Oct 5, 2023 Class Notes by Isha Darbari

Introduction 

Anecdote from Vivekji from stress symposium he was invited to speak at. One speaker, a physician from Mayo Clinic, shares a story about his daughter who makes a clay starfish. When she drops it, it breaks in two; he expects her to cry, but she instead picks up both pieces, gives him the top one, and says, “Look Dad, I made a sailboat for you!”

• Significance: reframing— when one has gone through an experience that could provoke them; but if one reframes it, one stays quiet
• Our course trains us to reflect—when one reflects, there is never a reason not to be cheerful, content

Continuation of katha (story) about the genesis of the Yaksha Prashna dialogue:  

• Vana Parva — one section (parva) of the Mahabharata 
• Yudhishthira sees a crane and infers there must be water there near it and sends Nakula to investigate. Nakula finds the water, but the crane warns “this is not your water,” but he doesn’t listen, drinks the water and dies. Some time passes, Yudhishthira notes that Nakula has not returned, so next he sends Sahadeva but the same happens; then Arjuna, then Bhima. So now all 4 of them are missing… to be continued…!   

Review

Question 3: What makes the Sun set? Dharma 

• Absolute: When one follows Dharma, there is an end – that end, is oneness
• Relative: We should want to retire, because that is a way of empowering the next generation
  • A subtle feeling that comes with retiring – one is practicing being less possessive; those who don’t retire, feel that the position is their possession, their identity 

Question 4: In what is the Sun firmly anchored? The truth 

• Energy depends on existence, but existence does not depend on energy
  • The Sun is like energy, which depends on existence (sat)  
• The best strategy to not feel affected by what is going on with body and mind is to feel that I am Existence – feel so light, invincible
  • May seem abstract, but important to be exposed to the highest philosophy. Else we are only exposed to the means, but never know what the ends are, so we don’t reach the ends. 
  • Hence, the practical and absolute are both important to know 

Question 5: What makes a human learned? The study of the Vedas  

• To study the Vedas, a map, one needs to have more faith in themselves
  • To study science, math, etc, you don’t need faith; but to study values, you need faith in yourself that you’re able to do this
• The more faith one has in themselves, the more humble one becomes; and the more humble one is, the more one learns
  • If you feel you have a blockage in sacred learning, it’s due to a lack of humility and a lack of faith

Discourse

Question 6: By what does one obtain grace? Through tapa

• Absolute perspective:
  • Our nature is Divine
  • By engaging in tapa (to burn down wrong identification, or comfort zones), our potential starts to become unleashed  until we are just expressing Divinity
    • If one doesn’t engage in this expansion of who they are, then they don’t unleash this Divinity 
  • Prayer is an effort to forget separation; prayer is your effort to forget that you are separate from Infinity
    • Prayer is powerful if we go in with this intention
• Relative perspective:
  • To engage in tapa, try to have less likes
    • Articles (ex: I only sleep on this type of pillow) 
    • Circumstances (ex: challenging selves to not rely on A/C; should be able to reflect regardless) 
    • Beings (the most comprehensive) 
  • When one has less likes, they begin to feel less limited
• Reflect/ establish your personal tactile narrative for this question

Question 7: How does one become double who they are? With determination 

• Absolute perspective:
  • Upanishad etymology
    • Ni: nischayena = determination
      • If one is going to follow the Upanishad, a teaching on Infinity, one must be determined that they will not veer from this until they are Divine
    • Shad: sadh =  destroy
      • Determination to destroy the ego
      • Such a determination makes one feel like they are a different person – Ex: reflect on who you were 5 years ago spiritually , can we even recognize ourselves? We’re so different!
• Relative perspective:
  • Purpose pulls performance
    • If you don’t stand for something, you fall from everything ~Malcom X
    • Purpose is a form of determination: one’s performance grows and grows  
  • To practice this:
    • Try to exert your willpower to direct your sense organs  
      • The easiest part for you to control is your senses/ body
      • Your willpower has to naturally feel that there is more than sense objects
• Reflect/ establish your personal tactile narrative for this question

