Video 4

Jnana Yoga: The Path of Knowledge | Swami Sarvapriyananda

[Music] Oh leaders from the unreal to the real leaders from darkness unto light lead us from death to immortality Oh peace peace peace the path of Advaita Vedanta which is what I'm calling Ghani yoga and for this purpose of this seminar or this workshop no retreat what am I saying seven hour workshop on getting used to the academic language it's a retreat Advaita Vedanta it drops some bombshells that we require these four yoga's to become free of bondage Advaita Vedanta says no you are already free of bondage you don't have to become one with God you are one with God what is the purpose of these four yoga's what is the purpose of spiritual life then the purpose is to correct the error that you are not free that you are not already Brahman that Brahman alone is real the world is an appearance and you are none other than Raman brahma satyam jagat mithya Jeeva Brahm Haven Opera this is already a fact right now as much true for you or I as it is true for Salama Krishna or masha'Allah Swami Vivekanand all the enlightened people absolutely true right now the only difference is we don't think it's true we feel no no no no it may be true ultimately but right now I am this person and I have to do a lot of things for yoga's I have to do for 40 years and then only I'll be somewhere near that no you are already that right now you always wear our whole problem is this error thinking feeling that it is not so this error has to be corrected if you have this error if we honestly feel to ourselves that no I cannot honestly say with conviction that I am Bramha namely absolute I am free of suffering in that case that's an error and that has to be corrected and that correction of error how will it happen where does error come from any kind of error comes from ignorance the snake is seen as a the rope is seen as a snake why it's an error why because the rope is not known as a rope the truth is not known because of our ignorance of the truth that it's a rope we tend to see it as a snake and the solution is always go to the root of the problem the root of the error is ignorant and ignorance is removed by knowledge all we require is the knowledge of our real nature and that is communicated through Vedanta the our real nature is already there so I like that mullah Nasruddin story where you know Mawlana served in there were many many nice stories he is he's a trader he used to go to a neighboring country trading with his Caravan and he would cross the border the border guards the the chief of the border guards always felt that mullah Nasruddin was a smuggler so he kept on checking him double check you know please step out of the line special checking TSA it's a double check this fellow looks suspicious so I get some special checking sometimes because of this lesson sir it is interesting they I think they also they can't be and we cannot fault them because I think they have a quota how many special how much effort they have made so they have to select somehow and he look strange enough so the the once I came in from I think it was from England to New York I entered they said please come to this room special room I saw all right the special checking and the room everybody was either wearing a burka or they looked like some you know gangster that tattoos and things like that I heard why would you dress like that to come here he definitely going to get checked and the most interesting thing was the person sitting next to me also for special checking he was an Arab with a long white dress up to the ankles and just like that Arabs will in fact almost like a cartoon you will see in caricature of a terrorist if you see in a Hollywood movie like that he has a backpack which is not letting go and he has a long beard and a covering and and he's muttering in Arabic now obviously are going to get pulled aside for special checking if you behave you behave like that and in the middle of that I was there so this Belarus mr. Dean was always pulled aside for special checking but they could never find out what he was smuggling every time many years later the chief of the border guard he had retired one day he met mullah Nasruddin you know like a crack up of tea in India we called haba like a roadside teas tea stall he met him there and he said hey do you remember me I was in those days I was this guard I was there and used to come with all all your goods loaded on the donkey and then we would check and know your smuggling but everything was legal I mean I could not find anything which you are smuggling so and now I have retired you don't have anybody tell me what is it you're smuggling Malone a sentence it's very simple read on key so it's right under our nose and we don't see it because of a preconception sri ramakrishna told the story of the Dimond the washer man who found the diamond and the washer man in India he takes the clothes and he beats it on I mean he scrubs it and all done though on the bank of the river and cleans it and gives it back to you so the diamond he didn't know what a diamond was he thought it's a nice strange stone but nice to scrub the clothes so he would scrub the clothes with that diamond and after some time he got a doubt that something is strange about this stone this rock let me show it to my friend the vegetable seller who is more knowledgeable than me then he goes and tells the vegetable seller you look at this is this anything valuable the vegetable seller says I think so I will give you brinjals a bag full of brinjals for it know that that is quite a lot for the poor washer man he says let me hold on to it let me ask somebody else who know and finally goes to more and more educated people finally he goes to a diamond merchant who says wow this is the best diamond that I've ever seen the largest the best time and I will give you 10 million rupees for it and so all the wants of the washer man poor washerman all he wants for all the poverty was removed though he had it all the time he didn't know its value that it could solve all his problems he had it not only he had it he was using it but for scrubbing clothes we have it that which can remove every want of ours right now right here it can do that but we don't recognize it for what it is we are using it what are we using it for we are using it right now here you're using it you are using it for seeing hearing smelling tasting touching you are using it for thinking loving hating desiring enquiring you are using it for being happy you are using it for being unhappy that thing that inner awareness which we all have we all feel it but we don't know what it is we're on to just introduces us to it what does we're on to do if everything is perfect and why do we need Vedanta Atlantis's correct if you feel everything is perfect in your life then you don't need me all our problems are due to ignorance and the solution is knowledge it sounds like a we say we have heard it so many times we don't you don't see what a tremendous assertion that is if our problems are due to Norns there are really no problems if solution is due to her knowledge and that solution is already there with you in Veda in Hindi they say what does Vedanta do practice your profit property in every test University where Dante gives you what you already have and it removes what was never there samsara which does not exist is removed that absolute nature which you are that Brahman sat-chit-ananda that perfection which religion spirituality promises you already are that we are anta gives it to you gives it to you means within quotes introduces look here it is and we when we become enlightened we say oh I always was that my god I never thought of it she the four yoga's in the context of the four yoga's bhakti says your lack of devotion is the problem yoga says your lack of your restlessness of mind is the problem hence meditate but this is lack of devotion is the problem hence have faith but Vedanta says no no it's not a question of faith it's not even a question of meditation or not meditating it's a question of knowing or not knowing realizing or not realizing so in Vedanta the spiritual journey is from ignorance to knowledge I often say it's not a journey in space you don't have to go somewhere heaven a holy place Brindavan Vaikunta kailasha heaven no you don't have to wait that after death after the next people ask ceramic krishna was in our torah that's not so interesting but he said he will come again didn't he say that very much interested what will happen this time he came what has happened to you nothing next time he comes second predict nothing will happen to him not after the coming of the Messiah or the next incarnation no see yes yes that's all right but after Samadhi right no what's all that Samadhi will reveal to you is what you already have all right after enlightenment brahmayanamaha drei the promises after an Enlightenment then after enlightenment it's not that you will become romerito you will see that you always wear Brahmin this is the bombshell which it drops another thing it bombshell it drops is that the method is knowledge the method in bhakti is emotion it uses the heart our passions our desires and channels them God word the method in yoga is the mind it concentrates the mind focuses the method in Viana is understanding the Faculty of understanding I am NOT saying knowledge people keep saying knowledge but people are misunderstand the moment you say knowledge it means maybe reading a lot of books knowing many things not in that sense Gianna yoga I sometimes like to use the term insight yoga it's just one thing that you have to know more than know it's one insight that we need that's all just one breakthrough one insight and then it's done so what is that and this is also the one yoga the third bombshell is used what was the first one the first one is you are already that what was the second one you just need insight knowledge knowledge is the way it's a very big thing to say because all we have been programmed to do things therefore in bhakti it's not difficult to understand to believe and worship fine yoga not difficult to understand we have to do this kind of meditation fine karma yoga I understand I have to do unselfish work Gyana yoga after even when we say yes it the method is knowledge I understand understand but after listening to a class for a few months few years else come and say now what do we do C word do I want something to do I remember I used to attend the classes of a sow's in the Himalayas and Haridwar very great teacher of Vedanta in his lifetime itself is regarded as a Jeevan Muktha enlightened person a young monk comes to him in front of news I saw young man was become a monk comes to him and asks so I have taken sannyasa now I become a monk in a Vedantic monk now what do I do this Swami chuckled and he said in Hindi huh Mohito Calcutta gab what will you do now what will you do now some of you know Swami appropriate energy he's the vice-chancellor of our University when he became a monk he told us the story so when you become a sannyasi you're given by the guru d maha vaakya a humdrum asked me I am Brahmin now before that we have been given other practices for example when you get mantra diksha you are given a mantra to repeat when we get bromwich area deeksha there's another Gayatri mantra to repeat and there other practices are there so once