Video 35

35. Katha Upanishad | Mantras 2.2.9 - 11 | Swami Sarvapriyananda

foreign [Music] by revealing knowledge may the Lord protect us both by giving us the results of knowledge may we attain Vigor together let what we study be eliminating maybe not Kevin at each other Home peace peace peace we had Gandhi we are on this second chapter second section 8th Mantra hit on the eighth mantra and we'll proceed from there what's going on here um the original question of nachiketa about death the deeper meaning of that was the nature of the self what happens after that what is the nature of the self do we die at physical death and the answer is no we go on to other lives but then what's the point of all of that what are we actually and then um Yama the teacher uses that question as an occasion to teach vedanta that we are actually not this physical body which dies at death if you if you I mean that is absolutely sure it dies a test we are not even this subtle body this mind this personality this limited individuality which survives physical death but that's not good news because it goes on to other existences this this kind of existence just continues in various iterations in different forms and the problems also will be there but beyond that vedanta says that we are unlimited existence Consciousness place the Ultimate Reality of the universe which is your own reality and if we realize that we are forever released from suffering we attain fulfillment so that teaching Yama uses this question to give that teaching and he took his time to come to it as we have been studying you know uh he tested nachiketa to see whether he is fit for this knowledge and then once he decided that nachiketa is fit to receive this knowledge he spent some time talking about the initial preparations you know the control of the senses focus of the mind and so on the analogy of The Chariot if you remember so I keep forgetting and is it an analogy or a metaphor I keep mixing up the two so that one and then um then he comes to the actual teaching which is what is going on now so these mantras are very valuable because they are the heart of vedanta the heart of advaita vedanta they talk about the real nature of of reality itself of the world itself and that real nature of this world of this universe is you your real nature this Atman Brahman Oneness so that's what he's talking about just by the way somebody sent me this interesting video of about the latest Nobel Prize in physics and they say in physics the Nobel prize is for proving the universe is not real locally so again all of those are very technical terms as I learned so what is reality that's subject to cause and effect and so local reality would mean with this strict cause and effect locally and not Beyond because causality is limited by the speed of light also because the information cannot travel faster than light and then they bring in the concept of quantum entanglement does that violate this non-local this local causality and they say yes it does the the experiments proved um so across incredible distances also two particles seem to exchange information proving that this idea of local reality is not true that's anyway as much as I get out of that so you know in a different way notice the same idea not in the way classical Adventure is talking about it but we are looking at it from outside as it were and coming to very much the same conclusions the appearance nature of this world the underlying Oneness [Music] um and The crucial importance of Consciousness to all of this these are same in the ingredients whether it is in modern physics or in you know the Inside Out view investigations of advaita vedanta and yoga believe it so the eighth mantra said yes that's what we did last time what does it mean here um Yama is telling nachiketa about the Ultimate Reality and what is the ultimate reality of this universe it's nothing other than you and the way what you wish you this body no this mind thoughts feelings emotions not even that he says it's Consciousness what is this Consciousness he says that which through which you use the mind and the senses and contact and external World so-called external world and have these waking experiences and when the body falls asleep the mind is still awake and the mind conjures up its own objects thoughts emotions images dreams and the same Consciousness reveals those dreams and gives you a dream experience then the Mind falls asleep completely and the same Consciousness reveals the blankness that ensures when senses are not active mind is not active Consciousness continues this non-sleeping ever away Consciousness you are be safe and he says that is that is Immortal body is Mortal mind is ever changing but that pure Consciousness or Consciousness in itself is Immortal and you are that further he says so it's not just that you are just this little flash of Consciousness there and then there's this vast Universe no this vast universe is set in grounded in that consciousness that is the incredible conclusion claim of advice if you don't do that if you stop that earlier stage that you are Consciousness and then there is this world that is sankhya but matter Consciousness Duality but now he's saying all of matter so-called matter external matter external matter means the world outside an internal matter which means our thoughts feelings emotions this personality which I call serve a priyananda all of that is an appearance in the Consciousness which I am and then since the whole universe is set in that Consciousness there must be this one Consciousness common to all of us there's nothing that exceeds it that's nothing that lies outside of it everything is included in it and not really included in it included in it would be like a bag or a box in which you have put everything not like that it is that one Consciousness alone which appears as this universe not that there is a Consciousness there is a universe and somehow the universe has been stuffed into that Consciousness no foreign this indeed is that that what what you had asked for now um Yama will give three famous examples which reverberate throughout the centuries you know in Indian texts fire example air example and Sun example uh Agni vayu Surya fire air error wind and the Sun as examples remember what we are going to read now we are not going to read about fire or we're not going to read about the atmosphere we're not we're not interested in you know not solar scientists no those are just examples to try to prove a point or to demonstrate something point out something about Consciousness which is you it's always very interesting because it's about you all the time pointing back to you and who doesn't love to be you know pointed back at oneself we are we are our own favorite subjects nine against beautiful and Powerful mantras just attend to it you'll see how