Question 8: How does one become intelligent? By serving the elderly 

• Absolute perspective: serving our original parent
  • In our culture, we have the notion of original parents: Bhagavati Parvati and Bhagavan Shiva – icons of an ideal family 
  • Hence, from an absolute perspective: this means to serve one’s original parents
    • Bhakti (devotion) – the final practice of this is to surrender 
    • Bhakti may include, as a means, serving, but that serving should lead to one surrendering  
• Relative perspective
  • How does serving the elderly make one more intelligent? Because one acknowledges what an older generation has done for one
  • Ex: Civil Rights Movement – because MLK Jr went through so much suffering, we are suffering less
    • Anyone who was part of the Civil Rights Movement – suppose someone printed signs – because of that we are suffering less
    • Plants in our neighborhood – because someone planted those, we are benefiting 
  • Additionally, when one serves those older than them, one grows in empathy
    • When we associate only with people of our own demographics, we may think we are empathizing, but we are only empathizing with people who are like us
• Reflect/ establish your personal tactile narrative for this question

Next: series of 4 questions are related to Brahmanas: 

Question 9:  What constitutes the Divine nature of a Brahmana? Svadhyaya  (self-study) 

• Absolute perspective
  • Brahmana = one who studies Brahman (infinity) and shares what they have studied on infinity 
  • Further implication: they are only engaged with Brahman – this is an “only” relationship, not an “also” relationship
    • Don’t put up external conditions like you get a paycheck, or you don’t know Sanskrit, so you can’t be a Brahmana
      • If you are going to work or college with the feeling of “I’m doing this for purity, so that I can feel Infinity,” then you are a Brahmana too.  
      • Similarly, a Brahmana does  not necessarily have to be a formal Vedanta teacher; if you help someone else know the purpose of their life is happiness, that’s the same – not qualified based on number of students in the class
• Relative perspective: to engage in Svadhyaya: evolve from “what you are doing” 🡪  “who you are”
  • If asked “how was your day?” most reply with what they did, but that’s the surface
    • Get to know what you are doing – being more intentional 
    • Then deepen that into who are you 
      • Where is this intention coming from? What is your mind like? What are your ideas?
• Reflect/ establish your personal tactile narrative for this question 

Question 10: What is the quality of a Brahmana from a noble perspective (Ie the quality of a noble human)?  Tapa (austerity; focus)

• Absolute perspective
  • Tapa, burning down one’s comfort zones = ekagrata (focus) 
  • The more focused one is, the more one is able to endure
    • If you’re so focused on building a Lego structure, you’re less affected by hunger, thirst, people talking, less music
    • If you find you’re easily distracted, more burning of one’s comfort zones is required
• Relative perspective
  • Tapa is about letting go of likes/ dislikes
    • Ex:  an introductory way to do this is with food– treat food as for energy rather than for taste
• Reflect/ establish your personal tactile narrative for this question 

Discussion Subject/Vivekji’s Reflection

Discussion topic: What are the 3 best practices to serve the elderly whom you are not related to?

• Look after what they were looking after
  • Ex: Suppose my grandparents had a garden and were getting older or passed away, I should look after it; it is a way of longevity being enacted

Dialogue

• Question 1 – how to better exert willpower, especially over beings?
  • Your most powerful equipment is the intellect, then the mind, then breath, then body
    • The body is the weakest equipment I have; so I should use a more powerful equipment, like the mind, to the direct the body
    • If I can’t stop myself from eating 7 pieces of chocolate, then how am I going to stop myself from reacting to someone speaking negatively about me
      • So start at a gross level, then build yourself to not be affected as much by people
  • How to practice determination with people?
    • The most practical way: accept them
    • In doing so, you’re keeping your strength. So regardless of how they are, they affect you less
• Question 2 – how to deal with a significant other who is in a different stage in their spiritual journey?
  • Tapa – to burn down comfort zones or wrong identifications; ie, openness (ex: open to a different narrative, a different dimension)
    • Imagine you’re engaged in intense tapa, but the people around you are not
    • Tapa = focus; if you are focused, you’re less affected by those around you
  • So even if a family member is into choosing comfort, let them! If that comfort is coming onto you, that itself is tapa for you to not push back against that

• Question 3 – how to go from jnana (knowing something in a book, or even in your intellect) to vijnana (following through on this)
  • When you are clear that not following this doesn’t work 
  • Ex: Someone is in an abusive relationship, but does not know what it’s doing to them
    • But suppose a child says something like “when I grow up and get into a relationship, I’m going to be unhappy too.” – so heartbreaking that I now know I need to get out of the relationship
    • When you see that this doesn’t work ->  have more faith that this alternate is going to work 

• RAW last week: How does one become intelligent? Serve the older generation 
• RAW this week: Shift your efforts from “beauty” to “healthy”