Video 18

18. Bhagavad Gita I Chapter 2 Verses 48-51 I Swami Sarvapriyananda

Oh Vasudeva Suton even comes such a load on 'm devaki param anand krishna monday jagadguru in the bhagavad-gita we are studying the second chapter broadly in the second chapter you have three three topics the first topic is about enlightenment Who am I knowing that I am the Atman so that's the first teaching in fact if there's one thing you want to take away from the bhagavad-gita from Vedanta it would be that what is my real nature the second teaching is what we are doing now about karma yoga how do I transform my day-to-day life into spiritual practice and the last one which we are approaching not today later on and the last part of the second chapter is the result of all of this Arjuna will ask Krishna so suppose I attain enlightenment what will it be like how is this enlightened person different from the rest of us so that will be the question but right now we are in the second topic how do i spiritualize my life karma yoga and the central teaching of the karma yoga we have seen last time that do the work which we were earlier doing the same work what we are earlier doing to satisfy our desires for selfish purposes do it as a service as a worship of God without expectation of results what some results will come but that need not be the motivation for the work do not work for the results but work without detachment with detachment as worship of God and do not give in to inaction as well do not given given to laziness so we had a detailed discussion last time one point I'll just enough quick observation some of you may have noted I keep saying that karmayoga is doing work whatever work we do as worship of God without attachment to results two things I am NOT doing it for selfish ends and I'm doing it as worship of God the discerning among you might have noticed where is this worship of God angle coming in because Krishna never mentioned it so far it will come later on in other chapters but right now notice that he just says Carmen nia-malika resting you have the right to the work not to the results do not work for the results do not give in to inaction either finished the word God has not come in so far anywhere in this chapter it will later on that's the finished doctrine of karma yoga that's why I keep saying it and in the Sanskrit commentaries which I'm using for all of this it keeps saying that it's Parameshwara our earth and our thumb for the worship of the Lord do this work so but it is true that worship of doing the work as worship of God is not mentioned so far in in the Gita and it's important to note that suppose and there are many these days who are if not atheistic not particularly interested in the whole god business as they call it fine so can I do karma yoga certainly you can this work has to be done why it's my duty to do it why because it is good why it will do good to a lot of people therefore it is to be done not for my personal selfish ends if I do it just with this attitude is it karma yoga without bringing God into the equation yes in fact that's literally what krishna said towards you no he didn't bring god in here and that's why swami vivekanand in his Karma Yoga he of course talks about doing worship as while doing work as worship of God but he also mentions duty for duties sake do the work because it is to be done I have no other you know angle to this so one can do karma yoga like that also but it's actually much easier if you if you have a little bit of faith if we have a little - faith in God and most of us be too many people declare themselves proudly I don't like all that god I'm an atheist it's easy to talk not so easy sir but if you have a little bit of faith in God the idea that I'm doing it for my beloved Lord it makes that Duty that much sweeter that work which is dry harsh duty it becomes much sweeter if I'm doing it as worship of my beloved now I have made up my mind I'm going to make rapid progress today I remember we had a teacher a Swami who is to teach us when we were novices and he would say that he would easily get sidetracked so he would come with a very firm and stern expression on his face and he would say today I am NOT going to get sidetracked I'm going to finish this portion and weand as mischievous Brahma Chad his novices we knew how to yes we would ask or we would say something that was totally wrong you know it was it's not connecting he would get furious and start correcting us our we would ask for a story what was the story about such and such thing about Vivekananda up and he would go up on this with nice story he loved telling stories and at then when the bell would ring and he would look shocked I didn't do anything today but now I'm going to make progress today so the topic of karma yoga continues verse number 48 47 is the central verse which we have done 48 yoga strocker morning guru Kirmani Sangam to enjoy sangam-dong Jaya sit dear Seiji ozawa sit deceit do some of sumit from yoga chat a summit to am yoga OJT do thy work or Juna established in yoga do perform your actions giving up attachment and unconcerned about the success or failure this evenness of mind is called yoga this is the verse now he says how should you do your work which work here it does not mean your vedanta he means your day-to-day work the work of being a warrior of a householder all the work that you do at home and in the community and in your profession yoga's guru karmani do work established in yoga what yoga's meant here karma yoga what is karma yoga the commentator says Parameshwara a kappa rata the trusty taaha being one pointed devotion to God established in that seat nowhere in the picture God is dead but the God is introduced by the commentator and they're not wrong it will be introduced in other chapters later on my devotion to my lord my krishna ramakrishna or christ in whatever form my devotion to my god this is god's work now the work in the temple and church obviously is God's work but the work in the office is God's work work in the house is God's work internally and being established in that one pointedness Sangam tech to are giving up attachments this particular commentator Sridhar swami says here it means giving up all other support i am doing work not with the help of other people or money or health or my my education all of those are there but my real support is God I am doing work for God and with God's help I remember a beautiful story about a senior swami who was who worked very hard all his life and he was ill towards the end of his life very ill and he was staying we have a place where old monk stay in our main monestry and he would say I never