you become a sannyasi certain things are given to you including this maha vaakya maha vaakya is the identity statement ah hum room has me doc - ah mercy bragging Umbra ma I am Atma Brahma this way or they all mean the same thing this very self is the absolute that thou art I am Brahman or consciousness is this awareness I feel inside just now this scrubbing stone is the diamond stone is the diamond right now I am Atmaram this very self is Brahman this very awareness is Brahman absolute but how we think how so when they became monks he said you get a chance after taking the vows of monasticism becoming the newly minted monk so first year ten years Ramachari a novice then you become a monk one and the next day it's all changed for you now you are wearing this dress and you don't have the sacred tuft of hair anymore this is clean-shaven and now you are Swami so-and-so not Brahma cherry so and so and this and just in case you're feeling too grand senior Swami will tell you all that has happened is you have gone from being the senior-most Brahma cherry to the junior most Swami anyway one thing is you get you get a chance to ask a question to the president of the order who is only one authorized to give you the vowels of sannyasa so they all went in their time when they became monks Atma PNG and his cohort here there was a cohort and the question they asked was this maha vaakya I am Brahman hum Brahma asked me so how many times are we to repeat it mantra you see the whole that same psychologist there repeating the mantra how many times are we to realize it and Swami Gambian and the G was the president of the order he was a man of few words in in Sanskrit Gambino means profound and serious and whatever it means it means distinctly non humorous mm-hm a person to be taken lightly so he was sitting his president if ordered he would sit with his eyes closed and so on the artophorion just showed this he said eyes closed and they came and said Swami we had this question ah hum Rahm has me I am Brahmin how many times are we to repeat it he said it is not for repetition it is for realization any other question no you may go same thing it is a realization that Swami said you know Tara can't Mohito Caracara what will you do now yes you're right what will you do now the very idea this question that I had to do something now shows that I am not understood yet no no I have understood what you said but now what do I do you have not understood you have not understood another great teacher of Vedanta was there in our training center again the stories from our country on ji his name was McKeon on the G and I've seen him in his old age he was a great way Lampton non duelist he had a little beard and which is rare for monks of our order very usually clean-shaven little beard and long hair and he always used to feel hot so he had a little bamboo fan and his way of blessing I also hear monks bless if you if you bow down is way of blessing was to tap you on the head with the fan I've been tapped many times in his way of introducing this concept of knowledge versus doing something he would come to the class like this all them novices would sitting and he would come he had a high-pitched voice he would say the grass is green and all the young novices would look at each other confused yes the grass is green no we don't get it what do you mean grass is green get me a glass of water immediately one of them should ah yes that I can do fool sit down here is the difference between the advaithic approach and every other approach get me a glass of water is a commandment to action all this is a very simplified way of putting a lot of things with Shankar Acharya has said distinguishing the guy onaconda from the karma kanda the vedas have a ritualistic portion and a knowledge portion a ritualistic portion is full of do's and don'ts and they may be difficult to practice but you know what you're supposed to do it's very clear the Upanishad portion the whole point is to inform us and point out something so that we get an insight into our real nature it is to tell us the value of the diamond it is to point out the donkey which you are missing all the time so grass is green is like that it's a factual statement that thou art Hamra mum has me it's a statement like that grass is green may not be of useful statement to you but ahum brahmasmi is a most useful statement to us why is it useful because if you understand it if you grasp it all your problems are solved but all problems of course remember what did the Buddha say second arrow but it's solved immediately that's the other bombshell which Advaita Vedanta drops another one that what a do it is trying to tell us is instantaneous right now and even better it is effortless as you can see many smiles coming it's aho all the others seem so much hard work but the Yoga Karma Yoga Yoga and it takes so much time but jnana yoga what Advaita Vedanta says is instantaneous right here right now effortless also it may take a lot of time and a lot of effort to come to that instant that is the hair that is there that's the fine print often you find there's a whole popular movement of neo-advaita the direct method teaches very popular in USA and in some other parts of the world Western world now who say these things what I've said just now and they they even go further which I will not say they say that the other yoga's are not necessary what is the need for all of that you are Brahmin but does Brahmin need to meditate no don't meditate does remember whom will you be devoted to you are Brahmin there's no other God to be devoted to so no bhakti and karma yoga doing good to the world the world is an appearance it's false it's an illusion what what good will you do will you start organizations to help people and feed the poor in your dreams once you know it's a dream no you won't none of them are necessary you realize your Brahman finished but you'll notice one thing a couple of things about that one is in most cases the teachers I'm not saying that they're false or they're wrong some of them do I feel have a deep insight they are made a breakthrough but the problem is you will notice those teachers they have spent many many years searching themselves they've put in ten died in each case 10 20 30 years or even if it was some some of them spontaneously aware they can quite a lot of struggle at that time so that is their the second thing you will notice is those whom they are teaching this to not many seem to be benefited neither will you see the people surrounding to suddenly feel I got it I got it after some time again why why even in the few cases where the message they're transmitting is correct genuine powerful direct very good unless the preparation is there it will not be received transmitter is working well receiver is not working so switch on the receiver and tune it it requires karma yoga bhakti yoga raja yoga even for this direct path the other yoga's are preparatory and necessary this was well understood in India for thousands of years otherwise they wouldn't have said one great teacher of advaitha in Uttarakhand talking about bhakti one of the greatest teachers I've never met him I've read but unfortunately those books are in Hindi so it's not accessible to the English reading public little bit that is available so they are being asked what is the role of bhakti and Yana is it necessary for each other he said for those who are on the path of bhakti Yana is not necessary not necessarily means whatever is necessary God will give you have you hold on to the path of bhakti sincerely whatever is necessary will come to you you need not worry separately about going to Vedanta retreat you practice your bhakti but he said for those on the path of jnana bhakti civil is a must or if Mukti is very useful do you know why because our real problem at the beginning of spiritual life and for a long time are the impurities of our mind are the problems in samskaras in our mind and knowledge the teachings which we get from Vedanta they at least at the beginning they work at the level of the intellect so many things we may begin to understand but we will find we are unable to do it in life we are unable to manifest them in day to day life why because the obstructions are at the level of our samskaras the heart is the problem not the intellect and bhakti works directly at the heart level see the to oversimplify I did not know these things that I am Brahman the world is an appearance we are one reality now I know these things that's one level but I want the world that's another level so that I want level still remains untouched even when the I know changes do you see where I'm coming now this leads to an imbalance where we will feel I have understood many things but I'm not able to do it in life why am I not able to do it in life Plato said famously to know the good is to be good we immediately feel no no that's wrong he is right actually but that's wrong because the problem is with us to know the good is to be good when you are a fully integrated person what you know to be good you will do it if you see the lives of saints Lama Krishna and others have what they thought to be right they did it that no problems doing it they went straight ahead and did it even the most difficult spiritual practices they did it but we have a contradiction between our heart and our head because our desires are not purified what bhakti does for the gyani yogi for a person on the path of knowledge what bhakti does for you it purifies the heart devotion to God it turns the desires which are flowing word towards the world it turns them towards God so that they are no longer obstructs obstruction to your Jana even more it invites the blessings of God on your spiritual path very powerful help there is a way of trying to walk by yourself is a ceramic Krishna said the child who tries to walk holding the hand of the father may slip and fall but if the father holds your hand then it's unlikely to slip and fall so when the father holds your hand means when you take the refuge of God so the all the yoga's are useful for Gianna so this is another bombshell that it is directly available and effortlessly so but fine-print preparations are necessary all right it is also the only one of the yoga's because it's directly available instantaneous it can be demonstrated here and now so let's see we have half an hour for enlightenment no no more than that we have one hour one full hour for enlightenment very good ash tava crab one of the most radical texts of Advaita Vedanta there are many many texts one of the most radical texts of Advaita Vedanta Java in the very first chapter he says yadi day humph Rita crystal GT Vishram Miyata stasi arjuna vasuki shantou bon Homme october vicious e if you can see yourself as not the body and rest in pure awareness other neighbors right now tsuki perfectly happy chanta peaceful beyond all suffering bandha Mokpo free of bondage mauritius you will be right now you will be enlightened attain to bliss transcend suffering be free of bondage moksha you will get moksha when now how if you can see yourself as not the body but as consciousness and rest in that yadi if if and that if is a big point if basically means spiritual life that we have already discussed the difference between ordinary religion prevalently dharma and never exceed herma in karma yoga we talked so I want enlightenment