Video 24

24. Bhagavad Gita l Chapter 2 Verses 64-66 l Swami Sarvapriyananda

Oh vasilieva Suton daivam come such animal Dunham's devaki paramanandam krishna monday jagadguru have you heard of have you heard of ignorant studies today hey I was just coming out of a two-day conference on unknowability at the new school oh gosh there was sitting next to me very interesting conference and the last speaker in the last session today was the sociology professor from the University of Sussex I did not know about it that there is a full field called ignorant studies we even have a handbook I asked her and in the Q&A session are you aware that in India in in Vedanta for a period of nearly a thousand years from say 800 AD from Shankar Acharya Stein to about 1700 there was a intense discussion on ignorance of India and she said no I don't know that and so ignorant and and she was very interested I am she wanted the information and they are going to publish articles about the Vedanta concept of ignorance in there Rutledge publishes very well-known academic publisher they're going to bring out a handbook of ignorance and so they will have articles about Vedanta then that's what she is she is in charge of the project so she said she will include it in the next time when she said I know that there are areas where we are ignorant about it so we would like to know this very interesting conference there were mathematicians world famous mathematicians physicists John Barrow a well-known physicist he gave the keynote address yesterday at the Tishman auditorium in the new school I was just reading how so many physicists mathematicians are interested in consciousness studies one of the latest articles which I read ed Witten who is a physicist theoretical physicist string theorist at Princeton University he is now popularly on the net compared to that if we have anybody today of this nature of Newton and Einstein it's ed Witten so he's like that there's somebody called him the smartest man in the planet - the living person today so he was asked about consciousness and this article it quotes him he's read it today he says that I believe consciousness is going to remain a mystery as we study the brain further biologists and neuroscientists will learn more and more about the workings of the brain but why those workings are associated with something like consciousness that is going to remain a mystery and then he goes on to say I feel it is easier to understand the Big Bang than it just to understand consciousness another physicist and Ray Linda he's a Russian theoretical physicist he asked this question is it then possible that consciousness can exist without matter we will of course I know you're always run to students see all nodding yes yes yes is it possible that consciousness can exist without matter and then he goes on to say that I believe that the study of the universe in the study of consciousness are connected and probably as science develops further we will come to a point where we'll realize that we cannot understand the universe we cannot understand one without the other this consciousness turned and the universe so these are even extraordinary things for physicists to be saying mathematicians to be saying we are really living in extraordinary times and when unknowability is the theme of the conference they were historians and literature professors and sociologists anthropologists psychologists of course mathematicians climate change scientists from NASA so they are the whole theme was what are the limits to understanding so I told the professor that it was the ancient Indians they called it Maya a theory of my good will be in the handbook of ignorance the second jack'd chapter of the bhagavad-gita we were discussion discussing this section where Arjuna asked a question about the nature of the enlightened person the word used is very significant theta Pragya stabilized wisdom we often understand many things we learn many things and understand many things but we find it difficult to apply it in life stabilized wisdom is a person who can who can live the wisdom who has understood something integrity then can live it Erich Fromm very well-known psychoanalyst he said insight divorced from practice remains ineffective inside the understanding unless we try it out in life it remains ineffective so still abrigaille is the person who is living what he or she has realized now it is very difficult krishna points out if our sensory system and our mind at two levels there are problems one is at the sensory system they are very powerful very turbulent seeing hearing smelling tasting touching today there was a professor Stewart Stewart Fierstein he was a biologist and his whole life he has been working on smell how do we smell and said then today somebody asked him so are you close to it and he said we thought be where we are not about to discard whatever we did that we are going to change the whole thing we suddenly realized no it's not that way anyway so these are very powerful systems then there is something subtler than the senses which is even more powerful the subtler the more powerful what is subtler than the senses the mind thoughts feelings emotions ideas so these two are obstacles they I have to be controlled and brought and made to serve our purpose to help us on our path to enlightenment otherwise they're going to be huge obstacles to enlightenment how so we saw in the verses 62 and 63 if you remember the ayat of Cheyenne poems Sangha stay super Gaiety sang gods and joy Atacama comet crows Javie jayati crude hard poverty some moja some more hearts materi promise pretty duong shop run shot Buddha Naja Buddha na shot prana Shetty as I said last time like Buddha's talked about the eightfold path to liberation is eightfold path to destruction what are the eight steps to destroy don't they are not to be practiced the idea these are warnings constantly dwelling on sense objects diet / Cheyenne dwelling means thinking about about things of the world what happens sanga's tissue a stickiness develops a tendency to dwell on that and attachment to sense objects develops even without our knowing it I am thinking