Video 30

Ask Swami with Swami Sarvapriyananda | April 29th, 2018

I think we'll start with questions from our virtual audience first and today for the first time we are joined by hundreds of people from across the world on a on our live broadcast on the Internet so welcome to all of you those who are present in reality here and those who are virtually present let's have a question from the Internet audience yes we have received numerous questions on the subject of consciousness these are from Remini who sue me suresh tapas Shobha deep Trueman Pankaj Sridhar and Lokesh Acharya has repeatedly say you are that infinite existence I am the awareness absolute etc who is the I and you that the teaching is referring to who or what experiences whom or what what is chitta what is the difference between shitta and consciousness okay let's just stop there we'll take it one way one other otherwise he'll forget well and then I'll reply to these and then I go on to the next question so just wait so when the the upanishadic texts say that thou art you are that all it says I am Brahman you know in Sanskrit ugh - ah merci ah hum Rahm has me these are the maha vaakya is the great statements you find in the open ishod's so if you ask who is the you who is the I here very simply said very simply put the you means the student the teacher is telling the student you are Branton when you say I am Brahman this Jeeva realizes itself this individual sentient being realizes itself as Brahman the absolute consciousness what Vedanta says it's like this our experience if we look very clearly at our experience I am a sentient being and I am looking at all of this this world and if I am particularly religious I believe that there is a power which creates all these things that I experienced so three things you the experiencer this experienced world and an unseen reality which is behind this experienced world in sanskrit russia drishya and drishya near mata ashita means the seer drishya means the scene scene means experienced and something which generates all of these things why is the third one necessary because an explanation of all that we experience seems to be necessary our mind asks for it why are all of these things appearing why in this particular way why in this sequence there is a YB you are asking an answer to that why is that generator of all these experiences these objects these worlds and all these people are in more simple language the Jeeva individual being the world and God Atma jagat Paramatma or very simple sense Hindi no one saw me put it this way may yeah whoa I this that that means bow actually thou means now my lord so I mean this person and whatever I experience throughout my life that's that this and that mysterious thing behind everything which is the cause of all of this what Vedanta says is all of these three are appearing in one undivided awareness I this and thou all three individual world and God all three Jeeva jagat Ishwara all three these differences are appearing in one undifferentiated awareness that one undifferentiated awareness is Brahman the absolute so when the teacher tells you you are Brahman he is telling you the individual that your reality is Brahman but the reality of the world is also Brahman and the reality of God is also Brahman this is the meaning of I and you in those statements when is asking the consequence of this is remarkable the consequence of this is everything that you experience you yourself are none other than the than the ultimate reality Brahman and everything that you experience is your beloved Lord is God where they kind of said never approach anything except as God God here in the ultimate sense and image reality and God is also that ultimate reality we are all one in that absolute consciousness that is the meaning of I and that the question is asking what is that and who experiences what the individual being does not experience that absolute because they it's not an object of experience what is an object of experience the word in one word the world is called this you can always refer to the world as this this person this chair this world this moon the Sun this galaxy this quark or the superstring or whatever this an object and something unseen beyond the object well my lord and I the experiencer vedanta says all three are actually one reality so practically what does it mean when we deal with anything in this world you are dealing with you're dealing with your most bitter your beloved the Lord be careful in your decision in Viva Hara in dealing in your transaction we work under said never approach anything except as God the person you are meeting the stranger is the Lord your most intimate beloved God is that stranger that irritating person is also God even the meanest object one day in the village in India Ambati somebody was sweeping the courtyard and masha Radha was there and this person was sweeping the courtyard through the broomstick away after sweeping and the mother said what is that my child what did you do my child you pick it up and she picked it up carefully and put it in the corner everything she look at the word she used everything has its own dignity even the meanest broomstick has its own dignity that means every person has its own has their own dignity this dignity in the respect that we are supposed to give is runs very deep because it takes you straight to God the God before whom you bow down kneel down in worship in Temple Church and mosque that God is present to you in the form of the colleague in the husband and the wife in the child in the stranger in the friend and yes even in the so-called enemy this is the consequence of advaita seeing the same consciousness everywhere that's how it has a it's not just theory it's not just an interesting philosophy just not a wonderful speculation it has a direct bearing on our day-to-day activities everything that we do everything that we say and every thought that we think now another question pretty simple what is the difference between chitta and chit was it was not the question what is jitter what is the difference between jitter and consciousness and consciousness correct chitta means mind in two senses one is the mind stuff the lake of the mind can compare your mind to a lake and all the thoughts and emotions and feelings and memories and ideas two little waves in that lake this lake itself is called the cheetah that's why in yoga sutras it is said yoga chitta vritti nirodha cessation of the movements of the mind is called yoga calming the lake of the mind first of all you must become aware of the mind many people these days are so extroverted and they are not even aware of the mind all that we are aware of is the world they're exciting nice exciting what is it Avengers movie exciting I'm looking forward to that I apologize because I was in Hollywood and that would everybody would be excited for every new release of the movie sometimes he would walk down to the library near Hollywood Boulevard once I saw a whole block cordoned off and I had to take a and people are not being allowed your security guards everywhere there is huge canvas covering something was underneath that secret you can't see it so I asked what's there this is the set of the new Star Wars movie that was two years ago and nobody it's a secret until it's unveiled the stars are going to come tonight and they're going to unveil it and the Hollywood kind of stars not this kind and then there'll be a show now everybody was being stopped but because of this dress maybe they thought I was part of the movie or something so they didn't stop me and I walked into the into the set nobody could do that even I think the film reporters and all they're not even allowed to do that so I lifted the canvas and peeked in and there was this huge they call it the x-wing fighter bigger than this building is a mock-up of that space space plane or something and it was there then that thing the security guard got suspicious the wife if he's part of the movie why is he peeking and it told me to move out of exciting something exciting but look at is something ain't exciting in this world unfortunately it has become virtual our excitement is on on the silver screen even that was all right now our excitement is on the little screen in the hand mobile phone consciously unconsciously that I am on the mobile phone I'm not even conscious of that automatically become a natural reaction your mobile phone syndrome syndrome is perfected in the practice of the mobile phone naturally like Sri Ramakrishna's to say that the name of the god will the name of God mantra will keep on coming bubbled up without any effort their mobile phone bubbles up without any effort relax in fact if you take it away I've heard of baby screaming if their phones are taken of even babies have phones now now chitta one must first become aware of