Video 98

98. Bhagavad Gita | Chapter 8 Verses 1-4 | Swami Sarvapriyananda

[Music] guru so welcome back to the bhagavad gita class we had one month break so just to remind everybody we have we have been studying the seventh chapter of the bhagavad gita and we completed that last time i think we are entering the eighth chapter and remember that one general way of making an outline of the bhagavad gita according to some scholars is that the 18 chapters can be roughly divided into three parts of six chapters each the first six chapters were about the self about ourselves next six chapters where we are right now is about god the ultimate reality of this universe of the god of religion basically and the last six chapters will show us how we and god are the same reality the vedantic the great sentence that thou art that is saguna brahman or ishwar or god tuam is you us and what is the the identity that thou art that is the identity of the individual and the cosmic of the jiva sentient being and ishwar of god that will be expressed in the last six chapters but it's a very rough way of putting it because you find vedantic inquiry in the first six chapters again in the last six chapters but it's also true that to some extent these middle six chapters from chapter seven onwards uh they are are mostly about is a preponderance of devotion there's a preproduce of theism and we will see more of that in this particular chapter before we go into this chapter it's a short chapter and the central take away from this uh chapter from the eighth chapter is that one must remember god at the time of death that's the if you want to take one line take away from this chapter this the importance of being centered in god at the time of death and therefore in order to be centered in god at the point of death means physical death you must remain god conscious throughout we must try to remain god conscious throughout our lives so that's the teaching at the point of death one must be centered in god in awareness of god once feel the presence of god one one must focus once mind focus mind means there is focus there there is memory there there is emotion there so focus is what are you concentrating on if anything at all so god what are you remembering i mean you're bringing your all your learning your understanding your lifelong devotion into bearing there and then what are your feelings love and surrender and reverence and all of that and that focus must be there at the point of death that's the central teaching of this chapter the occasion for this chapter is a few technical terms cleverly inserted by krishna if you remember the seventh chapter the very end of the seventh chapter which is the the thirtieth verse at the very end of the seventh chapter the twenty-ninth and thirtieth verses sri krishna mentioned certain certain technical terms suddenly and obviously arjuna has questions about those terms and he asks those questions so those questions are the beginning of the eighth chapter but what were those terms what uh what excited arjuna's uh curiosity shiva dev says shubha nova wash okay so today's an especially auspicious day it is um a bengali new year in india it is good friday so uh yeah and this whole week is actually auspicious we're culminating in easter there was palm sunday on last sunday and then culminating in easter this sunday so shubha nova what should everybody which means happy new year bengali new year to everybody 29th verse of the 7th chapter if you see the last line so those who strive for freedom from decay and death they take refuge in me know that brahman all about the the uh embodied itself and action so these are three terms brahman we'll see what it means literally if you translate it means the inner self karma literally it means action three terms then the next verse introduces three more terms the last verse of the seventh chapter the fourth term is the fifth term is adida and the sixth term is what do these terms mean literally we'll see the meaning later on krishna will explain literally if you see these terms mean adi buddha means the reality about all beings you know what are these beings and then adi dava means the reality about all the devatas of gods the deities means all the yagya literally is the sacrifice vedic sacrifices all religious rituals what's the point of all of them what's behind all of that where whom are we worshiping where is it going to so other means literally it means that which underlies uh all religious ritualism adibuta means that which underlies all things in this world living and non-living and adidas means that which is the reality of all the deities worshipped in religion all right then at the end krishna mentions something those who attain liberation at the time of physical death they keep their minds on me so now this also interests arjuna now arjun is going to ask questions all of these things which krishna said at the very end of the seventh chapter and then he stopped and then arjuna naturally and we are also interested so what are all these things you just said eight chapters it starts with arjuna's question arjuna kinta brahma kimadatmam [Music] [Music] what is that brahmana one what is that ad atma too and what is that karma three o best of men what is called adi bhuta four and what is said to be the adidas fifth then one more question number two verse number two prayanaka what is this in this body or slayer of madhu that is krishna and how are you known at the time of death by those who practice self-restraint who practice spiritual disciplines notice seven questions seven questions six they deal with the six terms suddenly introduced by krishna and the seventh one deals with death how can we maintain a spiritual attitude devotional um devotional power power is a sanskrit word which means attitude focus being centered how can we remain centered at the point of death the six terms are what is brahman first second is what is um second third is what is adi bhuta fourth is what is um the adhi yagya and the fifth one is uh what is that's the sixth one and the seventh one is praying the time of death how do yogis meditate keep their minds on you these seven questions i think that was particularly clever of krishna to introduce these certainly puzzling terms at the end of the chapter and he knows that arjuna is going to ask questions like all of us we are also we become curious um what are these things what should we know