Video 15

15. Bhagavad Gita I Chapter 2 Verses 41-44 I Swami Sarvapriyananda

Oh vasilieva suitum daivam comes a charnel drummer Dunham's dave aqui para mon andum krishna monday jagadguru in the second chapter of the bhagavad-gita the subject of karma yoga has started Shri Krishna has taught Yanni yoga the nature of the self that I am the absolute existence consciousness bliss this has been taught and as a means to the realization of that absolute Karma Yoga has now been introduced we were on verse 40 we had done number verse 40 and now 41 seek shri krishna is making a case for karma yoga what is the necessity of this practice what is the practice is going to start we know in general what is going to talk about how to spiritualize our actions and how do you do that we also know that what the advice would be to connect it to God instead of thinking that the primary motive being our own selfish fulfillment of our own selfish desires I am doing this action as a worship of God this is going to be the attitude for a karma yogi so that's what he's going to teach do an action for as our ship of God if you are a devotee though it the same thing can be done as I am doing this selflessly for the welfare of others without bringing even bringing God into the equation so people might ask that if I don't believe in God so can I do karma yoga yes you can that's also possible and shri krishna talks about that also but I don't believe in God is not to my credit so if you if you have some kind of faith in God it's good you can put that to use connect it to Karma Yoga do your actions as a worship of God and the second aspect of karma yoga is that without a desire for what is called the fruits of action that means I am NOT doing it for what I'll get out of it though once I perform the actions the fruits will come the results will come of themselves but I'm not doing it primarily for that anymore earlier I was doing it primarily for that but now I'm doing it primarily as a spiritual practice and of course results will come yes in fact in Vedanta which is almost nothing new so the roots of everything that is taught down to the to the present age the seed of that the roots of that they all run back to the Vedas to the Upanishads you can trace it back but definitely sri krishna's teaching of karma yoga and the bhagavad-gita was a turning point it was a major contribution so the contribution is where he emphasized it and the methodology and the way he taught it and what great importance he gave to it so that way sri sri krishna's genuine contribution new approach is there shri krishna was the great teacher of karma thousands of years ago and in this age it swami vivekananda who again is realized that how do you spiritual eyes your your daily life yes yes yes yes yes if you notice that exactly what I have said karmayoga as as a means to it means to what did I mention the structure of southerner ones here last time that the matrix yes this is what he's referring to so you can read if you keep the matrix in mind you can understand these comments this comment is according to Shankara stinking Adi Shankaracharya is thinking the matrix is if you've got it written down somewhere yes yes if you see the problem solution and Method notice the teaching of of Sankhya that means the teaching of the nature of the self was that you are brahman you are the absolute that should solve the problem if I am existence consciousness place what problem actually remains if I'm really convinced about that if it's clear to me but the problem is it's not at all clear to me I don't realize it at all the problem is Agana ignorant then the method is gana yoga sha phenomenon and he did the asana listen to it study it engage with it reasoning and meditate upon it till it becomes clear that's not working then what is the problem that the mind is scattered the mind is impure that is what the commentator is talking about if the mind is scattered and impure what will happen at that stages I'm hearing about it I am reasoning I'm asking the questions I'm memorizing the verses I am even trying to meditate after it after after a fashion but it remains it's not a direct living realization that's what's called parotia parousia means beyond director experience it remains as something that I have read I've heard and I feel I have people at this stage people will say I understand intellectually but then the immediately the teacher knows the nature of the problem this is where the problem lies I understand intellectually but then Krishna says all right verse 39 let's start I understand the problem the remedy is here and that's true for most of us almost all of us Vivekananda he says you can imagine as chuckle when he says that I know where the shoe pinches so we come down to our daily lie our life as we are leading it Arjuna's life our life what we are doing in life how do you spiritual eyes that there is a need for that what is the need the need is that without that enlightenment is not possible for most of us but theoretically you must leave a little option for there for the rare few who don't need all this Vedanta will of course say that such people have already done karma yoga and the past lives so they are equipped for enlightenment direct enlightenment ended those fortunate few but otherwise most of us we have to go through a graded course of spiritual practice and that starts here so he's making a case for karma yoga what why is it necessary 41st verse verse aha makka Budi Vives aha Mika Budi a guru nanaka karoon and and bahu shekharan antoshka bahu Chaka Yin antoshka Buddha Java sorry Nam Buddha Yoav Asahi Nam so he says to Arjuna in this there is a single one pointed determination the thoughts of the e resolute are many branched and infinite so the first argument argument for spiritual practice karma yoga here he means the entire range of spiritual practice including of course transformation of our work into spiritual practice all kinds of spiritual practice have for the first most important argument for that is one word focus focus the word he is used here is a technical term varisai at Makapuu d varisai at Mecca Buddha means one pointed clarity conviction about spiritual life one might have clarity about many things I am clear that I want to be a millionaire and clear I want to be the next Hollywood star so that's the kind of clarity and it helps if you are really clear about something is clear the decks for action but here he means clarity about spiritual life so what what is this clarity of one-pointed clarity about spiritual life my goal in life is enlightenment doesn't mean that have to become a monk or something like that I might or I might not but ultimately my purpose in life is enlightenment God realization this is real this is worthwhile this is what I'm going to pursue this is the highest thing open to me this is the noblest endeavor of human civilization is search for spiritual enlightenment