what is going on in my own mind many people are not aware focused on the world focused on the silver screen focused on mobile screen so aware that my mind is in turmoil look inwards that chitta then it has to be calmed otherwise the mind controls us whatever happens in the mind we get attract attached to that and pulled along pulled along in our activities in in mind pulls you into the world outside not even to the world outside is usually to a screen small screen in your hand everybody has one of those infernal devices chitta that is mind all thoughts are mind there is a technical sense in which it is used which is memory the storehouse of the mind so there's also memory but in a wider sense not only memory intellect emotions perception thoughts all of them are also chitta consciousness is that which is aware of the cheetah when you look inwards there's a word introspection when you look inwards thoughts come up desires come up emotions come up if you say I'm annoyed I'm excited I am bored if I ask you do you feel that you are you aware of the annoyance and excitement and bored you yeah that's why I'm saying I'm annoyed or excited or bored then that inward awareness it is caused by that consciousness alone shines upon the F D anions the excitement and the boredom these are movements in the lake of the mind and they are revealed by consciousness at this point often a question is where country state is revealed or known by the mind itself mind knows the mind why are you talking about something else called the consciousness the reason is the mind is continuously changing is it not I who was annoyed a moment ago now I am peaceful I who was thinking that guy is very annoying now I think oh the Swami said that guy's got oh I can't the mind is changed and yet you are the one one which was aware of the annoyed mind you are the one which is aware of the reverential mind the change in the cheetah appears to one and the same you if you are unchanging and the cheetah is changing then how can I say that you and the cheetah the same if I am the cheetah the mind stuff then the anions in the mind and I will be anions it goes away peaceful then I will be peaceful how can I be both if the anions in the mind is me then I'll always be annoyed or the annoyance goes away then I'm gone you see this requires thinking something comes and goes in the mind if I am that itself if mind itself is knowing that am i the mind the changing mind or am I the witness of the changes in the mind am i the experience of the changes in the mind you change clothes are you any particular dress any particular shirt or cloth or you know no if you wear any particular one and you would go when the dress is changed but no they come and go you are the same person you see the answer sometimes people will give a question that they raise a doubt but Swami I don't get it what is wrong in saying sometimes I'm annoyed sometimes I'm peaceful which seems logical but is it the very teach well around the Swami's was I'm just translating what he said in Hindi sometimes I'm annoyed sometimes I'm peaceful why do I have to go about this complicated way saying that there is annoyance in the mind I'm the witness of the annoyance there is peace in the mind I'm the witness of the peace in the mind why do I simply say I am annoyed I was annoyed and now I am peaceful that seems simple and the Swami said huh Kabhi God Huckabee the guy make a bigger now Huckabee guy who and sometimes and a donkey sometimes a cow no I'm not the two different entity sometimes I saw I saw a donkey then I saw a cow pass I am NOT a donkey or the cow if you think in that way then you will modify your position and say yes sometimes that feeling of annoyance comes in my mind sometimes the feeling of peace comes in my mind ah then I will ask you what is it that knows that sometimes there is annoyance sometimes there is peace there you must admit a consciousness unchanging consciousness apart from the changing moods of the mind that is consciousness apart from the mind in sanskrit it is called chit it's very interesting in sanskrit if you see the words itself a language very suited for philosophical analysis cheat and Cheeta Cheeta mind gita add one more table it becomes mind cheat itself consciousness in sanskrit one of the teachers said Toccara vishaya dasa what is the difference between consciousness and mind when you have objects appearing in consciousness the consciousness alone takes up the form of the mind there are not two different things one awareness in which mind arises mind arises from consciousness itself it is nothing other than consciousness itself but the changing objects of consciousness they even you're aware of them it constitutes the mind and its activity the unchanging awareness is consciousness okay let's take one or two more questions everything we do is prompted by thoughts which are the functions of the mind so how does one experience consciousness in its purity without the mind how does one experience consciousness in its purity without the mind implicit in this is an assumption that just as I can see the cloth just as I can feel a touch on my hand just as I can sense my breathing just as I can introspect and see my thoughts in the same way I should be able to see consciousness itself but you cannot why not because consciousness itself is the seer of all of them it never becomes an object it's very simple and very difficult also at the same time because everything that we are experienced we have experienced so far in our lives and we will continue to experience in the rest of our lives they are all objects they may be physical objects like the clock or the microphone or they may be sensations like the feeling of a touch or warmth there may be thoughts feelings happy sad they are all objects that clock is a physical gross object a thought is a subtle object but they are all objects objects to whom what is the subject consciousness that consciousness never becomes an object drag a vana to drishya T the seer is never seen it's ever this year I always give the example of your eyes your eyes see everything but they cannot see themselves you can only add the most see a reflection of your eyes in the mirror but you cannot see your eyes directly the way your eyes see this directly in that way they cannot see themselves directly similarly consciousness cannot make itself an object but you can make everything else its projections and object so how do you know so the answer to this question will be you do not experience consciousness as an object then will the doubt will be is consciousness ever annexed in extra unexperienced it's never seen never experienced at all no it is more than experienced in and through every experience you are experiencing consciousness in the cane open assured it is said Preity both Javie DITA matam Amrita - mhmm entity in ev when you recognize that divinity that consciousness in every experience in every knowledge in every feeling you you find God I'm using God in a very philosophical sense you find that consciousness then you you have attained immortality you are enlightened then so how is consciousness itself to be experienced not as an object but in and through every conscious experience in the cane open assured a question is asked cainy item patottie prey item mana Cana pranipatena predator Yuka Kinoshita matcha my mom wasn't each actual Trumka Deva eunuch tea cane open assured one of the Upanishads starts with a question the question is very deep and very philosophical imagine thousands of years ago they are asking this question about consciousness by what do we experience our thoughts all these thoughts come from there prompted by what do we have this experience of speaking words coming out what shines upon illumines powers our eyes and ears by which we see and hear and smell and touch which means the question is what is behind all our conscious experiences and the answer is consciousness but instead of giving that answer answer the teacher gives a very interesting answer what is the answer given by the teacher throw throw throw - oh ma no yet watch oh ha watch em sovereign SCO prana Shakti xuxa structure at EMU Chithira prettiest maloca the Maratha haven't the beautiful very powerful answer what is the answer given you want to know what is that which by which the ears can hear the eyes can see and the tongues canst can speak the mind can think you want to know that yes listen it is the year of the year the eye of the eye and the tongue of the tongue the mind of the mind why does he see that instead of saying it's consciousness why I say that it's a very skillful answer if you say it is consciousness by which you experience everything consciousness through the eyes you see consciousness through the years you hear consciousness through the organ of speech you are having the conscious action of