inspiring it is what does it mean just as fire though one having entered the world assumes separate forms in respect of different shapes similarly the self inside all beings the one appears a form assumes a form in respect of each shape and yet it is outside all right let's try to understand this first of all fire what is meant by fire it's a principle it's not just one like like a forest fire which broke out somewhere a particular fire not like that it's the principle of heat so there is heat all over the universe there is heat pervading our body that's how we are alive heat is life there is heat in the atmosphere that's why we are not freezing there's heat in the water in the soil uh in the even in outer space there's some basal level of Heat going very far out into the solar system also so the heat is all pervasive life depends on heat basically and when you have a fire so actual fire which we can see and you know it lights up and there is a it becomes really hot so in this way of thinking that's just a manifestation of already existing heat that's just an intensification so it comes to our notice and then the fire engine comes and then tries to put it out or something and there is smoke and heat and there's a huge Hue and cry but basically it says heat is all pervasive everywhere heat is there and as a matter of fact physics will tell you thermodynamics thermodynamics will tell you that of course it's there it is there everywhere but this one heat all pervasive when it bursts out into flame a log a fire fireplace or a Matchstick or you know where or or somewhere God forbid a building on fire um so fire when it breaks out into fire you say oh there's a fire it becomes perceptible it's something that we can experience I'm explaining the example first and then we'll go on to Brahman or Rahman or consciousness so all pervadive in all pervasive invisible Heat occasionally becomes manifested when you for example burn something and then there is more heat and then it's light and smoke and so we call it a fire but it's all already existing heat which is Manifest so sometimes it becomes perceptible just like that Yama wants to say Consciousness is actually all pervasive but when it's reflected in particular minds and bodies then it becomes perceptible experienceable where and just like fire you can say where's the fire there you are one such fire I am one such fire all these people sitting around these are all such fires Consciousness becomes manifest here how is it perceptible just like a fire the heat becomes perceptible you can feel the heat it's crackling it gives up light and smoke similarly Consciousness becomes manifest here how does it become manifest not that you burst into flame but something pretty much like it pretty much like it you begin to see you begin to hear and smell and taste and touch you begin to think and remember and feel pain and enjoy and suffer you begin to act do things and this whole mechanism is lit up by the presence of Consciousness and then all other you know sense organs motor organs they kick into action the Mind kicks into action it is powered by Prana the life forces so this is like a fire just like a fire it can be lit and it can be extinguished it is lit when it's born and when this body perishes that particular fire goes out but you don't go out because you are never that fire anyway you are not this body you are not this mind you are not the body mind you know bursting into flame when the Consciousness is reflected into that no you are the Consciousness itself you remain imperceptible at the death of the physical body and becomes perceptible when a living body is created it is still one principle just as okay the second thing when heat burst into flame there are multiple fires here and there after a natural disaster or forest fires for example in California so forest fires you have multiple fires so it seems to have this fire and that fire but if you look at it as underlying principle of heat it's not this heat or that heat physics will tell you heat is one principle it's there pervading similarly Consciousness is one Consciousness but when it is lights up various bodies and Minds we say many consciousnesses yeah here the zoom is telling us 71 people are there and this meeting in this class so there's 71 how many fires are burning here 71. how many consciousnesses are here 71 but actually underlying one consciousness which one am I please want these each of these 71 actually one consciousness practically for our our transactional purposes we behave as if we are 71 Zoom also counts as 71. we also behave like individuals and like fires behave individually but it's all underlying one so one underlying consciousness appears as many what's what's and the one underlying I the real eye appears as many apparent I what's the connection crucial Point what's the connection between pure Consciousness and this apparent Consciousness the real eye and this apparent eye I am in the vertical eye not this so what is the connection the real eye the real Consciousness is the one which lights up power so to say the apparent Consciousness is here in all this just as the principle of heat is that what which makes all fires possible so this is another thing so one is perceptible imperceptible another one is that uh one um yes somebody has said upadhi I think probably correct this is the vedantic concept of coming to that now if I ask what is the form of the fire as heat as the principle of heat pervading the entire universe no fun but as fire it has a farm then when a log of fire burns you'll see this crackling fiery like like a log another example is in Old Sanskrit text is of a red hot iron ball so they had furnaces in those days you know metal work is a very ancient thing so Aya golaka red hot iron ball so the ball is made of iron and it's round a sphere and the fire which enters into heat which enters into it makes it red hot in a in a furnace now that fire that also takes a shape what shape the shape of the heated object the fire which burns a log burning log the fire there takes a particular shape what is the shape the shape of that burning log shankaracharya in his commentary says often it takes the form of the fill which is burning so if there's a particular form it takes that what's the point Consciousness takes a form what form does it take every conscious body the field which is burning here so that Consciousness as it is formless not only formless it's not even an object it is a pure subject but it takes a form here so many forms and we feel it I am this conscious being so it's like fire burning a particular um you know piece of log or something and the fire seems to have taken that log-like shape or an iron ball spherical shape so on um similarly Consciousness seems to take the shape of the the body which is lit up by Consciousness more subtle and more