if I am a seeker and we all are you wouldn't be here otherwise you wouldn't even think of yourself as a seeker but you are there's a whole range this is a spectrum depending on intensity and how advanced we are but we are all speakers we are all seekers we're all seekers I remember as a young monk as a novice I used to ask lots of questions so those who have questions never don't feel bad and one day I asked this Swami the monkey in charge of the abbot of the monastery Swami I bother you with so many questions don't you feel I mean from your point of view isn't it irritating you must have heard these questions so many times and so many you know you've been a monk for more than fifty years now so you know his answer was illuminating he said no why should I get irritated we are all walking on the same path that's a very interesting thing we are all doing the same thing we are we are researching the same we are in the same project together so why should I get irritated you're talking about what I am interested in he didn't say all these things he just said no why should I get irritated we are all walking in the same path so that one pointed conviction my aim is God realization my aim is Nirvana moksha salvation whatever you call it interestingly enough Vedanta would say that is our aim whether you say it or not even the man who's trying to make a million bucks on Wall Street even the person who is a drug addict who is or just your common man on the street just trying to do muddle his way through life doing his or her best in life all of us whatever we are doing no matter how confused no matter how determined in life no matter how materialistic or spiritual we are trying to find fulfilment happiness in the best way that we can this primal urge overcoming suffering and finding satisfaction fulfillment happiness this is the goal now there is a wise way of doing it which is spirituality that is the claim of all the religions of the world there's a wise way of doing it and there's an otherwise way of doing it which is what the rest of humanity is to him now what shri krishna is saying karma yoga starts with first step is declare it at least to yourself I am a spiritual seeker yeah I am no not like that not one of the ten things to do pick up the milk and remember to reply to emails and do a little bit of Vedanta not like that I I am primarily a spiritual seeker that's my definition that's how I define myself so the comment is the one I am holding here is three that Swami's come in to become intially the commentators put a very beautiful spin on this so Streeter swami he gives a devotional approach to it what is via Vasai Atma Kabaddi one pointed conviction clarity about spiritual life in terms of devotion beautiful thing has said here where was I at Mecca this storm means Parameshwara bhakti I ever drove on Terrace committee nice joy at Mecca Ava Aiken styie Babu devotee but simple Sanskrit by the grace of Bhagavad Parameshwara by the grace of the Lord by the grace of God I shall certainly cross the ocean of transmigrated exp existence I shall certainly get freedom liberation moksha salvation certainly this will happen this he says one pointed conviction clarity this is what is meant by Riverside my cup of tea my goal is liberation and I and my support is the grace of God God is my support and nothing else this kind of clearing of the decks for action in my life does this not mean that I will become a monk or something sounds like that not necessarily Arjuna continued to be a warrior so this message has been received by people across the ages and they continue to do what they are doing but their entire orientation about why they are doing what they are doing is change it changed and it also makes it very clear once you have a high goal in life a clear goal in life decision-making also becomes very clear should I do this or should I not do it should I go there should I meet this person this is what I want to do in life all those things become very clear once you have a clear purpose in life in any field anybody who has done anything great they have this overwhelming concentration of effort somebody said beautifully whether it is Einstein or whether it is the Buddha or whoever it is and I we all had this one thing in common we all have 24 hours in a day the difference between me and them is what they did with those 24 hours in a day and generally people who have achieved something great in life they do that one thing most of the time even in management science they tell us that 80% of the results come from the 8020 rule 80% of the results come from 20% of our work of all the things that we do it's just 20% 1/5 of our activities which give 80% of the results in our life that means the rest of the activities is I won't say wasteful but not really productive and so you should concentrate on that part of your life which is most closely connected to your goal in life your purpose in life that's the that's the advantage of having a great purpose overwhelming purpose in life and here you don't have to ask what should be my purpose in life we're telling you God realization however you understand it moksha liberation and you are in very good company whether it is Buddha or Krishna or Christ you're in good company so this is the in fact the wisest recommendation of all civilizations across time that the highest thing that you can aspire for is spiritual liberation how it has been understood different depends under the religions and on the philosophies in fact Swami Vivekananda would say I have a have a goal I have a high goal in life and he would say it should be your own highest goal notice the words your own highest so whose goal is it it's mine like the Buddha said do something not because you have been told believe it not because you have been told to believe it not because you have read it that it is so not because your elders have said it because you have examined it and found it to be true and good he found something to be true and good therefore believe in it therefore practice it in your lives so it should be your own listen to everybody attend all the classes read all the books but it should be something that you you own it yourself you feel that I want this from your heart and then the question would be that I have so many things that I feel are my own that I I like which 118 is often said there many things that I like I would watch it on TV I want to be like this person or that person I want to do this so all of those things appeal to be especially when you are young many things appeal to you so so I'm really kinda says the highest among each of them whatever your heart says I want these things examine them and see which is the noblest which is the highest often the highest or noblest would mean something that is of great good to you and all to everybody else often it is something that is extolled praised greatly in our civilization so your own highest