away we'll get a new packet for issue you can spark new cigarettes and the old Swami said no no I can't throw it away it is the Prasad of Vivekananda what do you mean he says I offered it it's a lifelong practice I offer it to Vivekananda and I imagine he smokes it first and gives it to me so now you may find it it's no longer politically correct to say talk about smoking I guess but but you see the mentality even something that you might consider a worldly weakness it's connected to God there was Girish coach Callie for the course they were addicted they were alcoholics almost the story of Callie Potter gosh how long before he became a devotee of sri ramakrishna his young wife Hera stand troubled she came she heard there's a great sadhu induction Ashwood sure so she came to sri ramakrishna this young girl and said my husband is he neglects B wastes money and at home and he is he drinks and I don't know what to do about him she burst into tears can you help me and C Ramakrishna said he would never get involved in these worldly things you know that killed my disease get me a job and things like that he said no no no I don't do these things and she kept on importuning him then he said well in that room across there there's a lady who can help you not me he meant the Holy Mother go there and so he got rid of her so she went there and went to the Holy Mother who was embarrassed she said I have nothing it's all that that is is there it that's him he is you have to ask him I can't do anything I'm just an ordinary woman then this poor girl what could she do she went back to Sri Ramakrishna and sanam Krishna said no no no she is just putting you off I don't do these things go back to her so she went back and once or twice like that when she went back and forth but you see here's the difference she has a mother's heart holy mother and she finally said all right my daughter come and she offered she offered some flowers the picture of sri ramakrishna in the in the in the puja and she gave him some she gave her the little the young girl something and said take this and take the name repeat a mantra your husband will be alright and the girl went back with faith and nothing happened things continue the way they did but 12 years later cally pada gosh who was a friend of Girish gosh another who the great dramatist but was also addicted to drink and they were good friends so Girish gosh brought Kali for the course to meet Sri Ramakrishna and so scary but the ghost he was slightly inebriated that day also he stumbles into Sri Ramakrishna's room and many people are there and Sri Ramakrishna would never seen Kallie but the ghost he had just seen her seen his wife 12 years ago just for a few minutes as care about the coast rambha stumbles into the room walks into the room Sri Ramakrishna says look there he has come he has harassed his wife the last 12 years nobody understood why what he's speaking about it's only made sense much later when the whole story came up and and there's a very beautiful story which goes on you know how Kali but the core says but what do you want you know I'm Krishna asked him and Caravaggio says do you have something to drink and Sri Ramakrishna says yes I have but is if you take mine what I'll give you then you will lose the taste for all of the kind of drink it's so powerful and caliber the coach is puzzled is it Indian or British and sri ramakrishna says and people around where we're furious because of this l didn't understand what is going on but actually the subtext of this Sri Ramakrishna understands and califa that somewhere deep into inside his heart because he's also suffering he understands a ceramic richness is no it's entirely Indian but if you take it that's it you will forget everything else and it's such a powerful drink and caliber the gosh in tears he folds his hands and he says give me a flying drink that's what I want master and so he becomes a disciple of sri ramakrishna and there's that beautiful incident there a few days later he keeps coming to sri ramakrishna very touching incident that he was a rich man he one day sri ramakrishna is getting ready to go to Calcutta on his horse horse buggy but Kali pas de Guiche comes across the river Ganga and East has come with his boat and he says come with me I'll take you across the river to Calcutta so and Sonam Krishna not suspecting anything like a child he says all right he gets into the boat and Calibur asks the boat to be launched and they go across then in the middle of the river caliber the coach orders the boat to be stopped and then he goes and falls at the feet of sri ramakrishna and catches hold of his feet and he says have grace upon me master bless me in Sri Ramakrishna's flustered what's this start the boat what's going on so now until you bless me I will not we will not go any further we'll stay here in the middle of the river bless you with what we knew you have to bless me and then ceramic Krishna initiates him gives him a mantra their imagined sri ramakrishna avatar an incarnation gives you a mantra there and salaam and caliber the go says no that's not enough you have to bless me in sri ramakrishna cesare right you don't even have to repeat the mantra it will do its own work it'll it will work by itself so now let's go and carry for the groceries No you have to bless me Salam Christians as at his wits and he says what more do you want what is it that you want and finally caliber the ghost says what is in his mind he says the day I die at that time and he describes it so vividly and it all came out true later on he must have seen a dream or something like that otherwise how can I describe this he says the day I die at that moment I die at that time I will see darkness all my relatives will be gone and I will be alone and dying I shall see darkness at that moment I want you to promise that you will come for me you will have her he says you'll have a light in one hand and in the other hand you will take my hand and take guide me through the darkness tell me you will do that so such a vivid description I think he must have had some kind of particular dream so tell me you'll do I want to promise from you and see how my Krishna says all right already that will happen he said that's all right let's go and so they start and then he became you know that he became such a well close devotee he helped the Sri Ramakrishna