Video 21

21. Bhagavad Gita I Chapter 2 Verses 56-57 I Swami Sarvapriyananda

ooh vasilieva suitum deivam come such our ama Dunham's devaki paramanandam krishna monday jagadguru in the bhagavad-gita we are now studying the second chapter there are three great themes in the second chapter one of course the teaching of gana yoga today teaching about the Atman what we truly are the second one is karma yoga how to transform our actions both religious and secular into into spiritual practice how to convert our daily activities into spiritual practice that is karma yoga and then a third is what we are doing now there result of all of this what do you get out of it suppose I do become enlightened then how will I be different from what I am right now that was a junus question and if you remember the question was put in four parts the enlightened person how is that enlightened person when the generation person is in Samadhi absorbed in his true nature as the Atman what is it like and then the three other questions are when the enlightened person is actually interacting with this world which we perceive will be livid how does this enlightened person differ from the rest of us or how will I be different how will I be different from what I am right now and those three questions where how does this enlightened person talk how does this enlightened person sit and how does this enlightened person move around or walk and of course you know the questions are not as simple as the sound talk is not not literally how does he talk you would say simple with in English or in Sanskrit or something no that's not the question so the the Saudi answer to the first question last time and now we are going into the the next the set of three questions how does this enlighten person interact with the world remember keep in mind these are not only this is not only a description of enlightenment but also these are practices for the rest of us so by describing the enlightened person Krishna is also telling us what we should be working towards verse number 56 so verses 56 and 57 verse 55 is an answer to the first question what is the enlightened person like in Samadhi Samadhi star and the 56 and 57 verses are an answer to the question Kimbra how does the enlightened person speak and will see what is actually the deeper meaning of the question we look at the answer we will see the deeper meaning of the question so 56 please repeat after me do quechua note Vigna mana do k show no Drake namana suka show we got Austria suka show we gotta spray uh Vita raga higher crude la vita raga higher crota stated he Mooney root jetty nadir Mooney root jetty so that person is said to be a sage of settled wisdom that means enlightenment is stable doesn't come and go you wouldn't believe how many questions we get here that I've got it but it goes away this is the answer to your question if you think you have got it but it goes away it is settled forever so what the how does this person speak says who is undisturbed when unpleasant things happen in the midst of dukkha undisturbed and and in the midst of pleasant things happiness things which which one would want is not hankering not grasping transcending fear and anger and and desire raga is desire fear is Bahia anger is cruel her such a person is said to be his wisdom is said to be settled that means stable so let's look at this and immediately you notice one thing the meaning of the question the real question was not how does this person speak but how does this person react maybe in speech too Pleasant and unpleasant things in life too happiness and sorrow in life there is a way in which we react in which I react now and after I become enlightened how will it how will it change notice immediately the maturity of the question it's taken for granted that the pleasant and unpleasant things which are happening now will continue to happen notice how does the enlightened person react in sorrow when there is there are miserable things which are unpleasant painful when they happen how does this enlightened person react I think there is space those who have got chair next to them free chair raise your hand yeah all right you guys are coming all the way from Princeton okay so how does this person react when when unfortunate things unpleasant things happen which means even after you're enlightened nasty things can still happen life will continue as it is continuing now and this is not a simple it's not what you might call a no-brainer because many people think that after I'm enlightened everything will be a bed of roses a little bit of reflection shows that it is not so if you simply look at the lives of the saints if you look at the lives those are enlightened does it seem that's a bed of roses afterwards that everything is fine often you see they probably suffer much more than we would be devastated if we got a fraction of that kind of suffering so what does it mean it's something to understand because enlightenment in Vedanta or any any spiritual path is promised as overcoming of suffering attainment of bliss Atlantica Dukan ability para maana and the practice chain sanskrit the whole quest of the buddha you remember there is suffering is there a way out of suffering and in any religious path whether it's the Christian salvation or the Buddhist nirvana or the Hindu moksha overcoming of suffering going beyond the miseries of worldly life that is a common thing in in every religious service it's it's a solution to the problem of the world after all what does religion promise ultimately a solution to the problems of the world and immediately here he says Duke issue suffering in suffering and we should ask a question though that means suffering continues but didn't you just promise that after enlightenment one transcend suffering it's worth sitting here for a little while in thinking about it because we carry this these errors forward into our spiritual life I was in Stony Brook couple of weeks back and the professor are in the muck Robert Lee a brilliant philosopher who by the way is going to speak here in April and third week of April last Sunday of April fourth week so he was giving a talk about and the title of the talk is very relevant to this it was pain poetry and philosophy pain poetry and philosophy not as unconnected as you might think pain is the a pain is the source for philosophy and also poetry out of suffering also poetry comes poetry it's very interesting that a name for the sages of the Upanishads was Kavi in Sanskrit kabhi the is the word for poet but the ancient meaning of poet was a sage so philosopher came from poets anyway the reason I am invoking him is that he in his talk he said he coated from the Buddha saying that what is suffering like his suffering is up like a person who gets hit by an arrow who gets hit by an arrow remember this was 2500 years ago so it was much more likely to get hit by an arrow in those days than ten mouths it's worse now mass shootings and everything everyone gets hit by things were far worse than arrows nowadays but you get hit by an arrow and the person is suffering he's saying oh it hurts it stings