goal we used to tell students in the back in India that you should have a goal in your life and I remember the way I would tell it to them is there would be students and there would be monks present I would say look if I asked you what is your goal in life I'm sure I'm sure you can give it a lecture on what should be our goal in life but what is your goal in life right now if I ask you most of you sort of scratch your heads nothing specific I mean I have my day to day targets to do to-do list but overall I don't know just make it through I kiss from day to day you most of you would say that and then I would point to the monks and the novices would be sitting there I said if you ask these people who are wearing the orange robe or the white of the novices if you ask them from the from the youngest novice to the senior most monk if you ask them this one question what is your goal in life all of them will immediately say yes we have a goal in life and it is realization of God in our order the goal is for your own liberation and for the welfare of the world for enlightenment freedom salvation whatever you call it and for the good of the world now that that's what this dress stands for I have a spiritual goal that's the declaration that's addressed transformed and this is what krishna says you don't have to put on a fancy dress somebody asked me I think reason Holly it was in Hollywood I was walking down Hollywood Boulevard towards the library and somebody said [Music] why are you wearing an orange bedsheet or something like [Music] no it does it is somewhere not in Hollywood in Hollywood somebody stopped me and said I like it you don't have to put on an orange bedsheet bedsheet but as the saying in India goes you have to color your mind Orange that means man wrong ayah that there's a saying in India that Oh yogi what a mistake you have made you have colored your clock but not your mind that means yogi you have put on the cloth of a monk but you haven't made your mind a monk of a monk so you have invited made a great mistake so we shall all over here see Christmas is the mind of a spiritual seeker we have a sigh at Makka booty one pointed clarity conviction I am a spiritual seeker and that's my goal so my success and failure will I will measure according to that there's any old saying in India a rainy day is not a bad day it's a bet it's an unfortunate day when I forget to take the name of Hari I'm gonna forget to take the name of God that's the unfortunate day the rainy day is not an unfortunately it's coming tomorrow snowy day [Music] okay one more point here he says those whose minds are not one-pointed their minds are multi-pronged they have multiple desires and they run after those desires so bahu shahe the minds are divided into multiple streams and the energies flow out year after year life goes by like that giving up these multiple projects in life you will still do something you'll have a job you take care of it do your duties definitely like Arjuna is being asked to do is duty but seeking for seeking for fulfilment in the world from the world going about the world with a begging bowl give me happiness a couple of words of praise a little success a little little happiness there little pleasure there going around with the begging bowl to the world that should stop giving up this project of finding happiness in sense pleasures so there is an interesting point here notice how the spiritual disciplines the five fundamental practices in Vedanta and similarly it is in yoga also ahimsa drama cheriya satya asteya Aparri caja non-violence self-control specially control of lust truth non-stealing non acceptance of gifts so these are practices for a yogi but consider how giving up these these negativities all of them have the same form what I mean is this one one a teacher pointed this out all spiritual practices have the same effect peace Sri quietude calmness peace what I mean by that is this violence anger it can have many farms depending on whether you are irritated with your neighbor irritated that are angry with politics or furious at yourself angry with the kids it could be of many many many forms many farms many textures anger irritation fury but giving up anger giving up violence in thought word and deed is of only one form that is peace do you see what I mean they actually doing that in life that means giving free expression to anger and violence can take many forms anger and violence can take many forms angry thought angry word and depending on the person you are angry with the situation you're angry with many many many endless forms what he says bahu Chaka divided into many forms but giving up anger and violence that'll give him some practice of non-violence it is only one form peace sense pleasures are many types depending on the sense objects there's a desire for a cookie forum for a movie for the company of a friend for all kinds so many objects of pleasure in the world and as many objects of pleasure so many different types of enjoyment and desires so desires are multiple for sense pleasure but the practice of brahmacari are giving up letting go of that is of one nature only peace Shanthi similarly truth falsities of many types they say the truth is wonderful lies are many or just it and put it very beautifully he said there's only one way to stand up straight there many ways to fall down lies are many and as we if I tell lies the the uneasiness and xiety the complications in my life will be of various sorts endlessly multiplying various sorts but giving up lies is a one-shot only piece you see where I'm going with this all the vices are of multiple sorts all passions and worldly desires are of an enormous multiplicity but giving them up while giving them up why because I die it's not no longer I don't think that I am going to get permanent satisfaction or joy in them that's no longer my primary pursuit so giving that up in sanskrit yoga is of one type only peace that peace and this one pointed desire for God realization to one-pointed pursuit of spirituality they go together without that peace did this one pointedness will not come I cannot have a hundred worldly projects running and 101 will be realized God it won't work those have to be put aside put aside means the formula swami vivekananda gives neither seek nor avoid life will present you with plenty of things to do don't for your days will be occupied and as it is even without adding two things you will not you will still keep running out of time I remember seeing this cartoon I mentioned it and the Father time there is a cartoon a father time and next to it is mother not enough time mother is running around with kids and lots of chores to do and things like that so mother not enough time so what the world will present you with plenty of things to do your life will be over full so don't worry that what will I do if I give up all those things so peace giving up those worldly pursuits