met him I heard from others he would say with such great peace in his face you know he would say there is a joy in being taken up and used and broken and set aside the God has taken me up and used me as an instrument through me he has worked for the welfare of God a part of the welfare of all and now the instrument is broken and has been set aside there is great peace in that also I was reading Swami Turia and the G he is saying to a monk not to a young devotee work hard whatever task the Lord sets before you do it with all your heart he says pronti and with all your heart when you finish one work you will see the Lord will give you another and when you finish that the Lord will give you another and he will give you a few such works after which he will you are retired permanently he said forever in an eternal vacation in the Bible Jesus Christ says very beautifully for my yoke is light come unto me that are heavy laden you are suffering in the world unhappy burdened give all that up at the feet of the Lord I will also make you work God also makes you work but he says my yoke is light it is a joy to work for God he will not suffer you will not get caught in this but the Lord will make you work for sometime why for our own spiritual progress karmayoga he will make us - I remember in in California in Hollywood you have to remember the context is important its Hollywood so now we're on to Society Saturday once in a fortnight or so set set aside for karma yoga so it's an announcement in the website and this lady comes along in her yoga pants and yoga mat but what what's this new karma yoga that it's the latest brand of a variety of yoga and then she was told no here just the Swami just makes you work hard that's all you're going to be cleaning pruning working in the garden things like that but bless her heart she worked very hard and she did that kind of car mijo so the Lord makes you do this and he says Cedar City or success or failure not only worldly success or failure the commentators point out the ultimate success or failure that will I become enlightened or not he says that Feliciana therapy the result of all these spiritual practices is enlightenment don't even keep your mind on that I do this out of love for my lord not because when are you giving me enlightenment again I've been at it for twenty years thirty years I didn't sign up for this no even let that go also some you've awakened this is fix your end the goal in mind then take up the means and give all your heart to the means when the means that perfected the end will come of itself so when you are not so much concerned with the success and failure what will happen is harsha fish are they are summer boudoir harsha means elation enthusiastic elation delight oh this worked out so well in America will say wow great and the opposite the more wow you do the other other thing is also there the moment it fails is slight problem depressed depression free of elation and depression whether it's successful or it's a failure in worldly terms it's always a success because you are worshiping God it's internal motivation you're always successful externally there might be success sometimes and they might not might will be success sometimes and will be failure sometimes worldly people are caught in that and they go through these waves up ups and downs don't be caught in that don't be don't go through these waves or ups and downs elation and depression even mindedness be even minded even mind it only when you take your eyes of results I mentioned this earlier this person who did wonderful who is doing wonderful work for our fanciulla in India more than a thousand kids is taking care of all free so somebody asked him I was there somebody asked him you are so successful so what motivates you and he said something wonderful he's an original thinker too and people are amazed by the work he does but I noticed that what he says it's all original thinking he has read all philosophy awakened and everything but when he speaks it's just coming from within for example his answer to the question about motivation how do you keep your motivation up he said I have an external motivation and an internal intrinsic motivation the external motivation is I was taking care of three kids first and then it was 15 and was 500 now it's a thousand good it's progressing and it's motivating so I have milestones and these are being covered but I also know it could have failed there are so many nonprofits I'm not doing too well either it could have failed there's no guarantee that it it would have succeeded the way it did but my internal motivation is this is the right thing to do my heart tells bits the right thing to do I'll keep on doing it even if I don't succeed if externally success that's one thing in turn which good very good God's blessing is there but internally it's the right thing to do therefore I'm doing it external success and failure does not make such a difference there's peace of mind because I know I'm doing the right thing to do that is you are covered against the ups and downs your proof against elation and depression in contrast to this is the work that we generally do verse number fourteen nine our daily activities how do they go and what are they like 49 during ever omkaram during a ram karma would do garden enjoy would do gangaiah Bhutto Sharon Amman which buddham sharanam on which creeper now follow heat creeper Nepal ahead far inferior to work prompted by desire compared to the karmayoga oak or tuna so take refuge in wisdom but Doge or an homage each and which are those who work for satisfaction of their worldly desires they are crippled our world is interesting the word creepella is used literally it means the misers or the petty are the small or inferior miserable this is a word used in the Upanishads to talk about those who do not attain enlightenment come to the human birth and depart without attaining God without attaining Bramha Gyan attaining enlightenment moksha this is what human life is for not having done that I go away from this world Crippen are the the petty the small the miserable the unfortunate number of times in the brethren ago punish it for example it is said yah yah doc sharing our gear we did to abide it to a smart local variety sacra para huh Yaga Velcade great Roisin debris on our necks is too Gargi by the way woman she was a great philosopher in fact in the Brittany condition you find these debates between a yogi eval he was kind of the hero of the Breanna cop initial and his main opponent there are series of other philosophers who command child the the discourses form most of the are a big part of the opposition