Subodha Vedanta Class Notes – May 12, 2024
Subodha Vedanta’s Chapter 9 is on creation. Chapter 10 is on Creator. Each chapter is a step from being dependently joyous to Independently Joyous. Chapter 11 is on partial freedom, while Chapter 12 is on full freedom.
We continue with Chapter 12.
Verse1:
The knower of the truth sings the SAma Mantras – “hA vu hA vu hA vu hA..!” Thus, he expresses the Supreme Bliss of his own Self.
Verse 2:
Atma-krIdah svAtma-ratirjIvanmuktah sadA sukhI
punyApunya-vinirmukto sarvAnanda-karo yatih
The Liberated one sports and revels in the Self, ever happy. He is free from merits and sins, and he becomes the giver of Joy to all.
Some insights: Why the one who is independently joyous doesn’t have punya or papa is because merits and sins relate to deservership, but that doesn’t apply to them as they are not the doer. If there is doership, there will be deservership and with that comes punya and papa. So if there is no doership, there will not be deservership either. A majority of the Bhagavad Gita invests in removing deservership and removing doership.
The one who is free becomes the one who gives Joy to all. Our Joy goes away because of regrets of the past and anxieties of the future. The verb we should engage in to not have regrets of the past is to Learn from the past, so that it becomes an experience which is more meaningful. If we are distracted and get into a minor car accident, we can regret it or learn from it by not being a distracted driver and that becomes a learning experience. We shouldn’t live in the past as much.
And how do we have less anxieties about the future? Plan for the future as it is a methodology in doing our best. We tend to act for fulfillment. We make mistakes and so have regrets. We want fulfillment, so we plan. But the person who is more Independently Joyous stays in the present and pulls others to the present as well. They don’t go into the past or the future as much. So, a Joyous person creates Joy all around them. This verse describes someone who has come home. When we get back home after a long trip, it feels so nice to be home. So imagine the Joy of being home permanently after being away for lifetimes! This is a most beautiful thought.
Verse 3:
Naiva kurvan-na kArayan kArayam sAdhnoti sarvadA
Ascharyam na hi kim-etat pashya tvam budha-vaibhavam
Neither doing, nor prompting others to do, he always accomplishes tasks. Is this not a wonder? See the glory of the Enlightened one!
Some reflections: One of the descriptions of Swami Chinmayananda is Satya SankalpayA – the one whose thought becomes the Truth. They are the Truth, so anything that comes from the Truth is going to become the Truth, just like anything that comes from sugar is going to be sweet. What is being shared is that the person who is enlightened is Bhagavan. The same is stated in the Narada Bhakti Sutra. So if anyone really wants to take on a new level of effectiveness in their lives, get enlightened. If we want to be the Best, get Enlightened. Then you are not functioning through yourself, but Bhagavan is functioning through you.
“A flute only realizes its potential, when it is picked up by the flute bearer himself.” – The implication is that we currently feel we are creating our own music – that is the Ego, but when we empty ourselves, then Bhagavan Krishna is creating that music.
For all of us who are part of Sanatana Dharma, we have documented records of those who were enlightened. This is not poetry, but there are the Shri Ramanas, Shri Ramakrishnas, the Devi Miras. These are people who were alive and there is history about them. It is all the same enlightenment and this will be our future too. It is just a matter of how sincere we are for us to experience this.
In January, the first chapter of Subodha Vedanta was on prArthana. Now this last chapter is on Kritajnata. The first chapter is on praying that we can become independently joyous and the last chapter is now on “I am now Independently Joyous”. This is not a step in the journey to Joy. This IS JOY!.
Everyone likes a happy ending. So what happened to the seeker who went to the Guru’s Ashrama, asked questions and received answers? Did he accomplish the goal of his Life? The disciple expresses his feelings thus.
We continue to the last chapter, Chapter 13.
Verse 1:
Shishya uvAcha
Dhanyo’ham krtakrtyo’ham prsAdAt-tava he guro
bhAvaye padma-yugmam te satatam hrdi komalam
The disciple said, “O Guru! Due to your grace, I am blessed. I am fulfilled. I shall always meditate upon your holy lotus feet in my heart.”
For those who have studied the Upanishads, there are three methods or sadhanas to be enlightened –
- Shravana – Active listening
- Manana – Active reflecting
- NidhidhyAsana – Active contemplating
However, the fourth factor is Krpa – it is the Guide’s Grace that actually takes precedence or is more powerful than shravana, manana or nidhidhyAsana. This is re-emphasized, but the word prasAda is used. It is through Grace that one can actually be active in their journey, and when they have completed their journey, they realize that it is only on account of the prasAda of their Guide that they are Joy.
When we become enlightened, there is no trace of ungratefulness. One of the worst qualities one sees in the younger generation is the sense of entitlement. It is really a feeling of being ungrateful. Here, there is no ungratefulness as taking for granted in Sanskrtam is Avidya – I have forgotten, but the one who is enlightened is infused with Vidya. They don’t take anything for granted. They are grateful!
Let us now close our eyes and try to be active in our listening, reflecting and contemplating simultaneously. Let us try to feel that Pujya Swami Tejomayananda is sitting right in front of us and is teaching us in a most direct way –
When he looks back on what he was when he came to the Guru’s ashrama and what he experiences now, his heart is filled with gratitude. This total transformation, this most difficult accomplishment, the attainment of the subtlest Truth, this rarest of rare achievement was possible only and only through the grace of the Guru. His loving guidance, inspiring presence and great teaching made the impossible possible. The disciple’s heart melts with devotion and gratitude, which he finds difficult to express. He promises to meditate and worship the Guru’s holy feet, the Truth that the Guru stands upon. At the end of the teaching, Arjuna too says, “My delusion has been destroyed, I remember who I am”. This doubtless knowledge was accomplished only by Your grace. Now I shall do what you say.”
Verse 2:
Guruh uvAcha
Tava bhaktyA prasanno’ham yathA jnAnam grhItavAn
Brahmanishtah sadaiva tvam parA-bhaktiyuto bhava
You have been enlightened. You are expressing your krtajnata to your Guide and now your Guide is reciprocating his gratitude to you.
The Guru said, “I am pleased with your devotion and the way you have grasped the knowledge. Now may you remain ever established in the Truth and have supreme devotion for God.”
Verse 3:
ayam subodha-vedAntah guru-devAshishA krtah
samarpaye tam tebhyo hi prasannAh santu te mayi
This work, Subodha Vedanta, was completed through the blessings of Shri Gurudev and God. I dedicate it to them. May they be ever pleased with me.
Om Tat Sat
We should always remember the Grace in our Lives.
Discussion: What is the most significant change in your life on account of your Guide? Think about your whole life and then think about a certain age in your life. Think about how you are and what you are now. What is the most significant change from then to now on account of your Guide and what He/She/It has done to you for you?
Vivekji shared his reflection that his Guide has helped him to Love himself in a full way.
RAM:
- Join Meaningful Mornings daily.
- Listen to the 55-day training recordings from the Highest Vocation on Chapter 6 of Bhagavad Gita on YouTube starting June 11th when Meaningful morning ends temporarily. Practice Contemplation daily using these recordings.