it hurts and immediately the person gets hit by another arrow imagine and that is suffering so what are these two arrows the first arrow is the unpleasant occurrence the unwanted occurrence in the world so maybe somebody behaves badly or so I get physically hurt or a wish is not fulfilled things like that that's the first arrow what's the second arrow the second arrow is my reaction to it oh isn't it so awful how terrible it is and suffering so much poor me that second arrow and suffering is a combination of the two and the professor said in his talk Buddha very politely says he cannot do anything about the first arrow but his philosophy promises to take away the second arrow so is it a partial solution no it's a total solution to the problem of suffering first of all practically speaking the second arrow is the source of most of our our agony of our suffering I have mentioned this earlier once I was at a conference a medical conference and the conference was about pain pain and it was mostly doctors but there was a session they have multiple sessions these are usually huge things those who are doctors you know big hotels or convention centers and hundreds of presentations and so on so one of the sessions was on talk therapies for managing pain so that's you can imagine that's where the vedanta got in hand and the mindfulness and the vedanta was also invited so one of the doctors gave a very nice presentation she said there's a secret to know about pain and he meant physical pain the secret to know about pain is it's this that 80% of pain the suffering we get the actual pain we experience 80% of it is not physical and he drew three concentric circles small circle medium circle and an outermost bigger circle and he said the small circle represents about 20% by the way he was talking about chronic pain pain which is continuing acute pain comes and goes it might be due to some particular reason but chronic pain like a back pain or things which come and go for a long time so the 20% is the actual physical pain he said of all the suffering that you think you're feeling actually only 20% of it is physical then the mid the intermediate the medium circle around it he says he is our mental reactions to that pain it's going to come it's going to hurt how awful it is and I'm suffering even when the physical pain is not actually present at this moment I'm still suffering continuously before during after it's going to hurt it's going to hurt so this thing ism is a much bigger percentage than that little 20% it didn't I don't remember how much of the percentage it was and then the bigger circle around it was the general social problems associated with chronic pain I can't go to this person's maybe I can't go to the party I can't attend this event I wanted to go to my mobility is restricted can't keep in touch with many things many things associated with the inconveniences associated in life and in community with suffering continuously and he says this middle circle and the outermost circles they account for 80% of the afar suffering the actual physical sensation of pain stabbing pain the piercing pain the burning or the dull pain that one is only 20% and he said all our pain medication addresses that 20% only that 20% and half of the time does not work and all of the time is associated with side effects and this is something he said we don't talk about because it's a very depressing fact and this is where he said these other therapies come in so the second arrow the Buddha was right in a very practical sense also the Buddha was right the second arrow is the real source of suffering and he says spirituality can take it away so when he says do cashew in when suffering comes unpleasant events happen he means that first arrow that 20% it might be a physical pain might be some air some kind of problem outside so that one that one too can be overcome just by the way you might ask then what about the first arrow what about the first arrow first arrow is the is the painkiller you take and the physical therapy that you do to overcome the first step it's not just physical pain all other the worldly solutions could be medical could be counselling could be all sorts of things whatever we try in the world that addresses the 20% and works less than half the time so even that one also would not matter for an enlightened person this is what he's saying even that one is overcome ducation unnethe Vigna man aha unperturbed mind serene mind when that unpleasant thing happens you might say why does it happen should it not go away when a person is enlightened practically you know it doesn't when you look at the lives of the saints you see it does not and it will not go away Vedanta says all these events which are coming to us pleasant and unpleasant are due to our past karma it is caused by our past karma good karma produces Pleasant reactions bad karma produces unpleasant experiences how we react to it the second arrow that's what spirituality deals with worn spiritual practice reduce those people have this question that first arrow does isn't it reduced at least a little bit by spiritual practice and the holy mother does say that spiritual practice blunts the effect of bad karma she does she does say that she gives an example where a person might have lost an arm the person suffers a pinprick if the person is devoted to God doing jabba praying fixed mind centered in God so the effects of past karma which are coming are planted one of the commentaries I was reading my mother Susan Saraswathi he talks about suffering how does suffering take place he says everything is ruled by karma all these things are coming to us because of her past Karma so when suffering comes the ignorant one says alas I am lost how terrible it is how miserable I am and the worst and then he's actually he says that in not in English in Sanskrit and then the next line he says would these reactions have been would these sentiments have been there when you were doing that bad karma that would have been much more productive not when you are getting the result he says it is illogical to set in motion a cause and not expect the result to come when the result has it is better to forbear so ducation at Vigna mana usually the problem in the path of knowledge is where people will say I understand that I am NOT the body's therefore a pain is not my pain I'm a witness to that I'm witness to the body and witness to the mind the physical pain I'm a witness to that the mental upset I am also a witness to that it's not very difficult to understand that from that perspective to distance yourself internally from our from your problems for months problems internally psychologically open up a space it is true but understanding is not all of it the usual complaint is when it actually happens my reaction is exactly as it was earlier I react in panic in anxiety in fear in in anger in irritation in envy jealousy those reactions still keep coming so those are because of the unpurified mind in the path of knowledge that's why three stages Shravana monana needed the asana you listen to these teachings then resolve their