Video 32

33. Mandukya Upanishad | Chapter 2 Karika 38

Oh bhadram Karen I wish I knew yama deva Bodrum pachi moksha period Roth IRA Iran guy is toast wagons Astana ve Mishima Diva Heaton yada Yahoo swass teen Andhra Pradesh rava sauce Tina woo shava shava da swass Tina star show astronomy swass Tina Bree hospital Dada - own shanti shanti shanti so we are studying the Manduca carica and not only have we completed the first chapter but we have also completed the second of four chapters so we have come we are at the very end of the second chapter and I think we all deserve mutual congratulations it's a it's a hard text a difficult text not so much that not any intricacy there are other takes with texts which are much more intricate but the things which it talks about our at the same time meeting sublime and profoundly disturbing so especially the second chapter which talks about the falsity of the world the appearance nature of the world which is necessary in order to prove the non duality of Brahman not to means that the world which appears which is which seems to be clearly pluralistic clearly dual dualistic must be in some sense and appearance so that is what the second chapter of the Manduca character deals with using logic reasoning based on experience to demonstrate how we can think of this world as an appearance the last four verses 35 onwards are very beautiful they talk about the spiritual implication of the whole chapter the reasoning has been done dealt with the philosophy has been dealt with and now what is its implication for our lives so that's what is being talked about in the conclusion with that he will finish we saw in the 35th verse onwards very quickly taking a quick look backwards at what we have just studied the 35th verse said Vita raghavaiah crow hey Mooney will be the power guy near a vehicle pohiri enriched aha prop enjoy posh Amadeu it said to realize this non dual self the Atman which is non dual what what is the spiritual implication what must we do in our lives or what must happen in our lives first of all the fourfold qualifications I'm going fast now we have done this number of times the fourfold qualifications for for a bread antique seeker that is Viveka Vairagya the six fold treasure and momoke shucked worm the that is the first one is the difference between the eternal and the non eternal second one vairagya is a dispassion for the non eternal for a third one is a set of six disciplines I'm not giving you the details and the fourth one is an intense desire to be free an intense desire for freedom spiritual freedom having these then the seeker becomes immersed in vedantic study way the para gay it doesn't have to be a scholar but take the essence of the teachings what we are trying to do in these classes we are trying to immerse ourselves in these ideas so that a clarity comes about what the vedanta wants to teach us so this is the first thing he says then the next one is and also mooney the word Moony here means mañana sheila one who thinks one who analyzes and things about this so not only Shravana but monana shravana means hearing attending the class is listening to the talks studying the texts so that we can say this is what the text teaches us the second thing is money monana that means this is after listening to the texts we also need to contemplate about it think about it get some clarity about the teachings at the end of the first stage we have what did the text say that's what we should be clear about at the end of the second stage monana is now I not only know what the text says I understand it too there's a difference between knowing what the text says and understanding it you can save the first stages is essential knowing what the text says is essential you can attend all the classes and if you are asked what what was taught and if you cannot summarize it to some degree of reliability then you have not even heard what has been taught so under mastering the text is first second is understanding it gaining clarity then we go into the please come and sit then the second thing is in in okay the next he says 36 verse the smart even we did Traynham add weight a uj8 split him but do item sama no proper guru but locum archer 8 in the 36th verse two things have been mentioned once you have got we've got the knowledge and got clarity about it understanding next you immerse yourself in your understanding so that it becomes a living reality for you there should be no more complaint about Swami I understand it intellectually but practically that gap has to be bridged that is the plaque what is the practice are do it a yoga it's written dwell on that Advaitic truth which you have understood make it a living reality manifest it in life the second thing is mentioned in this verse is how do you manifest it in life how so what are you going to do start away run to school started giving classes or dress up as a yogi and live on a mountain K or something like that he says JA revert local mature it live exactly let things go on the way they are going on live exactly like other people in the world live internally you're completely different now you are above the sufferings of the world you can now you can live happily you can continue to do whatever you are doing earlier you don't have to make a major change in the life outside you don't have to now one more practice is giving the thirty-seventh words he's saying or you can think about becoming a monk that's also possible but here the point is he just said that you don't have to make a change in the world outside now you sing become a monk clearly a very different kind of lifestyle yes but what he centrally means is a monk inside that one has to become a spiritual seeker has to be monk like inside internally externally there are examples like war could be a it could be a businessman could be a teacher could be a housewife could be among cows externally so the 37th verse is he is giving you the option become a monk of course here he means it literally actually externally become a monk why to realize this truth ultimately it's it's a lifestyle extraordinarily well designed to realize this truth and manifest it in your life it becomes much easier the verse is nice to tear near Namaskar oh nice what ha ha a watcher chalo chalo Nikita yah tiered rate Chico above it your tip of it become a monk what is the monk like nice to tea near namaskara miss wahakura you are set free from the transactions and the duties and the obligations of householder life so enormous amount of time and energies is freed for you and then you have chalo chalo Nicator is a very beautifully put a monk has two houses this this monk has two houses one is the Ottoman houses means where the person Wells Atman means I am the Atman I am Brahman this is the house your so one immobile house and one mobile house like an RV you have in America people go around in a house what's your mobile house what's your mobile house the body yes the body mind complex so when the monk when the monk goes out to bhiksha ask for food or takes a bat in the Ganga or something like that lives in a hut what is where is this person dwelling in the body mind system dwelling means identified with but internally clearly the person knows I am NOT the body mind system the primary identification is with Atman secondarily as long as the body lasts and the person is feeding the body taking care of it you can call it a secondary home a mobile mobile home just describing among yard reach Eco above it whatever comes whatever is needed out of whatever he comes he takes whatever is needed food clothing shelter and lives like that so the life of a traditional wandering monk non-dualistic monk that is an option think about it yes but internally yes certainly internally one must one thing you notice many of the questions that come regarding practical application of this in our daily lives they come because we are not monks for imagine a traditional monk you can just mentally simulate if you're living in the Himalayas in am not even in a monastery in a hut or a cave your only contact with the world is maybe you attend of a hunter class or two or give a class or two and you go and beg for your food and spend this time in meditation and study and contemplation most of the questions you are asking about the practicality of this teaching those the questions become immaterial there there's no question about those things there anymore so this lifestyle is designed for that all the questions we will don't forget the questions but hold on to them today I want to complete this teaching so the last verse is the climax of this second chapter there are actually two verses which are the best ones in this chapter one is verse number 32 if you remember naniiro do not youth but Tina but doughnuts Asad akka nama mock shown a very mocked it PHR para Martha tau the ultimate truth I have given a talk about this the ultimate truth if you look it up on YouTube the ultimate truth what is the ultimate truth there is no origination of this universe there is no cessation of this universe there is nobody who is in bondage there is nobody who is a spiritual seeker there's nobody who is freed or who is seeking freedom from bondage not anybody in these who indeed who is free from bondage what do you mean this is the this is the ultimate truth it thr para Marchetta all of it of course from the point of view of the non dual reality from from the thuria point of view and a perfect counterpart to this extraordinary verse is the one which we are going to conclude this chapter with if that is the truth how does one live how does one live so deep what is the implication of that for our life our spiritual life what is the ultimate goal one is aspiring for gold means what should be the outcome of all of this that is the 37th 38th verse this is with this is where the chapter ends really a wonderful person it's good that we have a whole class for it I'll take some of the time for that for this verse verse number 38 that one may come rich - ah thud - um dad make enriched wha that wondrous - ah - bejita that wondrous - ah - by here - the tribe who tada that we booted that wad approach you to have it that wad appreciative of it very beautiful verse seeing the reality within seeing the reality outside being that reality resting in that reality never be separated from that reality never slip away from that reality so to immediately come rich - ah seeing the reality within that - um distraught - by Herto seeing the reality outside in the entire universe that rebooter being that reality being the truth tada Rama resting finding peace joy satisfaction in that reality that word appreciative of it never see never slipping away from that reality never never being separated from that value this is the ultimate goal this is what an enlightened person is fully enlightened persons like like looks like this is what we are not not only hoping for he is telling us that's what we already are actually just don't know it so let's see what does it mean tut - um first let's see the word which has been repeated a number of times in this that - 'm means the reality or the the principle an impersonal principle the reality what reality the reality that has been taught to us so far what is that reality that Brahman alone is real and the world is an appearance the non dual Brahman alone is real the world is an appearance this is the reality and knowing that reality within knowing that reality outside Brahman is real world is an appearance that is equal to Artemis real unarmed isin appearance Atma Septim an art ma nithya the Atma means real self what you what we truly are that is the fundamental reality and what appears to be other than us in itself it's an appearance it's the word appearance means mithya it is nothing other than we ourselves you remember the story of the princess of Kashi so we ourselves are appearing in that way but when we can't be doing we don't know that and consider that month the pluralistic reality outside to be an independent separate reality that's false when you realize it is Brahman alone in all these forms then it's alright so self self capitalist Artemis at come on Atma mithya this is the doctrine that were means this is the truth at my alone is real an Atma Mattia again in the language of Manduca what we have read so far what is this Atma what is this self remember the for I hope you remember the the the teaching which we had so far chapter one you might have forgotten by now the soya matmata spa the self has four aspects three of them are appearance and one is the reality what are the three Waker and wakers world so what is maker in because what this one right now hopefully here is way current makers world for some it might be dreamer and dreamers world or some blessed soul deep sleeper and deep sleeper hunt Abdo eyes full of such blessings when you listen to Advaita talks so that is the first aspect waker you the baker and wakers world in sanskrit which to a geographer puncher the dreamer and the dream world in sanskrit thai Jessa and Swapna preppin sha and your deep sleep state the deep sleeper you the deep sleeper and the the merged potential darkness blankness of deep sleep in Sanskrit Braga and sushupti professor super sushupti deep sleep there's no prop engine no expressed universe but it's in BR car in a seed form it will all come back again but it's still there in a potential form it's like the hard disk of a computer which is switched off everything is there but you can't access it right now these three are aspects of yourself notice that the open issue does not save a car dreamer deep sleeper but Waker and wakers world all of this is you dreamer and dreamers world deep sleeper in deep sleepers world these are the appearances of which the fourth is the essential underlying reality the fourth is called Turia now when to the TUC to one we are now saying the truth is atomized real the self is real and the universe is an appearance in terms of the man Dookie language what is it saying to Rio is real we the three are appearances the fourth one alone is real the FIR three are appearances for one real first three faults fourth one means you the pure consciousness first three Baker and Baker's world dreamer in dreamers world deep sleeper and deep sleep a potential world there and those three pairs the seer and the seen in all of them their appearances and the Tory or the fourth one alone is the reality this is meant by doctrine and this is what we have to realize inside and outside this is what we are called upon to realize ourselves as I am this and dare you're alone we find completeness peace fulfillment not seeking anything outside for there's nothing more to seek beyond that and they go beyond the possibility of ever being separated from that you're eternally that one only this is the meaning of the verse now if you go a little deeper this stuck to them they are talking about I have always mentioned that Vedanta quite evident you have to understand in two stages first is you have to do not this not this have to do that internally and externally also internally but internally means within yourself within ourselves this body mind complex when we analyze I am NOT the body not the prana not the mind not the intellect not the causal body on under my also not the puncher coaches the five cautious five sheets not the three bodies physical body subtle body causal body in sanskrit bunch akash of election art Mobb the day hug tray of election Atma will actually means separate so as if we are separating two things that is stage one of a greater but it's not advaitha because you're clearly talking about two things here there is a kind of duality implicit in your mind and so when you say Brahman is real world is false it's still a kind of duality is implicit in the mind that's why Sri Ramakrishna ven is asked is the world false he says no no voice in the world false obj dakota that's a stage or a car of part of the discussion in a greater analysis so is the world true because we swing it in duality if the word is not false and must be true no no not even that what ramakrishna wants to say and what i'll do it also wants to say what we considered to the world to be what we see of the world is nothing other than Brownville so this that's one we must not take one step further and realize when we said Atma real inert mephala what is this an optimal self is real and not self is false you are the reality the world is an appearance but what is this word what is this not self what's its relationship to you what's the relationship of the false to the reality what's the relationship of the snake to the rope what's the relationship of the dream to the dreamer they are inseparable the Rope is nothing really speaking the Rope is the snake is nothing but the rope everything in your dream is nothing but you yourself you are projected as everything industry similarly everything in this universe which in the first step we have dismissed as in the first step we have dismissed as not this not this false false false we have dismissed now you reclaim it as all of this is Atman all of this is Brahman also just as everything in my dream is I myself really speaking every ornament made of gold is nothing but gold first you said ornament false gold real but when you take the ornament itself you are actually taking gold plus ornament name-and-form yeah you don't know it to be gold itself once Swamy put it very nicely hindi he said until you first in English what is Brahman so he says here and there all are Brahman now and then all are drumlin this and that all are Brahman in Hindi it sounds even nicer yeah-ha-ha-ha suburb rama head yeah Hanwha this is space up or tub sub brahma hey now and then that's also Brahma time a year or wha this and that objects all sorts of objects everything in this universe sub Brahma so all of this in time in space and object space-time object whatever is experienced as spatial temporal and objective reality outside is nothing other than the Brahman which you are all those ornaments which are experienced as this space here you can come and sit here all those ornaments which are experienced as bangle or gold or no different names different shapes and different places in the body to put them they're all recognized as gold and afterwards you need not say ornaments or false the ornaments are all gold nothing but gold they are all good and then you can happily use the ornaments right so this is in fact the basis for Sri Ramakrishna's viana Vedanta with the iron mirage which were referring to that further extension which ceramic Krishna gives to Advaita it's very interesting an extraordinary book by the way before I forget let me mention it that the book is available in an Indian Edition which is much cheaper the Oxford University Press American edition is $70 expensive but I'm told it is actually less expensive than many other university publications but the Indian Edition is out and it is 11 or 12 dollars at the most twelve dollars so those of you who want that book you know emptor not talking about the one ironman spoke about infinite paths to infinite reality so you want an Indian copy of the Indian Edition at the back giant will be taking names so those who want just put your name down for one copy and will see a devotee is going to India has offered to bring some copies back so we will see how many we can provide so this is what he's talking about Sri Ramakrishna it calls it V Gianna Vedanta but the foundation is in Advaita Vedanta that when you say everything that you experience is nothing other than that brahman another way of putting it is this our entire experience is of this triangle I this that actually I'm translating from Hindi then they teach in this way may yaja or whoa or in Sanskrit ah hum edom sucked I means the sentient being the Jeeva us each of us this means the world Edom world which is experience the world of experience that means God is shuara so this triangle why call it that because that's parochial beyond our experience it's a matter of belief or you know we read about it hear about it so in Sanskrit ah-ha-ah-ha means