Video 33

Ask Swami with Swami Sarvapriyananda | Dec 31st, 2017

now my questions which come in from the our internet audience all over the world and our the live audience present here also can ask questions so let's open with a question from the Internet audience and then we'll take out the question so to think about your questions and you have to come up here and tell us your name and then ask the question all right so the first question we have Swamiji is from Dominic who is writing from Denmark hi Swami I hope you can help me understand Maya is an illusion something which seems to be like something but isn't but in the same way it must be real Vedanta says everything is Brahman but that means that Maya Shakti prakruti is real to image eva it hides the truth about the self but it's part of God's game and this game includes everything also Maya if brahman is untouched by anything and in the same way the source of everything then nothing would appear or create it needs something that causes the creation if there is a separate thing like Maya then we are in dualism if it comes from himself then he becomes limited it seems like neither dualism nor non-dualism work it's like both and none of these the mind can't fix it it's a good question let me reduce the question to its essentials we say Brahman is the only reality now we are remember we have made a paradigm shift from Kashmir Shaivism which we were discussing earlier which the internet audience of course did not see but to Advaita Vedanta there's a shift Advait Vedanta says brahma satyam jagat mithya we and Jeeva Brahm Heavin opera Brahman alone is real the world is an appearance and you are you real or an appearance you are real you are Brahman congratulations but then what causes the appearance of the world Brahman is Brahman is such a done and it does not appear or it appears as the world but what causes it to appear as the world and as an explanatory mechanism Advaita Vedanta uses the term the concept of Maya Maya the power of Brahman which projects Brahman as this world one of the going back to Kashmir again one of the great Kashmiri Saints a woman Lali surely she landed Allah referee what a beautiful worship she's had these little poems she says not knowing the self the real self is like I don't know what what water is though I drown in the ocean and the moment I know I am the ocean I'm drowning in the ocean we are all drowning in the ocean and we are saying we don't know what water is that's like we are immersed in Brahman anyway now the question is that may all be fine but what about this world we are experiencing ourselves as individual beings and a world and a world of experience of the universe which we live in and where Dante says it's because of Maya Brahman alone appears with names and forms in this form in this way but then this Maya is it something different from Brahman or is it the same as Brahman if it is different than we have dualism that's what he's asking this Brahman and Brahmans Maya they're two things if it's the same as Brahman then there would be no creation Brahman is sat-chit-ananda do I call it Maya at all call it Brahman you were using a term Maya it must be some sense different something new about it something different about it so are there two things or is there one thing that's the question if there is one thing there would be no world and no individual if there are two things you can explain the world but then it would be dualism it's not non-dualism and what's the answer the answer is subtle what do you mean by two look at the lectern here to my left there is a there's the lectern and you know it's made of wood I've used two words lectern and wood are there two things it's wood alone you know the preliminary idea would be it's a lectern or a podium and if you look little deeply you'd say no it's wood the reality about it is wood but it has the name and the form and the function of a podium it looks like the podium and it has it's called a podium and it acts as a podium but it's true and true inside and outside all of it is nothing but wood there are not two things here now this which projects the wood as the name podium as the form of a podium and the function of a podium that is what is called Maya it's not a separate thing it's not to hear the name and the farm and the function are not a second thing apart from the would in fact without the forth without the wood there would be no farm you wouldn't be able to see the podium there wouldn't be a podium there wouldn't be a form of a podium there wouldn't be the function of a podium and you couldn't use the word podium because what would be there after all nothing so there's only one thing here that is the reality is wood and it functions looks like an in transactional reality it is called a podium the word is a podium the form is of a podium and the activity of a podium this is Maya not separate hence if it's not separate it's still non dual you can't call it dualism because it's not separate and yet it produces the magic of this world it projects the world as Brahman it's nothing different from Brahman once Swami explained it very wonderfully I mean I have never thought of it that way but it works like this if advaitha is true there is only one brand existence consciousness bliss it's essential nature is consciousness Brahman is consciousness pure consciousness now follow this carefully the nature of consciousness is to be to be what to be conscious to know let's take it in a very simple way to be aware to know to be conscious that's the nature of consciousness one but then the question will be what will it be conscious of what will it know what will it be aware of because there is nothing nothing other than Brahman since there is nothing other than Brahman what is therefore Brahman to be conscious of your answer will be itself okay second thing there is nothing else for it to be conscious of so it will be conscious of itself aware of itself what can it know its nature is to know but what can it know it can know only itself if there's nothing else second point third point here is the here is the fun can Brahmin know itself no not in that sense it cannot be an object of knowledge because it