doubts clarity once you have got clarity and conviction then one more step is that's why it's necessary that is one immerses oneself in that clarity in that understanding you have God stay with it soak yourself in Guiana in that knowledge so that our reactions are purified so when the time comes our reactions are different not the way they used to be for the enlightened person it's not just an intellectual understanding it's a visible reality it's a fact of life so the person can react from that that level what happens to us is we have a theoretical understanding and that also sometimes hazy and confused and then when the world comes at us it's not a theoretical world it's a real world when the kicks and blows come they are not theoretical kicks and blows they are real and so our reaction is also real real is from from the unpurified emotional part of our minds for the enlightened person it is Natsu also remember what can one expect as one progresses in this path the enlightened person does not react in anger or irritation or or jealousy or depression unperturbed mine annoyed Vigna ha and also unpaired to unperturbed speech so the question was originally how does this person speak so this the reaction in speech also will be quite different from us as we practice as we try to remain unperturbed and centered it centered in what remember they're all talking about spiritual enlightenment that I am the witness consciousness don't forget that see sometimes people they misunderstand and they say all right so you are telling me to be enlightened when unpleasant things comes I must clench my jaws and in a sort of bear with it and when so somebody is irritating I should not express my irritation anger is there boiling inside but I should not express it I should just have I saw on YouTube this discussion sessions to go on political people on different ends of the political spectrum they are debating something but the polite thing here is to remain not to get angry to get angry means or rather not to show anger they getting angry getting really angry inside and outside and externally a big grin like that you can see it in the eyes the guy is very annoyed but he or she is just whatever he is saying all sorts of nasty things about the other person with a big sweet smile no no not that way not that way what they are saying here is we are really not the body we're really not the mind we are that witness consciousness acting through the body mind so from that witness consciousness perspective from that perspective there's no reason to be angry because we are that one same conscious listen everybody whom to blame and whom to praise when blamer and blamed fraser and praised are but one so in that feeling is there when that clarity is there from that perspective really would not get upset but as we practice this remember until that point it's a gradual development what can we expect three things will go down three things will happen three three will be a reduction in three things one is that i used to get upset all the time and get angry some so somebody's problem is anger as to be angry or irritated morning and afternoon and evening and as to go to bed grumbling now it's once in a while so the frequency of becoming upset frequency not just anger it could be depression it could be nbe or whatever it is the negativities the frequency of that will go down that's one thing one can expect that the serenity in unpleasant circumstances is not like an on and off switch that I didn't have it now I'm enlightened perfect and people will say what happened to you yesterday you are awful now you're saying it doesn't work that way so first of all you will notice that the frequency goes down frequency of becoming upset or agitated angry goes down depressed second thing the intensity is to fly into a rage earlier throw things and like sort of burn up in anger and now it's a mild irritation it's still there but the intensity the fury of that has gone down earlier I used to go into deep depression I just feel a little unhappy yeah that's a good sign that's sign of progress that that one can expect and must expect if I'm advancing in spiritual life I must expect that it happens over time and then one more thing that will go down is your recovery time earlier maybe one would get angry and hold on to that anger people hold on to the anger for years lifetimes what a miserable mind that is remember anger is a fire that burns the place where it is lit first before burning anything else when I light the fire of anger in my heart it burns me first and then it harms others that's why Swami Vivekananda said a fool cannot get angry a wise person does not it's not that you lose the power of anger you might be indignant for something but the wise person does not get angry not just for the sake of others for one's own sake so the recovery time now earlier is to be angry for hours and hours and days and days and months and months now it's there like a flash it's gone next moment or in that's there in the morning it's gone in the evening just no trace of it at all no trace of it at all there's a saying in India shadow Raja lead dog it means the anger of a monk should be like the yeah even monks get angry you'd be surprised how often but it should be like a line drawn in flowing water what do you have what happens if you take a stick and draw a line in flowing water as soon as you draw it no sooner than you draw it it's it's gone and there are funny stories to illustrate this there's no use being angry with the world there was a monk was very austere it sits in the Himalayas and so he would sleep under a tree and for a pillow he would use a brick imagine how austere that is and so he would sleep under a tree and use a brick as a pillow and while he was doing that feeling pretty good about it that I'm such a great monk and his village women were passing by to the river to collect water and they look at him oh the monk is addicted to comfort needs a pillow and the monk immediately got a such a shock he got up immediately and threw the pillow or the brick away and then the ladies commented from there oh the monk has angered - you really can't freeze the world that this is a story which is which is real which which is recorded swami prema Nanda Baba Rama Raj who was the first manager of Balu room at a very very loving soul but he could be a strict disciplinarian which many young people who are attracted to become monks by his affection and love and concern they found the moment they they were outside it was one thing the moment they joined and became monks it was just the other thing he would be very strict and would scold mercilessly but his devotee has written this reminiscence he says I went to Balu at the main monastery and Baba Rama ratswami pramana and there was there and I saw him scolding a novice a brahmacari and Barbara Mar he was his face was very fair so his face had got become flushed red in anger and he's calling the the novice for some fault he had committed and this visitor he's standing there and thinking oh the monk has anger this monk has anger the moment he said I thought