May 8 2024

Notes by Aarya Mishra

Review

Last week, we spent some time with a lady who was expecting a very special guest, Bhagavan. Bhagavan had come to her dreams, and told her that he would come the next day. Excited, she woke up and prepared for the guest. As she prepared her home, some other people showed up, first a salesman, then the neighbours daughter. She was frustrated, and asked them to move along, saying that she had a very special guest coming. She waited and waited into the night, but no one came. She wondered why divinity broke promise, and fell asleep in tears. Divinity came back in her dreams, and said that they came 2 times, but before they could say anything, they were shooed away. The woman was confused. She said only the salesman and the neighbours daughter came, she had asked them to leave so she could prepare. God said, I am the salesman and daughter. I came as them to visit you. I am everything and everyone, you just need to open your eyes.

Divinity, god and happiness are the same thing and they are manifesting in everyone and everything, like how a rainbow comes in many different colors, but is just 1 white light. Without 1 white light, all the colors could not be. Divinity is always with us. 

The RAW was to write a piece of paper saying god and carry it with you everywhere. 

Explore 

Today, instead of a story, we explored happiness.

Take a piece of paper and write all the things and people and places that make you happy. Even though these things make you happy, they do not have happiness stored in them. For example, if one person loves pineapple but someone else is allergic to it. They would not get happiness by eating it! That means that happiness is not inherently in any single thing. 

What is your favorite dessert? This dessert makes you feel happy when you eat it, right? But if you ate 10 helpings of that dessert, would it still bring you happiness? That means that happiness is not in quantity either.

What time did you go to sleep last night? If you share a time, that is not possible! How can you know what time it is when you are sleeping? When we are sleeping, the entire world disappears, and we are at peace. We all think that happiness will come from external things, but in reality, we are never more at peace and happy then when we are sleeping. Therefore, the absence of things creates peace and happiness.

If you have a splinter, are you happy? Do you welcome that foreign invader into your body? Of course not! When you look at a splinter, you instantly want to get it out! Just like that object is not natural to your body, anything that bring\s your sorrow, you want to get rid of. Anything that brings us pain or sorrow, we run from.

Have you ever heard someone seriously say, “I’m too happy! IT’S PAINFUL!!!” Of course not! Everyone wants to be happy in infinite amounts!

In summary:

≫ Happiness is not in any physical thing.

≫ Happiness will not come in large quantity of physical things.

≫ The absence of things, like when you are sleeping, brings peace and hapiness.

≫ Anything that brings pain or sorrow, we run from.

≫ Everyone wants to be happy in infinite amounts.

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Notes By Om Shreejay

Review: 

We reviewed the story about a lady who had God coming to their home the next day. She prepared her house for God. While she was preparing there were a few people who came to her, a salesman and her neighbor’s daughter, she quickly told them to go away and that she had a special guest. She was frustrated that God didn’t come and she went to bed. In her dreams God said he had visited 2 times, as the salesman and neighbor. 

This taught us that God is in everything and everyone, and divinity/happiness is always with us. Just like the white light appearing as a rainbow displays many colors.

RAW from last week was discussed and reflections were shared on how we remember divinity/happiness. Everything worthwhile requires effort.

Lesson – Exploring Happiness

Suman JI asked us to name the things/places that make us happy. He asked us if the things we shared would lead to indefinite happiness. If different things make different people happy, then happiness cannot be in those things. Therefore, happiness is not in people, objects, or places, we associate objects with happiness. For example, if you were given your favorite flavor of ice cream and you had to eat multiple bowls, it wouldn’t bring you happiness. This shows that happiness does not mean more things (or quantity) and isn’t in things. 

We also talked about the absence of things. For example, when we sleep there is an absence of things, we don’t know where we are, who we are etc. We do not want to get out of bed. We think that all the things in the world can make us happy. But instead of waking up and going for all these objects, we decide to sleep in. In the absence of everything, we are peaceful. That means, happiness is not outside; it is within us, it is us. 

We withdraw from anything that is unnatural and we embrace all that is natural. He told us that anything that brings us sorrow (like a splinter on the skin) we avoid or get rid of. We try to escape all things unnatural and embrace that which is natural. Happiness is natural and hence we want it all the time!

RAW:

We are going to have a combined class next week and some of our peers are going to be teaching us.