Video 20

20. Bhagavad Gita I Chapter 2 Verses 55-56 I Swami Sarvapriyananda

Oh Vasudeva Suton deivam comes our new rama Dunham's dave aqui para maana and krishnam vande guru today's Sri Ramakrishna's birthday it's a very auspicious day of just thinking that in the sri ramakrishna Avatara god as mother is most dominant is most manifest in vedanta we accept all forms and all teachings about God in the different religions but then each one of us we practice with one what is called Ishta devatha those who are initiated so in a particular form we know that all the teachings all the form and formless all of them are true all of them are the same reality but for purpose of practice we have one big focus on one shri ramakrishna his Ishta devatha was Kali was the was God as mother especially in the form of Kali so God as mother the the Sacred Feminine I was thinking today's the International Women's Day in a fortunate coincidence auspicious coincidence the Gita Sri Ramakrishna had good words to say about the Gita which is special because as you know Sri Ramakrishna did not put much emphasis on book-learning reading books in fact he used to make fun of that but about the Gita he would say the Gita is a very good book please read the Gita in Bengali would say Gita poor vague otaku boy so it's a very good book I don't under place in the gospel of sri ramakrishna we find do you know what the Gita means he says if you repeat it fast ten times Geeta Geeta Geeta staggie no Geeta targhee becomes like that if you recite it at a stretch taggi is a sort of play on the word tiaki TRG means renunciation which means giving up all worldliness so this is that is the essence of the Gita the Bhagavad Gita and in fact today we will see how it is directly related to what what we are going to study today is directly related to what sri ramakrishna said what he said was their sense of bhagavad-gita so before I started thinking we should pray to sri ramakrishna on this auspicious day that made this gita study of the bhagavad-gita be illumining in our lives made the knowledge embodied here shine forth in this very life itself and may our lives be blessed in the bhagavad-gita we were towards the end of the second chapter if you say the most important chapters are the 2nd and the 18th but basically the 2nd chapter includes everything an 18th is a kind of kind of comprehensive summary of everything the second chapter the three great themes where first is Gyana yoga the doctrine of the Atman what are we who are we in the Manduca Upanishad when we study we see at the very beginning everything is Brahman and you are Brahman so there is an ultimate reality which is manifested in all this way and that ultimate reality is you yourself so by knowing ourselves we know Brahman and by knowing Rahman we know everything we know the the reality about everything so the doctrine of the self Atman what are we and we learned that I'm not the body not the mind the body is born and dies and many bodies we have had the mind changes continuously but beyond the body and mind I am pure consciousness existence consciousness place such chit Ananda so this is the teaching which was given immortal spirits we are not the ashle body not the ever-changing mind then the second great theme was what do I do with this life so do I have to become a monk which Arjuna said should we have to make a radical change when people become enthusiastic about spiritual light the first thing they do is take out their passports and get a visa for India back from this country the back pocket in India two people make a rush for the Himalayas or something and it doesn't end well but since some cases Rainsford but the thing is how what do I do that krishna gives a remarkable piece of advice he says you don't have to do anything new but you have to have a new attitude to what you are doing completely revolutionize your own attitude I remember reading it was I think Elliot TS Eliot he says we shall search sail I can't I don't remember the exact language but it's very beautiful we shall sail forth in search of new lands new adventure and you know like seeing many things in all and when we finally come back to where we started and see things and you see things with fresh eyes we come back with the same place same life same people same body and mind and same circumstances but for the first time we begin to see we really begin to see what this is and what this is is nothing other than God so Karma Yoga is the second great theme how to spiritualize our everyday life which life not that you have to run up to a monastery or the mountain tops this very life this life itself that is karma yoga and then finally the third great theme of this chapter has started Arjuna asked suppose I get enlightened so what will it be like theta Prag we are very beautiful term pragya means wisdom or enlightenment stata means stabilized why stabilized is there an unstable wisdom you see a realization is not unstable but what happens is as one advances in spiritual life clarity dance one begins to get insights and yet the that's a difficult time because at that time you see I begin to understand now there's an aha moment or a series of our moments but there are ups and downs also you feel that it comes and goes I got it but I lost it again that's not realization yet no you're not enlightened or if you want to feel good about yourself not fully enlightened I'm a little bit enlightened but in in either case it's not stabilized so stabilized with the depth of the word is very very profound and very beautiful Stata program forever beyond any darkness beyond the darkness of doubt and despair you're forever safe when you get this so what is it like to be fully enlightened and Arjuna you remember last time he puts the question very beautifully he basically asks for questions if you look at the life of an enlightened person and we are very fortunate to have the life of Sri Ramakrishna in detail so enlightenment to the maximum in this lack of body so he's an avatar but he embodies that as an example to the rest of us of what is possible notice there are two every day he had these two phases one was is completely absorbed in met in Samadhi and there was something spectacular that was in fact it's something that attracted many people how one can be completely absorbed in God in in utter bliss completely forgetful of the world to the extent that the heartbeat stops it happened so many times and the doctors examined him they touched his eyeball to see this reaction no reaction this is stands like a picture to that kind of absorption not once in life people get it may be enlightened people get it once in their life midweek Alper Samadhi here every day and at the other time he was talking singing dancing interacting with people worshiping eating all going to different places so these are the two phases and awareness of the external world and interaction with that how does the enlightened person