about it I can I can choose to think about it I can choose not to think about it if I say that I'm deluding myself the moment I try not to think about it I see so sanga's teshuvah jaya t an attachment of stickiness comes to it I is one to see certain things he knows wants to smell certain things touch we like certain touch sound then what happens from the that attachments and gods and joy at the a karma that attachment develops into desire a powerful psychic force let me have this let me enjoy that let that be mine let that it could be a person could be a thing could be an experience could be an object could be a place a job an honor or status anything let that be mine and from that if if those desires are satisfied then the result is greed more more lo ha ha if it's not satisfied then what it says growth ha ha anger behind every anger every flash of irritation is desired thwarted if a righteous indignation may be righteous indignation or whatever but indignation is indignation is something that has been swatted there something that you wanted did not go your way the result of anger is never never good either great the result of desire the result of desires never good either greed or anger the both of them same thing anger and desire are two sides of the same thing they're connected and then crowed heart poverty some more delusion comes from anger what should i do what should I not do then he says some more hearts with IVA Brahma from delusion all that we learned all that we learned all the Vedanta classes and the notes and all are completely forgotten all the wisdom completely forgotten and split Iran shot Buddha na ha ha faded with the loss of memory loss of memory he does not mean actually amnesia it's all there but I'm unable to recover those who know the story of Mahabharata you recall karna unable to recover the knowledge at his cursed that when you really need this knowledge it will not be available to you so that's the kind of story which applies to all of us if we are not really settled in that wisdom if it's not natural to us when we really need it it is not available to us so sweetie longshot Buddha Naja the intellect then is at a loss to decide what to say to whom what to say what not to say what to what to do and what not to do completely confused what I should not say I say it what I should not do I do it what I should do I do not do not do it how do I know that because later I have guilt guilt is very interesting how interesting that I feel about my own action how could I do that I wish I had not done that I wish I had not said that how could I do that how is that possible how is guilt possible I am doing I am acting according to my best thinking and best interests but no you have I am NOT sometimes I'm acting in such a way which which we all become to regret so regret and guilt but Dena chartres necessity it short circuits anger desire short circuits even neuroscience when you know scientists have said that the when that flash of anger comes your neocortex which is supposed to deal with the more advanced functions of the brain that the thing is it requires some time whereas the animal brain does not require in time it's designed in such a way to response immediately to danger and flash it responds in fight-or-flight that's in response is in a flash not a considered response so the neocortex is bypassed even neuroscience say that this is very good psychology actually it actually works that way now the next verse but Dean Asha Turner Shari so the goal the finally thing is that we fall away for a more spiritual path and it is not forever it happens again and again sometimes micro incidents sometimes major problems then the commentator in this book these old sanskrit commentaries are very interesting what they do is they connect the verses so something has been said before the next verse tell insert a sentence so the whole thing makes sense so this commentator the one I'm holding here is Sridhar Swami he lived about 700 years ago his commentary on the bhagavatam is very well-known he's a master commentator on the park of Adam this is called Shri Hari sue Bowden sue Bowden e so Bowden literally means easily understood it's a very simple commentary so what does he say before the next verse comes no no in yharnam the shia brahmanas waha Varnum Niro drama Chaka Todd I am dojo the spa deep area RIT Stata practicum Katims says but the senses are difficult to control if they are difficult to control then these faults what you just mentioned are very difficult to overcome you're almost bound to happen to us and if they are bound to happen then this stabilized wisdom is not possible we're talking about enlightenment as as the wisdom has been stabilized theta preggers theta means stabilized pragma wisdom but the stabilized wisdom is not possible if this chain of events is is natural it's bound to happen to us if it does happen to us how can I get stabilized wisdom so the next verse comes 64 please repeat after me rugged we shall be you taste Oh rugged we shall be dazed to be shy Anand Rajaram Vishy Anand Rajaram at mahashiv idiot Mahatma Bashir with a Atma Prasad America chatty Prasad we got chatty the person of control senses that person can go and mix with the world interact with the world even enjoy the objects of the senses with control senses with senses in check such a person enjoys a joyful serenity of mind the word you used here is prasada Madiga chatty normally went to a Hindu when you say Prasad it means the it means the offered food the so the food is very important in religion so the Prasad is is the food that is offered to God and then you take it as Prasad bow guys offered to God and it's taken as prasada so sacred food but here it means the joyful a serene and joyful state of the mind a serene and joyful state of the mind prasada that is very conducive to spiritual practice if you have that spirituality is easy if one does not have that it's a terrible struggle what kind of mind is aimed at here a joyful yet serene and not just once generally it becomes a tendency it becomes a habit to remain in that that state how do you get that it says move around the world interact