the result is of one type only that is peace that peace and focus on spirituality yeah they are one in the same another point swami this is a point that swami rama soup does demon made in his book on the gita commentary on the gita i haven't found it elsewhere but it's a very subtle and interesting points i'll put it before you he says contrast it with Gianni yoga what preceded earlier in Gyana yoga knowledge is primary one must intuitively grasp that I am the Atman once that clarity comes that Atman you will see inside and outside in every experience it's the same Atman same awareness same consciousness same being we read that in the sixteenth verse of the bhagavad-gita NASA Tova deity of Hvar if you remember that isness everywhere it's there so in every experience will recognize that I am the serenity of mind the focus of mind concentration will come after that automatically it will come in ghana yoga he says in karma yoga bhakti yoga and raja yoga the process is reversed first a peace of mind and concentration must come then only enlightenment will will follow after that so bhakti yoga starts with this way of a PSYOP make abuti let me repeat again the contrast between the two approaches in karma yoga bhakti yoga and raja yoga which is going to speak about now it starts with a clearing of the decks I want to give up all other pursuits and pursuits pursue spirituality one-pointed clarity and conviction it starts with this then only the spiritual progress is possible this is the normal way to approach it but there is a direct approach which was talked about first there instead of talking about these things shri krishna pointed out the nature of the absolute if one can grasp it one is fortunate among the fortunate few who can grasp this then this one pointedness follows by itself you see it's like this I look at the necklace and the bangle and the ring and if I've understood what is gold then whatever I see I'll see gold when I see the necklace l see gold when I see the bangle l see gold when I see the ring I will see gold one-pointedness one-pointedness has come instead of multiplicity I'm seeing the one though I'm seeing all that all the ornaments do you remember the the example of the ornaments and gold the enlightened person in whatever experience men women children good and bad in youth and old age in success and failure it is the same existence consciousness place with different names and forms so one pointedness stability automatically comes there once that is grasped but it's very difficult to grasp it to begin with so the other way is spiritual practice having known that theoretically now they get into spiritual practice proper he starts with karma yoga and so we have a PSYOP make abuti this one pointed clarity and conviction is this distinction did it make sense I am NOT founded anywhere but it said the subtle but important point which Ram Shastri points out another place I think it was Swami forget one of the direct disciples may be sorry ganas you're somebody who writes there are actually two broad spiritual paths one is the path of gianni yoga the path of knowledge the other one is the path of action devotion meditation karma yoga bhakti yoga and raja yoga if you look at it from a metal sense if you step back and see the the approach there are these two approaches one depends upon effort it's a graded progress step by step you go that is karma yoga bhakti yoga Raja Yoga the other one is a direct cutting through to the reality yes [Music] yes yes yes we are not we are not already Saints that's what I mean so we are we are moving towards that for for us all these practices in fact the rest of the Gita are in spiritual life what is spiritual life how do I live and how do I practice spirituality all of that but we must make allowance for it's rare few who are like that it is a possibility such people are there and we all have to go to that point yes yes isn't bhakti yes but remember the framework that we are taking here is is in a very broad sense Advaita Vedanta non-dual Vedanta so there bhakti is sort of you know knowledge is privileged above devotion because in this framework what what they will say bhakti towards God devotional love and surrender towards God will ultimately lead you to that realization also because God will give you that knowledge whatever is needed God will add on to you but that's still a little indirect because you are taking from the individual to God to the absolute and the gana Yoga is to the absolute directly you are drummond but that's all in the paradigm of Ghani away if you're coming from the paradigm of bhakti then Mukti is obviously the most direct path there is a devotional paradigm where God exists I exist and my relation to God is one of devotion and surrender that's its stories finished but Advaita Vedanta says there is something beyond that beyond God and individual g'vine Ishwara there the absolute Brahman and real freedom is realizing your identity with the absolute I am Brahman Amram asked me then what is the role of devotion in that that's what we are coming to karma yoga bhakti yoga Raja Yoga are all helps secondary means to the attainment of knowledge this commentator which he said that until you practice these things that knowledge which I taught in taught you earlier that knowledge will remain parochial gana secondary knowledge indirect knowledge it becomes direct knowledge with the practice of these things do you see the two different paradigms one must it's complicated but one must be big enough to see different paradigms the spiritual life is vast see what's written there just above you truth is one sages call it variously we are all talking about the same thing but one may look at it from knowledge perspective one may look at it from a purely devotional perspective in our order we look at it from knowledge and devotion Sri Ramakrishna I was just reading Swami turian and the ji says in this age Sri Ramakrishna primarily taught Gianna Mishra bhakti devotion with knowledge knowledge and devotion but there are paths of pure devotion and as there are paths of pure knowledge if I were talking about the path of pure knowledge I would have stopped at 3740 before starting this this all of this you are Brahman realize that what's your problem and there are teachers who do that there are teachers who do that the so called direct path teachers there are some especially in this country and naturally United States people are impatient realization here and now so there are the teachers who teach the direct path and it's it's very attractive because of two reasons one it says one is it seems instant now second it seems effortless nothing just I have to realize it I have to know it knowing it doesn't seem so difficult there's a catch there but but the problem with that is often you will notice the teachings of these direct path teachers I will not take some names some of them are actually genuine many