cannot be seen it has no farm it cannot be heard it has no sound it cannot be tasted yeah it has no taste cannot be smelt it cannot be touched it cannot be thought of it cannot be conceived of it cannot be spoken of that's the nature of Brahman it is infinite the infinite cannot be known enough within in a finite act of knowledge I'm using the words carefully epistemologically a finite act of knowledge cannot grasp the infinite and yet see now that the problem is the nature of Brahman is to know to be aware to be conscious it is consciousness and what the only thing that it can be aware or no know or be conscious of is itself which you cannot know which is unknowable Brahman the very nature is to know and what is there to know is unknowable then what happens it's like the old paradox the immovable the irresistible force meets the immovable object then what happens Braman must know and yet what is there to know cannot be known then what will happen error what happens is Maya error happens it will know itself but not as it is with as it is is infinite unknowable it will know itself the unchangeable no will know itself as a changeable world the world of birth and death and change and decay the infinite existence will know itself as sliced limited existences as things which exist the infinite conscious will know itself as conscious event zero thoughts sights ideas smells sounds the infinite unlimited joy will know itself as the fleeting joys of this world we work under put it this world is the wreckage on the wreckage of the infinite on the shores of time space and causation it is Brahma knowing itself this universe is Brahma knowing itself this phenomenon is Maya so what do we do if you do not know it its suffering I do not know that I am Brahman I do not know that all this is Brahman that it's one unbroken undivided reality I don't know that I now think of myself as a limited body and mind experiencing a world populated by other limited body minds and an intention world and I've pursued my limited ends trying to avoid suffering and snatch a little bit of happiness begged for a little bit of happiness from this world before it's all taken away from me suffering the Buddha said do come to come servant come if you dwell in Maya see through Maya realize it is you yourself experiencing yourself in these ways it is joy and joy and joy birth and death and old age and disease so-called unhappiness is John your joy is you yourself knowing your self in that GI your miseries also you yourself knowing yourself in that misery you are reflecting yourself back in the mirror of Maya don't misunderstand that example and say oh then he will ask the mirror and you are different so that this dualism no in this case it's not different so it's a remarkable thing if it was not remarkable it wouldn't be Maya Maya is remarkable what cannot be done it shows it does it it projects the pure subject as an object projects doesn't make the subject and object if say Maya creates look at the words you have used if creation happens does creation really happen here's the question Advaita Vedanta says creation does not happen if it did happen then there would be dualism it's still one reality it's still Brahman it's not that it was Brahman then this universe has been created and after the universe is destroyed they look be Brahman again no many people misunderstand its Brahman right now will you say it was good earlier now it's a podium after you smash it and you sell it off for scrap or something it will be bored again no it's wood right now touch it we said touch wood yes it was water earlier now it's a wave and then it will be water again no it was water as a wave it's water and when the wave subsides back into the ocean it's water you wear Brahman in this body and mind experiencing this world still Brahman and when this body mind and world are erased by death by cosmic dissolution in Samadhi still Brahman in deep sleep every night still Brahman this plays the play of Maya it is not different from Raman no different than the podium is from the wood or the wave from the water it's not different it's you Brahman non-dualism is maintained throughout it looks like listen yeah alright anybody here or are they still in meditation hamsa come come here you have to ask a question here fisca please tell us Union do I know it but for the sake of the Internet audience tell us your name and ask the question my name is returned are so many pranaam in this context whatever you explain could you please explain one of the words I read Jenny Bindu Nadu kala shot Tony Kolkata so I cannot translate it truly Jenny Bindu Nardo kala so Tony I have not heard that earlier but I understand it immediately it is it is from you can understand it from the Kashmiri Scheiber point of view and the tantra point of view Bindu nada kala Bindu represents the highest reality and neither is the sound the own car which resounds which which it's a vibration which lately leads to creation and all of creation our color or Alcala means parts parts of Shiva and there's a whole philosophy behind it much more I would say complex in one sense more sophisticated and detailed and even a greater Vedanta it's it's very detailed in Kashmir Shaivism since that discussion preceded this question answer session I will not go into the details and I wouldn't be able to right now without reading up so it's a very sophisticated philosophy Bindu Bindu means literally means the dot it's the only at the end of Ankara oh oh ma and that end which fades away into silence when - Bindu Bindu means the dot and dot is of course very popular in Silicon Valley the dot-com but this is a this is the cosmic dot and now other means sound but not any sound the cosmic sound and kala means the the powers of Shiva Shakti which creates this universe that many colors are there kilometers per we have a question from sega respected swamiji in the upper action on booty class number 23 as you explained all that we see that we experience all that exists are nothing but manifestations of brahman my question is what is the difference between shiva and Jarra does jeribai to experience consciousness like jeevers due to what karma is at Jarrah and I am