September 30, 2021 – Class Notes by Juie Deo
Introduction
In our Vedic culture, we have saṁskāras or rituals to remind us to live intentionally. The 10th saṁskāra is akṣara abhyāsa, when we learn to write our first word – AUM. In Saṁskrt the first letter is a and the last letter is m. From childhood, our culture encourages the development of virtues whether it is the first word we write, AUM, or one of the first games we play, the Mokṣa Patha. Every day, every experience is a game, and if we become virtuous, it is an awesome seed to be planted in our minds when we are young. A winner is one who defeats another. Instead of being a winner, we are taught to be victorious over ourselves. For kids, Mokṣa Patha is to learn virtues and for adults it is to unlearn vices – to unlearn that it is okay to be angry, to unlearn that it is okay to be jealous.
Intellectually, the majority of us already know the Mokṣa Patha Vedic terms. Intellectually understanding is a superficial understanding. In this course, we are focusing on the quality of understanding of these terms. Anything that is higher in quality has a higher impact.
Discourse
We began our journey through the Mokṣa Patha with forgetfulness. With forgetfulness comes desire. If there is desire, it is clubbed with attachment. In our last class, we learned about bhaya, which means fear. As long as we externalize that which is important, we will always be afraid. If we externalize our sense of security, we are always going to be afraid. If we externalize our relationship with our Creator, we will even be afraid of our Creator. And so a way to address bhaya or fear is to internalize our sense of security and presence of our Creator. The word bhaya sounds and looks similar to the word bhāgya. Its English meaning is fortune or luck. The only difference between bhaya and bhāgya is the letter g. When we invest more in ourselves, we go from feeling fear to fortune.
Our next word is moha, which means confusion. When we are confused, we have to find someone who is clear or trying to be clear. Otherwise, if both you and I are unclear, the blind will be leading the blind, and we will only compound that confusion. Be around those who are clear. A strong example was heard from Swami Tejomayananda at a parenting workshop – we should be so available for our children that even if they killed someone, the first person they would tell is their parent. If someone is engaged in an illegal and immoral activity and they go to someone who is also immoral, the situation will become worse. But if they go to their parents, there will be some sense of direction. Be around those who are clear.
The next step on the Mokṣa Patha is:
Step 6: saṁsāra (society)
The etymology of this word, sam sarati, means that which is ever slipping away. Is society not ever changing? In business school, we analyzed a company using the PEST acronym, which is to study that company in reference to the political, economic, sociological and technological environment. However, these are ever changing or slipping. If we depend on that which is ever slipping or if we are always chasing that which is slipping away, our body is going to become tired. Our mind is going to become bored. The intellect becomes dejected. For example, as I watched our child chase his toy truck down a sloped driveway and it slipped away every time he tried to catch it, I noticed him get tired, frustrated and dejected. Society is like that.
Personalizing this more, we can visualize the 6 inner enemies on a diamond: At the top is desire. When we get what we want, we slide down to greed and then to arrogance. When we do not get our desire, we slip down the other side to anger and then to confusion. Devolving from being confused or arrogant, the last enemy is mātsarya, which means jealousy or insecurity. Those who do not understand the nature of society, keep trying to depend on it and become insecure.
What do we do? When we are disoriented by the perpetual change, we need to find a subject or an experience that is meaningful. Start small and then eventually let that grow into a universal meaning. For example, if we are feeling dejected, pick up a simple book and read; start small. As we build up our confidence, we will be able to take on a more universal meaning like the purpose of our life. Those who do not hold on to some meaning live instinctively. Those who do take up something meaningful and allow that to grow live intentionally.
The next step in our journey, in our game is:
Step 7: yama (restrictions/do nots)
We have heard yama by Riṣi Patañjali in Aṣtānga Yoga, which means the 8 rungs of yoga.. These are 8 practices for us to become a better person and they all have the purpose to provide balance; for example, āsana is to balance the body; prānāyama is to balance the breath. Yama is the first rung to stop us from doing that which is making us imbalanced. Some things that we intentionally, consciously, and regularly do that make us imbalanced: eat junk food, social media, sleep late, procrastinate, worry, etc. Do not do it; that is what yama is.
What do we do? A practical way is to have parameters around our lifestyle. Lifestyle parameters in terms of: What time one will sleep? What time will one wake up? How much will one interact with friends? These lifestyle parameters create space for us. How do we start our dishes? If there are dishes in both sinks, we take it out of one sink to create space and then we start washing those dishes. Bringing some balance by creating space in our lives to be able to continue and to be able to grow is yama. There are 5 yamas or don’ts. One of the yamas is aparigraha. Graha is to hold. Parigraha is to hold tightly and the prefix a makes it opposite; so it means to let go. Swami Chinmayanada would share the donations to create space and balance – aparigraha, technically means non-collecting.