so that is the if if you want that day um protect it there and so let us see can we demonstrate it right now see here it is the method of let's take up I'll quickly talk about three methods by which we can have this insight which I talked about this one insight three methods the trig ratio we make a method it's my favorite you are often used to talk about that remember these none of these three methods are actually going to give you advaitha there is it's only the first step to advaitha there is one more step to be taken so you always remember not the waiter not two there are two steps I've given a talk I've given a talk two steps to not to hmm the first step is not at the way the first step you will see as we do it you will see some of you will feel this is just what we talked about in Sankhya the first step is entirely borrowed from Sankhya but the second step takes you to other and you cannot take the second step directly the first step has to be taken two steps to not do so trig drishya Vivek I talked about that one with rock and Sado I remember he said in Hindi I'll tell you the translation is you're both dressed Arusha Carter at NIH gotcha Vedanta these people these who keep talking about Greek drishya seer and the seen these are unripe in matured Nandu lists why he has a point because he says that's only the first step it's not non-duality but still we must take the first step and then only how does it work it works like this in four stages from though it starts with a very simple and deeper and deeper and deeper from the physical to the subtle to the causal it goes like that so let's see we start with the easiest rupam drishyam Luciana metric it says the seer and the seen are separate the seer and the seen are always separate you are seeing the simple act of seeing physically seeing and what you are seeing this book literally your eyes and the book are different your eyes can see the book only because the book is separate from your eyes your eyes at the seer and the book is the scene and remember we always identify ourselves with this year in any situation when you're seeing hearing smelling tasting touching your experiences I am the one who is seeing and this is seen these are seen I am the one who's tasting this is a taste you never feel that when you are eating the food the food is tasting me I am tasting the food so I am always on the side of the experiencer the subject and the everything else is an object to me so they're seeing the eyes are the seer and the forms are seen and the forms are different from the eyes true the forms are different from the eyes if the forms were not different you could not see them in fact the limit of the eyes but what dry eyes cannot see her eyes themselves you see the eyes cannot see themselves you don't seem convinced say what about a mirror Swami you are seeing a reflection of the eyes in the mirror the way the eyes are seeing the mirror themselves that way the eyes are unable to see themselves you see a selfie that's a picture of your eyes no that's not the eyes seeing the eyes directly so the eyes can only see something separated at a distance from them separated now consider the eyes themselves my eyes are open my eyes are closed I could see so well earlier now I need glasses all these things about the eyes the eyes themselves become the object to whom who is the subject now the mind who is thinking all these things the mind the mind is observing the eyes why only the eyes the eyes the ears the nose the skin the tongue the entire body in fact it becomes an object to the mind the bow mind considers the body so the mind is the seer and the eyes or the entire body is the scene seer and scene are different clearly mind is different from the eyes are you with me it's actually a very simple observation mind is different from the eyes that's why your sigh your psychiatrist and your ophthalmologist are two different people because your mind is different from the eyes mind is the seer the eyes the other sense organs the entire body they are the seen it's an object and which one are you are you the body or the mind you would always say I am the mind because I always see myself as the subject not as an object if and always check with your experience that's the beauty of Vedanta all these are not theoretical constructs they may seem to be nice things to learn and sometimes you're surrounded with fancy Sanskrit vocabulary but there are always referring to your living experience right now which is not true of say yoga yoga demands practice and then you will attain those experiences but eyes are the seer and the microphone is the scene it's living experience mind is the seer and the body is something that is seen is living experience right now see it in your experience then go deeper third rupam drishyam la johnandrich the drishyam trick to monism the eyes at the scene and the mind is the seer go deeper Rashaad here it is Akshay your mind what now we know what is the mind the Rick T's thoughts feelings emotions activity of the body activity of the ego activity of the - we saw such authority those are all experienced are they not experienced happy happy feeling I am happy here's a happy song became very popular yes so you are feeling happy that's why you can sing the happy song there was also under song llama song it says happy llama what a happy llama then mama llama then then met mentally disturbed llama is a song so even the llama knows it's mentally disturbed and this dis llama is capital to two L's so the mind is also the movements of the mind they are also known thoughts feelings emotions are also known if they are known then to who is the knower the seer she are now no longer with the eyes your the experiencer of the objects in your mind the feelings thoughts emotions in the mind if they are experienced who is experiencing the minimum we can say I am experiencing my mind I am experiencing the contents of my mind if I am experiencing the contents of my mind I must be different from the mind Y cierren seen here we are getting into deep waters up to this point stage 1 stage 2 everybody accepts common sense the stage 3 is now deep waters I remember the first time I heard about this this one Vidya the hemorrhage old Swami has passed away now at that time I did not know all this dick dousche Ivvavik I had just joined the order as a new brahmacari and one day we were walking and he talks about this and he says observed the mind then beyond the mind I said beyond the mind if I think about it it's a darkness it's a blankness and what is beyond the mind if you try to think about it just my mind goes blank and he said here says that that blankness is to stutter the that blankness that which is beyond the blankness catch that you can't catch it you are it that which is beyond the blankness that which is actually the experiencer of the movements of the mind drishya here it is Akshay the Richter means the rift East authorities they are also drishya they are also seen seen of course in the sense of a first-person experience in the mind is seen by what is seeing them that which is seeing them cannot be the mind because it's it's seeing the mind seer and seen are different and one more thing we can see say about that one which is seeing the mind is that it must be consciousness because it is aware after all so that conscious witness of the mind is called Sakshi witness stage 3 and that witness it how do we know that with a very interesting so I mean I never thought of that I would like to know that sorry you can't know that 4th stage the stage 4 is this shoddy with daya Sakshi drag a vana to this jetty the seer is never seen which seer the ultimate seer is never seen when the eyes are the seer and the object is seen eyes are this year but this eyes themselves become the scene who is this year mind mind itself becomes the scene who is the seer Sakshi the witness but Sakshi never becomes seen it is the ultimate seer it is the real seer remember on which side are you see roar scene are you subject or object subject so if Sakshi is the ultimate seer Sakshi is the ultimate subject you are that's action and you never become an object you never become an object of knowledge you cannot know that don't be disappointed it's not that you cannot know it you're more than you can eat more than known some Ivica and I would say in the GaN here were lectures again he says that the self is never the object of knowledge it is it is always the knower never the known but you must not go away with the idea these are his words you must not go away with the idea that it is unknown it is more than known first it is the self which is known and then only everything else is known through that so drag Ivana to ratio means the self the witness the seer never becomes the seen it means you are never an object you are ever the subject the real you but that real you is not a body the body is an object the senses are an object the mind is an object the witness of the mind senses body is not an object that's the real you is it real is it a matter of experience take it this well let's see at what point is it not a matter of experience eyes are the seer and the book is seen yeah I am advertising the book so much eyes are the say CC the book eyes are the seer the book is seen is this real or Theory real blink the eyes close their eyes and open the eyes did you feel it blinking the eyes and opening what felt did the mind mind is the knower the eyes were blinking the mind knew that so eyes become an object mind is the subject is this theory or is it real real thoughts in the mind I am happy I am sad I understand I don't understand I remember I forget all of these thoughts do you experience them or not our own thoughts we do experience them directly then those thoughts are object I am the subject I the subject the witness of my thoughts this thing is it real or is it Theory it's real but the amount of confidence has decreased sharply now that's all right that's all right that confidence if you can honestly clearly with clarity say that it's a huge huge step forward that's just one step before enlightenment think about it think about why you are not confident in saying it if you are confident in saying it you're admitting to yourself you are not the mind you're not the body mind and body are objects that that consciousness that witness consciousness is not an object why am i calling it witness because it witnesses the mind through that it witnesses the body through the body and mind it witnesses the world why am i calling it consciousness because it gives giving you conscious first-person subjective experience without it everything would be blank notice you are open are you there you are watching the watching the world you're watching me are you there right now suppose you close your eyes now you are unable to see me anymore but are you there yes suppose you stop thinking mind goes blank but are you not experiencing the blank mind yes that means are you there yes whether you are able to see the world hear the world stay taste it touch it or not you are the witness of seeing not seeing hearing not hearing tasting not tasting doing things are not doing things all of that appears to you you are there all the movements of the senses appear to you you are there if the senses do not work you will not be able to see but you are there if the mind stops thinking then you will not