I the self this Edom Edom means this universe what I hear smell taste touch what I know about read about investigate do science religion all of that is done in this and that I think of a reality beyond this universe behind this universe the power of this universe so in TA sztyc religions that that is another reality that is God these three now what is that one reality this is what God of others saying none of them there is a reality the TUC to empiricist three that to reom that fourth one it appears as these three that fourth one you are notice the difference if you ask a dualistic religion of histah collision what is the ultimate truth toughed one that means ultimate truth the ultimate truth of the unity reality taught by your philosophy what is the ultimate truth did here is the difference between a dualistic religion and non-dualism becomes very clear the dualistic religion will say this is the ultimate rock god is dirty nature so for example do itemid dois in dualistic Vedanta it will say that there are these three he actually talks about five differences but anyway so there are these three guard universe and you sentient beings and they are all different and God is the overlord of all of this is the Contra and with these are all para Tantra like a king and the ruler or the king the ruler and the ruled King and the subjects like that that is a strictly dualistic religion it's very close - it's very similar to the Islamic or Christian model there is a loving father often the word father King these are used so clearly the king of the father is different different from you but in charge of everything over there so that is the highest truth of this religion a little further along a different way of putting it in Ramanuja species the greater where this is the highest truth but these two are parts of this so God our saguna brahman gremlin with qualifications is the doctrine in wishes tab greater but Jeeva and jagat are there the tuft worm is qualified by Jeevan jaga that's how the name we hashtagged waiter comes Jeeva Jagat wish to Brahma what does it mean Brahman qualified by Jeeva and jagged by the sentient beings and the in sentient world that system is called qualified monism or vashisht advaita all of them you can see they're rotating here and this is the highest truth where has non dual reeow the non-dualism adwaita vedanta says none of this is the highest truth there is something else beyond all three which appears as these three this is called the transactional reality empirical reality relative reality viajar iike Satyam this one this triangle and the param Arctica septem ultimate reality is this one what is that one the fourth now put it in I can give you as an academic exercise put it in the language of Manduca Manduca Rika I want to be open assured so Jeeva you what are your four aspects three appearance three will be here and one will be here three reality three appearances at the three the three aspects are waker dreamer deep sleeper do you remember the sanskrit names miss Chua digester Braga you see there's somebody here who has been watching this on you Titan sometimes YouTube might be a more effective teacher which what I just a plug we are here you and your reality studio you are really this in ignorance we identify ourselves with visualizer Supraja reality is shifting the identification of the eye from here to here I am Toria what is this according to the language of Manduca carry command okay open assured this is jihad prep ensure swapna provinces sushupti province or a more technical language school a sukshma karana the gross universe subtle universe causal universe here what is this this is what is the nature of God in the language of man Dokic Arica Viraat urania Garba Ishwara yes good and what is this Turia Mundaka Upanishad itself does not use the word terere it uses the word shattered thumb fourth fourth one two three are here what one two three does not win one two three not like this one two three here one two three here one two three here but this is the fourth tertium this is what you are that term is this reality this one alone is experienced as this the screen is experienced as the movie the gold is experienced as the ornament these are not two separate things when you are experiencing this Advaita says you are experiencing nothing but this one only okay so this is so far I just mentioned explain only one word the most important word that is that - um doc - um what is meant by that - um and one more point and I'm done see basically how do you locate this that one within yourself we talked about it earlier but once more it is the witness the easiest way to locate it is the witness witness of what remember here and there witness of all space now and then witness of all time you we're talking about you witness of all the time all space in your life and all objects everything that you witnessed living beings non living beings Sakshi in sanskrit Sakshi of deja kala was too now go that's a external universe and go little deeper Sakshi of untuk karana of the mind all time space and objects are finally presented to you in your mind that's where you experience it and this this one the tuk - um is a witness of that mind experiencing time space and universe objects' and it is a witness of the silence of that mind when that mind is in deep peace in Samadhi it's a witness of the silence of the mind let me I'm translating from the Hindi so let me just tell you exactly how it is put was shocked she had heard - kizaki she heard Kalka sashihara was touka Sakshi under current car shock she under current case up shanti kassak she it's a very beautiful term when the mind is completely at peace merged in Samadhi in deep meditation completely still mind you are the witness of that still mind in itself what are you what is that thing the two words are Sarovar hara service prakash akka the illumina of everything in your life and not only alumina but also other oddities substratum the basis the reality if you just say alumina it could be like I am a witness quite separate from you and witnessing all this but you are separate I am separate that's how we are experiencing it not like that this totem is not a separate witness standing apart in appearing at you like that from distance no it is also odd Hara Hara means the basis it is it is what gives really to you it is what gives reality to this universe or rather you are what what gives reality to the universe so it's not a separate universe which you are witnessing it's not even a separate mind which you are witnessing you are yourself are appearing as the universe and the mind which experiences that universe you you are the other and the basis of that the reality of that other means how just like gold is the author of the reality of the ornament by other Hara but I don't mean like this pen in my hand here is a pen and my hand is the other I put the pen on the hand not like that because in Sanskrit other also means this the foundation of on something like a foundation on which the building is standing not like that here are harder foundation means the substratum means the very reality of that thing the wood the wood is an order of the altar the altar is nothing but that would just as I would say water is the order of the wave every bit of the wave is water similarly this entire universe all space all time all objects here living and nonliving and the mind which experiences all of them and the mind which is not experiencing any of it and is in absolute stillness all of that is witnessed by you the one consciousness it exists in you by the one consciousness and it gets its reality from you the one consciousness it is nothing apart from you the one consciousness that one consciousness Sakshi is stuck to UM okay now next what do you do with this that um are dark maqam are dot may come - to attack to underscore to Bahia realize this truth see this truth inside you see it outside you now remember this distinction of inside and outside is a purely fictional one from an operatic point of view why is it made because that's how we experience the universe we are we are students we are trying to realize this clearly we realize the unit we experience the universe says I and this subject and object here is a body mind complex which I think I am this one here is a universe which I think I am not this one all right but consider this to be internal in sanskrit adhyatma come within yourself and consider that to be external by by here the external see this one truth within yourself and externally how do you do it has not mentioned it right here but just a hint indra Grisha Viveca there it is said that how Maya functions he said it veils the reality our inner Shakti our and Shakti dribbly shiva cat says it veils the reality where now next question is where does it veil the reality Maya veils the reality means Brahman this dr. it is veiled inside ourselves and outside ourselves also how inside ourselves drink dress your harem the difference between the witness consciousness and the body mind complex is obscured by Maya within ourselves I will repeat it again listen carefully what is Maya doing within ourselves is inside when you look inside it is obscuring a vital difference the difference between witness and body mind trick Trisha Trisha obey them are very naughty it it obscures so what happens is I the witness consciousness completely forget that I am the witness consciousness and I forget that this is a body mind is an object to me I identify myself with body and mind and I say I this one so you have to you have to find the difference first 1980 within yourself that is how you see that some are dirt may come rich to us seeing discovered the truth within yourself then drink and regressor wish Rebecca says Maya also hides the difference outside what is the difference outside Brahmas are guy or ba hehe the difference between brahman and universe externally it is brahman alone with name and form it is called universe but the difference between Brahman and name-and-form is obscured and we say house cat dog man woman