about them but as you shall see they are basic terms of vedanta and just the the terms used a little old vedic terms more than later vedantic terms we'll see now now krishna is going to answer those questions sri bhagavanuava aksharam brahma paramam so the highest imperishable principle is brahman its existence is the embodied soul is called and the offering unto the sacrificial fire which causes the origin and development of beings is called action all right three questions have been answered here first he says the first question was what is brahman you just mentioned brahman what is brahman aksharam paramam brahma he is cryptic here but then we know enough of vedanta to know what he's talking about the ultimate reality the undecaying reality eternal reality is brahman the word brahman itself oh by the way before i go any further this chapter is called akshara brahma yoga so the name comes from the teaching given by krishna here the first two verses are questions from arjuna so it's not named after those questions but when krishna starts teaching the first words he says aksharam brahma so that's how the chapter takes its name akshara here has two meanings one meaning of akshara is letters you know like the english we have the alphabet a b c d and so on sanskrit alphabet but that's not what it's meant here because immediately has adds paramam which means transcendent or supreme so the other meaning of akshara is the undecaying shara means that which decays akshara which means that which does not decay that which does not change the eternal and one must remember this brahman which is eternal is not a thing which persists through time the moment we hear eternal we think something that lives for a pretty long time you know it just this goes on and on and on eternal not in that sense it's something that is beyond time time does not apply to it time and space and causation do not apply to it so the question might be so what are you saying it's not eternal that means it's temporary this is the reason why words like eternal are used in order to make sure that we don't fall into the idea of thinking like all things come and pass away so brahman is not like that and therefore eternal but really speaking it's only after you accept time when you say brahman is eternal only after you accept space then you say brahman is all pervading it's only after you accept all objects everything in this universe then you say brahman is non-dual nothing is apart from brahman but in itself you can't say anything about it without time space and object there's no way of talking about it it's beyond language even the term brahma which is used all throughout vedanta literally it means the vast disastrous derivation is you don't have to bother about the sanskrit it just means it's vast the etymology it's it means that which which expands without limit that's the precise etymological meaning of the root of the term brahma the vast the vast what a vast sky vast wealth vast what nothing without any any qualification doesn't say so when you just say vast without any qualification it means the infinite nothing is excluded from that so brahman the etymological it also means the infinite limitless and that brahman is talked about throughout the upanishads that there is an ultimate reality of this universe which is which is being itself which is awareness itself which is uh which is this some the culmination of all value i know i have not used this language earlier but i am and i'm aware and i'm seeking so what your this your is-ness is brahman your awareness itself is brahman and what you are seeking what everybody and anything and everybody what we are all going towards human beings and all living beings and this entire non-living universe it's all it's rushing towards its culmination and that is brahman that is that is ananda the bliss itself not that it exists it is existence itself it's more than more than an existing thing just like and these sound like you know vague philosophical words they are not vague actually they have a very precise meaning when i say it's not something that exists more than existence it's just like use the old gold and ornaments example if i say so somebody who does not understand what gold is gold is not an ornament it's not a necklace or a tiara or a ring or something but gold is more important and more is more real than any of the ornaments isn't that true because all these ornaments are made of gold in that sense similarly existence itself is more important than any existing thing is greater than any existing thing then awareness it's not just existence when we look at ourselves i am and i'm aware i am and i'm aware and this awareness in itself not awareness of something not a particular incident or experience of awareness when we talk about awareness we we always talk about in consciousness studies for example if you ask what do you study oh perception you hear smell taste touch you think you remember uh you you enjoy you suffer so this is all all awareness yes but these are instances of awareness just as existing things are instances of existence these are instances of awareness awareness in itself is brahman and there is such a thing as awareness in itself from a vedantic perspective it's just like saying if you ask somebody oh gold is not an ornament so there's no such thing as cold well the answer would be there is only gold it's doubtful where there is something called an ornament apart from the goal the goal is the reality similarly awareness is the reality of all our experiences in life and then this this urge for fulfillment which we have which is why we are here in vedanta which is why we do anything from earning money to having relationships to accumulating to to fighting wars to um you know religion and politics and economics all of that we're trying to get fulfillment and ultimate fulfillment the unlimited fulfillment is brahman is ananda it is the culmination of all our efforts at fulfillment because it's unlimited existence awareness that is ananda this satchit ananda being itself awareness itself joy itself or fulfillment itself that is brahman and this is what krishna says aksharam paramam the transcendent non-decaying being reality is brahman all right next question krishna used the term ad literally if you translate in a reality so what's within and he says this very brahmana when it's your reality it's akdyatma this is brahman if you say it is all