and his main opponent is gargy who's the most prominent among in the whole range of philosophers there so he says to Gargi o gargy those who depart from this world without having realized the imperishable aksaram evaded tuam without realizing the imperishable those who depart from this world Crippen aha Crippen and that one is an unfortunate one the petty one them the miserable one the cane open Ishod says let mehat even Asti it says the great is the destruction great is the loss of the one who departs from this world without enlightenment I forget the exact one line root issue with this which adhira prettiest Motlow card and without warranty will come back anyway so creeper aha in the Manduca those who attend the Manduca class you will realize you will remember in the first verse of the third chapter it says who pass on our street o Dharma Jyoti Brahmin averted a Rajput a rajim serve 'm Tina's okra Paris with haha so those who remain in dualism throughout their lives and they think that yes we were all one reality before creation but now I'm a miserable little human being and God is something separate from me this separation so that one is called a creep on a miserable one a petty one because the one has fractured oneself separated oneself from thee from the infinite so the idea is we must not be like this now in this verse the one who acts for fulfilling worldly desires is called tripping AHA you might say uh-oh that's not good news true but all of us we have to transcend this the very fact that we are here we are looking for spiritual wisdom we are trying to work in spiritual life and get to evolve spiritually that means we're trying to overcome what is called Karpin yam the the state of being a owner so I am now trying to become spiritual so overcome my creepin a state has change it to the enlightened one what is the creepin of the one who works for the fulfillment of petty personal desires during a human Karma far inferior is the lower work lower what means work done for fulfillment of desires compared to would do god Dan and Jaya compared to Karma Yoga the thing is the word used here is Buddha yoga a peculiar term which comes in the gita if you literally trance trance late it it becomes wisdom yoga now the commentator gives two meanings for this what is this wisdom Yoga this wisdom Yoga is Karma Yoga what we are discussing now one meaning or he says this Karma Yoga is a means to wisdom to enlightenment therefore it's called wisdom Yoga what are the two interpretation one is Buddha yoga means Karma Yoga booty Yoga is equal to Karma Yoga to do the work as worship of God selflessly or it might mean I am practicing this with another aim in view that is enlightenment do you remember the structure of spiritual practice it good to keep it in mind problem solution method three columns problem the problems are ignorant mind scattered mind in pure mind solution for ignorant mind knowledge enlightenment solution for impure mind purity also for scattered mind concentration solution for impure mind purity what are the methods for gaining enlightenment ganna Yoga is the method shravana Manon and Alethea sera to hear this constantly to meditate upon this to reason this out what is the method to concentration meditation devotion and meditation and what is the method of attaining purity of mind Karma Yoga so now you see he says Karma Yoga is a means to enlightenment what is the process there by purifying my mind through karma yoga with that pure mind when I meditate I get a concentrated mind with that pure and concentrated mind this Vedanta gives me enlightenment directly keep that structure in mind but hold it loosely it's only a structure it's a paradigm is it the only possible paradigm as I said no rather there are many ways infinite are the paths to God no this is the structure in Advaita Vedanta but I guess they didn't talk about it as a matrix I just sort of put it this way yeah then you have a question yes Yeah right good question the question is I'm repeating the question I've been told infinite number of times it repeat the question there's an audience around the world who can't hear the question so they get a very irritated the question is you just mentioned the mandoke here and said that those who are in duality are Kripa now the verse in Manduca says that but there are other interpretations of Veda and the Rahman whose interpretation modify his interpretation they are all dualistic interpretations so they are also based on the Upanishads this doesn't seem to be two ways of saying this what I just said so isn't it part of their cannon isn't it part of their text notice what I quoted was from the Manduca karika not from the Mundaka Upanishad the Manduca carica is composed by goda pada that guru pada is a strict non duelist got up Adi Shankaracharya s-- gurus guru so he's a strict non duelist his interpretation of Manduca is strictly non dual therefore he says something like this this verse will not be courted by ramanuja Medora he'll create a lot of confusion of death but they definitely accept the mandu combination but they give a dualistic meaning to it yeah here also this all this Karma Yoga it sounds dualistic and it is but the ultimate goal is self-knowledge which is non-dualistic so gotta bother will not have any objection to this he will say it's a good preparation so from non dual perspective karma yoga bhakti yoga Raji over there all good preparations and Gyana yoga is privileged above everything else does that answer your query yeah to answer it directly no they would not take this this particular verse composed by God or father as an authoritative one but they will definitely take the dookey Upanishad not the carica as part of their cannon they have to is based on you finish it and then good though Sharon Amon which I take refuge in Buddha now this also is given two interpretations literally if you translate it take refuge in wisdom but if the two interpretations are that yes mother even the smart would dope up inebriated whare garnish our own Amash reom karma yoga and with charity stuff what does it mean that in order to overcome the impurities of mind take refuge in karma yoga so that you will attain to enlightenment you see the by the structure is useful where did impurity of mine come and where does the whole structure will immediately understand what he wants to say here he says take ray take refuge in wisdom means take up karma yoga spiritual eyes your day-to-day work so that you will purify the mind of its impurities resulting ultimately in wisdom or enlightenment all that he gets from this word take refuge in wisdom that's one interpretation another