past of in 1886 but Kali put the gosh helped the new monastic order help the economy and many others when they were struggling and and the end of his life was a beautiful description he was surrounded by relatives in his Calcutta home and he had a picture of Sri Ramakrishna and the big picture and all of that but at the last at that time I think it was Lata Mirage was visiting probably one of the disciples of a monk and the relatives thinking that the Swami has come they wanted to take a break from nursing that they're dying relative and so they went and at that moment nobody was there except the Swami and suddenly Kali for the course spoke out his last words master you have come you did not forget you did not forget me you have come now can't you see that he has come put up put out a seat for the product for the master he has come and he passed away anyway I told you the story I take at length because it's such a beautiful story but devotion to God it can replace connect whatever you're doing even a worldly weakness try it connect it with God not in order to indulge in order to transcend it and they all transcended Kali for the ghost garish ghostly all there is a very minor thing overcoming the drinking problem transcending it but it worked anybody from the audience here do you have a question you just I will come to you please come and ask a question yes come here hold on to your question afterwards was this orangey my name is Neil angina I've come from Delaware yes so I've been listening to your talks and YouTube and you talked about this one consciousness yes and so I've also been reading Swami Vivekananda's complete works yes and he he mentions a plane of super consciousness yes and he urges our minds to go there yes so I wanted you to explain to us what this level of our plane of super consciousness is and how do we get there yes and the other question I had was he mentions meditation so is that the only way this was my question right and the other question I had was you talked about enlightenment through the path of knowledge is that the only path to enlightenment right so or what is this super consciousness because you're talking about one awareness one consciousness and we awakened it does mention a number of times he says from the unconscious to the conscious to the super conscious the super consciousness is this pure consciousness which we are talking about the Torreya of the Mundaka Upanishad the Sakshi Atman Brahman pure awareness did I use the term bare awareness that awareness in itself our real nature that is that super consciousness when it is appreciated in its real nature otherwise what happens is how do you distinguish it from the awareness which we have now what we have now what kind of aware do we have now if you look you will say Here I am aware of your voice I'm looking I'm aware of seeing things hearing things I'm aware of thinking desiring feeling remembering forgetting I'm aware of enjoying suffering all this is our awareness the awareness in which we live our lives and sometimes I seem to sink into an awareness like deep sleep or unconsciousness or even coma or whatever our anesthesia so we take our range of experience is sometimes lack of awareness and sometimes this awareness which we have in the worldly awareness which we have externally and internally now our minds are you with me this is how this is this is what is called consciousness and unconsciousness by Vivekananda what is the relationship of this with the pure consciousness that witness consciousness the pure consciousness the 2d Atman whatever you call it channel eyes through the inner instrument mind and sense organs is what we are experiencing now as this awareness in Sanskrit in Vedanta they have very specific terms for it swarupa jana richtig jana gana means consciousness or awareness or knowledge so Rupa gana what it is that it's in its real nature it's pure consciousness in its real nature richtig jana means the mind undergoes modifications you just think something you're listening to my words as the words entered your ears and are transmitted to your mind your mind undergoes waves and you listen to my words and recognize them and get the meaning or suppose I do not get the meaning that lack of comprehension these are all waves in the mind these are called with these and that consciousness when it shines upon these with these it is called with teach I turn near with Tigana that is what Swami awakened the calls the ordinary consciousness consciousness in itself Swami's awaken the calls it super consciousness and when these rictus sees when these with tc's as in deep sleep as in unconsciousness then what happens is this ordinary consciousness ceases and we feel it's unconscious nothing blank but that pure consciousness is continuously there there are no with these no movements of the senses or the minds to illumine so blankness is there our attention is on the blankness we think nothing blank when the mind moves into with ease we see that oh now there is something I see I hear I smell light touch I desire I love I hate I remember I forget I understand or do not understand these are all with these when these ratiza silent blankness we think nothing sleep unconsciousness but that unchanging awareness is there we don't know it accessing it realizing it noticing it else is as simple as noticing it or recognizing it when here now that is called super consciousness how do you realize it meditation is certainly one way usually we awaken in this wine very candy uses these terms unconscious conscious super conscious in the context of Raja yoga meditation so what he says is one ways when we are using our minds consciously at that time if you consciously calm the mind down through meditation it could be that Dee drop run about Charlie meditation which we did wherein Raja Yoga potentially over there many types of meditation which are suggested Ashtanga Yoga the eight limbs Yoga is suggested the whole purpose is while remaining awake not going into uncashed unconsciousness or deep sleep or anything like that while remaining awake can I shut down the brick T's of the mind how do you shut it down not by making it blank it won't work other with these will keep rushing it raised one brick thick like a mantra for example and replace every other with division make the mind absolutely focused and one pointed and the next step