this Swami Premanand the turn towards me sweetest of smiles and asked kindly about my welfare and and I just looked at him in surprise next moment he turned back in face became red and he started Swami Vivekananda says it's the fool who cannot get angry but it will go down and immediately it's like a line drawn in flowing water ducation of ignominy aha so cash will be got us free aha when things which are pleasant which are nice they happen our normal tendencies we react with hankering I want what do I want I want this to go on I want this to be repeated and I want these Pleasant experiences to happen more and more in better quantities and varieties hankering this is called spree hysteria means thirst a thirst I want to preserve this and I want to perpetuate this this is our general this is my reaction to pleasure now what will it be like when I am enlightened that's the question and Krishna says we gotta spray AHA who has no thirst for enjoyment when it comes it's nice but when it goes away you don't you don't hanker for it I'm reminded of William Blake's beautiful poem he says he who holds on to a joy he who holds on to the joy does kill the winged life but he who kisses the joy as it flies lives in eternity sunrise what a beautiful way of putting it he was a mystic and all mystics have glimpses of this this infinity Upanishad says very beautifully what is this you can call it God Brahman Nirvana Satori whatever you call it open assured says your way bloom our Tatsu come that which is infinite is joy null pay sukemasa there is no true joy in the limited in the narrow in the confined in the bound it's only in the freedom of the infinite that there is real real real joy I was in San Diego for a retreat couple of weeks back and there's this other Swami Swami at Meru pan and he's an American Swami from from Houston and he was talking about this our normal reaction to joy - to pleasant things his excitement especially in this country and I think nowadays it was not so I think 20 30 40 years back nowadays it's like you have to be excited for everything if you're not excited - something wrong with you and you should be excited the first thing from little kids a simple thing a toy is shown order Laura are we going out for next an excursion maybe to the central part nothing more than a Central Park and the kids are asked so aren't you excited and if you aren't what's wrong - why aren't you excited and why should I be excited and the yes it's nice the Swami put itself in so funny he said so for example is a new cereal and the advertisement shows the person who's eating the cereal is wow this is great this is fantastic and then this one we said no no food is that good yes it's nice but nothing in the world is that good maybe you are high on something else if you were reacting like that to Assyria so this excitement its nervous excitement this is what passes for pleasure Erich Fromm said that what passes for pleasure in our society is building up tension and releasing it by advertisement by social conditioning we build up expectation this will be nice it'll be nice and then we get some kind of release and so this was very pleasant very nice let me repeat it again build up the tension and release it again so that passes for 10 for pleasure in our society no that's just the tickling of the nerves this is the tickling of the nerves the more one is susceptible to that kind of excitement the more is one is susceptible to the exact opposite depression so won't will you be like no fun at all went and nice things happen no no no not at all remember whenever such questions come our Saints and enlightened people happy at nice things happening in in society or in in life or are they just what happened why are you like that I'm enlightened No [Music] our enlightened people do they do they are the active in life do they work for things in life always yes they do always look at the lives of the Saints where they unhappy no Christian saints Islamic Sufi mystics Hindu Yogi's devotees Buddhist monks whether they believe in God or not whether they're meditators are working for welfare of others whether they're immersed in devotion to Krishna or Christ or Kali whoever involve whatever religion whatever civilization throughout history one common thing among this wildly diverse lot of saints one common thing is they're very happy they're our next extraordinarily happy lot one common thing about these Saints is they don't grumble there are no complaint I often say that don't be in a hurry to be enlightened you'll lose the right to complain if you're enlightened don't grumble don't be don't be a don't be petty I think it was st. Teresa who said she headed an order of nuns she said a sad nun is a bad nun and unfortunately I made a faux pas I said this I just thought of it and I coated it in our society we're on to society in Santa Barbara which is run by nuns so one of the nuns were sitting there listening to the talk she sharply told me and monk Swami not just Manson magnin is a bad man who's it applies equally to monks so spiritual life I love this insight from Swami's murder nun and the Jews out the president of our order right now he said a very beautiful thing not only the end is happiness but the means must be happiness too but not only the end is an under the means must be our and the two we are looking for overcoming suffering and attainment of happiness so the means that we adopt to it it may be difficult it may be a struggle but in general it should be a happy life if you are really pursuing what you want in your heart wouldn't you be happy so yes Sosuke aja we got Esprit aha devoid of the thirst of trying to perpetuate something pleasant happens very nice it's gone goodbye Thank You Rita raga buyer Crowell haha transcending hankering transcending fear and transcending anger remember one thing what is meant here is not that the person will have no likes and dislikes not that the person will have no wants or desires person can have the deeper meaning here is the indifference between the person who's enlightened and the one who is not and those who are trying to become enlightened we are spiritual seekers the difference is that the person in the world the ignorant person thinks that these desires satisfaction of these desires will fulfill me my happiness my whole project in life is to get a degree is to have a dis relationship is to live in this place eat that food go on that vacation have this job wear those clothes why it's supremely important to me because this is where I'm seeking happiness and the spiritual person long before enlightenment must come to this clear understanding truly speaking fulfilment happiness does not lie in any of those things you may continue to do that but don't look at them for fulfilling you fulfillment happiness the end of life the goal of life is in spirituality in is in God realization enlightenment Brahma gana moksha whatever you call it it is in in spiritual liberation not in worldly acquisition so an enlightened person might have preferences Sri Ramakrishna like jalebis the Bengali sweet sweets somebody might like one thing