tree sky earth moon quarks protons galaxies this is what we see we're continuously taking the name and form to be the reality the difference is obscured it's like saying the difference in the example of gold and ornament gold and necklace suppose I say gold necklace bracelet ring a very good example actually when I say that we all understand immediately what is meant by gold and what is meant by necklace the same ornament it's the necklace but we understand the necklace is the name it's a farm and a particular use nama Rupa Viva Hara and when we say think about the gold itself we understand yes why do we understand because the difference between ornament and the material is very clear in our minds we understand that example that thing does not apply in a universe outside because we have no idea about the underlying reality we only see this universe it's like a person who doesn't understand what is gold person only sees the necklace there's a nice story about a child whose mother says the safe is open you go into the into a bedroom there is a safe open the safe and get some gold for me and the child goes and comes back and says there's no gold there the mother says yes there is going to take a look he comes back and says but there isn't then her mother goes and picks out a necklace and some bangles and but these are this is a necklace and bangles where is the gold three the child doesn't understand China always thought it's a necklace and a bangle and this is not gold he probably thinks something else maybe it's in a gold bar is a gold and bangle and the necklace are not gold he doesn't understand the difference between the name and form and the substance our conditions like that so the to put it briefly there's a whole process to this how do you discover the reality within look for consciousness inside apart from body mind how do you discover the reality outside look for being existence notice the reality touch from outside as pure being business and notice that tuck to amass pure consciousness within chit within and suck outside remember they both are same but this is easier for us all of this you feel it as existed focus on the existence aspect of it within yourself all experiences are lit up by you the consciousness focus on the consciousness aspect of it this is how you discover the reality inside and the reality outside remember again frictional difference inside and outside only meant for our own realization all of these words are actually used by the teachers just to give us like a rope ladder what words are taught me come by him internal-external even things like Atma Brahma these are all used Sakshi witness these are all used to help us to catch that reality once they are once you catch it you can drop it you can drop the words it's not important you know what they're talking about and also you will not be confused when you go to different definitions different words are used to indicate that reality you will never be confused then once you have got it you will see even if the terminology changes that's why many people get confused when you cerca data he says consciousness is not the ultimate awareness is the ultimate immediately you can understand okay what is being translated as consciousness what is being translated as awareness even Swami Vivekananda says at one place consciousness is not final there's something beyond consciousness else so what is what does he mean by consciousness there the mental consciousness of of thinking feeling billing there the reflected consciousness here that's what we experienced as consciousness the pure consciousness itself is not something we normally talk about a deal with so it's also valid to call our mental awareness in fact modern consciousness studies when they say consciousness they mean this thing only this empirical consciousness okay just to me let me see if I can go a little further what else do I want to say at this point so we have covered in discovering it internally discovering it externally yes just explaining perhaps why this reality why pure consciousness projects this reality this question we have dealt with earlier why is the one appearing as the many we have dealt with it at least on three or four occasions do you remember the question why causality without assuming Maya you cannot ask why once you assume Maya then this whole thing is explained do this very precise question we have dealt with you remember does anybody remember why does Maya exist answers are all there it's only after two or two or three years that you will say that now you are teaching well it's only because we are beginning to finally begin to listen you heard it but you have not heard it one teacher puts it very beautifully you are here but you do not hear no but yes but these are very profound questions you have to wrestle with them I'll give you the answer but you have to wrestle with it yourself until you finally make a breakthrough it took me many many years I had heard the answer but it did not make sense to me let's move slowly I'll give it to you very precisely though it's nothing to do with this now it's already that part is done but I'll still give you the answer within a few sentences remember your question one of the biggest problems in teaching this very subtle philosophy is unless you are very disciplined yourself discipline in your thinking question hold on to the question listen to the answer then try to ponder over and see where it's not fitting don't slide away into other questions and this is normal way of thinking but it does have to be just like a computer here just like a mathematician here question was remember without any degree of flexibility question is why Maya precise wonderful question why Maya because ultimately when you say why is why has the one become the many Advaita let's say one has not become the many the one is only appearing as the many and it say okay why is one appearing as the many ah because of Maya then you will finally come and say why Maya you've come up to this why Maya all right here is the answer what is Maya it's a word what does what is it what are its constituents time space causation time space causation when you are asking why Maya you are asking why causation when you say why Maya when you ask why anything why XYZ what kind of answer will satisfy you the answer has to start with the because why am I am because why would grass because it rained so when you say because we have already assumed causation see there is it is the one of the most fundamental categories of thinking can't he taught you discovered this but without this we cannot think also but the most fundamental category of thinking also says it assumes something that there is something called otherwise a wise statement does not make any my question does not make any sense if there is a cause then only can answer this question that means you have already assumed one thing at least causation is there but causation is Maya you cannot ask why before causation to make this easier just pondered this it's like asking why causation is like asking what is outside space what is before time the moment you say outside space outside insight is a space concept before time before and after a time concepts if you ask what is before time do you see the problem with the question if you ask outside space do you see the problem with the question exactly same is the problem with why causation if you say why causation is equal to asking why Maya you cannot ask that question so I mean whoever can do this dismisses the question by saying the question itself is wrong it took me a long time to think to understand why is the question if I kept on asking it seems obvious to Swamiji it was not obvious to me like a child keeping on asking why why why the only answer ultimately is go to bed oh hi but I kept asking why so I came to wait wait wait wait I'm coming to this why Maya I came to this question and finally yours it took me years to come to this breakthrough which I thought I will happily share with others but I realized one thing unless you come to the same question struggle with it and make the breakthrough for yourself of course the thing is easier if somebody has told you the answer then use answer will suddenly make sense now look the rest what what you are saying I can engage you for this four hours together but seeing suspending logic is it true are we suspending logic what is logic what is logic can there be logic without causation can there be logic without the axioms of logic right so if you are questioning that you're already assuming logic if you see the very fact when you ask a question and ask can I require an answer you already assume the axioms of logic if you are saying that Brahman is beyond that then you can you cannot you cannot even ask that question I'm asking you to an asking you I am asking you to think about the very logic of questions it's that that claim that it's it's burning out it yeah so just just stay with it it's not that I'm stopping ask him to stop come asking questions it's not possible to ask a question anymore unless you have a because answer how will you answer a question without a because cause you're asking for the cause there should be a because but causation itself when it's not there then how can you ask this question all right Turia and admin the terms yes the question is when do you utilize the terms Turia and admin yes so all of these terms are nominal that means they are used to indicate the same reality but there are appropriate times so the time to use the word admin is when you are referring to this ultimate reality within yourself when you ask the question Who am I the answer is the Atman the self now in the context of Mundaka Upanishad in this context we were studying the self is understood as having four aspects waking dreaming deep sleep breaker dreamer deep sleeper and a real eye that real the fourth one is called the Turia the Tory and the Atman are the same thing with the Turia is relevant in the context of man Dookie opening of this text because the word Turia in