after that is the mind seizes the Sumati from some prognathous ahmadi too eccentric Gionta somali what will happen then at that point yogas chitta vritti nirodh aha' yoga samadhi is attained which is cessation of the modification of the mind tada rush to suru bhayo sternum the pure consciousness witness which we are is then appreciated in its real nature that is as unlimited awareness not awareness involved with mind that's what we are aware of right now if you do not do that if you're normally active like we are walking talking thinking doing then what happens with the sarupya meter extra the fourth Sutra of yoga Sutra the consciousness that super consciousness itself is now involved with the mind and we call it ordinary consciousness so shutting down the mind through meditation not by making it blank or falling asleep through meditation shutting down the mind of cessation of the movements modifications of the mind that is one way the honor the other way is the path of knowledge Yoga is one way gianna is another way what is the path of knowledge use the mind itself let it go on thinking because that pure awareness is there right now isn't it it has to be there if I am aware of my thought then awareness is there all I'm interested in is recognizing the awareness in itself let me use my thoughts let me use the intellect the Faculty of the intellect to discriminate to analyse they say the signal from the noise and they say so to analyze the background awareness not as an object you can never get it as an object to recognize it in and through all thoughts it's like there is a movie playing on a screen one way of appreciating the unchanging screen the the the foundation the basis of the movie is to switch off the movie that is the yoga method switch off the movie then you can see the screen as it is again here don't be misled by the analogy the screen is an object so if you switch up the movie you can see the screen as an object but that bear consciousness a pure consciousness Atman is not an object if you shut down the mind there it the only way after saying is it shines forth by itself it's not objectified so that's one way another way is to understand what is the screen and what is a movie even while the movie is playing you understand what the screen is is that possible it's possible don't don't we do that when the movie is playing you know what a screen is so in the movie is playing if I tell you here in the movie wild things are happening there's action going on do you understand and notice the screen also you don't see it as such because you see that the pictures but in a sense you see the more screen also after all what else are you seeing except the screen itself you will see yes as I know even while the pictures are on the movies on I know what is the screen and absolutely I'm clear about the screen again ana tries to do that the path of knowledge even while ordinary consciousness is functioning walking talking thinking doing even desiring underneath all of that you notice the one unchanging consciousness so that is the path of knowledge the two are not mutually exclusive path of knowledge how does it work we have tried it many times here drink receive a daya is one way the seer and the seen the analysis of the three states waking dreaming deep sleep is another way the analysis of the five layers of the human personality five sheets punch echo show that's another way the different modalities different methodologies of using the intellect to come to a recognition of who we really are and the two are not mutually exclusive the path of meditation is very beneficial to the path of knowledge just as the path of devotion is beneficial to the path of knowledge the path of meditation is also very beneficial for the path of knowledge quietening the mind makes it much much more receptive receptive to the pointing out instructions in a quiet mind if it's pointed out one day you will get it that breakthrough happens alright thank you we have a couple of specific questions on guru and the mantra good when the mantra right from David who is a doctor and he says he has been studying nandi orthodontist for thirty years is it advisable to get a new guru if one feels a need for a more bhakti oriented path to moksha or if one's guru dies or is no longer available and from Thomas who is here in New York but can't actually get here do you emphasize having a guru and taking initiation in the study of AD anta which mantra is chanted do you use a mala any particular kind of mala yes I'll take the second one first and then we'll come back to the first one do you emphasize initiation into a mantra and chanting a mantra repeating a mantra japa it's called japa japa means repeating a mantra in the path of a Dante yes remember the path of Vedanta is not an exclusive palate it's a tendency in modern mind to think this or that I will do this so that means it means I will not do anything else but all the great arch ideas starting with says Shankar Acharya himself all the great masters they included all the yoga's not only the path of knowledge that might be a primary path many here they consider it the primary path good one way of knowing a primary path is why people are attracted to it it feels real it feels alive it feels that it is mine it's a other things in comparison might feel artificial or mechanic many people say and doing those things mechanically but just because you're doing those things mechanically does not mean that they will not have an effect so all the yoga's have their role to play even in the path of knowledge so the path of knowledge can only benefit from become energized more effective and powerful if you have a devotional practice if you have a meditative practice and if you have a karma yoga practice so karma yoga bhakti yoga and dianna yoga or Raja yoga they all are very very helpful by themselves also they are attached to God realization but if you are primarily on the path of knowledge all the three are helpful so yes we do emphasize in our order I am initiated into the chanting of a mantra in our order both monks and lay followers we are all initiated into the chanting of our mantra by a guru there are a few who are empowered to initiate you into the mantra one is called mantra diksha it has many many benefits even for a person on the path of knowledge it's very beneficial what mantra is chanted