interpretation also interesting take refuge in wisdom this is a Sanskrit grammar comes in useful the seventh case means in means literally in that locus in the one who stays in your body or intellect or in your wisdom who stays inside us God so take refuge in God who shines within your mind or your heart or your intellect take refuge in that God and do your work that also can be the meaning and he says yet wha or else you can take another interpretation Budo sharanam refuge in Buddha means Trotta Rameshwaram are shreya take refuge in Ishwara the God who is the savior tratar am who saves you from samsara then number 50 Budi octo gelati hub boo dr. Joe hottie huh obese okra to discrete e OB so critter discrete e the smart yoga you're you just that's Mario Gallo you just wah yogah karmasu kaushalam yogah karmasu kaushalam [Music] endowed with this wisdom which wisdom karma yoga how to spiritualize my daily action endowed with this wisdom one gets rid of both good and evil both good and evil I'll explain that even here therefore take to yoga yoga is skill in work this requires explanation and some unpacking how do you what do you mean overcoming good and evil you're supposed to become good no not overcoming evil is understood but it's supposed to become good here there's a technical meaning the words used a secreted escrita good actions means dharmic actions religious actions pious actions discreet amines sinful actions now usually the lower religion the mass religion she says give up sinful actions give a papa karma Dharma not Dharma and do that which is religious good which is meritorious why the why is important if you do that which is bad and clearly your conscience tells you this is wrong then the result is suffering in this world and after death the other place is there some people say oh the that's a Christian thing it's not in Hinduism although Hinduism is not one but many hell's only difference is they are not permanent they're all caused by my my action so I get the results of my bad action there are special places for me where my bad action is burnt off and the good action the Dharma the pious action after death you go to this much better places which are again a whole range of heavens so the traditional ritualistic Vedic Hindu the paradigm he thought in was he or she thought in was after death let me be good in this life let me do all the rituals prescribed by the religion and be good and moral in my day-to-day life so that so that after death I do not have to go to the bad place after death I go to heaven good place I heard there is a TV serial about going to heaven called a good place TV serial and everybody goes to heaven and what happens there and so on but that's a result of Dharma of doing good work with a motive in mind that's also motivated I had said at the beginning there's a difference between mass religion and spirituality spirituality Vedanta is not meant for going from this place to that place or changing this for that Vedanta is meant for realizing the truth and freedom I want freedom from this entire business of going here and going and coming and attaining this and losing that so enlightenment is God realization salvation whatever you call it that is different there you should not have this motive even of course I will not do anything sinful or bad or evil but I will also not try to do good things so that I can go to heaven why will I do good things and what will I do in life I will do good here's the important thing I will do good continuously without break but I will do that for my own purification for the welfare of the world I am doing that for God realization not for going to heaven afterwards so that's what he means you will overcome both good and evil means not that you'll become some kind of a moral creature you'll be very moral very ethical but it's not for a ulterior purpose people will give me awards in this life and next life I'll go to heaven not for that purpose you know I I remember there was a game like a board game we find it in the gospel also they played it was called gulab Donna I think so you play like with with dice and you have a counter which moves it's like snakes and ladders and I don't know if kids play that anymore maybe they do on computers now in this game is you have to go to the highest heaven of Vishnu you have to be in the abode of Vishnu that's the goal but in in on the way there are good and bad places including a number of hells and this hells are very nicely depicted in one there's a big cauldron and the poor fellow falls into that is being roasted and boiled and you can't die because you're already dead so and there's this and there's this other place is very nice little cartoons and and and those those are the the little imps and devils they look like really cool creatures you know like they're really having the time of their lives then there are another have a hell was full of thorns and wild animals and you know it's like that I actually saw that and I think did we play or not well I had one of those you know there are all obsolete now but we in our monastery we had one of those boards are you to question just a minute here I had a question I'll come back to you yes we have work for purification of my mind how do I say it's not selfish it's a question which keeps coming back again and again is the desire for God realization selfish or not the answer is no why not because we must first understand what is meant by selfish what is meant by selfish is when I'm completely attached to this little body and mind and all my actions are for this body and mind everything is for me and mine I and my family and that's it I don't care what happens to others so my family also notice that it's connected to mine it's connected to this body so identification with the body actions done for that for keeping this body happy this particular person happy that selfish whereas enlightenment god realization whatever you call it salvation that actually cuts at the root of this selfishness so you are no longer doing it for your particular this body and when I say I'm doing it for enlightenment I'm doing it for karma yoga I'm doing it to purify my mind but what am i doing I am doing it all without regard to the particular petty results which come to me it will come if you do work it will come but I don't I'm not doing it for that anymore I am NOT doing it because it's my duty I am NOT doing it because it's for the welfare of others I am now doing it because it's worship of God nothing for me particularly and all that I want for myself is God but it literally is shorthand or - that's the placeholder for saying I'm overcoming this pettiness the