April 11, 2024: Class Notes by Ameya Madduri 

Introduction

We have a propensity to campaign for Brahma. We talk about Infinity, chant Divine names, but we vote for maya. When it comes to application, living, and value, we vote for maya. Shared in a  more reflective way, we listen to Divinity but reflect on the worldly. Our sravana is on Divinity but our manana is on the worldly. That is a universal practice that we should aspire to change. Our course is for us to reflect on our responsibilities and infuse Divinity into our worldliness. It helps us assess “what is value? How do we deal with angry people, etc”. Imagine the power of listening to Divinity and reflecting on Divinity. There will be significant change in what we think we are. 

Review

A91: Anger is the invincible enemy

• When we are angry, we feel invincible. 
• Invincible in this case means that everyone should be thinking that we are right, what we are acting like is right, etc 
• In our culture, vaada is a term that is defined as “talking”. We should focus on what is right instead of who is right. 
• → A lot of our anger comes from us thinking we are right 
• → More important than “me” being right is “rightness”. This is a way to be less angry and rebound from anger.

A92: Greed is the incurable disease of humans. 

• The opposite of greed is generosity → When we start being generous with articles, then we can start working on the most intense disease which is jealousy 
• Greed is for articles, jealousy is for beings 
• Generosity helps cure greed and acknowledgement helps cure jealousy. 
• When we acknowledge who we are jealous of (or whom), the negativity goes away. 

A93: A noble person is one who brings welfare to all beings

• In Chapter 18 of Bhagavad Gita, Shri Krishna describes that knowledge is filled with quietness. 
• “Ekshate bhaavam ekam sarva bhutesu” → When we have the insight that “what is inside of me is inside of all beings”, the way we act for our own welfare is how we will begin acting for others welfare as well. 
• The quieter we become, the more we are able to understand how to help others be better. 
• If we want to help+heal people, we can do this by becoming quieter.

A94: The ignoble is those devoid of compassion

• An expression of ignobility is when we encourage or allow wrongness
• We must go beyond whether people like it or not and focus on practicing compassion
• Imagine a legacy where it is directly focused on the increase of someone’s SQ

A95: Not knowing dharma is real delusion

• If one does not know who they are, they don’t know what to do
• We are all children of Divinity. It is our blood and bones. 
• A way to be better with our dharma is to know what we are
• Isn’t it funny that we have been using creation since we have been conscious, but how much do we remember of the Creator? How much do hwe thank the Creator? We use every facet of creation but where did it come from? Who is the Creator? Not remembering the Creator is a delusion. Then we won’t know who we are and what we should be doing. 

A96: Pride is thinking highly of oneself

• In the Mahabharata, Shri Krishna was interacting with Yudhishthira and Duryodhana. He shared “Yudishthira, I want you to find the most vicious person in the world. And Duryodhana, I want you to find the most virtuous person in the world.” After traveling the world, Shri Krishna asked them what they found. Yudhishthira said “I didn’t find anyone more vicious than me” and Duryodhana said “ I didn’t find anyone more virtuous than me”. This is an example of pride. 
• You know that you are living by rajas (aggressiveness) when you don’t want to be around people who are sattvik (great). The reason is because we are intimidated by them. We are so used to living for our families and communities, so when we interact with someone living for society and humanity, we are intimidated by them. We know that those ideals are what we should also be living for but it means we have to work harder and smarter…
• The reason Duryodhana shared “there is not one more virtuous than me” was because he doesn’t want to be around those who are virtuous because he will feel more deeply that he is not virtuous.  

Discourse

Q97: What is understood as laziness? 

Answer: Not following dharma (responsibilities) or duties 

• Absolute: If you want/need something, then you must act for what you want/need.
  • We are seeking “Kritha Kritya” which means you have fulfilled the purpose of your life. 
  • This is something we want/need, hence must work for it.
  • In the Bhagavad Gita, commentators have shared that being a miser is one who doesn’t get enlightened in this lifetime. They have an opportunity to become independently joyous but they don’t take advantage– that is a sign of laziness. 
• Relative: They make others work in areas that they should be working. 

→ If I make your life harder, it is because I am lazy

→ Imagine if you are all carrying something and there is one person who is tripping around, that tripping person is the lazy one!

→ To be less lazy, you should be more organized. Then, things are easier for others around you too. 

• Tactile reflection: Seeker encouraged to self reflect. 

Q98: What is the source of sadness or grief (shoka)? 

Answer: Ignorance is the source of sorrow 

• Absolute: A person ignorant of their true Nature is bound to entertain desires. It becomes inevitable for such a  person to engage in actions to fulfill their desires. This begins the endless cycle of avidya-kama-karma
  • Hridhya granthi (knots of the heart)- avidya-kama-karma. The more you engage with these three, the more restrictive your sense of being is. 
  • Our sadness starts with feeling separate (avidya) → this is pushed out to be expressed as feeling small (vasanas– related to ego) → feeling sad (eshana= desires– related to intellect) → expressed as vritti (stress) → further expressed as feeling “stuck” (karma, actions at the body level)
  • The 5 S’s Cycle: Separation, Smallness, Sadness, Stress, Stuckness
• Relative: Ignorance is when you mistake permanency for impermanence. When you feel the impermant is permanent, that is ignorance. It also makes one feel sad.
  • Deathbed vision: as people are dying, the typical physician feels that the passing person is hearing/seeing things due to the medicine. The typical family member feels the patient is seeing a vision because they are calm and peaceful. The medicine is not creating the hallucinations. The visions are usually of a family member who has already passed away that has come there to be with them. 
  • We must reestablish that the impermanent is indeed impermanent. Then there is less ignorance and hence less sadness. 
• Tactile moment: Seeker encouraged to self reflect. 

Q99: What is described by the Rishi’s as steadiness (sthairyam)?

Answer: Being steadfast with one’s svadharma (relative responsibilities) 

• When you wake up with a smile rather than stress 
• Absolute absolute: The only way to be free of work is to be free. Where there is relativity there is work. The only rest is with realization!
• Absolute: When we engage with the right actions and attitudes, it helps us to feel the right atma. As we follow through, we keep purifying ourselves. The right “doing” leads to purifying. Purity is when you feel more authentic and deep
• Relative: A person’s beliefs and behavior should not contradict each other. One should have a self-introspective mechanism that checks and corrects any deviation.
  • Ask yourself daily: what was your cherry (what happened today that made you happy that you want to keep with you?), what was your pit (what make you unhappy that you want to forget?), what was your stem (what did you learn today?)
• Tactile reflection: Seeker encouraged to self-reflect. 

Guruji shares “ humility is not needing to be thanked. Gratitude is wanting to thank” 

Q100: What is real courage?

Answer: Courage is disciplining the sense organs 

• Organs are openings– matters enter and exit
• Are your openings facilitating the outside world coming into the inside world or vice versa? 
• If the openings have more outside coming in, the sense organs are controlling you. 
• From the Thirukural– “He who guides his 5 senses by prodding them with the stick of wisdom will sow the seeds of attaining liberation”. 
• → Use your sense organs to serve and help others
• Relative: Our sense organs are not trained to only be inward-looking. Give yourself an outlet so that sense organs can engage in rajasik behavior.
• Tactile reflection: Seeker encouraged to self-reflect. 

Discussion Subject

Discussion subject is the quote from Thirukural– “He who guides his 5 senses by prodding with the stick of wisdom will sow the seeds of attaining liberation”

How can you live by this teaching? 

• Vivekji’s Reflection: In accounting there is a costing system called LiFo and FiFo meaning “last in first out” and “first in first out” respectively. This means that where numbers are coming in, numbers are also coming out. This expands to if you put garbage into a system, you get garbage out of the system also. 
• The notion of us needing to enjoy is a capitalistic sentiment. No need to always seize the day in maximal ways. 

Dialogue

• With reference to ignobles, how does one differentiate when to act/teach them the right way vs using the opportunity to quieten one’s mind?
  • First thing to do in any circumstance is to quieten your own mind. When your mind is quiet enough, you will know if you should push for rightness or if you should just let it be. When you are quiet, you will better understand if the beings and circumstances around you will be receptive or not. If they are receptive, then you should share right vs wrong. If they are not receptive, let them be.
  • If you encourage rightness and it is not being followed, because you have already quietened the mind, you know the self reward system so you won’t let it be compromised. 

RAW

• Last week: Live by the discussion subject “if the world was unreal, how would your life change?” 
• Vivekji’s reflection: If we follow the concept that the world is unreal, we find that we will follow KMF– keep moving forward!! If this is unreal, why should this slow me or stop me? 

• This week’s RAW: On May 2, 9, 16 (final 3 classes in course), seekers will be randomly chosen to speak on a question+answer set for 3 minutes across question+answer 63-112. Reflect and be ready!