of them are not they don't know what they're talking about but some because it's easy to talk but some of them are genuine even the ones who are genuine in many cases you will find they have themselves pursued this graded path for a long time some form of meditation some form of devotion some form many different practices they have been inquiring for years and years and years then they make a breakthrough and then they say oh it's so clear and direct let me teach that but what they are making a mistake is to for them to come to this understanding it's so clear and direct and evident they had to go through a lot and which if the other person in front of you has not gone through that they will just look at you with a blank expression Mandi when you say it's here right now don't you see it huh what yes so a gradient approach is good I was reading Swami turian and they advicing 1300 his birthday's day after tomorrow so look at the difference it will identify easily with it he talks he says when swami vivekananda would say i he identified with the consciousness in everybody he did not the words he uses is he did not identify with the oopah the apothem each body mind I as consciousness in everybody and then Swami Torian and the ji who is himself a great non duelist but he says that does not come so naturally to us so I like this that I surrender everything to God in Bengali said what our mother Heine that doesn't come so easily to us so for us I surrender to God everything to God though is a great present in Nandu list then somebody asked him the question so for a devotee if somebody who loves God a dualistic approach is it good to study these non-dualistic texts he asked this question and I've been asked his question I was very interested to see what's Swamy Torian and thus said and you know what he said he said for the devotee who continuously surrenders everything to God and says thou alone not me what difference is between that is there between that and advaitha what difference is where is the difference between that and advaitha and non duality and then he goes on to say Sri Ramakrishna is to say tie the knowledge of advaitha to the hem of your cloth and then do whatever you like whatever you like means you can take the devotees path also you can take the path of service you can remain immersed in meditation whatever you like you can be dynamic and active you can withdraw to a cave and sit in serene meditation you can be an ecstatic devotee it can be a combination of all of these which we have a current themself was alright let's go on before we go on before the actual teaching of karma yoga the other kind of karma which we are used to Shri Krishna is pointing out the danger in that the problem in what we are doing right now now the Karma that we are doing has two aspects one of which is we are very familiar with to the worldly Karma the work that we do in family and community and career all of that whatever we are doing what we call work that is karma in Sanskrit low Kika Karma day to day activities are our our daily activities but there was another there's another kind of karma which is yd karma the religious work that's also work so in Krishna Sri Krishna's time people ordinary people in the world they did both kinds of work one is the daily duties of life also religious rites in those days it meant Vedic sacrifices these days we do puja we go to temples and do puja and all of that in those days it was the fire sacrifices prescribed by the Vedas all of this work whether this worldly or otherworldly whether secular or religious all of this work Srikrishna classifies as ordinary karma Sakuma Carmody the one connecting feature of them is that they're prompted by worldly desire this worldly desire other world it is art in this world I want money and pleasure and power and fame therefore I work and in the other world I want to go to heaven and I have a good time therefore I work what means I do religious rituals now the next three verses are about those religious rituals but they equally apply to our worldly activities also and this is not something he's recommending he is condemning them he's saying these are not spiritually let alone the worldly activities prompted by desire but also the the Vedic are the religious activity is prompted by desire they are religious but not spiritual so look at the three tiers is established worldly worldly religious and spiritual we have to read 40 to 43 and 44 together Yami mom push pita bottom Yami mom Pushpa Tom bottom Provident OB / cheetah Provident of APIs cheetah we devoted a tough part we devavrata Sparta Nana dusty TiVo Dina Nana defeat evil Dina c'mon Mona Vergara c'mon Mona swagger para janma karma polyp Rodham janma karma palabra de cría vishesha bulam kriya vishesha ba hula bogus for yoga team pretty bogus warrior gratine pretty bogus warrior prasat UNAM Bhavesh warrior preceptor naam kya opposite Ajit some day operator cheetah some diverse our yacht Mecca Budi Versailles at Makka booty somato nvidia t somato deity what he's going to say now the last line there was I at Mecca Buddhist Amado Nvidia is the point that we oversee at Mecca with the one pointed clarity and conviction about spiritual life is essential for spiritual life / for spiritual practice that is not possible if somebody is involved in such things what are such things he talks about one side only the Vedic rituals the religious rituals but also it includes the worldly activities what are they Yami mom pushbutton watch am prevalent which are vapors cheetah be unwise talking about the flowery language of the Vedas which tell you such-and-such heavens are waiting for to be attained please perform these rituals and give me give the priest his commission and then after death the the merit you have earned by religious activity will take you to heaven every religion as this at one time the I think the Catholic Church is to sell indulgences that is one of the things that I think Martin Luther protested against so I have committed a lot of sins suppose and I'm going to die I'm afraid of going to hell now can I give an donation to the church and the church will write me a letter saying that will give him a pass on this so every religion has this kind of thing that after death whether I deserve it or not I'm going to have a wonderful time there'll be a heaven where there is no suffering no hunger and thirst all pleasures are instantaneously fulfilled and so in Hinduism also you have not won heaven multiple heavens depending on your credit worthiness how much merit you have accumulated you go get to go to different heavens we had a wonderful Swami Swami Nithyananda ji who established the Vedanta work in South Africa many decades ago he came to us he also visited he I never met him but I've heard about him from senior monks and devotees animals so he was a remarkable person by all accounts he was a disciple of swami sivananda a great way don t non