speaking what do I mean by conscious action of speaking there is a physical biological movement going on here lungs voice box tongue there is a neurological movement going on in the brain you can scan it and see but apart from all of that which makes you speak these words apart from all of that don't you all have the conscious experience of speaking and having it when you speak isn't it a conscious experience or is it just a movement of lungs and tongue and brows paintings in the brain its consciousness it's it's awareness there's awareness there so if the teacher says it is consciousness then what will happen is the student will immediately start looking for something called consciousness student will saying oh think that oh yes the answer to my question is consciousness let me find out that consciousness what will happen never we'll never be able to find it out because it's the one which is looking it can never be objectified instead of saying that the teacher gives a very skillful reply if you want to know what Alou means what enables you to hear and smell and touch and think and speak then it is the year of the year what do you mean by ear of the year when you say year of the year the very language says something different from the year but in the ear in the in the auditory system which enables the ear to do what it does something different from the mind but in the mind which enables the mind to do what it does it's like if you ask the question what makes the fan go round and round what makes the microphone amplify sound what makes the light shine we all know the answer don't look puzzled this is a 21st century electricity electricity but suppose you give the answer it is the bulb of the bulb the fan of the fan the microphone of the microphone then you realize oh it is something which is other than the microphone but in the microphone making the microphone do what it does something in the fan which is other than the fan but in the fan making it do what it does and something that same thing one very same thing which is in the bulb in the fan in the microphone the apart from all of them yet pervading them and making them do what they do each of them does a different thing but they are all doing it because of the presence of something we know it's electricity this is a good example there is this one consciousness in all these systems which enables them to do what we are doing they're doing it biologically mechanically but it's all of it is given a conscious dimension because they're all you have a conscious experience because of the presence of that one thing so it's a very beautiful way of explaining what consciousness is and how is it different from mind and sense organs and this biological system all right what works the mind if pure consciousness is not affected by the material world and is only the witness what is it that enjoys the senses the body or the mind good this is the question which is a nice follow-up to the earlier question so what is consciousness this is pure consciousness but then what works the mind if pure consciousness is unchanging if you actually want to use the mind and the sense organs using something operating something means it doesn't respond speed changing an operator who operates a car you operate a car then you have to move a little bit also you have to be used the steering and the brakes and so on and so forth if consciousness is just steady and unchanging then how will it operate the mind mind and sense organs and so on the idea is all activities in nature body and mind all activities in body and my but it requires the presence of consciousness this idea is not in Vedanta this actually taken from Sankhya sank here philosophy talks of two realities the reality of nature time space matter energy and a separate reality called consciousness and they interact their interaction is our lives we are consciousness and yet in and through a physical system a biological system so they say prakruti and purusa and the example they give is two friends a lame person and a blind person the blind person is very strong but can't see and the lame person can't walk but can see very well so the blind person takes his friend on his shoulders and this person she sits on the shoulders of his friend and guides go right go left do this like a GPS you know so they both end up going where they want to go there is so activity is done by nature which is symbolized by the blind person who can't see Quan can't see means it's that's a symbol for no inner awarenesses there it's just activity energy movement and matter and the awareness aspect is given by consciousness and both act together what is the mechanism according to Vedanta the mechanism lies in the mind the mind is very subtle it's still part of matter according to Sankyo Yoga Vedanta mind and matter are not two different things the duality of mind and matter he does not hold true here mind is also a kind of matter according to Veda or sang here it's a subtle matter but the special property of the mind is it is so subtle and pure it can reflect consciousness so that it consciousness shines in the mind and the mind is part of the physical system as it acts it acts through the nervous system and the body and consciousness illumines all of it so wherever the mind is there the brain and the nervous systems are also become endowed with awareness and so we feel awareness we're up to the tip of our nervous systems wherever the nervous system is working the brain is working we feel awareness this is how they interact this is a song Qian idea I'm not going to the right idea which is a different thing it has a different perspective all together let's see who I hope you've got questions hold on to your questions and I'll ask you to raise your hands afterwards yes who decides the particular body in which near Kuna excuse me Brahman is manifested like taco is this a contradiction to that thou art how could you repeat that question who decides the particular party in which near guna Brahman is manifested like taco is is this a contradiction to that thou art okay a lot of things seem to be involved in this question if I try to understand this question near guna Brahman manifested in a body that's one part of the question the second part of the question is who decides that body like taco it seems to be a question about Avatara incarnation of God and third is is this incarnation concept does it contradict that thou art the advaithic idea it seems a subject for a full talk let me quickly give the answers may be little cryptically but that's the best we can do given the time near guna brahman manifested in the body you're mr. step there did guna Brahman if you're talking about Brahman without any attributes existence consciousness bliss that all that's all that exists you cannot talk about worlds and bodies and and limited life that's the ultimate reality existence consciousness place but with the power of Maya that ultimate reality is God Sanskrit term saguna brahman saguna brahman is the god of the universe which projects this entire universe then the law of karma comes into play then individual beings also come into existence that saguna brahman itself reflected in different minds unter karana subtle bodies becomes individuals according to their karma they get bodies as one body dies we go on to other lives we get other bodies how according to our Karma who does this god saguna brahman that absolute reality with the power of maya is the architect of the entire universe not directly the architect the architect is Brahma so God gives sort of subcontracts it out to to Brahma so Brahma is the guy who comes and makes this universe for God but we are joint partners we individual beings it is our karma based on that God gives us our bodies we don't have the power to make a universe or these bodies God alone has the power to make a universe and these bodies but what we have the power to do is do karma and so we get bodies according to what we deserve so it's ultimately a joint production my Karma plus all the hard work put in by the good Lord and so that gives me this life and this body that's as far as ordinary beings are concerned in the case of he says like taku like Sri Ramakrishna in the case of incarnations it's not karma the incarnation none other than God himself the Lord coming down to her the word made flesh in biblical terms saguna brahman through the power of my a special power of my occult called yogamaya the Lord assumes a form for Lila for for fulfilling the divine purpose in Geeta it is said to reestablish religion to rescue the the to uplift the wicked and to give enlightenment to the dirty good to reform the wicked and to up to enlighten the good he comes age after age as incarnations that is a special play of the Lord it's not part of the regular thing it's like the incarnations like Krishna or Christ or Ramakrishna hand-crafted we are machine produced I'm not making this up Vivekananda himself says in the inspired talks he says nature has two kinds of products one is the world and all of us and the other one is a special product once in a while like Krishna or Christ once in a while the Lord uses the machinery of nature to make a special product for himself ordinary bodies and minds will not do for the Lord so he comes in a divine incarnation out of love for our welfare so that is Tucker and the last one was last part was it does it contradict at dwama see no ad from the Adriatic point of view ultimately the Lord saguna brahman and the incarnation of the Lord like Krishna or Christ or Ramakrishna and all of us we are ultimately all the same Brahman that's what the Thomas he says but at the level of incarnation there is a difference you can't go to Christ or Krishna or Ramakrishna and say you and I are the same evidently we are not in expression we are not as a matter of principle we might be and we known that only because the Lord has told us that that's how we know so as a matter of expression know the divine God and the individual are very very different that's why Sri Ramakrishna said to Vivekananda he who was Rama he who was Krishna is in this body Ramakrishna but not in your vague antic sense not in your vedanta thought beyond tomahto mother no not in your bitter antique sense what is in a pedantic sense in your vedantic sense here you can see ya everybody is he who was Rama and Krishna is also me because everybody Rama and Krishna and me we are all Brahman not in that sense so Ramakrishna says in a special sense that the divine has come down once again as an incarnation our Torah means coming down is an incarnation so if you say does it contradict our thomassie not in the ultimate reality but practically speaking and there is a difference between incarnation and an individual being alright are we done with the consciousness questions no yeah not yet what has made the difference between the mind intellect and samskaras etc of Swami Vivekananda and ours what has cleaned his unter , if it is consciousness then why has it not cleaned our onto karna what makes a difference between the mind of Vivekananda and my mind why if his mind is pure if the mind of a saint is pure what purified it did pure consciousness purify it because in that case and the same pure consciousness why doesn't it purify me well that's the play of the world that's Maya but let me answer this is an interesting question ultimately what leads to enlightenment the realization that I am Brahman the presence of Brahman within me that does that lead to enlightenment if it did then everybody would be enlightened we are all Brahman a very nice example is used just the fact that you are Brahman you and I are Brahman is not enough to free you from samsara we are all Brahman the greatest saint is Brahman the grossest sinner is Brahman the highest of the angels is Brahman David ALS's Brahman the lowest of the meanest of the creatures is also Brahman but there does not mean everybody gets enlightened and free then what makes the difference the example is this very nice example the sun shining out there right now on Central Park it helps the grass to grow right now it's spring and the grass is turning green and growing the Sun is helping it it's because of the sunlight that this all grows now if you take a magnifying glass and focus the sunrays on a dry stalk of grass magnifying glass you know which focus is light and focus the the sunray on a dry leaf of grass the dry blade of grass then what will happen yes you see it start smoking and burning the same Sun right which helps the grass to grow can burn the grass also the grass can be burned by the same sunlight but it requires the magnifying glass it requires a special focus otherwise the sunlight is not going to burn the grass rather it helps the grass to grow it is the same Brahman which allows the universe to exist and the universe to appear in this way and samsara to go on merrily it is because of Brahman that is samsara exists because of gold that the ornament exists because of water that the waves in the ocean exist the greatest of storms in the you know the great tsunami waves in the ocean they are there because of the water without the water no waves would be possible this whole storm of samsara we are living through it's possible the real culprit is none other than God Brahman because of Brahmans existence this entire samsara appears and so Brahman is not against the samsara Brahman is not going to remove remove samsara also Brahman is not going to free us from bondage also because we are in bondage right now what frees us from bondage what frees us from samsara [Music] good we have been attending many ways antha classes she said knowledge yes what ties us to samsara is ignorant that I am Brahman and the knowledge that I am Brahman will free me from samsara the fact that I am Brahman will not free me from samsara fact that I'm Brahman remains always true when I become aware of that fact as a living reality I am free from samsara samsara is caused by delusion delusion is due to ignorance and ignorance is removed by knowledge delusion in Sanskrit or dasa ignorance in sanskrit gana knowledge in sanskrit ghana ghana comes like that focusing the magnifying glass which focuses the same consciousness of of brahman into that it's like that Brahma hoc are electi I will not go into the details but those who have studied Vedanta you know that the knowledge enlightening knowledge which comes in the mind as a result of spiritual practice it's called Brahma Hakka rarity the knowledge that I am Brahman that's like the magnifying glass and that focus is the ever existent rays of the Sun so like that the ever existent Brahman shines through that knowledge and burns up samsara for us for the particular person who gets that knowledge very good done the three more okay let's sit here the quite questions and then we will come back to that later maybe when the body is damaged or dies only this body stops working who does it who does it Luke why does it lose its consciousness when the body is damaged or or dies only this body stops working straight because it stops working there is no manifestation of consciousness there or once a question is consciousness is everywhere it's dead in the damaged or dead body also right and remember I had a nice conversation with a young monk in the Himalayas the sitting we used to have talks sometimes so I asked him but you know he would oh he said that when the person dies the Atma has gone from the body Atman goes away he's right and wrong also as little mischievous according to Vedanta atman and brahman are the same said yes Brahman is everywhere in this universe yes is Brahman there in the dead body has to be if it's there in the universe everywhere in the universe then Brahman and Nachman are same so Atman is also there in the dead body he was puzzled he says yes it has to be there then what goes away from a body it's called the ji Bachman or the subtle body it goes away when the subtle body goes away consciousness is no longer reflected in the subtle body and the the manifestation of consciousness the activities are no longer seen in the dead body it's not possible instrument is broken little while ago we discussed how does consciousness interact with with the body and by being reflected in the mind it's no longer reflected in the mind because the mind cannot the subtle body anta karana it cannot stay in a dead body it cannot function anymore so it leaves it's called the Jeevitha it leaves transmigrates goes to other worlds is reborn in another body but existence consciousness bliss as Brahman is everywhere in fact the other way around everywhere is in Brahman when you say Brahman is everywhere we are accepting that Brahman pervade space rather space is in Brahman we say Brahman is eternal rather time is in Grundmann Brahman is beyond time and space anyway the answer is this consciousness in the sense of Brahman is certainly there in the dead body and in living body everywhere but that reflected consciousness is not there because the reflecting medium the mind has gone be the subtle body in vedantic terms are more precise sukshma sharir upon the debt or death of the physical body subtle body leaves how do memory or samskaras travel from one birth to another if mind and body are destroyed where does the samskaara get stored easily answered mind and body are not destroyed in debt what is destroyed clearly what du/dr seeing being see being destroyed body and people take it that the mind there also has been destroyed why because of two reasons one is we have a very materialistic view of the mind now that it is something produced by the brain brain is destroyed it is buried are and it rots in the ground or it is