smallness this creep Anna Griffin has smallness God realization leads to the vast that is unselfish that's a wonderful goal to have su ramakrishna put all this in a very simple way he would say in his colloquial Bengali that sweets cause acidity acid reflux but sugar candies not to be counted among sweets mystery because it it's acts as an antacid similarly desire for the world it causes suffering but desire for God is not to be counted as a desire because it destroys all suffering and destroys all worldly desire roads right so are you asking the question is just by performing karma yoga can you go beyond good and evil can you by the sense that can you go beyond good and evil a bit can you attain the admin can you become enlightened actually Swami Vivekananda would say yes but the structure that we have set up here because of the traditional Vedanta would say no no from karma yoga you have to come to meditation from meditation you have to come to knowledge yes but we are doing all of that at the same time anyway yes see this is the question again does question is conducts bhakti-yoga not purify the mind the answer is yes it does do you notice what I said that this paradigm which I gave is one paradigm it's the paradigm of classical adwaita vedanta to understand Shankar Acharya and the followers of Shankar Alexia and others you have to keep it in mind what's the role of Karma Yoga what's the role of dianna what's the role of bhakti and what's the role of Gianna knowledge knowledge devotion love and the knowledge love meditation and work they all have the particular it's like a structure but if you say suppose just by love of God can my mind be purified yes yes can my mind be concentrated yes do I have to do all the yogic meditations no no it can be concentrated can knowledge enlightenment come yes because how will enlightened men come because God will give you that enlightenment that Gita himself in Sri Krishna will say to my birth to my devotees I gave body that means a wisdom I will give Sri Ramakrishna's to say my mother has shown me everything so if you take up just one pointed love it will work at all levels but I would say so what is the conclusion then it's up to you Hinduism always presents a wide menu of choices and I always say it's safer and better to use all our powers and the power to love we have the power to do you have the power to know and understand to concentrate all the four yoga's in harmony in tandem are very good just each of the yoga's Swami prema Chandra has an essay on this each yoga by itself has attendant dangers so I'm awake on the set by practicing all of these yoga's together they balance each other equally poising balancing and evening out the disadvantages of each very quickly what are the disadvantages but Tioga can lead to sentimentalism the weepy kind of devotee and interested in festivals and Pujols and the food and and the ritual that it's very natural and there are such people they become whereas karma yoga the other yoga's balance it out what is the problem with karma yoga doing good to others it makes your mind knocks extroverted it leads to immediate success and and and popularity in the world see all the other yoga's are private but Karma Yoga is not private you are engaged with the world and when you do your work with evenness of mind become the sin serenity and with the welfare of others in mind you will become popular immediately who doesn't like a person who is who is sacrificing doing things for you people will like you and so you have schools and colleges and the hospitals monks we do we do that kind of work in India and society I mean I've been told that really all these people who come to you they are not coming to you for your Vedanta and adwaita and all that in India they're coming because they have a child to put in the school or a patient to be admitted in your hospital or something like that and society appreciates the good work that you do the government appreciates the good work that you do so immediate success and popularity that's one result of karmayoga immediate all the other yoga's their successes takes time and so all internal who knows oh I had deep meditation today yeah but what's it - what's it to me what's it to me didn't do me any good and what's it what's it to me anyway you got some peace of mind so so that's the problem with karma yoga it was not meant to make you extroverted and one gets swept away after all it's good work balance comes I remember amongst in our our our senior monks they would say if they saw the young novices getting too involved in the work Apps aspect go back to your room sit and meditate if you cannot meditate you sleep in your room but don't come out study or sleep also don't come out until the dinner bell is rung you stayin like you stay in a cell the mind is restless so the mind wants an excuse to go out and do things so at certain level because it's a monastery a certain level is set you can't go out and party or do anything like that you're stuck there what's there only some good work is there so the mind finds a very good excuse even in the evening when you're supposed to meditate here I am working in the office or studying in the library no senior monks would keep a watch over the novices go back meditate go to the temple and meditate or go back to your room balance what's the problem with meditation Dhyana yoga Raja Yoga makes you selfish my meditation my peace of mind I've seen good Yogi's really good sincere Yogi's they become kind of perfectionist and also my peace of mind my routine leave me alone and when things don't go my way how upset I get with so quickly I have seen Yogi's in the Himalayas really peaceful wonderful but there is a weakness there bring them here it'll be like a fish out of water they'll get rattled very easily Swami Vivekananda said the ideal of karma yoga is when you are standing he used the example of New York he said some Street he said in New York is standing there today it would be Times Square your mind will be as calm as if you are in a mountain cave and he says when you are meditating in the mountain cave your mind should be so alert and active it says it can work like a blast furnace that meditate pray whatever you're doing it can do that that kind of evenness what is the problem with Gianni yoga the path of knowledge intellectualization it becomes oh I've read that book I know that argument and I can beat you in all arguments but that doesn't help you to become enlightened so these are the problems of the individual yoga's bhakti-yoga can do all of the work can meditation purify my mind there are accounts of Yogi's in meditation when the