direct Consciousness takes the shape of our thoughts so every thought we have every memory we have every desire we have every negative feeling of pain and suffering and dissatisfaction we have all are lit up by consciousness and all seem to be conscious that's why in modern Consciousness studies they don't make a distinction between mind and consciousness here is the key why why is it not why the distinction is not made because Consciousness seems to have taken up that form Consciousness seems to be the mind now okay the Sanskrit words are so well designed you know the word for Pure Consciousness is chit chit you can say it's c-h-i-t and the word for mind is chitta c-h-i-t-t-a is added chitta um the Mind know the Mind itself to be pure Consciousness there's a very there's a door to Enlightenment no because the mind is something that we are perceiving all the time we are experiencing the mind all the time know the Mind itself to be pure consciousness except the TA which is added is he says very technical term the superimposition of object if you can empty the mind of all object pure Consciousness alone is left Rupert's pyra put it very nicely in he said he said something very very perceptive awareness of objects eclipses eclipses awareness of awareness oh so awareness of objects when same Consciousness it illumines the most subtle objects are thoughts feelings emotions ego when it's illumin then those objects thoughts feelings especially the ego I it occludes eclipses awareness itself and therefore the patanjala yoga method is to extinguish at least temporarily the experience of objects so close your eyes don't see don't hear don't smell taste or touch don't move don't talk even mentally don't think very difficult don't think stop you stop then the awareness is there objects are removed even temporarily for a short while then awareness of awareness it becomes clear this is the yogic approach not advaithic approach I would want you to understand this this is crucial what was Rupert spira's statement awareness of objects eclipses awareness of awareness so the yogi will try to stop the awareness of objects remove the objects you can't stop awareness you can only remove the objects by yogic samadhi and then you realize that you are awareness that's one way the advantage way is not that awareness of objects eclipses the awareness of awareness no it is ignorance which eclipses the awareness of awareness when you are watching a movie you can say the movie is hiding the screen and the hero and the the scenery and the the action scenes and the emotional scenes they're all hiding the screen the movie screen so what do you do then immediately the thing will be to switch off the pictures then you can see the movie screen but that's the yogic approach but you might say Swami it doesn't mean that you have to switch up the movie Once you know what the movie screen is even while watching a movie is the uh is the um screen really hidden is the screen really hidden it is a screen alone which is appearing to you as the movie once you know what the screen is you see you'll see I'm seeing the movie I'm seeing the screen also of course because I'm looking directly at the screen so the arduating will say what is hiding the screen from you your is your ignorance of what a screen is when you realize what is the screen even when the movie is going on you you are you know that you are experiencing this um the screen similarly if you your ignorance about Brahman is removed if you know what what you are not the body not the mind the witness Consciousness then in every experience witness Consciousness will be revealed you don't have to stop experiences so this distinction between the yogic insight and the advaithic inside I must I must stress this this is crucial um the yogi can then it'll make a big difference in our sadhana the yogic Insight will insist then once you have got this ready then you have to meditate you have to seriously seriously shut down and sit quietly and quieten the you know cut out the external word quieten the mind and then turn inwards hoping for those crucial moments of absolute Stillness when it becomes clear to you that will be the approach a careful and consistent deep meditation very difficult and the advaithic approach is an inquiry trying to appreciate what Consciousness is using the mind listening to the talks reading the book sitting quietly and observing and thinking yes and then so by inquiry they to put it in one word in yoga the method is dhyan samadhi in advaita the method is which are inquiry however in arduator it doesn't mean that meditation or samadh is not useful very much useful you will try and see what happens in advance inquiry is it doesn't take you very far because our minds are so fickle and weak the inquiry doesn't take hold so it requires the advaitha uses meditation to strengthen Focus the mind to make the inquiry strong and consistent otherwise it won't work it will just at best it will remain some kind of understanding in fact shankaracharya says in the introduction to lead up to this Mantra he says although this teaching has already been given let me read out the English translation of chankaracharya said as an introduction to this mantra since the knowledge of the unity of the self Unity here doesn't mean two things are being united it means one self one underlying consciousness though validated by proof and reiterated more than once does not find a lodging in the hearts of those brahmanas of insincere intellect whose minds are swayed by the perverted intellect of numerous logicians therefore the upanishad being eager to inculcate it says again and again so multiple examples have been given shankaracharya's whole point is there he's following the method of inquiry which are where he says it doesn't Lodge firmly insincere means here fickle Minds that means you get it but don't stay with it again you slip away somehow so just as fire takes the form of the fuel similarly Consciousness quote unquote takes doesn't actually take any form quote unquote seems to have taken this is a description of our world right now I the Consciousness have taken the server priyan and the firm I the Consciousness have taken all the thoughts feelings emotions memories here going on here apparently taken but not really because those forms are appearances in Consciousness it's not that Consciousness has somehow become those forms just because their appearances doesn't mean they won't work they will work just as a car in a movie definitely works if the hero is driving a car suddenly you realize it's a movie will the car stop working it's the movie car how kind of how can you expect it to work no everything works perfectly in the movie similarly all science all technology everything will work perfectly in this world of appearances the underlying reality is what vedanta is