with the world do what you have to do but with senses in check under your control so when I remember it's like somebody was teaching me to drive in LA in California and so one of the things I remember they said was that don't get too close to the car the difference between you and the car ahead there is a certain distance you have to maintain and that depends upon your speed so if you're moving slowly your distance is less but you're moving fast the distance is much more so that you should be able to stop by the time you apply your brakes and the car stops there would be a distance which is covered and which should ideally be before you hit is hit him there very funny the instructors I had a lot of problem with parallel parking so by the way I never mastered it so so one means one of them went that oh it's very simple you sort of edge in there and you roll back till you bump into the other car behind gently and then you roll forward until you bump into the car in front and then coming back and in between you stuff I first I thought he meant it seriously only for a moment now this this ability to judge the movement of the car so that it will not hit the car in front it's a very good way of understanding what are the inertia as the psychological inertia is within us when we are interacting with the world what pushes your buttons in the American phrase there and what makes you angry what tempts you what bores you exhausts you irritates you know that and remain within your tolerances don't expose yourself to a situation where you'll you're bound almost bound to fail whether it's anger or greed or irritation or prejudice or hatred remain try to carefully remain so that you you are able to stop before you hit the guy ahead of you so ragged way shove you taste oh how do you do that use the census to contact their objects that means deal with the objects in the world without raga to Asia raga the way she means attachment and aversion there's an automatic conditioning where the senses are pulled to their objects that should not be there then automatic conditioning where instinctively we have aversion to certain people situation that also should not be there the senses should be under the control of the intellect it was easier said than done that's true with this kind of a mind and sensory system if one interacts with the world do your job talk with people whatever relationships whatever is going on your mind will remain serene and peaceful peaceful serene and joyful happy Arjuna had asked for questions if you remember what is the nature of the enlightened person in Samadhi in meditation number one and three questions regarding the nature of the enlightened person while interacting with the world how does he talk how does he sit how does he move around tim praha a taki meseta Raja Sahib this is the answer to the fourth question how does this enlightened person move around then like move around means not physically move around in that sense it means how does this person interact with the world we are acting weird we deal with people we'd be work whatever we are doing in the world how is that person different from us often people are angrier engage with the world impelled by their senses trying to go about fulfilling the demands of the senses or the mind whereas this person is not like that such a person says prasada Madiga Chetty comes to a joyful serenity in God joyful serenity in God so what thinking about this prasada this joyful serenity in God you see the question is this those who have read Sri Ramakrishna's teachings again and again he says the one thing necessary is a divine restlessness just the opposite of serenity and relaxation he says the divine restlessness vyakulata in sanskrit and bengali also Bakula top he says if you have that a divine restlessness I must realize God I must get enlightenment I really really wanted spiritual motivation if I'm I really want that but that seems to be quite different from this relaxed serenity serenity right they are not different one must understand this this is serenity as far as calmness as far as the world is concerned and a joy a delight in in God in spirituality you like meditation you like hearing about about God reading the life stories of sayings and avatara's you like spiritual philosophy evident or if you're interested in Buddhism whatever you like it a joy is there it's not like a BHEL anta classes bhagavad-gita or somebody asks you know when will you finish that's what you don't ask when you are having fun how long do I have to do it it's like I know it's good for me but I wish it would be over know those who would sit and listen to sri ramakrishna talking hours and hours they'd be delighted not all of them many would come out of curiosity very funny incidents to friends have come and one of them is very is entranced by Sri Ramakrishna's talk it's always you would talk about God nothing else and the other friend is getting restless and he's whispers let's go and the his friend says a little more little just a little more once twice then this his friend gets up and says okay you sit here I'll go sit in the boat yet come in a boat some will sit in the block would wait for you there like I'm gonna sit I'll go out then sit in the car what happens this person likes it likes talk about spirituality philosophy joyful you find joy in it so joy in divine things and serenity as far as the world is concerned that is Prasad that is fully compatible with vyakulata by oculata means a divine restlessness Sri Ramakrishna would say you know when the winner the winner would see the sunset he would weep profusely and say one more day has gone Oh mother God to him was mother one more day has gone Oh mother when will I see thee I have not seen one more day has gone by without without seeing the seeing means having the design at the divine mystic vision of of Kali so that is divine restlessness this will continuously consistently uplift our minds purify our hearts the more this divine restlessness is there more purification and serenity as far as the world is concerned see what makes a person worldly the same restlessness and delight in worldly things makes a