Video 35

36. Mandukya Upanishad | Chapter 3 Karika 2-3

[Music] is [Music] first verse of chapter 3 the chapter on non-duality [Music] [Music] so so the spiritual seeker who performs devotional exercises does something as praiseworthy as as worshipping god who subsists in the conditioned brahman or the created brahman or the projected brahman all this was but the birthless brahman from before creation that's what this person thinks and such a person hence such a person is considered pitiable or narrow or limited kripana harsh words indeed for somebody who is religious devoted why what's going on here let's see i'm just giving you the background to this chapter what we did last time very quickly summarizing this is the world view which we have already learned so i'll quickly go through it but by now i think we're in the third chapter so everybody should have it down pat you know the uh knowledge of the self leads to liberation the self has four aspects uh three aspects are known to us waking dreaming deep sleep and the fourth one the thorium is the reality that upanishad talks about so this is the basic world view what are the four aspects of the self first waker and the waking world of the waker's world second the dreamer the dreamer i mean the dreamer which we are used to not not the political uh discourse which is going on now the dreamers uh this is not that kind dreamer means we when we dream and the dream world third deep sleeper the the the potential world or merged world or the deep sleep darkness so this is the um this is the idea of self means atman first aspect second aspect third aspect when the upanishad talks about the fourth aspect thuriyam turiam also literally means fourth this is brahman the ultimate reality brahman pure consciousness pure bliss pure pure being the fourth aspect one two three and four and we have read that this is our reality which appears as these now notice certain factors about these three these three are known to us this is what we experience our life as we experience our life as waking rust now i'm awake and you're experiencing this word advaita vedanta always related to your experience that's the beauty and power of advaith it's talking about your experience right now so you are the waker and your waking world and we as the dreamer and our dreams and in deep sleep the blankness why do i call it the potential world because you remember all of this again comes back it's not erased or nothingness in deep sleep it comes back again so it's there in a seed form and notice notice um three features of of all of these all of them they share three features in common one is cause and effect it's a causal universe this potential stage this is called the causal state this is called the subtle causal subtle do you remember gross gross or physical with genius is that let's see so cause and effect one thing creates the other in this world the um the cosmic creator god has created this physical world the subtle world and the physical world remember in this paradigm there are there are there's the individual and the total you are the individual and here is the total so not only are you the consciousness associated with one body and mind but we also conceive of a consciousness associated with all bodies and minds which is god individual is you and there is god who is uh who is the you who is the consciousness behind the entire universe omnipresent omnipotent omniscient and god also we can talk about it three levels the causal level the really what is called god in religion is the causal level in sanskrit ishwara with maya at the subtle level what we call the cosmic mind and at the physical at the gross level the the vast universe virat the the cosmic person so that is the creator of this entire universe cause and effect relationship is there even in our little little um individual level our deep sleep is like the causal material from which emerges the subtle material of our dreams and the gross material of our worldly experience i'm using words very carefully because if i say from your deep sleep blankness emerges a universe you might say that's too much to believe too much to swallow but i'm saying all your experiences the experience of this physical universe and the experience of the dream universe and the blankness in deep sleep they are connected somehow it's the same thing in the deep sleep it's not expressed in the subtle in the dream state it is partially expressed and in this physical state it's most manifest but it's the same thing it has a cause effect relationship same thing is manifested in this way like clay into pots imagine the deep sleep to be like a lump of clay and your dreams and your waking to be a dream maybe just a plan the blueprint of a pot or an unbaked pot and the physical universe like the baked pot so like that so there is causality there cause and effect causality another feature of this these three is change physical universe we are subject to birth and death and growth and decay and aging um the creation and destruction all of this happens change happens in these three levels right even the levels keep changing from deep sleep to a dream to waking and to back again so the change keeps happening these are all all of our is subject to change our physical bodies are subject to change our thoughts are subject to change our personalities are subject to change the universe is continuously changing so these three are the domain of change another feature for these three is that you have duality here subject object duality is always present here waker in the waker's world dreamer in the dream world even deep sleep it may not be an express duality i am experiencing deep sleep we don't have such an experience but it's definitely the seed of duality is there because we come back from that deep sleep into this dual experience these three taken together causality change and duality taken together is what is called samsara this is a philosophical way of expressing samsara and this is the realm of samsara and the result of this samsara is suffering is dukkha suffering from cause i came to effect perfect god to an imperfect universe cause to affect samsara causality karma karma is causality um causality is love in fact one of the prime features of causality is the law of karma so we are trapped in the law of karma all our present experiences are due to the accumulated effects of our past karma we are sort of trapped in there you might say no we also have the freedom to create our future by the law of karma what we do now it generates a future experiences good and bad yes but that also leads to anxiety responsibility what i will do now if it if the weight is upon me um i have not done a very good job till now so i don't see my track record is not particularly good so i don't see myself doing brilliantly in the future also so heavy weight of responsibility as vivekananda says good good bad bad and none escape the law but whosoever wears the form where's the chain too what is the chain the chain of causality we call it karma in fact many dualistic philosophies the bhakti schools they say the nature of bondage is karma and by the grace of god you come out of karma so karma causality leads to samsara change is the very nature of samsara buddha buddhism is very very big on this anitya manity everything is dukkha suffering why because anitya manityam sarva impermanent impermanent all is impermanent and so change leads to samsara you see change is also samsara duality is samsara in upanishads it is said by bhayam bhavati when there is an other samsara starts you relate to it in fear in hope in expectancy or in indifference relationship develops when there is duality and samsara starts for you so all of this in fact he says that fear uh dutia bhayam bhavati fear and anxiety is due to the present of the presence of the other in fact the worst of nightmares when you wake up from it you dismiss it as oh it was just a dream why because all those terrible things never happened all those monsters you saw never were there they were nothing other than your own mind since they are not different from you you're not afraid of it anymore so second a second knowledge duality leads to samsara causality change duality leads to samsara okay and samsara leads to misery unhappiness suffering the word used here is kripana kripana literally means a miser it means the unfortunate one the suffering one the the samsari the one who's suffering in samsara so this is the summary of what we what i just said now is how the mandooki upanishad looks at our life you your life is waking dreaming deep sleep these are the features of your life this is called samsara samsara therefore you are a samsari what's the problem the problem is kripana suffering unhappiness unfulfillment and there seems to be no end to it there seems to be no uh possibility of anything better than this it will just go a little better a little worse do a lot of good karma if the blessings of god god are upon you things will go well for you the stock market will rise health will be all right children will be nice and things not don't go well for you everything comes crashing down so kripana the the small one the limited one the unfortunate one the suffering one this is the picture where first three aspects of the self in and the fourth one turiyam pure consciousness the one in which all of these are appearing what did upanishad say this is real these are the appearances notice the difference between this and those that is within causality this is non-causal it is it is neither a cause nor an effect so these are these are effects this is a gross effect this is a subtle effect and this is the cause in the first three first three aspects i'm going fast no knowing that you are all well-versed manduk uh you know uh well versed in the mandu kyopanisha so i'm moving fast we have gone through this many times over the last one year this is the causal level these are the effect levels this one is neither cause nor effect god is the cause of the universe that's why in theistic religions god is called creator we are called create we are called the created creatures created and god is the creator our god is the cause and the world is the effect that's how it is thought of in in dualistic religions are those who do not believe in god at all non-theistic scientific approach so there is a big bang which is the cause and the effect is all that we see around us there is a bang and here is the mess so so this is the story of the universe in one sentence but turiyam is non-causal it did not become this this deep sleep state becomes the waking becomes the dreaming but tourium does not become these thorium only appears as these ones thorium remains ethereum then non-causal another thing is it is non-changing unchanging third one is it is non-dual advaitham non-dual non-dual 2dm is non-dual why because from the point of view of theorem these one two three are appearances it's not that there are one two three and four remember how can you say that there is it's non dual not two when you're already counting four what is the answer one two three are not to be counted with the four no more than you would count three cookies you ate in a dream and one cookie in the waking state would you count four cookies no the fourth which you ate in the waking is the only one which you will count and the other three are not to be counted um so or the wave and water example which i gave thousands of waves but if you look at it as water one reality why why not one water and thousands of ways no because those thousands of waves do not exist without the water it is the water alone which is those thousands of waves so similarly or in your dream hundreds of people thousands of people whom you're meeting talking when you wake up one person the