somebody might like the other thing the habits of a lifetime will continue after enlightenment also those habits will still be there but one is it's like the husk it's like the covering the shell outside Sri Ramakrishna used to give the example of a ripe coconut when you shake it inside the the core it rattles inside it's no longer stuck to the the whole thing so it's not that little like you will rattle even enlightened person rattles if you shake him but what it means is this outer husk of the person is no more you it continues by its own inertia of past action it will continue and one day it will drop off as they say it the person which you think you are right now that person never becomes free you become free of the person not only after the death of the person while the person is alive and living while you're living through the person you are free of it it doesn't matter so much anymore so we turaga briar crow that desire attachment I want such and such things to fulfill be without those things I'll be terribly unhappy spiritual seekers we think yeah I know this you will just go ahead no this is where most of us are stuck you'll see in the world people you're heartbroken there the hankering the whole of life they have died they have invested so much psychic energy into that it's very difficult to pull out a desire that job that career this person I must have a you know a heartbreak romantic heartbreak no it's not the end of the world it's not that person was not there in your life now before this and that person will not be there in in in the future this thing that my happiness depends on something outside a person outside or an activity outside a place outside a certain state of health a certain state of finances not at all you get it you'll still smoothly happy we keep hoping we keep hoping yes it's nice if things are going well that's all so desire yes have desires but make sure there are these three things one is the desire should be moral ethical there there should be a certain floor of absolute floor of decency and morality what is not legal what is no round upon in in the society you live in what your own conscience pricks what is difficult for me to admit in public let's make an effort to get rid of that from from life that is the app so those desires are to be gotten rid of they will they will mess up our lives and and deny a spirituality completely so let's get rid of them and you'll never give us any happiness anyway the second thing is even among the desires which are allowable which are perfectly alright according to religion morality the world even my own conscience says it's okay there also moderation simple living high thinking too much of worldly possession too much of worldly engagement is absolutely poisonous for spiritual life do not spend too much time very kinda said do not spend too much time with the material for it makes you more material do much nor spend too much time with matter makes you more material haven't you noticed little own spiritual people I have noticed here New York is a very wonderful place for artists and writers and poets and philosophers scientists one thing I noticed among people who are high achievers in all of these areas they're pretty austere in their lives almost automatically there's no time and energy spent over left over for hanging out in the mall and hopping from restaurant to restaurant and partying and all of the once in a while you might do it I'm not don't look so glum that's all right but it should not be it should not be an issue at all with you it should not interfere with your inner life yeah so Ravi turaga transcending the second thing is that moderation the third thing is as much as possible let these desires be connected with your spiritual life yes I must study and understand Vedanta I must pray III must you know immerse myself in spiritual chanting and music whatever appeals to you those desires are good somebody said there's a desire for God so that person has not gotten rid of desires yes but the desire for God is not to be counted among other desires why not Sri Ramakrishna is to say he will give the example a mystery which is sugar candy rock candy so he said usually sweets they produce acid acid reflux but this rock candy is also sweet but if you take it it destroys it's an antacid similarly he gives this example remember he was a Bengali and most bangle is a little dyspeptic so that's why these examples sir so he says similarly the desire for God frees you from all earthly desires that's why it's not to be counted as it is that it leads to liberation the desire for spirituality is a desire to one desire to be cultivated so these three things it must be moral as far as possible clean up your life second it must be moderate after all if you know that those desires are not going to fulfillment of those desires are not going to give you ultimate satisfaction in life why change them unnecessarily why devote your time and energy to that and third is channelize your desires towards God in whichever way suits you if your intellectual through philosophy and violent and whatnot if you are meditative through meditation if you are devotional through prayer and hymns and music and so on if you are active you know through service doing good to others being allied with a good cause and to all of that all of these methods karma yoga bhakti yoga Gyana yoga raja yoga all of them via crowed ha ha via means fear Klose means anger fear is fear anxiety terror apprehension there are all varieties different levels most of our life is guided by what if if only what if that happens something bad happens what if and hope and expectation if only that happens if only I get that if only that person comes so on and both of these will subject you to fear anxiety the one characteristic of an enlightened person is fearlessness that person has no fear in this universe it's not dependent on the universe for anything why should this person be a fortunate person be afraid of this person knows I am the immortal Atman death cannot touch me what should I be afraid of everything is changed when one holds on to God or is centered in spiritual life name and fame I met this monk a very interesting monk in the Himalayas a very in there say vairagya one in high Himalayas do you use the word verruckt or they'd use a local language bureaucrat both Barakat mahatma revere act means completely dispassionate it's not the bengali be doctor which means irritated though they are related so you can see how the word might have come completely dispassionate about the whole or if you derive it it might be irritated with the word which there's not that the person is irritated this very dispassionate person are completely detached and as you can imagine living in 10,000 feet high in the Himalayas now once some other monks nearby ashram came to him and said you know Swami what are these what they are saying about you and his reply was it's all true whatever they are saying he didn't even ask what are they saying and say no no you didn't even ask no no you wanted to know if it's true right it's all true I don't care