pervading then it must be in me i am within this universe so this brahman must be in me also it must be here so the brahman which is here in you that is the swab harbour survival literally means the existence within oneself here it's used in a technical term existence of that ultimate reality within oneself swab however let me put it this way there is one absolute reality now when because of maya because of that extraordinary power of maya that absolute reality itself appears as a mind in technical terms upadhi i have not explained it here i've explained it earlier upadhi i mean there is a english translation which makes it even more complicated upadhi is because we call it an adjunct um but it's just an appearance you remember the example i've sometimes used of a crystal and a red flower behind it a colorless crystal but if i put a red flower behind it um the colorless crystal will look red without actually becoming red so here you have this let's call it call this a colorless crystal if you look at me and then when i put this orange rope behind it look how it see this is what it normally looks like the moment i put this behind it look it looks it looks orange it looks uh suffering nothing has happened to it it's just the same because of the upadhy now the saffron this this orange robe is called the upadhi which by its own presence distorts our perception of the crystal so by the presence of the upadhi of the mind technically and again vedanta the terms would be antarctica it's not just mind its mind and intellect and memory and ego our entire inner instrument when that appears why does it appear maya remember it appears in brahman that same brahman through that mind the presence of the mind just like the presence of this that brahman now becomes a knower it becomes i individual knower and in that brahman when names and forms appear what names and forms table chair body all these forms and names appear then that brahman now appears as existing things it appears as existing things now two kinds of things have come up subject and object same brahman through the upadhi of the mind is now the subject you us and the same brahman through the upadhi of names and forms is all existing things and now what does the subject do subject becomes a knower and it knows objects and that's our experience of the universe you see hear smell taste touch you think you want you hate and that is the subject but really what is the subject brahman really what is the object brahman why does it look like a subject why does it behave like a subject because of the upadhi of the mind the presence of the mind why does it look like an object like why can you experience brahman as an object because of the appearance of body of names and forms what names and forms all names and forms basically the entire universe swami vivekananda put it so simply i've often repeated this he says one alone exists it appears as nature soul nature is object soul is subject subject and object are actually the same brahman again not very difficult to understand consider our own dreams when we dream we are there in our own dreams we are walking around talking having experiences and we are experiencing people and places and when we wake up what happens we realize oh because of the dream i the dreamer became the subject and object in the dream whatever i saw in the dream was i alone my mind and i the guy in that dream i was this mind alone so this mind alone became the dreaming mind alone became by itself two things subject and object and it experienced itself in the dream isn't that a fair way of um you know describing what a dream really is so exactly so that's a dream in in a mind when we go to sleep but what's happening here in the waking state it is this brahman which appears as subject and object now when you look at the subject we arjuna this disciple is a subject and krishna when he's speaking is a subject we are also listening we are the subjects we are individuals now the question is that brahman you spoke about what is the subject what's the relation to the to that ultimate reality krishna is saying you are that ultimate reality but you are appearing through the prism through the upadhi to the prism of a particular mind so the minds are different minds are many and that's why we seem to be many so this is the answer to the second question what is the second question you use the term adhatma what is adhatma what is the inner reality in a reality is brahman is existence consciousness place then the third question karma he asked what is karma and um he answers so all the mass of actions which take place in the entire universe starting from the creation of the universe down to what it is today all the mass of actions that we undertake all of this is karma basically the answer he gives is it is cause and effect it is causality see this universe is not just there is existence and consciousness and there are names and forms but there is action going on things are happening in this universe and when actions are done deliberately by us sentient beings they have effects and those effects give rise to the future of this universe i'll repeat that from a vedantic standpoint and not just a vedantic standpoint any religious standpoint this universe is not meaningless so every religion will say there is a point to the existence of this universe and the point is you that um this whole universe is a consequence of the activities of sentient beings god according just like any religion vedanta also will say there is god god has created this universe but how randomly arbitrarily no it is according to the patterns of actions that we have set up to get to give the results of those actions to us good actions good results bad actions bad results mixed actions mixed results and we go from lifetime to lifetime propelled by our past actions so this is what is going on god is enabling all this to happen but why what's the point of all of this the point of it is ultimate [Music] liberation enlightenment and liberation so this is the world view also remember this is like a conventional world view if you ask an advaitan really is this what is happening there's a world is a god who has created it and we are all there we are experiencing results of our karma and one day we will attain some kind of blissful release the advaitan will actually smile and say you know if you press me for an answer no none of this is happening brahman alone