person more and more worldly vacu Lata is a neutral word that Letham is restlessness but vyakulata is restlessness about what if I am Restless about worldly things when will I get that when will that person come when will this happen when will my favorite will my favorite sports team team win today in that unders seminar on unknowability one interesting thing that they had a survey of several thousand people and they asked the people would you like to know the if it was possible would you like to know the exact date and place of your death more than eighty percent said no I was surprised because I would like to know yeah it's interesting for a spiritual person death physical death is not the end of things so it's an interesting event for whom is what I was thinking who I was surprised who people don't want to know but then later I thought it's not surprising you know for whom it would be terrible who deep within believes this life is all and I don't want it to end no matter how terrible but if you are spiritual in any tradition of the world then you know that this life is not all it's one page in a book which we are turning over page after page this is basic such a person who believes this world to be all this body to be all this little life to be all that person will be terrified of death Ernst Becca Becca wrote that Pulitzer prize-winning book the denial of death it goes very well I mean I didn't tell the professor that if it is true that we one of the most profound impulses we have is to deny death the inevitability of death psychologically deny it then obviously I wouldn't want to know when I won I'm going to die and one of the questions in that questionnaire was in that survey would you like to know the outcome of the sports match of your favorite team in some game and most people said yes that I'm curious about my own death it's not that I'm not curious about my own death it's just that I can't think about it think about it no problem at all no really if we knew that we have died thousands of times then it would be oh one more death okay fine so what we are upset about and what we find joy in that decides whether we will be uplifted become more sublime or more worldly if we are upset about not realizing God if you are upset if you are if you find joy in thinking about God that joy and that being upset actually continuously helps you convert in spiritual life but if my mind is upset about worldly things so the practice here the principle here is try to maintain serenity about worldly events when things go your way do not be overjoyed nice things happen okay nice I note it's nice you're allowed to give a little smile good things don't go our way you say Oh too bad fine that's all right one Swami in Chennai he put it so well he said Vedanta should enable you to do this much to go from what - so what on the basis of vedantic learning forget above enlightenment is maybe far away right now on the basis of a pedantic understanding if you're spiritually in any way it did this issue this should be the effect if you are if you are devoted to God in any form or if you are a seeker of the self knowledge in any form this should be the effect to whatever happens in the world especially bad things unexpected unwanted unpleasant so what will be an initial reaction what is it so what that that kind of serenity regarding happenings in the world those who get very happy about nice things are going to get very unhappy about unpleasant things you are opening yourself and the higher they fly the harder default our Swami at Meru pond she was telling us see in this country we are always expected to be excited you know aren't you excited for anything and if you don't have a huge smiley there's something wrong with you terribly wrong with you Prozac aren't you excited why should you be excited so he gives this funny example he says a new cereal has come out and the advertisement shows that Oh sweetie let's come out wow this is great this is fantastic Wow no no nothing is what no food is what saying that for if you react like that to a new cereal there's something deeply wrong with you and it's if you can say nice fine that's all right so as far as worldly events are concerned neither too much excitement when things go your way and not too much disappointment or reaction you know in frustration or unhappiness or anger when things do not go if the mind stays with God or in your particular preferred spiritual mode be happy there another point little deeper point whether it is vehicle at a divide that restlessness worldly or spiritual or it is this prasada a calm delight profound delight worldly or spiritual in that state of the mind the sanskrit word is Dravida which means melts the inner being the subtle being within our our inner psyche as if it were it may not physically melt but it melts means becomes soft impressionable the sadhu said Dravot o attack it as if the inner being melts and at that point it's like wax you know what when you want to put an impression on it there's two in the old days used to put a stamp on it they would melt it first and then put the stamp on it and that it would retain the stamp so when this inner being is melted by calm peaceful happiness or by a restlessness and by delight or by restlessness at that time whatever you are entertaining with that object of delight or restlessness that will be imprinted deeply upon the mind therefore the delight or that restlessness should not be wasted on the world if you do it with anything with the world a person a relationship even things which are nice many people are children are the cause of this both delight and more and more than that restlessness is not a divine restlessness it's and the more you do that the more strongly those impressions are driven into the mind that should be done for God we're going to unhappy be unhappy that you have not realized God yet if you're going to take delight be delighted in the thought of God whichever way delights you and Tulsi thus the great poet Center Saint medieval time in in India he said that Krishna and the gopis know about talking about the love of the gopis for Krishna they wept for him even the