May 11, 2023 Class Notes by Theos Stamoulis

Introduction

If you can analyze what causes people to experience stress and dejection, the general reason is maya.  Maya allows the impossible to be possible. How? Through kripa (grace). Kripa also makes the impossible possible. Grace always begins with your self-effort. The more you give, the more you get… the more is revealed. If you’re feeling maya, then also feel kripa. Kripa is within you. Our course is proof of that. 

The course is entitled Practices to Perfection. The practice here is less about the verb like sleep or write or take. It is more so about remembering Divinity – remembering who you are. By remembering Divinity, you transform from postponing happiness to being Happiness. When I forget Divinity, I try to create happiness. But when I remember Divinity, I’m being Happiness, it doesn’t matter what verb I’m ‘in’. This is particularly relevant for those with less time. And the way that society is moving, this is the best course for those who think time is moving too fast. 

Discourse

The fifth verse has the theme of svatantra. Tantra means authority. Svatantra means when you are your own authority. The point is that you are independent. Being independent means joy. Independence is the opposite of insecurity; 99% of society probably deals with insecurity so being independent is the trajectory for one to get out of insecurity.

The 35th practice shares that one should try to see that this multiverse has the nature of completion. This multiverse is Divine and there are people who experience this. I read about a seeker who wherever he put his feet, a shivalinga would come up from the ground. I read about how people can hear Shri Krishna’s flute still playing at Vrindavan around Govardhan. I read that Shri Surdas was grateful that he was blind because all he saw behind his closed eyes was Bhagavan Baby Krishna. Wouldn’t that be a beautiful sight? 

The 36th practice was to understand and appreciate that this multiverse is also limited. That people feel stuck. And there’s a beautiful connection between 35 and 36 that if you feel complete, you can actually help people who feel the same way. First you learn to be happy, then you reach the higher seva, which is to help others. 

Verse 5 Practice 37 prakkarma pravilapyatam 

What’s a challenge without a purpose? A challenge without purpose is a problem. A challenge with purpose becomes training. Every opportunity is an opportunity to train. And our practice is “Learn Past.”

Verse 5 Practice 38: citibalannapyuttaraih slisyatam

The present is facilitating the future. In terms of debt, if you’re a corporation and you have long-term debt, that’s sanchita karma. In this year, you assign some of the long-term debt into short-term debit and you start to pay it off. That short-term debt is prarabdha karma (Practice 39).  But as you’re paying it off you’re incurring more – legal, administrative fees, etc. That’s called agami karma (future debt). 

Our practice is “Renounce Meaninglessness.” As you’re living in the present and experiencing meaninglessness, you’re going to incur more debt. So, renounce it! 

Verse 5 Practice 39: prarabdham tviha bhujyatam

Absolute

This practice is encouraging us to be present. Understand and appreciate what you’re experiencing here and now. 

Relative

Exhaust this final opportunity, the final birth. By doing so, it’s like graduating. Acharya Shankara means let this be the last opportunity, the last birth. If you live Sadhana Panchakam in terms of your past present and your present future, then you’ll only have the present. And when you reflect on this, when one learns all that they can, then they die. That’s a form of graduating. 

Tactile

Tell Joke. Laughter is an instant vacation; when you laugh, you lose whatever context you have. Tell joke and feel free. Feel the present. 

Discussion 

What is your best practice to live in the present? What do you do to help you live in the present?

RAW

Tell Joke