person on the bed who just woke up so those thousands are not in addition to you they are you and you did not become those thousands of people they appeared in your mind similarly the waking dreaming and deep sleep they appear in turia they are mithya this is satyam real so it is non-dual because it is non-causal unchanging and non-dual it is not samsara it is assam sari it is called moksha moksha this is freedom that is bondage samsara moksha because it is moksha it is not kripana akarpanyam it is it is not limited it is not the unfortunate miserable limited it is the infinite akarpanyam sanskrit akarpanyam kripana means the limited literally in indian languages kripanna means the miser the small one so we are the small one when we are samsari so when we samsari when we are in samsara i'm working backwards now what is samsara causality change and duality where do you find it in waking dreaming and deep sleep waking and dreaming are the the effect condition and deep sleep is the causal condition cause and effect is here obviously change is here and duality subject object duality and all kinds of duality are here god and individual duality the difference between you and others difference between you and god the difference between self subject and object between self and the other these are all duality this is here in the first three and in contrast to that tourium the fourth the real self is non-causal it's neither a cause nor an effect it is not changing unchanging it is not dual it is non-dual advaita this is the background this is the summary on the basis of this now gordo patha says in the opening uh verse of the third chapter third chapter is the chapter on non-duality so non-duality here he means he's going to talk about thuriyam here what was the second chapter about about the falsity of the world that means these three are false they are appearances here it is going to talk about the non-duality of the self now on the basis of this background gowdapadha says that in this world remaining in this world jaate brahmani in the projected or manifested or created brahman what is the created brahman waking and dreaming this physical world and this gross world and subtle world this one which we have this is the projected created in sanskrit it is called srishti remaining in this and thinking of oneself as a small cripper as a small one and worshipping god who is separate from you and hoping prague before this was created in the causal state all was one with god and all was well god is in heaven and all is well it was a heavenly state it was the uncreated state everybody all were we were all one in god state and one day it will all be like that not only that by my worship by my devotion by my belief by my surrender i will attain to that to that merger with god i will become one with the cause and then it will be all right samsara will be at an end i'll be one with god remember this is not what he suggest what he's recommending this is this is what he's criticizing this is the belief of the dualist this is the belief of the theist who who does not understand non-duality and this god of other criticizes harshly this is the very nature of the kripana though the one who is in samsara if you go back to the seed state you'll sprout again if you go back to the causal level the effect will come again you're still trapped there because you're still thinking of yourself as a separate little individual kripana's without such a person is called a small one the unfulfilled one imagine in this level the best that can be said is to become a devotee and worship god that's the best state in dualism in in duality that best state itself god upon this criticizing here so should we not believe in god it's much worse becoming see a theistic dualist is what he's criticizing here an atheistic dualistic dualist is even worse at least a theistic dualist is in touch with god in some way has got some kind of belief though it may be a lower kind what god is not denying here is this kind of approach of worshiping god loving god surrendering to god can be a step in non-dualism can be a step towards non-dualistic realization as a step it is all right as a goal and the final conviction it is a miserable thing you say it's a very harsh word to say let us say it i have seen any number of dualists any number of these being quite fanatical about their narrow and little views so let's be a little straightforward about about the truth so this is the background now what i just said let me say again but quickly in sanskrit let me use the sanskrit words what are the sanskrit words atma has four padas padatma exactly the same thing now i'm saying in sanskrit see if you those who cannot those who don't know the terms see if you can follow and you should be able to follow we have heard these terms again and again atma has four powers four aspects each father see one is the stool which has this is called the jagrat where you have the waker what is the sanskrit give me vishwa and the jagrat prabhanja the waker's world the second one is the sukshma subtle give me the name of yourself the dream world and then the deep sleeper what is the name of the self in deep sleep pragya pragya and this is called karna prapanchaar sushupta prapancha so sancha these are the three pada treya of the they are all under causality cardio karana karjakaran is causality this third third aspect is karana calcazal is the causal state and the second and first aspects are caryam effect i'll repeat the third one is causal karana ishwara is karana and stool and sukshma prapancha are cardium effect and um they are all subject to change savikara savikar they are all subject to say continuous changes there sabikara means subject to modification change birth death growth aging decay change creation destruction change and they are all subject to duality duitam because these first three are karja karna [Music] they are called the first three are called samsara you know yesterday there was somebody i hope she's not here i got i got thoroughly scolded for having this class at four o'clock say four o'clock who who does that what are you thinking four o'clock because people have jobs they can't come so i said yeah we'll consider shifting it to 7 30 but not now not in winter let's see in summer if of course those were already coming you get the first vote whether it should be shifted to 7 30. but she said what were you thinking 4 o'clock that's true um and people who are coming here so don't worry i won't change it without consulting you you get last year we took a vote and everybody majority voted for keeping it at four so these three are samsara and those who are in this who consider themselves to be within this are called samsari and the result of samsara is karpanyam kripana in contrast to this i'm just repeating what i said in sanskrit in contrast to this turiyam the fourth aspect our real nature is karyakaaran of separate from cause separate from effect is neither cause nor effect cardiac is nirvika without any change beyond change is advaitam nondual karna velakshanan nirvikaar advaitam therefore turium is moksha freedom because it is moksha it is akarpanyam it is free of limitation it is the infinite it is the vast it is freedom itself it is the goal of humanity it is the goal of our lives gold means we are that to realize it swami vivekananda i saw it very beautifully uh he writes in a letter i pray that all should be free all should be free i pray for everybody i should pray you see this very thing how he puts it i pray that we that all should not be led hither and dithered by the effects of accumulated karma this one it's literally kripana that there should not be a world around like this i pray that we should all be free that is know that we are free i can repeat it endlessly he says i pray that we should all be free that is know that we are free we are already free we are already this thorium that is why he criticizes somebody who insists on being awaker one individual among billions of individuals that's my final identity not an appearance this is the truth and there is a god whom i shall take refuge in and that god will rescue me from this i will one day merge with that god become one with that god prague things will be all right if you become one with the cause if you fall asleep you will wake up if you become one with the cause the effect will come if you merge with the seed it will sprout one day we'll be back again all right now let us go ahead verse number two onwards so this is the state he is first number one he has criticized conventional religion what does he suggest in lieu of that what is his suggestion then what is god upon his point of view then with the way he puts the first verse the way he puts it most people in most religions of the world most religious people would identify with that that's what we think about i believe in god i surrender to god i worship god within the hope of heaven in the hope of not being consigned to hell exactly what god of other calls the miserable one in contrast to that what is god father's idea of spirituality number two [Music] hence i shall speak of that brahman which is free from limitation has no birth and is in a state of homogeneity and listen how nothing whatsoever is born in any way though it seems to be born so it's a statement of purpose what is he going to do in this chapter hence i shall speak hence i shall speak hence we shall speak of the infinite hence wins because of this because of samsara i shall speak now of moksha because you're trapped in causality i shall speak of the non-causal brahmani the causal brahman cause and effect ajati ajati here means non-causal unborn not created because you are trapped in the in in changing anitium indeed everything is transient temporary temporary momentary momentary indeed everything is momentary empty empty all is empty or white void all is the void hence all is suffering suffering all is suffering suffering all is suffering is samsara and the one who suffers the samsari the special term used is kripana special award given to your title given to this he says hence we shall speak of the infinite because you're trapped in the causal we shall speak of the non-causal because you're trapped in the changefulness we speak of the that which is beyond change because you're trapped in duality i'm going to speak of the non-dual you're trapped in samsara i'm going to speak about moksha akar akarpanyam he says he says i shall speak of because you are a kripana we're going to speak about akarpanyam beyond kripana what a grand statement of purpose let us not speak of small things anymore even god is a small thing for him we're going to speak about something beyond in the individual and beyond man and god beyond heaven earth and hell just be going to speak about reality itself not about finite things about infinity itself we are going to speak and when is this uh thing going to happen the uh heaven is something in the future it's going to happen in the future this is now and forever heaven is a different place that's also limited somewhere this is not somewhere it is everywhere or here what are you talking about some other thing called god here we are talking about some other thing called god we are talking about you yourself so not limited by time space and object desha collab such a self we are going to talk about akar pandyam the unlimited the not small also remember waksyami i shall speak of why speak of it it needs to be spoken of samsara does not have to be taught to become samsari you don't have to attend a class at four o'clock in the evening yeah we are we automatically get the status of of a suffering sabsari that this kripana this limited being the unfortunate one the suffering one we automatically we've earned it lifetime after lifetime of dedicated