Jeeva let me quickly translate what the word Jarrah means it's Sanskrit word it's a Sanskrit word meaning in sentient so basically is asking if everything is Brahman is the question if everything is Brahman that means everything is consciousness but we don't experience the world like that we experience the world as sentient beings and in sentient things so here how are we experiencing the world look at what you are doing right now you see yourself as a sentient being and perhaps the people sitting next to you if they are not zombies there are also sentient beings but the chair you are sitting on you feel it's an intention thing it's a thing and there is the harmonium here these tables and chairs and so on this world physical world in sentient the Sanskrit word is jarrah and sentient being Sanskrit word is chetana conscious but but advaitha seems to say everything is consciousness then what makes us sentient beings and what makes those things in sentient that's the question do they have the question also is that do they also have consciousness and then what's the difference between us why do we appear to be conscious and the chair does not appear even though the shirt on my back does not appear to be conscious but the person the body wearing the shirt appears to be conscious the shirt does not appear to be conscious what makes the difference go by exempt by your experience as you experience the world this is how the experience the world right then how do you explain it terms of advaita vedanta it's like this pure consciousness is brahman but as we just discover discussed through my ID appears as a world as a universe and this world of the universe what does it consist of names and forms and functions what are the names and forms and functions you have bodies you have minds you have life life life prana mind Manas anta karana inner instrument physical body daija sharira body all of these and and in sentient things these things all of them they are all names and forms produced by Maya now among these names and forms some names and forms are there which are products of Maya which had the unique capacity of reflecting of channeling consciousness it's not difficult to understand sunlight falls on everything if you go outside you see sunlight is falling on everything buildings and the snow and the trees but if all the things sunlight is falling on there is the lake there are drops of water dew drops in which not only sunlight is falling but a little image of the Sun is formed there when the sunlight falls on on the rocks outside on the street outside the image image of the Sun is not formed there you can't see a little Sun there you can't see it it's not there but if you look into the lake you will see the Sun in the lake if you look into a dewdrop you will see the entire Sun reflected in the dew drop in a sparkling burst of light there so some surfaces not only reflect the sunlight but they're capable of forming an image of the source the Sun that's a good example some names and forms produced by Maya they they can reflect consciousness they can channel consciousness what are these names and forms very simple you have one it's called the mind in fact right now if you look subtly where do you find consciousness you say why in me and in the person next to me no be careful there in the person next to you you are not experiencing consciousness that person next to you behaves like a conscious entity talks like a conscious entity seems to be a conscious entity but the way you experience awareness consciousness sentient directly first person subjectively within yourself in your mind like that you are not experiencing his or her consciousness true or not look inside directly you feel awareness you are awareness in fact the one which is doing the looking inside is the awareness what awareness is that that is not pure consciousness that's not brahman as such that's the reflection of Brahmans reflection bear in the mind what is the mind it's produced by Maya it's an email form of all the names and forms produced by Maya our subtle body the technical term is sukshma sharir ax can reflect consciousness Shankaracharya and in his commentary in the bhagavad-gita to the fiftieth verse of the eighteenth chapter eighteen fifty there he says how does it work pure consciousness shines on the bull D the intellect which is part of our mind our subtle body which is which is also pure pure here in the sense means sattvic which is pure it's a nice reflecting medium and so it gets identified with the booty the booty also the mind also shines with consciousness the consciousness does not belong to the mind it's borrowed from Brahman the little son the lake or in the dew drop does not belong to the dew drop of the lake it below it is a reflection of the real Sun similarly the awareness which you feel right now he's not brahman itself it's the reflection of Brahman in our minds and that's enough to for all our empirical purposes to talk and speak and hear and and love and hate and fight and and do Vedanta for all of that is reflected consciousness it is itself enough so then why bother with brahman if reflected consciousness is enough without brahman no reflected consciousness it's like saying at night moonlight is enough it lights up our world and we can go about our business at night with the moonlight suppose there's no electricity the moonlight then why do we need the Sun at all at night we don't see the Sun so why talk about a theoretical Sun at night the moonlight is enough what will happen if you take the Sun away no moonlight it seems to be moonlight and we call it moonlight it's not moonlight it's borrowed from the Sun if I make if I'm a kind of neologism the moon is moonlighting it's borrowing its its its job is to get by by borrowing light from the Sun it's moonlighting in the same way our minds are borrowing consciousness from Brahman and hence here's a point answer to your question hence we appear to be conscious beings I feel conscious you feel conscious we all feel conscious but because of the presence of this subtle body here but the other names and forms which do not have subtle bodies which are not called sentient beings because of that the table