October 6, 2022 – Class Notes by Bhamin Chhatrapati

Introduction
The 4 practices we have learned so far:

1. Read something inspiring for 20 minutes

2. Delete the word “BUT” from your vocabulary

3. Chant ‘I Offer All’ or ‘Samarpayami’ – offer everything you do to the Divine

4. Start a gratitude guide (write out what are you grateful for each day)

There is only one purpose for every human: to BE Happiness. Sometimes we think money will bring us happiness. Eventually, we all will realize that it either becomes a burden or of no use. Hence, icons like Warren Buffet or Bill Gates in their old age donate enormous amounts of money.  We are studying 40 sadhanas described by Adi Shankaracharya and these practices can lead one to re-discovering their true purpose- Happiness.

Discourse
We will study the law of action today because everything we do is action-oriented. There is nothing in the world anyone does which does not involve gross action or subtle action.

The first sadhana, vedo nityamadheeyatam, states that one must study the Veda daily. Why Veda? The Veda came to us at the time of creation. It explains the laws for every human being for all time – the laws of action (karma kanda). If one reads the Veda everyday, then ignorance and confusion goes away. We then know what we should and should not do.

The second sadhana is taduditaṃ karma svanuṣṭhīyatāṃ: which is to perform obligatory duties everyday. If we do not do our obligatory duty, then we will feel guilty. For example, if the parent does not feed their child, the parent will feel guilty.

Tenesasya vidhiyatam, the third sadhana, is to dedicate all actions to God. Many people do not believe in God and question why they should dedicate all actions to God. One must observe their life closely to answer the above question. Sometimes we do great deeds yet results are not awarded and sometimes we do not do anything and results come tenfold. One can safely conclude that there must be a higher power that is dictating such results. This higher power (some call it God, Krishna, Allah, etc) keeps a record of all our karmic accounts. Hence, connecting with God/a higher power is important and surrendering all actions to God is even more important. If we do not do this, then we can get entangled with the results of our action, which could lead to sadness.

The fourth sadhana is apacitih kamye matistyajyatam which is to renounce selfish desires of the mind. Desire is like the kleenex in a kleenex box – the moment you use one, another one pops up! Desire does not have knowledge or intellect, we do!  Whenever a selfish desire pops up, one must know that they will be taking advantage of someone. Hence, renouncing such selfish desires is important. (Reminder Vivekji’s Practice:start gratitude guide, what are you grateful for today) 

Verse 1 / Practice 5 

papaughah paridhuyatam

Paap is sin; augha means bundle. We have a lot of tendencies where we compromise. If we know where we are compromising then we must not do it. If we do it, that is considered paap.
Paridhuyatam means wash or cleanse it. How would you clean “paap”?

If we start all these practices (read Veda, renounce selfish desires), it is very easy not to do paap. Whenever a desire comes, think of it three times. Contemplate whether you can live with or without that desire. If it is impulsive, let it go. Impulsive desire is not healthy. 

There are 5 kinds of actions.
1. Nitya karma: Daily duty (brushing teeth, taking bath, putting on clothes, going to the office)
We must do this. If not done, then we will feel guilty
2. Naimittika karma: occasional duty / special duty (if there is a fire next door and one is eating , one should renounce eating and help)
3. Kamya karma: This is where life gets happy or unhappy. These are desire-prompted actions. Everyone has different desires. Is it a want or need? If unnecessary, let it go. Kamya karma is the root for paap. So be careful and do not slide.
4. Nisiddha karma: forbidden duty  If you do something that is forbidden, then a negative karmic account comes into play.
5. Prayaschitta karma: If I have done paap, then I should ask for forgiveness to nullify the wrong action.

DISCUSSION
Why do we do things that are wrong?
We do wrong things either to be liked or accepted or due to selfish desire. The root cause is forgetfulness that we are Infinite due to false identification of oneself (ego).

Vijayji’s insight
We do things that are wrong due to avidya, kama, and karma.
Ignorance(forgetfulness/avidya) of not knowing my true nature is the same as not knowing where happiness is. Forgetfulness allows desire to come to the intellect. Then that desire pushes through the mind and body in the form of action.

To avoid wrong action, understanding this verse from Bhaja Govindam:
satsaṅgatvē nissaṅgatvaṃ

nissaṅgatvē nirmōhatvam ।

nirmōhatvē niśchalatattvaṃ

niśchalatattvē jīvanmuktiḥ  

The above verse states that through the association (satsanga) of good people one attains detachment. From this detachment, comes freedom from delusion. From this freedom, comes a single-pointed mind for peace. From this peace, comes jivan mukti, the liberation of the soul. In the Mahabharata, Duryodhana states I know what is right but my mind goes to do the wrong things. Why? It is because Duryodhana has the company of Shakuni and Dhritarashtra (bad company). Prince Arjuna, on other hand, had the company of Shri Krishna, who led Prince Arjuna to transformation and liberation.