effort we have earned it so it doesn't have to be spoken about but that which is unlimited it has to be pointed out it has to be spoken of that which is our real self not the apparent self that has to be spoken about these three do not have to be spoken about we know them that has to be spoken about we don't know it yet somebody asked many times this question question is asked if i am that already then why should i meditate if i am that already why should i study vedanta or do any spiritual practice whatever any spiritual practice meditation vedanta why the crucial phrase is if i am that do you already know that you are that if you really think that you are that if you have realized that you are that you are very you are convinced it's very clear to you and it has given its effect you have become a car pernium gone beyond suffering then you need not meditate you need not come to a class at four o'clock so that's true but until we know that we must study we must try to find out we must practice and for that the teacher says hence we shall speak of the the infinite the non-limited okay so far now what is this infinite akarpanyam look at the words he uses ajayati samatam gatam ajati means unborn the not born not born means which is not within causality not within causality this is born what is born the subtle universe is born the gross universe is born and the causal universe is not born but it gives rise to those so it's within birth and death it's within causality this is within causality ajati brahman another name for brahman is ajati he gives it he contrasts it with look in the first verse the projected brahman this is also brahman this is also brahman the snake is also the rope the the rope itself appears as the snake so this is also brahman but what brahman is this this is the projected the appearance the false this is called jata brahman the product brahman and this is the causal so we shall speak about the cause this is not the causal this is non-causal neither cause nor effect this is the effect this is the effect this is the cause the cause effect effect gross effect subtle effect cause this is jaata brahma and this is ajati we shall speak about the ajati non-causal samatam gatam it translates as homogeneous homogeneous here means not subject to change not subject to birth not subject to death not subject to aging decay not subject to becoming causal subtle or gross in sanskrit not subject to any kind of vikar or change or modification that brahman i'm going to speak about then what about this what about our universe what about our lives it will continue as it is from where we will see from this point of view nothing whatsoever has happened though everything continues exactly as it is in your dream when you wake up you still remember if as long as you remember the dream you still remember what happened whom you met where it went where you went what good things and bad things happen who said what you may remember those things but also you have one additional knowledge what none of it it's a dream none of it happened naja yamanam none of it did none of it was caused none of it was born none of it was created jayamanam samantha yet samantha means from all sides yet it continues to appear from all sides i don't deny when i wake up from a dream i don't deny that i saw a dream i say it's a dream i saw it but it's a dream similarly he says from which point of view you will see all of it continues as it is and yet you know that nothing at all has happened it's a stillness a light in which the universe appears shines and disappears without having any effect upon it it's like the screen on which any number of movies comedies and tragedies can play without affecting the screen a little bit you can show a terrible inferno the screen is not going to get hot you can show it you're a great earthquake the screen is not going to get split you're going to show a great deluge the screen will not even get wet even with one drop of water similarly this is that reality which will not be affected by uh all of these appearances the words he uses such that yatha such that jayamanam samantha all things seem to be born and existing and created and nujaya taken nothing is born or nothing comes into being only brahman remains thorium does not produce anything okay so this is what we're going to speak about statement of purpose that's the whole plan of the chapter what he's going to show now you see if i can sum up or one pillar put it so beautifully what is the special message advaita vedanta certainly gordopod is teaching advaita vedanta non-dual vedanta but what is the special message of gaurav padha he put it this way four points non-duality non-origination non-touch non-uh contradiction in sanskrit advaita this one we have already seen the first chapter talked about it means the non-dual theorem the fourth one with respect to which the first three are not three they are not a second reality apart from the fourth one non-dual sir you are the non-dual consciousness there is no second reality apart from you that's the first truth which god of father speaks and everything else flows from that the second one he says is ajati ajayati means non-origination if atman you are really non-dual then what about the duality what about duality what about this world it did not originate if it really did originate then you cannot be non-dual if there is a really a dualistic universe it is really a pluralistic universe then you cannot be non-dual if you are really non-dual then the dualistic universe must be an appearance just what he said now ajayamanam without being born it appears as many so non-origination the universe did not originate no more than all your dream events were actually events they did not yet you experienced them that is called falsity of the universe so that is the second great truth it follows from the first if there is if the atman is really non-dual then the so-called duality must be an appearance you can't deny that you're experiencing duality who can who can deny it then the experience must be like a dream that ultimately it's not real ultimately your non-dual nature has not been affected in the least in simple words it's all right second non-origination third one non-touch in sanskrit aspasha in fact whole of this teaching of godhapad is called a sparsha yoga there's a term he has not yet used he will use in the third chapter asparsha yoga asparasia means non-touch if this world is an appearance in me then what is its relation to me what effect does it have upon me nothing nothing can it harm you no can it improve you no can it do you good no can it degrade you make you sinful impure no it can entertain you it can be fun yes so it's it's your basically it's your appearance you are appearing as this world non-touch just as the water of the mirage does not touch the sand of the desert just as the movie does not touch the screen the false snake does not make the rope poisonous in the same way these samsara no matter how terrible how sinful how horrible it has absolutely no effect on you the non-dual self aspasha these are very radical things just the opposite shankaracharya gives vivid descriptions of samsara the kripana of samsari i am ruined my my children are dead my relatives are lost wealth is gone death is approaching alas he says alas i am ruined this is samsara and god upadha says not at all not in the least nothing at all has happened to you the theory and the example remember can is there any way of understanding this yes your dreams the worst of nightmares what has it done to you you're terrified suffering from a disease and afraid of the medical procedure and suddenly you wake up nothing at all has happened your heart may still be beating fast you still may be feeling uneasy but actually nothing has happened so thinking can be experienced and yet it may not be the reality if you if you snap out of it into a higher level of reality and lost track what was it saying and then the fourth one so non-touch this is called asparagus so this is not untouchability that is different thing this is non-touch the universe does not touch you non-touch aspara and godupath's teaching is called asparsha yoga the yoga of non-touch doesn't mean not that you'll go around not touching people it means the universe does not touch the non-dual self asparsha yoga godfather will use that term couple of times as it comes later on and the third one is called the third great point in gaurapata's teaching is adirodha non-contradiction it does not contradict any religious doctrine it does not contradict science it does not contradict atheism nothing or it makes space for everything which object does space contradict you can have a brown stone here you can have a mall here the two are contradictory you can't have both here right you can have a brown stone you can have a park there or a horrors a huge uh building complex there let's hope that will never come you can't have both but from the point of view of space it rejects what nothing space accommodates everything similarly this non-dual atman all views it has no contradiction godupath will say dualistic views contradict each other they fight among each other parasparam verdiante one says the ultimate reality is shiva the other says no no no it is vishnu the other one will say it is allah or jehovah no some says it's with form some say it is without form some say the form is it has to be a male some say no um in hinduism we will not say it is it has to be a divine but they put it in a more subtle way yes rama and krishna they are all good i mean they are wonderful we accept them they are all waves in the ocean that is the divine mother so immediately rama and krishna become little waves and the ocean is the mother the mother who appears in so some say the great mother is the ultimate reality some say all of this is imagination atheism richard dawkins foolish all this is foolish forget it it's fairy tales material science alone is the reality bill is not here today he would have backed me up on this now god of father says these views clash and contradict each other and they fight against each other they do not contradict this why they do not contradict it is he doesn't go into details shankaracharya explains which is not a very good thing at all why do don't contradict because the false does not contradict the real you can't have i'll come to you you can't have a comedy or a tragedy and a tragedy playing at the same time you can't they are not the same movie they contradict each other but the screen has no contradiction with whatever movie you play with it play on it rather not only does it not contradict the movie it enables the movie to be played and no movie can be played without the screen without this non-dual brahman you cannot have anything science or religion theism atheism hinduism buddhism whatever you can't have anything without this non-dual brahman that's all it wants to talk about so non-contradiction adirodha that is not a very i mean from the point of view of atheist it's not an encouraging thing it's just saying you don't contradict me because you don't exist that's why shankaracharya explains it this way there is in his commentary there is a man sitting on an elephant going through a narrow village street typical ancient indians and even now you can see sometimes and a crazy guy stands on this on the pavement shouting let's have an elephant fight charge your elephant against mine but there can be no elephant fight because that crazy guy doesn't have an elephant similarly all the dualistic philosophies are like the crazy guy there is no nothing to contradict because they don't exist all that exists is this this one you had a question yes it doesn't affect us yes wait wait wait does it affect whom the akarpanyam the one the thorium