be able to know anything think anything even feel anything but you are aware of the blank mind there is a certain blankness absence of activity going on that you are aware of even if thinking stops awareness goes on on the other hand suppose everything is there open your eyes now world is there this is a danger of telling people to close their eyes at 2:45 after a nice meal daanyik samadhi lag a little bit of samadhi this is a song we like this exercise it's very nice very nice exercise wait let me finish this hold on to the question but suppose the opposite suppose I say you that awareness suppose you are not their world is their bodies their eyes are open mind is functioning but suppose you that awareness that one is somehow it's not possible but somehow it's left what will happen what will happen they're gone everything is gone it for you from your experience blank everything disappears everything disappears universe disappears for you for me maybe but others that others is also disappears for you because you have no way of knowing thinking even the word others will not come oh where will their word others come consciousness is not there so this is that consciousness we are talking about yearly they hum protector if you can see yourself as separate from the body Chiti Vishram notice to see rest in your nature as pure awareness when will you rest in your nature is pure awareness the interesting thing is yogi says you do this this almost like the sanction but what is the difference the yogi says you have to shut down the movements of the mind you have to close your eyes don't see the world you have to shut down the movements of the mind and remain as awareness what we did now did you see the difference in the approach in Advaita Vedanta Advaita Vedanta says open your eyes see the world notice that what you are seeing is different from the eyes regard the eyes notice that the mind is different from the eyes regard the mind notice that the mind is different from you the witnessing consciousness world must be present eyes must be present mind must be present thinking all is going on even the intellect which is thinking these things that's also an object are you not aware of the intellect thinking these things that one which is the witness of the intellect that you are the witness of the I consciousness when Shankar Acharya says I am NOT the mind I'm not the intellect I am NOT the I that witness of the I that's what you are when Shankar Acharya sings sadhana and the Rupa her shivoham shivoham i am of the nature of shiva i am shiva what is that shiva nature and consciousness and bliss that's exactly what you are experiencing right now what all of us are experiencing right now Shankar Acharya has the has the confidence the gumption the cut spa to say that we are decline unsure of ourselves can I say that yes you can Advaita Vedanta Moulton's you to say that you must say it another way same thing another way punch a kosher vivica the five layers of the human personality same thing will come to from Ted teary open assured it says what we regard ourselves as the body mind complex you can see it as five layers five layers each subtler and inward the first one is most obvious when you say you are pure consciousness no I am NOT all right what are you this like maybe Victoria this okay this body it's made of food it changes as you grow from babyhood to childhood to teenage to youth to middle-aged to old age it changes so much yet you are the same and it's an object you are aware of it if it's an object grigory she remember you are the subject it must be different from you I am aware of this body so I cannot be this body that dr. who wrote would powerful experience this is the regressor vivica oncologist from Edinburgh he writes so much of this x-ray I'm seeing of the patient the body in this body which one am I every bit of it inside outside I can see and I know the details I've learned in medical school where am i the conscious being in any of it this is regression bodies like that another thing I am awareness and the body is something I'm aware of awareness not awareness it's not clear apply it like this you are aware that is consciousness and what you are aware of that's the object of consciousness notice simple apply like this look at this bottle look at this bottle you are looking at the bottle now you are aware of the bottle where is awareness on your side or bottle side if the bottle saying hello I see you know you are saying hello bottle I see you so awareness is on your side not on the side of the bottle that on which side the awareness is that is called chit consciousness that which you are aware of is called giada in sentient sentient in sentient they can never be the same thing and that which is in sentient and that which is sentient they can never be the same thing you are sentient this is in sentient why because you are aware of it it is not aware of you he will says but so I mean that may be true of the bottle but the person sitting next to me is aware of me and I am aware of them so the person is aware of me I'm and then I'm an object no the person sitting next to you is aware of your body is aware of your behavior is aware of your language but is he aware of you the awareness never even if you were a great yogi with telepathic powers he'll be aware of your thoughts but not aware of your awareness even thoughts are objects make sense the only place you sense awareness is yourself in your own mind there's nowhere else that you find awareness everything else is gerrae an object to your awareness because of these three reasons which were the three reasons again changing unchanging and the unchanging experience sort of a changing body changing unchanging I cannot be the body British here and seen I cannot be the body I am the seer of the body awareness and not awareness ancient in sentient I am sentient bodies in sentient I cannot be the body so I say yeah I know I'm not the body but what I meant was what are we doing remember punch the Koshiba verify five layers of the human personality what I meant was I am in the body huh this is what I meant okay you're in the body what is in the body it's somewhere in there subtle in the body does not mean physically in the body because if you physically investigate the body you will get what more body doctor will cut and see where is that ma know they'll get only the body subtler than the body inward to the bodies what you discover life-forces physiological processes what is called life prana circulation of blood digestion of food breathing all the things which make the body a living body that living body that living thing is called prana so am i prana a my life that sounds seems to be a more promising candidate subtler inward to the physical body on new entereth ma pranamaya ha the self is brown a life for the same objections arise is is the prana changing yes sometimes healthy sometimes unhealthy sometimes hungry sometimes a she ate it sometimes energetic sometimes tired the tides of brown are ever moving in and out of the body health energy vitality changing all the time changing and unchanging I the one how do I know I'm sure unchanging because I was the one who felt sick now I am the one who feels quite alright and the same one the sick one was not different and I am not the healthy one who's different once I once Swami was there the oldest Swami of our order at that time he was nearly a hundred he got a cold like that and I was in the hospital at that time so he came and he so he's of the old school so he he came and admitted himself that means he walked into the hospital and lay down on the bed then the doctors came running saw me you cannot do this it has to have to be admitted this paperwork to be done I feel sick so I am just Here I am treat me he was the oldest patient I was the youngest patient then one day he felt alright he was about to walk or did a big commotion doctors nurses they're all running to catch hold of him is I am alright I'm going now no you have to wait and they have to have emergency discharge for him because it's very difficult to hold on to him you cannot say the sick one is somebody different I'm the healthy one why I am leaving now no you are the one who felt sick you are the one who felt healthy then that means you have won you have not changed but the branagh has changed changing and changing you cannot be the same thing I cannot be prana three Grisha are you aware of the prana whole mindfulness industry depends on your answer billion dollar industry why be aware of the breathing in be aware of the breathing out if you are not aware of breathing and breathing out finished be aware of the breathing in briea aware of the breathing out mindfulness meditation depends on that but wadn't has a different take on it Vedanta says if you are aware of the breath then you are not the breath the breath is drishya you are the - stop you are the awareness of the breath breathing in your awareness which is aware of the breathing in breathing out your the wareness is aware of the breathing out that awareness is unchanged and you are the witness the awareness must be different from that which is aware of the story sure you are not the prana sentient in sentient remember to the definition you are the consciousness or the sentient and whatever is an object to you is the in sentient who is aware are you aware of the in-breath or is the in-breath aware of you you are aware of the in-breath and the out-breath therefore you are awareness awareness on your side and all in-breath and out-breath are objects chit jata sentient in sentient therefore you cannot be the breath because of these reasons prana is also not you you are not the prana yes but I am the mind yes now I've got it I am NOT the breath I am not the body but I am the mind I applied the same insights these are called pretoria methods apply the same three changing unchanging does the mind change your laughing is it no boy does it change moment to moment our to our day to day year to year of lie so many things thoughts keep coming and going likes and dislikes change memories fade away understanding comes confusion becomes clarity clarity becomes confusion again yeah from childhood ignorance to college Harvard University degree then in a lot of knowledge and then Parkinson forgotten in knowledge changing mind changes continuously knowledge changes your memories fade away desires change personality changes you are aware of all of those things so changing unchanging you cannot be the mind is the mind and object are you the seer of the mind we just did that yes and the director mind is drishya dressed and ashiya must be separate seer and scene you are the seer of the mind the mind is seen you are not the mind and most stunning of all consciousness is where on your side or on the side of the mind because we'd cinema we immediately think the mind is conscious if anything is conscious in the word Swami this is too much mind is conscious if you argue brain is not conscious I will give you that but if you now are saying mind is not conscious this is too much Swami but take a simple example always example the example I always take is take a simple example think a simple thought 2 plus 2 is 4 think it right now you are aware of the 2+2 4 on which side is awareness on your side or the 2+2 4 you are aware of 2+2 4 2 + 2 4 is not aware of you it's not