Sanskrit just means for four so if you just generally use and the fourth you know people who say how fourth what what are the other three respect to which three are you the fourth it the whole thing makes sense only in the context of Manduca but it literally means the same as Atman the word Brahman when do you use it when you see the same real which is behind this entire universe what is the reality of this universe Brahman what is the reality about myself Atman what does a way to say Atman is equal to Brahman yes yes no minang yes but again you go further the phenomenon is an appearance of the noumenon and the phenomenon is nothing apart from the noumenon here if you want to put it that way I don't think grant went all that far and you can put it in nagarjuna's words the great Buddhist he says there is no difference between samsara and Nirvana he wants to be little shocking yeah it's like saying there is no difference between heaven earth and hell it is one reality there's no difference between samsara and Nirvana it is no Menon and phenomenon are said same same what it is the same same Brahman same ultimate reality which is appearing in all these ways but there are other questions will you hold your questions no okay go ahead remember this and I will remember it what you said because the exactly to you Shankara is going to speak to you now 1400 years ago the next thing else says answer to this almost these fourteen hundred years ago he has used these very words we will come to you anyway what's your question how do I hold on to it this is the very question you can do that you're happy yes right right right okay good let's keep this this question and right now I will not take any more questions in fact what I'm going to say now is a answer to this question there are two things remaining here three things actually that we boutta being the truth being this reality I will discuss it later Todd our AMA completely satisfied and bliss in that reality I'll discuss that later but let me come to the third part that two are the Pritchett obovate do not lose that reality do not let it not slip away from you that's the question she is asking I remember the question very well that it is gone when by the time you are the next day in the office and how do I not what was your question how do I not let it how do I hold on to it yes all right let me quote let I will step aside let Shankar Acharya answer to answer you it's incredible see what Shankar Acharya says I'll read the original Sanskrit and translate for you Ilana Manu cholita Matt Mahna Mahna Mahna ha that gelatin D Hardy butum atmanam carotid manatee prosciutto ham at Metapod anonymity this one thinks the vedantic student who thinks that as the mind becomes restless the mind has become Restless I have become identified with the body and mind and I have lost my grip I have slipped away from that tucked worm the reality why because the mind and body is a mind is restless why is the mind restless because of office politics and everything else why nota matically because become Restless and then what since the mind is restless I have slipped away to toe ah hum I have slipped away it's literally it's been I have lost my grasp on that reality Atma that word from the beat up to him about the self about the reality about the self I've slipped away from it then the Hari butum I have become identified with body mind complex when it on him now now I've become identified with the body and mind complex and I have slipped away from all those things I had learned in Vedanta class huh and what else what else does this person think they say things some are it a to mana see when I sit quietly and meditate karachi thought to a booth Impreza Nomad monomania tea irani must meet the three Buddha high tea he says when I sit quietly and meditate and it becomes clear to me I am the witness consciousness I feel I'm centered in the truth I feel I am one with the truth okay he says not a thought moveed not a taught movie debate never become an enlightened person like this disaster this person is exactly the person who has not understood the answer to your question I was there once in Rome answers what he was teaching in in Haridwar a young monk asked this question at least after all these discussions were going on he excitedly asked at least I am Brahman that thing must be must remain in my awareness right in the midst of everything and he's a monk a humble asked me if not or econo Hanna I have to keep this much at least I am Brahman and that the teacher said were he to nahi rachni that's exactly what you must not hold on to as long as you think I have to hold on to that you're in the realm of ignorance never ever think that why why not what mistake am I making he says next he says at maniacae Rupert wha Suribachi Ivana Assam hwacha what a beautiful world because the Atman consciousness is one and the same in all three states waking dreaming deep sleep in happiness and sorrow in restfulness and in meditation and in in restlessness in excitement and in peace in despair and in hope it is the one unchanging consciousness because it is the same under all circumstances the next word is extremely important it is impossible for you to slip away from it but Jovana Assam debod it's slipping away from this doctrine is this district is impossible he says there is that thing yes he says sir OOP approach Ivana a Samba watcher the swarupa means our real nature pure consciousness but giovanna means slipping away from it are somehow impossible then what happens I fall into the error thinking that I have slipped away from the truth why does this happen because I am yet identified with the mind at this stage don't try to hold on then what's the practical is a practical lab what is the practical suggestion here it's wrong even whatever you might say might be logically correct but I am experiencing the problem give me a solution for the problem I am giving you the solution the solution is the practical solution is that we have the problem is we are still identified with the mind it is the mind which felt centered in the Atman it's the mind which feels it has dissipated itself in the world outside and God become troubled the answer is you are not the mind itself we feel calm mind I am centered in the truth Restless mind I am disturbed I am away from the truth this is the problem calm mind I am Brahman I am thinking about this Vedanta class meditation session ok but office subway paying bills no not okay why this is the mind what we are trying to do is keep the mind ice cold and calm all throughout not possible but you are not even the mind you are the Atman I'll give you the you know the solution is this the deep solution I came upon it once I was in in our main monestry there walking past a new big building of the university had been made there big glass windows there and I saw one day this extraordinary sight a little bird brightly colored bird was rushing into the window and hitting it again and again and again it was seeing its reflection in the window and fighting with it scratching screaming running into it there is nothing there except itself the glass is absolutely without any other enemy bird there to fight with ought to make friends with all that it sees in that class is it itself and then it starts a samsara with it giving it reality in its own mind I have to fight with this guy this guy is teasing me and the angrier he gets the angry at the enemy bird also gets and it fights it was so vivid I can never forget it anytime you are disturbed anytime you're unhappy disturbed whenever there is a problem whenever there is a problem bring this image to your mind this is exactly what is going on in the mirror of the mind a world arises what is that world nothing but you and you get engaged in that word love hate fight despair hope creating a samsara for yourself which is every moment disappearing again why because there's nothing there actually it's all you so what the teacher gave a very beautiful answer for this he said art motto Nietzsche Samadhi he may you are always in Samadhi even in the moment when you are most disturbed most angry most upset the Atman is pure consciousness all the time exactly the way it was he put it so beautifully because our real tendencies we are looking for Samadhi we are looking for the mind to be completely at peace emerged in in serenity and bliss and he says you are already there always wear and you always will be here is something deep I'm going to reveal to you the nature of the mind something that I have actually not mentioned earlier the mind is really nothing other than the otra Turia that Chidananda see in Vedanta because of a certain necessity we keep saying I am NOT the mind we try to make ourselves the witness of the mind this is a very good practice but also remember the mind is nothing other than you the Atman what is the mind there is a very beautiful person it's some chili TV Tanya the car of the Shia gossip very profound saying what is the mind I'm using the Sanskrit it means for your consciousness we took from this reality this one plus the Shia object which is object is equal to it stop it come into mine chitta is the mind mind is nothing but consciousness plus an object consciousness plus an object you are the consciousness and this is a chala this is unchanging ever at peace ever in in as you put it in poetic terms neat clear Samad him here you are always you are always of one nature pure consciousness untroubled in you the pure consciousness in you not apart from you in you appears dislike that little humming the little bird in the in the glass window it appears in you it appears and then what happens in you it appears means it's not even an external object there's no external reality though the Sanskrit word is very interesting if you see he says plasti is equal to cipta the way it is spelt the in the Sanskrit in Sanskrit the chit plus tau is tripped up chitta means mind means pure consciousness so what is this star in between he says vishaya dasa let me give you the English meaning object superimposition