the moment you say i accumulate karma where are you within causality where is this here certainly it affects you all that we said now see this manduka class so i'll hold you to that standard your questions i will throw it back i will outsource it out not to you but to somebody else so there'll be people know the answers all the answers are here see it's so clear here so within this world of causality within samsara yes it affects everything affects you that's why we are unhappy that's why we are kripanna we are sad we are miserable we are trying to find a solution yes somebody else had the hand up okay now so this is the project this is what he has set set up this is what we're going to talk about now let us start what he's going to do here is so the three term the four terms remember these four terms i don't know i forgot who wrote it very beautiful i liked it that godhapatha the great themes of godhapada advaitam ajati asparsa and avirodha in fact the philosophy itself is called vaada the philosophy of non-duality but that's true for all teachers shankaracharya and all the advaitha teachers gaurav pradhas philosophy especially is called ajativada the second one philosophy of non-origination the three levels god created the world god projected the world like dreamt of the world or it did not happen at all there's no world to speak about so there's no question of creation or dreaming or anything like that the third one is gorda pada three levels of reality um physical a transactional reality which is called viva harika um an appearance reality which is called pratibhasika and the ultimate reality paramartica paramartica the absolute brahman so this three-level reality is the way advaita vedante is normally taught when you read shankaracharya you should always keep these three in mind transactional reality vava harika this is the world we are inhabiting where we think we seem to have bodies and minds we are studying vedanta we are suffering in samsara we are trying to do spiritual practice become enlightened this is called transactional reality why do you have to have this because advaita says you are free you are the absolute right now but that's not how we see ourselves at all so to accommodate our view of the world they put a temporary a placeholder what you think of the world we advaitins we call it transactional reality there's also another reality which is an appearance nature dream errors in our world what we call dream center we see it and we know it's wrong for example our dreams we see it and we say it's false what would an advaithin say he would call it prati bhai sikha prati bhasi illusory level of reality snake rope snake rope so the rope is a transactional reality which i can use in this world i can use it to bundle up my clothes but but the snake is an appearance that is called pratibhasika and in contrast to these two is the ultimate reality which advaitan advaita talks about which is brahman it calls it paramartica the absolute reality so these are three level it's called three sattvada three levels of reality this is the this is actually the basic way in which non-duality is taught for whom for beginners a little more advanced presentation is called drishti srishtivada which is entire universe is an appearance two levels of reality paramarthika pratibhasika everything else is an appearance like a dream your dream is a dream your waking is also a dream dream and waking are collapsed into that that is called the two levels of reality one is the ultimate reality which he talks about brahman nathman tudyam that's the reality and the rest is like a dream as you dismiss your dreams you should dismiss your waking also as you act in your dreams you should act in your waking also that's also there but it's no more important in the earlier one the waking and the dream are clearly separated the realm of fantasy and the realm of science are separate but here all are in the realm of fantasy what what wait let me finish this so that is dwisa tawa the two stage that is for advanced students and for the most advanced students by which i mean you it is who talks about one level of reality which is paramartica only this then what about all this ajayathi never happened never will can you give it some level of provisional level of reality no uncompromising this is called ajaya so that's the second thing god happened talks about so god of others philosophy is sometimes called ajativada that's seen as an extreme case of advaita it's the most radical non-dualist speak about it ayaan maharaj was here before making the transition to vigna vedanta he was a strict ajata vaadin absolutely and he mentioned one thing if you remember he said any thera-going non-dualist will finally come to the ajata position nothing ever has happened or ever will it's all perfect was and will be perfect even was will be is time time which is also an appearance okay the third one is uh aspartia yoga which is a very practical it's also an implication of non-dualism which uh god apartheid will speak about ranganathan and the jews fame was fond of quoting that verse asparsa yoga vainava this teaching is called asparsia yoga the yoga of non-touch you are experiencing the entire universe completely unaffected by it just as space is unaffected by it and that's the fourth one aviroza non-dualism has no contradiction with anything okay you have do you still remember the question you did i answered yeah and answered your question right yeah okay now the teaching will start you get a question yes in the context of uh thorium appearing as as reality um can you expound on the doctrine of eika jiva akerjeva okay ekaji of ada is is related to the second method of presentation the second method of presentation is drishti shrivada where there are two levels of reality the ultimate reality that you are thorium and the level of dream everything is a dream waking is also a dream dream is also a dream there but isn't it also say that it doesn't it it appears only when you observe yes appears and when you observe so the universe appears only to the observer just like a dream a dream is there only when you are dreaming it in that way the physical universe is there only when you are experiencing it otherwise it's it's it it only appears in your experience it has no separate existence apart from your experience the more basic form of advaita um which talks about veva harika the distinction between transactional reality and party basically illusory reality there they make a distinction between the waking state and the dream state the waking state the rope and the snake are not equally false the rope is more true than the snake the waking is more true than the dream what happened in your dream need not be counted what happens in the waking has to be counted your science and politics and religion are all possible otherwise all is possible in the waking state that's the basic way of teaching advaita this one is more advanced what you're talking about where they say they they erase the difference between prathi bhasika and viva harika appearance and transactional reality now consider this question what you are asking it comes like this if all of this is appearing in your experience then what about us all of us the teacher the co-students other people in the world they are all appearing in your in your experience just like all the people in the dream appeared in your experience they have no existence apart from the dreamer's mind similarly all of us have no existence apart from you from your consciousness right but i would like you to exist it doesn't matter uh so well thank you but but ekka jeeva will say you have no proof for a separate existence of other beings only definite proof for your own existence so you are the only one and yet you don't feel that you are enlightened you still feel i am suffering i am still in trouble so you are a jiva but you are the only jiva for which there is only there is only one jiva everybody else and everything else in the universe is part of that jiva's dream and who is that jiva we all exist in his dream his or her dream who is that jiva you are now what about you we all exist in your dream so you treat yourself as that jiva and then you apply this to realize that that you that jiva you are none other than thorium you will be freedom done that's the intermediate level of advaita that's called a kajivawa if you see all these sounds crazy and yet even recently elon musk was speaking exactly about this he says our modern you know ideas of virtual realities so you can create a world and characters which are all generated in a computer and you can experience them you can experience them in three dimensions even haptic haptic means touch if you can touch smell all those things can be generated by computers now and your own existence can be projected in a computer so the whole of reality can be projected in in a very sophisticated vr suppose and so there is there was actually a paper which actually elon musk was quoting when he said that it was a paper written by a philosopher earlier now suppose such vrs are possible virtual realities are possible suppose then imagine an alien civilization where children are playing with such vr's how many are there millions and billions of such vr's sophisticated vrs virtual realities if there are millions and billions of vr's now you consider this reality we are in we are standing in probability apply probabilistic calculations is it probable that we are in the one single real universe or in one of the many millions of virtual universes probability probability virtual universe overwhelming probability is that we are we are living in a virtual universe some alien kid is playing xbox and we are here so not gowdapada elon musk 21st century and he's serious about it and he's not alone he said the logic is irrefutable so anyway so uh that's what i'm saying so this not that this idea is uh something strange and outmoded which is uh more and more we develop our technologies the more it seems to be possible and why depend on vr we have our internal we are running all the time every night you experience a very vivid vr virtual reality recreation all right let's go on um now what he will prove now is the akarpanyam your nature as tourium see this teaching was given in the first chapter upanishad second chapter and third chapter are meant to prove two things the falsity of the world these this what we take to be real is an appearance this was the the proposal was can we understand this can we prove it through logic and argument so that was done in the second chapter second chapter called whitehead and hopefully you remember the chapter on unreality or appearance nature of the world through examples and through logic you remember what kind of reasoning and example the example was the dream example which was heavily used in the second chapter the nature of the world was examined another thing is the dystorium or that the world is an appearance but this thing you're talking about non-causal unchanging non-dual turian pure consciousness can this be demonstrated that we are this right now forever this great claim can you demonstrate it through argument just like you did for that that one jagat mithya the world is an appearance you demonstrate it through argument brahma satyam jiva brahman opera brahman alone is real i am the absolute can you logically show me that's the subject the great theme of this chapter just as the earlier chapter used dreams as an example this chapter will use the example of sky space so let's see that's a great example to be which is going to be used throughout this chapter so remember this just as again and again we referred to dreams in the earlier chapter in this chapter we're going to refer to space and what is the project here to show that you