how is the enlightened person in absorption in samadhi question 1 and when is not an absorption technically it is called view Tana butanna means and arising out of imagine you have dived deep into a lake and then you come up from that lake so it coming up into this world is view Tana so 3 questions about the Itano how does this person Kim praha schita how does this person speak kim heceta how does he sit kim bridgetta how does he walk of course it's not literally about speaking sitting and walking there are broader questions here by speaking arjuna wants to know how does this person react to life it's great when you are immersed in god brahmin whatever that may be but when you are back in this world view Tana and the body is there the mind is there all the problems of the world are back apparently the same people are there the same circumstances are there now all your old life is back apparently so how would this enlightened person react to good and bad things pleasant and unpleasant things how is it different from us how would that enlightenment help him or her in in India leading a day to day life that's the question how does he speak numb the second question are Sita means how does this person withdraw that means restrain oneself control oneself it literally means control that's the sense organs and walk by walking it means how does this person not just literally walk around but interact with other people how does so the two things sitting and walking sitting means we draw from sense perceptions and walking means go out into the world and do work and interact with people how is it different from us that is the question last time I mentioned the importance of this question not only is it about the enlightened person what are the characteristics of an enlightened person that's the main question but it's secondarily for us practically there are two things which we need to take away from this discussion it will start now from the 55th verse and go to the end of the second chapter so the two things we need to take away direct actually tears a few chairs in the front those who are chairs next to them empty can you raise your hand so yeah see there's so many chairs so the two things we need to take away from this practically if you say good for the straight up record for the enlightened person what good is it to me right now two things one these are practices for us last time I mentioned that I will not dwell on it Shankar Acharya says Yanni ever cut artists selection Ani whatever are the characteristics of the perfected soul Donny ever saw de castilla Honami those are practices for the four seekers like rest of us yet nazar they're taught to be practiced and so that we can attain that by an effort naturally at our level these will be practices we are trying to do something which is not natural to us but so the enlightened person it flows naturally so that's one thing what what what are we to do I'm reminded of that beautiful book the imitation of Christ this is long is it one of the songs if I can just favorite books but the name itself notice nowadays it's not good good not a good idea to imitate anybody so why should you be imitate anybody but imitation does not mean in that sense imitation is not that you're trying to be become somebody else in a vedantic sense that imitation of christ is you are really trying to become what you truly are right now you're living a false life and illusion of half waking of of dream of sleepwalking awakening to true life that is what is the meaning of real meaning of imitation of christ so imitation of christ is basically what are the characteristics of christ and which i can practice in my own life that's the meaning of the book the second thing which we can take away from practically from this is often they ask the question like how will I know I'm enlightened when do I know I'm enlightened but that's a very ambitious question but if you have that question that also will be answered here but more practically the question can be put in another format it often is a more reasonable form and we many people ask this question what is the question how do I know I am progressing it's usually people who have started practicing they ask this question after a few years how do I know am I getting anywhere yes look at these measure yourself internally against this but yourself don't go around gauging the Enlightenment about I actually found an Enlightenment test on internet so don't do that so this is like an self test for enlightenment if you want MMI progressing towards God realization yes this is a good way of looking at it now Shri Krishna begins his answer remember for questions and Shri Krishna answers them in sequence and very beautiful very profound verses one of the most inspiring sections of the entire bhagavad-gita from now till the very end end of the second chapter fifty fifth verse two seventy second verse please repeat after me Shri bhagavata Prajapati c'mon Prajapati c'mon serve on part mano got on Saravanan mano got on money but mana to stub out money but mana touched stata prostitute chatty state approached chatty when the seeker the spiritual seeker gives up all the desires and embedded deep in the mind and is entirely and completely fulfilled in the Earthmen then you will know that his wisdom is set is steady stable enlightenment is fully fully realized so what does this mean this is a very profound verse something that will stay with us till the very end of our spiritual journey when you find yourself completely free at that time we'll be free of this verse also but until that time it's a very good companion specially for advanced seekers all right it goes to the straight to the core of the issue let us consider this in the path of knowledge gana yoga what is the process we all know Shravana monana needed the asana shravana means to hear these truths to study that teachings of Vedanta Shravana you can compare it to a mirror I don't know what I look like and then a mirror is held up to me then I see my face because I can't directly see my face I need a mirror similarly I have a vague idea of what I am some kind of awareness mind thoughts feelings emotions personality and a physical body and it's like a bundle which is continuously changing and probably doomed to death and destruction this is our vague idea when we have not examined it without examining it this is what we think about ourselves and this person right but when we examine ourselves the very definition of philosophy who was it Socrates or Plato the unexamined life is not worth living unexamined life is not worth living yeah to which the French always contrary Sartre she replied to to 2000 more than 2000 years later he replied the unlived life is not worth examining which is also profound if you think about it when we examine our ourselves the Vedanta this these texts open ishod's gita they are like the mirror they show us as we truly are not as we thought