Subodha Vedanta Class Notes – April 28, 2024

Vivekji shared a story about a King who had eye pain one day and no physician in his kingdom could help him. As the pain intensified, they reached out to everyone and anyone who had a solution. Many came, many shared and many left. One farmer from the edge of the kingdom came and said that the problem with the king was that he saw too many colors and that if he saw just the color green, then his pain would go away. It sounded ludicrous, but they were ready to try anything and so covered everything with green cloth, painted everything green, brought in more plants and the next day the King’s eye pain went away! The King wanted to thank the farmer, but he was gone. So, they went and brought the farmer back to see the King, but before he entered the court area the King’s guards poured buckets of green paint on the farmer. He asked them what they were doing, and they said that is what the farmer had advised. Then the farmer responded that what would have been better for the economy and environment was if the King wore green glasses. Then everything he would see would be green. 

This story was shared with us as we immerse ourselves in Advaita Vedanta – the science of Oneness. The benefit of this is not based on quantity, but on quality, just like everyone in the story thought that the green should be based on quantity, but it was really about quality. The map we are studying is Subodha Vedanta which is clearly outlining the steps to Joy. Everyone wants to move towards Joy, but if we miss a step, we will fall, and we will never feel that Joy then. 

The steps to Joy as we go through a review of Chapters 1-10 – 

1. Invocation – Chapter 1 – to pray for our privilege to be shared with others.

2. Disciple – Chapter 2 – In society, there are suckers – those who want to be happy, but do nothing about it; searchers – those who want to be happy and search outside for happiness; seekers – those who want to be happy and search within; and shishyas – those who are ready to live with one who is Happy. A Master, their Guide, they are the ones who experience this in a systematic way. For us, the inaccessible has become accessible just being home and this shows how much God loves us by providing us with this experience.

3. Guide – Chapter 3 – The most important quality of a Guide is that they are experienced, and we will change only if we can relate to our Guide. We should serve those who have great experience. So, we should have the right role models.

4. Spirit (Atma) – Chapter 4 – When we start to develop ourselves towards the Atma, this is the best practice in self care. Our body is called deha or sharira which means that which is burning. Self care for the body will not work. Real selfcare is when we go deeper into what we are. Sat-Chit-Ananda Asti, not Asmi. Asmi means I am, which means I am still present, but Asti means Is. When we are ready to let go of our individuality, that is when we really develop a relationship as a disciple and as a Guide. If we are not willing to let go of us being an individual, then all of this is just theory, just another objective science. 

5. Faith – Chapter 6 – There are five layers of faith that one has to have to reach Joy 

• Faith 1 in discipline
• Faith 2 in disciplined – in ourselves
• Faith 3 in Guide – one who is disciplined at a new level – disciplined x 2
• Faith 4 in discipliner – our Maps or Shastras – there is a sheer emphasis on one being uncompromising 

If we have these 4 faiths, it will lead us to step 5, which is

• Faith 5 in Divinity or Bhagavan

6. God – Chapter 5 – How many of us have faith in Bhagavan? How many of us experienced some sort of fear this week or even this weekend? That would be hypocrisy, to have faith and to experience fear at the same time. How can we have faith and fear in the same being, in the same sentence, as they are antonyms? If we tend to have an intellectual bent of mind, then Vivekji suggests – Know God through Vedanta. We should get to know Bhagavan through katha, like the Ramayana, the Bhagavata, but we should do it through the conduit of Vedanta.The more we know Bhagavan, the more we will have faith in Bhagavan. If we feel we lack faith in Bhagavan because of that fear, it is because we don’t know Bhagavan enough. For example, if we had an infant, we would only leave that infant with someone we know and have full faith and trust in. 

Our review continues – 

7. Sadhya or ends – Chapter 7 – inquiry into our ends or destination. What is our ends, our destination? Guruji, Swami Tejomayananda, has taught – Praptasya prapti. If we want to get what we already have, all we need to do is know that we have it. That is jnana in sanskrtam. We do not need to act, just know. Now where is happiness? We are Happiness. So that is why we do not need to do anything, but just know who we are, what we are. And the way to know is to be active with shravana, manana and nidhidhyasana. In the recent retreat, Vivekji shared this as Reading, Writing and Reflecting. Being active, in a practical way, is being steady. When we are steady with our study or self-development, it has a cumulative effect. 

8. Sadhana or means – Chapter 8 – The inquiry is into the means this time. If we follow the means to the ends, then we are called a sadhaka. How do we know we are following these practices or evolving? Three gauges Vivekji shared that we are evolving – 

1. We are becoming more balanced

2. We are becoming more focused

3. We are becoming more reflective

There should never be an experience that we go through, without learning how to be happier. If we follow this, we no longer have guilt or regrets. If this happened, it was a teaching moment or if that happened, it was a learning experience. How we can bring balance, focus and reflection into our life in a very natural way is Japa. 

