ViBha Class Notes – April 9, 2023

A seeker recently shared with Vivekji that – we have a tendency to make the Upanishad academic, so what we need to do is follow this academic perspective with that which is practical. Thinking more about this term practical, for the secular bent, practicality is lowering one’s blood pressure. For someone who has more of a sacred bent, practicality is surrendering. The most practical narrative is that of Bhakti – to surrender what we have, what we do, and what we are to Divinity. The more we surrender, the more we rise. This morning, we complete 150 hours of Vedanta in Bhagavata, 150 weeks of the most beautiful practicality. Many of us resonate that this is practical, but those who do not, must analyze their personality more. Do we have this secular bent? Are we treating this subjective science as academic? If that is the case, we need to reflect more to see what that perspective is bringing to our life, and what this perspective can bring to our life.

In Skanda 11 or the eleventh section, it is Bhagavan Krshna Himself who is reviewing Bhagavata. It is not Rshi Vyasa, nor Vivekji, but Bhagavan Krshna Himself, as He wants Rshi Uddhava to come with Him. He wants us to come with Him! If we try to recollect 150 weeks ago when Vivekji was explaining the Bhagavata Mahatmya, one of the narratives that was shared was that of a Devi, named Bhakti, who had two children whose names were Viveka and Vairagya, and that they were much older than her in appearance. She was lively, and they were dull. The point is that through understanding the intricacies of Bhagavata, that Viveka and Vairagya can become robust again, and Vivekji feels that a lot of our experiences are proof of that. We are clearer about what is a priority, we are clearer about independence.

In Skanda 11, we have come across many examples of how Viveka and Vairagya have come to life, like Pingala – how this prostitute, as if all of a sudden, became a Vairagi. She became  independent, she became a teacher in Pingala Gita. Then the Dvija, that Brahmana, who didn’t study and share freely, and he was abused as that is how he lived, but he too knew what was important, and shared Bhikshu Gita. What this means for us is that through Satsanga, we get the opportunity for Katha. Through Katha, Viveka and Vairagya will grow again, they will be revived, and this can happen in any condition, whether for a prostitute or a Brahmana, but in both cases, it happened magically. Now for all of us who feel how we are going to evolve, how we are going to prioritize and be independent, we must stay in Satsanga. If we keep our ears, our head, and our heart open, magic will happen for Viveka and Vairagya to become stronger in us.

In Chapter 23, we are given an audio-visual example of someone who depends on articles. In English, we would call such a person addicted – addicted to TV, addicted to their phone, addicted to salt, and so on. The Sanskrtam word for addiction is Vyasana, and how do we fight this addiction? Through Vyaasa or elaboration. By reflecting on addiction, we come to realize that this is not helping us, nor anyone. And that is what that Dvija or Bhikshu did. He reflected on his experiences and became a teacher – Bhikshu Gita.

In Chapter 24, Bhagavan Krshna is reviewing the Gunas which mean qualities or ropes. Yesterday, as Vivekji was facilitating a Vivaha, he was wearing this kusha grass, and as soon as the Vivaha was over, Vivekji took it off as it wasn’t comfortable, and it was hard to wear it when doing regular activities. Though it is so small and is a purification Guna, it is still a rope, a limit. That is why Bhagavan Krshna takes us through Saankhya. He goes deep into how creation has come to be, the implication being that the more we understand creation, the more we know that there is more to creation. When we understand the Gunas, then we realize that there is more than limits. That is what Saankhya is – it is to know well.

The application that Vivekji shared in Chapter 24 is to label less. What is a label? It is us assigning a quality. It is us assigning a limit or a rope. Pujya Swami Tejomayananda had shared that results are not the problem, but it is our labeling of the results that is the problem. There will always be results as we are acting all the time, but to label or insist on a certain result is what is problematic for us. So that is why it is important to label less.

In Chapter 25 – Where did Gunas come from? What are they an expression of?  Maya. Chapter 24 is on Gunas, and Chapter 25 is on Maya. A synonym for Maya is Daivi – it means that which depends on Deva. Here Deva means Consciousness. Because of Consciousness, there is Maya, and that shows that Maya is not independent. Maya comes and goes, but Consciousness is independent, and so cannot go. Another term for Maya is Brahma Ashraya. Maya’s ashraya is Brahma which means Maya’s support is Infinity.