burnt up in a in a funeral pile so it's gone if the mind is something produced by the brain then then the mind is also gone but who said that the mind is produced by the brain there is a mind brain interaction no doubt about it but there is still now there is no causality which has been established that the mind is produced by the brain number one the second reason why doctors think that the materialist reduction is think that the mind is gone when the body is gone is because the functioning of the person is no longer seen when the body dies you don't see the person talking speaking and saying I am dead oh I'm dead no there are no activities present so you feel that the person is not there anymore person is gone but it could just be because the instrument is not working if the microphone stops working and I talk you can't hear me that doesn't mean I've stopped speaking the instrument is well there are interesting examples of people under deep anesthesia and they can still just still aware but unable to express anything because the body is out of their control now there's some terrible examples of people feeling pain in Anastacia also but they can't express it because the anesthesia has worked up to that extent cutting off your connection with the body which is hasn't cut off your awareness of the body also now go deeper suppose your awareness of the body is also cut off then you will not be aware of the world outside you will be not be aware of the body but you as in the mind it's not gone the mind can go elsewhere like a machine breaks down a computer doesn't mean the data is gone you just can't access it because the computer is not working anymore take the hard disk and put it in another computer it'll work even if the hard disk is gone download from cloud into another computer it will work same data you will get bad new body same person comes back same tendencies may not be the same memory last one does awareness always need a vehicle for it to exist now careful awareness does not need a vehicle for it to exist if it requires a vehicle to exist this is called materialist reductionism the vehicle is matter a body if consciousness needs a body to exist then its existence is dependent on the body then the body becomes the reality and the consciousness becomes a by-product what is called an epiphenomenon it's the other way around consciousness exists by itself according to Vedanta according to Sankhya yoga Buddhism consciousness exists by itself expresses itself manifests itself to a body now does that body exist other than consciousness if you say it does its Sankhya philosophy yoga philosophy if you say the body and the mind and the entire universe are all manifestations of that one consciousness consciousness itself manifests body mind and universe and shines through them that is advaitha philosophy but in any case consciousness is fundamental in these philosophies good news you are fundamental not your body if you are the product of your body then when the body goes you goes you're gone but if you are the reality and the body is your product a real product or a projection whatever case you exist even without the body but you require the body to shake hands with another body alright get done individuals have asked other questions alright well this is a the questions on consciousness so done yeah I think we should give the live audience two chances now because the internet audience got so many questions in I'll come to you come can you come here and ask the question please tell us your name and ask the question my name is Bill and actually I have two questions if you oh good go ahead every morning here there's a reading of the bhagavad-gita at the Vivekanand the retreat rigidly we we read a book also right now we're reading reminiscences of Swami Vivekananda the new edition it's quite thick and this morning's was talking to an England e'en gentleman who was living in London they became very good friends I can't think of his name unfortunately and he was studying at vojta and Swamiji was teaching him Advaita and he was quite scholarly and to encourage him so he said never belittle yourself you are Brahmin yes but then I thought the biggest obstacle to realizing this is our pride in our small self so how does that we have to demolish that false pride and yet maintain the dignity that we are Brahman the right so this is a good question the obstacle to enlightenment obstacle to freedom is being trapped in the small echo which ties us to one individuality and being and then the product is pride I am something great inflating that little small ego so overcoming that pride transcending that small ego that is essential for spirituality if you believe I am Brahman the vast the absolute I am God then how can you overcome the pride lead to pride in this very same question was asked to me a couple of years ago we were in Loyola College in Los Angeles and Chris Chappell who is a professor there he has the same question how do you avoid pride in the path of Advaita now you see the point is to overcome the limited ego not to be identical means not to be identified with that littleness this can be done in two ways one is make yourself so big that you transcend the little ego the problem is one ego against the other but if I make myself big enough that not only me all of us are one reality then I transcend this one little reality the the needs of this little one do not matter so much what matters is the whole all of us I identify myself with everybody in the universe not with one being that's one way of doing it but some people are mentally not constituted to do that there is another way of doing it make yourself very small I am noting one sometimes the best way is identify yourself with everything and behave as if you are nothing I identify myself into all and behave as if I am nothing but I am and the lowest of the low and the servant of the servant make yourself very big or make yourself very very small but don't stay in between we all stay in between that's why we get trapped and at this human scale Girish Gore said that Maya could not the net of Maya could not track two persons one is Vivekananda who made himself so big that Maya couldn't catch catching he burst out of the net of Maya he became one with the universe and the other one is Nagma hasha the great devotee from Bangladesh Dahak he made himself so small that he easily slipped through the snares of my not me but thou my lord not me but thou my lord nam - who - not me not me but thou thou my lord and nothing now alone are everything that's one way of transcending the small ego and the other one becoming very big is another way of transcending the small ego the attitudes are different look at what what Nagma says I am nothing but Vivekananda says I am everything both have overcome the ego and pride for both that's one person the ego rooted in this body and mind is an obstacle it's not to be identified with you cannot identify with one body and mind and say I am imparted and yet be small and humble to everybody you cannot you cannot be identified with one small body and mind and say I am important and yet say I am all of them the attitude is different when Vivekananda was asked what is humility look at the attitude towards humility of Vivekananda and Nagma say the Ganga was asked what is humility he said humility does not consist in being a doormat it consists in seeing of the greatness in the other person so respecting seeing the greatness seeing the divinity and the other person we were talking about seeing God in everybody that is real humility just the opposite again that's also great when nach Massa was asked by a monk why do you say that you are nothing that you're the lowest of the low Vivekananda did not like this he wanted to say that we are he wanted everybody to say that we are great believe in your own greatness what was not maha his reply he thought about it carefully for a moment and he said what you are saying is right but what I say is a fact I see this that I am the lowest of the low what can I say you accepted the truth about myself that's also very genuine both have overcome the ego and both help others also nag masses life inspired so many people it had immediate effect on people around him and so of course did Vivekananda I think it was Joseph in McLeod who said that I have met many great people in my life she moved in high society she met many people of elite of society at that time she said I've met the Czar of Russia at that time and she said when I met the Czar I felt how great he is and how insignificant I am but when I met Vivekananda I felt how great he is and how great I am that's something that Vivekananda could inspire in everybody it would blossom in pain people they would stand up straighter in his presence the other way around knock Masai all look at the impact he had