unhappiness of weeping for God is greater than the greatest happiness that it gives much more happiness than the greatest happiness that the world can provide let me repeat that even the unhappiness of weeping for God of missing or the divine unhappiness it gives you more happiness than the greatest happiness that the world can provide varaha it's called baraha Veera is missing God unhappy for God for that I do not know the absence of God so they have it in any kind of devotional mysticism Christian devotional mysticism why should have a devotional mysticism otherwise other way it is it's right here right now what are you missing they are very Drive people so yeah yes true true it's a very good question if we experience the tragedy that unhappiness any kind of worldly unhappiness also a skillful way would be the sadiq of the spiritual practitioner would try to connect it to God so I'm weeping for something in the world but it connected to God so that actually I'm weeping forgot the way to do that is to put your unhappiness at the feet of the Lord that I your your son or daughter I am unhappy I'm weeping for this oh my lord take care of this so I connected to to my to my beloved these are all methods skills in bhakti-yoga in the path of devotion so this is these are points I wanted to make about salinity and salinity and restlessness both are useful when they are connected to God both are dangerous when they are connected to the world taking delight in the world or being Restless with the world makes you more worldly taking delight in God or being Restless for God makes you more spiritual now once that prasada that serene delight in God comes then what happens 65 oh look the commentator said exactly that in Sanskrit seven hundred years ago Prasad asserted Kings Yod if that prasada comes then what happens the connecting sixty-fifth bursts Prasad isa rubadoux carnem Prasad eserver to carnem ha near a super yeti honey ratio puja Yeti present a cheetah so her shoe present a cheetah so her shoe boot deeper Rio Bautista t would be per your dish today when that serene joy in God the some translating Prasad there is delight sopressata is actually difficult to translate it into English because it has the meaning of delight a kind of happiness a pure happiness it also has the meaning of present narrator that means a kind of wholesome calmness of mind when that happens two results will be there one is Suri Babu kana honey rusty oppa jayati one overcomes all kinds of suffering unhappiness and the second one is Buddha Perea wattage study this wisdom the one which have learned which I'm trying to practice that becomes settled that becomes steady we are able to hold on to it and actually put it into practice so this state of mind is very good for spiritual life suffering is overcome in this state of mind suffering is overcome in every other state of mind there is suffering what is the other state of mind when I'm trying to fulfill trying to get happiness from the world so if I get happiness from contact with chosen with desirable objects in the world what I like to eat the person I like the company of the person I like the activity I like the job I like the place I like the clothes I like the contact with these things it gives a flash of pleasure in the mind but that's very worldly and that creates only desire for more and it immediately we get what is called satiated used to it and then we want more and more of that or more varieties of that so even when you succeed in getting what you want in worldly life that really does not is not conducive to lasting happiness and when we do not get what we want in worldly level the image result is immediately unhappiness so the worldly pleasure worldly pleasure the Buddhists say that even that is an that is pain why because before pleasure there is pain because you have to work hard for it to get what you want when you have it then it is not satisfying that is painful there is a fear of losing it that is painful and then you want more and more of it in different varieties of it that is painful and then it will go of it so that is painful also so the beginning and the end of pleasure is pain and underneath when you are enjoying pleasure it's just pain in disguise so but this can really rain on your parade a birthday is just one year closer to the end when the child is born the it really the text say it when the child is born that's the beginning of death the countdown to death so they can really rain but there it's true it's true and pain is so pleasure is pain and pain of course is pain it's at least honest isn't that pessimistic no it's realistic our great intelligence forget his name he said contrary to our misunderstanding of Indian thought it is not pessimistic it is actually optimistic what is pessimism when they tell you the situation is bad and there's no hope it's pessimism but all systems of Indian thought except the materialist charvaka but all systems whether Hindu or Jain or Buddhist they all of them they are the whole point is that there is a solution to it call it Nirvana moksha Drive earlier whatever they arranged many ancient names are there for that there is a possibility of transcending suffering that is not pessimism that's actually a very deep optimism what is pessimism is the modern attitude what is the modern my attitude we know things are bad but this is all that there is so do the best you can that is optimism that is pessimism things are bad they're going to get worse and then you'll die but this is what will do the best you can as long as you live this is pessimism this is pessimism Prasad is our over to kaanum honey ratio variety all sorrows are overcome when you have that serene joy in spiritual matters and Buddha he our shoe the word our show means quickly for such a person the what the person learns understands and decides this is good that person can do it in life this is a very big thing why is it that after reading so many things and attending so many seminars and workshops and classes and making up our mind and a New Year's resolution that I'm going to do this I'm going to make these these and that this that and the other change