and the chair and that harmonium they don't have a subtle body so how do you know I'll ask you how do you know that they do they don't seem to they are not jiva's so we call them things objects things that not Val you are a Tao and the chair is that it the only difference from Vedantic perspective it does not have a subtle body hence it does not reflect consciousness hence it's not a sentient being it neither suffers nor in joints nor is it trying to avoid suffering nor is it seeking enjoyment nor does it want to become spiritual nor does it feel that it is in bondage there's nothing there it's just a thing with a name and a farm but you see this Brahman there yes Brahman is there but what Brahman does for the chair and the shirt and all this intention things is Brahman lends it existence but not consciousness it does not lend consciousness why it does not have the capacity to reflect consciousness just like the sunlight it lends light to everything but to the lake and the dew drop it lends its own image you can even easily connect it with the Bible God created man in his own image all living beings are created in the image of God what does it mean does God look like that two hands and a head and under tummy you know no the image of God is that reflected consciousness shining in our minds right now that's God creating us in his own image what's the image of God what is God it in in himself and in itself consciousness what's the image of God reflected consciousness it directly you can understand these things all right anybody from there was another hand here please come oh you have to come all the way out if you can just ask your question I'll repeat the question yes yes yes so there's a question in the bhakti religions devotional religions God is conceived of having a will not only a will God is all loving God is just God has a purpose for us and God relates to us in some relation God is the father in the Semitic religions but in Hinduism also the bhakti traditions God is the father God is the mother God is the friend God is the lover God is the child all these relations are possible in the practical religions where they can under put it this way the idea is to demonize your relationship with all beings all living beings they're all God my beloved Lord in all these forms it's still bhakti and to humanize your relationship with the divine who is the divine to me and this person so who's the divine to me my father I am the child my master and the servant my mother and the child and so on now how does this work with brandman which is the absolute which is existence consciousness place in Advaita Vedanta the question is what is the relationship of the absolute existence consciousness bliss pure being pure consciousness pure bliss what is the relationship of that with the god of religion this is the question how does that do a to see that advaitha calls the god of religion saguna brahman brahman with qualities and the Brahman the ultimate reality is called near guna Brahman Brahman beyond attributes so such Anand are not the attributes of Rahman they are Brahman itself Brahman is not something which has existence Brahman is existence itself being itself Brahman is not something which is conscious it is consciousness itself we are beings who are conscious we have borrowed consciousness from the ocean of consciousness that is Brahman so we are conscious beings Brahma is not happy not unhappy there Brahman is happiness itself so those existence consciousness bliss are not attributes of Brahman they are Brahman itself even more radically they would say that the only reason we call it existence is because it's not that it does not exist that's why we are calling it existence the only reason we are calling it consciousness is because it's not in sentient only reason we are calling it bliss is because it's not misery that's why we're calling it otherwise even any kind of positive attribution is not acceptable to admittance but how is this really relevant to Vishnu or she my beloved Shiva or my beloved divine mother or Krishna or Jesus or the Father in heaven how is it related this Brahman need guna Brahman Brahman beyond attributes with Maya we are talking about Maya is the god of religions saguna brahman the the possession of maya the presence of maya the very conception of maya gives these glories to the absolute what glories all powerful all knowing just merciful loving kind one who wants to rescue us from samsara doesn't Brahmin want to rescue us from samsara not at all Brahmin couldn't care less from Brahmins point of view there is no samsara I mean what about me from Brahmins point of view you are Brahmin why would Brahmin want rescuing it's God who rescues us so advaita vedanta takes a step down so it does add weight a VLAN to admit two kinds of brahman such eden and the net guna merriman and the god of religion saguna brahman so two brahmins know as you would realize not at all because the Advaita Vedanta is uncompromising from the ultimate point of view there is only the absolute sat-chit-ananda the moment you speak about God you are back in the relative world the world of Maya here let's talk about here and now here we are individual beings trying to be spiritual coping with our lives I know I am NOT the body and mind but still I had to go back to feed the body every day or to take medicines after house the body most of my life is about the body and I say I am NOT the body most of it is about this thing called the body so let's talk about here and now in this case in this here and now if I am this person and this is my life then where is Brahman for me if that's the question you ask Advaita Vedanta says then for you if you take that standpoint if you stubbornly persist in that then Brahman for you is the God of religion right now Brahman for you is your beloved krishna or rama krishna or christ is your beloved Jesus if your narayana or shiva or divine mother or the father in heaven in whichever conception there can be infinite conceptions of God why because God is infinite if this world which is a projection of God or a creation of God whichever way you have it if this is so full of variety and richness imagine the Creator yes so you