ourselves to be they show us it's not like a physical mirror of course as we read this and listen to it and think about it and match it I was reading Swami Tyrion and disease reminiscences and he's talking about vedanta to a young monk and he says one interesting thing Vedanta one unless you match it to your own life when you are studying it it's not of much use so keep matching it to your own life so when we study the texts upper Raksha nobody drink drishya Vivica bhagavad-gita Upanishads they all say one thing that's the advantage of Arrington there's only one thing they're saying I think today in the morning somebody was saying oh I don't have so much knowledge so much to learn no there's not so much to learn pedant is just telling you just one thing what you are all the rest is just by the way of taking you along the way so this one thing is shown to us by by random hearing literally it means hearing because in those days it was chanted and explained they were not in the books we're not used as such so we use here these truths study them and this stage is over then you can say alright this is what the texts tell me I am I am this consciousness pure being spirit but now we are assailed by doubt we have questions how can I be consciousness I know there's some kind of awareness here but I am awareness plus mind plus body plus all these thoughts and this person so all these questions come to us and all these questions must be raised and discussed and argued out threadbare until we get clarity until all questions are set at rest until you know the answer to it intellectually yes intellectually definitely that is another distinguishing characteristic of Vedanta it does not dispense with intellect it does not say leave your intellect like you know like her boots outside you leave it by the way you don't have to leave your boots outside here it's allowed intellect you must bring in with you don't check it out there virante will not work if you leave your intellect out so a move away kind this said that a man must not only have faith but must have intellectual faith too your intellect must assent must give a check to the to the your belief system if they are at they are at odds with each other especially in the modern modern age you can't really progress in spiritual life if your intellect says no smart person believes these things so intellect must be given full play whatever question you have asked fearlessly think fearless you don't don't just ask think and try to get the answer for yourself and asking and studying you will get the answer that is the phase of mononym then after that what happens I've got clarity I know the teaching I've got clarity shravan and Manon are over now the interesting thing is needed to us and this is what is talked about in this verse one must immerse oneself stay with that clarity for a while that I know what it is I wonder stood it very good stay there stay there why why stay there see at this stage the problem is we have ingrained patterns of behavior thought patterns speech patterns the reaction patterns somebody told me a psychologist with a counselor actually if you watch couples quarreling they repeat the same quarrels they don't have they're not as creative as one would think that they have a quarrel separate quarrel every day basically it's the same quarrel they repeat but it's not just couples quarreling it could be relationships or any other relationship in the school in the office it could be our own internal speech they usually we are not all that creative behavior we repeat and recycle endlessly so tendencies are I thought patterns behavior patterns which are now at complete odds to what you have learned what we have learned and got clarity about is very different from what our old patterns of behavior are what is the old pattern of behavior I am this little person this body mind subject to sickness death desire frustration this is Who I am and I'm struggling to make a life for myself and I'm a tiny person very soon the universe will crush me out of existence and that's it maybe God exists maybe doesn't so this is my idea and all my behavior was based on that a part human part animal istic behavior now all that has to be replaced will not your reading and clarity replace it no usually not if the preparation remember without the required sergeant Joe Thurston the fourfold qualifications if you are really a qualified seeker at this stage the clarity will lead to full realization theta program that clarity itself the clarity is called Pragya wisdom that wisdom will deepen into realization if the mind is prepared if the mind is not prepared I'll say I have understood it but I can't do it in life it's not reflected in life if somebody is honest and there are dishonest philosophers to Yanni's there is a why this phase is necessary one when saw do you know turrican said in Hindi I'll translate rota organic is eco personally a crying Yanni's invariant is a very unattractive proposition who's a crying he funny so I am the Atman but my body and mind don't obey me yes you are an enlightened person how is it that you're greedy greed is in the mind you see I am the witness then you're eating so many sweets and so many reviews just no control over your eating I'm witnessing body and mind they're doing their own thing now you may laugh but that's what they say some some I've seen it an angry hot-tempered so asked the Swami about it and he dismissed it oh that's only in the mind in a sense right but in a sense very fatally mistaken all the Upanishads gita all of them all the masters they say this realization must be actualized in fact the words they use is knowledge must be actualized into realization the Swami where they can depict the word God realization realization you see his famous definition of religion each soul is potentially divine the goal is to manifest this divinity within by do it by meditation by work by service by knowledge whatever of combination all of them and be free that is the whole of religion books temples doctrines churches or secondary details so on but it struck me why the manifestation of the divinity within he that's the phrase he uses why not if you read Vedanta you will get the feeling knowledge of the divinity within I must know that I am the Atman that's it Vivekananda says no no no it must be manifested in thought in speech indeed it must prove its worth in day-to-day life does it protect me as it truly promised does it fulfill its promise to take me beyond suffering all the little sufferings of life do they now no longer matter to me anymore because I have got this or all those are there plus one more vedantic suffering is there so how to convert this knowledge into realization how to stabilize this knowledge deepen it into realization but again to state approach yeah that is that that happens at this stage needed the asana where you stabilize yourself in this knowledge this stabilization is Jeevan Mukti