duelist but also a great yogi who actually had who did hurt in yoga is rarely in among the monks of our order and who had attained certain even Cyndi's some spiritual powers I am so on great scholar and an extraordinary teacher so as you will see from this example he gives he give an example to explain this kind of teaching of the Vedas remember the Vedas have two parts broadly speaking karma-kanda jnana-kanda Gianna con des Vedanta Y anaconda means the portion dealing with spiritual knowledge the portion dealing with spiritual knowledge that's the culmination the final teachings of the Vedas that is spirituality and that is found in the texts called Upanishads but apart from that the vast bulk of the Vedas they contain teachings about religious rituals most of which are not practiced anymore by Hindus modern Hindus have replaced those by modern rituals called poojas but the ancient Vedic rituals they were meant for the same old things and I'll give you the exact the exact quotations from the Vedas where there are such promises as which P comma Y Zeta though if you desire rainfall sacrifice sacrifice unto the gods if you desire put commas ater if you desire a child especially a male child in those days yes they were very patriarchal and misogynistic but sacrifice unto the gods then saga karma yoga we desire heaven after death sacrifice unto the gods and so on and the and the sacrifices were of various types depending upon your income range there's something to suit our capacity enough to take whatever you have got so you make your place in heaven Swami initiations he gives an example of that he this beautiful example to explain that see you earn this merit depending on your good works your religious rituals and meritorious works and you go to heaven but whatever is earned by work is limited so it's not endless heaven after a long long period of time your merit will be exhausted your credit cards will be maxed out and then you'll be tossed out of heaven you go back you get back go back to earth your older karma takes hold of you and you are born again in some family and you carry on with your spiritual evolution but you have a what is it called furlough like a break in heaven and multiple heavens and it's all subject to an end it comes to an end so the example is this Swami initiations he he said it's like when I come from South Africa to India I booked a ticket from Johannesburg to Mumbai and it takes money so have to collect the money for the ticket and I booked the ticket and then when I get into the aeroplane there is the air hostess who says come come this is your seat now he's actually literally translating from the Vedas the the descriptions like this after death the after giving up the body the soul sukshma sharir they did achieve Atman is greeted by heavenly messengers who say AE AE a shava socrata Supra tussle oka I forgot an exact term this is the meritorious world this is the world you have earned by your merit come come and enjoy so the air hostesses come come here is your seat and then I strap myself into the seat and you go high and high higher thirty thousand feet the captain says we are flying at 30,000 feet and then there is this wonderful food and there there is a movie to be seen and so it's so nice and by the time you're getting used to it in this it I could live like this this is very nice the captain makes the announcement they decide ascending into Mumbai it's the temperature outside is a hundred degrees in the shade and 100% humidity and you say no no I want to stay here well we hope you'll fly with Air India again and here back to earth now this is the Vedic conception of heaven nothing spiritual about it that that particular it's a kind of otherworldly pleasure and so he says the ones who get enticed by the flowery words promised in the Vedas you might ask where does a religious sticks why would they do this in fact they're to this religion has these two aspects of a religion where it serves our needs in this world and the next I want to be happy here I want to be wealthy here I want to be healthy I want my children to be to do well can God and religion helped me most people use religion for this purpose and that's what the Vedas also said you want health you want prosperity do these things so a moral sustainable kind of life which make gives you worldly happiness but he's strictly limited it will all come to an end there's no other way and it also promises you other worldly happiness a refined version of early happiness that also comes to an end it's only when one graduates out of kindergarten religious kindergarten and says how many times do I have to go through this why go through this you may say I don't remember any of it it would be nice if I remember it going to heaven and all of that you do not as memory but as some scar as tendon see the reason why you are here today and I am here today this is not a very pretty picture for any of us we want the truth Who am I what is the meaning of all of this is there any permanent solution to the to the cycle of life a life and death we are searching for Nirvana moksha enlightenment freedom so when you graduate to this higher class then the Upanishads come and say they condemned this what Krishna is doing so that is not for you we have got something better for you so worldly karma or other worldly Karma's to be replaced by Karma Yoga and Sri Krishna setting the stage for that why did the Vedas ate vader's know that we want enjoyment we will do it in an immoral way to stop that that's destructive for us and for everybody else so the way it is prescribed a moral sustainable way not just way does every religion does that they want money you want pleasure you want power nothing wrong with it at all but stay within the limits of truth and self-control earn money only what you have earned things like that all religions to it our urge for worldly enjoyment the religion seemed to support it but only because we want it and once we graduate from it then they will show us the real thing which is God realization enlightenment need one of whatever you call it now near the spirit of Athena these pro pounders of the Vedic ritual ISM they say that there is nothing else there is this world which you are living in and after death there is that world okay that sounds great but just a minute after that after that this is this world again and then the next world again okay then I don't want this I'll do whatever I want then there is the other world for you that other place which and in Hinduism there's not one hell there multiple heads but only there's no eternal hell and they are basically all what the results of our own naughtiness basically so the Vedas say if you want worldly resistance and otherworldly existence then do it in a moral way in an ethical way in a sustainable way but truly wise if you are you will go beyond this kammath Manas work Guevara those who are desirous of heaven come