about whatever they're saying it's true oh you are getting angry no I am I good no no I'm not getting angry you just wanted to know they're out for salacious rumors and gossip see this person doesn't even care what they are saying and what you think of him in Hindi he said sub such a it's all true so they apologized in the Juke very quickly now that kind of attitude I know it's not so easy if you are living in Manhattan you have you're living in the midst of a society and you must know what people you must keep are like aware of what your friends circles think of you and now it's a wider thousands of friends on Facebook of what they're giving you likes or not I I heard it's a source of great tension for young people I'm not getting likes people are not getting listed and it has to be immediate it has to be now and every moment to moment to moment people must love me like me every moment of every waking hour what madness is this this is a surefire prescription for not happiness misery no no it doesn't at all matter whether people give those likes or not doesn't absolutely for the again remember this is about the person centered in the Atman who realizes this one consciousness I am this one consciousness in all beings it's not a person who's saying all right the Swami has said I did the likes on Facebook don't matter now I'll no matter how miserable I feel I will not look at it no not that way center yourself in the vedantic teaching I am NOT just this person and the one consciousness the on body and mind the impersonal consciousness not brainwashing actually trying to see that when you see that and try to center yourself there you will see all these things follow easily as a matter of course you don't have to listen to long lectures from that point of view it really doesn't matter you'll be able to say like that monk at least mentally don't say it to others they'll feel annoyed with you it did sit sit that doesn't matter and Facebook will lose one more customer one more client yeah you see love what is the sign of love I miss you so much no no not I miss you what kind of love is this that it makes you unhappy see it seems to be the condition of love is I love you so much that when I'm even a moment away from you I miss you and I must let you know every hour two hour that I'm missing you my love for you is making me unhappy one hour in the day I get rid to that I'm happy and 24 hours a man at 23 hours I'm unhappy why because I love so much it can't be if a person does love love is the source of the greatest happiness how can it be source of misery and why would I want it I would see I would be horrified if people are missing me and unhappy no no no absolutely not this is a story of the great a Chinese sage who passed away and his funeral was being held and all of his disciples and that matters were there and the strange old monk the old man comes down from the mountains and he sees this and he cries out Trice three cries somebody goes and asks who are you and why did you cry said this person who is being whose funeral you're observing he's my friend by one of my best friends so yes but he was our master and he's passed away and gets so unhappy this is yes and I said alas for him that's why I cried out I thought he was perfect but he is not because he has left all of you in bondage you're crying for him the Buddha said that I have not taught like those who T teach with clenched fists what I have taught is absolute out in the open the teaching of the Buddha is out in the open and be our light unto yourselves see if it is what do not believe he told Anand I think do not believe because I have said so do not believe do not believe the book because the book says so do not believe because your teachers say so do not even believe because I say so take it and examine it and see that it is true and good true and good then only accepted some of the awakens in one of his last lectures here here last letters he writes I leave I leave not bound and having and keeping none advantage I leave in freedom how beautiful is that so love should be like that the real love is there genuine deep love and concern for others not that I miss you business I think I told you a couple of classes ago about the monk who said I really like who told me I really like when I was a novice I really like your company I'm so happy when you are here but remember when you're not here I don't even remember you and that's a great thing it's a great thing that person is centered in God that person loves people through God so his God is always present when all people out there and when nobody's there honor and dishonor it's a very touching story I've heard the Swami are joined under he told me the story it's about Swami pre-mission andhe was a disciple of the holy mother he was regarded as a brahmana Gani enlightened person in his own life in short he was called briefly is called premise Martin in short now many people used to come to him young people old people householders those who wanted to become monks those who were already monks senior monks so and he was open like a they're open to everybody and in those days he was very sick he was on the bed so one story look how spirituality transforms even what might be the greatest tragedy this monk of our order this monk of our order who was accused of some wrongdoing he came remember for a monk the repetition is is all I mean it's it's a loss of reputation ill repute is disastrous especially if you're living in a community of monks so he comes he is been he he said that they have accused me of this in our headquarters in our main monastery and I've been sent on punishment you have to go one of the punishments is you go to the mountains and beg for your food and live and meditate there and contemplate her misdoings or whatever so I'm going away and he comes and he's telling so I'm up Ramesh Mirage and weeping profusely he says but his real sorrow is not that he's being sent away not that he has to go and live in hardship his real sorrow is that I did not do it it's so unfair and now people dislike me despise me the people whom I love and respect so much they all misunderstand me and despise me and just all totally false so that you can imagine how it hurts lack of justice and look at Ramesh buzz Ramesh was a response he's lying on the bed he pulls this monks this his head his face down to his chest his face is full of tears he pulls him down to his chest and holds him like this and he says my son how wonderful you have forgotten by the world despised by the world now it's only you and God only you and God go and stay only with God don't worry about the world and it worked when the monk left his face was radiant and calm and he went off I don't know if he ever came back but that's what so you see even repetition even injustice in the world how it can be turned around if you center yourself if you're a devotee centered in God if you are enlightened person centered in the Atman in the consciousness within the higher Crowe the anger similarly one of the commentators mother Susan Saraswathi distinguishes between the two fear is when there is