Video 26

27. Mandukya Upanishad | Chapter 2 Karika 29-31

own Bodrum Carini Bishan ooyama diva petrm posh a moksha period etre steering hey Stosh toboggans Aston OBE via Shima Deva he Tejada Yahoo swass Pina intro British rava Faustina puja Vishwa Davido sauce penis talk show our astronomy Faustino brie hospital das auto om Shanti Shanti Shanti [Music] before I start let me just mention that next week we will not have the class next Wednesday so next week Tuesday Wednesday and Friday the three classes the gospel class and the Vedanta study circle class and the Geeta class that's the next Friday this Friday we'll have the Geeta class but the next week so the class there they are cancel the classes on sixth seventh and ninth sixth seventh and ninth are canceled there is the world Parliament of Religions in Toronto so I am going to attend that so but then again the classes are there after that we will also mention it on our website just keep that in mind all right we saw a whole list of different philosophies different theories belief systems which go to power the Gibbs I think I calc I counted 35 systems probably many systems I counted 35 systems yes I counted 35 systems and got a pada reject all of them on one ground why they are all some object or the other and remember the logic with which we Agora Father has started this chapter anything that is an object to consciousness must be an appearance because of being an object like a dream whatever is experienced in the dream is an appearance it's not real so anything that is or by virtue of being presented to consciousness cannot be an independent reality apart from consciousness so whatever you are feared in no matter whatever it could be a scientific theory you saw there were materialists there were hedonists there were non-believers there were believers there there were religious theories materialistic theories and today scientific theories anything that projects and independently exist reality object apart from the subject apart from consciousness itself is is an appearance is what is called media remember when you say false and appearance mithya falsity appearance does not mean that they do not that they are not experience they are experienced after all when you say a dream is false does it mean that a dream is not seen but dream is seen of course a dream is seen but what do we say though I saw it it's not not real it'll seem real when I wake up I realized oh it was a dream it was all in my mind so because Advaita holds something to be false and appearance does not mean that it does not exist not experienced it is experienced so the world is experienced even by a non duelist an enlightened person the world will be experienced even after enlightenment if you have eyes you will see form if you have ears you will hear some so when Narendra not is asking questions to sri ramakrishna I'll come to you when narendra not is asking questions to sri ramakrishna that sir have you seen God did she dump wish to say I can't hear you because I'm enlightened because everything is Brahman to me of course I can hear you the word is experienced but what is the difference between the experience of an enlightened person and others we think I am this subject experiencing an objective world apart from me enlightened person says I experience the world in the one consciousness which I am the subject is the one consciousness in which the entire universe is experienced we are also not denying that things will have that transactional use even in dreams if you're thirsty and you drink water what happens does it not work or does it is it labelled dream water won't satisfy your thirst no it works so at every level at the dream level the object seen at the dream level they will work at the dream level it's only that they are falsified when you come out of the dream in the same way even after enlightenment everything will keep on working here so falsity appearance another term for that is a relative truth a lower truth so I have a Condorcet from lower truth to higher truth from a relative truth to the absolute truth what all of these are relative truths you can call science a relative truth advaita will fully agree as science is a relative truth it works remember when the Advaita says that the world is an appearance Advaita is not giving an alternative explanation see it's not trying to compete with science or give a separate explanation when science all the theories of science all the propositions are axioms of mathematics or theorems will continue to hold at their level even after you are enlightened so everything works at that level so a relative truth that is there but what God our Father wants to say there is a deeper aspect to all of this that is Brahman or Turia from that perspective all of these are appearances from the dreamers perspective the dreamworld seems to be true what Vedanta is saying similarly from the wakers perspective from your perspective this also seems to be equally true but from the Torreya perspective this is also an appearance just as the dream world is an appearance to you the Waker similarly your world the world which we expect which will be living here will seem to be an appearance from the Turia perspective from your enlightenment all right so there was a question there yes is it what do you think have you experienced it you know what Godfather will say if you experienced it it's an object of your experience it's an appearance no no it's important it's an appearance the god of power will ask the teacher will ask and appearance to whom that is what God about is interested in gorfod is not interested in anything in the objective you know in the realm of objective appearance right in fact what you are talking about he actually covered it in one place he talks about all the varieties of theories which you today you might call the range of new-age ideas is it fine those are there but they are all objects in my awareness what is that one unchanging awareness that's what we are talking about okay yes yes we know it is not true it's not true it's not true with respect with respect to that yes but but even it's a difference is one difference one must appreciate when you snap out of a dream the dream appearance is also gone you are in another appearance now the waking world but you know now that wasn't that did not actually happen you don't take it seriously anymore but there are the the after enlightenment the world appearance doesn't disappear it still continues for the enlightened person but the enlightened person equal yes and the rest or for that enlightened person the rest is nothing other than that pure consciousness if it's not that there are two things one pure consciousness and one something else something something weird separate but so and the transactional existence is now lived from that perspective that's why in fact we will see that commonality between you people you consider enlightened across ages and civilizations and you know the utter selflessness the utter fearlessness the unshakable serenity where does all of that come from it comes from this distance um thing and saying this in a very broad way not just from a non realistic perspective experiencing touching finding something absolutely non dying absolutely immutable unchanging a place of permanent rest and peace finding that and knowing that to be absolutely true a devotee would say I found God Meera when she sinks but what was that suka gyeom hava Sagar Freaker and I he motor Anunnaki when I laggy logon pro pitcher Anunnaki now what look it's a very devotional song what does it mean my heart is given to the feet of the Lord - my lord - Krishna but what is the result she says the entire the universe power socket is this samsara with this universe of transmigrated experience this equation compares it to an ocean that's a classic way of referring to an ocean she says the ocean has dried up this notion to speak of anymore hence I have no concern with the waves look at the extraordinary way she puts it Suki gaya bommer Sagar wicker in a he Mohit Allen and key the I have no fear of crossing over the samsara anymore ocean of samsara I have no fear of the waves of the samsara anymore because the ocean has dried up how is the ocean dried up you have found some God called Krishna so how is that concerned with this this itself becomes illusory and appearance compared to what she has found now she can live happily but one more thing before I come to you let me give you another example of these two truths higher and lower the absolute truth and the lower truth a movie or say a Harry Potter book there are two truths there what I'm trying to say is this idea of two truths is not it not too extraordinary not too far-fetched we use it all the time there is a fictional world of Harry Potter and there is a world in which you are just holding a book with printing on it there is really no Harry Potter no school of magic no Dumbledore who's a teacher it's all part if you say the is Harry Potter a student of the Harvard School of magic what is your answer you will say depends depends on what depends on if you are asking in the story yes if you're asking in this world waking world of mine there's no school of magic unfortunately and there's no Harry Potter it's just a book with printing on it do you see we are using we are using two truths exactly like that come so do you see that we are using two truths here and this is very interesting you find it in adwaita Vedanta this idea of two truths and you find it in Tibetan Buddhism or in Mahayana Buddhism the philosophy of Nagarjuna