in my life and yet years later we are not we are not really making many many big changes in our lives why why are we unable to do that it's because nothing wrong with those ideals nothing wrong with our resolution also what's wrong is with the execution the execution is in the hands of the sensory system in the mind they are not cooperating with us whatever you choose to do we do it for two days and then don't do it for three more days so two steps forward and three steps back that's the problem and the problem is with the sensory system and with the with the mind present initiator so here she would be worried about the Stasi for a person with this serene and joyful mind serene and joyful in God the intellect the understanding becomes quickly converted into practice and then he says just the opposite comparing it if you don't have that then what happens 66 a very nice verse now Steve Odie are you - iam nasty would be yoked us yeah nacho you touch your Havana nacho you thirsty above a notch above yah - Shante nacho ha ha Shante ohh Shante Co Kuta sukham a Shanda Co kuta sukham understanding is not steady in a person who is not focused Gupta means focused in spiritual life comes into concentration the person who does is not focused is scattered for that person the understanding is not steady and without clarity there is no meditation for a person who's focused not focused meditation also is not possible Nechayev Tessa Havana Mahabharata Shanti and without meditation without assimilating these spiritual truths in meditation making it one with yourself no peace is possible and without peace peace without Shanthi kuta sukham where is this spiritual joy this spiritual joy is talking about comes after the peace peace attained through meditation interesting analysis suka shanti Anand I mentioned it a couple of years ago suka means pleasure the Sanskrit word sugar suka normally means pleasure not shared though here it means something else but suka usually means pleasure so I like a cookie I put it on my tongue and what happens the object desired object comes in contact with the same subject of itself with the sense organ and produces a flash of pleasure in Sanskrit sukar car of Hrithik the mind takes the form of a of a pleasurable sensation so this this worldly pleasure it's basic format is the the object should come in contact with the corresponding sense so I like to eat something should I taste it I like somebody when I see that person I like some music when I hear that music so this object sound sight taste coming into contact with the sense organ and it produces suka this is the nature of worldly worldly pleasure this is suka it is it comes and goes very clearly it is subject to increase and decrease more suka more sugar less suka less suka we get used to it satiated so we want more and varieties of it so these are the problems with suka I like coating Summerset mommy says if you single-mindedly chase pleasure very soon you find nothing pleasing anymore this is suka the nature of worldly pleasure in comparison to this there is shanthi shanthi means peace what kind of peace when you shut down these chasing after worldly pleasure and serenely become centered mindful centered in words not rushing out words trying to grasp listen that and serenely centered in words that peace of the quiet mind that is Shanti quiet sense organs quiet mind is Shanti that is peace Eric from whom I quoted he also said his wise thing he said pleasure these days he means our modern society pleasure these days is basically building up tension and releasing it what it has become become in modern society is they build up tension by advertisement to sell it is a nice I want it want it want it I phone 7 iPhone 8 iPhone 9 want it want it want it then you get it ah I'm gone now next another thing comes and want it won't builds up then you get it so building up tension and releasing it that is pleasure the modern form of pleasure you can see why it leads to unhappiness shanty is peace notice another thing Shanti peace is of one type only what I mean by that is disturbance as many types of disturbing agents are there so many types of disturbance who said that one of the professor's today in the seminar said somebody asked Tolstoy not taught strike mmm one of the who wrote Anna Karenina Tolstoy yeah somebody asked oldster why do you write about unhappy people unhappy families he says happy families are all happy in the same way or unhappy families are all happy in different ways so you have more to write about there are many more things to be unhappy about so disturbance unhappiness pain they're all different anger is one kind of disturbance but quietening that anger a crow haha when the anger is gone that peace greed is another kind of disturbance greed and anger are different they feel different right you are you are with me you understand the greed is different lust is different envy is different ambition worldly ambition different but their cessation the peace that follows when they are they are completely gone it's all of the same kind pieces of one kind only the absence of anger the absence of greed the absence of jealousy the absence of half hatred the same kind of peace peace is one and the same disturbance is manifold yes that is true from from an advantage perspective it's true so this is what I'm saying is from worldly perspective a very pathetic that's true if you see the one reality inside and outside at least even if we understand that it's a great step forward that there is oneness inside and outside so now here is one thing to understand good and bad in personal life why if you ask why do we do bad things personally it's because so tell a lie why either because I'm tempted it will get me something I really want or I'm scared of losing something I'm terrified and therefore I tell a lie I don't tell a lie out of the spiritual joy of my heart no I tell a live under under stress under duress nobody goes around robbing and murdering people a spiritual practice notice one thing so this is the interesting thing therefore now why would I want something or why would I be scared of something it's because I am NOT settled