ViBha Class Notes – October 8, 2023

Vedanta in Bhagavata is a course on patience. Many courses that we are exposed to are more about “what can I get and do today”, unlike Vedanta in Bhagavata. It is a course in patience because even though we are listening about and from Bhagavan, in the sense that Bhagavan Krshna and Rshi Shuka are sharing, we don’t feel this unless we reflect. Reflection, manana, this presupposes patience.

Vivekji observed a billboard on his way back from the Airport in Chicago which said – If you are texting, who is driving? For us to experience Ramayana or Bhagavata, we have to invest our resources, time and most of all effort to feel Ramayana and Bhagavata. We cannot just be present physically. We cannot multitask. We have to invest in this experience. This investment is in knowing Bhagavan – knowing how Bhagavan Krshna was born, knowing how Bhagavan Rama treated His family. The more we know Bhagavan, the more we feel Bha – Bha means Light, like in the word Bhagavata, Bhagavan. In a more tactile way, the more we know Bhagavan, the more we feel that Bhagavan is holding on to us, and then we let go of stress, anxiety and dejection. Although this is a course on Bhakti, the utility of this course is unprecedented. We are completing  the 160^th hour of Vedanta in Bhagavata. We will complete this map on December 10^th in 168 hours, the hours in an entire week. Lots of people are exposed to Bhagavata Saptahas where they experience it over a course of a week, but we are experiencing this over the number of hours in a week. Very unprecedented!

In the 12^th section which is about tuning into the fundamentals – Nirodha, in the 3^rd  chapter, we begin this chapter with the Bhumi Gita or Earth Song. What the Earth sings out is describing what is happening to her, and is certainly not positive. There are thieves disguised as leaders who are causing harm to the Earth. And in this Bhumi Gita, she asks Bhagavan Krshna, the Divine – What can be done to help instead of harm the Earth?. What can help people instead of harm them? The answer given is Japa. Japa is raising the quality of our thoughts. Then the quantity of our thoughts is reduced. When we eat good food, we do not have to eat a lot of it. 

Another insight from the 3^rd chapter – We are all living in two dimensions. One is our outer dimension, when society holds power on us. Then there is an inner dimension where we hold power over society. Which is more powerful? If we change the wording to – Our Will power is greater than world power. Gandhiji, whose birthday we just celebrated, is a great example of it. Recently Vivekji heard that when Bharat became independent, 39 other countries also followed suit. So Will power is greater than world power. By raising the quality of our thoughts, we live in Krta yuga, where there is integrity.

Moving on to Chapter 4, which is very much about Pralaya, which means – what happens when creation starts to become uncreated. 

Skanda 12:4:36 – Time is like a flow of water and it is constantly taking away. The scary face on the top of an altar is the face of Kala or Time, the notion being that everyone outside of this ring of fire will be eaten by Time. Sometimes it is the face of a Rakshasa or sometimes the face of a tiger or dragon. Our aspiration is to get inside this ring of fire, then Time cannot take anything away from us. Everything is subject to conditions and modifications, and so all is comprehensively being born and dying. 

This is a verse that Rshi Shuka shares with Raja Parikshita.

More insights about Pralaya:

1. Nitya Pralaya or daily dissolution – It is when we go to sleep or when we are not paying attention. If we are sitting in satsanga, and thinking about lunch for example, that experience is dissolved. So that is also Nitya Pralaya. The deduction for us – If we know that all is always changing, we should not depend on it in an absolute way because we will just get burned. We have all experienced this,especially the older people.

2. Naimittika Pralaya or special dissolution – Naimittika means cause. There is a cause for this Pralaya and the cause is when Bhagavan Brahma goes to sleep. Nitya is when we go to sleep, and Naimittika is when Bhagavan Brahma goes to sleep. And if the creator goes to sleep, then what happens to creation? It is all dissolved. What is lovely is that Bhagavan Brahma sleeps in Bhagavan Narayana. So the implication for us is that when we sleep, we return to the lap of Bhagavan. That is why we love sleep, as we feel absolutely safe. 

Why Pralaya is brought up? – In the 3^rd chapter, the awfulness of Kali is described. People are always fighting and they feel money and power are the focus of life. So Raja Parikshita is thinking, extrapolating – What if people do not stop? Then what will happen to the people, to the world? And that is why Rshi Shuka is extrapolating the details of what will happen if we do not change.

3. Prakrta Pralaya or dissolution of elements – This is when Prakrti goes to sleep. This is when Bhagavan Brahma dies. Please contemplate on this – The highest form in this ladder of creation is Bhagavan Brahma, and Vivekji just intentionally stated that Bhagavan Brahma will die. If he is going to die, then we will definitely die, and all that remains is Bhagavan Narayana. 