are that non-dual self that you are the absolute no birth no death for you no imperfection for you no samsara for you no suffering for you right now right here can you show this yes he says we can third he now he starts the teaching of since the atman is referred to as existing in the form of individual souls in the same way as space exists in the form of spaces confined within jars and since the atman exists in the form of the composite things such as space exists as jars etc therefore in the matter of birth this is the illustration this is the example don't be confused i'll the whole chapter is an explanation of this first let's understand the example then we'll understand what is what the teaching is what is the example when we make jars pots immediately you feel that there is a space within the pot that is called gatakas a pot space and the space all around the vast space that is called mahakasha literally the great sky or the unlimited space of the total space so let's call it the vast sky mahakash literally maha means vast akash i mean sky or space the great space or the vast sky now the vast sky seems to be split up into little spaces called part spaces you have ten spots parts and each part encloses a space so that space is called a part space port space one two three four they're all different from each other and it seems we have created those spaces when the jar has been made it encloses it cuts off the vast space the sky into these limited spaces but the fact is it's not true it's not true space cannot be cut off by material objects i've often given the example say you have a flower vas with water in it if i fill up the water in the in the flower room and bring the vas here and put it here with the flowers and the water when i move the vas will the flowers and the water move with it when i move the vas will the flowers in the water move with it of course otherwise it'll make a bad mess you may have put so many things and you take the wash and put it there it'll all be splashed and wet no it will move glass of water bring me a glass of water means the water will move along with the glass but suppose you have an empty flower bus and it is only space in it forget the air for the time being there's only space in it now when i move the vas take it from there and put it here did the space in it move with the glass with the vas no no the vas moved through space space did not move with the glass with the vas are you clear with this the vast the glass the pot does not affect space space remains as it is it is not enclosed in any sense within the within the pot now if i put a lid on it even if you put a lid on it the space is not enclosed in it can it escape how will it escape if i put a lid on it it is not enclosed to begin with there's no question of escaping when you move the part along it's moving through space it the space inside is not moving along with the part and the part space it only appears to be the space within the part it is not created when you create a pot when you when the potter makes a pot makes the pot does not make the space it always was there and nothing has been done to it manhattan is exactly as it was hundreds of years ago no it hasn't now there's so many houses what we call a house this is what we call this hall it's a space you never created the space though it seems to be we created halls we created buildings we created malls we created parks not really we created these structures which enclosed the space and now we are calling that enclosed space a hall a mall a park but the space was not created space was not even enclosed by us it only seems to be the illusion is very powerful this is a hall that's a room that's a washroom um that's a dining room these are this is worship space that is a work space that is a living space no it is one undivided space it's only the structures that we have put up and we conventionally use them and we tend to associate holy space a secular space actually this place has absolutely it is not affected by your holiness or your secular it's completely an illusion generated by the structures we have put up is this clear is the pot space created by the creation of the spot of the pot no if i break the pot will the pot space now merge with the great sky no it's as if it was separated when the plot is broken now it becomes one with the sky no was it was it always one with the sky is it true that it was one with the sky now the poor thing you've enclosed it in a pot and once you break the pot and set it free it will become one with the sky again no it was one with the sky it is the sky it seems to be enclosed and once you break it again it seems to be not enclosed when it was not enclosed when it is will not be enclosed and when it seems to be enclosed all the time the space is completely totally unaffected so neither the space port space is created nor is it destroyed point one part space is not created pot space is not destroyed third depending on what you put on this in the pot you put ganga the holy water from the ganga in the pot so the space in the pot is pure purified it becomes holy is it true no no no we use it all the time in religion scatter ganga water here the spaces now become holy it has an effect on our minds no doubt it may have an effect on the objects which you which we are using a flower which is offered this when the articles of worship fine but the space itself somebody stores medical supplies or medical specimen fluids from a body oh it's dirty the spaces become dirty is it true no in a test tube fluids from the patient's body are stored another nearby part the doctor stores some water from the ganga so here the space is holy in that it is impure the fluid it might you might consider this fluid to be holy and that want to be impure but the space not affected not affected so by the defects of the material stored in space i'll use all of this remember these things that by the defects of the material stored in that space the space is not affected all right one part is like this one part is like this one part is big one for the pot is tiny so can we say here's a round space here is a narrow space here is a square a cube cubicle space we talk about it in architecture space is like this but really is a space narrow round cubicle or or anything no not at all if are you with me or not if the example is not clear then um the yeah i am so sorry but scientifically if you put a lid on top of the pot and you move it the same molecules of air that were in the pot when you put the lid on it have been moved also yes so can you explain this if you put water in it and move it water will be moved if you put a lid on it and move it the air inside air means the molecules will be moved yeah correct but what did i say all along am i talking about the air or am i talking about space right right air is another fluid of course it can be moved that's how astronauts take oxygen to space you put it in a compressed oxygen cylinders and take it out to space so the air goes with it but space does not travel when you the the cylinder is transported through space space itself does not move with that is that true or not actually i have met people who have trouble with that concept one person really quarreled with me i said no let me have to think about this at least some of it will move [Laughter] yes how does one reconcile that with the big bang theory where the universe is expanding was created in the instant there was nothing there was no space yeah yeah i know there was space yeah right we will not we will not reconcile it with that because after all you will say space will not only that even now space is affected by the presence of massive objects that's what uh relativity says so remember gorda father here is not talking about space as such he's using it as an example so use our common sense experience of space as an example to prove something else what he's going to talk prove or demonstrate something else so don't talk about relativistic space or einstein in space that is affected by gravity for example yeah so we are not going into that we're just taking a common sense idea of how we experience space as an example so space is not round or cube or anything the containers are round or cube or one more point i want to make is this how is the part space related to the vast the sky is it the child of the sky is it a part of the sky it is the sky it's not even a part you know this much in that in a space you might think that but in pure consciousness you cannot even think of parts so it's not even a part it's unlim it's one unit thing you can't divide it really because if you can divide it then you can talk of parts of space but really it's not parts we divide it then we design a coordinate system and then we do mathematics on it but really you have not done anything to space if you could imagine if you could really physically divide space into parts you could move it around you take out this part and put it there take another part put it here no you can't do that you are not physically doing anything this is a little difficult because all of mathematics the coordinate system it seems to be talking about parts of space locations in space but that's something that we have put on on it for our own use we say no left right what left and right my left and right are your right and left what up and down what east with not south where is east west not south on the sun yes you are saying that we are using our common sense concept of the space i was thinking whether there will be need of finding out what is the vedantic and especially governor's concept of space not the common sense that will be good for the example right what he really means by space right very abstract term we are using abstract term for which is true but you can take the upanishadic idea of space space was the first evolute um akasha was the first evolute of the absolute through maya so this what we are experiencing it is called mahakasha there is a very sophisticated concept of space in indian philosophy if you are interested it's a very nice article by k ram subramanyam who is a professor of physics in iit mumbai and professor of indian philosophy also he studied advaita vedanta in shrink under sringari now he and another french scientist they have written a paper concept of akasha in indian philosophy it's available on the net he had sent a copy to me once it's very interesting he compares the ancient near nyaya concept of space with modern physics concept of space and so on but apart from that my point i'll come to you so the last point i want to make is the part space has no relation at all with the sky it is the sky it's one there's no division no relation it's not a child of the sky it's not a product of the sky it's not a part of the sky i have said what i wanted to about the example now i'll apply it to atma before that is a question i'm coming to that yes i'll come to that i'll come to that what's the part it's in vedanta it's called upadhi body mind okay now let's see um let's now apply this what have i said part space is not born when you create a pot it only seems to be enclosed but actually it's the same as the sky similarly with the presence of the body-mind complex like the part the presence of this body-mind complex the infinite consciousness seems to be become a jiva jiva is created jiva is created not created that infinite consciousness turium remains as thorium even when body mind is dead even when it seems how powerful is the illusion of a pot space how powerful it seems to be there it seems to be round exactly that one it was not there earlier see this all these rooms we charge millions of dollars did you create this space no then why are you selling this apartment for million dollars are you selling the walls you take the walls elsewhere