is real all this happening what you call it this like a movie playing on brahman but from a conventional perspective we want to explanation of this world the world is is meant as a part of our spiritual journey um so karma is the fuel for this whatever we have done in past lives has given rise to this life and not just individuals all of us together millions and billions of sentient beings we whatever work we have done in in our human births or in as this um where we are agents of action in lower births we are not agents we only get results of past actions but we don't don't generate new actions that's why for example in any civilization you won't actually blame an animal for a crime but you can blame a human being for a crime um okay though that's not entirely true those who own dogs you know when you scold a dog you you see you say naughty boy has done something wrong and and it's not entirely true that the dog is totally instinctive often dog owners know the dogs can be can feel guilty and dogs can be deliberately mischievous so all of that they're not all that different from us as it was made out to be i'm what's going on in my mind is there is this program coming up in new york university and the title of the program is do all dogs go to heaven it's not about dogs not about going to heaven it's about consciousness and life but the title is very nice catchy do all dogs go to heaven all right um so karma is that with that which fills this entire universe if you want a conventional explanation but why is all this happening the answer would be karma by the way just by the way because i have had this discussion with so many people so everything that happens in our lives is karma yes the broad patterns of it um so when miserable things happen so we are being punished for our our karma we are suffering because of our karma advaita vedanta would say not exactly um pain and pleasure will come due to karma but suffering is optional this suffering is not really due to karma suffering is ultimately we all are non-dualist we are advaitans if you ask what is suffering due to human suffering we all say ignorance we do not know who or what we truly are and that's the real cause of suffering why isn't pain the cause of suffering not necessarily it is in the same world that enlightened beings also exist and with unenlightened being the unenlightened person the sentient being who's not enlightened suffers due to past karma the enlightened one will not suffer the same past karma will come and produce pain produce trouble but the enlightened person knows has realized what the truth is that i am brahman from that perspective it sees it's perfectly all right so suffering is optional the effects of karma will keep on coming only even the effects of karma can be mitigated by devotion to god but that will come a little later so yes i just wanted to make that point because people sometimes suffer a lot life is full of tragedies and it's only the very young or the very stupid who think that it's not a problem somebody said you know how my my 13 year old daughter said why should i look for overcoming suffering why should i try to attain uh you know security beyond suffering you know unshakable peace and joy um life is full of joy and pain pain and pleasure so when joy comes i accept it when sorrow will come i will accept it and this gentleman wrote i don't know what to say to her i i was thinking isn't the answer obvious she's 13. i mean to be a little brutal tell her to go to parents who have lost their young child in a terrible accident and tell her to tell those parents oh you had the pleasure of having a child now the child is gone you should also accept the pain of losing the child only a monster would say such a thing she is she is 13. so we have this this culture we have developed not only here in the west it's also in india of worshiping the uh of the child children are children they're not supposed to be enlightened they are not supposed to be founds of wisdom sometimes they say say very interesting things that's all don't take it seriously so no there is terrible sorrow in the world it's it's silly to say well i accept the pain and accept the pleasure it's all life you can't say that try saying it to a grieving parent try saying it to a person who is a victim of a terrible crime no you can't say such things there is terrible suffering in this world the point is that suffering is optional spiritual life even before enlightenment it protects you against a great deal of suffering it the results of karma will keep coming but you are saved from a great deal of suffering not only just by knowledge by devotion by meditation and above all by doing good to others good karma karma yoga bhakti yoga dhyana yoga gyana yoga all of them all of them protect us against suffering all right so this is karma [Music] so the exact language he has used is all the actions which give rise to you know the appearance and development of all the sentient beings of the world basically karma and i just have to mention in this context very precisely if you push it little hard it means vedic karma but you can expand it you can take it in a general sense and say all karma all actions have consequences and that's what fuels this universe which is not very far from a purely secular scientific outlook that everything that you see is driven by cause and effect then the next verse um few more terms remain for explanation and krishna [Music] perishable entities are called adi the cosmic being is called adidava and i myself am called this body or best of embodied beings what's going on here now will see the power and beauty of studying vedanta sahara before i explain this just think about what we learned in vedanta sarah that one pure consciousness ultimate reality in connection with the power associated with the power called maya is called ishwar or god i'll repeat that absolute reality brahman in association with the power of maya is called ishwara bhagavan god saguna brahman it's the god of religion and maya is called the the causal state or the causal body it's the it's a seed of the entire universe it's the cause of the entire universe then remember what happened in um in vedanta from the same ishvara god with the power of maya produces the subtle elements i'll just quickly rush through it i will not explain in detail it's vedantara produces the subtle elements and with the subtle elements combined and they