ViBha Class Notes: December 11, 2022

One of the greatest personalities that loved/loves God is Shri Ramakrshna. He loved/loves Bhagavan Krshna so much that he engaged in the upasana of Bhagavati Radha. Upasana is a technique where you become who you are focusing on or worshiping. He became Bhagavati Radha. He dressed like Bhagavati Radha, he looked like her, he smelt like her, and this is incredible since he did not have an organization revolving around him. He was not a teacher. He was a bhakta who did anything and everything to love Bhagavan. That is the standard we are trying to train ourselves into as well, to not be held back by anyone. Our only relationship is with Bhagavan and Vedanta in Bhagavata is like a private meeting with Bhagavan. Picture Bhagavan Krshna as our private dancer, which is a very intimate experience. 

The portion of Bhagavata that we are in the process of completing is the teachings of Rshi Dattatreya. The most important quality for a seeker is to be reflective. Rshi Dattareya is sharing that if one is self-reflective, then they will learn from every experience, and they will never be bored. How do we know we are becoming self-reflective? When we are less bored. 

Rshi Dattatreya shares that his 17th teacher is the courtesan, Pingala who is a prostitute, and Rshi Dattatreya learns about happiness from a prostitute. And our practice is to Associate. What we can learn from this courtesan is that if we associate with those that are addictive, we will be the same way. But if we associate with those who are independent, we will be the same way too. One more insight about Pingala- She realized that her customers, who paid for her body, were like the wind. They just came and went. If we expand that to our relationships, they come and go too. The finality of our journey is to depend on ourselves. When we depend on ourselves, that is Infinity. 

The 18th teacher of Rshi Dattatreya is the Osprey, that Osprey which is flying away with a small piece of meat, and our practice from this is to Simplify. Flashy people are not interested in those who are simple. Flashy people are interested in those who are flashy, and we can never rest in such a game. If it’s a matter of good looking, today we are good looking, another day someone else is. Why compete as there is no rest! If we choose not to play that game, then there is a lot of rest. So simplify!

Some commentators share that after the Osprey, the next teacher is a child and the greatness of a child is highlighted. However, Vivekji is not officially listing a child as a teacher. 

What Rshi Dattatreya shared is that for a child, all is a game. When a child feels all is a game, they are not concerned about winning or losing. Here is an implication of this. If we are concerned about winning, we become future oriented. If we are concerned about losing, we are past oriented. For those who drift into the future, what comes with that is anxiety. And if we drift into the past, what comes with that is regret. Why did we do this? Why did we say this? A child is not concerned about losing or winning, the past or the future, so they are living in the present where they are much more free. 

Rshi Dattatreya also shares that there are two types of people who have no worries – those who are completely enlightened as they are past thoughts, and those who are completely ignorant as they do not know that they should have worries. We should be the former, not the latter. 

Our 19th teacher is a teenager, and what we learn from the teenager is to seclude. Vivekji has noticed that a sense of insecurity is rampant amongst all demographics, with different age groups. One of the starting points for insecurity is the feeling of being isolated. Here, feeling isolated and feeling secluded are totally different. In feeling secluded, we feel full, while in feeling isolated, we feel empty. 

Vivekji shared that he had once secluded himself in a room in Surat, India for 168 hours. The first two days were hard as the mind was detoxifying, as there was no contact with anyone. On the third day, Vivekji had a revelation that if one never opened the door, he would be fine. He had food, water and shelter, and he felt that everything he needed was inside and not outside. When they finally opened the door at the end of the week, Vivekji shared that he was a bit scared and didn’t want to leave. 

Vivekji shared a practical way to engage in Seclude. Everyday we must practice one hour of mauna – close our mouth to open our mind. This means to be with ourselves, getting to know oneself for a full hour everyday. Every week, we must practice half a day of mauna. It is a great practice to learn not to feel isolated. Every month, we must practice one day of mauna, tending to our responsibilities before that. And finally, every year, we must engage in a weekend of mauna. That is what we have been trying to do with our Silence Retreats. These are three teachers from last week, and now moving forward – 

Teacher 20 – This is an Arrowsmith. In Sanskrtam, they are called Ishukara – ishu means arrow and kara is maker. 

Skanda 11:9:11 – Rshi Dattatreya shares that our minds have to be trained to focus. Where do we start? Let our breath be natural. The best Pranayama is to exercise as one who exercises regularly has a more natural breathing process. Then to have a relaxed body. In our culture, we have Asana Siddhi which means we are powerful with sitting, if we can sit without moving for 45 minutes. We need such conscious living and training to not fidget or move. Then comes Vairagya Abhyasa Yoga. We have heard this before in Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6, where Sri Krshna tells Prince Arjuna that when one practices, one needs to engage in Vairagya, which means letting go of that which is harming us, and practicing even if this is difficult. Our minds are most distracted at 9pm, so Vairagya means we should go to sleep early, and Abhyasa means we do this everyday. If we exercise once a week, we will not be healthy. If we read Bhagavad Gita once a week, we will not understand Bhagavad Gita. Then the mind is to be channelised, directed with great care so that it isn’t distracted. 

The Genesis of this verse – Once, this Arrowsmith was making arrows in his shop, and the King came there with his retinue. In spite of all the noise, that Arrowsmith was so focused in making those arrows that he did not even know that the King and his retinue were right outside his shop. 