Logically, if there is Infinity, can there be anything else? If there is Infinity, then there cannot be Maya. So why take it so seriously? Why label Gunas? Why be addicted to articles? All of this is being connected together. Rshi Tulasidasa gives the most practical definition of Maya – mein aur mora, meaning I-ness and My-ness. That is what Maya is. The more possessive we are, the more we are succumbing to Maya. The more doership we have, the more we are succumbing to Maya. The reason this is practical is if we know what Maya is, we know how we can go back to be deeper than Maya. This mora or my-ness, we should dissolve it. What is ours? If we cannot dissolve possessiveness, then we can never dissolve being possessed that we are the doer. That is why Vivekji has been stressing for the past 3 years the need to be a generous person, the need to flex our dana muscle, as that becomes the trigger to let go of ahankara. But if one is holding on to the external so strongly, we do not stand a chance to let go of this internal holding on, that is the Ego. 

Pujya Swami Tejomayananda  has shared that Maya is our moods. So the more moody we are, it is us succumbing to Maya. Just like through venom, anti-venom is developed, the disease is the Gunas, and the cure is also the Gunas, specifically Sattva Guna, to make our vision and lifestyle oriented towards quietness or Sattva. Tamas is laziness, and Rajas is aggressiveness. We have to nurture Sattva, and eventually what happens is that quietude leads to silencing the ego. That is why in our Silence Retreat, the trajectory is to quieten the mind, still the intellect, and finally silence the ego. The Silence Retreat is really an egoless retreat. There are no conditions to be part of the Silence Retreat, no registration, no fee, hence no expectations. And expectation is an expression of ego. So the whole Silence retreat is designed to be not normal to what we are used to. We continue…

Chapter 26 is about depending on, not articles, but beings. When we depend on articles, it is called addiction, and when we depend on beings, it is called attachment. Bhagavan Krshna is sharing this with Rshi Uddhava to help him understand that he should not depend on articles or beings (As, Bs), but rather on Divinity (D). This is being shared logically to show us that if we do not depend on D, then this is what is going to happen to us. We will be like that Dvija, and Aila, the personality that we are going to meet. And Bhagavan Krshna is subtly implying that all of this is going to change. Articles are going to change, beings are going to change, but not Divinity. So for us to change our dependency, that is the flow we are in right now.

Bhagavan Krshna begins Chapter 26 sharing that as a human we have the opportunity to be in HIM. Stones, plants, animals cannot be in HIM, but humans can. So for all of us, we have been with Bhagavan Krshna for at least 150 hours, so we are not just ordinary humans. We have this extraordinary opportunity to be Bhagavan Krshna, and if we are Bhagavan Krshna, then we will not be touched by Maya or the Gunas.

Bhagavan Krshna is Mayapati, so we will not be touched. Let us think about how practical that is, that we can live in dvaita or live closely with someone who is tamasic, and not be affected by this. So everyone with family problems, what is the solution? Be Bhagavan Krshna. If we do not fulfill this opportunity, obviously Maya will drown us through the Gunas. 

Reading the history of Raja Pururavas, but before that, let us recall – Who created Urvashi? Some time ago, Indra Sura was going to tempt Rshi Narayana as he was insecure that Rshi Narayana was going to become the next Indra. So he sent all these beautiful beings to tempt him. Rshi Narayana, who is Bhagavan Krshna, instead of succumbing to Maya or Gunas, slapped his thigh (uru means thigh and vashi means someone who is in control of the thigh, meaning someone who is disciplined) and from that Urvashi came. Rshi Narayana then gave Urvashi to Indra Sura to see if he could succumb to her.

That famous emperor, Pururavas, after he recovered from the terribly distracted state of mind, into which he fell on account of separation from Urvashi, became possessed of an intense spirit of dispassion, and expressed his feeling in a poem. (He was deeply attached to Urvashi, but somehow viveka and vairagya grew.) Seeing Urvashi deserting him, the King went after her naked, like a madman moaning in utter distraction, “O hard- hearted lady, stop, do not go away.” His mean sexual passions, still unsatiated ,and his whole mind still absorbed in Urvashi, he was unaware of the long time he had spent in her company and of the years that were ahead. 