9. Maya – Chapter 9 – How to cross maya? Maya is when we experience the relative. Logically, if the relative exists, then automatically we can suppose that the Absolute also exists. If we feel that there is an Absolute, then there is Not a relative. Infinity never became the finite, but we feel it as that is how much Maya has seduced us and we have normalized this hallucination. The only way to fight back against Maya is Bhakti. Six steps to develop Bhakti: 

• Sit
• Sing – For most, Bhakti ends there>
• Seek – Think about who Bhagavan is. What are we singing about? Are we being sincere and intentional? 
• Support – We give of ourselves, the easiest being giving resources.
• Serve – We give resources and time and it requires great dedication and sacrifice to find time to give to serving. Bhakti thus becomes more and more intense.
• Surrender – Bhakti should lead to surrender. We are surrendering the relative as we start to feel the Absolute. It is giving resources, time and effort. We are giving our effort to Bhagavan or Divinity.

This is the methodology to how to cross over Maya. 

10.  Purpose – Chapter 10 – The focus of this chapter is Jagata – world. The etymology of the word Jagata is – Jaayate gachchati tishtati iti jagat – Jayate – to be born, gacchati – to move, tishtati – to stay. When we think of the physical world or the multiverse, we acknowledge it is born, it is changing, but we like to think it will stay forever. Is it going to stay forever? And this also applies to us, doesn’t it? Living is a terminal condition. We are all going to die. We are all dying. In Sanatana Dharma, the words used for death are Yama, Dharma, like in Yamaraja, Dharmaraja. Yama means discipline. Death is not accidental in Sanatana Dharma. We cannot accidentally die. Medicine may share that one died accidentally, but in Sanatana Dharma, death is a Graduation. As soon as we learn all we can in this body, our body will die and we WILL get a new body. That is why there shouldn’t be too much grieving when someone passes away. Sorrow is ok, but not extreme grieving. 

All is changing, so we cannot depend on that which is changing. The change in our life is to teach us about the changeless. It is our EQ and SQ that will help us to age and die graciously, rather than fearfully. We have to therefore practice now to die like that.

Vivekji ended with another story – 

Once Baby Ganesha was sleeping and lots of noise coming from downstairs woke him up. He went down and saw many people in his home, cooking, decorating. Not knowing what was happening, he went to find his mother. Bhagavati Paravati was cleaning and he asked her what was happening and she told him that his older brother Kartikeya was getting married today. He asked – What is marriage? She told him that he was too young, so to just Enjoy. As Bhagavan Ganesha loved to enjoy, he danced and ate and joined the Barat and told his mother that he would like to get married as well. Bhagavati Parvati took him to the kitchen and wrote on a board that Baby Ganesha would get married tomorrow. He was very happy as tomorrow would be his marriage. Then the reception happened, and he went to sleep. The next morning, he woke up and only saw his mother there putting things away. He sadly went to her and said “Mother, today is supposed to be my marriage, right?”. As the wise Devi that she is, she took him to the board that said – Baby Ganesha will get married tomorrow. 

Who is this story about? We are going to be happy tomorrow. We are going to be disciplined tomorrow. The one who waits for the right moment is a moorkha, foolish or stupid. This is what Bhagavan Krishna tells Prince Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita. 

Discussion: How to develop the habit to inquire in good times? 

Vivekji shared that in heaven, no one ages, nor dies. They have super bodies, super senses and super sense objects. So in heaven, all that beings do is enjoy, indulge. So they do not inquire into – Am I happy? What is my nature? That is why the Semi-Gods, as they evolve, become humans. Only humans have the ability to inquire. So it is easier to inquire in good times than in bad times as in bad times we don’t have the energy or enthusiasm. That is why the habit has to start in good times. 

Steadiness is another way as shared earlier. We should be steady with a study group, steady with centering as this leads to this cumulative effect. Rshi Narada shares in the 50th verse of Narada Bhakti Sutra – Sa tarati, sa tarati, sa lokAnstArayati. The one who practices these 12 disciplines is saved and once they are saved, they are able to save others. The saved becomes the savior. If we really want to help our family, we should get saved, become independently joyous then we will be able to share what we have. All of this comes down to inquiry. 

Last week’s RAW : To follow the three habits that we came up with – It is through practice that we start to feel Joy. 

RAW : To feel that we are living in swarga or heaven. Remember that in heaven, we do not get old, nor die. 

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