can have multiple names multiple forms many manifestations many ways of understanding God are they all true here is a delicate answer from a Advaita Vedanta do you think you are - right now this body mind this world does it feel real to you yes it does no matter how much better on TV read if it feels real to you God is also real to you but Advaita insists from the absolute point of view what is the world appearance what are you Brahman then what will God be Brahman if you are Brahman God is also Brahman thank you very much saguna brahman is actually knit guna Brahman you the sentient being you are actually near kuna Brahman and this world is an appearance of Brahman so why call it an appearance what harm has the world done why can't it actually be Brahman it's also actually Brahman yeah it's not so Brahman so I meet Torreon under the great Vedanta all his life he said Brahman alone is real and the world is false and I am Brahman the last thing he said before passing a bit last but one he said Brahman is real the world is real the world is none other than Brahman glory to Ramakrishna Jai Ramakrishna that was the last but one thing he said before he passed away you be curious what's the last thing he said the last thing he said was Satyam Ghanim an anthem Brahma Brahman and then this were Brahman which is real in the world which is none other than Brahman and I who have another than Brahman and Ramakrishna is none other than Brahman and what is this Brahmin infinite existence consciousness is permanent such young ghana man and umbrella any passed away it's from taittiriya upanishad good it's a good question thank you this next question is from Krishna Swamiji in one of the videos you had mentioned that ad vedic meditation is preferred over yogic meditation so I am curious to know why ad vedic meditation is preferred all right yeah I know it's the way I put it I try to play fair but my preferences come out with no uncertain terms because you sound like you are saying you prefer Advaitic meditation over yogic meditation but what's the difference between yogic meditation and Advaitic meditation meditation is basically focusing the mind it could be concentrating on something concentrating on ohm concentrating on the beloved form of my Krishna or Brahma Krishna or it could be just awareness follow the breath not conscious of concentrating or anything in particular just awareness so basically it is a kind of focus of the mind not letting the mind drift that's meditation but then of what you focus on and what is the purpose behind it that distinguishes yogic meditation from Advaitic meditation too far for precision and clarity let me save and I say yogic meditation I mean Patanjali yoga the yoga sutras when I say Ardwick meditation I mean needd asana when you ask for practice of Advaita they say hearing thinking meditating that meditating hearing thinking meditating that meditating is needed the asana what's the difference yogic meditation is concentration of mind yoga chitta vritti nirodh aha' it's defined in the second sutra the Yoga Sutras Yoga is the the cessation of the modifications of the mind the mind thinks of this and that and the other things and if you can focus it things about this only this only this only then the mind becomes absorbed in one with one thought and from there to note yogas chitta vritti nirodh aha' sister it's a way of technique of quietening the mind into the deepest level of quietness why would you want to do that of course it sounds nice and is very very peaceful very very peaceful you can't have more peace than that in this world but there's a purpose behind it because the second sutra says tada there's two Swaroop a our sternum then the witness consciousness is appreciated in its real nature second third sutra be yoga sutras so witness consciousness is appreciated in its real nature in Samadhi in the deepest yogic meditation what about other times when I'm thinking when I'm not meditating fourth Sutra drip teas are opium eater at at other times the witness consciousness is mixed up with the movements of the mind anger I am angry you don't say and the witness consciousness of anger in the mind no you yell and scream and I am angry immediately witness consciousness obscured by identified by mixed up with the movements of the mind that is the purpose of the whole scheme of yogic meditation how is this different from Advaitic meditation it's different there is a subtle difference in Advaitic meditation the aim is not to suppress or quieten or you know reduce the mind to no thought or rather it is to appreciate the truth about yourself I am Brahmin hum Brahma ask me and stay there there is a poetic meditation you learn Vedanta philosophy adulting meditation comes at the end of study hearing these truths thinking it through arguing it through clearing all your doubts getting the conviction getting the clarity after you're convinced and clear there is clarity you understand what they don't assess you know that there is something called Brahman and you understand it and you review you have we are more or less ready ready with this clarity I am Brahman not the body in mind I am the ground of this universe searched on under now is the time for vedantic meditation to stabilize yourself in that otherwise habits of mind accumulated throughout a lifetime of wrong thinking and lifetimes of long thinking they'll keep sweeping you back into you know you are Brahman you keep acting as mr. X or missus why you keep reacting to the world with pleasure or pain when you know it's suffering or the desire for hankering for enjoyment and the fear of suffering all these natural reactions are still there they have to be erased by stabilizing yourself that stabilization look at the word used for an enlightened person in the Gita state approach one of stabilized wisdom not a person who has realized Brahman not a person who gets a flash oh I know I'm Brahman not yet take it easy settle down there and meditate upon what you have what you have not what you have read what you are convinced about what you're clear about stay with it that staying with it is vedantic meditation let me give you differences Shankar Acharya in his upper auction