interested in foreign [Music] air example another example same point another example why your yeah [Music] [Music] as air though one having entered into this world assumes separate forms in respect of different shapes similarly the self inside all beings though one assumes a form in respect of each shape and yet it is outside I forgot to stress the word bahi outside very interesting word it means transcendent so um just like the principle of heat if you want fire starts and the fire is extinguished heat is not extinguished it just becomes imperceptible consciousness it enters into everything in this world every every existing thing especially living beings then it becomes manifest like a thing bursting into Flame and yet it remains Transcendent nothing here in this body or the mind can actually affect that pure Consciousness which is you you are not polluted damaged sinful none of it none of it no causality there affects you that's why I was thinking it matches quite interestingly with the idea of the non-locality of reality which this new physics thing is talking about anyway that's also an example if Yama knew he would have used that as an example transcendent and that point will come up again it's external to or Transcendent it transcends this world of appearances just as I can put it this way everything in the movie the cars and the characters the good guys and the bad guys and the sky and the Earth everything is pervaded by the movie screen and yet the movie screen remains external to the movie yeah it's not affected by events in the movie nothing that happens in the movie has anything to do with the screen except the screen makes it all possible if there's a great Inferno in a movie the screen is not burnt if there is a great flood in the movie screen doesn't become wet and so on similarly he says as this great atmosphere having entered into this world assume separate forms in respect of different shapes similarly the self inside all beings so inside all beings when he says Atma inside all beings inside means not that the beings are there and there's one self inside each of them it is the Atman which is appearing as all of these beings it's like playing the gold inside all ornaments it's not that there are a bunch of ornaments and some gold has been put into them it's a gold alone which appears as all these ornaments the clay alone which appears as all this pottery and it enters into all beings another good example Assad who gave when you play musical on the you know air instruments so somebody when you play a a whistle or a flute or a jazz musician plays the saxophone the sound is different the range of sounds you can produce the music that you can produce there all each instrument is clearly different and has a different style of functioning all of that but the air that you blow into each of them is exactly the same that's a nice example you play a range of musical instruments which you you know a little whistle and a flute and a saxophone and a trumpet whatnot and a conch shell hold on um I remember conscious that reminded me there was a British delegation from British Council in Calcutta they are visiting the belur mat and I think I was asked to show them around it was evening the time of arati so I was showing them around and this is the main Temple of Sri ramakrishna this is the old Temple and there is the Swami vivekananda's room so they were group four or five they were following me closely and listening to what I said and nodding and and suddenly you know just before rit in the evening balloon The Conch in any Hindu temple The Conch will be blown so the Conch is blown then suddenly I saw the delegate delegation was not with me anymore they had all disappeared so went back to look for them I saw them all gathered around the monk who was blowing The Conch and one of them was excitedly explaining to the other that's actually the skeleton of a dead sea creature and that is air is being blown through the head to produce this particular sound so they're all fascinated and taking pictures of the monk blowing The Conch but the example is very nice whatever you're doing I can't um a flute a bristle a saxophone a trumpet the air that you blow into each instrument is exactly the same air and yet what different forms of sounds it takes similarly he says another example is the air having entered into different forms what forms does the air enter into into us remember Prana why you and Prana are connected so the very breath in our lungs into each of us it is entered into every living creature so and then it becomes it sustains proud sustains brand literally means a life process it sustains these living bodies look at the variety of bodies look at the variety of life forms among human beings and non-humans it's the same Prada similarly it is the same Consciousness having it entered or appearing as you can say entered or appearing as all of these beings yet it is one just as the air is one all the effects are many and it appears as all these forms as The Prana appears as all these living bodies appears as living bodies means it is these living bodies the life is sustained by Prana yet it is one and it is external if all living brings were to perish the great atmosphere would still be there why you why you would still be there if all these bodies were to perish you the Atman would still be there but you'd not be perceptible just like the heat would still be there if all fires were extinguished and if the living bodies died Prana would still be there similarly the entire universe were to disappear you Atman Brahman would still be there but not perceptible not experienceable not doing anything nothing would be happening it would just be pure subjective existence without any external objective manifestation all right that's what happens um in vedanta in pralaya when the cosmic dissolution the universe is dissolved and only ishwara exists with Maya so there's no projection no objective universe and then objective universe is is projected again that is srishti creation foreign all right now the next one is this so fire example air example and now the sun example is a very beautiful example powerful example this is 11 below here just as the sun which is the eye of the whole world is not tainted by the ocular and external defects similarly the cell that is but one in all beings is not tainted by the Sorrows of the world it being transcendental okay so important Mantra what is the result of all of this a question may be raised I'm telling you according to the commentary by shankara a question may be raised that if you are the self in all beings you will suffer this oneself It suffers so much in this body I this Consciousness yes I am Consciousness I see your smell taste touch true but because of that I have pain I have suffering disease causes me suffering pain cause physical pain