because of his he kept himself low once monks came to his house to visit him he and his wife they were very devout but like lives of shining saintliness they left lived for the rest of their lives so they lived there and they would receive everybody has God coming to their house and they treated the monks so with so much you know care they are all about taking care of these young monks what come to see the great devotee and here's the great devotee running around them trying to take care of these young boys we'll just put on the cloth as if they are God themselves and they got very embarrassed and they said we can't stay here anymore we have to run away because of the hospitality of nagamachi and his wife so next day they went to the train station now Marsha took them to the strange station always demonstrating that oh I wish you could stay a little longer he would be like that you know this we're termites were eating away the the posts of the house you see let them the Lord has is eating of his has accepted the gift of my poor house where they were there was no firewood to cook for the guests he'd cut down his own house to burn the firewood and feed the guests like that so they go to the railway station the monks insist on leaving because they can't take it anymore they this tremendous hospitality of Navajo and his wife because and they complete self-sacrifice you would do that Bangladesh is a country of B grievers so he would always have to cross Reverse nobody would get in the boat with Nagamasa did they always knew they only knew him as a saint they revered him because if you get in a boat with Nagamasa he will insist on rowing he won't let anybody else do any hard work in his presence was he always rushed forward to take the load of you and the boat man and they all refused to let go on the same boat with him how can you sit in the boat when the saint is there this frail old man his his trying mightily to row the boat because you are the beloved Lord in his eyes so they go to the railway station the monks who insist we're going to leave just now we can't stay one moment longer with you and the Train was packed and the monks couldn't get a seat they were trying to get in the seat and Nagamasa standing on the platform burst into tears and wail loudly that oh poor me because how how miserable I am it is because of my bad karma that the Holy Ones could not get a sleep place to sit and the people around became so ashamed of his tears they all get got up and left their seats let them say stop crying would immediately change people around him how can you stay unchanged when you are in the presence of such a such a one of light shining forth and who continuously places himself at your feet it can it cannot but transform you yes it's a beautiful question do you remember your second question yes shravana monana midi asana did the Assam is hearing pondering soaking it up yes that's how I translate those and then if one has good fortune one realizes the problem now if that blessed event happens then one should be if I understand that correctly filled with bliss yes and if a person thinks he's had that realization but does not fill it with bliss yes I think we conclude that he did not have the realization yes in a person who is not getting the benefits of realization let alone the rest of us that person himself should be honest enough to admit that it is not a person might have had glimpses and that's very valuable but that's not the end of the road Sri Ramakrishna's to say somebody sees a little something sees a light here's a divine sound of the things I have accomplished everything now that's not the end of the road until one finds the benefit of a 'don't it promises bliss and transcendence of suffering if I have nothing to complain about truly unhappy with whatever life throws at me really happy really I don't have nothing to grumble about and I'm filled with peace and joy which does not depend on money or people or achievements or praise and internal joy bubbling up continuously unaffected by anything in the world then I can say that yes I have made progress in Vedanta but I realized I am Brahman and I'm grumbling and I am fighting and I'm greedy and I'm quarrelsome is something wrong with that realization it's a way of deceiving oneself and so sometimes people on the path of knowledge valence are the very intelligent people so they can define the intelligent ways of deceiving themselves also I'll give you an example I clearly see that I am Brahman and why do you get upset why do you get angry why why are you complaining Oh upset complaining angry are all in the mind mind I am the witness of the mind upset mind quarreling mind complaining mind and I'm sorry that's not a very inspiring view of enlightenment you're right full blown enlightenment should take you beyond all of these things definitely it should let me say if there is a ragged way sure if there is hatred and passion in the mind clearly this is not enlightenment the enlightened person should be beyond raga duration you had you had a question come then we'll come back to the Internet audience my name is dr. Zeller my question is I was reading my man Dookie of Mesa and can you exactly explain the meaning of all relations to the man who killed listen oh that's a whole question can you explain the meaning of ohm in relation to man definition I think that's at least one talk in itself I gave a talk about this actually recently it's called the essence of all bad and the essence of all Vedic a few weeks ago it's on YouTube the whole talk can be seen as an explanation of ohm in relation to man Tokyo open issue but basically the idea is this the man Dookie open issue says just like any open Ishod if you know yourself you know the absolute and knowing the absolute one goes beyond sorrow attains the highest so you have to know yourself how do you know yourself by an inquiry into the self and the man Duke Upanishad shows us how to do that enquiry it does so by using ohm how does it do so is it when you look at the self you find four aspects of the self three aspects are well-known waking we all have a waking experience right now for example dreaming when you fall asleep we all had dreams and deep sleep dreamless sleep these three are well known experiences for everybody we all have these experiences but all of these experiences appear to one unchanging consciousness called the fourth aspect of the self Turiya and that is what we really are not the waking self not the dreamer not the deep sleeper but the one consciousness which appears which is experienced as Waker and the waking world dreamer and the dream world deep sleeper and the deep sleep darkness blindness all of these the experiencer and experience these these pairs there are three pairs Waker in the makers word dreamer in the dream world deep sleeper in the deep sleep darkness which are experienced in one consciousness this one consciousness is called Turia or the fourth in relation to waking dreaming deep sleep it is the fourth but it is actually the one reality in which the other three appear so this is the basic analysis of this self in Mundaka Upanishad now using ohm say you relate ohm is made of four sounds actually or four four aspects they call it Matra form Astra what are the mattress or four aspects of ohm one is R then ooh you will say I don't find an R and an who you say I'll find only o in sanskrit grammar are and who together produce the sound o so when you sit home you don't say ah you say ohm because R and who have merged into the O so there is this a in the hall ooh in the O and the last part is mmm and then the fourth aspect of ohm is the silence which ensues after the ohm when you chant ohm and fall silent silence that is also taken as the part of the ohm the fourth aspect now what you do is you have four aspects of the Atma of the self and four aspects of oh I hope you remember the four aspects of the self what are they waking dreaming deep sleep and Toria the consciousness in which all of these three are experienced and their own four aspects ah who don't see you you is the closest English that we can get a um but in sanskrit ah mom ooh and then mmm ma and beyond that silence now can you match put ah relate or to the waking state just in your mind make an association relate ooh to the dream state dreamer and the dream state ooh deep sleep you the deep sleeper and your deep sleep experience hmm and the consciousness which experiences all of this is the silence from which these three sounds ah oh my arise from silence and fade away into silence that silence you relate to the consciousness as you chant Oh mentally mentally grow through quickly your whole waking life all your dream life just any any general dream the experience of dreaming the blankness the merged experience of deep sleep and thus and the consciousness in which all