There are some frightening details in this chapter. One of the first signs that Bhagavan Brahma is dying is that the world becomes very dry, that water just starts to evaporate from the ponds, lakes and so on. Then after that, there will be a strong proliferation of fire. Then things start to burn, and then pralaya really kicks in when everything starts to drown. Sea levels are rising, Antartica and the Arctic are going away. This has been documented several thousand of years ago, just to bring some of the faith of what is being shared, that when we feel all of this, and there is a message of despair, that is why there is a fourth Pralaya. This is what Rshi Shuka is trying to direct Raja Parikshita’s attention to.

4. Atyantika Pralaya or fundamental dissolution – It is when our ego is dissolved. When Vivekji was younger, he used to listen to pure Rock like Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, and as he evolved, he started to like alternative Rock, like Pearl Jam and Nirvana. The word Nirvana is a Sanskrtam word meaning to blow out. Back in the day, the group used to smash their guitars and blow up their speakers at the end of their shows, thus having an authentic idea to call themselves Nirvana. But the real meaning of Nirvana, which is beautiful, is when the ego is blown into the Spirit. That is Atyantika dissolution, where we become Bhagavan Narayana as Bhagavan Brahma dies earlier and only Bhagavan Narayana Rests. In Prakrta Pralaya, Bhagavan Narayana exists, but in Atyantika Pralaya, we become Bhagavan Narayana.

Those who are connected to our history of Bhakti, what happened to Rshika Andal? What happened to her body? She merged with Bhagavan Ranganatha. What happened to Devi Mira? Where was she burnt or buried? She merged with Bhagavan Krshna. This is not esoteric, but we have documented history of all this happening. What Pujya Swami Tejomayananda shared was that when we know Infinity, the finite dissolves. If we know the post, the ghost dissolves. That is why Chinmaya externally means knowledge, but internally means Awareness, knowledge of Awareness. Then we do not have to fight against the world. The world will not affect us.

Skanda 12:4:43 – Amongst us, there is going to be someone who speaks and that is Suta or Ugrashava. He is going to speak to the Rshis gathered in Naimisharanya. Raja Parikshita, there will be a long ritual there, and he will be asked by the great Shaunaka and others. 

There are 3 main dialogues or samvadas in Shrimad Bhagavata –

• The first dialogue is the great Shaunaka asking Rshi Ugrashavas 6 questions. The first question being – What is the greatest Good for the maximum time? What can help the most people in the most ways? It was from that question that Bhagavata started to unfold. If we are asking ourselves how we can make our life clearer, the answer is Shrimad Bhagavata. 

• In the second dialog, Rshi Ugrashavas says that this question is not original and that this question was asked by Raja Parikshita to Rshi Shuka. This is the second dialogue which we have been most exposed to.  

• Now that whole Bhagavata is ending, and Rshi Shuka is bringing us back to it, the implication being, the 3^rd dialogue is between our Guru-shishya Parampara and us. That is the 3^rd dialog. We are hearing it, we are feeling it, so the Guru-shishya Parampara is like this conduit from Dialogue 1, to Dialogue 2, to Dialogue 3. This is Bhagavan Krshna just channelizing Himself to us. 

One message from the 5^th Chapter – All that I have shared with you, Tata (means someone we love, nothing to do with age), I have taught you about who you are. I have taught you the Spirit of you. You are Bhagavan and in your heart is Bhagavan Vishnu. Is there anything else you would like to know?

From another commentary, Rshi Shuka tells Raja Parikshita that if he still has questions, then he would stop Takshaka, that he would stop him to teach Raja Parakshita. And when he learned everything, then he would call Takshaka. The implication being that Rshi Shuka is in the heart of all and that he is Takshaka, this poisonous being. So he can stop or start Takshaka as he wishes. He is willing to change the fate of this world if Raja Parikshita has more questions. Incredible!

We will continue with Chapter 5 next week. 

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Discussion:  How does the fear of death affect your life? A good way to think about this is to try to visualize that you are dying today and try to visualize you never dying. 

Q&A:

Q1: What is the third facet of Dharma? Tapah or Openness

Q2: Dana is the virtue. What attacks Dana? Vigraha or selfishness

Q3: What is Japa mean in English? Janmanam Paati Iti Japa – That which protects you from being reborn. The feeling that we are going to die is for animals – pashubuddhi, not for humans. Na jatah – Humans are not born, so how can we die?

Q4: What is the greatest form of pralaya? Atyantika or fundamental dissolution of the ego. Because there is an ego, there are equipments and experiences. If there is no ego, then all gets dissolved.

RAW from last week: Whatever we are thinking, think of it as Rshi Shuka speaking to you. If we think all our thoughts are Rshi Shuka’s, how did we feel different? 

• Vivekji shared that he responded and was more careful about his inner world and paid attention to his thoughts more. 

RAW: This is our 160^th hour of Vedanta in Bhagavata and majority of it was through the voice of Rshi Shuka. This class is the final teaching that Rshi Shuka shares and does not teach anything teaching oriented after this. What Vivekji would like us to do is to write to Rshi Shuka about what he means to you and what he has done to you. Write whatever we want to Rshi Shuka. The best is to write on paper and take an image to post on the CM Niagara website.