in that Advaitic vision a person who is so settled in that advaithic serenity the non-dual serenity what would that person want is basically deep within it's fulfilled person may go around doing his job and duty in the world that's what Krishna told Arjuna to do but deep within for one's personal satisfaction I am happy and so with this life with this body and mind I do things for others it's not I don't need anything unfulfilled being fulfilled myself I give so I would not want anything so not wanting anything not being afraid also if I am that reality beyond body and mind at the worst what could happen this body will die any it will die anyway one day so I'm not afraid of death being not afraid and not depending on the world to fulfill fulfill me I am neither scared not tempted therefore this an important point a person well settled in this settled wisdom will not do bad things will not do bad things one eyelid to that sri ramakrishna gives an example one person who is to teach advaitha a monk was a corrupt person and he came to that the temple and ceramic they saw that he was having an illicit affair and then so Ramakrishna went and said hey you teach everything hai things about Vedanta but why are you doing that and then this monk he said why the whole world is false it's an appearance by only catching my falsity then sri ramakrishna this isn't very important he said he was at first flabbergasted with this kind of argument and then he said I spit upon such weight on technology this is what is happening is notice what I said earlier a person who is settled in in non-dual knowledge would not be tempted by such things why would this person be tempted to do something a secret and illicit why if you are really deep inside fulfilled why would he go out looking for fulfilment etc and specially jumping over the fences of moral and decent behavior so would not do that what is this person doing he's not only doing that also now is justifying his behavior using vedanta philosophy so sri ramakrishna said I spit upon such my wrath so remember one thing a person who is settled in a spiritual in the vision of oneness or even convinced I've been practicing that that person will not do anything bad and that person will always try to do good and whatever is the duty of that person in that particular station of life if you are a father you take care of your children if you are an employee in a company you will do what is expected of you I mean whatever is moral and right so then the person next to you should not be should not have a complaint first when do we have a complaint against a person who is practicing this kind of philosophy it's it's only when we find there is a in congruence between very high philosophical talk and / life then we become upset and absolutely not there's no need to be afraid the more spiritually centered you are the more lovable you are the more dependable you are whom would you want on your side suppose you're in court one day see a person who is fanatically committed to the truth come what may maybe were quite irritating but if you one day you are in court and that person has to give testimony on your behalf you would want such a person on your side so it's always good to - one is very lucky to have a person who spiritual but of course one should be careful don't have a like a flag waving kind of spirituality in a place I am more spiritual than you know a truly spiritual person feels one with everybody it does not feel superior and two actually generally will not feel superior to anybody because that one reality which you see is present everywhere it's there if they knew and equally within him and her and your wife and me so it's it's one everywhere now if the children are doing something bad you need to scold them of course you'll scold them Advaita Vedanta is not against moral life it in fact provides the foundation to morality why do we need morality truth is a better expression of that Brahman that one reality then falsehood peace is a better expression than anger calmness better expression then irritation a spiritual person is much more dependable genuinely spiritual person much more dependable is those who are they say will come to it the lack of focus is those whose minds are strongly in meshed in worldliness you can never depend on such people in the worst of circumstances they'll leave and they'll abandon you because they are guided by forces beyond their control this do you still remember your question yeah true but at the vehicle level you never can level you see yourself and you see the other person also now the other person has your feeling that other person is a concern about me yeah so you know deep within you are one with everybody but does that does that worry the other person it shouldn't no does he you see it what is the other person so what what about that it should not I'm saying that it should not worry the other person very high one if you have spiritual people in your family you're very happy with that one lady asked Swami Ashokan and in the Bay Area 1950s that I'm losing interest in many things that other married women of my age they do parties and stuff like that and ashoka angie was very stern he said when you start coming to in this path people will think that oh mom is no fun anymore she's become boring but friends they start moving away from you good riddance I say but after some time that will change into indifference towards you and after some time it will change into a liking towards you a dependence liking Reliance that will happen but try to keep the spirituality under cover nobody likes a sanctimonious will do this verse next time then focus it's a is something alright let me talk about it a little bit we'll do it now so focus is very important the difference between an ordinary person and a great person lies in the degree of concentration Swami very condor himself she said remember this is these are the practices towards enlightenment or stabilization of enlightenment so one of the things necessary for this practice is focus and this focus will not come if a lot of worldly desires are there one day that person desires success another