to understand this deep philosophy involved there but it's the theory of error is involved there but anyway all you need to understand this is like that reflected bird in the mirror in the in the window the object in consciousness is the reflected bird in the window it is nothing but you you the consciousness here bird and window are not separate you are the consciousness you are the bird you are the mirror you are the window in yourself appears a reflection of yourself and now you get engaged with it fighting against it then it becomes then that that window with the reflected bird it becomes mind now remember one more thing about it the consciousness itself is continuous and unchanging it is absolutely unchanging and serene and peaceful forever the reflections of objects the of the reflected objects which appear in consciousness they are forever changing therefore the mind seems to be restless the mind in its real nature is consciousness absolutely at rest the writ T is caused by the continuous fluctuations of the V shires fleeting in the in the in the consciousness that consciousness with the fleeting vicious projected by Maya or whatever you call it that is what we call mind truly appreciated it is forever at rest there's no problem that anywhere even in the midst of the worst of office politics even when you are upset and irritated see upset and irritated the upset and irritation is also a fissure in the mind the moment you think that consciousness is is there is equally an illuminating the the irritation and the upset and the problems in the mind and then they all go away the peaceful mind the Vedantic mind that's also illuminated by the same consciousness remember I mentioned earlier it is the Sakshi witness of the mind I mentioned earlier the Sakshi of the peace of the mind also that means the mind completely engaged with the world happy or sad you are the witness of that the mind absolutely disengage from the world in deep meditation you are the witness of that you are not the mind if you identify yourself with the mind always remember the mind has this component the conscience is consciousness itself we not normally don't present it in this way it can create confusion but this is the truth ultimately if it is only consciousness the mind also must be consciousness why am I in body also world also your worst enemy also must be you the consciousness they remember that little bird fighting against itself in the in the mirror okay if once you understand this you need know you don't have to think about it all the time but every time there's a problem this should immediately flash to your mind but I am without choicelessly I am drumming effortlessly I am Brahman directly I am that pure being consciousness right now no matter what happens no matter what happens nothing is actually happening for that bird for example you will internally become very peaceful very quiet and deal with with the reflections in your in your consciousness as they appear you have no you have no problem your feeling of oneness with everybody and in serenity we will deal with everything so think about that of course remember here we are talking about the peak of a rant oh the final text of a ranter so only the ultimate solutions are being given but if you say how do I maintain that peace throughout that there are many many practices are there many practices we'll talk about that later but the essential answer did you see how what she questioned she asked 1400 years ago Shankar Acharya saying exactly the same thing as the mind becomes restless this one things I have slipped away from the truth how can I hold on to the truth as the mind becomes peaceful and absorbed in meditation and you say I am the witness he says I have now attained the truth he says never be an enlightened person like this not a thought movie baba don't be don't be like this then be like what I am ever that consciousness no matter what the mine I'll tell you something which we talk of with Noah as monks we hesitate to tell others but since this is Manduca class I will tell you at the cost of creating lot of damage but I'll tell you sentence in Hindi I will translate for you and leave it at that and go back to what I have left yet so in this respect great error I am unhappy because my mind is rest less great great error the sentence in Hindi here is the teacher said duck to a Yanni wick shipped man or some ah hitman Co a command a big shift man or some item on the fork naked the enlightened person does not differentiate does not have a preference between a restless mind and a mind at peace think about it how many of these seven billion minds are you going to bring to peace suppose you bring your make your this particular mind calm and concentrated and peaceful there are seven billion others you are the one consciousness behind all of them right now why so much this this tremendous desire to meddle with one mind this is what binds us it's a sign that we are very firmly rooted in one mind of course there are many others hands and our spiritual practices which later and we can talk about but this is the central truth which I would like to convey to you think about it don't misunderstand it don't stop meditating don't stop praying don't stop doing your good works don't stop attending the Vedanta classes for goodness sake say yeah yes ever follow-up which one the guy the camera yeah yeah yeah right it doesn't matter outside but it right he's untouched by he's untouchable he's untouched by that yes but this is what has been pointed out one who is beginning to understand this is bound to have the question which you had that's why Shankar Acharya points it out this question will come to your mind don't be like that this is becoming because we have we still mixed up in the mind that's why it's coming yes the bird flying against the window right right once you are you are not training the Atman you are training the mind itself hmm now one more little practical advice let me give you another teacher put it so nicely the bird against the window is what I saw myself this another teacher said see now you're beginning to understand I am the unchanging consciousness but our tendency is to follow the mind so imagine a very funny example imagine you are learning to drive a car and it's raining and automatically the windshield wiper starts moving and you are driving the car and you're a new student I know because I was learning luckily this problem doesn't come in California no rain in say something but this rain is coming and the windshield wiper starts operating and you're driving and you it comes in you look and the teacher says hey keep your eyes on the road it's on the road again the wiper comes on you wait keep your eyes on the road it comes it's very distracting your tendency is to follow it no that is the mind don't listen to it don't follow it let it go No right yes where are you fixed on your nature that I am the witness consciousness let it do this let it do its job that it calculate think love hate whatever comes up and goes no problem yes so that we have already finished earlier Advaita yoga it's with him be absorbed in the truth the vedantic meditation it's done this verse is actually they call it pala the result of all of this ultimately what are we aiming at you should be like this that you are you know that you cannot slip away from the truth there's a question in the back yes we will discuss that later first let's see in this way yes a purpose drive mission see there's one is at the level before you come to spiritual life that is the conventional religious life where they call it her Martha kama I want pleasure I want success in this world and I also want to be a moral good person that's the level of conventional religion all this doesn't apply there this is for a person who wants to know the truth the reality so here the drive is to know the reality and realize it here the drive is called bhowmick sutram an intense desire to know what is what is the real what is the reality behind the movie who is the magician behind this magic show as long as I'm happy with the magic show this question does not arise when I want to realize the who is the magic magician behind the magic show then that is the drive after this at this level you say what more drive remains if that the Sri Ramakrishna says you are a rich I by the will of God that person may have might be there to do a lot of good to the world might be there just to live that person's you know what is the drive for pure consciousness no drive at all it is but it makes possible all drives and the lack of drives without consciousness there's no drive at all all right so this is something beyond that first worldly drive that has to be educated and cultured and civilized through religion or morality then spiritual life I must become enlightened I must realize what Buddha had what wave a car in the hand so that's what we are talking about here this culminates in this realization I am detector if you say beyond this is any Drive first of all no Drive is necessary beyond this me what we have come here to come to that today our arm are completely satisfied in that so the no particular Drive is necessary beyond that but a person may have like Vivekananda who had a drive to do immense good to the world many great teachers have yes yes always good true consciousness is something that you to which you cannot apply the conditions of moving or unmoving it is both the still like in deep sleep it's a stillness like in waking and dreaming it's a moving in itself it's not moving so Manduca goes deeper he has a very integral view of the whole thing a much closer to wish table the waiter Allen Watts in some cases some cases advaitha but he has he's syncretic you know he mixes well buddhism also a little bit of this and that so but Manduca is very precise there it moves Upanishads says the deity it moves but the you asked Shankar Acharya how does it move in connection with mind and body so if you say right now I am moving I am talking I am thinking these are all different