causes me suffering emotional pain causes me even more suffering and then all the disease death those will cause me suffering mine is bodies and for others also so being a self a conscious self is no great thing you know it can it leaves me vulnerable to so much suffering and if I'm the self in all of these suffering individual beings how much suffering I will get he says won't this Consciousness be subject to suffering and then he gives the son an example he says no Consciousness you your real nature is not at all affected by the actual existing suffering of the world you are not affected why not first of all the example this is just as suryo um what is this is I think he says beautiful poetic expression the sun is the eye of all the worlds the sun is the I mean sunlight enables us to see not it's not literally the eye it sunlight enables all being to see in daylight so every all living beings which Have Eyes they can see because of sunlight so that which enables us to see in that sense it is the eye of the world as a server look of all the world the sun is the eye and because it enables us to see how is it connected to Atman Consciousness Consciousness is that which enables us to see see this is a beautiful example what is it that gives us the experience of seeing and hearing and smelling and tasting and touching and thinking and remembering and being a person and Desiring and hating and awaking and dreaming and sleeping all these experiences which we call our life what makes it possible don't say the Sun it's consciousness it is the internal Sun so Atman Consciousness in vedanta is often compared to the Sun so internal Sun it is you you are ever blazing forth with undimmed light and it is your light which illumines the mind and is the lit up mind which illumines the sensory processes and these senses being lit up you can see the world you can hear the sounds you can smell and taste and touch and all of that so all experiences in our life are made possible by this one eye you know e y e i what I within quotes Eye Of Consciousness or I have Consciousness I mean it just means Consciousness and you are that this is where the cane operation actually begins we will read it sometime uh in the years ahead and the first Mantra of the canopanishad again um so I forgot the whole thing so basically what it means is impelled by what do these thoughts come in my mind do I have experience of thinking what from where do these words come up yeah how do I see and how how do what makes the seeing possible hearing is possible this breathing possible so all motor organs sensory organs what he means is the experience of it all he's not asking about the visual system the auditory system is not asking a question of physiology is asking a question of our experience and nowadays it's even more clear because nowadays you have all these machines with sensors which can after a certain fashion they can see here and touch it all of that I mean when you walk into the airport doesn't the door slide open when you put your hand under the in the sink in the in on the tap isn't the water come out by itself so in a certain sense quote unquote it's seeing you or censoring you you would say what's the point but does that sensor have any internal state of seeing uh you know a conscious experience of seeing no it doesn't it's just a physical process similarly our eyes ears and all of these are biological instruments there's some biological process going on there what is the spark that makes it all light up with experience and that's consciousness and of course reflected Consciousness here um praveer bhagwan introduced the term upadhi let me just mention it it's a technical term in vedanta but very important upadhi is that by holding on to which you know who's whose properties are transformed are transferred to Consciousness appears to be transferred to Consciousness a good example is um Crystal or glass here's glass see it's clear glass you can see it here clear glass now watch this class if I put the orange row behind it now the last seems orange see it's clear now it seems Orange is the glass orange not at all it's the proximity of this upadhi the orange robe which makes the clear glass seem Orange so this upadhi is is that which is seems to be transferring its properties what property orange color to the glass which is otherwise clear a red robe would transfer red color to it in fact the example is a red flower and colorless crystal that's the example which is transparent Crystal example which is often used in vedanta so that which has no color appears to have colors and even multiple colors so Maya conjures up these upadhis what are these upadhis mind and senses and body and external objects and Consciousness seems to be colored and seems to be like I am a thinker I see I hear there is there are objects to see there are sounds to hear all of these are upadhis and their names and forms and activities conjured up by Maya and then it appears in consciousness all right then so now that a sunlight example the next thing is that um just as sunlight is the eye of the entire world we have understood this then the Yama says notice this sunlight is not affected by the defects of what it illumines everything in this world is illumined by sunlight but there might be so sunlight shines equally upon the water and the ganga the pure water of the ganga most pure River I mean spiritually pure not actually physically now now they're cleaning it up luckily um then it shines upon the drain water ditch water equally is the sunlight purified by the ganga water it shines upon is does the sunlight become impure by The Beach water it shines upon no it's completely unaffected by the defects of the external objects which it illumines even the eyes um are unaffected by the objects they see right you see when we look at so you know dharmashastras they tell us about what should be seen and what should not not be seen something is sinful to see something is Holy to see so there are certain things which are good to see so the for example the forms the Divine forms of gods and goddesses or you know a beautiful nature I was taking a walk walk in the park extraordinary fall colors very stunning this is good it uplifts the Mind remember the external beauty is not the point nor is the selfie the point or the pictures the point the point is that should Elevate the mind a sense of sublime feeling should come in the mind so those are good to see because they create a good impact on the mind there are things which are maybe sinful or bad or negative to see so those defects but they actually do not affect the eye which which sees them the point there is whatever you see here smell tastes touch whatever you think remember enjoy suffer none of it pollutes or damages the Consciousness which you are so you are entirely safe from all you can you are