ViBha Class Notes: May 8, 2022

Pujya Swami Chinmayananda, who is devotedly known as Gurudev, experienced Mahasamadhi, the day his body died, on August 3. That day in our culture is known as Sadhana Day. A fine way to understand this is Chinamaya, which means to be filled with Awareness, to do whatever we need to do to recognize we are Awareness. May 8 is the day when Pujya Gurudev’s body was born, and this day is known as Seva Day in our culture. A way to understand this is not Chinmaya, but Mission. When we have recognized that we are Awareness, then it is irresistible not to share the same with others. Pujya Swami Chinmayananda is an institution, not an individual. 

Here, Vivekji read aloud Pujya Swami Chinmayananda’s inaugural words before his disciple’s, Pujya Swami Tejomayananda’s, commencement of a Bhagavata Saptah in October 1992. Please refer to the Forward (pgs v-xi) in our Shrimad Bhagavata book. Vivekji recommends that we read it carefully, and try to feel that we are in this celebration, that Pujya Gurudev is at the podium speaking and Pujya Swami Tejomayananda is sitting and is about to teach what we have been experiencing for almost a 124 hours. As we are listening and feeling, let us be moved by gratitude. We are often moved by tears of sorrow, and Bhagavan Krshna’s first teaching at the beginning of the Bhagavad Gita is – Don’t cry, don’t be sad, as your nature is Joy! Why would we practise being otherwise? And Pujya Gurudev’s motto for our children and all of us is – Keep smiling!

Continuing with Skanda 11 – In Question five, Raja Nimi asks – What is Narayana? Our Rshi answers – Ahetu. This was in Chapter 3. In Verse 40, a very special phrase is used – Uru Bhakti, Bhakti – devotion, Uru – complete or intense, like the word Bheeshma. The idea is that one will only know Narayana if they are comprehensively devoted. So then Question 6 comes – What is Shuddhata? How do we become pure enough to feel Narayana? The Rshi answers – Yoga. Through Karma Yoga, one will evolve to Bhakti Yoga or Uru Bhakti. 

In these answers what is also shared is that our Veda entices us to engage in karma for heaven, and as we engage in our karmas, we will realize that more important than outwardly heaven is inwardly heaven. By engaging, we grow, like if we start to follow the karma kanda, that will guide us to Karma Yoga. It will start off just as karma, but it will become Karma Yoga. 

And most recently, we studied Question 7 – What is Avatara? And the answer given is – Sthapana, which means to establish, to balance. Bhagavan takes Avatara to help – help individuals, to help the collective. Sometimes this help is in the form of correcting, sometimes it is in the form of protecting. Bhagavan becomes an Avatara for us. Bhagavan becomes an Avatara for Anugraha, which means to bless. What does this blessing feel like? We become more balanced – Sthapana. 

And this Chapter is ended with – Uchuh Narayana Balam Shakrah Tatra Aasa Vismitah. When Kama Deva along with the other Suras, including Urvashi, returned to Indira, and brought him all of these gifts from Rshi Nara-Narayana, and was describing to Indra the strength, the inner strength of Rshi Nara-Narayana, Indra became vismitah – confused, scared. Why? Because Indra was so selfish that he couldn’t understand that there could be One who was selfless. That was such a subtle way of teaching because Rshi- Nara-Narayana never treated Indra with a stick, rather gave him a carrot. That was a way of helping Indra to realize that selflessness is possible. 

Now we continue to Question 8. 

Skanda 11:5:1 – In this verse, Raja Nimi is asking Rshi Chamasa – In reference to Bhagavan Hari, all of you who are the best in knowing Bhagavan, what about those who don’t know Bhagavan? Why? They are lost in desire, in restlessness. What happens to those who are out of control? 

Question 1 – What is Kshema?

Question 2 – What is Linga?

Question 3 – What is Maya?

Question 4 – What is Taranti?

Question 5 – What is Narayana?

Question 6 – What is Shuddhata?

Question 7 – What is Avatara?

And now Question 8, put simply – What is Kama? What happens to those whose lives go towards kama, and not Narayana? 