produced the subtle bodies um intellects minds memories ego all of this our internal equipment down to life itself so all subtle bodies are produced at the second stage there's a there's a subtle cosmos which is created then it's not physical things but let's say just all the minds together that is called the cosmic mind you remember the term used so the same consciousness plus the causal power of maya plus the subtle creations of maya that is all minds together including life mind life sense all the powers of thinking all the powers of willing all the powers of feeling three powers of you know what we call in psychology the cognitive effective and cognitive domains all of these powers of mind not just individual minds the entire cosmic mind together so that's the subtle level of creation consciousness plus all of the causal body plus subtle bodies then finally the third level what happened these subtle elements again mixed to create the physical the gross the solid this this world space uh air fire water and all and the if you remember the um vedanta fourteen worlds or different universes were created all the living the bodies of living beings were created the entire physical universe was created and that is consciousness plus causal body maya plus cosmic mind hiranyakarba and then plus the physical entire physical world of living and non-living beings this is called virat you remember it's the same reality brahman plus maya is ishvara brahman plus maya plus all subtle bodies is hiranyakarpa brahman plus maya plus all subtle bodies plus all this physical universe is called virat the vast so keep the structure in mind and next you'll see what what krishna said here becomes perfectly understandable and why all these details well that's how we are experiencing the word just look at the world look at yourself you see yourself with the physical body right there's this solid body here and then when you look inside yourself you see yourself with a subtle body thoughts feelings emotions who doesn't have it we all have it ideas memories life itself the sensory system all of this is inside it's subtle and then you look further back you um like we have experience in deep sleep of a blankness of a seed state so there's we each of us we have a causal state we have a subtle state and a physical state right now we have all three together you can't have a physical state without a subtle and a causal state so right now you have a physical body you have a subtle body and you have a causal body but you are not the physical subtle or causal bodies your consciousness itself which seems to be limited by these three bodies the same is true of the entire cosmos that is the vedantic idea of god now keep the structure in mind and now apply it here you will immediately see what krishna is trying to say perishable entities are called adhibuta he use the term adi the reality of all these physical things what is the reality of all these physical things there is consciousness associated with this entire physical universe virat these physical things he says they're all impermanent they're all born if they're living beings they're born living bodies are born they develop they decay and they die if they're non-living things they are created or they appear and then they are destroyed they change and they disappear they are all sharo of harvard means decaying ever-changing momentary moment to moment everything passes all that is born must die krishna said long ago in the gita for all that is created all that is born destruction and death are certain these are our bodies don't be scared it's not about you you cannot you cannot you are not created and you do not die so these are the bodies and they will they will die they are changing ever changing and they will die what are these bodies this is the physical the gross aspect the physical aspect of that cosmic reality of brahman then the next one see purusha's chadi dayawatam the cosmic being is called adida the second term which krishna used was adida eva what is that ali deva it is hiranyakarba which we just talked about it is that consciousness plus all subtle beings together see here one thing has to be explained if in vedanta you will see each of the faculties of the mind like mind or like the power of seeing hearing spelling tasting in the hindu cosmology each of these powers has a deity behind it it is the fire god and the sun god and the and indra and so on they are all nothing but particular powers consciousness associated with a particular power and the collection of all these deities is hiranyakarba the cosmic mind just as the collection of all your subtle faculties of your memory of your intellect of um your desires of your sensory powers all of it together is your is your subtle body your inner your mind similarly the collection of all the deities in which hindus worship severally in various ways all of that together is called hiranyagarh what is hiranyakarba as vedanta students we know very well the unlimited consciousness plus the causal power of maya plus the cosmic mind is called hiranyakarpa literally what does the word hiranyakarba mean mean the golden womb or the golden egg that's what from which the entire universe has come and this idea of a golden egg it's there in many cultures of the world even in ancient taoist thought in china i hear they have a clear idea that the cosmos emerged from a golden egg so hiranyakarab it's the cosmic mind and then the third so this is called adida that one cosmic being which is the sum total of all the gods you worship literally that's the meaning of adidas what is the sum total of all the gods that we worship cosmic mind and then the last one adi literally it means the reality to whom all religious rituals are directed you can fill in the blanks easily now what's the last thing that's remaining we have talked about virat we have talked about hiranyakarpa now the ishwar the god of all religions and lo and behold krishna says i i am the adiya so krishna is avatar he's saying i'm an incarnation of god so god in sanskrit sagunabram ishwara bhagavan is that ultimate reality brahman in association with maya or limited by maya then same god plus all subtle bodies of all the deities all the powers is hiranyakartra that the name used here is adidas the same god um with all the physical bodies is called adhi bhutam and the bodies themselves are perishable they're continuously coming and going that's