and where he talks about Buddha taught two truths Parramatta said some Richtofen some rickly means transactional reality which is this and the absolute truth which is Parramatta but what it is and in the Buddha statement is not so up so obviously mentioned that there is an absolute reality it that something is there beyond this and I found I was in the public library yesterday for yesterday where I was an ancient Buddhist texts written in India about 50 1,400 years ago almost at the same time as this text this Buddhist writer is called Harvey wake up ba vivica Brava Vika he wrote a book Medea maka Caracara daya and another book called a commentary on that called Turkish Allah the blaze of argumentation that kaha in that he says there's a section about Vedanta where he refutes Vedanta but the reputation of a dontoh there is not very satisfactory because the presentation we don't itself is a little crude based on some some text he says that yacht way Dante shoes soaked um yet where Dante shoes soaked them that sarvam wood wood - Cheatham whatever has been well said in the Vedanta as all all of it has already been said by the Buddha okay he's accusing us of appropriating the Buddhist city but I have no problem I have no problem as long as he recognizes it - same - the same teaching anyway this is something I discovered just yesterday a day for yesterday all right yes right now okay but I'll come to you here he erases he has first yes and only hear certain frequencies but that allows the possibility of having objects that are beyond our experience true so if they're objects that cannot be experienced object our experience are not real objects or on experience are they real yes real in what sense if it's an object it's not real whether experienced or unexperienced but if you're asking can unexperienced objects exist obviously they exist in Buddhas we don't allow for it yes gorup ah they would not be phased by by this question he would simply say in your dreams when you are experiencing a world of dreams what did it feel like I am seeing some people here but surely there are billions of people in the world who might not see when you wake up so in your dreams there are two categories of things things seen in things unseen and you are firmly convinced nobody thinks in a dream only this person is there the rest of it of course is not there because it's a dream I'm not seeing it but when you wake up what will happen is whatever was seen and whatever was unseen both become characters in created in your mind if there is something which is not an object to our senses which is there the entire range of ultraviolet frequencies is there the entire range of infrared frequencies is there you would have to be a rattlesnake to see the infrared but all of that is there sounds very high-pitched very low bass sounds are there so all of that is there but they are all known and unknown they are all objects being objects they'd be objects to consciousness being objects they are not their appearances yes quick [Music] not advice he's pointing it out to you through now you don't have to believe it you have to understand it I got it I I got it i underst I wouldn't quite put it in those terms but yes all of that all the conclusions of Raja yoga bhakti yoga karma yoga they follow very easily from this kind of conclusion will seal something very similar next words it's it's actually right right right correct correct in fact it's a very good question I mean and the question asked in Vedanta yet I just answer in brief and later we can talk about it you know the entire Hindu Buddhist Jain the entire Indian conception of multiple lifetimes so the idea is after the death of the physical body what happens to us your question is what happens to the enlightened person but first what happens to us the person suppose we are not enlightened and what happens to us the answer would be we travel we travel travel means physical body falls apart the Atman and the subtle body which is called the Jeevitha man the sentient being that goes that sort of they said it curls up into like a seed form and it goes into other words what how and why because of our past karma goes to other words and then finally because of our past karma we get newer bodies and we are reborn again and so on so the cycle continues for the rest of us what happens to the enlightened person the cycle stops not yet at death it's already stopped the moment the person becomes enlightened you realize you're one consciousness existence consciousness bliss not only you are not born again you realize you have never been born actually you realize you are the screen not the movie so the answer to your question directly is does the enlightened person go to other planes like astral or whatever no for that for that person this plane and other planes they all become appearances they all become appearances they are they are not real they are something experienced within this body within this awareness as long as the body and mind lasts you will have these experiences once the individual body and mind goes you remain as that infinite beam did they do not go it's it's not a physical plane remember the physical plane mental plane as separate all of them are appearances in one consciousness which define themselves to be if there are see the multiple worlds also are appearances look at the look at the theories we have already dismissed it the 14 words he talks would Bhavani it Ivana Vida the knowers of the world say the ultimate reality are these different planes of existence that is one of the theories I can tell you theory number of which one and gotta bother dismisses them on the ground that those are also objects the things which are experienced I'll ask you to understand this in this way that imagine what happens to you when you wake up where did the person who was walking around say in Central Park or wherever suddenly you snap up and you find you're sitting on your bed suppose somebody asks that person in Central Park where did that person go oh yeah will you say that she returned to her apartment and set up in the bed not really did you what you will say was the whole thing was an appearance in me I was sleeping and dreaming the whole thing that's what you will say the enlightened person says that this whole business of coming and going birth and death different planes of existence the entire thing was an appearance we'll talk about it's coming now okay hold on hold on to your horse you want to make a comment okay right I'll say two things one is even in in the literature homage to American literature if you see they will talk about people who are enlightened and yet do not be are not one with brown and all that the universal they can come back again where they can't is supposed to be one of them so there are people who retain the individuality and then they can come back again they help other beings and so on now from their point of view the dream is continuing but they know it to be a dream it's like the waking dreaming deep sleep continue but you know you are Toria the fourth right so so that is possible from their point of view and individuality continuing in the plane of appearance is no problem at all because it's realized it is understood to be the one to do one one consciousness it's like saying once you realize it's a movie you have the option of switching up the movie or keep playing the movie it makes no difference to you in fact if you want to enjoy the movie you keep playing the movie just because it's a movie why do you have to switch it off but you have to realize it's a movie first for you to go to another world outside the astral mental plane wherever it's from that person's perspective yes he would from an advaithi perspective he would still be definitely an enlightened person yeah you might choose to stop seeing movies altogether RC movies but yes but you know that it's a movie yeah you know the your the reality in which the movie is playing that sets you free after that whether you play the movie or not it's not so much of a problem from a non-dualistic perspective okay thank you you had a question just ask the question I will not answer it now but go ahead okay one specific question and money one broad question which many people ask one question is that if this consciousness is there always why don't we have any memories of any other experiences beyond our limited circle of experience and what we each offers individual experienced if it's one consciousness always there remember look at what you said you said use two words consciousness and memory now consciousness is that which reveals which enables experience in you also it's functioning it's it's revealing your experience of your life in me and also in everybody and and vedanta says you are that consciousness you are not these individual persons being revealed by consciousness or enabled by consciousness now memory is a weak thing memory is a function of your mind see these things are very on table a six what is memory memory Chitra is a function of the mind so when it functions when you are working through your mind and sense organs in your waking state dream state the memory records something some of it is retained most of it is forgotten or pushed to almost inaccessible levels hmm so if I say did you if ask you what you ate for lunch today you'll be able to tell me what you had for lunch yesterday you'll be able to tell me but if I ask you what you had for lunch on a Halloween last year maybe you might not if Alice was a very memorable or scary lunch a Halloween lunch but it will probably