the other word used in Vedanta traditionally Jeevan Mukti liberated while living is still in the body mind you're living in this world but entirely liberated so what happens the key word here is art money about manatos taaha completely how do they translate it delights in it his ownself completely satisfied in the atman once I find this right now we don't even know what it is Atman means the self right now if I ask what is the self I'll say this this is not the real self through vedantic enquiry when we come upon the real self gain clarity in it stabilize yourself in in it then do I need anything else is there anything that the world can offer me no I realize that satisfaction had been searching for that is there in the self alone to touch the satisfied contented happy delighted happiness you see I was reading Erich Fromm the great psychoanalyst nowadays not many people read but in one place he says happiness in our modern society is build up building up of tension and releasing it you create tension create a desire by advertisement or whatever society teaches you advertisement parents conditioned you so a desire is generated and then you try to satisfy it when you satisfy the tension is released and you call it happiness so building up a pressure a tension inside and releasing it that is happiness then again how to get happiness build it up again you can release it so that that kind of happiness obviously is surrounded by suffering look unhappiness it is temporary it is takes a lot of effort to generate and sustain and and get that happiness how many people get that and how can you sustain it and it's it is habit forming that means it's a sense all kinds of sense pleasures once you have it that is not enough to give you the second give you the same happiness the law of diminishing marginal utility in economics we read every little bit of a consumption gives you less and less and less happiness so you must step up step it up more more variety more of that it sounds like a drug addiction it is like a drug addiction so that happiness that's the happiness of the world and the Upanishad sate I do finish it is a classic there is a section called Ananda my mom's are the calculus of happiness the calculus of happiness it says all our so-called human happiness is actually a reflection of the Bliss within we have the infinite bliss within VR that and a little bit is reflected outside and we think it's they're trying to grab it why because we are not aware of what is inside not aware of in what is inside we try to reflect it in the world and catch hold of it not knowing that all of it not just one drop the entire ocean is within Shankaracharya news commentary sails beautifully the ocean of bliss is within just the mere spray of which you know an ocean wind is a wave this prey near spray of which you all human beings are madly running after the spray of which is a little bit of happiness you find in the world it's a reflection of the infinite happiness within in the tight teary open ocean that calculus of happiness there is a beautiful description it says how do we get this happiness in the world we Shia Andreas and Yoga pleasure is the connection of your senses with the desired object it could be an object it could be a person could be an experience could be a place could be a food anything whatever is desired that should come into contact with my senses I should see it hear it smell it taste it touch it or think it mathematician is not getting sense pleasure but intellectual pleasure thinking about it I heard somebody told me that a musician here is the rested after certain amount of training in classical music we look at the score and you can actually hear the music internally you don't have to actually play it out you can in a very subtle sense you can hear it internally who was the great composer who went deaf beethoven and composing extraordinary music he could entirely hear it internally and vedanta says how that is possible anyhow so but the basic idea is by connection of of something external I will get pleasure not true all that pleasure is coming from within but let us assume that is the way to get happiness so how do you get happiness Vedanta says there are three things which are necessary object desired object and a body mind complex and an environment is necessary environment is simple important the same cup of tea if you take a cup of coffee you take on a cart outside I are in the Regency Hotel the difference is good same cup of tea and they'll charge you also on ten five times more for that but the reason is why are they charging local environment it's called environment so three things are necessary object in Sanskrit vishaya body mind complex in sanskrit sharira and environment sanskrit local literally means world and then the Upanishad goes on a calculus takes you on a journey of its it's an excellent passage in the theory open assured second chapter I've given a talk on it and I think in quest of happiness in search of a pin or something like that so basically what it says is imagine the maximum possible happiness in this world and gives you the first qualification itself is is a disappointing how can you be happy the first stage you are CRT must be young I remember the first time I said this in Trabuco people moved from the bed in the older people they went boo but it's true youth what is naturally present in youth later on in after you're 40 50 60 it takes a lot of effort and manager to manage it and to keep it even anywhere close to that level whereas when you were 21 you don't need anything like that a German General in Second World War he writes he is commanding armies and something and he became sick he writes in his diary now I know how Alexander the Great conquered half the world he was 21 to be a general he must be pretty old 50s or something like that who youth educated moral a good person highly qualified person strong young and strong physically strong physically Ashish terrorists abolished vigorous strong physically strong young and PTV just here with us your poor nausea all the wealth of the world is at his command this person's command that was extraordinarily rich what is called trust fund it has fun baby yes so multi millionaire or billionaire from birth with all of this imagine if you have all of this this is he says one the opening shot says this is one unit of happiness consider this as one start here how many people get this kind of happiness at any period of human history at any period of human history maybe a few handful of people might be getting this kind of a situation and then he goes on there are other worlds with more happiness and it talks about gandharvaloka other many many there's a whole category of different kinds of what might be called heavens where you get extraordinarily beautiful and powerful bodies you get divine objects which are not available here of enjoyment and an heavenly atmosphere and so enjoyment is