why he says shahrukh bhava virat god god himself is not perishable now there's one point here in some accounts you will find this cosmic being virat and hiranyakarba they appear and they disappear that's true when the universe is created then the hiran negarabha appears and then bhirat appears but in reality they are not destroyed their innermost reality is ishwar or saguna brahman or god just light just like when out of deep sleep you emerge into dream state your minds our minds become active and they generate dreams and from our dream state we emerge into a waking state we become aware of a physical body so the physical body associated the waker and the mind dreaming mind associated the dreamer they are in reality you the consciousness who exists in deep sleep so my point here is virat and hiranyagarh they are not actually destructible just their upadhis disappear when the universe is destroyed when the universe is created the upadhis the associated powers and all they come into being and you get these new names but when the universe is destroyed what remains ishwara god remains that means brahman plus maya all right one more point and we are done then krishna says he just adds without being asked [Music] where am i this is this pure consciousness of this god of religion he says in the body which body in you and he says in the body and then he says to arjuna oh best of embodied ones so he calls arjuna an embodied one and he says i am in all bodies i the ishvara this is the mahavakya it it says gives you the identity of brahman and jiva ishwar are the lord of the universe and we sentient beings we are one in the same reality how are we one in the same reality how can the ocean and the wave be the same we are tiny we are a little wave and god is the entire ocean but we are the same as water the ocean is nothing but water the wave is nothing but water and don't make the mistake immediate mistake of jumping to the sort of inevitable conclusion oh yes god is like this ocean with lots of water i'm like a wave with little bit of water no there's no lufts and little the example fails there as brahman um you and god are exactly the same reality but as a sentient being in this vast universe definitely god is supreme and we are uh we are devotees okay all of this is the background now the advice important advice the real theme of the chapter will start with that question think of be centered in god at the time of death and krishna will say further if you are centered in god at the time of death you will attain liberation you will attain me and in order to be centered in me at the time of death you must be centered in me throughout your lives it is not possible at the point of death when the voice is choked when feeble how will you praise the lord when the mind is out of control i have experienced the sickest that i have been at one time i it was felt like dropping into a bottomless well and and no control over my thoughts they're all vague and scattered how will you think about god at that point and when you are when one is scared or in pain or in shock and you know slowly falling into the complete you know physical uh death how are you going to love god but it is possible through a lifetime of thinking about god and loving god and being centered in god through the challenges of life once you're centered life is testing us all the time physical illness here somebody says something nasty there is anxiety about relationships and money and whatnot in the midst of all of that if i can practice holding on to god at the time of death by the grace of god will be able to hold on to god um so that that is going to be the theme which will start now from next time we'll take a look at that now there will be questions let's see anuraga says i have a question on sama nadikaranam all right please ask you have to unmute yourself you try and mute yourself yes okay um in the brahmara pranam brahma habi we did the samanadhikaranam a badha samanathikaranam yes and in tattva masi we did the bhagat tiago is it because that the tattwa masi is between two sentient beings no um let me explain and stop you right there let me explain the terms a little bit and then we'll i'll i'll answer these are technical terms uh used in the analysis of the sentence of the you know the qual with the mahavaki which expresses the essence of vedanta the identity of the sentient being with with god with with brahman you remember we went through three stages of this analysis of harbor and lakshya bhava so the two things you are saying they belong to two different stages um so what is samanadikaranyam we must try to prove first of all these sentences which are multiple words words refer to things and there's a word book it refers to this thing there's word glasses it refers to this thing so you have different words it refers to different things so the question will be in every sentence you have multiple words so you're referring to multiple things how is it non-duality how is it that they all different words can refer to one thing so then we have to show that there are sentences in which multiple words are used to refer to one thing that's called samana the current that means having the same locus all the words they settle down on the same locus and we want to show that it's brahman and this same locus this can be achieved by multiple ways there are so many varieties of samadhikarnam one is what you mentioned that means the differences are appearances and what is common to them is the reality so the same gold you can make it into a necklace you mel melt it and make it into a ring you melt it and make it into a tiara ring necklace tierra names and farms come and go but literally it's the same gold all the time so it's the differences are badhita that means negated that's what we do with tatwa masih also this bhagavataya galakshana will now show you what are you going to negate and what you are going to keep we must show that how is it god brahman tat the cosmic reality you know we just read um the cosmic reality behind the entire universe is also the adi bhuta the the reality within atma the reality within us how because the universe is an appearance cosmic and individual are appearances you can dismiss them and the reality underlying them is one and the same that's what um so is it the same as padha bada sama nadi karanam and bhagat tagalakshana no baaza samandi karnam is is is the first stage of the analysis that