of Ooty he gives 15 techniques of meditation 15 steps of vedantic meditation and mischievously playfully he uses the terms of yogic meditation asana they're all borrowed completely plagiarized from Patanjali without the slightest you know hint of shame or any kind of acknowledgement they are borrowed from Patanjali no he acknowledges actually towards the end of the book the the terms are deliberately baroque borrowed from yogic meditation and then subverted I'll show you how he says pranayama you know what is pranayama in your in Patanjali meditation eight eight limbs of yoga not steps limbs of yoga eight parts of yoga what are they parts yama niyama asana pranayama pratyahara dharana dhyana samadhi what do they mean Yamini amar the moral prerequisites discipline basically a clean life clear up your life third asana sitting you learn it in me Yoga schools different ways of sitting you have to learn how to sit yes there's a lot to learn about sitting so sitting and then breathing so now to learn about breathing I've been doing it since yes there's a lot to learn about breathing one of the first yoga teachers who came here I think BK is anger he writes in his book lights on yoga yeah he writes writes there when he started school in USA for the first time the Western people started coming to him he said I was surprised to see the people are barely breathing they're so tight barely breathing no matter all no no no wonder all kinds of diseases and afflictions and physical and psychosomatic they all come on you if you don't do the basic function of your life which is breathing afterwards comes eating and sleep and exercise and all of that breathing they are hardly breathing so breathing that's the third step third limb but pranayama no fourth fourth one pranayama fifth one is pretty hard now you're ready to enter into meditation if to withdraw stop seeing stop hearing stop checking that thing on the phone that the infernal device switch it off no really don't even keep it on switch it off if you keep it on a part of your mind will be there and it announces its presence by buzzes and dings and dings and huh so switch it off practice our we draw we draw our senses continuously flow outside we draw from the outside to the inside called pat kiyohara I remember I was giving a top once this was in London in a seminar and the the president was presiding over the of this session she was Indian lady very erudite she's a retired diplomat she was India's ambassador to Spain which she is heading these cultural events so she was there I said the Upanishad says piranha Connie veteran at swim boot a smart piranha Shetty Nanta Rodman open assured says our senses are turned outwards we continuously seedings outside hear things and smell and touch and taste and so we are aware of the external world we are not aware of the self within so we are continuously seeing out there and she stood up and said the Swami just said that we are continuously looking out words out there if it were only so that wouldn't be so bad at all we are all looking at our screens not even looking out there she said if you looked at the knee at nature and the world and at people that would be so nice I mean I saw this little picture where it shows a group of teenagers they're all hanging out together American or European hanging out together out sitting on the ground somewhere and all of them are looking at their own mobile phones they are sitting next to each one of them looking at each other talking teacher there they all say they're happy to be together but they don't interact they are interacting with the phones but they ihara withdraw withdraw then dhaarana focus focus unbroken focus Dhyana meditation and that meditation deepens into Samadhi the highest absorption that all that's also savikalpa samadhi some plug Goethe Samadhi Samadhi with an object and then that will go away no more thought in the mind a sombre encounter Samadhi so that's yoga Patanjali yoga what does Shankar Acharya have to say about it I'll give you one example and stop we have run out of time this clearly distinguishes between yogic meditation and advaithic meditation he talks about he uses the term pranayama pranayama breathing what is breathing breathing in Baraka Cumnock holding the breath then breathing out Rache akka then breathing in then you hold the breath outside Maya come baka then breathing in are again rapport occur from the other nostril then hold the breath then release it through this prospect what does that do breathing constant light so that's pranayama right yoga pranayama what does Shankar Acharya say what is Vedantic meditation he says Vedantic meditation is breathing out it starts with breathing out breathing out the world is an appearance there is no real world out there apart from me Brahman nothing out there it's all in my consciousness world is an appearance jagat mithya that's breathing out breathing in a humdrum asked me I am sat-chit-ananda I am Brahman hold the breath stay there arm promise me breathing out the world is an appearance breathing in Brahman alone is real stay there I am Brahman this is he says this is vedantic meditation calls it the higher higher pranayama this is vedantic Brownell this is vedantic breathing and it actually happens Swami Chidananda who was there in Sacramento some of the seniors might have seen him Swami Chidananda he told this story one day he saw Swami sue Bowden and the who was a disciple of sri ramakrishna sitting in Belliard mut near Swami Vivekananda's room long after scientific hundred passed away he would sit there and read so one day he's sitting there in reading and he's looking up and laughing if you look up from that place you would see the Ganges and Calcutta on the other side so he's looking up and laughing and reading and looking up and laughing so ami shut down and they couldn't restrain his curiosity any more he went and asked Swami Sivananda Swami what are you reading and why what are you looking at and why are you laughing and so I'm super Dan and I said you know I'm reading here it's a Veyron Tabuk basically this book says Brahman alone is real the world is false when I look up when I read Brahman is real and I look up and