The next step is:
Step 8: niyama (commitments or do’s)
We do not realize the power of our minds. In terms of sheer volume, some studies have quantified that we have 60,000 thoughts a day. That is approximately half a million thoughts a week!! Our minds are not programmed to ‘not do’. What will happen to these half a million thoughts? The ‘do nots’ have to be balanced with the ‘do’s’. The power of this mind is to be used to help us with niyama. The nature of the mind, however, is to be extroverted. An extrovert is not only someone who talks or brags a lot but also one who thinks they are going to find happiness or mokṣa outside of themselves or externally. This is the yama that needs to be reset with niyama; the niyama is to change that extroversion to introversion. So what should we think about? Think about: what freedom is; what freedom will feel like.
What do we do? There are also 5 niyamas. Explore śauca, which means purity or cleanliness. In a more subjective sense, śauca means to be organized. Once we have created some space in our life, we should organize our lifestyle so that there is more space.
Our next step is:
Step 9: Utsava (festival)
Utsava literally means ‘to sit above’ or a sense of being uplifted. Swami Tejomayanda once shared that music can be further appreciated when there are quiet notes in between the musical notes. Likewise, our rṣis created our calendar with utsavas as a way to uplift us and then provided periods of quiet to provide respite.
What do we do? This respite is the time for one to rest, for one to refocus. An utsava or festival is an opportunity to ideate. It is to think about our life. Where did we come from? Where are we going? What do we do during festivals? We get lost in implementation: I have to decorate this; I have to cook this; I have to make this. If you only implement, as soon as that festival is over, the upliftment is going to come down. Many people at the end of a retreat or a course are sad. The food, chairs, or retreat are not happiness. We are happiness. So with every festival we must ideate as to whether we have grown? Have we evolved? How are we going to grow? How are we going to evolve?
Summary:
Step 6 saṁsāra/ society Practice: Find a subject/experience that is meaningful, intentional
Step 7: yama/do nots Practice: Set parameters to create space and balance
Step 8: niyama/ dos Practice: Be organized to create more space
Step 9: utsava/festival Practice: Ideate and do not get lost in implementation
Discussion
Our discussion last week was: what causes us to feel insecure? The genesis of insecurity is distraction. Distraction leads to comparison. When one compares oneself to others, they feel jealous. Comparisons are like a competition. Those who are competitive can never win. We feel jealous and when jealousy is not checked, we feel insecure. Therefore, being a distracted personality is a dangerous vice.
Discussion subject
Why do we (or you) not change?
Vivekji’s observation is that we do not change because we do not make the change everyday. Change is possible only when engaged in on a daily basis. In a light way, for example, what time we sleep at night. In a heavy way, in terms of our vāsanās or blueprint: if our actions do not change everyday, our words will not change, our thoughts will not change, our blueprint will not change. When we engage in change on a daily basis, it means that we have integrated it into our lifestyle. Yama and niyamas are lifestyle-oriented practices.
Questions
1.What was the externalization concept that was explained?
Answer: In our reflection, if we see another face or another family member come in, we feel afraid. We externalize our security — our alarm system makes us secure. What if the alarm system is broken or someone hacks it? We become paranoid. If we internalize our security by realizing that we have not only survived, but also thrived over the past years, why would it not be the same in future years? We fear that which is different from us. Anyone who feels that our Creator is separate from us, and most ritualists do, feel complacent with their relationship with the Creator. We feel Bhagavan is outside of us. This is a subtle sense of escapism. Very few people are fond of Vedanta and even fewer understand that Vedanta is teaching us that we are That Presence. This is the only way to become fearless.
2. Will change be easier with acceptance?
Answer: Acceptance becomes a catalyst to change. If I do not accept that I have a frustrated personality, why would I want to grow out of it? In Meaningful Mornings we mention accept and adapt, that means we change.
3. What is there to change?
Answer: Our dependency on that which is changing has to change. We cannot stop clouds from moving nor should we wish for that. For us to depend on sunlight for happiness, that has to change, because my nature is independent. The Saṁskrit word is svatantra. The only tantra or machine we need is sva, myself.
RAW: Record which emotion (anger, disgust, fear, joy, jealousy, sadness, greed, etc). dominated you today (like the movie, Inside Out).