Atman are full of desires in this world in the next world janma karma Philip rodham they engage in this worldly activities secular activities and religious activities which are the activities our karma secular and religious Paulo Paulo means result the result will be this life and the next life you will get the results janma means birth after birth birth and death cycle will continue propelled the flawless karma karma is nothing but cause-and-effect causality Kriya avishay shava hula and is a whole range it's a supermarket of Vedic rituals what do you want everything is available and this is all for bogus wear yoga Timothy for enjoyment I share your glory and enjoyment power glory wealth and see this sounds great if I taught be careful there's another kind you know who say can't I have both yeah I like it Swami what you're talking about enlightenment is one I want that but this also is a great writer I can can I have both of them know are and know they're fundamentally contradictory this is I want to remain as a separate individual and I want to go from enjoyment to enjoy party hopping from one party to another party to another party I want my life to be one long party so that that's the model the paradigm I'm working with and this is something very different I give all that up to enjoy peace and bliss in the company of God if you are a devotee or in the realization of who we really are the witness self the pure consciousness the absolute so there did they - do not go together one is within karma one is beyond karma you yes scattered in the four Vedas yes yes each Veda has a karma kanda ritualistic portion and AG anaconda a knowledge portion contradicted him in one only in one sense the later portion repudiates the earlier portion if you ask why should it be so as I just explained it's because we want it if the Vedas had their way they would take a straight to spirituality the Buddha tried that have you noticed in Buddha's teaching was centrally about moksha born in Varna it became a heavily monastic religion but ultimately the result was not good for India when thousands and thousands of people would not really cut out for the ultimate spiritual goal not cut out for monastic life it became a prestigious thing to be a Buddhist monk or a nun and they gave up their worldly life and they all went to the monasteries society collapsed and the monasteries they caught the quality there went down all sorts of malpractice is entered into monastic life anyway yes yes absolutely all u'b the bigger Upanishads they also have rituals but they just show that ritual as a person as a spirit preparatory spiritual practice not for attaining worldly goals but for for people it will make it clear if you have worldly goals then this or other worldly goals then this very ritual will give you those goals but you will not get spirituality if you want spirituality then this very ritual will give you purity of mind see there somebody asked this karma yoga is it krishna's invention no it is actually there in the open e shirts these rituals which are supposed to be part of karma kanda they are also found in the Vedas in katha upanishad in the new phoenicians in katha Upanishad there is a ritual which is taught by - educator it's a kind of a Vedic fire sacrifice no details are given there now what the open assured wants to say is if you want heaven heavenly existence you can use this ritual collect enough credit merit and after death you go to heaven but you will not be spiritual you will not get enlightenment but if you want enlightenment then this same ritual will help you to get purification of mind it should not want the worldly or other worldly results then so the same work you see the root of karma yoga is there the same action can make you worldly if your goal is worldly the same action can set you free from action and make you spiritual if your goal is spiritual that's the the seed of karma yoga right there of course Krishna will give a much more developed teaching here yes what one has to be cleared there see in many cases when you see explicit need is not there but we generally have the needle till it's like this let things go well for me let things go well for everybody and often there's a element of fear involved if I don't do it will something bad happen to me that is a that is a clear indicator that I have a some amount of worldliness left in me I am doing it for God realization God will be pleased with me my beloved Lord will be pleased with this worship that is karma yoga whether it is worship or doing my daily duties look at Arjuna he enters into his battle for worldly reasons I want the kingdom I want to take revenge on the evildoers that's selfish actually all justifiable but selfish worldly now Krishna is saying do the same thing as an offering to God you have put me this is my in this situation this is my duty I shall do it what do I want I want God I don't want this it will come of its own accord it did Punda was one the battle they got the kingdom all of that came but no longer was it for that purpose anymore with decay and karma becomes Karma Yoga Kriya vishesha buffle on so many rituals will be prescribed if you even nowadays you go to a Hindu temple the priests will have a whole menu of rituals for you to perform one should look at the price list before you go yes your question yes this is true and your question basically is is desire for God also not a desire are you giving up all desires when you when you say I want God literally I want God is a desire so Sri Ramakrishna gave the answer to that he said desire for God is not to be counted among other desires why because it routes out all other desires notice the desire for God is not a desire if you put it in non-dualistic terms it becomes even more clear I want to realize my own true nature Atman which is the Atman of everybody then I become identified with everybody if you actually look at the life of such a person usually the life of such a person will be one continuous self-sacrifice does not want anything for oneself so the person is transformed into a saint it would be very different from everybody else now what made this person him or her become like this that I don't want these worldly pursuits I want to realize Who I am you might say even that is for yourself it is true but then that self will be the capital S not an individual self cut off from everybody else if notice how if one person becomes a saint an enlightened person everybody else actually benefits immediately everybody surrounding that person everybody in society they even the presence of such Saints is a blessing to society so it's not that day gained by themselves it is everybody gains with the presence of such people and they identify with everybody they don't feel that ah now I'm enlightened and you are fools no they feel most ardent they feel that I am NOT God alone is that individual identity either in devotion or in