experiencing the entire world Life After Life and you're safe from the world so this is an incredible thing that has just been said you may even in uh one way experience sorrow loss intense physical pain and yet you are safe it will come it will go and you will still remain the same Consciousness even when it is there that's the incredible thing about advaita vedant even in the midst of that suffering you're still all right as consciousness so by internal or external impurity internal impurities means thoughts impure thoughts thoughts may be impure but the Consciousness which illumines those impure thoughts is not affected and suffering very suffering apparently it might be outside kovid is outside that annoying person is outside but then actually it comes to us through our body so suffering is more than outside it's in the body more than the body it's in the mind if you don't believe it go to the ICU in Mount Sinai or somewhere you'll see people who are terribly ill suffering but actually when they are in sleep or in a coma or in you know under sedation they're not suffering because you need the mind to suffer if the mind is shut down or if the mind is not connected to the suffering you don't suffer actually so um but the Consciousness which illumines the Suffering The Presence of suffering the presence of pain presence of disease presence of death also it illumines but the Consciousness itself is not in pain nor in sorrow nor does it die this is a very big point which has been just been made up he it's important so he rolls out his advaithic Machinery here he says that rope may appear as a snake um that the seashell can appear as the naked naked can appear as silver the in the desert the desert there may be why a water you know like a mirage appears as water or there may be dust and the sky may seem dirty little kids think this guy had needs to be scrubbed it becomes dirty it doesn't um similarly it may seem that I the Consciousness I'm suffering actually just as there's no connection of a snake with the Rope no connection of the Mirage water with the actual desert the sand of the desert in another place shankaracharya says all the water in the Mirage is not enough to wet one grain of sand in the desert exactly like that and this the maker and the silver example also a classical example sometimes this maker like a seashell it flashes on the beach and looks like silver so somebody mistook it for silver there's no silver they just looks like that just as it has no connection with that where does it come from shankarachary says the mechanism of that is a confusion in the mind of the onlooker my the onlooker is confused does not know that it's a rope and because of the similarity between rope and snake thinks it's a snake the Rope itself is not affected by the let alone the snake by even by the confusion of the onlooker so here is the subtle and important point all our problems are the confusion of this mind and we think I am hurting I am in sorrow I am old I am lonely I am dying all mind the real eye Consciousness is neither in sorrow nor hurting nor lonely nor is it going to die the real Consciousness the real self the real eye is like the Rope not like the snake just as the so-called snake has no connection with the rope and has no effect on the Rope similarly the afflictions of the body of the Mind have no connection to Pure Consciousness and have no effect upon it and yet they depend on pure Consciousness and happen because without that they wouldn't appear at all they wouldn't be there at all external this word is very important shankaracharya says you are independent you transcend uh the the appearances of body mind and therefore you are safe from all those problems just as one son illumines the eye of the entire world it's one Consciousness the experiences in all bodies and Minds so we are oneself again and again this term is being used the self of all by sentient beings of all beings the self of all be the inner self of all beings what do you mean in Earth the body is external mind is in between inner to the mind that which illumines the mind and through the mind illumines the senses and the body that is the inner self whose inner self yours and his and hers and mine all of that is one inner self same thing see this is how consistent it is in the bhagavad-gita Krishna says to Arjuna Imam with these in all these fields know me alone to be the knower of the field one number of the field one Consciousness in all bodies and Minds appearing to be many one fire one principle of heat appearing to be many fires bursting forth and extinguished one air atmosphere appearing to be many living beings when it's in the breath in our lungs seems seems to be separate life it's one life [Music] very good examples let me look at the I mean questions the yogic path to enlighten me deterministic or probabilistic in other words is following the recommended process cultivating a pure heart doing good deeds and practicing still a throw of the dice could say your karma determines that are some somehow somewhat unsatisfactory no not throughout the days always you will become enlightened now you might say the question is why is it so few and uh people who are enlightened then but then we are seeing only a tiny slice of time and space in this little life from a vedantic perspective you are priyatman what can prevent you from realizing your own self which is always available to you something in this world we may be able to attain we may fail to attain but our self-realization you are the self after all what can really stop you you will kashmiri civilism goes even further that you will realize it when you want to there's nothing stopping you except yourself when you want to become enlightened you will become enlightened what can stop Shiva from becoming free Shiva is always free it is the Leela the play of Shiva that Shiva is pretending to be not free you might say no but now I want to be free so why am I not free then the kashmiri will say that you don't want to be free now you want to be a spiritual Seeker so you're now a spiritual Seeker the moment you see that enough of being a spiritual Seeker now let me be enlightened that moment you'll be enlightened that is that uh you have ignorance and you have to work towards removing that ignorance then you will see that not only are free you always wear free it was always all right that's what you will see um patanjali yoga says that to remove the ignorance calming the mind is necessary samadhi is necessary bhaktipat says all of this try as much as you will you will see it does you don't make much of a progress one inch here there you take the help of a much greater power and that is ishwar or bhagavan or call take the help of that power in your day-to-day life and your life so-called life in the world and take the help of that power especially in your