desires come up with the read his accounts who at the very subtle level they approved the desires in the mind itself it's very difficult it's much easier to do that as Swami told me he says it's only advanced Yogi's you can do that ordinary people like us we need external struggle a very valuable advice ordinary people like us to progress in spiritual life we need external struggle difficult people poor health financial worries bad weather parking worries all of that it's a good training ground can I keep my mind calm and peaceful while doing what isn't what is needed yes a spiritual gymnasium right so I move a country uses this this metaphor he says it's like a gymnasium where we come to work and this purifies the mind you can do the same thing sitting in meditation but that you'd have to be very accomplished meditator somebody used a very beautiful example there are surgical instruments and there are doctors here you know Surgical they are very fine and well balanced sterilized and there's a spade by which you can remove mud now you can remove mud with the surgical instrument also but it's a very difficult process and you will damage the instrument in that in that process you can remove the mud in the mind with the help of meditation also it's a long convoluted and and unnecessarily difficult process it may sound easier oh if I sit quietly and I can remove all the purify my mind it won't work just fall asleep so the Harmonia for yoga's is very good and with a few exceptions with a few exceptions most teachers in hinduism the different schools of Vedanta they will recommend all the four yoga's in different combinations if somebody mentioned Ramanuja he also recommends Karma Yoga his ladder is karma yoga ghana ghana and the jana daehan is not emphasized karma-yoga jnana-yoga bhakti yoga my karma yoga purified the mind by Gyana yoga realized that you're a spark of consciousness that you are not the body mind your witness consciousness and then have bhakti to the total consciousness because vashisht on twitter is total in part so your relation to Parameshwara is that the supreme lord is devotion love that's the final thing and then he takes up from there everything is about bhakti that is Ramana just point of view but notice that he gives importance to all the yoga's there are teachers I know chaitanya mahaprabhu who says love itself is enough a twosie everything is done by love yes all right so obey sook return discreetly go beyond this mass religion of being trying to be meritorious and trying to avoid sinful action I'll do good work so I'll go to heaven afterwards and I have good time and I will avoid sinful work so that I don't be I'm not punished by it this religion of reward and Punishment fear that's a kind of religion but that's a very lower form of religion one must transcend that very soon one must one must go beyond that I am good because I like being good I am good because it's my nature it fits my nature my real nature is the Atman it's pure consciousness it's it's it's complete it is not dependent on the world for handouts why should I be worried about you know whether my little petty desires are being fulfilled or not not afraid of the stick the carrot and the stick jahar tea a very important point gives up this attitude and takes two karma yoga but this gives up very beautiful point is made here remember always you can do this only by the grace of God very beautiful point he says he has earned money in this life the verse makes a good point he her Eva that means he ha he ha means here in this life not you know when do you become enlightened after death no no here now but it takes a great great grace to be able to really do this one must have a prayerful heart what he says the commentator says he has earned money Parameshwara Prasad a majority IATI only by the grace great grace of Lord one is blessed with such a mind which wants to be spiritual which gives up little desires in the world with ease otherwise what will happen you know I have seen this happen I remember one young man he was a monk in the Himalayas in one of our little ashrams on the bank of the Ganga unhappy all the time grumpy unhappy and a senior monk scolded him once I will not eat goat the exact words which are not very polite but he said look you have been set free from all worldly cares you have your daily food it's given to you by society you have a roof over your head nobody wants anything from you you know that you're not being pulled into anything you have taken taken care of you have you have the Lord you have the mantra you have enough time to meditate with a free heart a clean conscience unhappiness is the sign of desire what do you want he said and then he gave a list of what he might be wanting that's why but I'm avoiding see in the way he put it was these are the things that we provide and amongst life that you get it and these are the things we do not provide but you have clearly said I don't want these things that's the meaning of becoming a monk but you see it's easy to say that if you really deep inside if somebody wants it the result will be unhappiness swami ranganatha and ji I still remember he's the president of the order he said simple instruction for spiritual seeker young novices he would say never grumble never grumble the ones you've become a spiritual seeker you've given up the right to complain never tremble I don't know if I should say this but let's say it anyway I heard it from a senior monk who saw it long time ago swami vishwananda ji was the president of our order at that time and in the main ministry the monks go for offering pronounce to the president of the order old monks and the younger ones and new novices so one day an old Swami he went and out of the innocence of his not in front of everybody he said Maharaja Swami to the president of the order Swami please bless me I have no peace you know in my heart suddenly the president who is just sit quietly you've seen his pictures even he looks extraordinary he was like a bird of Emmanuel's only 26 kilos how many how much is that in pounds when he passed away him I had less than fifty pounds the tiny man but like a literally glowing even in the old black-and-white pictures he was sitting there this usually serene president of the order he lashed out sharply to this senior venerable old monk get out to the horror of everybody standing there and this monkey went red in the face he bowed and quick quickly left the place after everybody had left he came back trembling and he fell at the feet of the president I said if I said anything wrong please forgive me but I don't know what I said wrong then the president head Swami