ViBha Class Notes – March 26, 2023
Pujya Swami Tejomayananda shared, “Do not tell God how big your problems are, Tell your problems how Big your God is”. In Sanskrtam, the word for God is Brahman, meaning Bigness, The Biggest. It is a deep thought as we all have problems. We have physical problems, financial problems, internet problems, but the Only solution or The Solution is to feel that God is with us, to feel that God is within us.
In the Assembly, Vivekji shared with the children to feel their breath. Deeper than that, to feel their heartbeat, and deeper than that, to feel their life. We use words like Existence, Awareness for life, but for a child, Life is easier to understand. So for all of us, when we are feeling overwhelmed by problems, it is because we have forgotten what The Solution is. In Vedanta in Bhagavata, there is a singular teaching message that is — To belong to Bhagavan, to Be Bhagavan”.
Skanda 11 begins with a lot of negativity. There are fights, and Shri Krshna has directly and indirectly shared that He is dissolving His name and form. Rshi Uddhava is sensitive to this and shares that he would like to come with Him. Bhagavan Krshna then shares that Rshi Uddhava cannot come with Him the way he thinks he can come with Him, that He, Bhagavan Krshna, is not going to an orientation that is based on Time, Space and Matter, that He is returning to His Nature which is Existence, Awareness, Joy. That is not a going, but a Returning or Realizing.
Rshi Uddhava is sincere so Bhagavan doesn’t just shut him down, but shares that he can come with Him by Being HIM, and he begins to teach him how to Be Him or Be Shri Krshna. In our Upanishad, it is shared — Brahmavit Brahmeva Bhavati — The one who knows Infinity is Infinity. In the Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavan Krshna is singing, and if Prince Arjuna follows this song, then he will follow the Author, where that song is coming from. That is the focus of the 11th Skanda. It is not as enjoyable as Skanda 10 as it is about teachings. We like to know the lessons and episodes of Shri Krshna’s life, but who is the teacher in this Skanda? It is Shri Krshna. It is not enough to just love His life. We have to also love His teachings. So if we Love Shri Krshna, but do not Love Bhagavad Gita, then how does it make sense?
In Chapter 23, Bhagavan Krshna is speaking to Rshi Uddhava. In the previous chapters, He communicated with Rshi Uddhava that labels keep us stuck in the relative, keep us stuck in the world, that we have to rise above labels. Rshi Uddhava finds it too hard, so Bhagavan Krshna shares a katha of one who was stuck in labels, but then who rose above labels. This all happened in Avantika or Ujjain, where Bhagavan Krshna went to the Gurukula. Rshi Sandeepani’s Ashram is there. There, there was a Brahmana who studied the Veda and he was lucky and well to do so. There was a lot of prosperity privileged upon him, but he didn’t act like how a Brahmana should act. A Brahmana should study the Veda and share this freely, but he didn’t. He was a hoarder. We came across in Skanda 10, an Asura called Dhenuka who hoarded, and Dhenuka was a donkey. So what happened to this Brahmana? The privilege of prosperity that he had was taken away from him, and all of the people that he should have helped, they started to harm him.
Skanda 11:23:18 — This is a really powerful verse. Shri Krshna shares that the one who is a hoarder, one who is greedy, they experience anartha or calamity, destruction. Specifically, they become like a thief — steya, they become — himsa — cruel, they are anartham — deceitful, dambah — dumb or pretentious, kamah — desirous, krodah — angry, smayo — prideful, madah — arrogant, bheda — always focused on separation. Where there is separation, next comes comparison, and then competition, next comes jealousy and finally this ends with insecurity. And this is beautifully shared here that they have this vairam — enmity with others. They are mean. They don’t trust and are suspicious — avishvasah, they are jealous — samsparda and addicted — vyasana. Shri Krshna shares that these are 15 ways that one starts to feel calamity or destruction. So someone who is a hoarder, is someone who becomes greedy, and then this calamity happens.
When outer security is a priority, then this is what happens. We see this in movies, and it is shared in the scriptures, so then why even flirt with this idea that we can be secure through externalities? If we don’t, then we start to have the right relationship with resources. This Brahmana studied the Veda like all of us, but when all of this was taken away, he had nothing he could depend on externally, so he started to depend on himself. He openly acknowledges that it is through Grace that he started to practice what he had studied. For all of us in this community, we have been studying Vedanta for 8 ½ years. And that moment when we started to practice this, that is Grace upon us or that is Grace inside of us. And Grace is felt as guidance, where there is emphasis on practice or practicality.