spiritual life that is the path of bhakti and that power exists so these are different paradigms the bhakti Paradigm yogic Paradigm and the advaithic paradigm so will it work yes absolutely I have told this often earlier this is the same question which was asked by Professor parimal patil he is a philosophy professor at Harvard University why are so few people enlightened What will what will your answer be Swami so I said I gave him two answers one is that it's not that so few few people are enlightened maybe in just in our experience in our time but eventually everybody will be enlightened because this is our real nature and it's bound to happen not only that that's the whole purpose according to vedanta the whole purpose of the universe is that to drive you towards Enlightenment God realization so that's the idea so what can stop you this is the point of life itself the second reason I gave him second argument I gave him was why should one stick to spirituality if Enlightenment is such a remote Prospect the second argument was once you get a taste of this what else will you do this is the best thing in life yeah if you have to leak lead your life of course but you will never let go of spirituality that's why for monks for devotees who ask this question I've seen senior monks say that all right stop don't meditate don't come to vedanta class don't turn up and ashram forget it you've done enough in this life forget it maybe next time life you can pick up now go and enjoy your life is a responsive no no I can't do without this this is very important to me I remember uh I myself once of course I wasn't brave enough to ask a senior Swami I asked a senior brahmacari that was in deoghar many years ago so foolish Restless I told this brahmacari that oh I've been here for so many I don't know weeks or months not even one year and I'm not you know becoming enlightened I'm not making spiritual progress in spiritual path I don't think I'm making progress and then um the brahmachary said so wisely he said all right go back home I said no I can't do that and he said look that which you called your home for 23 long years since your since your birth you have been here barely about two or three weeks or months and now you say you can't do that isn't that progress enough but a huge change in your life and it's become natural to you and I said yeah that's true so what else will you do once you get the taste of spiritual life in whatever path in bhakti and in yoga in in advaita and Buddhism whatever and then I told you also if you remember professor patil said to me he said those two are good uh examples but good answers but they are little theoretical then she said let me give you another reason why people stick to spiritual life it is because of the benefits people get from day to day it's not about becoming enlightened it will happen but that's not the point we are getting benefits from day to day throughout our lives the strength to live life itself there is a meaning to life we get a lot of deep benefit and the strength to face the ups and downs the shocks in life and we feel there is meaning here and we are growing spirituality all these benefits we are getting and that's why we stick to it which is a very great answer I think wonderful answer when one begins to understand we are not display of fire the mind is feels Bound by the shackles of it mind dismisses understanding and intellect how does the Mind Break Free of it yes so our problems are not so much intellectual actually our problems are more um at the level of emotion and conditioning we react instinctively to the problems of life that requires that's why the yogas are very important karma yoga for purification of mind it makes a huge difference that then especially Karma Yoga that which seemed theoretical now it will seem a most practical and living philosophy a greater before the purification of mine it seemed like a nice and cool philosophy but how do I face life with this kind of abstract philosophy with the purification of mind the same teachings will seem absolutely real this is real bhakti devotion very useful our real problem is that we have been continuously pulled by the world and bhakti solves that problem okay then the pool is channeled towards God yoga meditation very useful for advaita because no matter what we do we are not holding on it's we are unable to Be steady in our realization understanding not that understanding is not there so we are unable to study one sadhu and uttarakhandi put it nicely I'll translate into English He said respect let's see respect the knowledge already acquired she's such an important teaching after some time you realize we have got enormous amounts of knowledge the Saints of Old Times They didn't attend so many classes and have libraries of books yet they became enlightened because the little that the guru told him they held on to that steadfastly to the point of death and then they made the Breakthrough so the answer is continue to do continue to meditate cultivate devotion practice Karma Yoga along with your vedanta one day you'll see vedanta becomes lit up for you foreign true we means the individual beings now are that it's like the principle of heat all pervading now manifest here in this place as one fire similarly one all pervasive Consciousness which I am manifest here as this personality but then what is God God is that same one imperceptible pure Consciousness manifest as this bonfire Cosmic bonfire of the universe all of it together foreign I understand the solution is different in the two approaches yes common to both that is the problem like um Rupert Spira said awareness of objects eclipses the awareness of awareness patentially yoga says then stop the awareness of objects you can't stop awareness you and good that's a good thing but you can for the time temporarily consciously deliberately shut out objects through deep meditation closer look is it really that the awareness of objects eclipses awareness of awareness or the ignorance of what awareness is that is always eclipsing whatever awareness of awareness [Music] um Saraswati the great commentator on the bhagavad-gita a great non-dualist post shankara 500 years after 700 years after shankara in one of the in one place in his commentary on the bhagavad-gita he says actually there are these two broad paths the path of meditation and the which is for the followers of sankhya and yoga and the path of vedantic inquiry for the followers of The Vedic practices and then he makes a comment for those who consider the world to be real there is no other way except extinguishing awareness of the world for a time in order to appreciate the reality of who am I he says this and then he goes on to say but it's not necessary for those who are in the path of advaita vedanta because you consider the world to be an appearance of