that the Guru will tell you the tradition is called it's a deity meditation I'll tell you as much as I'm allowed to each today what the Easter devata means that formless existence consciousness bliss which we really are remember one thing about it is it can never be objectified and that's good but if it could be objectified it would be different from you we follow that whatever I can object five suppose I say I cannot reach it I cannot access it how can I see it all of this eat eat it you're objectifying if you could do it it would be a disaster what do you mean if I saw my real nature would it be disaster if you saw it then it would not be your real nature you are something which is experiencing that so it cannot be objectified but yes one problem there it's a problem of our minds our minds and senses are all designed to catch hold of an object it could be a physical object out there like a picture or a flower or it could be a mental object like a thought or a mantra so how to help the mind become stabilized in it in the divine in the real self what is done in Vedanta is the real self Brahman or Atman is now closed with names and forms you may say that that's always there we are all names and from Subramani that is true but the names and forms in the world which we find they trap us in the world that's what's happening we are ever involved in samsara now there are some names and forms which are divine names and forms which help us to get out of samsara which direct our attention back to the reality so these are the names and forms of God in Hinduism you have a whole range they all mean the same thing technically the Sanskrit word is saguna brahman Brahman with attributes with qualities omniscient omnipresent all loving all good Ananta kalyana guna gana in sanskrit endless auspicious qualities so this is the god of religion in hinduism you have a wide range of names and forms which farm without farm and the farm can be a male form like Shiva or Vishnu or it can be a female form like Durga or Kali you can worship God as father mother as friend and so many ways as child different attitudes to God so mantra is the name associated with a particular form different mantras different forms these forms the Guru will indicate to you a particular form remember it's a form of the same reality now that becomes is what is called Ishta devatha the chosen deity krishna may be reached today with our ramakrishna may be reached of the earth and so on and you will have a mantra which goes along with it the mantra will name of the deity along with a mystical silt mystical syllables I can't say more than that but it is supposed to be secret not in a sense of that it is something highly classified or something like that in the sense that it's well it's a very private kind of practice it's it's your deepest it's you once you get it it is your most precious position in the world somebody asked me like what is one of your landmark days in spiritual life if you press me I would say most important is the day I got my initiation my mantra from my guru long before I became a monk and only next to that would be the day I became a monk I mean actually got the formal initiation into the life of sannyasa but the mantra getting the mantra is most important so yes deity meditation you have to visualize the Guru will teach you how to visualize how to meditate and how to repeat the mantra now do I change the Guru not-working mantra not working it's like a second opinion as a specialist I do not really think my doctor is doing they're doing a good job can I can I try out another doctor in our tradition we normally say no even if somebody comes to our gurus in our tradition and say we want initiation in your tradition the first thing they will ask is have you already been initiated and they say yes in our tradition at least we say that's perfectly all right whichever tradition it is if you've been initiated please go on practicing that I have seen in some kamini cases those who say no we want initiation from your tradition I somehow I was not inspired by that it's not working for me if they press then what will happen is the Guru tells you that go and take permission from that guru that I want to take Nishant for my initiation from another order if that is not available or not possible then the Guru will tell you that you write the mantra you know we will say sometimes say if you want to give up that earlier mantra and practice and you won then you write it in we was in bayleaf you know in the leaf of a plant and then with great respect you put it in the Ganges he let it float away you offer it back unto God so and then you take initiation but generally we always say if you already take an initiation you already got a mantra please go on practicing with it if you have if I guru is dead then when they need to go a new guru no what happens is once you have taken a mantra in any of the lineages say for example I know in Hinduism once you have taken a mantra in any of the lineages any of the orders so you have become part of that lineage now so once you say suppose my teacher passes away his successor will be in the place of my teacher so there is a lineage of teachers so my my guru who was the 12th president of the order and then came Swami Ranga so he was petition energy then Swami Ranganath Ananda G and then my Swami Gahanna on duty Swami atmost Ananda G now Swami's funnin our energy I would regard them all in the place of my guru because they occupied the role of the guru of the order so that happens in every tradition in Hinduism ok that's a good question yes but afraid to share the question come Swamiji Swamiji says that every vicious tart that is that you think even in a cave rebounds on you many fold so how does this vibration in one place good or bad affect somebody far away and come back to you all right thoughts we think our bodies and minds are separate and individual in a sense of course they are we can easily see that but also here itself isn't it an ocean of matter there is matter here densely packed and there in your body in between also there is matter much thinner there is air in Vedanta even space is considered a form of matter punch abou the five forms of matter space and air and fire and water and earth so actually we exist in an ocean of matter just as our bodies are like waves in an ocean of matter our minds are