won't be able to tell me but you're sure that you did eat and it was a conscious experience of eating and yet you don't have any memory of it anymore there are millions of things what you ate today and on this day ten years ago you laugh it's impossible I how do I remember but you did eat all these years you have been eating lunch otherwise you wouldn't be here today so you had these conscious experiences of having lunch for so many years of your life almost nothing of which you can recall does it mean it never happened of course it did happen what is what is failing is memory so memory is a weak thing a memory is a weak thing it works depending on the brain on the mind and lot of things in the back are either pushed to the subconscious levels or completely forgotten and so on let's go ahead all right oh the general question was why is it so difficult to realize keep coming to the class or at least listening to YouTube videos see once this is the question which people ask especially in non-dual Vedanta once you begin to get what they're talking about immediate reaction is wow this is so straight you get a intuition of two things one is it should be instantaneous because it's available here and now and second thing you feel is it should be effortless I am that why should it - see the mistake and snake as a real rope to understand that it's a movie and then there is a screen behind it to know that the ornaments are gold how much effort does it take should be absolute almost effortless so this also should be almost effortless and then the question comes why is it so difficult in so it's difficult and easy if you are ready for it very easy if you're not ready for it lifetimes it could be but what else will you do that's right one great teacher Nandu Alva Danton if you ask him why is it so difficult what is to be done by are we not realizing it you keep on listening today's and thinking about it and meditating shravana mañana needed asana not working repeat I've been repeating 20 years so ah you don't know 20 30 years I've been coming and listening it somehow or the other I've been thinking and meditating upon it not working so his answer is better luck next life no but Nandu lists can be sort of exclusive that way but there are other methods also so you supplement it all with devotion with japa puja many other things out there so 4000 are many many practices out there the real difficulty lies not in Brahman Brahman is very simple not even in these texts they are also very straightforward once you begin to get the hang of it you will get the hang of everything all of it complication is in us anybody was tried a little bit of thousand a little meditation little service little I understand it let me try to live up to it immediately you run up against complication and that complication is inside us not yet that's why it takes time you know the story of the person the Guru you know was answer to a question like yours he was holding on to a tree and telling the student set me free set me free the student said let go guru said exactly but let go is not so easy suppose I'm holding not like this tightly and he's he set me free from this let go I can't let go then if you have to pry open my fingers one by one you are going to have to work hard and it's going to hurt me also but is because I am putting all that effort into it all right now let's go ahead father gave us a list of multiple theories now he says all of them are appearances in consciousness and you cannot deny it God if God exists God exists for you as a belief in your awareness God exists for you as a theory God exists for you as an experience so suppose you had divine vision of God where did you have it an experience without consciousness no in your consciousness only you had it so ultimately all of these gora palaces are precise they are all imagined in the Atman remember he does not deny the experience of it he does not deny their relative utility also it helps but he denies their absolute truth all these theories what they did that is the truth they have found whatever they said whether it is prakruti whether it is God it is a fourteen words whether it's the atoms or whatever it is that is the ultimate truth there that's what they said now let's come to verse number twenty eight twenty nine young Bob under shade yes young Bob under shade yes yeah Tom bobbin super shitty Tom bobbin set opacity Don Java Tisa boot also doncha what is a boot also that graha some hoop a datum that graha some opt Tom let me give you the English translation anyone to whom a teacher may show a particular object as the reality sees that alone and that to thing to protects him by becoming identified with him that absorption leads to his self-identity with the object of attention now this may seem a little what'd it say the seemed little dry and philosophical it's a very important verse what he says here is our ideas belief systems he says we come to various belief systems all of us here born in Saudi Arabia would have been a Muslim you born in some Christian country be Christian you were born in indium you might be a Hindu just because you are born into it not because really we have you know examined it and found it to be true or something like that or you're born into something and then you come across a book or teacher somebody else comes in somebody inspires you and you take up a new idea you know it just doesn't have to be a religion it could be agnosticism or atheism when one gives up many people give up the religion of their childhood when they become more intellectual and read and look around and say oh all this was nonsense superstitious now all of these he says as we find teachers go to palaces as we find teachers and what what we are taught what seems can be what we take up from the teacher that alone becomes D reality for us for that person for that point point of time and coming specifically to religion he says what happens is ok but they are all according to God about that they are all some kind of object or the other and they are therefore all imagined in the subject all of these objects now therefore she says the approach of non-duality to dualistic religions this consequences is a very important point here that the idea of God for example in fact the list of 35 philosophy starts with God if you see verse number 20 priority prana vida there brown actually is a technical word referring to Ishwara or here in yoga if you remember the Advaitic conception the Manduca conception of God what is that at the physical level gross level God is Viraat consciousness associated with the entire universe at the subtle level God is called Hiranya garbha consciousness associated with all that the all the minds the subtle bodies of all beings here on yoga and at the causal level God associated the consciousness associated with Maya is called Ishwara or literally God what we the closest we get to God and in fact the precise counterpart of the term God would be that Ishwara the causal level because the issuer actually is what is meant by God because the other two Hiranya garbha and Viraat those two identities they come and go why do they come and go when the universe is created Christy subtle universe physical universe then consciousness becomes associated with them and becomes the cosmic mind the entire cosmic person so we're our tour here at Nagappa but those identities will be lost when the universe is destroyed do you see what I'm saying when the universe you know you have the cycle of the universe's so in the universe is destroyed what remains consciousness alone with Maya basically in Hinduism destruction means the effect going back to the cause the part going back to the clay the ornament being melted back into gold that is destruction not that everything is wiped out so the potential for new creation still remains this see a tree going back to the seed again new new creation will come out but when there is no creation at all when God alone remains with the power of Maya that that is called Ishwar it's a causal state and the second state that is the subtle state consciousness associated with all Minds here and Nagappa another name for that is prana so basically is talking about God there so all these dualistic ideas of God the important point here is non-dual is a god apothem he saying first of all shockingly they are all appearances because they are objects as theories in even in your experiment if you experienced it they are appearances by which he means they are not the ultimate truth what is the ultimate truth even in the Manduca scheme what is the ultimate truth is Ishwara the ultimate truth or Turia Turia you don't seem convinced one two three four the first one is the Waker in the wakers universe at that level God would be called Bharat second one is the dreamer in the dream universe at that level God would be called here and Negara third one deep sleeper in the deep sleep darkness blankness at that level God would be called Yeshua but they are all three are they come and go they appear in one reality one underlying reality Astoria so the individual and the cosmic the cosmic is God individual is us both appear and disappear in one consciousness so that consciousness alone is real for God our Father the others are appearances so for God our Father the god of dualistic religions remember this is the precise thing if you say my krishna is an is a person apart from me a divine person then go to body we'll see that's an appearance if you say my Krishna is actually pure consciousness appearing in that particular form then God about is fine