Class Notes by Bhargavi

Swami Chinmayananda had once taken the students to have a q&a session with Sri Nisargadatta. After a few rounds of questions, Sri Nisargadatta shared with Swamiji that the students were asking questions about Maya when in fact they should be asking about Brahman. This shows to show that we are fascinated by who we can be, and not who we are! Maya is often expressed poetically as samsara, an ocean. Swami Tejomayananda ji has shared that Maya is a spread between a Bhakta and Bhagavan. Maya is attachment! More attached one is to the relative, more is the spread to the absolute.

Our course is a course in forgetting, forgetting the one who forgets, the ego! The ego (unreal) forgets its real nature and if we forget the ego, we remember the Reality! The measure of progress in the last 20 weeks of the course is our forgetfulness of our name, form, qualities. You forget your individuality. And as a corollary, if there is no me, there can be no mine.

Recap:

Sutra 51: Rishi Narada says Bhakti is that which is indescribable. It is purely experiential. One becomes a Bhakta on account of their good deeds, which triggers Bhagavan’s kripa. We can make this experience our own by being more steady in our practices in sincerity then punya and kripa will flow.

Sutra 52: Rishi Narada describes that even though Bhakti is experiential, we can experience it by living in a less gross way (external way). This indescribable experience is felt in one’s heart which means it is natural.

Since this can feel a little abstract to the student, the student asks the great Rishi to help us to know more about this so it can inspire us.

This class:

Sutra 53: prakasate kvapi pātre

This comes to manifest in a rare being because they are eligible (are a vessel).

Rishi Narada shares there are some who have experiencing this because they are a vessel. The etymology of the word “pātra” is “patanāt trāyate”. A pātra is that which does not allow its contents to fall. For the one who holds on to the thought of Bhagavan and doesn’t let it fall away, experiences Bhakti whether describable or not. What pulls us out of deep contemplation, is fear, a fear that you will not be functional is society. A fear of not being relative!! If we want to become a pātra, we should develop shraddha.

Sutra 54:

Guna-rahitam kāmana-rahitam pratisana-vardhamānam

Avicchinam Suksma-taram anubhava-rupam

Rishi Narada is coming to our level to help to lift us. Rishi Narada is trying to describe Bhakti even thoug it is indescribable. It is without gunas, desire (Anuraga= love without “I”), grows continuously, unbroken, it is inside, without a medium.

This Bhakti is natural and not conditional. It is like us being natural when we are in our beds, in sleep state.