day desires appreciation another place it desires and a nice food music something like that all of those are fine but they should not worry you if they are there very good if they are not there even better that that should be the position and that does not mean you will go around for stopping other people from enjoying that no not at all yeah so when the senses are under control focus becomes natural one thing I noticed about Sri Ramakrishna holy mother Swami Vivekananda the direct disciple in fact all the saints the lights I've read they are very different from each other they are all very different from each other but one of the common qualities they had was a kind of determination to hold on to one thing and finish it so many stories about their lives I think it was who was it Swami treguna at Ananda who sits down in the barani grand monastery and his doing Jepara p-ting the mantra and his brothers other monks they get worried he is not coming for food he's missing his food and sleep and all and he said brother come and take food and then you can go and repeat the mantra he said no I will repeat it until I get enlightened mint I don't want to eat I'm remedy I could die so finally a compromise was worked out he had great reverence for Swami Siobhan and so through not even and the monitor great reverence for Swami Sivananda there so he said on one condition I will eat the brother the Swami Siwon and the Terra Cotta he has to sit next to me and repeat the mantra I will touch him and eat quickly and then I will start today yeah all of them had that swami vivekananda and we are reading the life story of sri ramakrishna in childhood one thing there's notice was a tremendous tenacity he would forget everything else when he took up one thing and finished that so focus this is called yuktah remember Vedanta is three steps shravana mañana needed hasanah Shawanna is when you receive the teachings there must be focused there must be listening sharply alert that's why in older days I have also seen a teachers would make you memorize the texts that require some commitment to memorize the text and I have heard of teachers who had so strict the whatever was taught in the last class you would have to come and repeat those at least the text the verses if one could not repeat it you'd be shunned forever banned forever from the class so that kind of commitment that is the first stage Shyvana to receive the teaching once the teaching is received if that kind of commitment is not there that manner and the next stage that they're thinking over it clarifying that will not come clarity will not be there and without that clarity how an AHA one day here means meditation without that clarity with antek meditation Aditi Hasan is not possible it's not possible and without that meditation he says peace will not come and without peace that suka he mentions here suka that suka is not not worldly happiness it's not even the prasada which was mentioned earlier earlier a Syrian joyfulness not even that it is the bliss of God realization here the commentator says suka here is not that worldly happiness moksha and the Bliss of moksha Bramha and the base of god-realization enlightenment so that's the final suka that does not come unless the mind is completely at peace and the mind is not completely at peace unless you have meditated upon the teachings and you cannot meditate upon the teachings unless there's clarity there's no clarity unless there is focus focus clarity meditation then only peace and liberation focus at Ravana level clarity at monana level and meditation that is needed the asana level one final did somebody ever to have a question there is a very silly joke but I must tell you because I just remembered this so it's actually a pun on words those who are Indians you speak Bengali or Hindi you'll understand it immediately otherwise it's would be a very not very funny translation but anyway I'll try this verse nasty would do you question Acharya courtesy of Havana so sure a yuktah a yuktah means the one who is not focused to that person meditation is also impossible neither clarity is possible non meditation is possible but the actual Sanskrit words if you see Chuck touched an Acharya Havana so one Swami he used to love tea which in Bengali and Hindus cha did this word and somebody criticized the Maya you are addicted to tea what kind of a monk are you so don't you know the Gita says much are you thirsty of Havana there is no meditation possible without a cup of tea he's not very far from the truth there the Japanese tea ceremony is actually a part of Zen practice I don't know but but their stories Bodhidharma who spread Buddhism to China Tibet and China here also the source of kung fu Bodhidharma in China is called Daruma or Japanese I think is called Daruma so he was an Indian monk from Andhra and he went so there are many stories about him in China and he taught them meditation he also introduced a set of exercises which later became shaolin kung fu' so you can't imagine I guess I'm thinking Indians teaching kung fu to the Chinese it's just the opposite but if you look it up at the stories there that's actually the legend in China not in India that we don't know much about him in India so one of the stories is how did he come so this Daruma body of a Bodhidharma he was meditating he would stay it would face the wall of the of the cave and stare at that and meditate for hours and hours one day he felt sleepy his eyes closed in spite of himself occupational hazard of a meditator eyes closed in spite of himself and so he was so furious with himself he tore off his eyelids so that he could never know it's a bit gruesome and then he threw them away so that he could never close his eyes again in and the story is for where those eyelids fell from that a plant grew and the leaves of the plant if you crush it and put it in hot water and drink it you will not feel sleepy so that's that's a story just now I'm not saying that you have to take tea before meditation and certainly not coffee because that educates the mind very good on this note Oh John Deshawn the shanty hurry he owned that sat sri ramakrishna Aparna Musto