the purpose there is different the purpose here is different that's what i do three stages of analysis here the purpose there is to show that all the words refer to one sentence evo to one reality and here the purpose is to show how an implied meaning may be derived from the sentence which will show the identity of the cosmic and the individual macrocosm and microcosm they're one and the same how how can the vast and the tiny be one and the same it's like a dream for example in the dream you are walking around and you have a vast like a lake and a central park and sky and new york skyline you're walking there and somebody comes and tells you you this tiny creature and this vast world you are one and the same how when you wake up you realize oh i see it was this one and the same dreaming mind which dreamt up new york and dreamt up that little guy walking around but it was neither new york nor a little guy it was neither vast not little it was a mind all throughout similarly it's one consciousness which is generating this so we need to know the what badhi karanam should be used yes rick says hayam the kamanagatam avert a danger that has not yet come patanjali related to spiritual practice reducing suffering absolutely abhijit says when it is stated in the teaching that brahman is beyond time space and causation of the causation part most attractive there is no free lunch in this world as we are rewarded work hard and vice versa when we are slacking as in karma is a law for this conventional universe for coming to vedanta experiencing this again and again in one's life makes life appear as a heavy burden it comes to vedanta and points out that we are brahmana and beyond this law what an incredible claim absolutely swami vivekananda says good good bad bad and none escape the law whosoever wears a form wears the chain too what is the form this body where did this body come from just now krishna said karma all the karma leads to the production of these bodies and our little lives so it comes from karma and what is karma it's a chain it's one thing before before the other and one thing uh before that and on and on and on on um and so nobody escapes then then what good is vedanta what good is spirituality then vivekananda says but far beyond name and form is atman ever free know that what that sannyasi board say o right spirit mark these words spirituality is beyond causation it breaks the chain of causation it that is freedom it takes us beyond the chain of causation that's freedom often when i talk about vedanta i have to mention karma because it's the way of describing this world where we are people get stuck up there i'm surprised to see some of the most popular talks i've given is little snippets some some of the snippets have been taken out from talks so there's something about karma somewhere so it's got a huge number of views i don't mean it to be important it's not important karma causation is worldiness it is this world it's not a spiritual teaching actually it's just a way of describing this world getting out of karma spirituality so uh using being unaware of the law of karma then you you you dash yourself into pieces against it that's an immoral life an unethical life and then karma makes us pay for it and we learn learn causality when we learn causality we have learned to use the law of karma to our advantage lead um lives which recognize the importance of causality in this world but that's all still worldly it's an uh it's an uh emancipated it's an enlightened worldly life a person who understands karma it's an ignorant and suffering and terrible worldly life person who does not understand karma but spirituality is going beyond that both the ignorant worldly life and the enlightened worldly life is going beyond worldly life altogether notice i'll just leave you with this think about it all the four broad paths of spiritual practice gyani yoga raja yoga bhakti yoga and karma yoga they are all about transcending karma breaking karma going beyond causality notice karma yoga is exactly the opposite of what we understand karma to be karma is i do something i expect something in return karma yogas i'll keep on doing good i don't want just don't want anything in return let all good come to you let all good come to the world i don't need anything second i mean don't refuse your pay packet you need that to live in this world but you are not doing karma you know it's it's you are not seeking fulfillment in the world through what the world can give you you are rather giving to the world not taking that's the attitude so that's totally breaking the the law of karma then the bhakti bhakti takes you beyond karma i surrender without any reserve i love unconditionally look when you say unconditionally that's beyond karma conditioning conditioned love is karma unconditioned love swamiji vikander says the best life is um unconditional love and service free he says love without any conditions whatsoever and service free service without any expectation of return this is that's the the that's the best life one could have that's why the country says let let dreams go let all illusions go and you awaken into the realization of your brahman but if you cannot he says at this moment maybe we cannot he says but if you cannot then dream but better dreams if you want to dream but go on dreaming you are helpless you can't stop dreaming right now then dream better dreams what are better dreams he says he doesn't say unconditional love he just says eternal love and service free for whom for everybody i make no conditions about about love art to service what a beautiful life that is it's a philosophy of life everybody can have that so devotion can take us beyond causality meditation can take you beyond beyond causality and advaita vedanta is of course beyond causality there's a very good point causality is worldiness spirituality takes you beyond causality samurai says tagore reflects on this last moment of life just before death when one is able to be one with god oh yes i don't remember the poem maybe you can bring it up next time jennifer asks can we feel confident holding on to truth is the same as holding on to god ish for in terms of results um holding on to truth means being truthful in our lives in that sense or holding on to the highest non-dual advaithic truth that i am brahman is is this what you're asking otherwise i'll go off on a different track oh the highest truth in