saying you have not thought me for of a long time it's not saying that you are aware of it it's just like mental talk 2+2 4 just like mental talk all thoughts are like that they like mental talk they are not aware of anything they are not aware of themselves they are not aware of you but you are aware of them and you are aware of yourself so sentient in sentient you are not the thought also similarly inverts onion therethe ma vie Gianna Maya see the Upanishad is taking as bernard is taking a step by step inner inward subtler and subtler and subtler this very intellect which you are using for understanding all these things for you to use for science for do do your taxes to run a computer or a car or and do with on - all of this is being done by Woody intellect we saw in Sankhya the first manifestation from prakruti that intellect I'm either intellect that seems to be that seems to be right I am that power of understanding but apply the same logic changing or unchanging internet changing are you aware of the workings of the intellect yes introspect you'll immediately be aware and is the consciousness on the side of the intellect or on your side on your side even intellect is lit up the insights of the intellect are lit up by awareness you are consciousness intellect is something that you are conscious of I am NOT the intellect either push beyond that you'll hit a blankness that blankness am i the blankness again note are you aware of the blankness yes then the blankness is an object you are that which is aware of the blankness if you push beyond the blankness is same thing changing unchanging just a drishya and sentient intention if you apply those three rules you will see i cannot be that blankness that's that anandamaya kosha the sheath of the human personality beyond that is the real you and we wait at that point yes now he's going to tell us the real Atman I'm going to be enlightened now and open assured keeps quiet strategically at that point layers physical body I am NOT that changing unchanging object and subject with sentient in sentient good good then the prana I'm not that changing unchanging subject and object sentient in sentient all right the mind same three rules I cannot be the mind intellect I cannot be the intellect the blankness beyond the intellect remember all of these things are available for your inspection right now you look inside yourself you will find all of them then after that blankness now I'm waiting he will surely tell me openly should will surely tell me now reveal to me my real nature is consciousness and I will be enlightened and be done with the vedanta thing and get back to my life more important things to do and Upanishad keeps quiet at this point the student gets a doubt the student asks the teacher so there is no self asaram mijita vada Chet here is the crucial point you know where Buddhism Advaita Vedanta death crucial discussion takes place Brahman does not exist in Atman is the self is not there and the answer is asan Navis Ahava t-that means you would not exist if someone asks at this point that is brahman not there the new yourself would not exist but you do exist now you see what where have you have been forced whatever you thought you where you are now convinced I am NOT those things clearly I am none of them so I do not exist but you do exist all the things that you thought you wear those things are clearly you are not and if you think you are nothing that also you are not you are not a thing you are not nothing what are you I call it a no thing not nothing not a thing what is the thing body is a thing the prana is a thing a subtle thing mind is the thing intellect is the thing even the blankness beyond the interact is a thing because it is pro which is presented as an object and what is nothing and if I am NOT I don't exist at all then that's nothing but I do it this no doubt about it so I am NOT nothing I am NOT a thing this is the meaning of 1980 the first Nathan 80 means not dis the first nate is it covers every objective thing that you can present am i this am i this am i this no Nathan then am i nothing Nathan not even that how does it work it is here you must in instinctively grasp it how do you instinctively grasp it like this that story of the tenth an old story ten friends crossed a river and then this heart how they all crossed or did somebody drown then this is let's count one of them started counting one two three four five six seven eight nine oh my god one two three four five six seven eight nine oh the tenth man is drowned stir and the other said you would not get doing it right let me try they all tried they found only nine people of history they are not counting themselves and they started crying then somebody passed by and asked why are you crying my friends oh what a tragedy sir we were crossing the river and our friend the tenth person died how do you know the tenth person died because we counted they're only nine there were ten of us to start with now there are only nine that man must have counted and seen all ten so he says don't cry the tenth person is their guru comes and says book Vedanta book says you are Brahmin we don't know yet we don't see it yet you are there right now right here you are it all problem solved it's there but you don't see it so that is the stage of what is called parochial Jana indirect knowledge they say all right I believe you we believe you but where can you show us where is the tenth person then the wise man says do count again we counted no humor me count again so let's start counting one two three four five six seven eight nine and the wise man takes his hand and turns it around thou art the tenth - I must wama see ten and this man goes oh I see one two three four five six seven eight nine ten oh how wonderful and the others say let me try let me try and they are all try it and they find tenth man has been found they are so happy exactly like that try it here is the body I am NOT the body breathe in and breathe out that's the breath I am NOT the breath not as the mantra you must see why am I not the breath clearly see changing and changing it is changing I am unchanging it is an object I am the subject scene and sons I'm the seer second one and the third one is it's not sentient I am sentient I am aware of it breathing in breathing out do it actually experientially try it it's an object I am NOT clearly not the breath then this thought which is going on in the mind I am clearly not the thought same things it changes clear yes it's an object yes and aware of it it's not aware of me yes therefore I am NOT it the thoughts go deeper the understanding regulo Maya changing and changing clearly my intellect is changing my intellect is the understanding is an object and sentient awareness is on my side not on the side of the understanding go beyond it you will hit a blankness nothing just blank but you are aware of the blankness it's an object who is the one what is the one aware of these five experientially try to find always when you are disturbed go back to the most physical thing the body see touch feel this one I am NOT just like the doctor had the experience by seeing the x-ray clearly none nowhere in this I am there and I am NOT and you must be able to defend so they were saying that in the orientation whatever you must be ready to defend every word you put down so you must be ready to defend why am i not the body give three reasons three marks yes yes how do you differentiate it's a very elegant discrimination discrimination I let's use the word discernment so very elegant dessert discernment our if you are aware of it then awareness is on your side and that which you are aware is not aware awareness is not on its on its side start with an object and a book book clearly you are aware of the book all awareness is on your side not on this side book is not aware of you you might at this point say yeah that's throughout the book but if I look at you Swami I'm aware of you but you are also aware of me but again the answer is I am aware of your body I am aware of your gestures I am aware of your speech if I were a telepath I would be aware of your thoughts but I would never be aware of awareness itself so awareness never becomes an object awareness is ever the subject and whatever you are aware of is in sentient the awareness itself is sentient it's a very elegant knife you would apply it in your experience you will see clearly it will divide into two parts the pure subject and everything else yes correct do you see the question important question is it not the mind itself witnessing the mind true the mind can witness the mind it's called introspection look inside but the interesting thing is the interesting thing is when the mind is not witnessing the mind you are not actually trying to see what's in your mind at that time don't you feel flashes of happiness misery understanding memory all the time the mind is working and the inputs or the outputs of the mind are presented to you without any effort without trying to see what's in your mind that means it is being presented to consciousness it's a very delicate thing which I'm saying consciously deliberately looking at my mind that's an activity that's also mental activity but when you don't do that even then the activities of the mind are being continuously presented to you you don't have to look always you see something delightful and so are you delighted let me interrupt am i delighted or not yes there is delight yes I'm delighted no we immediately I have a smiley face oh it's so delightful that delightfulness was experienced directly without mind thinking about it what was experiencing effortlessly the delight or the lack thereof you will notice what I'm pointing towards is never an object you'll never be able to catch it why because it is the one looking whatever you can catch is a function of the mind [Music] [Music] correct it can't be not yes two things happen first of all by this process the error of identifying ourselves with some function of the body or the mind or the prana or the body that error is corrected clearly I am NOT those and the real self is not known by the body which is doing all this it just reveals itself but not as an object of the body it is I ever the subject never the object why is there lack of confidence in this because same reason why is there lack of confidence when the wise man comes and says tenth man is there if you said not the nine men there all of them would have said yes yes I counted tenth man is there they all would say if you say so sir I don't see our condition is like that clearly tenth man is there clearly optimized there and you are that but it's not an object why is there lack of confidence because all our knowing till now is objective we are habitually object seekers tell me why couldn't they find the tenth man though the tenth one was obviously present they were looking outside why we are they looking outside why correct because up to the ninth man whatever they found they found out there one two three four five six seven eight nine so by logic by previous experience the tenth man should be there but not there so the Atman is a unique thing because it's not a thing our problem is we swing between two things either it must be an objective reality or it's not there at all but there is a third thing third option between objective existence non-existence and third