Class Notes by Sharmila
The relationship between Pujya Swami Tejomayananda and Pujya Swami Chinmayananda is lovely because, externally it seems like Pujya Swami Chinmayananda is very much focused on knowledge but internally was very much focused on devotion. Pujya Swami Tejomayananda externally is very much focused on devotion (He introduced Ramayana and Srimad Bhagavatam to Chinmaya Mission), but internally is very much focused on knowledge. It is a similar relationship between Pujya Swami Vivekananda (being like Pujya Swami Chinmayananda) and Sri RamaKrishna (being like Pujya Swami Tejomayananda).
In graduation ceremony, a portion of the Taittariya Upanishad is chanted, which is a convocation address/a valedictory address:
“Vedamanoochyacharyo’ntevasinamanushaasti satyam vada dharmam chara svaadhyaayaan maa pramadaha aachaaryaaya priyam dhanamahrtya prajatantum ma vyavacchesiH satyaanna pramaditavyam dharmaannapramaditavyam kushalaannapramaditavyam bhutyai na pramaditavyam svaadhyaayapravachanabhyam na pramaditavyam”
Satyaat na pamaditavyam – pramaditavyam means ‘to waver and be careless’, na means ‘no’ and satyaat means ‘from the truth’. From the ideal way to live, one should not waver and be careless. This message is typically shared with eighteen year olds. They move to the Gurukula when they are six, live there for 12 years and now they are coming home when they are eighteen. As an example, if there are four quarters in a game and we start losing in the first quarter, there is still hope that we will catch up in the second or third quarter. If we are losing in the fourth quarter, then there is not much hope. For all of us, who are turning 40 or 50 years of age, there is no opportunity to waver from the ideal way of living. What we do week after week on Tuesday nights is Svadhyaya, studying ourself ‘the self’, the fulfillment of this to be experienced before the body dies is one’s Svarupa. The finality of this course is for us to experience jiva-Atma aikya.
Recap: Lesson 16 focused on the Mahavakya. We covered this over three weeks. The main thought in week 1 was – Prajnana (awareness) then ‘all’ (ego, intellect, mind, breath, body). There is awareness, then there is ‘articles, beings and circumstances’. Without the source, there will be no expression – so we should think about what we are making important in our life.
In week 2, we explored ‘Ratha Rupaka’. The message here is ‘use it or lose yourself’. If one does not use their opportunity or equipments, one will lose themselves in ownership/doership. The way to know that we are tuning into that which is important and that we are using this is – everything we do is to nurture purity of mind and clarity of intellect. This purity and clarity is not gross, but more subtle – the changes are not physical but they are mental and intellectual.
Summary of lesson 16 is – When antaHkarana shuddha (purity of mind) is combined with jnana pramana (clarity of intellect), it equals ahankara-tyaga (where we give up or destroy ownership/doership).
This class: With the completion of lesson 16, we shift facets in the exploration of Upanishads. Lesson 17 is titled ‘Prayojana’ (purpose). In the insights shared about the ‘Anubanda Chatustaya’ (shared on Sep 21 2021 class), which is a framework with which to study the Upanishad so that we experience it, the first in the four-part framework is Adhikari. Adhikari means a fit/right student for the Upanishad. This would be someone who has the ‘Sadhana Chatustaya’ (the four Ds – discrimination, dispassion, discipline and desire). To know if we are an Adhikari, the check is – if we feel living in the world is impractical. If we deprioritize this class, then the reason is we feel living in the world is more practical than living beyond the world! As long as we feel living in the world is practical, then we will always tune into being a little bit more peaceful but we will never be absolutely peaceful!