I see everything is Sri Ramakrishna in the river and the city and the skies and everything is Sri Ramakrishna Brahman basically it means everything is Brahman and I read again the world is an appearance the world is Fox and I look up and I see everything he says chai tippet mountains of ashes it's nothing nothing nothing the two ways of looking at the world name and Farm and function that's what is important to us in the world that's nothing from the point of view of Parliament from the point of view of an enlightened person and the reality beneath Brahman which is hidden from our sight that's revealed to them so breathing in I am Brahman the reality breathing out everything else is an appearance breathing in Brahman alone is real holding the breath stay there I am Brahman breathing out the world is an appearance that is vedantic pranayama compared to yogic prana what is yoga pranayama and then Shankar Acharya mischievously adds a little twist in the tail he says so this is the real pranayama this is Vedanta pranayama vedantic breathing and the other one he says he uses the word the other one is torturing the nose it's mere torture of the nose one caution here if you read those 15 things which is explained they are wonderful - very profound you mind immediately quietens down just by reading it let alone doing it but it's not meant as a critique of of Patanjali yoga because Shankar Acharya himself at the end say that day Patanjali yoga the yogic meditation the yogic techniques are very good as preliminaries if you just try straight away start drop all practices you don't know how to say it you don't know how to breathe your mind is scattered in 100 different directions and you say world is fall Brahman is real very soon it will become the Brahman is false world is real it will not work it sounds nice on paper it will not work unless the mind and body are disciplined and that discipline comes through Patanjali yoga okay can we take one more question from the audience and let some let me know when the they are ready with the food downstairs yes there's a question please come yeah oh the two of to yours question - yes please come where question yes please come here okay Pat please speak into the microphone because and then people around the world care for the people around the world will you hear you if you speak into the microphone I have a question on this very point you'll be glad to know I started out in Zen and Jan yes so comparing trying to practice this the two different forms of meditation how on earth in Vedanta meditation do you make your mind one-pointed if you are thinking about the golden light in your heart you're thinking about the gold etcetera etcetera it seems much harder and there's one conclude from that the one pointed mine is not okay the question is how does one make the mind one pointed because to make the mind one point it seems to be the purpose in Patanjali yoga right and Zen different schools of Zen they emphasize long hours of sitting in meditation yes yes we did do some of that today now how do you make the mind one four is the my important if it is important to have the one point in mind in Advaita Vedanta and how do you make it one point it first of all is it important yes concentration is important for anything in life want to make money you need concentration you want to be an artist and you want to play music you need concentration enormous amounts of it not just focus of the mind focus of your entire life on that one thing otherwise you can't excel at anything so concentration one pointedness of mind is essential something that is very much lacking and growing worse in today's digital world most of you are not of that generation which is most afflicted but if you are teacher and educators and parents you know what what I'm talking about you know Daniel Goldman he wrote this book his Daniel Goldman is known for his work on emotional intelligence that's how he became well-known famous but his latest work is on concentrations called focus the book is called focus so concentration of mine is very important and it's very important in advaitha vedanta also without concentration of mine Vedanta will not work so what follows you'll be glad to know Advaita Vedanta recognizes the importance of concept one pointed mine and says wait for it you have to come to Vedanta with a one pointed mind already got a one pointed mind we are not going to bother about that you have got exceptionally high levels of concentration you have got peace of mind you have got folks focus then only I'm going to open the door to you who says if you look at any way than the textbook it starts with four preliminary qualifications and they insist on that Viveca a kind of intuitive differentiation between the eternal and the non eternal Varig you a dispassion an active disregard for the non eternal and a quest for eternal third six for discipline and a six for discipline the first one is is quiet mind second one is quite senses third one is spiritual fortitude not being shaken by the troubles of the world in your pursuit of Vedanta the fourth one is one-pointed mind some hard on a mind which settles deeply into vedanta swami trigger not eat Ananda disciple of sri ramakrishna talk about one pointed mind they all had it trigger not eat Ananda how he is studying the Atlanta a textbook he gets up and opens the book as soon as there's enough light in the morning to start reading the book he reads forgets food forgets bathing forgets this forgets that gets up from his seat only when it is dark and he can't read the book anymore the whole day has gone fast and he lights a lamp and reached the book again goes on that's one pointedness he's forgotten the world swami vivekanand the meditating in Kashipur and his whole face becomes covered with mosquitoes you think how's that possible I invite you to Calcutta and I shall do I shall demonstrate it that's why you need a mosquito net his face is covered with mosquitoes he is in deep meditation he does not feel it he'll feel it when it comes out of meditation where he will feel it definitely but he does not feel it when he's in meditation that's one pointedness of mine he said so I'm Vivek and I said the