So this Brahmana does start to practice what the Veda teaches, to depend on oneself, and he goes on to share with all of the people who he did not help, and are now harming him. They are now questioning him on how he was not reacting. How he was not stuck in the relative?. And he goes on to share a Gita or song called Bikshu Gita which is Verses 43–58, a total of 16 verses. This Bikshu is called a Dvija in Shrimad Bhagavata or someone who is twice born. Birds are also called dvija, first they are born into an egg and then they fly, which is called their second birth. Our teeth are called dvija as we have our baby teeth and then adult teeth. So he is called a Dvija and is speaking to the Praja.
There are a lot of teachings in this chapter about — As you associate, so you think and as you think, so you develop. Let us remember the scheme — Associate, Think, Develop. The previous night’s workshop was about how to instill pride in Sanatana Dharma for a younger generation, and one of the final points Vivekji shared was exposure — exposure at a family level, community level and societal level, and at the community level for the younger generation to feel associated with an organization or Ashram. This association leads to thinking and developing.
Bhagavan Krshna started this teaching on association with Sattva. He said that if we associate with Sattva, then we will think and develop into Sattva. Do we remember the 10 directions of Sattva? Aagama, Aapa — What we read? What we drink?. But then He goes on to share — association with Sadhus. And maybe Rshi Uddhava, like us, we have a prejudice to who a Sadhu is. We think that a Sadhu is determined by one’s exterior — the length of the hair, gender, or age. But here Shri Krshna shares that a Sadhu is one who treats those who treat them poorly, with kindness. If someone is kind to us, it is easy to be kind back. If someone is mean to us, if we are kind back, then we are a Sadhu. It is not external, but it is internal. So Shri Krshna is showing Rshi Uddhava an example of living like a Sadhu. When we connect all these dots, this shows how much Bhagavan Krshna loves us. He is showing us proof that there are people who live like this.
Skanda 11:23:44 — This verse has been taught already. In a simple way — In Bikshu Gita, this Brahmana shares that none can cause one sorrow, only one’s mind can cause one sorrow. No planet, no person, nothing can cause us sorrow, only our own mind can cause us sorrow. What an empowering message as we automatically stop complaining, blaming and annotating. We start to take responsibility for our sorrow and start to follow Dharma.
Sharing some more insights — This Bikshu shares that for the person who thinks that there is an outside cause for their sorrow, they identify with their body a lot. They are an exterior or extrovert person and because they feel that they are this body, and that another is their body, so conflict goes on. When we are dreaming and sleeping, we do not identify with the body. There is no conflict then. This Bikshu is connecting so many dots. In this skanda, Bhagavan Krshna has shared that first we have to direct our mind, and then we have to transcend our mind. We have already explored this in the 9th Skanda in terms of vasanas. First, we have to engage in vasanakshaya, which means we have to lighten our ego, and then after that vasananasha, which means we have to go beyond our ego. In the Bhagavad Gita, when we get to Chapter 14, Bhagavan Krshna shares that first we have to be Sattvic, and then we have to be Udasina, be more than the gunas. We have to really work with our mind, not with the planets or people, but our own mind, and then be more authentic and deep to get to the Spirit.
Pujya Swami Tejomayananda has shared many great revelations on Bikshu Gita. He said that in the effect, is the cause. When something doesn’t go our way, we are feeling that effect, we are angry. The cause is in that effect. Where is that anger? In the mind. So Guruji is teaching us that when we are feeling that effect, to not treat it casually, but contemplate on it, and find out why that is happening. And he further shared that when we do something and we do not get it the way we wanted it, what do we do with that result or phala? We start to the label it. The result is not the problem, but the labeling of the results that causes us problems. Labels like — this is good and that is bad. Let us think of food. Suppose we have the vigilance of mind not to label food as tasty or not tasty, then we are just eating food or even more than that, just energy. We become so independent.
Final thought — This Bikshu, who is speaking to the Praja — Adopting this discipline of subsistence in the Supreme Self, following the example of great Rshis of the past and taking to the service of the feet of the worship of Mukunda, I shall soon get across the limitless expanse of the darkness of ignorance. This is the final verse of Bikshu Gita. All of the Praja or people who were astounded by him, by how balanced he was, he shared with them that this was how they could also be balanced. If they wanted to be like him, and he was trying to be like Bhagavan Krshna, so they could try to become like Bhagavan Krshna as well.
