Class notes by Sharmila

The three struggles that we all suffer from are: Mala (impurity) which comes from Vikshepa (projection) which comes from Avidya (forgetfulness). If we layer this on the design of our Veda, our Veda has four but really three portions which are: 

-The Samhita and Brahmana portion (though described as two, they are really one)

-The Aranyakas

-The Upanishads

The Samhita and Brahmana deal with Karma Yoga. Karma Yoga is the way to change this impurity into purity. Almost 70% of the Veda relates to the Samhita/Brahmana or the Karma Yoga, because people can relate to that and it’s an entry point. 

The Aranyaka relates to Upasana Yoga and this deals with Vikshepa, which is our Vasana to project. 

The Upanishad relates to Jnana yoga which deals with Avidya. Knowledge helps one to remember. 

Spiritual living is when our trikarana are working on mala, vikshepa and avidya. The trikarana are our actions, words and thoughts. When our actions, words and thoughts are trying to purge impurity, projection and forgetfulness, then that is spiritual living. 

Samhita/Brahmana, which deals with Karma Yoga, relates to our actions. The first part of Karma Yoga is to engage in the right actions. 

Aranyakas (or Upasana) relates to our words (to chant more, to practice mouna more).

Upanishads (Jnana yoga) relates to our thoughts. First to raise our thoughts, then to reduce them and then to redirect them.

This is an intensive experience – that we have to be engaged with every action, every word and every thought! All that is intensive is also precious. We are in an intensive experience, and we should think for ourselves if we feel the preciousness of this experience!

Recap: The last class focused on Jivan Mukta. The one who is free has become free by Nidhidhyasana. They have become adept at contemplating and have changed their sense of ‘i’. Their ‘aham taya’ does not relate to the body anymore, it relates to infinity. A way that we can practice this is to ‘practice how a Jivan mukta is’ and that becomes a Sadhana for us. If we visualize our mind to be a wall and we are in front of this wall (mind), then anything that is there in the front is going to be noisy. If we go behind the wall, then there is no noise but there is observation. We should observe what the mind is, what the thought is. Even the ego operates as thoughts, but these are way more causal than the mind thoughts. Observation is contemplation, they are equivalent. When we are observing and if we can go deeper to be awareness, we should stay there. The more one observes, the more they come to reduce how the ego identifies. If we pull it back even more, it separates less. When identification and separation go from less to nothing , that is awareness, that is being Mukta. Nidhidhyasana has to be practiced everyday, otherwise we will slow ourselves down in this journey. 

For the one who has practiced contemplation and has become free, they have risen above ‘paapa’, which also means they have risen above ‘janma’. They have no sins so they have no rebirth. For everyone else who has paapa, one is born into a context to purge that paapa. That explains the diversity in creation. 

Mundaka Upanishad (3rd Mundaka, 2nd khanda, 2nd valli) 3.2.2

Kāmān yaḥ kāmayate manyamānaḥ sa kāmabhir jāyate tatra tatra, paryāpta-kāmasya kṛtātmanas tu ihaiva sarve pravilīyanti kāmāḥ 

The one who has changed their ‘i’ to be the Atma (krtaatmanah) , they become content (aaptakama), so they don’t have desires. If there is no kama there is no janma. In Srimad Bhagavatam, the philosophical answer given by Bhagavan Krishna to the question ‘who is daridra’ (struggling from poverty) is : one who is discontent with all that they have.  For us, our evolution to change our ‘i’ to be aaptakama is, we have to be saatvik, shuddasattva and vishuddasattva. Vishuddasattva is really Sat-chit-ananda. Since a Jivanmukta is Satchitananda, any sankalpa they have becomes ‘sat’ or ‘satya’, whatever they think becomes the truth. One of the names that Guruji gave Swami Chinmayananda is ‘satyasankalpaaya namaH’. 

This Class: In the phrase ‘Thy will will be done’, ‘thy’ refers to the creator/total mind. Its will will be done. So our relationship with ‘Thy will will be done’ in the language of Bhagavad Gita is ‘Nimitta’ – be an instrument or means for this will to be done, allow this will to be done. We should not resist the flow of the multiverse, but go with the flow. An example that Pujya Swami Tejomayananda has shared in the lesson from Pujya Swami Vivekananda is: If there was a person who is free living in a cave in the middle of nowhere, and if that free person has a thought, that thought will manifest and come to fruition, because it is not their will but ‘Thy’ will (Ishwara’s thought). 

There was once a king by name Rahim who was known for his generosity. When people came to him, he would give with his hand up but his head down. When his ministers questioned him on this because he did not need to bow down to anyone, he explained that he should not take credit because he is not the giver, He (Ishwara) is the giver! 

Taittariya Upanishad 3.10.6:

Etat saama gaayannaaste. haaavu haaavu haaavu

ahamannam ahamannam ahamannam

ahamannaado hamannaado hamannaadaH

aham shlokakrdaham shlokakrdaham shlokakrt

ahamasmi prathamajaa rtaaasya

purvam devebhyo’mrtasya naaabhaayi

yo maa dadaati sa ideva maaavaH

ahamannam annamadantamaaadmi

aham vishvam bhuvanamabhyabhavaaam suvarna jyoteeH

ya evam veda 

Here ‘haaaavu’ does not particularly mean anything, it is depictive of experiencing the infinite. When experiencing the infinite, we cannot use the finite to describe it, there are no words to describe. The Rishi is emphasizing that he has brought together all that is not brought together, he has completed uniting that which is separate. The ego identifies, but this happens after it separates. Now the Rishi says he has united the experienced and the experiencer. Food is the experienced, the eater is the experiencer and the Rishi has brought that together. He has brought together the object and the subject (Shlokakrt), where shloka (studied) is the object and the person studying is the subject. When separation is destroyed, what remains is what was always there (Advaita). Advaita is synonymous to Ananda. The Jivan mukta is above paapa, kaama and dvaita. The one who gives to the one who is freed, that person is saved. Meaning, if one is a respecter/lover of one who is freed, then he/she is getting closer to joy and becomes more joyous. We should serve the ‘trust triangle’. This is the message of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11 and the message of Upanishad course Lesson 20.