that case because you've raised this it's good that you raised it somebody may ask this question fine you're talking about thinking about god you know it could be krishna could be christ could be vishnu whatever in whichever form whichever religion think about god all your life and an end of life think of god and that will take you to god and that will be a liberation a liberation how does all this relate to advaita vedanta so what is advaitha nondual vedanta what does it think about all this so what advaita says is this this is the technical term is saguna worship of god and that is the theme for these six chapters chapter 7 to chapter 12 and you're going to get a lot of this now devotion to god love of god so this is love of god and this continuous thought of god prayerful devotional is very useful for preparing the mind for vedantic knowledge so a consistent worship of god then you'd come to vedanta which is shavada mananananana you immerse yourself in the vedantic teaching you understand what it is being taught and stay with it stay centered in it till you become real do you realize i am brahmana then that is called sadhyo mukti sabyamukhi literally means instant liberation here and now there's no question of waiting till the time of death and something will happen after that no whatever has to be done is done here and now you realize you are absolutely free then this does not apply to you anymore this is another ethic idea that it does not apply to anymore at the point of death you have to sit and think about god and by the grace of god you will be freed after death it so what happens then what is krishna saying here advaita will say if you have not got advaithic realization this is second best and this this is secretly just to speak that way to talk about meditating on god and um you know surrendering to god is second best but this is that two terms are used in classical advertising immediate liberation and that comes when you realize me you get it and that's done there's nothing more you have to do you cannot it becomes choice listen you can't take it back anymore no back season but the other one is called krama mukti drama means sequence sequential liberation devotion to god consistently throughout this life at the point of death by the grace of god you get you go to this you know the highest heaven the christian heaven the islamic heaven the the vaishnava kunta and the shakta devi loka the shy white kailasha um the buddhist pure land and you live in that beatific state until you attain the realization that i am brahmana and then you are liberated forever so this is sequential liberation according to uh advaitable if you take a completely advaithic perspective of all this advaita would would say that yes have deep devotion to god cultivate it throughout your life and um immerse yourself in vedantic if you realize if we make the breakthrough it's done if we do not this devotion to god that you have practiced all your life you've led a moral life you've led a devotional life and you've hold on to god that will serve you at the point of death and god will help you from that point onwards that's also liberation because you will not come back to this world again so that's also liberation but that's not the end for you as a limited individual you still are a limited individual but you will be you know in heaven in the beatific presence of god and then liberation will come for you right so that would be the advaithic perspective what would it mean shweta says what would it mean to be centered in advaithic teach do we need to hold on to awareness and keep rejecting the mind whenever it rises in the form of thoughts no centered in advaithic teachings there's a term um we were a seeker till now and once you make the breakthrough you begin to see that i am raman it's a fact choicelessly so then you stay with it and stay with it till all kind of contrary tendencies are overcome contrary tendencies may be set up by our past samskaras so there is a period when you even after enlightenment you need to stay with it what will happen then then that enlightenment will transform into jivan mukti enlightened while living so there's a gap the moment you're enlightened it doesn't mean that you are this jivan mukta which is what vedanta is aiming at if there are other contrary tendencies in the mind they'll keep tugging at you they'll keep um the american word is there messing around with you so you cannot stop spiritual practice at that point you have to be centered and centered means you keep on the shabbat marandi asan and during periods of nidhasana you um you see that you are not the mind and that would include you know going beyond the thoughts arising in the mind shutting down the thoughts arising in the mind if you are doing a vedantic nidhyasana or even yogic meditation these are very helpful um remaining stilled in that awareness that i am awareness for long periods of time all of these needed asana practices this is called gyana nishta that which starts as shraddha shaddha means faith now you don't need faith anymore because you see it it's a fact but you need to stay with it now the shaddha becomes uh nishta shaddha becomes good let's wrap it up [Music] [Music] one more thing i'd just like to say if one has a vedantic breakthrough you know i realize i am brahmana does that mean then i don't need to be centered in god at the time of my physical death i can just have a party and like you know i can sit and watch a mickey mouse cartoon it doesn't matter yes it doesn't matter but that's not when you look at the lives of saints enlightened ones that's not how they behave so if you look at how vivekananda passed ramakrishna passed and all of the great saints at the time of death they regarded it as a sacred moment vivekananda literally passed the way krishna has talked about sitting in meditation selected the time centered his mind and then left the body so an enlightened person jivan mukta will not it's he will not be expecting a result of liberation through this process but this would be the most natural way for a jivan mukta to pass is it compulsory no the jeevan mukta the enlightened one is free of all compulsion so there are verses which say that you may sit in meditation center your mind on god and pass the let go of the body or a jivan mukta the body may go into a coma and pass away jivan mukta is not affected thereby at all so that point has to be kept in mind