also waves in an ocean of thought so at a deep level our minds are actually connected repeated thoughts have an effect on myself and a multiplier effect because what I think it's like a tuning antenna so I had tuned myself to a particular kind of thought I open myself to such thoughts it is the multiplied effect so good thoughts I think or negative thoughts I think and such thoughts are out there in the ocean of thought I begin to attract that I contribute a radiator that out and that I begin to attract also it's not some it's not as mystical as it sounds what I tend to think of I tend to pick up talk like that I tend to read books like that I tend to see things on the TV like that you know I tend to absorb those things from the environment but other than the environment also there is something which is going on the level of thought where are those thoughts pour into me so it has a multiplied effect that's why we must be careful about what thoughts we entertain we pull in those thoughts a vicious thought we negativity into ourselves we get quickly overwhelmed by it a good thought a noble thought a kind thought good wishes out to everybody and sit for meditation he send out a sort of welfare to all beings to the north and to the south and to the west and the east to above and below you surround yourself with positive thoughts radiating outwards to all sentient beings of the universe it's not just a mental exercise it has a good effect on my mind and it pulls in good shots from them from the photosphere there's a word for that new sphere but in Vedanta there is a very ancient word for it here on near alpha because weak mind but I also radiate such thoughts out to the universe I'm effecting others too that's how it works yes yes please come gentlemen there this tell us your name and ask the question after that we'll take another question from them pranams emoji my name is Abhijeet I believe yeah I'm little afraid to ask this question but still I will have to ask to clear my mind stout this all these Advent Advaita philosophy means my mind is cleared out just because we can dream somebody develop this philosophy so is this just dreamt a pizza philosophy yeah because yeah just in because if in which can dream and we can see the world like we seen right now so just because of that some philosopher develop this philosophy yes it's a good question is it a philosophy that some philosopher has dreamt up has just conceived of it how do we know it's really true people ask that yes Advaita Vedanta definitely is a fill as many people's it's not a philosophy it definitely is a philosophy it's taught in the departments of philosophies there you will find it in the philosophy section in library and so it is a philosophy but it's much more than that much deeper than that why what is the guarantee the guarantee the beauty of this particular thing why and emphasize that and why I love it so much it is the one certain thing in a world of uncertainties how do you know it's certain there is one thing which you can never ever deny you yourself whatever what you are it's up to you not to have to investigate but that I exist I am even to doubt my own existence I must be there after all who is it who is doubting it Shankar Acharya says he who doubts it it is the Atman of that very person yah yah - shanira courtesy watt massa nobody ever think about it nobody ever says do I exist or do no do I not exist nobody ever says I am NOT it is ridiculous you can doubt the existence of God it is doubt they say there is no God Diagnostics are in doubt about the existence of God and throughout the history of religion there have been people you'll notice those who believe in God they invest a lot in trying to prove the existence of God there are arguments for the existence of God there are arguments against those arguments but the very fact that you're arguing to prove the existence of something means that there's doubt there's only one thing nobody ever argues about that I exist yes you will say the Buddhist says that there is no Atman or self but think about it the Buddhist does not deny that you exist what the Buddhist denies that is that there is the I this permanent objective existence of a separate self that is denied particular views of certain Hindu philosophers the nyaya vaisheshika sank here that view is denied by the Buddhists that I am awareness I am and what kind of I am I'm aware is no doubt about that so that is beyond doubt Wittgenstein said religion is a search for absolute security and here is a system which guarantees absolute security is one of my favorite teams let me talk a little bit more about it in spiritual life there are two broad approaches if you look at the religions of the world and people here in this room also you will find clearly neatly there are two broad approaches what are the two broad approaches one is the God centered approach God seeking other one is the self inquiry approach I'm not saying self centered that sounds bad self inquiry approach one is I am searching for God does God exist another one is who am i if you look at the religions of the world Christianity God centered Islam God centered Judaism God centered Zoroastrianism God centered in within Hinduism there are many many streams of God centered you know parampara source sects Vaishnavism the worship of Vishnu and the avatar is God centered Shakti is and worship of divine mother Durga Kali Saraswathi God centered shaivism Shiva God centered all of them the conceived of God in different ways but they're all God centered the prayers and you will see on the other hand there are actually religions which are not God centered that's what confuses people in this country because being predominantly Christian with some Jewish population when you come across a religion like Buddhism you become confused how is it a religion because religion and God are all ours are synonymous in Western cultures but not so in India not so in India because we are used to guard oriented religions but we are also used to Buddhism and Jainism which are not God oriented at all we are used to Sankhya within on yoga within within within Hinduism I know there might be some well-read philosophers here will be nitpicking Swami yoga believes in God Yoga means Patanjali yoga yes but the yoga the god of Patanjali Yoga is what they call Puducherry shisha an extraordinary sentient