the president he said in a very quiet and gentle voice you are a monk of this order so many people Calcutta is across the river so many people from Calcutta worldly people with all their troubles they come to you for peace if you don't have peace what can I say to you which means you have been given all the opportunities for cultivating a spiritual life and getting the peace you want if at this point you say that you don't have peace what can I say to you it doesn't matter it doesn't mean that the Swami had no peace it but what I understand is like a passing cloud yeah it gets a shock and he realizes yes of course what am I worried about yogah karmasu kaushalam karmasu yes so yoga is skill in action this has to be well understood because I have heard this quoted and misquoted number of times so two definitions of yoga we have come across I'm 38 verse summit Romeo Gao jetty evenness of mind is called yoga what is meant by that Yoga Karma Yoga what evenness of mind when you are doing work why is the mind why is there evenness because my internal compass is towards God external results do not matter that's why the evenness of my intestate then I am doing Karma Yoga another definition of yoga is given here it's also Karma Yoga it says killed-in-action is yoga miss coated immediately people think if you are an expert in something you do the work very well it's good and it's a sign of a concentrated mind a trained mind good but that's not what is meant by yoga what is meant here is skill in action is yoga it means that skill which transforms the daily activities of the world which are usually binding which catch you in samsara using those to get free of samsara that is the skill actions which bind us in the world to that skill which uses those very actions to set us free from the world from samsara that is skilled action that is yoga what yoga is that karma yoga it is karma yoga with a very beautiful description learn that skill of action in work in job in family in your interactions with people in what is that spiritual skill which will transform this action into a spiritual encounter for me internally and not trapped me further in life way in in samsara in core why is this important in contrast to it is the path of the traditional monk who simply gives up these actions all together I don't have a job I don't have a family so as a traditional in a monastic life no job no money no family no property relationships I had the same ship with everybody especially the relationship might be there with the Guru but that's also a spiritual relationship otherwise have the same relationship with everybody and so that solves the problem of relationships so that is a traditional monastic life but suppose you don't do that you come to continue with life in the world then how do you do it what do you do for 16 hours a day when you're dealing with with the office and and the family and skill in action so the sanskrit commentary here is KO Shalem skill when the karnaugh map it'shim Ishwara zunino moksha path to some pardon some partner some part and Achaia to reom cheo reom means that skill and that cleverness is not a good word that intelligence that which Mundek anima p those actions which normally bind us in the world they are used he says moksha product to some father how do I convert them that they're helpful for my moksha liberation salvation how you'll notice Ishwara Radha Nina is introduced by worship of God nowhere in the picture God but that means Karma Yoga done as worship of God he continues 51 car majin buu D Utah he car majin buu deal tahi palimony Sheena [Music] palimony Sheena Genma Banda be near Mukta janma van de venir muta padam qianqian Adam got chunky Onam I am endowed with this wisdom giving up the results of action attaining self-realization freed from the bondage of birth and death they go to that abode which is free from evil so the whole process is mentioned here keep in mind the framework what happens Karma's embody octa he fell under tois giving up the results of action how Budi octa being practicing karma yoga but dr means karma yoga practicing that Karma Yoga one gives up attachment to the results of action then what happens one becomes enlightened through knowledge money Sheena one becomes enlightened if you look at the original text by practicing Karma Yoga one gives up attachment to the worldly results and becomes money she money she means enlightened if you look at the commentary they introduced the structure so commentary' says Karma Jim Fallon kept wah giving up the results of of work how cave Alam Ishwara da Northam karma karana doing work only as worship of God then is equal to money she no Ghani no both were becoming a Ghani even the virgin is not the word knowledge is not even mentioned here they introduced what are they doing they are building up that structure that that met matrix so that's there then what is the result of becoming enlightened Ghani Joan mum janma rupena bond Rana veneer Makaha being free of the bondage of life and death Burton death being free of the bondage of birth and death so this is how traditionally Hindus Buddhists Jains Sikhs understood the spiritual problem it's a formulation particular formulation that we are we are undergoing a cycle of birth and death and freedom is freedom from the cycle of birth and death somebody asked me but suppose those who follow Abrahamic religions we don't talk about multiple lives of births and deaths just this one life so there you need not put the whole thing in the form of Burton death you can put it in the form of suffering transcending suffering attainment of permanent peace and bliss that is also moksha that's the same thing that in the worldview of the Hindu is freedom from the cycle of birth and death do you understand the two models the birth and death model may not be acceptable to those who do not believe in multiple lives but transcending suffering and attainment of peace and bliss everybody wants just every living being wants it and then so being free then where do they go it says so the language here is very beautiful padam that qianqian our Maya on our Miam they go to that that state or that abode which is forever free of trouble in Sanskrit anam I am sorry but Rama Revere item wish no hope Adam moksha come yet chanting they attain that that state which is beyond suffering server open draw our hitam forever beyond suffering what is that state look how it is introduced wish no hope Adam the the state of Vishnu literally the word Vishnu she Sanskrit leave if you look at it normally if you say Vishnu it immediately a Hindu deity and you know there's a particular iconography art mythology