Class Notes by Bhargavi

When we switch carrying groceries from one hand to another and when we switch legs during contemplation, all we are doing is postponing pain. Just like we postpone this type of physical pain, we are also postponing mental pain by breathing or chanting techniques. In Shrimad Bhagavatam, there is a section on how one should engage in overall training. One of the specific teaching is on how to deal with extreme weather is through contemplation on the knowledge that it is the body that is experiencing the discomfort, pain and we are not the body. By thus engaging in contemplation, we are transcending pain. The vision of this course is to experience limitlessness by invoking it within ourselves.

Recap of verse 5: Articles are perceived by the eyes, eyes come into the thoughts and thoughts come into awareness. Articles, eyes and thoughts are of the nature of “undependability”. Philosophically speaking undependability is when you depend on another entity. Awareness is most dependable, meaning it is independent. When we know what/who we are not, then surrendering what/who we are becomes natural. Articles, eyes, thoughts are not who I am. If you surrender these, you are a sanyasi and if you don’t surrender these, you are a samsari. Acharya Shankara continues taking us in and out of our nature, into our nature so we have that intellectual appreciation and out of our nature so that we see what/who we are not.

Verse 6: Chit =awareness, Chaaya= shade/not awareness, Aveshatah= lives/enters, Budhau= in the buddhi or intellect. The ego expresses through the intellect. Built into any text by Acharya Shankara, is the importance of Sadhana Chatushtaya, these are needed for one to flow through the remainder of the text. The first quality listed in the Sadhana Chatushtaya, is Viveka! Viveka is defined as discrimination. A more practical word to define Viveka is differentiation. In Sanatana Dharma, there are various frameworks that we need to engage in, in terms of differentiation, to surrender what we are not so that we can embrace who we are. From the most macro to the micro, these frameworks are: 1. Triavastha viveka, to differentiate the three states, waking, dreaming, sleeping (fourth one is awareness). 2. Trisharira viveka, three bodies (gross, subtle and causal bodies) and differentiating them from awareness and 3. Most personal and one with most details, is the panchakosha viveka, the five sheaths and awareness. Five sheaths are body, breath, mind, intellect, ego. Philosophical meaning of Avastha is that which is always changing. Sharira also means that which is always changing, kosha ahs also the same implication is to be understood. These sheaths are always changing. If one can know that body, sheaths are always changing, then philosophically we understand that “I” have to be different because I feel a part of me is not changing. This is Viveka. The practical implication is why depend on that which is undependable.

One is expressed as two. The further one moves from awareness, there is more division and dullness. Stones naturally manifest existence but not awareness and joy. Plants manifest existence and awareness, animals manifest existence, awareness and joy. Stones are thus furthest from awareness. As you come closer with plants, animals, humans, more of that manifestation is possible. Body is furthest from awareness and therefore manifests the least amount of awareness. Breath is also the same (Body and breath are both the gross body), mind is closer to awareness and manifests it along with joy. Intellect is the closest equipment to awareness (deeper than the intellect is the ego but the ego is not an equipment). The practical application of all these details is that we need to purify our intellect because this is the equipment that can help us push through the ego and rediscover the spirit. One needs an intellectual technique to be able to transcend the ego and feel the spirit. That is why there is an emphasis on “Sattva”, lifestyle of Sat so that I come to feel that I am That (Sat)!

In the first quarter, Acharya Shankara suggests that Awareness as if gets expressed through the intellect and the channel is the ego. Second quarter indicates that the ego expresses through the intellect in two ways. These two ways are described in the third and fourth quarters.

One of the ways the ego expresses is the “Ahamkara” (sense of “I do”) and when there is doing, built into it is the sense of deserving. In actuality, the ego expresses in three ways: 1. As an observer (Sattvic, purest form of ego), 2. As one that separates (Rajasic) and 3. An one that identifies (Tamasic, heaviest form) with intellect, mind, breath, body, articles, beings, circumstances. We should therefore pull back from identification to separation (get to know separation by understanding that this separation is not real) and then we become an observer. This is the closest to awareness.

Second way according to Acharya Shankara, the ego expresses in the intellect, is the “Antahkarana” (inner equipment). The body/breath is described as Bahikarana (hardware) and ego, intellect, memory, mind comprise the Antahkarana (software). The mind gets associated with memory, mind and memory are friends and intellect and ego are friends. Nature of the mind is to doubt, nature of the intellect is to decide and nature of memory is to remember. Mind interprets, memory gives a reference to interpret from. By doing this, we will always live in the past and living in the past always makes one feel regretful. Throughout this combination of mind and memory is the ego. It is this ego that is living in the past. Intellect instructs in the future and this leads to anxiety. Again, it’s the ego experiencing this. So our hardware is useless, in the sense, body and breath are simply riding along. The driver is the Antahkarana. The implication of all the philosophy is Invest all your time, energy and resources into your software because you are not living at the body level but at the mind level and there is a long journey from the mind to awareness. Invest in the mind!