with it this is the distinction because you see in all our puja all the worship that we do for us Rama Krishna or Rama or Krishna or Durga or Kali the different forms of gods and goddesses or the avatars or us each of us what are we we are that such as Ananda with that particular name and form we are that torria in this particular appearance if you say the necklace is an ultimate reality and there is no then we would say it is false the ultimate reality is the goal there which is appearing right now as a necklace so that distinction got a pod is making here he is number one he is not dismissing religion this is the important thing he's not dismissing religion we'll come to it what is the use of religion he's not dismissing religion he's just saying taking what religions do is they put forward a particular object as the ultimate reality which he does not agree with if it's an object there must be some falsehood in involved in that you say why sri ramakrishna saw a mother kali not once she he saw kali all throughout his life what would God have to say to that he would say that one consciousness Turia is appearing as the Divine Mother with that name and form two Ramakrishna their God apart is fine but if you say no I am this person and Kali is a separate thing apart from me go to pods you know there's an appearance you're wrong there now is it wrong to follow these things he says no God it is a very interesting verse he says when you follow these teachings of different religions what happens is one becomes he says the one becomes absorbed in that teaching that alone my Krishna alone is the reality you become absorbed and identified with that and that helps you that helps you that development of the mind that concentration that you are after all you are coming into contact with the reality though in a particular name and form from that next you have to come to non duality where you will get freedom that is what God apart is saying here it brings you says it is like a stage which brings you to non duality so it's like a stage which brings you to non duality he is criticizing it if you put it forward as the last word a problem with the dualistic religion says if you note the problem with the dualistic religions is they each put forth some object a divine object first of all as an object without appreciating the fallacy involved there and once you do that you are immediately in conflict with everybody else you're immediately in conflict with every so my krishna alone is the reality what about Shiva what about Vishnu what about Allah what about father in heaven now you'll see the dualistic religions how they handle this they will handle it by saying for example one strategy is to say they are all lower realities and my Krishna is the highest reality so I talked with a devotee of Krishna a monk of a particular religious order who are very staunch in their divorce devotion to Krishna and immediately he coated it says so in the Vishnu Purana says so in the in the Gita that I am the ultimate reality and who is saying there you can't argue it's a krishna saying that we even say it is that when krishna says i am the ultimate reality he means pure consciousness but he says why go to all that it's simple krishna is there he's blue and he's he is the charioteer of arjuna and he's saying i'm the ultimate really find that krishna's ultimate reality you go to Vishnu Purana or something that what about Shiva yes she was there but she was the servant of Vishnu there now the problem arises with this kind of interpretation is I also said it to that monk but exactly the same thing is said about Vishnu in about Shiva and Shiva Purana she was she was says I'm the ultimate reality if you go to Devi Purana the divine mother says I am the ultimate reality it's switched around then you know what is the response no there is an incredible blankness there they refuse to acknowledge the existence of those texts totally it's a kind of very very strange approach there's only this text the other one no this one says it fine that's it and that's the end now this is what God about the criticizes this is a narrow approach this dualistic approach leads to religious fanaticism and conflict this leads to religious fanaticism and conflict let's see so already if you see the list of philosophies as you'd mentioned it he says though there are those who believe in 25 principles one one of the lists was there that is the yoga philosophy you know what it is I'm over go to father will say so they immediately come into conflict with teacher the god of power will mention these dualistic philosophies dualistic religions take are in conflict with each other we have no conflict with any of them we have no conflict with any of them how do we not have any conflict with any of them what we say what Otto Nandu list says is that what God apart is saying here is that same tariya the same sat-chit-ananda appears as Ishwara the god of this universe in conjunction with maya and that infinite Ishwara can be conceived of and is conceived of and worshipped as krishna as rama as the divine mother as Vishnu as Shiva as Allah as Jesus and father in heaven Jehovah and so on it's possible why is it possible because it's an infinite reality beyond words when you try to put it in words when you try to put it within a particular cultural framework you will get different ways of putting it and now are they are they correct they are cut they are all right as long as they lead you to this non dual reality and if you stop there that that is the only thing then it's not correct it cannot be because to make that correct to make my X idea of God correct I have to say y&z are wrong if only that is correct if you say there is an unnameable infinite reality which appears as X Y & Z I can equally accept and respect X Y & Z within that way I'm touching that my ultimate non dual reality I'll come to you let me finish the whole thing so what God our Father suggests is if somebody is engaged in the dualistic worship the advaithic idea God apply these ideas don't disturb them but show them the path tune on to his view is ultimately for freedom for realization for enlightenment you'll have to end up in the Wednesday class that's that's his that's his take on it but all of those other approaches are good and we see it practically if somebody has been a seeker in his or her own tradition or in different traditions I have often seen ultimately ending up in some non-dualistic teaching of the other doesn't have to be advaitha Vedanta it could be Tibetan Buddhism it could be some form of higher spirituality I call this a kind of finishing school for spirituality so people who have been exploring a long time they find it satisfactory finally now an objective reality and you take it to be final it will exclude everything else that itself is suspicious the truth must be all-inclusive this alone is true and everything else is false immediately a red flag should be raised there so what Godfather says all of them are helpful he says all are false because all are appearances but they all lead to the truth for a false does not mean not in the sense of an exclusive is false when the exclusivist says that it is false my religion alone is right everything else is false you should be converted into my religion or killed that is an exclusive issed approach God apart is not saying that he's saying all of them can lead to non duality all of them taken by themselves are false they take some object or the other as reality but all of them point back to the reality which you are alone are and they can lead you to that reality just one more point two quick points here how is this different from atheism number one and how is it different from Sri Ramakrishna's approach first of all how is it different from Sri Ramakrishna's approach gora pada he would insist that from any kind of dualistic practice if you do it seriously it will lead you to non-dualism of the kind that he is teaching so you ultimately have to come to him for enlightenment because he seemed not be I'm not saying it in a sectarian way suppose you say all of these philosophies you're rejecting 35 philosophies why not reject 36 your philosophy also one more add one more and rejected but he says it is they are making a category mistake all of these 35 are appearances their objects are talking of some kind of object of the other I am talking about the one to which all of these are appearing the one which cannot be denied so the way gara power the presence it one must appreciate that he is not presenting it as an alternative to different religions this religion versus that religion he's saying no no no whether it's religion whether it is science whether it is atheism complete non belief complete he talked about a complete materialist all of them can be put in one category that is they take some object out there to be the reality we are asking to whom is this all appearing who is the consciousness who is the one who is in who proclaims now that I am an atheist or theist or a wise Navarro a white or a Christian or a Muslim so God about this philosophy cannot be put in the category of those 35 philosophies so that's his approach Sri Ramakrishna's approach here notice when he goes to different people what he does is he encourages them that whether it's a braum home whether it's a wife java whether it's a tantric muslim christian he encourages them in their own path and if he finds them sincere he praises them and says you should go along this way and it will lead to the truth yato more taught apart infinite paths to infinite reality