Class Notes by Sharmila
“Shoshanam Bhava Sindhoscha Jnaapanam SaarasampadaH, GuroH padodakam samyak” — This means, the water that is used to wash one’s Guru’s feet is the same water that dries up this ocean of mundane existence. The water represents the flow of our thoughts, when the water flows over the feet of one’s Satguru, the feet symbolize virtues and standing above Dvaita — we are drowning in boredom and purposelessness, and all this gets dried up. This is Kripa — that which makes the impossible possible! It is only through Kripa that one water can dry another water. Jayanti means to prioritize and Shankara means to prioritize egolessness, Acharya means to lead oneself. We should live by and for egolessness irrespective of context.
The fulfilment of prioritizing egolessness in oneself is to go beyond the Drshya and Drg, to go beyond the seen and the seer. Acharya Shankara and His words are directing us to go beyond Acharya Shankara and His words — this is a culture of humility!
Verses 1–5 are the first train of thought. The focus is Truth or Atma. Our practice for this first train of thought is to be careful.
Verses 6–12 are the second train of thought. The focus is Lie or Ahankara. Our practice is to be grateful.
Verses 13–19 are the third train of thought. The focus is Why or Avidya. Our practice is to be meaningful.
Verses 20–29 are the fourth train of thought. The focus is practice or Anudhyana. This is to perpetually engage in contemplation, in controlled and uncontrolled environment. Our practice is to be worshipful.
We should love the/thy Self independent of context. As long as there is a dependency on context, that worship will never be fulfilled. In the study of Mohamudgara or Bhaja Govindam, there are 6 depths to the word Bhaja, and they are — sing, seek, serve, worship, love and Be.
Verses 30–31 are the fifth train of thought. The focus is perfect or Ananda. Practice makes perfect and this only applies to the inner world. There is no perfection externally but there is perfection internally when Ahankara is not there. The ego is the seed of imperfection. Our practice is to be joyful. Dukha and Sukha are context based, but joy is our content, our Svadharma.
Verse 31: Hridaya GrantiH means the knot of the heart. This knot is not loosened but cut! In problem solving, we want to go to the heart of the problem or the source of the problem. The knots of the heart are Avidya (forgetfulness), Kama (desire) and Karma (action). We forget that we are happiness, then we desire happiness and then we have to act for happiness. The more we act for happiness, the more we desire happiness and the more we forget about happiness — and that knot keeps getting tighter. The reasons why we live are Dukha NivrittiH (to escape pain) and Sukha PraaptiH (to embrace peace). The only reason we want to embrace peace is because we are not peaceful (because of Avidya-Kama-Karma).
Pujya Guruji has analysed the Hridaya GratiH in two unique ways.
He has defined Hridaya as — ‘Hrid’ — meaning the sense of Self and ‘ayam’ — this body. So Hridaya is the sense that we are the body. And this limits us (grantiH) and ties us down.
Another insight is that the knot is just a rope. All we have to know is that our nature is joy and we will be freed.
Sarva Samshaya means all of the confusions that live in our personality. For Prince Arjuna, shoka or sorrow has come from fear (bhaya). The fear has come from moha or confusion. All confusion is resolved or reconciled, which means there is also no fear or sorrow. As long as there is Samshaya, what will come is Bhava which means to become. Because we doubt that we are of the nature of happiness, we try to become happiness. But if we don’t have a doubt that our nature is happiness, we stop this Bhava roga or the disease of becoming. This is the original heart disease. There is no disease of the body that continues on to the next body. The most important science is Vedanta which cures the original heart disease. When the source is addressed, so is the symptom. Vedanta is the science about the source which is why very few explore this and follow this!
Bhagavan Krishna shares in the Bhagavad Gita that out of thousands of searchers, there is one seeker. And out of thousands of seekers, there is one who succeeds and knows the Self. One in a million will be enlightened. This is the only way we will ever find rest and be joyous.
Over working kills our brains and hearts. We over work because we think our Karma will fulfil our Kama. But it only leads to more Kama.
This perpetual doing and becoming gets exhausted (ksheeyante) — we stop acting for happiness and start acting out of happiness. We let go of light Vasanas through exhaustion, by experiencing them. For our medium Vasanas, we let go of them through substitution (for example anger is substituted with acceptance). Heavy vasanas become heavier if we experience them, and there is no substitute- so we have to let go of them through disidentification. When we have the insight (Vijnana) that we are not this body, then everything associated with it (the blueprints) also we are NOT! Then this is exhausted.
In this verse, if we follow the verbs — Bhidyate is cut, chidyante is reconciled and ksheeyante is exhausted. All of these are indicative of unlearning. The practical way to make what we have studied in this verse our reality is Seva and Sadhana. When we engage in Seva, we learn about our own vices. So Seva has to be followed up with Sadhana. The gaps in our personality have to be filled in with Sadhana. Seva and Sadhana have to be simultaneous and continuous. This is where disidentification of vices and vasanas happens.
For the person who has the vision of the highest and lowest, everything that is holding them back no longer holds them back. In Kathopanishad — there is a verse which explains that for the one who feels that — the divine who is the size of one’s thumb, and who knows the past, present and future is standing in their heart — for such a person there is no fear!
‘Paravare’ means high and low, here it means close and far. This mantra talks about the presence in the heart (close) and Isha or Brahman that is far away. The one who knows that they are infinite, such a being is free from the seen and the seer. The seer is not the absolute, the Sakshi — the observer ego is nearly absolute but not absolute. As long as there is the seer, there is the seen. But here- that which is close and far or that which is the seen and seer is all one!