will it go no it has to be this space in upper west manhattan then it's a million dollars but this does this space belong to you did you create it no you enclosed it and it generates such an illusion name form and it's useful you can live in it you can work in it you can sell your goods in it it can be a shopping mall it can be a cinema theater it can be a park so nama rupa vivahar is there this is maya and so the jiva comes into being it functions it does everything lives a life samsara struggles and things i have been born i am growing older i have to make my mark in the world i am educated i have to get a job i have to earn money i have to find happiness i have to do crossfit and i have to come to class at four o'clock on wednesday afternoon so it does all of that and yet godopathy insists nothing has happened at all to you the pure consciousness it's only the presence of body and mind which makes you think you are the jiva just as the sky thinks i am a little pot space the part is my body and i am the space within no jiva is not born this is the great doctrine of non-origination ajati turiya is not born as jiva first point second point when the it'll all come now he will show one by one when the part breaks there's a space die port space dire part space becomes one with the great sky no it always was the same so jiva does not become one with god or brahman or something it was one with god before creation of the universe after the destruction the universe will become one with god i've heard um you know senior practitioners say this wrong conception of advaita when the body dies you're exactly the thorium is exactly the same you are the vast consciousness you're still the same no after enlightenment now we are separate from god after enlightenment slowly become one with god merge with god when the part becomes thinner and thinner and thinner space becomes more and more no you're exactly the same destruction of the part does not mean the sky becomes the pot space becomes one with the sky death does not mean that you become united with brahman enlightenment does not mean that you become united with brahman deep sleep does not mean you're becoming enlighted with brahman samadhi does not mean you become united with brahman to become united with brahman you don't have to go to heaven no you are brahman how can you become united with brahman so that's such a great conclusion third even greater just follow this this example is stunning what is saying here part space dirty when you store uh in a test tube you're storing the samples from a patient's body urine and feces and oh it's so dirty his face has become so dirty and pure the part may have become impure the test you may become impure maybe the substance isn't impure is space impure no similarly it says in a pot then there might be smoke another part there might be dust the space space you will say it's not affected by smoke and dust space is not affected i have given the example of how we have seen when in our main monastery old monks when they pass away we have the permission to cremate them in the monastery itself from the municipality i have seen how the wood burns element of fire element of earth it burns into ashes the water in the body bodies contain a lot of water i have seen water jetting out and then vaporizing so water vaporizes the fire the heat element becomes one with the fire the air around it becomes hot you can't go near it when the body is burning the fire the the four elements you can clearly see that they are affected by the fire but space itself you know it's hot air is hot space is not hot you have a gust of cold wind you will see that the hot air goes over the space is exactly the same but space doesn't exist either well it doesn't there's nothing there's nothing in the fourth stage there's no space there's not me there is not white there is not orange there is not light there is not a cloud there is nothing you constantly say this space here space well yes here yes yeah so we are using space as an example the fourth is consciousness we're not saying that there's space there no you're right there's no space there but space we are using as an example to understand this we are not saying that there is space there when you say the world is like a snake and the brahman is like a rope we don't mean that there is a rope in brahman and the world is a big snake it's an example that's right yeah i don't know why this one yeah right no no there's nothing more like a trick than the other clear clearly clearly that clearly there's no space in because space is is a product of maya also so it's within maya it's an example so just as the space in the pot is not affected by what you keep in the pot in not made in pure similarly conscious is not made impure by body mind complex oh i'm i've become so obese 200 pounds is consciousness 200 pounds no it becomes skinny it's 80 pounds as conscious consciousness 80 pounds no i am i feel uh man woman gender has consciousness in the gender no it belongs to the part the body hunger and thirst health and illness belongs to purana not to consciousness impure thoughts i am i'm troubled by bad thoughts impure thoughts depression you can you cannot see how you if you are a mental health worker you'll know how obsessive thoughts torture a person torture a person absolutely no effect on that witness consciousness and it can be demonstrated that person himself rehearsal will see even when those obsessive thoughts are going on it has no effect really it can be pointed out actually so not affected papa punya by sin by good works by bad works so that's why this is very dangerous doctrine don't misunderstand don't handle carefully handle carefully at your own risk so i can do anything yes you can do anything you will also get the result of that thing when you do you are within this causality will be there karma will be there suramar krishna said somebody's you know the person is suffering is brahman then how is suffering he said in bengali lanka killer jhal lagman if you eat chillies won't it won't your tongue burn in the realm of causality it will work but consciousness itself is unaffected by it you the thorium you are absolutely unaffected by this world by the impurities of this world you are not degraded by this world by the body mind whatever happens in this body and mind the worst of bodies and minds worst of actions done in this world has not the slightest effect it is all right always was always will be you as pure consciousness you're perfectly all right nothing can touch you you are immortal and ever pure so that is the third conclusion just as the spot space is not affected by what is contained in the pot is not purified also the greatest of sadhanas yogic practices and great deeds done in the world so i have become a better person person maybe but that witness consciousness how can you improve the which is already perfect what improvement can there be there for that so that is always there one more um features this pure consciousness is like this is like the vast sky it has no separating features each part is different tall pot fat pot small pot big pot but the space inside is it tall fat small big no one uniform space similarly whether it is a man or a woman or american or indian or chinese whether it is a human being or an animal or a plant or a non-living entity consciousness is one and the same everywhere has no distinguishing features has no separating features to set off one against the other we are one and the same in all beings in all things at all times that one uniform consciousness he is such a beautiful word a word samatam gatam unchanging uniform consciousness that is just like the sky no matter what the pot is then the last one the part space has no relation at all with the sky this will talk about it so what relation has the jiva with brahman with turium is jiva created by thorium no no more than the pot space is created by the sky is jiva part of the theorem no no more than the pot space is a part of the these are big points later on all these were used to hammer dwayta vedanta and vishishtadvaitan duita says god and you are different you have a relation with god vishishtadvaita says you are a part of god he says no the pot space is not a part of the sky it is the sky there's no separating line one more point and then i'll stop what you said but then what is the pot where did the pot come from where did this body come from he says the sangha he used the word you'll see just as the pot space is an appearance follow this careful just as the pot space is an appearance of the sky because of the pot it is not really separate from the sky so is consciousness in the jiva and appearance as being a jiva it is actually that infinite consciousness theorem why is it an appearance because of the appearance of body mind and he says just as pot itself is a creation of akasha pot gutter he says the pot etc they are also creations of akasha it is nothing other than akasha which makes akasha seem enclosed the sky seems enclosed into a pot space because of the creation of the part which is also nothing other than akasha you might say the space within a part is the great space i can understand that appears to be a delimitation of the great spectacular but how did the sky create a pot not directly but if you know the upanishad cosmology you will see actually it makes sense what it says is titanium from that pure consciousness the sky emerges from the sky the wind emerges from wind fire agner from fire the waters advaita pritivi from waters the earth no it's not then upanishad from the earth the part the part is the modification of the earth but what basically wants to say is even our bodies what are these bodies they are five elements minds there are also these five elements the subtle five elements body mind complex is nothing other than that pure consciousness thurium through maya it appears as the five elements and combinations of the five elements as this body every bit of is nothing other than brahman in reality appears to be other than brahman difficult to swallow no you experience it every night all the persons you see in the dream the dogs and the cats and the persons and the buildings and cars and trees and the sky every bit of it is what mind whose mind your mind don't look so skeptical you're doing it every day in the night your mind generates people bodies minds sky earth water everything yeah but it's an appearance exactly this the entire universe that's what god apart is saying even body mind is an appearance through maya of turiam and because of the appearance of body mind thorium itself seems to be delimited cut off within each body mind just as sky seems to be cut off within each pot concluding therefore what he wants to prove and we'll see he will go on developing this theme what he will show is this just as space is not space within the part is not borne by the creation of the part it only appears to be a part space the individual consciousness jiva is not created by thorium it is the thorium it's because of body mind it appears like that after the destruction of the part it's not that the part space merges with the sky becomes one with the sky after the death of the body after enlightenment it's not that your individual consciousness will merge with the cosmic consciousness nothing of the sort you are that turian already you are you will you uh you where you are and you will be that one no question of any kind of merger yeah it may seem like that it may feel like that just as it feels i'm separate you may feel i become one with it the truth is you are already one with it just the gentleman's question further right so the part is what the maya or the pot is one of those three elements growth subtle and causal three three elements see causal level is called