by the way that's the topic of the talk I on Mirage will be giving here on the 28th if you see the flyer outside so infinite that's the name of the book also being released by Oxford University Press this month infinite paths to infinite reality sri ramakrishna says that he just says don't be fanatical one thing he criticizes is that narrowness when he goes to the BrahMos who don't like worship of images who don't like the what the Vaishnava czar doing he says to them look at their fervor look at their intense attachment to krishna take that would they turn to culo he says to the BrahMos who are very philosophical reform minded liberal but being liberal and reform minded you also like a certain intensity so he says look at the intensity of those people who love krishna you may not do all those things but you take that intensity so don't be fanatical don't be narrow expand and learn from others also take what's good from from there and you progress in spiritual life the difference between this and God apart is God up other would say all of those are helpful finally come here one stop solution to to grow her father Sri Ramakrishna says all of those will ultimately lead you to the highest reality which he will have no problem with God a part of puts it in his terms it's a non dual reality but tsunami krishna says there's no problem you don't have to come to god up adults you don't have to become a labeled non-dualistic so your christian you can fish stick to your path you will there are have been so many Christian mystics who have added that non-dual experience so you can proceed along different paths and all that isn't required is sincere holding on to your path and seeking so that's three Ramakrishna go to father I hope I've made it clear how is it different from atheism you say why is the question arising at all it's arising because many people first of all they see it as a criticism of religion in one sense it is a criticism of religion what God apart is doing here yeah he seems to be rejecting if you take the religion at its own words he seems to be rejecting that so how is it different the atheist is the one or agnostic it is the one who says that there is no higher reality the agnostic is the one who has a question about it the dualist is the one who says yes there is a higher reality I am there and there is a reality called gone the qualified monist says that I am there and there is a higher real and I am part of that higher reality mr. bata this is greater advaitha says that there is only that higher reality and I and that am an appearance in that my individuality is an appearance in that that one alone that Brahman the Tori or Brahman that one alone is the ultimate reality there is only one it's not denying that ultimate reality denying that or questioning that is agnosticism or atheism it's in fact in one way just the opposite of atheism what we normally take to be religion is this position that I believe something is their ultimate reality and then we quite quarrel about that we call about that ultimate reality somebody says it's Vishnu somebody say that Shiva somebody says Allah somebody says it's Jehovah and require all about it and we say that is separate I am separate ghorepani here would say the whole thing is an appearance it's you're making a mistake even here you would say you're making a mistake here you would say definitely it's a mistake we'd say ultimate reality alone Brahman alone exists of Tony alone exists so this is the difference it's not a tease a great a very senior monk once visited our training center where young novices were being trained and he see it was before my time apparently he asked what are you teaching the boys and one of the Masters said we are teaching the Manduca Kerik of this book and he says no no no no don't teach them that they'll become atheists nasty quiet yeah all right no no no God a pada would prefer this one dualism over agnosticism you would prefer this one over that one see there is a guru father's position is not that there could be something I don't know agnostic position is uncertain I don't know there could be something I'm not denying that there could be a god but I also don't know that there is a God the theist is one who is firmly convinced that there is a God no no but God does not deny there's a car God Father denies that what you are considering a separate object as God one of those 35 theories that's traditional it's an appearance it's not ultimate reality that ultimate reality is the only thing that exists that's what God apart is saying but God Father would prefer this over that because at least this person has an apprehension of that ultimate reality though he's conceiving of it as an object out there whereas this person has not yet he's still floating yeah all right let's go yes your the question yes yes now what Godfather says if you follow that look at what the verse said as the teacher teaches it something whatever it whatever that is when you find some kind of teaching and you follow it sincerely you identify with it and that leads you to this Earthman but over the last five thousand years how many of those people actually followed it sincerely and suppose you ask how many were truly good Muslims how many were truly good Christians having the truly good Hindus if they were there actually sincerely followed it they did not get something out of it they got something out of it nobody denies that and gora father says that's very good they are pointing in the right direction you're what you asked is an entirely different question in today's world many people are losing belief in traditional religion yeah that's true that's why the importance of non-dualism so I'm very kinda said the only religion for modern man will be this one non-dualism advaitha Weyland he said why do I stress this because in today's is only religion for rational man he said he's an only religion if you believe in reason if it's very difficult for you to accept the teachings of traditional religion God Abad is not against it but it's very difficult to accept the teachings of traditional religion then advice for you yes we are yes there is a Buddhist influence definitely but if you see the Guru parampara shuka Vyasa shuka then go depart I think parasara Shakti then parasha is not gonna perish or is the teacher of Goethe pada right now I've forgotten that exactly lineage No so that's a traditional way of thinking about it but if you are asking two questions who was God about this teacher we are not very sure about that but if you're asking the other question it was there Buddhist influence definitely there's but this influence but this were very powerful and very strong what it's a whole issue if you read Nikhil Angie's book there is a I think 1020 page introduction which goes into it it's a huge controversy how much Buddhist influence is there on goda pada some will go so far as to say the Manduca Rika is a Buddhist text it's so close but Godfather himself says for example in one place you have to look at my talk quenching the firebrand and has a talk on this very topic Godfather himself says he says neither but Dana boshytime this was not taught by the Buddha but that itself raises a question why would you need to say that so the conclusion is that is definitely heavy Buddhist influence I have been studying the pre God upon Buddhism even in recent times tremendous similarity not only of technique but language and conclusion one later Buddhist teacher Shanthi rakshita he says in a Buddhist text he says literally he says these fellows are saying exactly what we are saying and it said it slightly dismissive a noise like that yet the H is a case of stolen goods and you'll find when the discussions are going on between Buddhists of one school remember there are other Buddhists are with which advaitha does not agree at all and the shoonya vada but this also does not agree with those schools there is heavy criticism of the other schools of Buddhism there's one school of Buddhism which is the medomak a Buddhism of Nagarjuna which is very close to Advaita Vedanta almost like a mirror image and you see the dialectics between advaitha masters and multi-market masters in those texts you'll often find corresponding language the for example with dr indian punch of the she she says if this is what the buddhist means by shoonya then welcome you have accepted our thesis and I found almost 800 years before with the RNA this book I was reading Turkish Allah there he says and if the Vedanta means this then welcome you have come into our fold you see there is tremendous similarity it's almost like they are not saying exactly the same thing they're almost like stating it in mirror images they're saying the same thing just to the other way around I have mentioned this earlier look at the one good way of understanding the difference between say medomak a Buddhism should Nevada which is the standard philosophy of Tibetan Buddhism Dalai Lama and others their position in our position 1 the final difference would be like this one good way of understanding it is to see the misunderstandings of both what each accuses the other of we accuse the Cheniere body of what of being near lists ultimately they are saying nothing exists what is the ultimate teaching of Shania vada we say or you are saying nothing exists but in their own text if you see it would be if you're fair to them if you see nagarjuna zone man America Rica he says we have never said that there is nothing what is the ultimate reality if it does it is it something that exists we say no is it something