The answers to Question 8 are given in verses 2-18 in Chapter 5. Here verse 12 is being highlighted. 

Verse 12: Rshi Chamasa responds – Indeed, dhana should only be used for only one purpose, for Dharma. By doing so, one knows and one becomes established, and they become desireless. Conversely, those who are living in a home, they feel that their home is this body and so all of their wealth is used for everything related to this body. They don’t feel the intense power of time, that time is leading them to death. 

This teaching is very much like the teaching in the Ramayana – Those who are not reflective are like fish in water not realizing that the sun is evaporating that same water. 

Rshi Chamasa is very clear that there are two types of people who succumb to kama and do not have this Bhakti to Narayana – 

• Those who are apathetic – they have access to Bhakti of Narayana, but they don’t follow through with that. They fall, and fall, and fall – they devolve. And that is the answer to Question 8 – What is Kama? Patanti – desire causes one to devolve. 
• Those who are ignorant – those who don’t know, compared to the apathetic who know and don’t follow through.

The Rshi explains to Raja Nimi to practice Daya when interacting with those who are ignorant. This shows the softness of the Rshis, that if someone is ignorant, they don’t devolve. We should be compassionate towards them. 

Some major points in these verses – All emerge, exist and end in Narayana, but those who are apathetic, even though they know this, they disrespect Bhagavan Narayana. There are some who don’t have the opportunity to know about Bhagavan Narayana, so we should be compassionate. Here, we also need to engage in significant reflection that we cannot use ignorance as an option. If we don’t follow through with Uru Bhakti, it is not because of ignorance, but because of apathy. 

There are however Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas, who by birth and education have full qualification and facility to adore Shri Hari, but fail to do so, being taken up with the eulogistic declarations of the Vedas, concerning rituals and heavenly felicities to be acquired through them. 

Implication – The above refers to those who feel that the purpose of the Veda and the purpose of their life is the Karma Kanda – rituals and results. 

The Rshi continues to say – Such personalities are just busy, busy with karma, so busy that they do not have the humility to ask those who are engaged in Karma Yoga about how they can change their karma. 

Such personalities who are busy – they are hypocritical, egotistical, sinful, and they laugh, they bully those who do follow Bhakti, those who do love Bhagavan. Those who succumb to kama spend their time talking about worldly plans – What are we going to do this weekend? Where are we going to go on vacation this Spring? – They are blinded by privilege. Their privilege is so great that they become ungrateful. 

More major teachings – Their interpretation of the Veda is only for justification of their own lifestyle. It is not for evolution, just for justification. It is almost like they are justifying their devolving – Patanti. 

The Rshis here get into great detail, sharing – 

• Most beings have a propensity for sex, meat, and alcohol. And our Veda regulates this for those with this propensity, so that eventually one sublimates this propensity for sex, meat, and alcohol, which means they don’t depend on it. But for those who succumb to kama, they justify that their lives should revolve around sex, meat and alcohol. 
• Those who succumb to kama, they are dead while being alive – mrtake, like zombies. When a desire is so powerful, don’t we become a zombie? And such mrtake, they harm others, and they don’t realize that by doing so, they are harming themselves because it is Bhagavan Narayana who lives in everyone’s hearts. 
• Those who succumb to Kama, those who fall, they are not animals, but they are also not humans. They have evolved from being animals, but not evolved to being humans. They are animals in the form of humans. 

Such a direct insult by our Rshis that it makes one want to change!

These restless persons destroy their own spiritual potentialities through their mistaken notion that vedic ritualism is the summit of wisdom, and they come to grief when they find at last that time has brought all their castles in the air into ruins, and that they have failed to achieve their ends in life. People who are absolutely alien to devotion for Vasudeva, find themselves ultimately forced by time to abandon their heart acquired wealth, house, properties, friends and children, and they attain to regions of darkness much against their wish. 

Discussion: Out of the eight questions asked by Raja Nimi, what is the most important question to you, and why? – Discuss this with people you live with. 

RAW: To practise not to overthink, and a wonderful way not to overthink is – Om Ramaya Namah!