increased it says in the in the lowest heaven possible you get a hundred times the happiness of this richest happiest human being lowest heaven and then the next step and you get a hundred times of that and the next step when you get a hundred times of that and in the highest heaven there are many many categories of the worlds and in the highest one I calculated a sat down calculated 10 to the power 2 10 to the power 2 like that you it came to 10 to the power 20 1 followed by of what of the happiest possible human beings and imagine what is that the power lottery or something they call Powerball my god they talk about what the winning one hundred million dollars three hundred million died only actually people get that much money anyhow imagine that person if that person gets one unit of happiness you can get tens of thousands of units more in higher heavens but at the end the Upanishad says all of that 10 to the power 20 is present with new right now it's a 10 to about 20 and infinitely more infinitely more is present within you right now and it says all this happiness is just a reflection of your inner happiness depending upon the quality of the reflector you're getting better and better reflections depending on the mirror you see your face in in dirty water in clear water in glass in a titanium mirror you get better and better reflections of your face similarly better body better objects better local a world environment more your happiness is reflected but what is being reflected is is exactly the same thing reflections are better or worse so the the happiness that we enjoy in the world is more or less but it's all what you are it's infinitely there within within us and that is what Vedanta gives us access to right now we have it but we don't have access to the trust fund we don't know how to get hold of it it's there Vedanta is the lock is the key which opens that vault so art money about Maharashtra once one finds that then one does not have to go around with a begging bowl to beg from the world give me a little happiness give me a little happiness give me a little happiness it's my happiness of course i all of it is mine and here's a subtle thing people misunderstand you see take the example of the mirror you will understand you use the mirror to look at your face but when you are not looking at your face are you worried is the face there or not and are you worried as long as I look at the mirror it's alright when you go away oh my god it's gone it's not gone we never think that you have to keep staring at the mirror it's crazy here it is thing the enlightened person does not feel that the inner joy Ananda has to be constantly reflected in the mind why I'm saying Ananda here is something to understand Arnon that this inner joy that the the real bliss of the self it is not an experience this is where people get disappointed oh I can't experience it ah what's the point no no no no it is that which you are experiencing all the time in fractions in reflections it is all of it is you but in itself it's not an experience and it's good that it's not an experience think about it an experience comes and goes an experience is subject to increase and decrease degrees and experience is better or worse an experience is an reflection of the reality the reality the beautiful saying Bradley use a great British philosopher in nineteenth early twentieth century he said what appears is not real reality never appears why does reality never appear because it's you so Ananda is not a felt experience its reflection is felt exactly like such chit Ananda existence consciousness place such is not a thing which exists it is existence itself it's absolute existence chit consciousness is not a conscious experience it is consciousness itself which makes all experiences possible Ananda is not a particular kind of bliss it is that on which all pleasure and bliss and happiness and satisfaction are based they existence of the universe of all things in the universe depends on such but such is not a theme it is the existence of all things but it's not a thing in itself is not a particular concert experience but it makes all conscious experience possible Ananda is not a particular feeling of pleasure but it makes all joy and bliss possible so this is what that's why many people say you have talked about pure being existence you've talked about consciousness why don't you talk about Ananda bliss the people misunderstand do you think that is like a new kind of delight to savor no it's something much more so having realized that art money about Maharashtra completely satisfied by the infinite joy why would he not be satisfied what is what is there beyond it to gain completely is fulfilled the eyes fulfilled contented if there's a niggling doubt in your mind yes but after that would the enlightened person be happy or not are you single now no longer be happy he'll be very happy he or she will be very happy if you just look at this the lives of the Saints there one distinguishing characteristics they are so different from each other but one common characteristic is they're always happy not a smiley face happiness in every saints life you will find a deep peace contentment tranquility they may be overwhelmed by a desire for God or they feel the absence of God and they have storms in their life of the spiritual storms they are not worried about any kind of worldly happiness or unhappiness so yes the enlightened person is is actually happy in the sense we understand happiness in that sense also and far more and a far more stable sense than we can ever imagine and that happiness is not dependent on money on success on Fame on any person on whether how people treat them on physical health on whether they are lonely or another thing they're never lonely in mountain caves not at all lonely and people are lonely here in Manhattan they may be alone but not lonely never so that kind of delight is their state of a guest at chilly so an enlightened person is always happy so that's there what will be the result of this the result will be what whatever started with Raja ha ta da c'mon the result of this delight should be the renunciation of the giving up of all desires the vaasanas' the tendencies to enjoy objects things of the world that will be given up why the little bits of pleasure I was searching for in this world through those things I have got the infinity of it inside why should I do that anymore so the one who said that oh I'm greedy it's something in the mind but I am the witness there that realization is not there it are at least it's not deep enough the mind might have got an inkling of it a flash of it is it's deep enough all kinds of cravings all kinds of this idea that something in the world outside will make me happy yes if you still eat a cookie you'll be happy there is nothing wrong in that but they will no longer think that my happiness depends on the world if people behave in this way I will