After Bikshu Gita ends, Bhagavan Krshna describes this Bikshu some more in Verse 59 — Thus did that mendicant proclaim, on losing all his wealth, and thereby attaining complete dispassion and freedom from all worldly cares. Though insulted and persecuted by evil beings, he roamed over the land without budging even an inch from his characteristic ways of life, in the face of all these provocations and difficulties.
What is being shared is that it doesn’t matter what the context is, if we are a seeker or want to be a seeker like this Bikshu, our sadhana or our relationship with the Divine cannot be affected. For those who travel or are busy, what happens to their sadhana? It stops. The English word for Sadhana is Self Love. If we stop loving ourselves, how can we love those who are mean to us? We will only be kind to those who are kind to us. That is not being a Sadhu, but being a vanik or a merchant — you give me this and I give this back to you.
This chapter ends with — Whoever hears with faith and devotion this song of the mendicant, dealing with the subject of establishment in Brahman, or makes others hear it and themselves constantly think over it, will not be overcome by the contradictions, the labels of life.
Vivekji shared that he cannot think of a better investment in any direction than what we are doing together, where we stop being touched by the relative. This chapter is very much about how titeeksha leads to Sthane, how endurance leads to acceptance. When the world is bothering us, Engage. Where our head is, bring our hands there. Where our hands are, bring our head there. Then we do not overthink. More refined than that is Chant. As someone is insulting us with criticism, chant in our mind — Om Namo Narayanaya. If they are saying we are a gadha, donkey, what we are feeling is Narayana. Even more refined than that is to Observe, not just the outer noise, but the inner noise too. Our minds are way louder than any family member, any incident, and so on.
As Vivekji was preparing for today’s class and chapter, Vivekji shared that he was feeling very sad and emotional. Today we are experiencing 4 ½ years of Shrimad Bhagavata — 148 hours. This is the 11th Skanda out of 12 skandas. We are now in the final 8 classes, and in these final 8 classes, we will take up a chapter, and these final 8 chapters are Bhagavan Krshna’s final 8 chapters. We have been with Bhagavan for so long, His life and now His teachings, and feeling how much Bhagavan loves us. Before going to the Vedanta course, Vivekji shared that he frantically organized all his stuff to share with his parents as he wanted the transition to be smooth. Bhagavan Krshna is frantically teaching Rshi Uddhava everything he needs to know before Bhagavan is not there any more. Chapter by chapter, He is taking up subjects that will help Rshi Uddhava and us continue to feel the Presence of Bhagavan.
The next chapter is a technical one on Sankhya, which means Samkhya or well counted or well analyzed. The vision of this chapter is — The more we know creation in detail, the more we know that there is more to creation, that there is Consciousness. That is the vision of this chapter, that there has to be something else that is holding all of this together, and that is Consciousness. The two verses that we will study next week are Verse 3 and Verse 17. In Verse 3, Bhagavan Krshna shares that Oneness feels like twoness because of Maya. Oneness gets divided into a subject and object because of Avidya which is ignorance or forgetting Oneness. When we forget Consciousness, then what are we always thinking about? Creation.
In Verse 17, Bhagavan Krshna shares a lovely way on how we should think about our experience with creation. What is there in the beginning and what is there at the end, also has to be there in the middle. We have gold in the beginning, it then turns into an ornament, and when it is melted down again, it becomes gold. So what is it in the middle? Gold. There is Existence in the beginning, there is Existence in the end, and what is it that we are all experiencing and are? Existence. When this body dies, the body will become food, food will become seeds, seeds will become the Earth. So who are we finally? Earth. Is how we look so important? Is how the body feels so important?. If we serve Earth, we are serving all bodies. Let us connect this back, that Earth depends on Existence, and Existence depends on none. So if we depend on Existence, then we become Independent. This is what is shared in Chapters 24 and 25. We came to these last chapters to feel Bhagavan’s Love, to be moved by how Bhagavan is preparing us when He is not with us, externally.
Discussion: What are ways to treat the functional, functionally?
Vivekji’s thoughts — Purpose pulls performance. If we have an ordinary purpose in life, then the functional is really fundamental. But if we have an extraordinary purpose in life, to love the community and society, then how do we treat our family? Functionally. If we love the society, what happens to the community? It becomes functional. We then have the right relationship then.