One of the prominent alternative rock bands is ‘Nirvana’. One of their songs is ‘come as you are’ – this is a powerful sentiment. When we go anywhere such as to school or work or elsewhere, we already have six layers (ego, equipments, lifestyle and more), but this is not who we are! This course is not just for us to theorize ‘come as you are’ but to practice ‘come as you are’. We should be able to accept our relative self to be able to accept our absolute self. We are doing that through the narrative of Bhakti in this course, which cannot and will not be proven. This is an efficient way to live, where one does not need to prove oneself to anyone. We should have the strength to endure lack of acceptance and judgment in this process. 

Recap:

Sutra 61: Rishi Narada shares ‘Lokahani’, where hani means loss. What is built into this loka is ‘hani’ – our body is losing, our home is losing, etc. because that is the nature of our bodies and this loka. If we know this, we are not startled by this. Generally people feel lonely, because a lonely person has forgotten that they are born with Bhagavan, they are living with Bhagavan and they are going to die (with Bhagavan). So we should reflect on this because we have a relationship which is not subject to loss!

Sutra 62: Rishi Narada shares that whether one is a  ‘Siddha’, that is you have followed through with Bhakti to Bhagavan or ‘Asiddha’ that is one is practicing Bhakti but one has not reached Bhagavan yet – live for Bhagavan rather than from Bhagavan. Those who have matured in their Sadhana and who they are,  stop asking from Bhagavan and they start asking for Bhagavan. This is what Bhakta Prahlada asked for when Bhagavan Narasimha asked him what he wanted, he told Bhagavan to put a lid on his heart so that he would never ask for anything other than Bhagavan. 

Sutra 63: Rishi Narada shares how not to be deviated from following through with Bhakti, that we should not hear about ‘stree’, ‘dhana’, ‘nastika’, ‘vairi’ and so on. ‘Stree’ here means descriptions of the human body, and not to be interpreted as a woman or women. We all were once animals and so the lust propensity is strong. When one hears about ‘stree’ then what develops is ‘kama’, when one hears about ‘dhana’ what comes up is ‘lobha’, when one hears from ‘nastika’ (atheists) what grows is ‘moha’, when one hears from/about ‘vairi’ (those who we dislike or are jealous of) what develops is ‘krodha’. All of us have six enemies that live inside of us which are – kama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, matsara. So here Rishi Narada is being very specific not to indulge these enemies. In Pujya Swami Chinmayananda’s commentary on this verse, a comparison of lotus and mud is given. A lotus grows in mud but never becomes muddy. So for us, by remembering Bhagavan Narayana, which is like being covered in oil – we can go about any activity (which is like water), but not be directly touched by water. Since it never directly touches us, it never gets absorbed by us. We will live in the world, but we won’t become worldly. In a simplistic way, whenever we are engaged in worldliness we should learn to ignore it. When there is negative peer pressure avoid it, when there is neutral peer pressure ignore it, when there is noble peer pressure expose yourself to it/associate with it. 

This Class:

Sutra 64: abhimāna-dambhādikaṁ tyājyam

Abhimana is egoism, dambha is pretentious or hypocrisy, aadikam is etcetera (stree, anxiety, dejection and so on), tyajya is to be renounced. Tyaga of these negativities leads to that Sannyasa which is not in an external way but in a surrendering way. Negativity and vices in our personality makes us small. A egotistical person is small-hearted, a pretentious person is overcompensating for something they are lacking. The more small one feels, the bigger their ‘i’ (ego) is! Another word for Bhakti is Anuraga which is ‘love without i’. 

Sutra 65: tad-arpitākhilācāraḥ san kāma-krodhābhimānādikaṁ tasmin-eva karaṇīyam

Tad means the infinite/divinity, arpita is to offer/dedicate, aacaarah is how we live/act, san is being. ( For the one who has offered all of their actions )

Kama is desire, which pulls krodha (anger), which pulls abhimaanaadikam (vices like arrogance and jealousy etc), tasmin (in divinity), eva karaniyam (these too are to be renounced/directed towards divinity). 

Rishi Narada and Bhagavan Krishna have both shared that we should live where we are renouncing our results. More comprehensive than that is to live and renounce not just the results but the actions as well. (Give up deservership and give up doership). The unique part of what is being shared here is, as you are trying to renounce the results and the actions, you still have your vasanas which are often of the nature of vices, so take those vices and direct them towards Bhagavan. Desire Him, be angry at Him, be greedy for Him! Bhagavan is supportive in a way that is mysterious. When Bhagavan Krishna lifted the Govardhana parvata, His friends (gopas and gopis) started putting bamboo sticks under the mountain to support, and Bhagavan said thankyou! Gopis and Gopas directed their doership to Bhagavan and He graced and guided all of them to Moksha. When we direct the vasanas and vices to Bhagavan, they go from being destructive to being constructive.

One of the common questions people ask is – why does Bhagavan allow bad things to happen in the world? In our anger and confusion we should talk to Bhagavan and ask Him why He let it happen. The more sincere we are, the more we will come to understand, and that krodha and moha will settle (the vices and vasanas will settle, and that is enlightenment).

Sutra 66: tri-rūpa-bhaṅga-pūrvakaṁ nitya-dāsa-nitya-kāntā-bhajanātmakaṁ 

prema kāryaṁ premaiva kāryam

Trirupa means the three factors in an experience – the experienced, the experiencing and the experiencer, bhangapurvakam means to destroy this, that is where all three become one. How can one go from the triputi to advaita? Nitya-daasa nitya-kanta means to comprehensively feel that one is a servant and one is a lover, bhajanatmakam means to live like this, and prema karyam means to follow and fulfil prema (anuraga or bhakti), prema eva karyam means this alone is to be lived. 

The design of bhakti is for one to forget themselves! When you forget about yourself, these three become one. The emotion to be cultivated by the practice of nitya-dasa is respect (it should be a natural respect that Bhagavan is my Master). A sign of respect is where one asks less flagrant questions like ‘why me?’. More authentic and deep is nitya-kanta, the emotion that comes with this is love. One who loves Bhagavan knows that all that has happened to them, will happen to them are all expression of love. When respect and love are combined, the emotion that comes up is reverence, which is the greatest emotion that one can have towards another.