but if you look at the Vishnu that which is all-pervading his vision which is or what is all-pervading Atman or Brahman our real nature you attain to that moksha come that itself is called freedom or function this is the meaning practice karma yoga and I am adding here through meditation and all that finally you come to ghana yoga through ghana you get a enlightenment this is called mana scheana and through that enlightenment one overcomes the cycle of birth and death where does one go to that aboard or state which is already yours which you are actually which is oneness with Brahman or your your real nature moksha freedom Nirvana Salvation whatever you call it just a couple of more verses are there before Arjuna's question will come that we will see next time I was or your question yes so far is going to come pretty quickly yes a butcher who became enlightened and the monk was not enlightened the bank was not here the monk was taught by the house five and was taught by the butcher and they all they did it by practicing karma yoga and come to you just big one book is reading recently is by a French philosopher it's called a brief history of thought I picked it up from the bookshop because of the French they don't like the English of the Americans so they are very independent in their thought and so I was surprised I've read so many books about Western philosophy but they're all English books this book is a translation from the French his name is Luke Ferry he was he is a philosopher he was a French education minister also the whole book is is talking about Western thought from starting from the Greeks but the presentation is entirely different quite different from what you come across in books written by English authors or American philosophers if you just go to the recommended reading at the back not a single word by any English or American author is cited it's all by up to three French authors and one German author and finished but what is interesting is the way he puts it very remarkable you may agree or disagree with this but it gives you a very sweeping worldview of the Western thought he says basically three things are there in philosophy in in philosophical thought it's three things one is he says theory he uses the original theory ax which he says it means I see this is the exact sanskrit equivalent of dutch Shantanu see to see the ultimate reality theory what is your theory about the ultimate reality second is ethics what are we to do and third is salvation he says how what is the answer in that particular system in any system to the great problem of death I have never seen it put this way by any way any Western philosopher this is literally the way Indians understand philosophy what is the solution to the problem of death what are we to do and what is the nature of ultimate reality you can easily answer those questions from a Vedantic perspective you can answer it from a Buddhist perspective and what this philosopher does is he says in the West we have had four great waves of thought one is the Greek thought that was overthrown by Christianity when Christianity was overthrown by what he calls modernism rationality science and then he says modernism is under challenge by what is called post modernity and very interestingly at the end he says if you ask me to choose and each one what do they say about ultimate reality theoria what did they say about ethics what are we to do and what do they say about salvation he says as far as salvation is concerned ultimate freedom from suffering from death he says I would always prefer the Christian I would prefer Christianity in comparison to Greek thinking and modernism and post-modernism remember it's a 21st century French philosopher but being French he is always as the twist in the tale so he says I always would prefer Christianity except that I don't believe it's true except that it's false so I can't believe in it now what am I left with this is what is this is the beauty of vedanta swami vivekananda Reap redefines represented wadn't in this age as the science of religion as the underlying logic of religion I have heard many people a well-known Muslim preacher in India who said I was a very a theistic young student and I became interested in religion only after reading Vedanta and Vivekananda and I became interested in Islam and I got back my faith in my religion I've heard people who became interested in their religion in their faith also because of this insight from Vedanta should send it to look very this myth in this book if he can recover his faith in yes they're quite let's hear the questions before we end yes enlightenment for animals they'll have to wait until until they come in to they'll have to wait that the result is that the same what do you mean by animals if you mean the sentient being the Jiva in an animal body so when the karma being burnt up the bad karma being burnt up being in an animal body when it's it's gone the body dies the Jiva goes on to other birds and hopefully someday the human birth so in all Indian mythology Buddhist Hindu the human birth is considered very very rare and very valuable but why is it valuable it's valuable because we make spiritual progress in this birth you had a question I hope I didn't scare you of the yoga's so I've decided not to practice any of the yoga the side effects sound too bad yes and extraverted yes it's its duty you can take it as duty as helpful to other people as my worship of God one or more or all of these but is it duty is it I am doing it to maintain myself and my family so then it becomes your duty right if you are taking salary from it you are getting paid for that job didn't your duty to deliver right Arjuna's work the nastiest work possible warrior in a battlefield and so duty you can take it as duty you can take it as here itself I worship my lord this this work I'm doing this coding I'm doing or this files I'm signing or this deal I'm closing and mentally I offer it to the Lord you can do that any work can be connected which is not openly immoral any work can be connected and offered to God very good let's conclude here Oh ante Shante Shante he hurry he own that sat sri ramakrishna must do you notice the thing which we say add entry Ramakrishna autonomous - we offer this work along with its results - at the feet of Sri Ramakrishna let's karmayoga this we should do for all work your first question I didn't answer getting swept away but getting swept up is not the consequence of Karma Yoga it's a danger you and you will not get swept away if you do karma yoga properly without attachment to results who get swept away who gets attached to the results you