forms of movement right right is it true to say that I am moving talking thinking yes in association with body in association with body I'm walking in association with tongue and talking and in association with the mind and thinking truly speaking I the consciousness how can nice walk talk or think no he's talking about Toria in identification with body and mind that's what he's talking about so this is from the Ardwick point of view if you say from and okay point of view how would you answer that statement you'd say yes it is consciousness isn't it after all ultimately it's consciousness which does everything but only in association with body mind and body and mind remember from Advaita point of view they are unreal like the bird in the window yeah yes itself it's itself yes okay we just let me finish the verse the two two more steps two remaining well let me finish this otherwise we won't even not finishing the second chapter at all with we're stuck in falsity second chapter is about falsity two things are remaining I jumped ahead that we boutta tada Rama where did a jump ahead to talk to are appreciative of it never lose your hold on the truth or never slip away from the truth what is the take away from that you cannot slip away from the truth so just just get rid of the error that you are somehow slipping away from the truth there's a lot to do with work on that we will see some other time how you work on that all right but before that two things we have jump of jumped over one is that we boutta be that talked to them be that reality very simple how do you be that reality all those techniques which we have learnt whether it is our stock try which are they inquire into the three states or drink drishya Vivica inquiry into seer and scene or punch echo show vivica enquire into the five states the five sheets of the human personality whatever you realize I am that consciousness you realize I am the existence in which the universe appears the inner secret here is that we boutta means get rid of the error that I am NOT detective that I am NOT courier I am body and mind get rid of the error this is your entire job here is the answer to your first question I remember it is it possible for the mind human mind to actually grasp this truth no but what is it possible for the mind to do and what are we all trying to do here he says when he says that we boutta being that truth how do you be the truth the answer is you cannot be the truth you are that already just get rid of the error that you are not that truth that's what the mind can do the mine has ignorant again and the mind can generate knowledge which will remove that ignorance but mine does not grasp that reality it's beyond that you the reality or beyond the mind but the mind can generate a smokescreen to make it seem as if you are not that reality that is removed by Vedanta only the ignorance the error that I am NOT Brahman I am NOT to reom I am body mind this error is removed that is that is all that is necessary that we both are being the truth all that is necessary to be the truth is to realize that no I am NOT the truth is an error then Tagami very important find your bliss in this find completion peace joy bliss Anand in this the Dharma means complete rest our Rama Tamizh enjoys see what our real problem is we feel incomplete and we keep rushing out outwards all our drives are because of that in fact Freud the way he defines limit or we think it's to do with the sexual impulse but I saw an amazing vedantic definition of libido given by Freud himself he didn't know what he was writing he says any movement of this any movement of the subject to the object is libido I was thunderstruck its Vedanta clang which any movement of the subject to the object I desire to read a book he says this is nothing under the say the same thing as the sexual impulse is this thing it saw itself any movement outside myself that this will complete me this will fulfill me this is what want in life without this I'm unhappy without this I'm incomplete this is at the root of the error this is at the root of samsara he says just the opposite here Dada Rama complete peace satisfaction are in the joy in that absolute don't think an important point don't think of onon the bliss as something you enjoy like I'm eating a cookie or watching a movie there's a distinct specific feeling of enjoyment so is Atman like that no it's not a specific feeling of enjoyment not even a very elevated kind of spiritual enjoyment in bhakti you have specific elevated sublime spiritual enjoyment this is not even like that what is this this is as somebody put it poor nut on a completeness once you sense this nothing more you don't feel any need for anything else it's a completeness there's nothing else outside it you don't feel the need of any more specific experiences you may watch all the movies but you are not really upset that you did not get certain things which were shown in that particular movie because you know those things are not there at all you may watch it you neither be really scared not really tempted by anything you see in a movie you may enjoy it because it's not there right there so in the same way once you realize that you get your complete peace in there porn optimum that verse is their mantra Poornima the poornamidham poornaath them so they remember this this island which is meant mentioned the Upanishads is Pune true is the completion of final completion beyond this nothing else in it you need to seek you may have continuum the spiritual seekers continue to have wonderful spiritual experiences also after that that is there but there already they are not seeking anything for completion anymore everything else that comes is a bonus yeah so tada Rama otherwise just a point here the problem with worldly satisfaction worldly engagement the many many ways of putting this problem so one way of putting it is this there are four kinds of problems of trying to get enjoyment from the world the farm is vishaya in the reassign Yoga connection between object and sense and the sense organ eyes with form years with sound tongue with taste nose with smell skin with touch this will give me happiness the problem there is fourfold problem one problem the vish ayahs are continuously changing they are subject to change and deterioration so you things degrade the most beautiful scenery the most beautiful garden most beautiful person all degrade slowly it changes and it does not give you the same happiness which it used to give you earlier the second problem is the weakness of our own organs of experience indriya these eyes hear smell touch taste mind how soon our organs fail us how many movies can you see how many cookies can you eat the first fundamental teaching in our economics class was the law of diminishing marginal utility the first cookie gives me so much enjoyment the second second one gives me less third one less and fourth one you feel don't he said no more 51 you just repulsive this because of the weakness we have infinite desire for any enjoyment and completely very very limited capacity for to enjoy Somerset mom put it if you pursue pleasure single-mindedly very soon you will find nothing pleasing anymore summer syndrome Somerset mom this is because of the weakness of our sensory system this is a very limited capacity so that will not give a happiness second problem third problem is that we ourselves are changing what you enjoyed as a kindergarten kid but seemed lollipop it has no taste for you right now what you enjoy now the books or the music that we your teenage son or daughter does not enjoy we change so those things cannot give us happiness anymore because we are changing our souls continuously the enjoyer is changing the enjoyed object is changing hence the possibility of sustained enjoyment is not there and the last problem is fourth one is the contact between enjoyer and enjoying enjoyed is also changing very difficult to bring them together of all these seven billion people in this world today vast majority are struggling to get a decent living blast major castrati there are very few who are well-off enough young healthy rich educated enough to really enjoy life and their enjoyment is also limited the contact between the objects of enjoyment and the enjoyer to bring it about itself that itself is real and when you once you bring it to maintain that contact also is difficult it's also unstable it falls apart again husband wife Nega divorced children grow up and go away father mother died everything slowly the contacts are broken all the time so because of these four problems you cannot get in this is one way of putting the problem of the world that the objects of enjoyment are changing the capacity to enjoy is limited the enjoyer himself or herself is also changing our body mind and the contact between enjoyer and your top hooker it's I'm translating all this from in Sanskrit that contact is also unstable very difficult to bring about takes a lot of good karma to be healthy why is rich in this life actually it's good karma if things are going well for you it takes a lot of good karma for very few people it's going well and if it's going well also it won't for long it won't that was the insight of the Buddha that the world is subject to change because the world is subject to change due kaiser source of duke is inevitable let me sum up then the verse very beautiful but something we can chant it together that to amat make enriched wah but from God make enriched wah that wondrous to buy heta that wondrous to buy here to cut we boutta dharma that we booted our AMA the prosciutto Hobbit that word approach you top of it very good seeing the reality within yourself seeing it outside being that reality completely satisfied as in peace and enjoy in that reality never slipping away from that reality this is what we are this is the goal this is the result of all of this in Sanskrit paalam result of Advaita this is how one should become this is jeevan mukta the enlightened while living with a rhenium one or two more questions yes I'll come