Shared simply, Raja Pururavas depended on a being, and what happened to him? He became possessed, a king, running naked, after someone who does not depend on him. This portion is like the prelude. Now from Verses 7-24, this is known as Aila Gita. 

In this next portion, read aloud by Vivekji, Raja Rururavas has reflected, and he is sharing his reflections with himself. He is not even speaking to anyone. This is like Vivekji asking us to read, and then write. We write on paper what we are thinking about or questioning –

How surprising is the intensity of that sexual passion that swayed my soul all this while. A considerable period of my life, consisting of several days and nights I’ve spent in the embrace of Urvashi, unconscious of the lapse of time, my heart stolen by her, I knew not when the Sun rose or set, nor was I aware that countless years had passed in this way. Looking at the enormity of my delusive ignorance, I, the crest jewel of the community of ruling princes, made Emperor, had been reduced to a mere, pet animal. 

When one is possessed, anyone can possess them then. This is how Aila Gita begins.

Skanda 11:26:15  – Who, but the supreme personality of Godhead, who lies beyond material perception, and is the Lord of self-satisfied sages, can possibly save my consciousness which has been stolen by a prostitute!

Sharing this in a simpler way, Aila or Raja Pururavas is thinking to himself that his mind has been stolen by attachment, so who can help him other than the Divine, other than Manmohana or Manohara – the One who can steal the mind back.

Here are some additional reflections that this Raja shares – To have pride about our outer world, yet to be attached or insecure in our inner world is really to be a fool. To be so strong outwardly, but so weak inwardly is a sign of a foolish investment. When we do not shift our investment from IQ to EQ to SQ, it is like having a rich body and a poor mind. We do not live at the body level, but at the mind level. Even if we think of immunity, the more cheerful we are, the more our body recovers.

Another reflection from Aila Gita is – Kaama grows with Kaama. Suppose we are lusty, and we think that if we experience what we are lusting towards, then that lust will go away, but what actually happens is that that lust expands, similar to ghee in a fire. If we think we can put a fire out with ghee, then what happens to the fire? It expands. 

Raja Pururavas also shares – There is no one to blame for this attachment, but himself. He does not blame Urvashi for being so beautiful. It is not her fault that she is so beautiful. He gives an example of someone who mistakes a rope for a snake. Only the person who made that mistake is to be blamed as we cannot blame the rope.

Skanda 11:26:28 – O greatly fortunate Uddhava, in the association of such saintly devotees, there is a constant discussion of Me, and those partaking in this chanting and  hearing of My glories, are certainly purified of all sins. 

Raja Pururavas has this reflection that his mind has been captured. So how can he retake his mind? In this verse, it is Bhagavan Krshna speaking to Rshi Uddhava, and He shares that it is by listening to those who are independent, by listening to those who have their minds that we can retake our minds.

Some more reflections before ending this chapter – Pujya Swami Tejomayananda had shared about Aila Gita that when we are busy labeling, like buying name brand clothes or hanging out with name brand people, whatever sense of labeling we engage in, it makes us extroverts as a label is outside. And if we are extroverted, we cannot inquire. If we see this visually – Here are the Gunas, here is Maya, and here is Brahma. If we are busy labeling, then we are farther in terms of the Gunas. Then how are we going to get to Infinity? 

This Raja shares – Who does this body belong to? He is not inquiring into Urvashi’s body anymore, but his own body. He lists out asking – 

• Does this body belong to one’s parents because they biologically created this body? So does it belong to them? 
• Does this body belong to one’s spouse or family? We spend so much time with them.
• Does this body belong to one’s employer? Since one’s employer says, body do this or body do that. If you do not do this, body, we are not going to pay you, body. 
• Does this body belong to one’s friends? One’s friends have so much expectations of us. 
• Does this body belong to vultures? 
• Or does this body belong to fire? The last entity that will touch this body is fire. 

The more body conscious we are, the more tuned in we become to other people’s bodies. He finishes this line of thought by sharing, “What is the difference between me and worms?”  Worms love bodies, and he loves bodies, so what is the difference between worms and him? Strong teachings, but most practical! 

It requires so much investment to accept that we are going to die. We intellectually know this, but we do not actually practice this. So this is very practical, what we are studying in Bhagavata. 