The implication for us – Our whole life is a training for contemplation. Vivekji has shared that if we don’t know how to contemplate, we cannot be content. Each week at the start of our Srimad Bhagavata class, we chant “Satyam Param Dhimahi” – We contemplate on the Highest Truth. The precursor here is that if we want to contemplate we need to have a focused mind. Anything that is distracting us, we should stop entertaining that. It is a dangerous way to live. When we multitask, we may be doing well on the IQ, but we are losing out on the SQ or spiritual quotient. If we can’t focus, we cannot contemplate, and if we can’t contemplate, we cannot be content.  Another subtle point here is – Who is the Arrowsmith making arrows for? For that King. This shows how he is offering the greatest service, that more important than the King liking him is him doing the work for the King. 

Once Swamini Vimalananda had shared that when she initially started teaching, she had gone into a room once where Pujya Swami Chinmayananda was sitting, and there were a lot of people sitting around as well. Some were offering him tea, some were massaging his feet. She had just returned from engaging in her seva, and she really wanted to be closer to him. She was thinking and feeling this, when Pujya Swami Chinamayanda stopped, and said out loud, “And my greatest sevakas are those that are out working in the field”, and she felt so empowered by that. Those who were not present and actually helping Gurudev with his work were doing the greatest service. 

Our practice is Unitask. When we walk, walk, when we eat, eat, when we teach, teach, when we listen, listen. Then the mind becomes focused, and then learns to contemplate, and then we are content.

Teacher 21 – It is a snake or Sarpa in Sanskrtam. What do you think Rshi Dattatreya observed about snakes in the jungle? Rshi Dattatreya shares that a snake never builds its own home. It always finds a home that is not being used, and starts to live in that home or hole. Sometimes it eats what is in that hole, and then starts to live there, but that doesn’t apply to us! We all live in a home, so what is the logic in this? The security or certainty of a home is unclear or unsure. So why should we invest in that which is unclear, that which is unsure? So the implication is that instead of investing outside, we should invest inside. Instead of depending on that which is shaky, we must depend on ourselves.

Other strong points about snakes are that they are comfortable being alone, quiet and vigilant. Often we see them, but don’t even know they are there. What we can practice from this teacher is to Utilize. Whatever assets or possessions we have, we should use them fully, like a snake does. It doesn’t let that hole be wasted; it uses it. Another practice is to Re-use. A snake is very environmental, so buy used clothing, buy used dishes, and so on and so forth. Instead of investing in that which is harming the earth, it has already been taken from the earth, so utilize it fully. This way, more does not have to be taken from the Earth.

Teacher 22 – It is the Spider or Urnanabhi – that from which thread comes from their navel. There is a lot shared about the spider, and it is very technical and beautiful. So let us close our eyes and listen to the insights about the Spider which very much has to do with creation, time and Bhagavan. Let us visualize this with our eyes closed, our bodies relaxed and our breath natural. 

“At the end of the creative cycle, Narayana, the sole reality, destroys by means of His power of time, the whole universe which His own maya has created. When time, His power, has thus brought sattva, rajas and tamas, the three aspects of Prakrti into equilibrium, He exists as the sole reality, being Himself, His own support, the residual base of all, and the Master of both matter and Spirit. Transcending all relative existence, high and low, He exists as boundless freedom and the ocean of pure Consciousness Bliss. When the creative cycle begins, time, which is but His will, agitates His own maya, constituted of sattva, rajas and tamas, and manifests the Sutratma, the pervading Spirit known otherwise as Mahatattva. He, the Sutratma, formed of the three gunas, is looked upon by great men as the Creator of this multifarious universe. This whole universe is threaded on Him, and the jiva transmigrates because of Him. Just as a spider brings out of its web, from within itself, through the mouth, sports in it for sometime, and then withdraws it into itself, so does the Supreme Being create, spread and withdraw the universe all by Himself.”

Stretch, inhale, smile.

What is the implication of all this technicality? Where is Bhagavan? Where is Bhagavan not? Bhagavan is the Manifest. Bhagvan is the transition from Manifest to unmanifest. Bhagavan is the unmanifest. Bhagavan manifests again. Bhagavan is the creation, the Creator, Consciousness, the Sutratma, the thread that unites all of us. What an awesome lesson to be learned from a spider! Our practice is to Release. Let us let go of those ways that we live that make us feel separate from others. Whatever makes us feel more separate from the people around us, let us release that. If we go back to the child, if someone is so adamant about winning, let them win then. Release this notion that we have to beat them. Let them win.

Teacher 23 – It is an Insect or Keeta in Sanskrtam. 

Skanda 11:9:22 – The saying that we often come across is – As you think, so you develop. And what affects our thinking? As we associate, so we think, so we develop. In whatever way a human thinks, in whatever way the mind goes, with concentration, in a comprehensive way, it is directed. If a human thinks intensely about, and how do they think intensely about it? Out of love, out of hate or out of fear. When we are afraid, that is what we think about the most. If there is someone we do not like, we look at them the most. The way we think, we become that. That becomes our svarupa. 

The reasoning for this, what Rshi Dattatreya saw in the jungle – A wasp had captured an insect, and put it into a hole within this wasp’s nest that it could not get out of. But the insect could see the wasp, hear it – the buzzing, the buzzing, the buzzing. And eventually, this same insect started to feel that it was a wasp. It didn’t start to develop the body of a wasp. However, this insect started to behave like a wasp, and that is the point that is shared here. This insect associated with a wasp, started thinking like a wasp, and started to develop as a wasp. Our 23rd practice is to Model. Model those whom we want to be like. Revolve around inspiring people, revolve around inspiring people’s ideas, and finally revolve around inspiring ideas. 

We have now completed 23 of the 24 teachers of Rshi Dattatreya, which are our own teachers. We have one more teacher to go next week. 

Raw: Our practices from this week – Unitask, utilize, release and model.