being not the god of religion so let's say Sankhya Sankhya is is openly non-theistic Buddhism is non-theistic Jainism is non-theistic the two broad approaches and types of religion are also different you will find the God centered religions are Temple Center church centered mosque centered synagogue centered they are more about worship and ritual and love and adoration and prayer festivals when I'm making I'm giving broad sweeps here they're generalizing we will notice that the other kind of religion like Buddhism and Jainism they are more individualistic more oriented towards meditation inward little more monastic maybe more philosophical self inquiry by stranger now if you ask people I remember I used to teach young monks those novices who had come why did you become a monk and I would get two answers exactly like this some would say yeah I'm seeking God okay fine another group would say that I want to know what am I or Who am I self-knowledge God knowledge self-knowledge you see clearly two divisions if you look at within yourselves if we look at in ourselves we will see one of the other bit is more real to us both are fine but one of the other is more real to us or we might be a mixture of both or we might be quite clearly in one camp rather than the other and when they meet the proponents of the two religions they have very interesting comments about each other I I was in a interfaith conference where they were Sikhs there's organized by the Sikhs which is also God centered their Sikhs and Hindus I was representing Hinduism and they were there was a Jewish rabbi from New York this was a conference in India in Nunda in Maharashtra it's a 300th anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh so Jewish rabbi from New York and there were Christians and they were and there was a group of smiling Lamas sent by the Dalai Lama now in throughout the conference we all got up in erdan in these conferences they all get up and say nice things about each other and they are all saying we are all children of the same God yesterday I met a gentleman in the Central Park he looked at me and he said this big guy he looked at me hey you why are you wearing the dress I said because I'm a monk why are you a monk I said because I'm searching for God and concentration it's a he said there is something to do with God I said yes it's a I'm searching for God it's a spiritual seeker and then asked him where are you from he said I'm from Tajikistan he's a tourist and then he said but brother your God and my god they are same God right I said yes absolutely the same God and then he was very happy and shook hands with me and in this interfaith conferences we all say the same thing you know so I one after another the Hindus and Christians and Jews and Sikhs were saying that we are all children of the same God we should not fight and disagree we should be in harmony and so and so forth and all throughout de Lamas were sitting at the back and smiling because if you look at it from their point of view what God what God where is this god of yours so it's possible to be spiritual in that way definitely they are very spiritual among the most spiritual people you have and if you ask the God centered religion what did you think of Buddhism they'll say it's a theistic azita religion I know a Swami who's a great devotee in our order he gets very irritated with with you know here here's a he says about Buddhism it's half a religion why because there's meditation and morality and all of that is dead but God is not there anyway why am I saying this because the question was about advaitha the central teaching now see I'll put it bring it all together the problem with the God centered approach is doubt does God exist listen to Richard Dawkins Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris very soon you will feel God doesn't exist doubt that problem is not there with the self inquiry based religion what am i who am i inquire within nobody see in the god centered religions in every god centered religion it's there in Hinduism is there in Christianity arguments to prove the existence of God which means there is doubt you will never find arguments to prove my existence never there's no doubt about it at all you may doubt what kind of existence it is but I exist in some sense that nobody doubts so the doubt is not there in the self inquiry based religion in the God seeking religions that doubt is there but what is the advantage of the God centered approach and the disadvantage of the self inquiry approach see there's no doubt that I exist but that doesn't mean no good because it's a miserable existence the whole problem is that I exist I have no doubt that I exist but I'm miserable subject to disease and suffering and frustration and unhappiness and unfulfilled meant and loneliness and finally death it's a it's a certain existence but very limited surrounded by uncertainties surrounded by unhappiness and sorrow and vulnerable I certainly exist I wish I didn't and God fantastic has none of these problems omnipotent omniscient omnipresent always in bliss and they're wonderful except does he exist so now you have two approaches one is certain existence of the self but unhappy limited existence one is the unlimited existence of God but doubtful existence unlimited infinite God if it goit exists any religion will say our God is infinite but doubtful I exist but limited unhappy unhappy now see that here is that I am coming to the point here this is what we wanted us what does we dont't each one sentence dot - um I see that thou art we repeat it what what does that stand for and what does now stand for that stands for God and thou stands for you the individual being you in reality and what you call God in reality are one and the same that's what we wanted us you are that pure awareness in association with body mind you are called a widget now you're limited in to being a budget that pure awareness in association with Maya is what we call God saguna brahman in in Vedanta but that one pure Evan is there you are both the same God and the Anna widget are one and the same what does it mean to say that - Amma see it means what it means is you are God and God is you that is trumped Ramez tucked that is now and now is that what does that mean it means that if you are God then you are not a body you are not a mind there's a body and there's