that does not exist we say no it is something that both exists and does not exist we say no it is something that neither exists and not does not exist no for alternatives Tetra lemma is called in modern philosophy your toosh coati in sanskrit see Nagarjuna says shahtoosh cote shahtoosh khou-tv near mooc them the principle which is free of these four alternatives and what is the principle he chooses to call it shunya Juniata the voidness so it's not nothing okay and now what do they accuse us of racing you are talking about a thing there is a thing called Brahman Turia is it there so it's a thing and they show that the ultimate reality you yourself cannot be a thing cannot be an object but as you say you will immediately see but all this while google rapid is arguing that it's not an object correct this is what is missed out in the fields if you see the presentations there's a there are books they call doc Sagra fees actually if you see them the Buddhists in Qin Buddhist scholars when they present different views and cut them down Amma in the list is we are also on the hit list so Vedanta the earliest ones do you see the presentations are crude presentations they don't make these fine distinctions which go to father's making it says for example it says there is a golden being called Brahman and when you win they even you sit in the bed 19 sits in meditation he merges into that golden being called Brahman and becomes immortal now it sounds like a thing he's literally translated translating you know ret Evernham Thomas opera started translating that but the finer meanings he does not take it up so my point here is we accuse unfairly the Tibetan Buddhist or the Magnum akka of preaching nothingness emptiness is not nothingness and they accuse us unfairly of preaching a thing an object called Brahman so what is it then what is the ultimate conclusion it's not a thing it's not nothing I call it no thing if you say no thing I agree as a non duelist and a Buddhist the Tibetan Buddhists also would agree yes is shoonya are no thing yes is Turia are no thing yes yes all right let's hear the questions but we need to move ahead quick not like it is denied guna Brahman Turia is denied guna Brahman yes yes I wouldn't deny that it's not what he is saying but that could be one interpretation people have interpreted it that way and gone to the doom interpreting in that way yes that's why this is Manduca Punisher and Manduca Careca that's why it is always locked up in the safe which kiai I visited in the Hudson there's a submarine at the the growler interpret Museum so it's one of the early nuclear submarines of it's not a nuclear so these submarine but it used to launch nuclear missiles so we went on a tour inside that and there they captain have a safe the captain had a safe with a locker and everything and in the command came from the president he would launch those missiles at Soviet Union the 1960s they would carry hydrogen bombs in destroy missiles so that's the ultimate thing the whole submarine exists for that that locker and it's locked up there so the locker which is locked up here what you who open it you will find the Godfather caricature now you are expected to be a mature person to handle it it can easily lead to it can lead to atheism it can lead to nihilism it can lead to denial of you know I don't care for anything it can lead straight to suicide also it's a very dangerous text if you take it seriously now what is the mature way of handling it the mature way of handling it is look at what God our Father says all of these practices are good because they lead to non-dual realization they can lead to nonzero realization they help you to develop spiritually not only that if you take non-duality as taught by God or father seriously it actually gives all religions our grounding I'll tell you something we work on the Saturn exactly where it may sound harsh I will tell you openly here - this religion is superstition with this every religion gets grounding I am happy - not only that next we are we the world parliament we are talking about harmony between religions respect between religions there is no way you can do that from a dualistic perspective from a dualistic perspective notice especially the intensely dualistic religions are also the ones which are the most hateful it's very interesting the ones which are entirely bhakti oriented devotion oriented they talk about love could be Krishna could be Christ but when you look at them in in action it's love for my ideal and within the community and hatred for everybody else why they are wrong they condemned to hell we're going to burn in hell I have a talks with theologians and all they say no no no listen to all things are right they cannot be right because they are condensing contradictory things how can they be right now only one so right is only one thing is right and everything else is false and in them invariably it's interesting how that person's religion turns out to be the right thing whoever it is is a Christian theology and Muslim theology and whoever it is or a vaishnava theologian you say look in the world there is one truth and everything else is false in every case so in religion also there must be one true religion everything else must be false the next step if you go for it okay then what you are saying it strangely enough turns out to be that person's religion which is the one truth and everything else is false it has to be like that God a power will mention it in the next chapter Varis param Vayu Chianti they are bound to come in conflict because they take one object to be real apart from everything else logically it will lead to conflict I'll come to you whereas from this perspective if it is that infinite subject which is my own identity which is us all of us that one alone is now worshipped as a method of worship as an expression of my spirituality as Krishna or Christ notice immediately harmonies there I cannot love Krishna and hate Christ it's as good as a hating Krishna it's as good as that harmony of religions is immediately established if you take non-dualism in a mature sense harmony of science and religion is established otherwise we take dualistic religion and objective religion as the truth immediately come into conflict with science my books say this no matter what you did discover am its evidence proof and whatever evidence you throw at it I will reject it it comes religion science conflict secular world's religious world conflict traditional religions are bound to have that conflict they'll have conflicts with secular governments illa conflicts with circular waves of light this has no problem what is your secular life it's also a manifestation of the same Korea everything is a manifestation of same Korea it's an incredibly if you take it positively which wave a current has done you take it positively it becomes the foundation of an incredible philosophy of life where you are at in comfort with life one great teacher Advaita teacher he said at the wait we have a Harkema titania here non-dualism is not for wiping out the appearance of the world you see this is false so rejected no he says what does non-duality do non-duality makes you absolutely free in life I can't translate the exact Hindi I'll tell you the Hindi see what you make up he said add weight we have a hard core Metallica Liana he add weight up Cobra Harmon neeru bajwa not a mere bod means without any resistance this is literal translation you have no resistance left in life anymore you move freely through life you have no enemies you have nothing that you want to run away from nothing that you want to run towards also you're absolutely comfortable with life you're comfortable with life you're comfortable the debtors absolutely no problem at all what is death and what is life to you you know that one consciousness in which bodies are endlessly born and dying you're comfortable with heaven hell and earth heaven hell on earth there's a there's no desperation to go to heaven no despise and no you know you don't consider it with the worldly like to be despicable and there's no terror of Hell also Vivekananda when he was in travelling in the Midwest and the Train gentleman stood up and said sir what you are preaching if he'll talk with the gentleman if you're preaching you're going to go to hell and they were kinda said to him famously where are you going why to heaven of course and then I'd rather go to hell now Anand a non journalist has no problem with that because all heavens and hells are appearances in you even if you stay in the highest heaven the lowest hell is also not apart from you you are that also and they're all appearances they can't touch you there is a very beautiful story about the sage sugar sukadeva was regarded as a paramahamsa and all as an ideal enlightened month so he comes to visit Shiva and walks in and today he would say yo no but that was the approach and the divine mother Parvati she is there Mahadeva she is there she's annoyed she this is not a respectful approach to and the respect will be of coming to the great god Shiva anyhow sugar comes speaks with Shiva chit-chats and golden takes leave like later and goes away now she is very annoyed she says to Shiva this boy has become arrogant this book has become arrogant needs to be taught a lesson she misses no he's a sage he's simple childlike he doesn't think about these things you know you know hierarchy and his God you should come to be very careful before God he's relaxed so I mean he's simple is childlike the divine mother says no no no it's not good it's a very bad