knowledge individual identity is submerged what is the harm in pursuing worldly pleasure in success Bhavesh worry a percept an entire apparatus at Assam Versailles at Mecca Buddhist Amado Nvidia T those whose minds are swept away a Purita means robbed stolen swept away by this overwhelming desire for pleasure for worldly success their minds will never stabilise on God that one pointed clarity conviction will not come it will keep getting swept away you keep getting swept away you see now you understand what is a monastic life basically it's just a formalization of what is being taught here the dress the codes the behavior we told do not mix with worldly people those whose goals are worldly do not mix with them why not are they bad people no it's simply that if if those desires those things again we are rekindled within you they're already there within us rique indeed within you you will again be swept away from your spiritual conviction and it will be swept back into the worldly path I know I remember there is a number of such examples a monk I remember he was a doctor before he became a monk but he was what is called an MBBS do we have such a big in USA what would be equivalent in MD no but in India also you have an MD which is above MBA yeah so this monk very nice Swami is much more senior to me one day he was posted to the our Hospital the my hospital run by the monks in Calcutta but they have a big Hospital and one day I heard he had left he had left the order monastic order what happened now an MBBS is actually a lower degree and MD is a higher degree now then he's there as a monk he's also working and serving the patients and everything and he sees the other doctors now there are these other doctors who are well-known doctors or famous doctors who are really rich and they have flourishing practices and others it's a hospital after all so other people are in all of them and this poor monk is working there and he with them again again after some time a desire grew to in his mind I should also be an MD so he gave up the monastic life and he said what is he doing he enrolled in the MD course for for being an MD you see how it gets covered over again a monastic aspiration suddenly of only aspiration again is weakened dude yeah if you put you have to be very careful where you put put it in Sri Ramakrishna talked about the fence a new sapling it needs to be fenced in because he says otherwise the goats and cows will come and eat it but he says when it becomes a huge banyan tree you said dear friends is not required and in fact you can tie an elephant to it nothing will happen to it so when we begin our spiritual life protect it protect this aspiration I've seen it again and again I know this couple in in California who are now there they are really rich really successful and spiritual and telling me about their plans how they will spend the time in meditational and in between the event for the cruise and they came back and all the time all the plans changed why because on the cruise they met they met these people who were richer than them more successful than them and they thought that maybe we want one more mansion than the the latest luxury car and this and that the desire of awakened you may we may laugh at it but when it is the desire comes and it is possible I know I have the capacity I know I have the money maybe a little more effort a few more years of working and a few more investments and I can get that mansion then it takes position of you it's like a ghost you're you're bewitched possessed by a ghost and what will happen is 5-10 years of your life will go away again before one swings back into the to the this is how spiritual evolution goes but one can shorten this torturous process make a Vemma SIOP make about this very important is one take away from these classes it's a lifetime's decision to make I define myself as a spiritual seeker you need not change anything externally the external changes will come slowly over time but make up your mind from now on I am a spiritual seeker whenever it comes you reaffirm this it's not something that we have done today and that's it every day is a reaffirmation that I am a spiritual seeker God is my very own my purpose in life is enlightenment yes I want to be happy and peaceful and blissful the way I will do it is through spirituality that is the wisest way of doing it I will not measure my success and failure in worldly terms anymore let it happen don't measure your achievements in worldly terms anymore your friends and relatives who are on that path they will go along that path and they will have they'll have our worldly achievements accomplishments very good be happy for them no regrets once you take this path we have already seen some of that that's enough the wise man the wise person sees a little bit and understands the rest of worldly life is like this one person a devotee in Detroit he said to me you know Swami how this realization have come to this that there's no end to this what I'm doing he's in the corporate ladder Indian is a very big multinational American company so there's still a higher position to achieve there is if you have a boat you now you want a your own aeroplane and then things like that is more and more and more there's no end to it this is that saying you know if even if you win the right race you are a rat really make up your mind very clearly once you do it it's not very difficult at all what's done is done I have learned my lesson from that and my purpose now is got realization it's not very difficult not even asking you to make a huge change in fact Arjuna wanted to make a huge change I want to give this all up and I become a monk Krishna's is no no no wait a minute you stay right where you are keep doing right what you'd rather I will show you how right here you can become enlightened so that's the whole grand topic of karma yoga the teaching has not yet started but like a good teacher he say he's building up the base what is the need for the teaching we realized this today the need for Karma Yoga is that one pointed clarity conviction it won't come it won't be stable unless we do Cameahwait will see what what is to be done if I'm not going to pursue worldly goals and what am I going to pursue what am I going to do with my time and energy he'll tell you and if I don't do that what's the harm so two things krishna has said in the 41st verse he said what is the purpose of this and the 42nd 43rd and 44th if you don't do it if you remain engaged in worldly and other worldly activities as we are right now what is the harm that's what he pointed out Shawn dish the shanti hurry he owned that said Sri Ramakrishna Aparna must see even this thing we chant Sri Ramakrishna panama's - we offered this at the defeat of Sri Ramakrishna this is the Karma Yoga actually we did all of this and for what purpose for the so that the Lord is pleased and that's that's the philosophy of work