Consciousness just like a movie on movie on a screen he doesn't see a movie on a screen but I'm adding so if you understand how what a movie is what is green is that's enough to show you the screen even when the movie is playing you don't have to switch up the movie so these two approaches he says these are there Shiva says reflected Consciousness along with mind takes up a body manifesting um in a body as Tendencies reflected conscious not pure Consciousness as the Heat yes Rick says vedanta uses meditation to strengthen quite and purify the mind so their understanding can be clear and abiding isn't patanjali saying the same thing regularly dipping into temporary samadhi cultures the mind body system so that nirvikalpa samathi drawn eventually drawns it seems sounds to me yoga and vedanta complementary they are complementary they're complementary in a practical sense those who are following advaita vedanta will soon realize unless one has already a highly purified and focused mind and such a thing would be rare without practice you have to practice meditation that's why many of the post shankara works not shankara so much himself but many of the post shankara works of advice there's always a section on meditation which is not the core section the core section is where tatva must see you are that that is explained and the truth is pointed out but the other part of it is meditation to support advaitha you just get you draw a distinction between yoga and advaita isn't that great also yoga again you were correct advantage and the yoga which I mentioned the terms they can be used so the yoga of meditation yoga of knowledge of course yoga of bhaktiots sriram says to get to that witness especially when buffeted by distractions is it good to concentrate on it or to go back to your Mantra or self-enquiry which is more effective you can't concentrate on the witness if you're concentrating on something it's the witness which is concentrating so what you are concentrating on is not the witness so the way everything appears to the witness you cannot concentrate on the witness you can only appreciate what the witness is through a process of self-inquiry so you can go you can use self-inccribed you can go back to the Mantra depends on your the way you have done sadhana different things can work at different times or you can simply take refuge in in God if you if you're so inclined at the time of when its mind is being buffeted one can try all three one can try self inquiry one can try yogic method that is like a mantra or a focus some kind of focus or just sharanagati surrender to God every tea or it will leave it for the retreat later on Shri says is it that so few people are Enlighten or that since I am not enlightened I recognize them both there are more enlightened people about around than one might think but then it's still true that uh practically speaking it is rare that's why the doubt arises Inari says you can check out anytime you like but you can never leave correct Hotel California where the Eagles yes Vivekananda says you cannot run away from the machine you have to learn how to work the machine until the machine sets you free the srinivas uses is correct to understand the awareness of awareness happens at the level of reflected Consciousness your Consciousness being itself which is solid vast and unassailable is it correct to understand awareness awareness happens at the level of reflector yeah remember the awareness of awareness is more of an understanding not a particular experience so when Rupert Spira uses the word the term awareness of awareness calls this self-luminosity it's always there it has to be noticed or it has to be appreciated it's not something that you do so I can have awareness of a book I can have awareness of the clock I can have awareness of the cloth so these are things I can do I can direct my awareness to all of them but that way I cannot have awareness of awareness because you cannot direct awareness to uh to itself it's not an object but one can understand what it is the way another example is light so by the light one can I Lube in all the objects which are in darkness Wherever You focus the light that object will be illumin but to reveal the light itself you don't have to focus the light on the light you can't do it and not do you need to do it because the light is self-luminous it's always revealing itself it illumines it reveals itself does not illumine itself there's a lot of discussion about this in philosophy about the question of self-reflexivity can a thing operate upon itself and short answer no it cannot so light does cannot illumine itself and say why not recent light Illuminating itself no the definition of Illumination so it's a very subtle matter the definition of Illumination is something in darkness is now revealed you call that illumination was light ever in darkness that dressed now to be revealed no similarly Consciousness awareness is not something that needs awareness he gives a nice example I think probably um so you add sugar to something to make it sweet you add sugar to water to make it sweet you should add sugar to milk to make it sweet if you taste the water the milk you say it's sweet what happened sugar was added to it now how do you make sugar sweet do you add sugar to sugar no sugar is unique in that way it has intrinsic sweetness it is sweet by itself and it can lend its sweetness to others similarly awareness is self-luminous it reveals itself and it can reveal other things it doesn't require more awareness to become awareness so when Rupert says awareness of awareness this just language which is using right you can't put it in any other way SRI Ram Krishna uses exactly the same language he says literally awareness of awareness or awareness in awareness Shiva says so mind at the high level of highest Purity Detachment is still as Consciousness is a thin line where the difference between good bad Sin no sin all dissolves still at the level of the mind we are all working upon it till the end yes and no at the level of the Mind level of the body this body mind will continue but this understanding this realization it Dawns upon the mind and there's an effect on the mind when you realize that you are unlimited awareness you are like the one son which illumines the entire universe similarly the one son which illumines all life itself then the effect on this mind will be a thrill a bliss literally what the Americans call mind blowing so that's why it's the most it's not an experience and yet it is an experience it's the most extraordinary experience culmination of all experiences so uh it's not true to say that even after you realize that you just keep on working on the Mind till the end of your life no it's a huge before and after thing it's a huge difference enormous difference all right let's wrap it up here um [Music]