example he must be taught a lesson she is all right because whatever happens in this world is the power of Maya it's it's under the divine mother from Shiva's perspective it's all the same she was pure consciousness but what kind of dream yes it's a dream but what kind of dream we are going to have a nightmare or a nice dream that is up to the divine mother so she appears before suka and says you have become so arrogant you walk around and there's a phrase in Hindi with your nose upturned like a red camel walking on a camel means an arrogant you know who just a narcotic agility you why are walking around you so so be a camel and go and live in the desert and of course what she says immediately happens so the poor sage is transformed into a camel eking out a terribly difficult life in the desert when she comes back satisfied she's okay good now after some time she's feeling unhappy so she says to Shiv I wonder how shoka is you know how it turned out what he is doing and Shiva knows she's the mother so she really cannot be happy if the child is unhappy so he says why don't you go and see and that's what exactly she wanted to do she said okay let me see and she goes and she sees the camel chewing thorny shrubs and she appears before the camel and of course the camel can speak in perfect Sanskrit so she says well how goes it how is life and the camel says Oh divine mother wonderful you are here yes it's wonderful I mean I'm so happy only arrived as a sage you know in you know in an ashram and I had to give give this bed and talks and these these silly novices were there that means a premature is what novices these silly novices were there I had to train them and so on and so forth and then there's a routine to be followed and all of that but now I'm so happy I go very very pleasing eat whenever I like and there's some crude stuff there after that we'd say that I literally it means I don't need a restaurant so what could one want this is a for him this is another manifestation he knows I am Korea you played this I am the screen you played this movie or that move you play a comedy or a horror movie I'll clap for both I'll give ask us to both so the divine mother said oh this is no where to fix it and she said all go back to being a sage that's all right look this is a beautiful story but it shows when you're established in what Gorda pod is talking about you're perfectly comfortable with life you are not saying that oh it's so boring and and worthless now what you are asking about the answer to that is the lives of enlightened people we are the most joyous lives look at Vivekananda Ramakrishna joyous lives they're happy why they are happy you don't know they don't have money and family and name and later on they got name and fame when devarakonda became famous what was his reaction do you remember the first day he became so well-known in the world Parliament of Religions 125 years ago he wept that night he wept like a child he said no more for me is the life of living you know like the unknown monk forgotten by the world the world forgetting roaming about the plains of India and a loincloth he knew that what's going to happen to him for the next ten years of his life till he lived the thing is they don't want any of this and they are very happy without it how how all that the world puts forward as this is worth getting and this will make you happy and seems to make you happy also at least and we are convinced about and we are running after it because our instincts go that way and the world also tells us go this way all of that they seem to have rejected and yet they're intensely happy much more so than anybody else how is it possible what have they got that we don't have enlightenment enlightenment seems and means knowing or realizing but what happened in lightened about what have they realized what are they found so that every scripture talks about the Gita says finding which nothing greater the world can give to thee established in which the heaviest of sorrows cannot shake you remember heaviest of sorrows will come that means it's not say that the storms will not come they will come we have a body sickness and old age will come if you're living in a world insults and failures and problems will keep coming but you have found a place of security from which you cannot be shaken anymore that's always there for you so this is what God apart is talking about in the next verse let me read so this last part is important that graha Sam okay item that very absorption in that particular Pat it may be a dualistic religion that finally leads him to the realization of the non-dual truth if you those of us who have been initiated in mantras in our tradition guru gives you Ishta devatha it seems to be an object and a mantra and a meditation but also if you read for example sergeant's he talks about what happens when you repeat the mantra and meditate finally you'll have the vision of each ta devata you'll see God a father will say still an object yes but ultimately the distinction between Noah known and knowledge is erased in one awareness one pure consciousness so ultimately non-dual truth comes xxx it a ratio prettily it a ratio Pratap Ravi protego BT locket aha protego BT locket aha even yo V data tweener mm yo V data tween culpa it's over Schanke Taha culpa it's over Schanke Taha through these things that are really non different from the self this one is presented as though really different he who truly knows this grasps the meaning of the Vedas without any hesitation a beautiful verse in all these paths all these religions philosophies it a ratio a protective a whatever is presented they are up attack not separate from UD consciousness whatever exists in the waking dreaming and deep sleep world's is not separate from Korea whatever ornament you make is not separate from the constituent gold whatever the form of the waves in the ocean is not separate from water we are not separate from you datoria and yet Tugg AVT laQuita they are experienced as being separate look at your experience is it talks about our worldly experience whatever you experience in the world these are not separate from you the to do but they are experienced as being separate the world people objects car specs the sky and the ocean and the part they all seem to be objects separate from me and yet they are not separate from you the pure consciousness whenever you find such language the easiest way to understand this refer to your dream experience in the dream experience everything that you see everybody that you see and every event that happens is not separate from you the dreamer correct or not it's imagined you in you know independent existence and yet how is it experienced as if separate from you you are a subject there and there are objects there when you wake up both subject and object are you don't say there nothing is there you are there the dreamer was there remember the story of the king janaka is that true or is this true and what was estava close reply neither this is true not that is true as God a father says all objects are appearances but is nothing true you are the truth this is what is saying that you are the truth so all of these appear to be separate though not separate from you the Turia one who knows this am Yahweh that activator one who realizes I am datoria appearing as Waker and making world right now what is our unenlightened experience and understanding I am the Waker correct but is waking world is separate from me though yes in the dream both were same there none other than me but here we are different but from Turia perspective you and your world are in in you the consciousness they are not separate from you your way the that way no one who realizes this culpa eight so Vachon kita this is an important point he makes here that is the person who can explain Vedanta can interpret Vedanta correctly with clarity correctly without fault sri ramakrishna says unless one is enlightened even a mastery of the text if you try to learn religion from him sometimes he will say correcting sometimes youth a wrong wrong things we are reading in the gospel of sri ramakrishna yesterday that Ram Krishna gives the example of Samadhi he says Samadhi I gave a lecture God is dry you have to make him you know you have to with your love and bliss you have to make him blissful and Sri Ramakrishna says God who is bliss himself look what he said he said God is try and he says such is the case with people who have read the text but they don't know what it really means so sometimes they say correcting sometimes wrong things and then he gave the funny example of he said somebody came and said my uncle's cowshed has lots of horses so everybody laughs there and Salaam Krishna says it means that there are no horses in dr. sir car was sitting during sand no cows he did he was showing off he doesn't know what are horses so similarly a person who's not enlightened will keep making slip-ups and that will not be evident to others we will seriously take down notes whatever he is saying and then will get confused also because he has successfully transferred his confusion into us yes it is so happens that's why some of our teachers is to say read books only those who are written original scriptures or those written by enlightened persons I don't read too much of course I violated all of that by now yeah one Swami Rama is a suti he told this story about how if you don't have you haven't seen milk you can get confused so somebody was taught he was taught that milk is white and then another master comes along and tells him yes milk is