of these are experienced and keep relating ah oh ma and silence so this our Ummah silence Oh followed by the silence this becomes what is called in sanskrit alamin a support for the mind to meditate upon the self as you chant ohm you are actually meditating upon the four aspects of the self pointing towards the whole point is to realize yourself as that silence consciousness today in the morning we did that little while ago that meditation which we did that's another way of approaching that silence consciousness through the practice of listening you're listening sounds are arising and disappearing you slowly become aware sounds are arising and disappearing in silence and that silence is not an object it is you the consciousness it's exactly the same thing which you do in our Ummah silence so ohm is the practice is a support it's in fact a condensed version of the whole vedantic analysis of the self sleeping dreaming deep sleep and consciousness so that's all can we go back to the internet question ask one more question from the internet audience yes how can we approach everyday activities at various stages of our life with an attitude of service and in a manner that avoids undue stress and brings peace and they have a second question yes how do we rest our priorities and refocus our energies and other constructive activities when the normal duties of family life are more or less completed who's asked this question is what so how do we carry on the daily activities of life without stress without strain one is that the more our attitude is unselfish the less strain we have the more we are doing it for I Me Mine our attention is always one what am I getting out of this and then strain am i succeeding am i failing because it bears upon my success my failure but the more I'm altruistic more I have a service attitude I don't want anything from this work that I am doing let it benefit everybody the family little benefit my organization let it benefit the society I am doing it for the people around me I wish everybody well the work will not create tension I saw with amazement how the Swami's in the in the ashram when I joined the ashram as a young monk as a novice I saw the Swami's doing so much work they're probably doing much more work than my parents at home we're doing the people in the world we're doing these people who are doing much more work and it was so relaxed about it it didn't seem to be create intentions and giving them gray hairs and get wrinkles on the forehead how the reason was they were doing it as a worship of God my beloved Lord I served my Lord in all these beings whether it is patients in a hospital whether it's students in a school and serving them all as seeing God in them Shiva ganas Jeeva Siva that's one attitude if I see my beloved Lord in all beings around me in my work my work becomes a worship it will never create tension in you when you do puja of God in the altar here will it create tension in you it shouldn't if you are a very type a Manhattan personality it might create tension even worshiping God might create tension you know perfectionist it happens sometimes it's an American who came to the monastery in India and he wanted to learn the ritualistic worship and he was taught he went to the best worshiper there among the monks Americans always want the best so he went to best worship but they who know who is an expert who performs the durga puja and everything and so this swami taught him the worship and this american guy he said wow this is wonderful but i see that it takes 90 minutes can you cut it down to 45 you say 45 minutes thereby you know this poor swami said i don't know really know how to cut it down the lord service - 45 minutes you're always looking for ways to save time and make it more efficient no but when you are worshiping the lord when you are with your beloved nothing is easy is stressful though you are working so hard the mother works so hard for the child but doesn't consider it it is stressful there's no doubt and say swami you haven't been a mother that's why you think it's not stressful it's pretty stressful but all the stress is smoothed over because of love love of the child without that you couldn't do it all this hard work then the second attitude which helps is first one is devotion and second one is of course love of God so second one third one which helps is focus one thing which creates strain and stress in our lives is scattering our mind too many things multitasking there was an article in Time magazine which showed that by multitasking you don't get much more done in the same amount of time you end up repeating work what gets done poorly and you generate stress and strain within yourself it's much better to take up one thing and finish it faster faster one after another focus empty or mind of other concerns and focus on the task at hand I remember a story there was of a great Swami in India many many years ago Swami near way down under during the Second World War and he was establishing an ashram a home for students in near Calcutta but when the war started he was very interested at that time no CNN not TV or cable news it was a radio so you'd get information of what's happening in Europe and in in the war on the East Far Eastern Front and he would follow the movement of the armies on the map and everything with so much interest that the other Swami's they asked him Swami how do you meditate if you keep either mind on on the on the war news and this Swami looked there's a great man he looked puzzled then he said but when I am meditating I don't think of the war and when I'm thinking of the war I don't think of meditation it's a great thing when we are doing something some work you think this is why I'm wasting my time I should be meditating when I'm meditating and feeling sleepy and drowsy why am I wasting my time like this I should be doing some work this is our ordinary state of mind Swami Vivekananda says MTD bucket do what your whatever you are doing with your with with your fullest possible attention with the greatest possible attention make it a habit to put the greatest possible attention to whatever you are doing the person you are with at this moment is the most important person in your life the work that you are doing at this moment that is the most important work that you are doing the place where you are at this moment is the most important holiest place in the world not rhetorical literally true if you understand how to do it you'll see it is literally true why is that the holiest place in the world because you are present I am NOT you are Brahman the time place where Brahman is present that's the holiest thing your reality is from and you are present there you are present at that time that's the holiest place that's the holiest time focus there so focus is another way of overcoming stress and the last I think the best way of overcoming stress is of course advaitha to know where is distress you are immortal self you are not subject to birth to death you have all the time in the world not in the world you know all the time in the universe take your time relax enjoy the game the game of life which is going on life after life you have view you don't have to be rushed into anything this universe exists for your experience so enjoy it take your time take the scenic route so I mean I kinda said take your time so you will see I've given four approaches to overcoming stress in your life and if you have not noticed carefully I've just mentioned the four yoga's the Karma Yoga bhakti-yoga Raja yoga and ganny yoga that was the question from the internet audience yes we'll take one more question from the live audience come Sanji my name is pankaj and I have a 2 question 1 is the maybe simple the first one is what is the difference between Cola Devi and Ishta devatha in the beginning of the gravy yes could a day in rituals actually is a when we grown up actually we have a cool I understand yes and the second question second question is the while we are doing meditation when closed the eyes we have so much so many experience so many different experience like vibration like a sound like a colours like a brightness sometimes darkness and most of the time actually when I close my eyes I feel myself much more bigger than what I am I the volume goes much more bigger all those experience how does it help me to go to the next level or what are those experiences also it should all right first of all Kula day and each to devatta you see the Hindu families sometimes in in in a community or in a family it is a tradition to worship one form of God it could be in a male form or a female from Devi yes in Hinduism you know the same reality it can be worshipped in so many forms so sometimes particular families particular communities they have from ancient times onward for centuries they have a day without