maya in vedanta see this is what we have discussed earlier causal level is called maya at the subtle level the five sukshmatan matra at the gross level the five stulitan matra it is brahman alone through maya which appears as these five elements that is just basic advaithic cosmology all right so at the death of the body you do not become one with brahman you are one with brahman no more than the sky within the space within the pot becomes one with the sky third the impurities in the pot do not affect the space within the pot different parts containing different things it's not that the space within those different parts is it is affected by it not at all so different bodies and minds with different karma different activities not at all affected you the pure consciousness is not affected by it no matter what your body what your personality no third fourth relationship the spot space has no relationship at all with the sky because it is the sky it's idea if you say relationship only relationship is identity it's not produced by the sky it's not a part of the sky similarly the jiva it has no relationship with deterioram it's not a child of the sun we're all children of god no it's not created by the thorium god is the creator no you are that you are one with it if you say any any relationship at all identity no we are part of it not even part of it that's vishishta qualified monism you are that always where will you are and you will be and the last one is um is the relationship although earlier i missed one features differences last one was relationship the features or differences yeah but i may be pure consciousness but also i am a man i am a monk i am an indian i am in new york and so on different difference it differentiates me indian not chinese or um uh caucasian or african uh or a man not a woman so these are different factors the differences are in the pots in bodies and minds consciousness itself is not differentiated at all it's exactly the same just as round part tall part first short part fat part skinny part makes no difference the space does not become round tall short or skinny space is exactly the same consciousness remains the same um it is a pure consciousness yes so this is what what god or father will be exploring in the classes with in the next few verses what he will do let me give you an outline he will prove through this example and demonstrating through reasoning that we are this consciousness just like space pot space and sky example he'd use that to prove these features which i've just been talking about he will also prove through reasoning just like the parts are nothing but evolutes of the sky similarly bodies and minds which are creating these differences which seem to be creating these differences they are also products of maya they are not really different they are not they are not really a separate thing it is the same theory alone which appears as body mind also so non-duality is preserved having proven this then he will go on in the next part of the chapter to show that all of this is not his imagination he will pull in references from the upanishads remember this is vedanta so vedanta has to be based on the upanishads so that he has to show it's not his like his fantasy or his his own in sanskrit they call it kapola his own little skull so he will show that the upanishads also mean exactly this what i have said yes i'll come to you so some other you mentioned he'll reference information so how does advaita reconcile to other politicians which say the first manifestation was brahma who had a disciple who taught so how does there were two two birds on earth the dualistic will say that yes that's right i heard what is god and lower bird is jiva but what the advaithin will do is these are all secondary statements slowly helping us to take us up step by step to understand the ultimate goal which is oneness so it is not the ultimate reality when you say god created doesn't upanishad speak about the creation of the universe of course it does brahman is the creator the world is the projection of brahman and so on so forth so all dualistic theories are final not nicely supported by the upanishads but non-dualism is the ultimate conclusion of the upanishads right um and not the other way around you can easily argue that there are non-dualistic statements no conditions but dualism is the ultimate goal the dualist will argue that non-realistic statements are just like that make just to make you feel good you are brahman when you start practicing finally you will realize that you are not brahmana so that is the no it you can't do that because you cannot reconcile non-dualism with dualism ultimate dualism and to begin with non-judaism cannot be reconciled whereas ultimate non-dualism and the beginning dualism on the surface can be reconciled like the part and space example like the dream and so an appearance of many an underlying unity it's possible an appearance of unity but there's no appearance of unity it's all seems to be fractured right here so that's how they reconcile mukhyavakya it's a strategy they every commentator uses to their advantage i'll come back to you complex and the universe entire universe yes see what is use the manduki language brahma brahman what is jagat here waker's world dream world and the potential world the jagras that is an appearance all right jiva what is jiva in manduker language waker dreamer deep sleeper vishwata yes this jiva is actually none other than turiam this is in manduka language last yes good take it slow in that whatever space is this we call it akash similarly you are saying that korea suryam also you are comparing with human beings consciousness is there in every human being so everything is safe so akash suppose gut is broken it is mixing into akash it is not mixing it seems to be it is it is you know only one and same yes but gut suppose it is round and we can measure it with the pi r square whatever area is there we can measure that we can measure it yes but can we measure uh thorium why do we no we cannot no every human being is having that yes so how what exactly it is made up of okay take it slow what do you think it is made up of energy is energy something that is experienced you tell me you tell me do you experience energy do you experience it when you feel energetic when you see electrical energy you experience it so where is energy here in your waker's world maybe in your dream world also not in the deep sleep world so what is not in deep sleep world you cannot experience anything any particular particular thing so energy is an object in the world it's it's not thorium other candidates tell me what other candidates are there apart from that i cannot make out that tourium is what exactly it is consciousness don't try to say anything try to notice it just as you notice this pen follow this carefully now notice this pen are you seeing it is it something theoretical for you yes you can say that you're seeing it right you're seeing it with eyes if you close your eyes you can't see it if you open your eyes you can see it so eyes are the instrument now are you aware of the eyes you're aware of the pen with the eyes are you aware of your own eyes you're not aware of your eyes open you're not aware of your eyes you can see with the eyes i'm not saying that we can see i'm not asking you whether you can see the eyes i'm asking are you aware of the eye when you open your eyes are you aware if you cannot see clearly you need glasses are you aware that i need glasses so you're aware of the conditions of the eyes right you're aware of the eyes you're aware of the eyes with what you can see the pen with the eyes you're aware of the pen with the eyes you're aware of the eyes with what with what what thought oh my eyes are open now oh i am thinking my eyes are closed what is that one mind you can call it consciousness but then it's changing right sometimes it thinks eyes are open sometimes it thinks eyes are closed sometimes you think what is he talking about sometimes it thinks it's i am confused sometimes it thinks i understand that is called mind thoughts ideas memories but these thoughts memories ideas are you aware of them when you feel i am happy are you aware you're not aware when you feel happy it's a feeling right yeah when it's a feeling are you feeling it or not if it's a feeling you're definitely feeling it you must be aware of it otherwise why do you complain that i am so unhappy i am depressed all right why do you why do you express your joy i am so happy yeah so you are aware of it that one which is aware of happiness when you are aware of happiness and you are also sometimes aware of depression the one which is aware of happiness the one which is aware of depression are they the same one or different ones same one what is that one notice it what is that one it's not a pen it's not the eyes it's not a thought in the mind it's something behind the thought notice it that is consciousness after that when that idea becomes a little more clear then you come back here and you will see spoke yes swamiji he was in the himalayas and he said he became aware that he was the witness of the mind yes that was swami a witness doesn't the witness [Music] i know what you're going to ask but ask it yeah i i don't know how to say it because this is so maddening as soon as you say something you know you have such an object yes so are you saying that a witness must have an object so there are two things the subject and object right yeah good it's very good witnesses the witness which is witnessing the mind so there are two things is this your question that there is a witness and the mind so isn't it duality yes aren't they separate to witness something you must be separate so isn't is that what you're asking the witness is witnessing yes so you're asking isn't there duality isn't there separation and not only that witnessing seems to be an action it's performing an action all these questions you're asking right now consider the question up to this you're right there's a witness and it's object subject and object now ask the question what is the relationship between subject and object are they separate things are they the same you say how can the subject and object be the same but it can be the same think about the objects you saw in your dream they seem to be separate but when you wake up you realize it was all in your mind they are objects but in your mind not outside yeah right now those objects are they separate from the witnessing consciousness is the mind separate from consciousness or is it an appearance in consciousness it seems to be separate the moment you name them but good good question but do they really get separated or do they seem to be separated because of language they seem to fall out they seem to fall out very good they seem to fall out but they don't actually fall out how will you know two things are separate how will you know two things are separate here is a test if you can experience each thing separately from the other then you know two things are separate the classic example is you know there's a man a old man comes and has a nice 2d green and you think that are they real teeth or are they dentures you cannot know as long as you don't see them separately if you suddenly go to his apartment and you knock and he opens the door and gives you this toothless grin and you see the denture sitting in a little solution there in a little bowl then you realize oh they are two separate entities they are not part of his mouth so you will see them separately the cap and the pen are they separate you see if i can pull them apart yeah they are separate they're connected now but they're actually two different entities here is a cap here is a pen now apply it to mind and consciousness you see the mind