something that I am afraid of losing something sec with repetition and I have no way of doing anything about it then terror comes fear comes and anger is when I feel that I have something some way of reacting so this is going to happen somebody's going to do me harm or something bad is going on and I react in fury but both of them the enlightened person transcends remember the person can stand sage can still get angry and use anger for the welfare of others but not for one's own sake theta D mu nu root Chetty such an enlightened person the wisdom is stable summing up who does not react with curses and groans win - one of digne mana mind is serene in in suffering does not react the speech is not full of regret and lamentation and suka show we got as Priya who is free of thirst in the midst of happiness when things are going your way the desire to hold on to that how is that possible because this person is centered in something which neither comes not goes the person's entire attention is there see forth an enlightened person for the gyani brahma gianni Atman I am Brahman it is very clear so in the world of names and forms something unpleasant happens that exists the boy I am NOT the first of all and not the body and mind so the unpleasant thing happening to the body and mind is of no concern to me there's a story about Ramana Maharshi somebody wrote an article about him criticizing him and sent a copy to him so no madam our she looked at it and then he started correcting the grammar and spelling somebody said Maharshi this is about you he is cursing you you should know it's about some fellow called Ramana he has no identification with this body mind his personality he is in that he's dwells in that but he has no identification with it so when I am the Atman therefore this unpleasant thing happening at the body-mind level is of no concern to me not only that deeper first level is this identification second level is you see world body mind and the unpleasant things happening all of them are nothing but me Brahman I alone shine forth in these ways after waking up from your dream what is your reaction to the unpleasant things happening in the dream no it was nasty but doesn't matter at all doesn't matter at all similarly the pleasures the nice things happening it's a gain of no consequence because this person has got there's the ultimate source of happiness within all joy and peace is within when the sun is shining why keep the flashlight on makes no difference at all it's of no consequence so the Sun is blazing forth Ananda you're your real self is blazing forth with a million times more joy than anything that this world can ever provide and that joy can never be lost it's permanent it's always there imagine the Bliss of a saint the puncher that she says why is this Saint the enlightened person always unshakably happy and joyful not that the person always goes down with a smiley face not let that kind of happiness but a deep contentment complete unshakable contentment no matter what the circumstances are of the external world why three things he says in pancha deshee cryptography area having accomplished what is to be accomplished in human life imagine all our projects in human life whatever you might think this is what's doing so you have done all of it just imagine sittin to think about it what will it be like what doing the peace in your heart be like all the things no limit to your imagination all the things which you wish you could have or would have attempted suppose you have done all of that how much peace will be there in your heart this person is much more than that much more than that has attained that which with the bhagavad-gita says attaining which the greatest of sorrows cannot shake you attaining which nothing greater remains to be attained so critic repeated ayah propped up your prep today what is to be attained in life this person has attained God of Jagannatha what is to be known in life you call it God the real self Brahman enlightenment that has been done is known imagine the peace of this person unshakably so so this is the from from that reason it it comes that sukhiya we got as free of the little the flashlight in this in the venison is blazing forth inconsequential little pleasures that flit about come and go where they coming and going because of the past karma of that little person let them come and go nothing to me nothing to me I don't hanker be crazy to hanker after that Swami Brahma Honda he was meditating the spiritual son of Sri Ramakrishna his picture is where I think there on the corner there so is the first president of our order Swami Vivekananda said he's a dynamo of spirituality there's more spirituality in him than in be so he says that when he was meditating in in Vrindavan a devout person comes and it's cold there puts a blanket around him is sitting in deep meditation a blanket in front of him then a thief who is looking carefully and seeing the motionless Swami fully crept up picked up up the blanket and ran for it this Swami is watching that in absolute peace smile a similar incident in Banaras a monk told me who had seen this there was a monk not of our order one of those crazy enlightened people who would live naked on the streets of Banaras but he was enlightened person and he would come and visit our ministry and our monks would put a dhoti around him so that he wouldn't be and he was just like a little child and he would walk away again they would feed him and he would he would go where his mind priest and sort of wandering around one day he was standing and shivering in the cold in near the Ganga and this high society lady she was she was a princess of some royal family in those days you know days to go in and this these are called palanquin you have any idea what a palanquin is it's like a box you sit in and people bear it the carry you so if you are highborn or things like that so this lady was sitting in the palanquin and from the perda inside she saw this monk and she realized this is he is a very high soul indeed so she told the guards were with her that go and give him a blanket to cover himself it's like a comforter so they went and wrapped it around he stood there grinning and shivering there and it put it around him and they bowed down and they walked away next day again that Queen was passing that the princess was passing by in the palanquin and she sees in the same spot that say the same monk he is standing there again naked and she were shivering in the cold he said what happened somebody must have stolen it from him or so it she asked the guard to go and find out and to help that monk so the guard goes and say is a holy sir what happened to the blanket which I gave yesterday and this is very nice in Hindi I'll translate in in English afterwards he says makea da Roca Mota Rock gamble Caracalla karoonga am I am the village constable who's going to pick a guard guard your blanket so no idea of position has come over that nor indeed over his own body you put something here what is it to me why do you expect me to stand guard over it with the rogue on who tested I'll tell her