be happy if not I'm terribly unhappy if I get this job I'll be happy if my health is ok I'll be happy if I have a medical problem I'll be unhappy no whatever the condition of the world of the people of their behavior of my finances of my health that inner happiness never fades so individual desires trying to get fulfillment from sense pleasures from money from people from one's own achievements those things fade away but a person still may have a desire for enjoying the Bliss of bhakti of God enjoying helping others often many great spiritual Edmond enlightened people they live the rest of their life as a as an offering as a service they this lifting of desire Sri Ramakrishna all the great teachers Krishna here Buddha Sri Ramakrishna all of them they say this is like a veil of Darkness which must be lifted this craving for sense pleasures in the world now for many people it's terrible you know why it's terrible because this is the only source of happiness and we think if I give this up how will I be happy in fact in his commentary to this verse Shankar Acharya writes if one gives up seeking pleasures in the world then what will be the source of pleasure for that enlightened person who much does he have a person will go man become like a rock like a unreactive wall or something no the answer is are not at all that person has an infinite source of joy infinite source of bliss it does not require now soap Raja hottia da Gama now somebody asks okay I may have the infinite source of joy within and I can retain a few just a few external things what's the harm I've got the infinite and a little bit outside on the side on the side toppings you know either toppings extras he says no serve on all of it has to be given up why even the desire to retain a little bit comes from ignorance somewhere there's a hidden thing that yeah it sounds good this thing but just for to be sure I'll keep a few worldly pleasures around then you have not really realised what is this this should become an overwhelming reality yeah I know the sun is shining brightly blazing forth illumining the earth I'll still keep my flashlight on in case it goes out you know what's the harm this like plus my flashlight is better right no you have not understood what sunlight is you have only seen the flashlight do you think it's in like a bigger flashlight maybe no no no not at all so serve on all of it must be given up because it's it shows a seed of ignorance there it will make you unhappy afterwards Swami pre-miranda and in a main monestry in volute when the young novices were being trained so they were doing asked to pull out this weeds and it's hard work pulling it out out of dry ground so one novice got a bright idea I took a sickle and started cutting it off Livi's it's fast work and primal and he saw that and he scolded him root and branch my boy root and branch pull it out root and branch this is that kind of work is no good it will pop up tomorrow again or day after tomorrow when the trains will come back again what does he mean is he talking about the weeds no no they all that teaching was about spiritual life I remember once I was in the temple of balloon but where ceramic richness images there and many number of senior monks would have been furious at that wording what do you mean Sudama Krishna's image so Ramakrishna is there I was there's a little annex behind it where preparations for the worship are done there are monks were working there so I was a novice I was one day sitting these brass flower verses there and they have to be polished otherwise they lose their shine so sitting and polishing one and a monk senior monk if he he passed by that and looked at me and he said Ramachari novice what are you doing I said polishing Swami and polishing the VAS he said no you're polishing your mind and so this little things and always remembering that's the point of it you're not polishing a flower what's what's the point of polishing a flower verse we we can we hire somebody else to do it why are we using to do it it's using that work for that internal purification your polishing your mind by the way funny things happen in India it's considered a religious thing when you go to Temple to give money so using something holy or religious going along people especially devout women from villages they'll throw money at you I learned not to sit near the door because those devout women will be going down along like this and they would see a young novice working somewhere doing something vaguely holy so they'll throw coins once a monk he saw some people have thrown the money so I just put it aside some thinking I'll put it in the arms box later on and the monk was passing by he said well well well collecting money here - who brother hearty yoga are common now there are two words here in Sanskrit yada yada oh very interesting Yoga means when tada means then the other means if if when 10 when all Prajapati an are common when all the desires of the mind are given up to top requested Chetty then you are called a enlightened person with steady wisdom you are fully enlightened then so that won't work the desire is only in the mind I am enlightened I am the up and I know that no the data clearly says even in the mind that desire also has to be given up Swami those desires are are cleared out when the mind is purified it's literally like a veil rising from your all the spiritual things which were struggling to get at they immediately become clear ya-da-da-da in the fifty-third verse we have done it already I'll just repeat it to you these words come shootie with Wipro tippin RT y da star satan is chella samatha watch a la woody tada Yoga mops you see since when your mind is no longer disturbing it steady no longer disturbed by worldly desires then it becomes steady in Samadhi two words are used in Sanskrit mashaallah which means not moving a chala it also means not moving not moved by worldly desires not flickering because of worldly desires then steady in Atman if you people ask this question when will my enlightenment my knowledge be steady when these then your mind is not disturbed present doesn't flicker because of worldly desires worldly temptations and right ease fears perturbed anger greed hatred lust when it when my mind is not flickered does not trigger because of this nice chala not flickering then enlightenment a chala your fully established in yourself if then when then you might think when will it be fully established when I have attended completed the bhagavad-gita course no not when I have read so many books no when I have completed meditation no when I have a lot of devotion to God no no when these desires are gone from the mind all of those things are important gianna is important Yoga is important but it is important Karma Yoga is important and they all do what polished the mirror polished of us when these desires are gone then your enlightenment is steady straight this is the connection so then then