I'll come to you yeah let's see other questions quickly yes so two things one is there many things to be said it's not directly related to this but one is the moment you become aware that I have become carried away very gently come back to the object of meditation the moment you become aware that oh I have because sometimes when we are getting carried away we are not aware of that a couple of seconds later we realize oh I was supposed to repeat the mantra or something and so that's one thing instead of be veiling oh I failed there's no failing if you sit down and practice meditation you have succeeded now the second thing is have a support it could be a mantra a DAT something just sitting and witnessing the thoughts you're bound to get carried away the thoughts are so tempting that continuously it's like standing on a bridge and watching things float by but the things which are floating by are not sending out hooks to you to pull you down towards there but he had thoughts which are floating by on the stream of the mind they're sending hooks to you to pull you along with themselves there is power there yes there's power there it will it will over time it diminishes yes it it's answer is it's not really there it's only problem but the answer is this Brahma Hart penumbra Mohave Brahma hog no brahmana who thumb Bremerhaven Aconitum brahma karma samadhi no you cannot avoid karma as long as you see even coming here and listening to the talk it takes a lot of effort it's Karma now how do you relate it to Advaita you see that all of this is Brahman that's a huge subject in itself but karma yoga by itself is a strong preparation in classical Advaita Shankara says Karma Yoga is a foundational preparation it prepares the mind otherwise the mind which is disturbed by lot of worldliness it cannot focus on this it'll become Restless two things either restlessness or we'll fall asleep you see it neatly divides into three three groups major it I am glad to say majority here are always attentive and listening and seriously interested one or two special cases either fall asleep are restless so it's because of the mind and that mind has to be purified through carpa oka this classical Karma Yoga Shankar Acharya says that there is a more advanced kind of thing where you see brahman in every action brahma param dhama at the beginning of this class you mentioned the four qualifications for [Music] you you're really ray raining on the parade yeah yeah yeah you already you already signed up no the thing is we all the answer to that is do we have the qualifications for Advaita Vedanta answer is yes and no the answer is yes we do because you're here on a Wednesday afternoon in Manhattan you're coming and listening to a 5,000 year old philosophy or at least 1,400 year old philosophy about a very unworldly kind of philosophy why would you do that unless you had a great at least a great spiritual curiosity so that's there there's a pull we all have it as ramen MA she said somebody asked this question to him do I have the qualifications and he said did you say I because his method is Who am I if you say I you are qualified because if you can use the word I the vertical I and all of us use it if you moment you use that I you're qualified to practice Who am I okay that's the answer but the serious but there's another side to this just like when you are driving you need to keep your eyes on the gas and the speed and there are mirrors and all of that in the same way when in spiritual life and you're driving along this road spiritual journey you have to keep your eyes on these four Vivica by Raja the six fold disciplines and the desire to be free the thing is we will inevitably run into problems and you will see the problems can all be traced back to a problem in one of these four if these are strong I don't even say perfect if these are strong nothing can stop you in spiritual life where they can to put it very simply I know where the shoe pinches he says why do we have to do karma yoga why do I have to build my character why do I have to be unselfish and strong and he says because I know where the shoe pinches it's not in hi philosophy that's not the problem at all the problem is way down at our level yes I'll come to you the gentleman there yes in the householders life the importance of karma yoga is very special that how to translate the activities transform the activities in the life of the householder into spiritual practice is it possible to practice non duality in the householder house in the life of the householder certainly there are so many examples throughout history who wear non dualist and yet there are stories in mahabharata of a housewife of a butcher of a and so many people of a king or a warrior of a queen they were enlightened people they fully with the non-dual awareness with enlightened in the path of non-duality so it's possible but karma yoga that's a very important thing swami where we can discard my yoga is what I would recommend very strongly let's see how at every moment we can actually practice this non duality it's possible you see from the point of view of brahman the non-dual reality monk householder makes no difference at all it's it's a vanishingly small thing the difference it's like flying in the sky in the plane in the highest building and the smallest heart the difference is very minut from that eye up it makes no difference really but internally monk like that one has to be internally I cannot be rushing out trying to grab the world with both hands and say I want to practice non duality no yes the same question almost yes but just basically yes I understand but there is no time now that is an important question we should talk about it sometime three things keep in mind very practical suggestions remember this high spiritual goal is there before us that I want to become enlightened how do we how do you how can you be monk like inside even when you are in the world outside so one is possessions stuff I'm talking about absolutely brass tacks basic things in life minimize minimize the clutter in your life remember the monks life is a jetty ahdre Chico have it let the monk be completely dependent on what comes so you don't have to be with only a water pot and a loincloth and and the staff of a monk no but minimize fewer and fewer positions not more than the principle always for us for monks you can see always have a little less than what you need what you need reduce from there we always tend to have much more than what we need from always if you reduce it to what you need you'll see how little you need and then from there reduce it'll just a little more don't reduce it too much because then it will you'll be in in you know you know in in want and then it you have to struggle with the world outside then second involvement with people and activities so obligations duties and dealings with the world Saudis you have to reduce obligations duties dealings with the world that means people parties engagements committees or to reduce yeah not increase so I'm Eve akin to gave a nice principal difficult to follow listen to the principal neither see nor avoid neither sick nor avoid yes but be careful I'm on the board of half-a-dozen charities I have no time for Vedanta class No then you are in trouble certainly charitable acts also but the principle remember the principle is the charitable Act the goal of your life or is enlightenment the goal of your life the charitable act is is it helpful yes very much so very much always be charitable it is the Liberals as the the universal self the giving self which is fit for non duality the selfish self is not fit for non duality so charitable very good all right you had a question let's see oh oh there's a third one so so the positions and stuff so minimize stuff dealings with the with the world and also one thing is the you know the relationships responsibilities these are the sources of your activities I'll tell you one thing about the monks life which to you see how far you can apply it's difficult samsara life means you have specific relationships husband wife father mother secretary boss things like that a monk has only one relationship with the entire world its Brahman only or my lord only nobody special high or low to the monk practically one the monk may have a special relationship with his or his or her guru that's the but that's also spiritual relationship otherwise it's just the same with everybody everybody in the world is same to the monk that is very helpful in non duality otherwise from specific relationships comes responsibilities duties towards others it generates samsara at least internally try to be the same to everybody high and low rich and poor learn it and ignorant your own relatives and those who are strangers be the same to everybody as far as possible last question will end right I'm glad you said that I also don't see the difference too much but there is but there is difference there is so to appreciate Sri Ramakrishna's began evident you must at the minimum appreciate the second step of advaitha notice when iron manoj distinguishes began away tanta from a trait of a tanto every time he does that he generally does it with the first step of Advaita Vedanta this is real everything is false and not the body not the mind that Natan eighty phase that is easily distinguished from the vegan evident I was reading closely I emerges work in one place he says Sri Ramakrishna actually interprets his began evident as you can as another form of Advaita Vedanta as a as a more liberal form of Advaita Vedanta exactly that's true having said that to be honest there's also quite a bit more in ceramic Krishna where the even after the second step the Advaita wouldn't go so that's that doesn't matter it's perfectly all right it's a work in progress but I was reading it just to date syllabus reading it's a really sophisticated for very fine work I mean I'm just still don't in the first chapter but very good let's bring it to a conclusion here Oh Sean - on tisha the hurry he owned that sat sri ramakrishna Aparna must