a mind but you are not the body mind you are BR pure awareness and the opposite is also true God is none other than you which means other than you the pure awareness there is no Brahma Vishnu Maheshwara Father in heaven Durga Kali do you know what no other than you the real that pure awareness there is no God I'll be bold enough to say that you the pure awareness ashtavakra sees other than you the pure awareness that pure consciousness there is no Jeeva no Ishwara it is that pure consciousness alone with a body and mind which is a Jeeva it is that pure consciousness alone with the power of Maya which we worship as Ishwara is that one pure consciousness you say but the original question of a rigid stance over how do we know it's true here here is where it's true remember what is the advantage of the self inquiry-based approach it exists certain no doubt what is the disadvantage to limited existence what is the advantage of the God a God based approach infinity unlimited the problem with the God based approach doubt bring them together when you say that - um I see that thou art what Vedanta is saying is you're certain existence is also an infinite existence the infinitude of God and the certainty of your own existence are one and the same that is the meaning of that thou art my own in certainty I am sure about that when I look into the SI and I'm sure I exist my own infinitude that Advaita Vedanta guides you to see how the certain Conte undoubted awareness which you are is also an infinite undying awareness not subject to death disease suffering no this is the beauty are you beginning to see what I have drawn a huge picture for you like a entirety of humanity spiritual endeavor and how the best of both approaches broad approaches is combined synthesized in Advaita Vedanta that thou art means you the certain undoubted awareness are also the infinite awareness there is no debt for you and when you realize yourself as that infinite awareness you transcend all suffering also how do you realize yourselves the infinite awareness that's what I'd write aberrant the teachers you come to class no really the more I study a greater the more I look into it it's just telling us a fact your astonishment grows with the passing days how did I ever not notice this earlier there is really no problem at all so I'm even if I can't I called it the open secret it's a secret but it's an open secret just needs a little investigation it reveals itself to you the body we need never doubt that we have a body you never doubt that I have a mind it's a fact it's not something people are so you will not call it philosophy color theoretical to that level of certainty and to a greater level of certainty you will realize yourself as that infinite awareness you know throw it away don't how can you doubt up to this slope Prakash a self revealed it's at first it seems to be upset of beautifully constructed logical steps taking you towards a conclusion that's at the intellectual level but they are at one level their intellectual arguments but at a deeper level they are pointers to something right in front of you we have a phrase you know right in front of your nose Advaita is talking or something that's right behind your nose I am joking in a way but yes it's continuously present to us it becomes obvious and leave it at that thank you for the question though and never be afraid of asking questions in advaitha Vedanta because bill hold on to your question I'll ask you afterwards yes a few questions on man dukhia deep sleep yes let me know when the food is ready yes okay the first one is from Asura how can I feel the presence of this consciousness in deep sleep you say this consciousness is eternal but when I ask this I in quotes to share some experiences of a past life the eye does not answer so why do you say it is eternal is there a process to get these answers right there are the two questions the two questions are one is if there's consciousness in deep sleep how can I feel it I don't feel conscious in deep sleep one second question is said that you are keep saying consciousness is eternal which means it has existed for forever and will continue to exist forever ready you will immediately notice these are questions from the perspective of the mind what you are trying to say is he must distinguish between awareness and the mind whom do you ask for pastic what happened yesterday Who am I asking consciousness of the mind mind and the mind will kick into operation dredge out memories and say yes this is what happened I can remember this these are things which I cannot remember that's the memory in operation that's the mind in operation something is recorded of certain sense experiences something happened yesterday day before and in the Yogi's say you can recall things in past lives but it is all mind it's not consciousness in itself it is mind lit up by consciousness if you can remember something from your from the past it is that remembrance is also happens in the light of awareness you are aware of it right if I cannot remember what has failed follow this carefully what has failed memory has failed a memory thing I can't remember clearly the you say that you cannot remember clearly so the failure of the memory is presented to consciousness or not isn't it present isn't it lit up by consciousness aren't you aware of not remembering is it a failure of memory or a failure of consciousness failure of memory yes that I cannot remember things why past lives even this life but you ate yesterday if I asked you for lunch you might be able to tell me what you ate for lunch or need last Sunday you ever might have to think a bit maybe you won't remember on this day last year sorry what are you asking can you tell me what all what all you ate some people have eidetic memory a very few people but otherwise most of us we don't remember even a few days ago what happened and luckily we don't we'd be so cluttered if you remembered all of that so it is the mind but consciousness is awareness it's always there whether you remember or you do not remember and deep sleep is also exactly like that what shuts down I don't feel aware in fact what you've this feeling I feel this I see this I hear that all of that is mind and sense organs in deep sleep it has been it's shut down and therefore blankness I do not see anything I do not hear anything smell anything