a baby which is worshipped it's the same lord same Rahman saguna brahman in that particular form it's become a tradition in your family the advantage of having such traditions is one is born into a tradition so the progress is much faster so that's why these two credit traditions should be kept alive often this Kula Devi itself is made into Ishta devatha by the guru if the if there is a family guru the family guru might initiate you into a mantra of your family deity itself so that sometimes they each to the other time color levy will match sometimes it may not match for for you particularly the Guru may initiate you into the mantra of some other form of God so this is the difference between chosen deity and the family did sometimes they can be the same and there are advantages to that sometimes specifically if you go into a different tradition than your family your guru will give you a h2 diverter in that tradition remember all of them refer back to that one existence consciousness place just a variety of names and forms variety of names and forms means rituals will differ mantras will differ stories will differ traditions will differ and that's all good more richness the second question you asked was about experiences it the classic book for this is Patanjali yoga Sutra as you meditate a new focus various kinds of experiences come to you it may be visual as you said lights it may be sounds oral visual with maybe even olfactory didn't divine fragrance comes so all of these are signs of a satiric mind a mind becoming more sattvic but our aim should be depending on the path suppose I am meditating Ishta devatha has been given to me mantra has been given to me those experiences come could enjoy it but don't get stuck in that back to the Easter day witha back to the mantra go on with your journey and don't get stuck there that's like we are going on a journey you take the the i-95 or something like that and going the long journey and once in a while these signboards come so your goal is to go to a particular place in India you have those milestone markers so your destination you're going to Delhi for example your Delhi is 100 kilometers away and Delhi is 50 kilometers away so at least 50 kilometers away stop the car jump and hold the milestone at Hoggett did know you note that Delhi is 50 kilometers away you are happy and you go forward don't stop so go on back to the east of the earth and mantra or if you are in the path of knowledge in doing vedantic meditation all those experiences you see wonderful but become aware of the which is experiencing it turn inwards again yes the witness consciousness is important good can we take one more question from the internet audience this will be the last one I think because I have the welcome news a food is ready this comes from mr. Prasanna pincha former chief commissioner for persons with disabilities ministry of social justice and empowerment is what i experience right now the appearance of reality or appearance as reality why doesn't reality reveal itself in its originality or for that matter why don't or can't we see the reality as it is two more questions let with that from the answered this one this is a very deep question are we seeing the appearance of reality or appearance as reality look at these words appearance and reality I like the statement by Professor Bradley who was a great philosopher in England at the turn of the 20th century he said appearance is never real and reality never appears the very English word appearance it means suppose you say that person appears to be an intelligent person what does it mean not interested appears to be a nice person doesn't mean that is nice so what appears is not not real and reality never appears it's also a very nice play on the English word appear appears means to be to present oneself as what one is not so the reality will never appear reality is reality it will never appear to some be something else so appearance the what we are seeing is the appearance of reality in the sense we do not know the reality as it is hence we experience reality as it is not we experience reality as it is not this is called Maya Shankar Acharya said artists mean tugboat what is not there you see see there it is one non dual reality but we see it as a duality the problem is not to see reality as it is reality remains as it is all the time the problem is to know reality as it is after knowing knowing in the sense I am that reality after knowing that what will happen the same appearance will continue now I know that this appearance is the appearance of reality this will this very appearance will take me back to Brahman now what is happening is because I do not know the Brahman in the background this very appearances is trapping me in samsara in suffering in in in duality so the difference between reality and appearance is ignorant and knowledge in this very appearance I will recognize the reality if I have in light if I'm enlightened if I'm not enlightened then I will take this appearance itself as the reality that is a very well well put question let's hear the other questions I don't know if I'll have time to answer it why does this play of consciousness give so much experience of sorrow suffering pain fear frustration failure and boredom etc okay let me give one line answer why does this play of consciousness give rise to such sorrow in so many ways from minor irritation to great sorrow why does this happen because we do not recognize it as the play of consciousness somebody had asked me troubled me was mean to me and I'm so unhappy so miserable and suddenly I wake up I'm sitting on my bed oh oh it was a dream then that person who I had asked me troubled me or who was that person that's me because everywhere everybody in my dream means when one sends a product of my own mind whom shall I be angry with now whom shall I hate whom shall I blame blame er and blame doubt but one whom to blame whom to praise when prazer and praised blame ER and blamed are but one that happens to our dreams because we wake up from it and look at it from our waking point of view the enlightened person recognizes the entire universe as his or her own self whom will you blame a little child comes and punches you maybe in anger but from your point of view so your grandson on your granddaughter it's all fun we were going to put it this way little puppies play and bite each other and quarrel with each other and roll on top of each other and wrestle with each other via Candice's it is all a play of puppies all of this life at them it does not matter don't be terrified by it at the most it's cute but that you need to take a very very high standpoint to say such a thing the answer direct answer to it is because we do not recognize it as a play of consciousness that's why it's suffering if you recognize it as a play of consciousness when the Buddha or Ramakrishna or ramana maharshi or Vivekananda they don't see that they are in suffering dovey mates they might say how much suffering throat cancer or Ramana Maharshi had a I had a I had a access from which he died we will say how much suffering how much pain and Naaman MA she was so poor he were only a loincloth and sat in a cave so much poverty he doesn't think he's poor he thinks he's the universe if you recognize the play of consciousness as the play of consciousness no problem at all what's the last question doesn't the experience of Maya run counter to the principle of non dualism or is Maya also a part of reality if so how there are deep questions doesn't the experience of Maya follow this carefully doesn't the experience of Maya run counter to the principle of non duality look at these two words the answer is in the question itself experience of Maya principle of non duality the principle and the experience are never contradictory full of non-duality holds true even when you are having the experience of duality our problem is in ignorance we experience duality and take it to be real here is a real duality and experiencing it the enlightened person says there is a real non duality and it is experienced as duality it is really one a dream for example it's really one it's only your mind but you experience it as people and events and animals and things and places activities million different things a whole of samsara comes up in your dream but it's all one thing it's your mind only the experience of the multiplicity of the dream does not contradict the principle that it is one reality a dreamer good question Maya is causing all of this the Maya is not a part of reality Maya is at best an explanatory mechanism from our vantage point of ignorance once you transcend it there is only one reality such here on earth and you are that that's I think a good note to finish we have run out of time Shawn the chanté chanté hurry he owned that sat sri ramakrishna economist