in consciousness clearly you're aware of thoughts feelings ideas emotions the person memories and they are where are you aware in your awareness in consciousness so you're aware of the mind in consciousness is it ever possible okay and there is the consciousness can be there without the mind also deep sleep or deep meditation when the mind stops for a while or just moments gaps between thoughts so you can have experience of the presence of the mind and absence of the mind you can logically talk about the absence of the mind that mind has stopped in meditation sleep and so and so forth if you can talk about it that means there was consciousness but no mind yogis can talk about it it's possible so you can experience consciousness without mind you can experience consciousness with mind but can you ever experience the mind without consciousness like this separately obviously not the very word experience includes consciousness you cannot have any experience without consciousness therefore the logic is this if an item x cannot be experienced without another item a then that x is not a separate entity apart from a you have no right to speak of it as an independent entity apart from a you can never experience a mind apart from consciousness so the mind is in consciousness is an appearance in consciousness does not have a separate existence of its own yeah i feel i can't take another step back and yeah that's you cannot take another step back yeah because you are that one if you retreat from that position you are into yourself there's nothing more beyond that correct exactly from that position you will see mind body and the world experienced in the body they are all experienced in that yeah imagine imagine with your eyes open you can see all this right you are there your mind is there you the consciousness your mind is there eyes are there and the world is experienced if you close your eyes the world is not seen but is the mind there so yes my eyes are closed i cannot see the world am i this the mind i the consciousness am i there yes certainly now suppose the mind falls silent world is not seen eyes are closed mind falls silent i the consciousness i am there i'm just reporting i'm just seeing a blankness opposite suppose world is there eyes are open mind is functioning but you the consciousness somehow switched off what will remain nothing it's inconceivable but suppose logically if you construct a taught experiment like that the world is blanked out for you the universe everything disappears that is the reality in which everything appears god apartheid takes the counter-intuitive radical step of reducing all of this back into that what you're saying there is this one the more you appreciate its non-causal nature its unchanging nature its non-dual nature the more closer you are to realizing your liberation no no no consciousness does not have to go nothing has to go all of them can remain but you have to realize that this is the only one in which all of these are appearing and disappearing when they appear you are not increased thereby when they disappear you are not decreased thereby you are one in the same they are not separate existences apart from you imagine a vast pool in which i saw that in canada in loon lake you can see the sky and the hill and the forests but sky hill and forests are not there in the lake when they are there they appear in the lake without the lake they cannot appear when they disappear it's the same lake the lake is the reality in which appears all of this yes consciousness can be without right and world are contents and the consciousness can be without content and those contents are not different from consciousness they are not things like sugar which has been added into milk sugar is something from outside which has been added into milk no yeah they are the consciousness itself it is the magical property of the consciousness call it maya or whatever it can appear in so many forms it can experience itself in so many names and forms they have no ontologically separate existence to use a philosophical term quickly the questions yes okay so i'm consciousness in a self-driving vehicle experiencing a virtual reality in a transactional reality right now as a non-dualist how do you then perform karma yoga and the question is this as a non-dualism there's no devotion so what sort of characteristics do you then as a non-jewish there is no there is no what is the word you use devotion no devotion is not required if you have realized non-dualist your non-dual nature then then your question is how do you do karma yoga why would you want to do karma yoga well because the pepper's still hot the what the pepper is still hot if i take a bite i'm still in the transactional world right if you are a non-dualist if you have realized your nature historium and you take a bite and you experience the paper as hot what is your problem you are brahmana it has not done anything to you fine but in this transactional reality and this transactional reality is nothing to you it's it's an appearance in you true i'm just all i'm trying to think about is how am i supposed to act in terms of karma yoga right i'm not doing things for love of god because i'm not doing this yeah so then you are stopped there if you're non-dualist nothing prevents you from doing things for the love of god or remember let me repeat this i'll repeat it three times i'll say it and repeat it twice the first verse means love of god or devotion is not the ultimate goal according to a god power the ultimate goal is non-dualism the love of god devotion is very useful so what you said as a non-dualist i have no love of god or devotion wrong as a non-dualist you can practice love of god and devotion we do it here but that should not be seen as a separate god whom i will attain after death or something like that that should not be seen as the ultimate world view that's what god is saying he's not condemning worship he's condemning those who are stuck in that mode and there's nothing more beyond that but if you pass that level if you pass that level this question does not arise anymore all right let me give you a direct answer to that gita fourth chapter brahma pranam ramahavi brahmagnu brahmana brahmati naganta the instrument is brahman the offering is brahman the one who offers his brahman that which you offer unto his brahman the one who sees brahman in every action attains brahman that is karma yoga for the non-dualist just a question go back to the pen uh is another way to look at it instead of closing our eyes from the i think the buddhist perspective if we break down the pen and we say what is the pen as you were pulling it apart what constitutes the pen is it the molecules of the metal is the pink and the further we break it down we begin to see that the pen truly has no identity right and that is the same as it applies to us right and so with that that is the same as the buddhist concept of emptiness right absolutely one buddhist lama explained to me the shunyata which you practice the emptiness if you analyze it into constituent parts you'll see there is no entity called the pen apart from its parts so yeah okay but the parts are there right this is there this is a part and this is a part they're there but if you analyze this this also breaks down into smaller and smaller parts without n so the pen is an empty an entity there is no entity called a pen what is the entity called a fist where is the fist say no but you arrange the finger the fingers are there but if you analyze the fingers they're also like that so uh they are things are empty in in themselves this is called um dharma the the objects of the world are empty in themselves this is buddhism now when lama explained to me when you this is this is just a practice the real thing is to apply it upon oneself and start with the body the sensations the mind the you know the punch five scandals the five pillars of being the self and see that the empty of the emptiness of the empirical self this is the place where advaita and the buddhist doctrine of no self meet actually they are not opposed if you understand them deeply they are basically saying the same thing what the buddhist calls no self advaitha calls the jiva this is what god has been arguing all along there is no jiva which is born the buddhist says the jiva is an emptiness there is no g as such exactly the same thing this is where they meet actually quickly let's hear the questions yes you first and then we will go on because we have run out of time that's technically my eyes at the cosmic level is what we experience ourselves is all the same so you also mentioned that the indian spiritual dog clean is uh ways for us to enjoy the current bucket we are in so what kind of tools can we use to enhance the three first three parts of the mind like the buddhism oh okay that's a different question all together so here we are talking about akarpanyam bakshami look at the project we are talking about the the end things the ultimate questions the infinite how can i build up my body and reduce body mass and whether gluten free is better than gluten diet and all these are good i know you're not asking that you're asking a subtler question but it falls in the same category how can i refine my what are called upadhis in in vedanta body mind how can i make the pot a better pot you can but gaurapat is not interested are there technologies for that of course ayurveda will tell you something yoga will tell you something bhakti will tell you something dharma will tell you something there are these entire philosophies which help you to live a much better life in this world and you can employ them in you can employ modern positive psychology um seligman talks about it in order to increase our happiness he says the components of happiness pleasure is a component of happiness how can you increase pleasure is modern psychology can actually talk about how our senses can be enhanced by paying more attention seeing tasting slowing down and savoring every experience actually you get more pleasure out of the simplest of experiences people rush through it especially in new york they'll order a meal and pay hundreds of dollars for it and rush through it because they have no time and what is the happiness there very little it's just an excitement gone finished move on next thing so favorite a simple bowl of soup savored over 20 minutes before it gets cold it can give much more pleasure than this so how to enhance the pleasures of the senses seligman talks about it then go further how to enhance the pleasures of the mind study appreciation of art concentration focus whole psychology has been built up in it go further seligman says more pleasure comes out more joy comes out of meaningful life how to get a more meaningful life for example where you involve other people where you do something where which benefits other people where you are sacrificing the little self into the vaster that actually makes the little self much happier and you can see here why that is so that is akarpanyam that is kripana means limited the miserly the non-miserly one is much happier so yes there are vast technologies dealing with that i mean that's a subject for many many lectures and worthwhile worthwhile really how you can enhance happiness in this life what godapadha says ultimately none of them are of any use because they are within causality within change and within duality they will all lead to unhappiness on the end in the end you will be left with ashes dust to dust ashes to ashes always accept when you realize the true nature of yourself then you turn back upon the world and apply these things use causality and change and duality to your advantage you will have the perfect life all right it's a good thing to end the discussion on [Music] be