one is the subject our modern materialistic worldview won't know what it does it says the subject is nothing as it's a product of the object body is the object brain is the object and it produces the subject by its biochemical reactions adwaita does the opposite we are coming to that third part of it now this is the second step step two steps first step was this one witness consciousness now let us go to the second step yes you are talking about the first the first step yes known object versus subject if I yeah now whatever it is I am I if I experienced myself as unchanging and I experience the body as changing then how can I say the two are same if the body is continuously changing and I feel I was that little in that little baby's body I was in the in that teenagers body I am the middle-aged person's body the bodies have changed so much and I feel I was the one there and all of them the same subject in all of these things then how can I be the changing I the unchanging how can I be the changing it's logically impossible for unchanging and changing P to be the same thing example yeah because we don't have to apply it there because we never I never think I am the book yeah so the book changes okay let it change it's nothing to me but I think I am the body and then there's what it does is this thinking it exposes a logical flaw in our thinking I think of myself as this unchanging being and I conveniently ignore the fact that the body is a torrent of change it's a conglomeration a torrent of change all the time and yet I ignore that I think I am this but if you are asked which this that little baby a child the teenager the youth a middle aged person the senior person which this they are not the same thing at all it's one process no doubt but like a stream continuously Heraclitus said you cannot bathe in the same river twice if the body's like that change ever-changing river it's a flow which one are you that's what the logic is now the next thing is so now we have clearly made a distinction consciousness not consciousness what is changing unchanging subject-object I am the witness consciousness everything else mind body external universe all of them are object physical object universe physical object body subtle object prana subtle object mind subtle object intellect causal object anandamaya kosha the resolved state of the mind deep sleep but they are all objects now this is not non duality this is duality with a vengeance this is Sankhya do you see Purusha and practically Vivek has been done if you could confidently do that you would have attained enlightenment in the sunken sense notice how is this useful what good does it do there's a lot of good the second arrow why does it come because I think I have been hit by the first arrow then that pain comes reaction comes anger comes misery comes disappointment comes frustration comes but all of that is body mind yes hmm she's not happy with that I and mine see that being hit and the sensation which it produces is that not also an object mine is not a and is also a problem but but look at it this way why do i why do I have problems with it because if I say yes it's an object but when you cut it it burns it hurts when you cut that thing it does not hurt me it hurts here it hurts me but if you go a little deeper where is the hurt is the hurt and also not an experience that hurt is a sensation isn't it an unpleasant sensation but a sensation is as an object presented to the awareness it's also not me it's a very unpleasant sensation if I if you can actually don't try too harshly but if you try actually a little bit if you pinch and see notice as this is an object the sensation in your hand as pinching that's also clearly an object to me the consciousness now can you treat this as a physical object and that sensation of pain the pinching as another subtle object then you will see a distance a kind of gap opens up between you and the so called pain it will no longer be my pain it's a pain it's a sensation a pleasurable sensation unpleasant sensation not me not mine a sensation why would I think it's mine if I see this thing here do I think it's mine no if I see this shirt you are doing it's mine no in what sense is it mine this body is it mine yes it's it's mine why why me say huh you're inside it or is it inside you why do you think it's mine the wasabi know that I can't put it nicely did you make it no do you own them huh are you stuck with it very interesting are you stuck with it no no every night when you go to sleep you continue to exist in your dream world the body is nowhere present in your awareness tell me are you stuck with the body when you're awake means when you are connected awake and being stuck with the body is the same definition in Mundaka Upanishad what is the definition of being awake being consciousness connected with the sense organs and the physical universe that means with the body there is a very definition of being awake there is no problem if I am stuck with the shirt that's a problem but at some times I wear the shirt no problem for me it is not me sometimes you have the body it's good the way in do I when am I not stuck to the body what about your dreams you wake up and you say oh all that was false fine but did you not continue to have conscious experiences doing things hearing things enjoying suffering another body another place things happening all imagined in the mind no doubt but without any feeling of being this sleeping body that means you can continue as a conscious entity without any reference to the body you are not stuck with the body body is also not stuck to you it is called the very name of the body sharira mariota which is degenerating which is falling apart continuously that's the meaning of the body shaadiram she really means which which deteriorates or degenerates or falls apart this exact same experience we had we know that I'll come to you know in Calcutta University at McKenzie I told you about once we went he was giving a talk on man Dookie opening shot we see that in the deep sleep there is no body one physiology professor indignantly stood up in Calcutta University said what do you mean there's no body I can see the fellow line there and snoring it's how is there nobody you are seeing a third-person perspective outside the sleeping body but I am talking about the conscious being you who are who's experiencing deep sleep where is the body in deep sleep for you from third-person perspective you will immediately say deep sleep is a neurological phenomenon but what is what is behind the words neurological phenomenon until you can prove beyond doubt that our consciousness this awareness is a product of the brain and nervous system and nothing beyond that that it is associated with the brain and nervous system nobody denies nobody denies there how can you deny it take a cup of coffee you feel more alert if somebody has mental disturbance you take a pill a big become calm again that means both ways mentally mental disturbance unhappiness it damages the health of the body take chemical substances in the body it affects your mind so definitely there is a connection but is your consciousness produced by the brain is consciousness a neurological phenomenon this is the crux of the problem that's what David Chalmers points out see look at it this way in fact Advaita Vedanta completed in to two philosophers modern philosophers David Chalmers says there is no way in which you can show that the physical body living brain and nervous system produces consciousness associated with consciousness no doubt reduces consciousness how where you know there is not so they are saying there is a huge this is this is called the we please Google hard problem of consciousness this is called the hard problem of consciousness how can a physical entity like the brain which is no doubt a physical entity the last thing that scientists can find the finest thing the final thing that scientists can find the little firings in the neurons in the brain that's that's it we never been able to catch one single thought one single emotion you just think 2+2 4 that also a scientist cannot catch right now only a burst of electricity how they're two sides to it so that that's called the hard problem of consciousness which leads us to the idea that consciousness may be an independent entity which uses the brain and nervous system no doubt somehow it is connected it works through that but it's not produced by the brain so it's like if I look at you all of you you came through the door so as oh the door is very powerful it produced 75 people all people are being produced by the door they emerge from the door and they disappear back into the door the door is God it produces everything and no it's just the doorway so brain and nervous system are they the doorway for consciousness or are they the producers of consciousness if you say there are producers of consciousness that is materialism that's the end of all Vedanta Buddhism religion finished you don't need anything else after that anymore because after all what what what's the most that can happen in this living body we'll leave for a few more years it will die finished nothing more is left after that why bother and then like what's-his-name myth of sisyphus Albert Camus first sentence the only serious question in philosophy is why should I not commit suicide just now why not wait on toes answer is you cannot you cannot commit suicide you can kill the body subtle body will continue consciousness of course will continue okay that is one is a good way of completing the whole presentation one is David Chalmers if you take hard problem of consciousness means you are the consciousness and not the body not the mind somehow independent consciousness utilizes body and mind that's where Sankhya and yoga stop one more question needs to be asked then are they two separate realities consciousness and this universe and in this universe what is included body is included mind is included also even mind is included in the universe all of this and consciousness separate is this the final thing or Dwight asks a question there what is the relationship between the two are the two separate things interacting how would you claim two things are separate the logic is this it's called the unwary Cherica in sanskrit and we're with erica it means two things you can claim are separate if you can experience them separately that means these two books again I'm showing these two books are separate these two books are separate how do I know because I can show them to you separately here is one without the other read one without the green the green one here is the green one without the red one separately you can see if they can exist separately they're two independent entities mostly there you can see them on the Shelf together but all the old story of the man old man and you want to see those beautiful teeth are they really his teeth or are their dentures now every time you see this nice smile is giving the teeth are in his mouth but unless you can see them separately how will you know that day's original teeth order to separate only when you suddenly pay him a visit to his apartment and he opens the door with a toothless smile and the dentures are sitting there grinning at you uncannily from a little box then you realize there are two separate things unwary today you have to experience them