The second facet of this framework is Vishaya (the subject matter). If the subject matter is casual, so will be our evolution. If the subject matter is deep, our evolution will be the same way. We have explored many lessons on the Vishaya so that we are essentially practicing Samadhi. (‘Sam’ means well, ‘aa’ means fully and ‘dhi’ is what is placed). Samadhi means well and fully placed. This means one is immersed in the teachings of the Upanishad. If we are not immersed in the teachings, then the transformation will not happen. When one is fully immersed, then we stop feeling that we are the jiva and start to feel we are the Atma. When the Adhikari and Vishaya are checked off, those combined is the Prayojana (purpose) or phala (result). The right adhikari who is immersed in the right content, they experience the right Ananda. This is the reason why we are in this course, because ‘Duhkha Nivrutti’ (escaping from pain) does not work! Those who understand this live for ‘Sukha prapti’ (embracing peace), this is the prayojana or purpose (which comes with the right student with the right subject).
What this phala/result experience feels like is explained in the Mundaka Upanishad:
2nd Mundaka, 2nd khanda, 8th mantra (2.2.8): “Bhidyate hridaya grantiH chidyante sarvasamshayaH ksheeyante chaasya karmaani tasmin drshte paraavare”
Bhidyate means to break, Hridaya is the heart, grantiH is the knot – (knot of the heart is broken). Hridayam is made up ‘hrt’ meaning sense of ‘i’ness, ‘ayam’ means this, so hridayam means ‘i am this’ (or you are that). The first function of the ego is ‘separation’. ‘Chit’ means awareness and when this awareness is on an article, it is called ‘chitta’ (thought). The heart is now knotted, in that which is ‘not’ – this is technically called ‘Avidya Kama Karma’.
The first quarter of this verse deals with Avidya (ego, forgetting who you are), the second with Kama (desire, the intellect has desires) and third with Karma (body acting on the desires). The three technical knots on this ‘i’ness is ego, intellect and body. One more way to reflect on this is- the ego is causal , intellect is subtle and the body is gross. This is why Bhagavan Krishna shares repeatedly in Bhagavad Gita ‘I am beyond that which is cause, I am beyond the creator, I am consciousness’.
Second quarter relates to desire/intellect. ‘Chidyante’ means to cut, ‘sarva’ is all, ‘samshayaaH’ is doubts – ‘to cut all doubts’. We doubt that our nature is happiness, when we doubt this then we start to desire comfort. We invest 95% of our effort into Duhkha Nivrutti, which means comfort or escaping pain and embracing pleasure. A significant mistake while parenting is that, we are always trying to make those dependent on us comfortable and that just weakens them when they always get what they want, and this leads to the younger generation having stress and anxiety. If we are desiring comfort, then it means we are not desiring contentment. Guruji and Pujya Swami Chinmayananda have always shared that our desire is to raise our standard of living and by doing so we have no resources, time or effort to raise the standard of life. But the right student with the right subject feels the right serenity , so they don’t doubt that their nature is happiness. They feel that their nature is happiness.
Third quarter relates to Karma. Ksheeyante means to dry up/exhaust one’s karmas. In the lesson there is a beautiful quarter shared in Vivekachoodamani, verse 311 where the last quarter shares ‘bheda prasaktya bhava bandha hetuH” – those who give reality to forgetfulness (Avidya), desirousness (Kama) then they give reality to duality (bheda). This leads to ‘bhava bandha hetuH’ – one is always trying to become, one is an extrovert. A dangerous way to live is where we are so busy that we don’t realize we are so busy, because we are then unable to slow down. When we are too busy, then we live our lives at a symptomatic level and not at a source level. Bhagavan Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita is not helping Arjuna to become more capable, He is helping him to know his identity, because Arjuna is not having a capability crisis but an identity crisis. So Bhagavan Krishna teaches him who he is, that’s the source! Knowing what to do is just the effect or symptom. For those who make duality a reality, for those who are busy , the knots keep getting tighter. This tightness is, we get older without getting mature.
The breaking (bhidyate) , the cutting (chidyante) , the weakening (ksheeyante) will only happen when one see and feels that they are not the jiva and they are ‘Para’ (Atma).