Campbell kill a koala karoonga so we got a spear no attachment work and they are among the happiest people the few I would say truly enlightened people I have met in my life or spiritually advanced they are like the very deeply joyful happy people the next 157 it is a continuation of answer to the same question how does this person speak yes Sarah what ran away Sneha yes sir but Rana beats me Todd prepare shubao Shubham that prepare sugar Chauvin Naveen and Auntie not DHT Naveen ndon Tina DHT the Supraja pratishta the Supraja pratishta da so there's an answer to the question how does this person speak so now been undone Tina Drishti does not react in praise and effusion a few sickness or not doesn't curse or lament doesn't react in praise or a few sickness when things go nicely in our view that things are going nicely for this person and does not react with curses or lamentations or misery when things seem to go badly for this person yes our Watanabe sneer in all purser persons no attachment no attachment means no special attachment this is mine this person is mine this place is mine these positions are mine this kind of like that monk am i the village constable and I'm going to take care so that's an extreme example with an inner attitude whether you're a monk or a householder the inner attitude should be this so you should should I allow people of the street to come and ransack my house no when you're a household it is common sense to be to be applied if you're but you're taking care of God's property I too have an ashram you have to take care of it's God's property it's nothing to do with me similarly body that's also God's property you take care of it keep it healthy the mind keep it positive centered in goddess or odd or the self within but it's nothing to do with me attachment so unattached one of the monks whom I revere very much one of the best monks I've met in my life a very senior monk who was my mentor someone asked him once what's your spiritual practice and he answered in one word an attachment he was the head of a big centre when I when I became a monk there were five hundred kids in that central business of school and there were monks under his guidance novices like me and lot of other people you know teachers and staff and all employed people so it was a big center in India an attachment does not mean a kind of disregard for the world kind of alienation no he was most engaged more engaged than the rest of us an attachment detached means that no personal stickiness personal stickiness means this person this food this pot I remember funny thing when I was a novice there was this when we all used to eat together all the monks novices and the students everybody like five hundred people sitting down to eat so this is this monk who is senior to me so he comes and a young novice has come who was a bit of a rebel and very outspoken a rude to the point of rudeness so he was sitting there and this monk comes and says you are in my spot that's where I sit it's and this young man he looks up at this monk who was far senior to him and says if you are attached like that you can't be a monk which is really rude for a person who is here just for a few weeks and this monk has been a monk for twenty years maybe but to the credit of that monkey he couldn't believe his ears for but then he went and changed his place in sad sad elsewhere but attachment my spot so this kind of attachment is stickiness Sri Ramakrishna says when you break open a jackfruit it's a very rural Indian kind of thing you have to smear apparently I don't know I've never done that break open a jackfruit give to smear your hands with oil because at the jackfruit has a sticky kind of gum if you don't do that you're going to get completely entangled I'm going to be a real we'll make a big mess so that's what is like in in samsara we're completely entangled and making a big mess that's oil he says which you smear your hands with and then break open the jackfruit that protects it against the sticky stuff that oil he says attained devotion to God first attained devotion to God first stickiness in the world attain devotion to God first and then Mukti and then enter into samsara it will not affect you so this Vera get detachment of course Sri Ramakrishna also wants it should not be Murgatroyd our case is a monkey detachment monkey detachment he says people get a blow sometimes in life a dear a near and dear month passes away and then you tip did the stories that you take him to the cremation ground and the body is burnt in the Hindu Rite of cremation so this is called Shan Shan by Roger Schmo Chandra it means the Vairagya detachment of the cremation ground so near Indian person is passed away it's such a blow oh it's all true what Vedanta say is what the scriptures say the world is impermanent and God alone is true but that happens just temporarily for a few months it lasts and then again so there is a story of about a young man who ran away from his village to become a monk and to find God and everybody was worried in the village where did this boy go and after six months a letter comes in those days postcards comes home mother and father please accept my salutations I am now in the holy city of Banaras please do not worry about me I have started a little pawn shop and I have met this girl and come home very very soon with your daughter-in-law he's also married and he's got a business run and what happened to the detachment that I want to see God that was the that's called the cremation detachment cremation ground detachment because of the shock of coming into contact with the the underlying realities of life one should be careful and see that it's not of that kind so I'll stop here and yes a question yes emotional attachment to God is that good or should one be detached never always be attached to God attachment to God is good thing yes detachment from the world and attachment to God is spirituality yes if you are not of the devotional bent of nature if you are a philosopher evident in all right then the attachment is to to reality this witness consciousness searched on in the within so that's where you're centered otherwise a devotee is attached to God if you want attached to God then these things will become easy serenity in times of distress what is distress for a devotee nothing the only bad thing that a devil it can happen to a lover of God is to forget God that's only bad thing anything that happens in the world a rainy day is not a rain it is a saying in Hindi couplet rain it is not a rainy day that is a rainy day when I forget the name of Hari so the attachment to God gives you serenity of mind in trouble and unhappiness God is the source of my happiness so the worldly happiness I do not hanker after see if you think about attachment to go up Lord love of God all these qualities will come immediately this think about it that serenity the detachment that non hankering for worldly pleasures all of them come amid straightaway from the love of God so love of bhakti is a very great great thing Shantay shanti shanti he hurry he owned that shri ramakrishna aparna must [Music]