separately alright here is a subtle point but a stunning point have you ever experienced a universe apart from awareness you cannot you never have even more stunning in principle logically it is impossible for all experience requires consciousness it's a trick question if I say can you experience the universe apart from consciousness in the question itself consciousness is built-in because experience requires consciousness how can there be any experience without consciousness if you cannot experience the universe apart from consciousness some consciousness somebody's consciousness in some way how are you justified in saying that there is a universe apart from consciousness you divided into two changing unchanging subject object sentient in sentient but the changing object in sentient on it there drishya gerra is it separate from the Nietzsche rasta je donna is it separate there is no proof of it being separate because it cannot be experienced apart from consciousness by in principle because any experience requires consciousness it cannot be experienced but consciousness can exist apart from everything that experiment which we just did open your eyes and see the world close your eyes you see the eyes are closed but you are still existing if we are not aware of the body you are still existing if the mind stops thinking but you are still existing but if you somehow don't exist then the rest of everything vanishes into darkness for you so there is no way that the objective universe can be there no logical way of speaking about the present the possibility of an objective universe without you the subjective consciousness therefore they are not two different things they must be in some sense be one this objective universe is not apart from you the subjective consciousness it is an appearance in you the whole universe is an appearance in you you are the subjective awareness that is called Atma Brahman titanium consciousness whatever you call it and the universe is called jagat it is not practically and purusa that's where advaitha strike strikes it's hammer blow not prakruti and purusa Purusha consciousness is the reality prakriti's the appearance theorem sister nivedita once asked Swami Vivekananda is Kali the dream of Shiva is Kali the dream of Shiva and Vivekananda laughed and he said well well we'll have it your way then he said yes that's a good way of thinking about and have it your way universe is the dream of consciousness if we come back to Vishnu on his thousand headed serpent language this physical universe is the dream of consciousness the second philosopher I wanted to mention is Galan strossen those who have studied Western philosophy have all heard of Peter Strasser he was a leading Oxford philosopher in the 1960 70s it's his son I didn't know that pressure enzyme security told means the young is in philosophy circles he is called a youngest rasul but he is in university UT texas he has written an article called the hard problem of matter not hard problem of consciousness and they are sort of tongue-in-cheek it look ugly hard problem of matter these two things you google you will get up the weight of a daunting hard problem of consciousness step one hard problem of matter step two two steps to not to what is that hard problem of matter i'll say this an end i didn't think i would come in this route but any any route it'll get you to non-duality fine he says where is the hard problem of consciousness consciousnesses are directly presented to us all the time we are aware all the time whatever in whatever context first thing is we are aware there's no other context except except our awareness but the real mystery is matter the more we are investigating matter through physics the more matter is disappearing before us from molecules to atoms to subatomic particles to the nucleus to sub-nuclear particles to quarks through now to super strings where is matter what is matter that becomes a mystery he says consciousness is a mystery because you're made it a mystery he can in stores and writes you have assumed everything matter is fundamental brain is fundamental brain must be producing consciousness you can't explain how brain is producing consciousness hence hard problem of consciousness but it's hard problem only because you have assumed brain is producing consciousness and you can't explain how but suppose brain is not producing consciousness suppose brain and body and universe are all appearances in consciousness only consciousness exists suppose he says which one is more logical the amazing thing is the second view is more logical it leaves science untouched because all your science works in the realm of the object in the 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 everything is untouched there but all of it appears to one fundamental reality called awareness that is what advaitha is saying all of this awareness is not all of this appearance is not different from awareness advaitha m-- two hands there you understand this is see they know the moment you raise the objection first sentence I know the whole question and also my scepter my question is maybe consciousness is also an apparent phenomenon that's not a true phenomena and it's just like life or yes listen carefully the question is good but the answer can take you very deep first is what is the question Massimo he's the head of philosophy in CUNY he is a biologist and a philosopher and he's fully convinced consciousness is a product a by-product of physiological activities of the living tissue especially brain and he said this this objection apparent phenomena fine right so he's saying that and he gave this example of life Elan vital and there was the old concept of prana there's a life force he said life itself was regarded as a mystery which science could not explain 100 years back but now we know the way we have studied modern biology down to molecular level we know we know the processes it's not one thing it's many processes together and it's not necessary to speak of life as a separate thing we know this group of processes together is what you were generally referring to his life we have explained it now we may not be able to replicate it we may not understand it down to the last detail but in principle the thing is understood now similarly he said this consciousness problem is also similar right now it is a bunch of processes which we don't understand too well and we are calling it a mysterious phenomenon called consciousness but soon we will be able to explain it in terms of basic processes in the brain and nervous system just like we were able to explain life so called life as a set of basic physiological processes there is no more thing called life then these physiological processes to going together there is no more thing called consciousness then certain neurological activities going on in the brain how it is so it's not clear yet he said give us 40 to 50 years it's called promissory materialism I promise you I will give any explanation okay what is our data's reaction to this I'll give you the reaction it's a very simple and elegant reaction the reaction is this you are making a category mistake notice advaita vedanta would have never ever said life is a mysterious thing which science can never understand why not why not because according to Advaita Vedanta do you see what we did pranamaya kosha I am NOT the prana also why it's an object life is also an object and you have explained what you have done when you have explained life in terms of deep biological processes you have explained an objective phenomenon in terms of component objective processes that's entirely possible but when you come to consciousness it's not an object you if you are saying that I will be able to explain consciousness which is the pure subject in terms of objective brain processes you are making a leap now you must first understand what is meant by consciousness life is in life is pran is entirely objective and if you explain prana in terms of other physical processes well and good Vedanta would be happy with it in principle there's no objection to it why Vedanta would go further and say even mind is an object you should be able to explain mental phenomenon in terms of physical processes but consciousness is not mind not prana not even brain or body it is the subject it's the tenth man so it cannot be broken down into further objective of a phenomenon in principle that's why we are standing strong here if you take the Vedantic perspective you will see that what you are the debt witness consciousness you can't explain it in terms of the objects to up to that witness you are the witness and these are objects these none of these objects can explain you the witness you know man story Swami seems illogical today for this reason at the end when they went to count the ten men they were all counted nine and someone a teacher came along and said no there's a tenth one so how did they come up with ten men to start off with and what made them assume that there were ten men in the beginning when they only counted nine so what makes us to get that with the tenth man yeah what makes us forget we have never there I know we have you're saying asking how did it all begin asking how did it all begin we answer in a great of Atlanta you see I'll give you three answers first is a practical answer given by the Buddha second one is the typical answer given by Vedanta to all these questions third one is the real answer first one is a practical answer practical answer given by the Buddha is when a man is hit by arrow and he loves people getting hit by arrows it is no use questioning of what would the arrow is made what is the cast of the man who shot the arrow and so on he has that famous stories there that it took a person who asked these questions what would use ohon and the what would you say to such a person you say oh the person is foolish he will die before he gets treatment so the the thing is to get treatment and get free of suffering these questions benefit nobody because there is no solution to these questions there is suffering so then the monk asked the Buddha then what do you teach because all other teachers are giving us answers to these things the Buddha said I teach that there is suffering and there is a cause of suffering and there's a remedy for suffering the freedom from suffering and there is a way out of suffering so practical question the practical point is this there is it's insoluble it will help it has no practical benefit this question and the answer to it second if one persists no I want an answer let it be a theoretical answer but I want an answer here is an answer there is no beginning ignorance has no beginning an RD avidya they say beginningless ignorance beginningless how aren't you just avoiding the question I am asking how do we how did it start when did it start what was the first time when it started we're saying there is no first time there is no beginning it's beginningless and you see aren't you avoiding the question no the professor Jane mohanty he gave the nice answer to this first time it it's a simple answer but ignorance is always beginningless he asked us in class do you know German and we said no so for since when when do you not know German I said since my birth so before that you knew German no ignorant of anything is beginningless but it comes to an end when you start