white that's not wrong which only when it's white wind comes from white cows when it comes from brown cows milk is brown and when comes to red cow's milk is Ray comes from black cows milk is black and this man thought it sounds reasonable this must be must be so the fact is whether it sounds reasonable or not the fact is milk is white whether it's a black cow Branca horrid cow it is white but he has not seen so he gets confused immediately the teacher who told him also has not seen so teachers uses has red milk is white and it has some theories of his own and puts them together and teaches that so he says Avianca taaha the person who realizes this truth not only that Shankara serene is coming to he says not only non-dualistic texts even dualistic texts this person the enlightened person can explain more correctly Shankar Acharya says what this person will feel is when he reads the scriptures this sentence means this and that other one means that I have seen what has he translated to come in 3s [Applause] that a certain message passage means this and a certain other means that which person who's not enlightened me struggle with I also told yesterday the story of Swami Arbutin and who is unlettered who's called the miracle of sri ramakrishna he's an enlightened person the Brahma ganon or a Brahmin but unrelated he has not read any books so they're sitting in bewilderment and a pundit a scholar is teaching Vedanta how the self is apprehended as I am Brahman and advert on the bursts out he says to su did mother Swami should done and the Shadid the pundit is right this is exactly how it happens and you're so excited he went on till late in the night one it would catch hold of so the admirers even late in the night long after the class was over the pundit is right this is how it is he's speaking from experience and for such a person when this person they read Vedanta it's a delight for them because it speaks directly to what they have seen another one this Swami Shah Jahan and I've shared this earlier who was in Sacramento be Maharaj when he was a young monk in Ballarat he saw Swami sue both Anandi another disciple of sri ramakrishna Savola and is here coca mirage this is Swami su Buland who would sit on the second floor of the monastery looking out to the river Ganga and to Calcutta beyond the river and he would read probably at Mara Mayan when a one version of ramen which is very philosophical and devotional also Sri Ramakrishna loved that book one day he was reading and he's looking up and laughing reading looking up and laughing so boom all morals shut down and she went up to him and asked him Swami what are you reading and what are you seeing and why are you laughing Swami said look these are surveyed anta textbook it says Brahman is real and when I look up I see everything the river and the city and everything skies all of it is free Ramakrishna and I burst out laughing when I look down and it says the world is an appearance and I look up and he says his his words exactly I see mountains of ashes mountains washes means all valueless nothing it's not it's it's nothing it's the mountains of ashes all the reality which seems to be there is borrowed from Turia which you are all awareness and experience which you're having up the word it's because of the consciousness of Turia which you are with Turia which is consciousness because of its light everything else is shining and all value which seems to be out there happiness beauty joy fulfillment it's not out there it's you you are basically searching for yourself outside that's why he said mountains of ashes he didn't say it's an illusion or something he says it's he he looked at it from the point of view of Allen the Bliss there's no blister mountains of ashes he directly sees Brahman is real the world is an appearance it people even children repeat it in India brahma satyam jagat mithya but they don't know what it means this person he knows he sees directly for such people is a vision kita when such people read these books it's just the repetition of what is fact for them I can see kids in costumes yes for today for the first time in Central Park I felt at home people taught us on another guy name because I am always in my Halloween costume let me just mention the just start the next perverse because I just I will talk about it next time but let me just read it out I wanted to do the 31st verse also so all these things which we experienced in the world what are they very beautiful and haunting verse comes he says all that you have seed in your life all those people things and events they are but a dream they are like a magic show they are like castles in the sky Sapna my uncle Darwin Agoura if it makes you feel unhappy and don't because you are the reality the reality is always there with you but what you see out there the people you have been with the events of your life your own body you have experienced it it doesn't deny that you have experienced but they are they are very nature they are not fundamentally real they are he says a dream they are but a dream a magic show castles in the sky let's read the verse Swapna ma yet o Drishti Swapna mater Drishti Gandhinagar Amiata ganda Ravana garam yatta tata vishwam edom Tristram tata vishwam edom Tristram vedanta show which actually he way Dante show which are Shani he just as dream and magic are seen to be unreal or as is a city in the sky so also as this whole universe known to be unreal from the Upanishads by the wise those who are Shankar Acharya says was too near nayana Pune those who are experts at desert discerning the truth from the Upanishads and he says pandita high Tatra they are the real scholars of the Upanishads who see the truth that this world is an appearance don't be afraid not just an appearance appearance in the truth which you are dream Sapna as is your dream so is the waking but the dream is a dream from your waking standpoint the waking is a dream not from making standpoint from Turia standpoint then Maya Maya here does not mean the vedantic Maya which we have been reading Maya here means magic show magic another meaning of Maya's magic like a stage performer shows many things which seem to be there actually aren't there Sri Ramakrishna would often say the magician alone is real the magic is not your hip penetrate the magic of the world and find the magician God is the magician or here Turia you three are the magician alone and then castles in the sky Shankar Acharya gives a beautiful description he says like rows of shops spread out today he would say a shopping mall like you see in the sky extraordinary cloud formation especially if you go by plane and yes you're descending you see all sorts of cloud formations extraordinary clouds formations so castles in the sky city in the sky gander when I gotta a city in the sky so you see he says rows of shops set out houses and palaces men and women walking together vivid imagination all imagination and then he says here are now seen now next moment gone and then he says such is this life also yes bill will have the last word go ahead yes I would call it terrible yeah it would be terrible but again from the from the perspective of Toria suppose the hydrogen bomb were exploded in your dreams it would be a nightmare what would happen to you in the waking state at the most you would wake up with a heart beating fast in a cold sweat but nothing would have happened to you at all similarly in the waking life everything is wiped out literally one of the teacher said if everything in the universe itself is wiped out you still exist not one thing which is real is lost we wiped out means what they lose those particular configurations and they remain as you yourself you are that reality in which the universe appears stays and disappears is what thinking about and I think this is the only kind of philosophical approach which is acceptable this is the only solution to evil odds to evil and suffering if the terrible things which have happened in the world are are happening if they are absolutely real then there is no there is no escape from it then there is no solution to anything given God and heaven are no solutions to it if they really did happen and they are absolutely real what kind of a God would it be what kind of a heaven would it be why would one have to suffer so much really but if at one level you are completely untouched and safe I think if this were true it would be a wonderful thing what what Godfather is saying alright let's end with this the reason I wanted to bring it up to this is the next verse which is coming 32 is the climax of the chapter which it talks about the absolute truth he will say that there is no beginning of the universe there is no cessation of the universe there is no one who is who is trying to get free from the universe no one who's practicing spiritual disciplines nobody who has become free from the universe nor is anybody seeking freedom from the universe nor is anybody seeking freedom and this is the final truth so it's like a bombshell you would expect it the grey guru pod has been going but he puts it all together in the next verse which is literally the climax of the second chapter so very stunning verse I gave a whole talk about it do you remember it was called it was called but less necklace but less deathless yes I gave a talk on that so I want to devote the whole year to go deep into it I want to devote the next class not next Wednesday is no class the one after that the whole class to that one verse Oh Shanti Shanti Shanti [Music] hurry you know that sat sri ramakrishna Aparna must