let's just do that so that's a little difficult if you can't do that instantaneously let Swami Vivekananda say is dine only is the hand that holds the rope that drags Dion song of Sonia Singh then what's the solution let go the whole sannyasi Board say ohm that's a toe it doesn't mean you give up the activities in the world Arjuna will ask to go on for performing his duties but now as a spiritual practice as karma yoga earlier what what are the activities why were we doing these activities by these activities I will get happiness satisfaction fulfillment no no Swami I won't that's very disappointing who has got happiness for through these permanent lasting peace through these till now in the entire history of human civilization which person which billionaire which Emperor which general which bodybuilder which most beautiful person neither Beauty nor strength nor money nor riches nor knowledge nor power nothing assures that that that lasting peace and overcoming suffering nothing so through those things I will get happiness know it life is meant to learn that lesson then we turn inwards or if you are a devotee you turn to God same thing the devotee will find that deepest peace and happiness with his beloved Lord and the mean yani finds it in the Atman the same thing actually the approach is different so here that other item it's something worth thinking and it is not really all that difficult we think it's very difficult I'll tell you a deeper vedantic secret because why does it seem difficult to us because when we think about it I have got these desires giving it up oh it seems very difficult from inside I think I'll give it up come back tomorrow again what do you give up these are little things that monks in the hey my life to discuss subtle insights what can be given up what can be given up can you give yourself up whatever you think of yourself you your sir can you give it up no the self cannot be given up the other which is not related to you at all can you give that up the Swami I donate to you with the central part no relation to you at all I have won the Powerball lottery last night in my dream all the money I donate to Vedanta Society doesn't exist at all you no relation with you so that which is the other a person a thing an object whatever that you cannot give up which has no relation to you then what can you give up you cannot give up the self the Atman you cannot give up the Anathem are the nuns in the non-cellular not self here is the thing what you can give up is that that part of the not self which you have appropriated to yourself and they say in the rock and in the Himalayas they are very direct which you have dishonestly stolen from the world you say it is mine what is yours this body forget all the wealth they all kites all comes and goes people wealth places they all come and go gadgets cars positions all come and go this body itself is this body yours of course you will fear its body is mine what are you saying show me the papers if you are pulled over by the police papers to your body I don't know who gave it to you show me the gift deed no it does it say who gave it to you do you own the material sort of the Beast the body was made and one kind of ownership is I own the land so that buildings on that I have some kind of claim to it do I own the material the sky the earth the fire the water no they're God's creation did you make this body no not at all are you maintaining this body yes sort of not really we have very little command over this body and thank God if you suddenly given charge all right you take over now you drive the endocrine system the digestive system the circulatory system in two minutes we'll be having a cardiac arrest nine one one car head what he tried to run his own show we have no capacity whatsoever even the voluntary think about it subtly even the voluntary things as simple as raising this hand I did it no I didn't a vague desire came I should raise the hand from where it bubbled up if you watch the mind carefully you did not generate the desire it bubbles up in a seed from from somewhere and shines in the mind then the I thought in the mind Yogi's can see this very clearly in it's like freeze frame you can see step by step happening up thought bubbles up from the mind deep inside there is an ego functioning in the mind that's also function of the mind III whatever happens in the mind I thought comes up raised the hand I will raise the hand this is the thought and then magically the hand raises what did I do in between nothing I did not generate that desire I did not execute that desire did not you just think about it what happened in between by abductor will tell you a biologist will tell you an enormous lee complex chain of events happened we don't even know about it let alone doing it the tiniest of things breathing so that is reading his conscious no it is not we cannot the if you had actually how the muscles operate here we don't know really so the body we don't operate the body also how do you think it's your body does the body obey you no no right now if I think raised and yes a stroke right side of the brain paralyzed I raise my hand can't won't OB you and good that it does not it rates as its own wisdom so the body does not obey us at all even the conscious actions which we think they are doing if you think deeply inside we know almost nothing about it Gita will say later on Prakrit ta vikarma ani kriyamanani service' all action in this universe is done by nature even what you think you're doing consciously is actually executed by nature it's literally true no scientists would dispute that then the next word in line is in 1913 chapter Yasha Tita thought mano a cart Aram super shitty one who realizes this sees that the self is the non doer the self really does not do anything see even the body is not mine I don't own a tyrant nobody has given it to me does not belong to me it does not obey me it does not come and go at my request I did not sign up for it then what do I own in this world so whatever I think is mine is because of culture law civilization and a way be a condition we think this is mine is not mine good as far as transaction is is there it's required don't have to be crazy about it but know that it's a fiction really on the ground we don't own anything here what we have falsely appropriated to ourselves that only can be given up then you look at it this way your first feeling is it should be given up given up means mentally given up in your thoughts I do not lay claim to it any more externally things will continue you will continue don't worry you will still have your car or your house and your children and everything will be there you can't stop it even if you wanted to but internally realize none of them are mine nor I belong to them there's only one reality shining photos all of this so ya da da da this is how you give up when you think in that way that internal giving up it's almost an