knowing something when you start attending your first German class the ignorance begins to shift so it is beginningless it's look at it this way if you are asking Store questions about Harry Potter so when did it start we find only the story about Harry Potter's mum and dad but what who are Harry Potter's gran great father and grandfather McGraw and their grandparents and how did all this magic business start the answer is it's in the story apart from that nothing so that brings us to the third and the real answer how did it start if you are asking the answer is it did not start you're asking when did the rope become the snake the answer is the rope never became the snake it only appears like that now if you ask why does it appear like that well this question has been asked many times so don't ask when we into it that was a snake or that where there was a tenth man and we started to question and that's what causes the journey know what causes the journey is suffering if we were all perfectly contented we would not ask this question we are unhappy we suffer and we look for fulfilment and then along comes spirituality and says deep lasting fulfillment is possible but not in the way you are seeking in this world it's possible when you transcend this so then the whole spiritual solution question of the spiritual solution comes up what is your question you have been raising your hand eagerly many times earlier you had said because then given the example of eyes and in mind you said mine was a subject so I know it is an object now but I just want to know what happens when somebody dies according to advert of ADAAA where does the mind go I mean I know the soul goes Atma and Paramatma and whatever we say but I want to know what happens to the mind at that time [Music] remember death Advaita Vedanta in common with nagarjuna's majimak of philosophy some schools of Buddhism they uphold what is called two levels of truth two tiers of truth param Artic absolute and varaha Rika transactional absolute what's the absolute truth you are Brahman there is no death there there is no birthday there's no body to be born or die it's one reality it's like the difference between if you are watching a Harry Potter movie that movie and the screen in the screen there is no Harry Potter no villain no movie nothing but that's the reality but in the movie the whole plot is there now you have to understand your question which level does it refer to absolute level or relative level paramita Carvajal ik relative level your relative level when you are saying death what happens what is the advaitha view of death if you ask what is the absolute view of death from Advaita perspective no debt but the transactional level other says take your pick actually does not what are the way the does is it takes the entire song Qian point of view it takes entire Sankey and cosmology so it's happy but remember otherwise I never takes it seriously well it's not real anyway so what does it say transactionally what is acceptable to advaitha what happens at death physical body dies subtle body survives death subtle body includes what mind also Atma remains constant Atmaram on the subtle body is the one with the reflection of the Atma consciousness reflected in it which transmigrates punar janma according to the past karma of the Jeeva it goes on to other worlds then takes birth in other bodies and the circle go cycle goes on it's like asking what happened to Harry Potter in chaptered next chapter remember always this chapter next chapter they're all fiction but he has we did the fiction something will happen in the next chapter so this is the Advaita point of view that yes they are this life will happen in your past karma is there this body will die then the subtle body will transmigrate to the next body no tell me the real truth is this what you really believe in gore repatha says you want to hear what I really believe yes nany Roja nacho patty NABARD Oh nacho buchta ha na Saanich amo mucho it thr para Martha ha there is no origination of the universe no cessation of the universe there is no one in bondage nor anybody seeking liberation there is nobody practicing spiritual disciplines nor anybody liberated what do you mean this is the final truth it thr param our theta which means Brahman alone exists but it will not say that two levels - levels of truth and it's not as strange is that we are always we are continuously using two levels of truth what do you do when you watch a movie what do you do when you refer to a dream what do you do when you read a novel two levels of truth you're always in inhabiting two levels of truth or the waiter says is beyond this level of truth which you consider to be truth there's another deeper level of truth which is Brahman yes which one no I did not give the third method actually third method is going to give us no time the third method for the first step is our star a trick the Chevy Vega pan choco Chevy Vega of a star a waking dreaming deep sleep all of them will reveal that you are the pure consciousness is one way of doing it actually I must be technically correct here because if anybody investigates in depth you will find out Swami didn't say this actually when you investigate something like whether it's regressive Vivica or puncher kosher vivica or the method of the waking dreaming deep sleep they will all lead you to non duality at ultimately none of them abandon you in the first step it is non duality is built into them but how do how do you go from the first step to non duality in each of these steps you ask that question now I have divided the two subject object changing and changing consciousness and its objects now what is the relationship between me the subject and the object once you ask this relationship Sankhya will say there are no relationship they're two separate things keep them separate you are happy advaitha will say that is illogical you have never seen an object apart from the subject so the object is somehow irrevocably tied to the subject it is one with the subject where the subject is independent of the object then you have advaitha step to oneness we'll do one or two more comments 5 min we have taken already taken a lot of time so 5 more minutes yes sorry where does the framework of a production with he come framework means same framework you will notice this exact same step is done in fact Shankar Acharya is very explicit there in a production of even the text a production of a thing yes so Shankara chair is very explicit there first he spends a lot of time showing you you are not the body not the mind then he asks a question what is the use of this the separation of you from the body mind and universe this is dualism this first you must what is the use first you must discover yourself as the witness of body and mind then having discovered the witness you realize world body and mind are not separate from you how first you are given a pot at the end he says what is the secret of advaitha for steps first you are given a pot step one pot step two you are told the material cause of the pot is clay clay is the matter material out of which the pot is built step two so now you have two things you're still holding a pot but now you hear there is something else called clay in that which is the material out of which the pot is built and what is the speciality of that clay the clay was there before the pot the clay is there during the pot and after the pot breaks what breaks what will remain clay will remain pot has come from the clay lives in the clay will die in the clay clay is immortal part is mortal will die you'll be broken so the clay must be nice then where is this clay look at the pot step three as you investigate the pot you will find top bottom inside outside what is it clay and clay the clay pervades the pot through and through third you will find that clay there is that there is no no entity called the pot its clay through and through if you asked where is the pot whatever you point to will be the whatever you touch will be the clay what you weigh will be the clay that means the reality is clay not pot there's no thing called pot there's a name called pot hanging in the air there is a form called pot and there is some use called which is with the pot is put - but there is no subject called the pot apart from the clay step 3 step 4 if there is no object called the pot no product called the pot can you call the clay the cause of the pot if no effect is there how can the clay be a cause the clay alone remains beyond cause and effect and yet you're still holding a pot what is the magic the magic is you're holding a pot it has been transformed into not pot only clay how do you apply to advaitha start with the world body mind step one our experience near now you are told that there is a source of the reality of this experience step two called existence consciousness let's call it consciousness this consciousness which is the reality of everything you're told and it is immortal it does not change it does not die and is all very very a fine thing so very nice where is it you examine first step not body not mind how you do all that rig the Chevy wake and all of that you find out consciousness then you examine you see this entire world body mind none of them are apart from consciousness because they cannot be experienced without consciousness there is no proof of them being independent entities apart from consciousness what we were discussing now step three step four then there is no universe no body no mind apart from what you call consciousness body mind universe are appearances in consciousness consciousness satyam non consciousness all the other mithya appearance last four if there is no separate product can you call consciousness a producer if no is no separate created can you call consciousness a creator if there is no effect can you call consciousness up cause no consciousness alone remains beyond cause and effect titanium consciousness alone that is added white or non duality and yet right here how will it appear just like this after that enlightenment what will you see this one only and what name will you give same name remember very careful don't change language don't change behavior masters tell us this which people become enthusiastic when they read about this they will say I've got emails I Who am the consciousness in the body mind previously known as mr. Mishra I am offering my gratitude of thanks to the same consciousness in the body mind called survey P Ananda salutations Advaita says don't change the language just say I liked your class thanks Swami it means the same thing but don't change the language will you say after realising it is all clay the part that clay which appears with the name and form and function of pot there I put the water no I'm putting the water in the clay that's in the pot that's it that's it so language continues your experience of the world continues and use transaction still continues you will still drive the car watch the TV and eat the food not the other way around not drive the food and eat the TV or something like that because it's all is Brahman no transaction continues name language continues experience continues one non dual reality alone is realized in everything on that beautiful not let me get the Shanthi mantra Shantay shanti shanti he hurry he owned that sat sri ramakrishna eponymous too [Music] you