only way to knowledge his concentration of mind he said the difference between an ordinary person and an extraordinary person lies in the degree of concentration difference in concentration so what follows is Patanjali yoga you useful absolutely absolutely Patanjali yoga that's why we have japa we have meditation doing your work with attention all of that making a habit of paying attention throughout our life and then you pay attention in meditation and then you pay attention in Vedanta so Vedanta assumes it does not train you to have a concentrated mind it assumes you have a pretty high level of concentration speak speak into that now please speaking into the microphone into the microphone microphone oh I've been told to think the light in your heart but I don't really see how become one pointed that way that's the problem for me it think of the light I see it light a little tree etc that's different from holding on to a co on you know we never let it go thinking about a light in your heart or form in your heart a symbol in your heart these are all forms of yoga of opus onna not yet Vedanta alright what Vedanta would say is let me give you a difference between this and a pedantic approach in the directory of a baker you have any sort that comes to your mind anytime you say Swami nothing comes to mind okay nothing the technique here is one you who or what is aware of that thought or the absence of thought so thought comes two plus two is four if that thought ever comes two plus two is four what is iron the consciousness in which it is 2+2 4 comes follow this carefully she said it's hard and the mind easily runs off follow this carefully what do you mean by the mind running up something else comes right now in Patanjali yoga you would be expected to pull your mind back from that something else to your objective to the light in your heart or whatever in vedantic meditation you're not expected to pull your mind back from that something else comes X Y or Z all you need to do is so this X Y or Z I'm aware because of my consciousness all other thought comes the food is ready which it is and what we lanta says is this thought itself is coming in my own awareness everywhere every thought that rises let it go let the mind go anywhere let it run the New York Marathon let it run everywhere wherever it runs every thought is arising in awareness is it not where else is it rising it's much easier I would say if you think that it's harder then what is easier it's easier to hold on to a Quan then hold onto a Quan holding on to a Quan is also a kind of yogic practice it's focusing on one thing even there the mind will wander away from the corn and you have to bring it back to the Quan it's after long practice it becomes very natural to hold on to the Quan the Quan is in Japanese say same it's the same thing with potentially meditation mine goes away bring it back goes away again bring it back it stays there stays there good that's meditation Vedantic meditation is mind goes away where does it go mind going away means that thought comes in the mind where does this outcome are you aware of the thought yes then you are awareness that's all they don't wants to see another thought comes good you are awareness no thought comes that no thought is also experienced in awareness you are awareness drink the Chevy Vega look at the way did look at the technique did they give gamma Cheeta Cheeta God Risha that's Akshay to energy eternam what is the practice whatever comes to mind drishya means an object of vision what is what is experienced whatever comes to mind look at they're talking about vedantic meditation what what what comes to my desired Karma anger irritation peace love whatever comes to mind how what can be easier than this let the mind do whatever it does just note that consciousness is witness to these thoughts don't be a witness many people do miss it's a very subtle point you are already a witness to the thought just not the fact it's it's effortless if you're making an effort you're not doing way better than think meditation tell me how much effort does it take to know that you are pat I've been trying to forget that I am Pat so it's it so it's not at all easy to forget that you're Pat right it takes no effort to know that you're Pat exactly in the same way if you understand Vedanta it takes no effort to know that your consciousness when are you consciousness when are you not consciousness what reminds you that your consciousness everything reminds you that your consciousness see there are so many objects here there's a Christmas tree and there are flowers there are the pictures of Ramakrishna Sharada Devi and Swami Vivekananda that is altered and there is the the the rugs are there and the Swami is there so many things one two three four five six seven eight nine but they're all revealed to you in one light that light which is shining on this you are seeing the tree in that light till the tree has its own light - and you're seeing the pictures in that light you're seeing the altar in that light you are seeing this flower in that light what you are seeing when you see this flower you are seeing flower plus light without what's being reflected from this light what enters into your eyes light the flower doesn't enter into your eyes it's light alone same light reflected in all of these things it shows you these things in the same way you are that awareness in which the mind is thinking of a Kuan is trying to think of a golden light is unable to think of a golden light it mind is scattered here and there mind thinks it's pat and immediately struggles to forget that it's fat all of that is happening in you the awareness what could be easier all right the good question will end with that and proceed on to more from spiritual food to mundane food but that's that food is also Brahman chanté chanté chanté he hurry he own that sat sri ramakrishna Capernaum us to a very happy new year to all of you we had a wonderful year together here in New York Vedanta society over this last year and we look forward to further riches in the year year to comes further spiritual riches exploring Vedanta together moving towards enlightenment together in the year to come