accomplished fact you should think about it deeply before you realize you have given up the entire universe that grasping many people don't know when you grasp something I think I'm holding on to it it's my book I'm holding on to it but then I'm stuck here too where am I stuck I'm stuck to this book wherever it goes it'll pull me along hold on to something in the world that holds holds on to you the story of the bear which was flow you know in the flood tide and the villages were watching this on a nice-looking rug being swept away and the flood and a man said why shouldn't a nice rug go to waste he jumps in and swims powerfully up to that and gets hold of the rug when he gets there he sees it's a bear being swept away so what do bears do to give you a bear hug so the bear found this person and caught hold of him knowing from the distance people are shouting let go of the rug you will drown let go of it it is being swept away do you think it's a rug and the man shouts from there I have let go of the rock the rug doesn't let go of me the rug has caught me claw that's the story of all addictions there's the story of all addictions Raja ha ta da Gama you let go of all desires but thinking about yes you have a question you know it will not all the action will be spiritual action you'll be engaged in meditation in devotion in Vedanta and in service and also worldly action whatever you were doing now you but that worldly action will definitely be streamlined you have to have a job you have to feed yourself and your family Arjuna has to fight the war that's his duty now that is now done as a worship of God your job but the extra things that we add on to it thinking that by this I will get satisfaction those things becoming materials very soon the formula becomes the formula becomes neither seek nor avoid neither seek nor avoid so I mean if I can't I'll give this formula as far as work is concerned neither sick nor about a spiritual seeker a slacker is a person who keeps avoiding a worldly person is who keep who keeps seeking adding I'm lonely I want to get on 10 committees so that that kind of thing is worldliness but whatever comes to your plate you deal with it neither seek nor avoid it will not lead to inaction misunderstanding can lead to inaction here and don't worry that giving up desires like this will not come so fast if you look at it you'll see but it shows you this is very important sauron means all desires shri ramakrishna gets the example of the farmer you know in in rice fields they fill water and the crop has to stay partly under water for some time so you have to fill the field with water you have to bring water from the canal into your field so a farmer worked mightily to bring water into the field and he let the water started filling up but later on when you came he saw the field was completely dry what happened on the other side of the the embankment there was a hole and all the water which he got in went out from that so that's also a thing if you leave little bits of indulgences here and there remember don't fight with them straightaway first try to find that deep satisfaction joy or peace in God or Atman their bhakti is very useful it replaces worldly pleasures with the joy of the divine without finding a source of happiness if I try to give up what seems to be clearly to be a source of happiness then they'll just struggle if it seems to be a source of happiness to me automatically what will a what will happen I want it and now I've read the Gita I don't want it and so therapist required conflict and so be careful about that don't force it but know intelligently this is a there's a central truth these vasanas these desires in the mind they are like the wind which disturbs the mind the Atman is perfect the Vedantic knowledge is perfect the mirror is there but if it keeps flickering you will feel my enlightenment is not yet quite quite there for that this has to be gotten rid of and it's logical as you say Oh somebody said about Karma you said about karma yoga you see it's all in one line gianni Yoga Karma Yoga characteristics of an enlightened person if you probe deeply they're basically saying one thing only some people say also and have to give up all right I have given up X Y Z no don't start like that you're starting at the wrong end try to find that reality and let go of all distractions and it's a process if you try to let go first it'll be eight mighty struggle and it'll lead to complexes frustrations unhappiness if you try to find that and you then don't let go of worldly things then you won't find it or even you find it it seemed elusive and keep going out of your grasp because that worldly things are disturbing you both should go to hand in hand for a long time let me in let the world not disturb me and let me try to hold on to counter that otherwise the story of the three drunkards who got on a boat and he decided to row across the river to their home at night and they rode all night in the morning they found you exactly there they had forgotten to remove the anchor so this is the anchor at one time the mind will and understanding will become so subtle you can actually drop the desire just let it go it goes away when it goes of its magical just one day it's their next day not there and you would think what possessed me what I did I was based years of my life hankering for these things just gone and leaves behind illumination peace a deep steadiness of holiness yes the last question yes yes certainly there will come a time when the mind is completely undisturbed you have experienced it the desire for lollypops you loved as a kindergarten kid doesn't even come up doesn't bother you if they're in front of you wouldn't want it they wouldn't even wanted you have gone beyond that if transcended it I loved Superman Batman comics when I was a kid but in India they were expensive so when I went to Hollywood first I always go to the nearest library so the huh Hollywood Boulevard library what struck me was certainly as always in the kids section all the comics I would have wanted ever in my life they're all there and if you can take that I so good I'll catch up on 30 years of Superman and Batman then I took one volume much interesting I really thought I was going to enjoy it I took one volume big thick volume I would have been when I was ten years old I would have been delighted at it I took it back to the monastery and put it on my shelf and stayed there for one and a half months or two months nearly I couldn't finish a single comic book out of the entire collection why it's not that it disgusted me anything like that there's no meaning to me anymore in a way it's sad can't enjoy with Superman anymore yeah but but the thing is it's it's sort of pointless now so the same thing will happen and it's not that life will become bland life becomes much more interesting Oh chanté chanté Jean teehee hurry he owned that sir sri ramakrishna Aparna must [Music]