December 1, 2022 Class Notes by Theos Stamoulis

Introduction
Some years ago, I interacted with a family who had a child in high school and they were asking me questions about my upbringing. Where was I born? What did I do? What was the point of me going to Sandeepany? And so I was engaging them. Then, I had asked them, “how would you feel if your daughter went to Sandeepany?” They looked me straight in the eye, and said, “we’d be disappointed.” Subconsciously, they were alright learning from me as someone who has dedicated himself to Vedanta, but they did not want the same experience for themselves or their daughter. This is similar to when older people tell younger people “Be religious, but don’t be too religious”. And really, they should change those words to, “Be happy but don’t be too happy.” If any caregiver ever says that, stay away from them. 

Our course is to nurture the courage to choose peace. Whether that means through Sandeepany or religion, whatever it may be, but to nurture the courage to choose peace. 

Earlier today, I taught a class for Sheridan College on social entrepreneurship. And my final message to all of those students was “if you choose peace, prosperity has no choice but to follow.”

Two weeks ago we studied the 12th practice: to break free from our typical actions. What are our typical actions? To act for ourselves. To be individualistic. To break free from that. 

In Bhagavad Gita in Chapter 2, there are 2 powerful slokas, 62 and 63. They are connected and are typically described as  “The Ladder of Fall.” One falls into being more and more selfish. Here is what the steps are that take us from being where we are right now to being more selfish, to being more conditioned by instinct.

It starts off with being distracted. If one succumbs to being distracted, then that gives birth to being attached. If I am distracted by cheesecake, I get attached to it. I feel like I can only be complete if I have cheesecake. That then nurtures being desirous. Does anyone know what’s next? Being angry. There are finite articles, beings and circumstances, but our desires are infinite, so there’s a higher propensity we’re not going to get what we want so we become angry. Being angry then gives birth to being deluded.  We forget about what we’re supposed to do. Think of the last time you were intensely angry. Were you thinking of your responsibilities? Being deluded then devolves into being amnesic, where you forget who you are. But one keeps falling. One forgets who they are which then leads to one being devolved. In terms of being devolved, one stops acting like a human and starts acting like an animal. And finally, one is annihilated – the opportunity to be peaceful is blown up.

Why is it that we are desirous because we are distracted? We do not know what is important, so we are distracted. If we know what is important, we will not be distracted. If we are not distracted, we will not follow our instinctive actions of pursuing desires. Our application was to sleep early. The later we stay up, the more easily we are distracted.

Review

Verse 2, Practice 13: sadvidvānupasṛpyatāṃ

In simple English, the translation is “follow to surrender to the one who is followed or surrendered to divinity.” 

From Shimad Bhagvatam, the elephant’s foot is bitten by the crocodile. .Between the elephant and the crocodile, who does Bhagavan Hari free first? The crocodile. 

The crocodile is one who is mean. The elephant is one who is a devotee. If a mean person holds on to a devotee, they both get free. I am sharing this in the sequence because a sadvivan is someone who’s followed in surrender to the divine. If I follow and surrender to that sadvivan we are both going to get free. How do you know who is a sadvivan? The typical people that we interact with are the people who care for us, they want us to be great. All who are parents… what do we want to put our children in? Taekwondo, piano etc. We want them [our children] to be great. But what a sadvivan does is that they want them to be the greatest. When you are great, you still feel jealous and insecure. When you are the greatest, you are past such comparisons, such competition. You will know that you are with such a personality, when being humble is natural. For the typical person being arrogant is natural. They feel insecure so they try to push other people down to make themselves feel up. But when you’re with a Master, being humble is natural.

Our Practice – Study Happiness.

Don’t study happy as it is the opposite to being sad. It is relative. But Happiness is elemental and fundamental. It is our Nature. And you will find that those who are dedicated to Happiness, there are sadvivans who follow them.

Discourse

Verse 2, Practice 14: pratidanam tatpaduka sevyatam

Translation: Serve the feet of the Master. 

Absolute – Samsara means that which is always slipping away. 

When we were in Trinidad, we went on this intense hike. Every time we were walking in this deep mud, you slipped. So you get up and you slip again. Our society is like that in terms of dependability.

Samsara is visually compared to being in the middle of the ocean. Have any of you been in a body of water where you felt it was too far to swim to the end? What do you want in that experience? You just want to float so you can rest.

Padukas typically are made of wood, and wood floats. From an absolute level, the padukas are like a boat that one can rest upon for this lack of dependability. 

Relative – Which experience is going to be more efficient? Walking outside without socks and shoes or with socks and shoes? Obviously, with your socks and shoes- you feel more confident stepping down. A Master’s padukas symbolize being elevated. What elevates us, virtues such as punctuality, patience, discipline and commitment. It makes you feel higher than all of the change and insecurity.

As you serve, so you develop. 

In Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 6 verse 22, Shri Krishna shares, “for the one who’s established in virtues, even heavy sorrows do not move them.” 

Now think of the heaviest sorrow you have experienced, and how that changed you forever. For the one who is serving virtues, they become virtuous and sorrow can not touch them. With older people in our lives who potentially will pass away, the only way to cope with the loss of life is to have such virtues. 

Our Practice – Visualize Guide.

Visualize that your guide is always with you. If you visualize that, it is like seeing someone who you know can protect you, has your back. You will feel more confident and you will step in a harder way then. One way that I visualize my guide is through quotes. You’ll see so many of the RADs posted on social media are me visualizing being with my guide. 

Verse 2, Practice 15:  brahmaikaksaramarthyatam

Translation: The Infinite, expressed as Aum- feel this as being meaningful. 

Absolute – The finite needs the finite. My mind is finite. I need the finite to be able to relate to. My finite mind cannot revolve around the Infinite. And so Brahma, which symbolizes Infinity expresses itself as a sound symbol, which is Aum.  

Relative – Aum is a sound symbol to help us be silent. Meaningful sounds are those that make you quieter. Many of us have been taught and trained in japa (meaningful repetition) but we are not taught and trained in ajapa (meaningful silence). When I am an intermediate seeker, I tune into the sound. As an advanced seeker, I tune into the silence between the sounds. That silence is not created. Silence is alway there. We have to tune into that silence and Aum helps us do so.

Our Practice – On every page that you can, write Aum. 

Discussion: What are the ways you can be more deeply loving?

Vivekji’s observation  – It starts with experience. It really is coming from your past. It is your unconscious personality, your vasanas that make you more loving. Then it’s almost like you have to add an engine to it, which is knowledge. When you know that the person across from you is you, but with a different form and name the way you love yourself so effortlessly. You will love them too. That is a critical point on going from being great to being the greatest.

I find that a lot of atheists are great people, but they can’t be the greatest because they don’t believe that the person across from them is them. So they can never love them fully the way they love themselves. That’s the importance of sadvivan. There are lots of gurus in life, but to have a Sadhguru is the game changer.

When you practice loving someone, it means you are dependable for them. Samsara was  highlighted today as undependability.  So the opposite of that is dependability. That is what practicing love is… you are dependable for others.

RAW // Visualize Guide/ Write Aum on every page