A final thought from Aila Gita – Raja Pururavas shares that a way to be less attached to beings is – Out of sight, out of mind. We should not keep what we are attached to so much in our sight. What happens is that eventually the mind forgets about it, so it gets out of our mind. In our culture, the person who teaches Vedanta, where do they sit? On a Vyaasa Pita. Pita is an altar, and at this altar, what is invoked is Vyaasa or elaboration. What happens is that when we are so interested in this elaboration, what we slowly forget about is vyasana, our addictions and attachments. When we watch a great movie, do we feel hungry? When we are experiencing a great sunset, are we thinking about a certain being? It is through Satsanga that we experience katha, and through katha, we come to change what our mind is holding on to. So out of sight, out of mind.

This is Bhagavan Krshna speaking to Rshi Uddhava. Bhagavan is describing the power of Satsanga, on how it changes what our mind holds on to – Expressing such thoughts as these in a song, Pururavas, who was worthy of respect amongst men and celestials, he left the realm of Urvashi. He realized Me, the Supreme Spirit, as indwelling in himself, shed all delusions through enlightenment and attained to Peace. 

If we recall, we began with this Raja running naked after Urvashi. Through Grace, he starts to reflect, and after all of his revelations, he comes back, and the attachment he had for B (Being), he now has that attachment for D (Divinity).  The holy ones are persons who depend on none except Me, who always think of Me, who are tranquil, same-sided and egoless, who are above the pairs of opposites or contrary conditions of life, and who do not care to receive gifts or to accumulate riches.

Vivekji was sharing with the Chinmaya Mission kids about Sumanji’s vivaha and at this wedding, the bride and groom put “Jilakara bellam”, a concoction of jaggery and cumin, on each others heads, which is unique to Andhra. The jaggery represents sweetness, and the cumin represents bitterness. So keeping this on top of one’s head, is to know and accept that this is how life is, and that we have to be balanced in all of that. So the sign of a holy person is the one who is above the pairs of opposites. 

Bhagavan Krshna further shares – Just as one who approaches fire gets rid of cold, darkness and fear, so does the company of holy people help one to overcome the chillness of ritualism, the darkness of ignorance and the fear of samsara. 

So who is a holy person?  One who is not living in a ritualistic way, but rather one who is living in a meaningful way. Do we all know people who are living in a meaningful way? Of course, we do. It may be us! We need not think that holy people are old, Indian men. Bhagavata is pura api nava – it is applicable. 

Holy humans with knowledge of Brahman and established in tranquility, are the sole support of humans struggling in the ocean of samsara, just as a strong boat is for people shipwrecked on the sea.

We devastatingly keep reading and hearing about people, desperately trying to move from Africa to Europe, who are drowning, drowning at sea on their way to Greece, Italy, or other places. And those who do not drown have possibly better vessels. The same goes with living. If we are struggling with dejection, and anxiety and stress, then another person going through the same struggles, cannot help us. Hence, the need for a holy person. 

The last verse relates to Chapter 11 of the Bhagavad Gita – The saints give you the spiritual eyes to realize the Lord in His transcendence and in His imminence (far away and close by), but the sun high up in the sky can give only one kind of sight, that which perceives the externals only. Our parents gave us physical eyes with which we can see, but it is our Trust triangle, our Guide who gives us the eyes to see, not outside, but Anta – Veda Anta.  That is why in our Pancha rnas, more important than the Pitr rna is Rshi rna.

Bhagavan Krshna wants us to come with Him, so hold on to Him. No need to be dependent on As and Bs. They will go away, so hang on to D, Divinity! 

Discussion: Discuss how to not depend on Cs or Circumstances, as we have already discussed how to not depend on As and Bs. What is a way to not depend on circumstances?

Vivekji’s thoughts: To shift one’s perspective from privilege to opportunity. For us to feel that it is our privilege to live in a warm place, it is our privilege that our tires are always  inflated, it is our privilege that wherever we go people should respect us – to shift that to opportunity. If it is warm outside, if the tires are inflated, if people like us, it is an opportunity. With a privilege, we are holding on to, but with an opportunity, we are touching less lightly, just caressing. It is just a matter of perspective, our inner world. 

Last week’s RAW: Last week, we were to try to eat Sattvic food only. This is to practice to be careful with everything we do as it affects the Mind. 

RAW: Only 5 more chapters until Bhagavan Krshna will not be with us externally. In these last 5 chapters, if we could ask Bhagavan for anything, what would you ask of Him?