taste anything touch anything I do not remember anything I do not desire anything I do not even think that I am sleeping and yet consciousness is there why because a simple reason when we wake up we refer to dreaming and deep sleep also I was interested to find out that in every language in every culture of the world throughout history of humanity in every language we have phrases like I slept like a log I didn't know anything Bengali is a goonie ekkada sleeping like mud all stoppie and completely deep sleep every leg of language has that which means it's an experience in every culture it's not something dreamt up by Advaita it's an experience in every culture that there is an experience of presence there is an experience of absence experience is common to both here world is present this disappears in dream but dreamworld is present here that disappears absence but the absence is revealed by consciousness deep sleep is not an absence of experience it's an experience of absence if experience is there because mind is not functioning because there is no ego I cannot say I am experiencing deep sleep you cannot say that but you can refer back to it when you wake up consider the opposite suppose there was no consciousness at all functioning in deep sleep nothing whatsoever witnessing the absence of deep sleep in in deeps did absence in deep sleep nothing witnessing it then what would we say after waking up I was awake fell asleep dreamt am awake now I would never even ever mention deep sleep do you see no if there was no awareness in deep sleep after waking up I would not mention deep sleep also I would mention dreams I would mention waking up that's it that this something happened in between couple of people wrote to me that in I was we were a nest iced we got we got anesthesia in operations and so um it was quite different from deep sleep it was such deep anesthesia that it was such a deep absence is it like I did not exist I was there and then anesthesia happened and then I woke up and yet bless you and yet notice that you are saying that you felt a complete absence but what felt a complete absence which can report this otherwise you have felt I was awake now I'm awake again nothing in between that sinking in and arising out of a great depth that also is noticed actually anesthesia a deep sleep you don't have to grow into it when you have you look back upon those experiences and consider it carefully in the light of a tanta there a very good way of distinguishing between what is mind and what is awareness most of the time when we say oh I understand it what is consciousness we're talking about the mind that's why we get confused again if you would understand literally I'm telling you this if you would actually even intellectually understand what is meant by chit or chaitanya and in Vedanta and mind undercurrent in our instrument just understanding it clearly is just one step a tiny step away from illumination realization because it's there if you understand what a yellow flower is where I mean by a yellow flower and say look at the yellow flower it's as good as seeing understanding is just one step away from seeing it because you recognize it if you understand if you say this is the this is the shrine this this is the altar if I say no look at it as wood if you know what Road is all you need to do is look at it look at it and say yeah I recognize it but for that you need to understand what is wood the difference between an altar and a boat and if you don't know what wood is you'd keep saying this is an altar where is the wood hear this all the whole thing is an altar similarly pure awareness is continuously present to us right now even an understanding of the difference between mind and consciousness leads to straightaway appreciating what it is all right bill will end with Bill's question because the food is ready bill go ahead and ask from there I can hear you you don't have to get up just please ask from there yes yes yes right yes as one gets older I'll repeat bills question one when one tries to meditate one falls asleep how do you handle it why does one fall asleep one reason is as the body becomes weaker and it has its effect on the nervous system and brain also so sustained attention is difficult one tends to doze up sometimes now if you have the problem my answer is don't worry about it from the point of view of knowledge from the point of view of the path of knowledge if you notice that you are falling asleep or you recognize that you fell asleep you recognize that you are meditating trying to meditate failing falling asleep all of that is evident to what what is what is experiencing that that one does not get old I am getting old bill is 95 years old so I am getting old body is slowing down mind is slowing down do I experience it or not yes I experience that then what is experiencing the body slowing down is that slowing down what is experiencing the mind not being as keen as it used to be that awareness which noticed the keen mind and now seeing the mind slowing down is different from the mind it is we seem to get confused because we still are caught up with the mind I am forgetting I have become absent-minded even the language which we use I am getting old are you are you isn't the body getting old if you dream and in dream you are a young person again and in the dream if somebody said aren't you old you to know how my old I'm 2021 it can happen in a dream and you would be right because you are experienced you are talking about that experience dream body at that time now I'm talking about the experience body in the waking state but the one which experienced that young body in the dream the one which experiences the aging body here there is no doubt about that that one is a witness to the aging process it itself is not aging no sorry it's slowing down is it slowing down or is it that which notices the slowing down if you notice is the slowing down the slowing down is an object to it now with this you can face you know aging process mind slowing down even to some extent effects of Parkinson's or Alzheimer's you can witness it and that distance from it it's supposed to help us you relax a bit and you can manage it better all right let me do a peace chant and then please join us for delicious food downstairs Oh Shante Shante Shante hey hurry he own that sat sri ramakrishna Aparna must [Music]