Class notes by Sharmila

A person has clear knowledge in Vedanta only after a few years of study, that Jivan and Brahman are one. After many more years, this knowledge becomes ‘Nishchaya’ or confirmation.

Our Veda teaches happiness in 3 levels. 

• Karma Kanda – ritual or law of action. This means any action we do, will bring result. This is law of perception, meaning we receive good when we do good, and receive bad when we do bad things. In law of action, we have to be involved fully. Action brings happiness, but this is the lowest kind of happiness.
• Law of intention is called Upasana. In the Vedas, it is said that we can draw happiness from actions and we can also draw happiness from Upasana. Upasana means there is another entity. Upasana brings more happiness than actions, because the higher power is involved. Law of action and law of intention are both limited. Even for the purest actions, the maximum elevation one will get is heaven. But when we do law of action in conjunction with law of intention, then we go to a higher loka called Brahma Loka. But these two are limited and Jivan mukti is not possible. 
• Upanishad is the highest knowledge or pure knowledge. This pure knowledge can give happiness which is permanent. Here we learn that we are happiness and not seeking happiness. 

Kathopanishad 1.2.23:

nāyamātmā pravacanena labhyo na medhayā na bahunā śrutena |

yamevaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyastasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanūm̐ svām

This Atma cannot be obtained by the teacher or student by just listening to pravachanas, or by being intellectual. He alone who chooses ONLY atma attains atma, and attains because it is our nature and we don’t have to search, it reveals.

In the BMI chart, the supreme consciousness is called Atma, Brahman or Paramatma. This is Sat-chit-ananda or our nature. But because life after life, we did not understand who we are, ignorance accumulates, which is called Vasanas.  All actions and reactions for millions of years are stored as sanskaras. Adi Shankaracharya calls ignorance as Avidya. There is no difference between Avidya and Maya. The individual misunderstanding is Avidya and the total misunderstanding is called Maya. We all have different misunderstandings, and because of this our thoughts are different. Ego is born because of not understanding. Ignorance comes as desire ( to be happy). Because of not knowing where to find happiness, a journey starts. The intellect (I) gives the thought to mind (M), the mind engages the body (B) (5 senses of knowledge and 5 senses of action). Mind engages these senses thinking that it can being happiness. The body then starts perceiving objects. Not knowing our true nature leads to non apprehension of the Truth, leading to misapprehension and then the journey to seek happiness. 

Objects can never give happiness. When a thought comes, it blocks happiness. For example, when one wants coffee and gets coffee, one thinks coffee gave them happiness. However, what really brought happiness is that the thought for the want of coffee is gone and hence one feels happy. That is why a Sadhu discards all the thoughts with ‘i don’t need’, and hence is happy. So the Upnaishad teaches us to go to our nature, and this nature will give happiness. 

Whatever desires we may have in life that we want to pursue, if we think about it, once those desires are fulfilled then another few desires arise. So we should reflect everytime we get a desire, and thinking deeply we know it is not going to give us happiness. These desires are only due to the pressure of the Vasanas. Knowing this, we can be free and mukta today!

There are two problems we deal with today. We have the clarity of intellect (knowledge) , even Ravana had clarity of knowledge. Before going to war, Ravana gave a Vedanta discourse from his balcony and said no one can kill anyone, because we are Atma, and so only the body will be killed.

But what we do not have is purity of mind! We have not done enough tapas for the purity of mind. When rajas is gone, then sattva will start to shine. So we need to develop purity of mind. 

Adi Shankara says in Vivekachoodamani (verse 118) that unless we have maximum sattva guna, liberation will not happen. 

Mishrasya sattvasya bhavanti dharmaaH

Tvamaanitaadya niyama yamaadyaaH

Shraddha cha bhaktischa mumukshutaa cha

Daivi cha sampattirasannivruttiH

‘Asat nivrutti’ is purity of mind. Bhagavan Krishna says there are 26 Daivi Sampatti (Bhagavad Gita chapter 16) , and Gurudev calls this the purity of mind. We have to cultivate the 26 daivi sampatti. 

Bhagavan Krishna gave indication in the 9th chapter of Bhagavad Gita, that there are two kinds of people – Daivi and Asuri. Daivi sampatti releases us from the bondage and asuri sampatti will create more bondage. So Bhagavan encourages Prince Arjuna to cultivate Daivi sampatti. 

This is listed in the first few verses of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16:

abhayam sattvasamshuddhirgnyaanayogavyavasthitiH
daanam damashcha yagnyashcha svaadhyaayastapa aarjavam 

ahimsa satyamakrodhastyaagaH shaantirapaishunam
dayaa bhooteshvaloluptvam maardavam hreerachaapalam 

tejaH kshamaa dhrutiH shauchamadroho naatimaanitaa
bhavanti sampadam daiveemabhijaatasya bhaarata 

dambho darpobhimaanashcha krodhaH paarushyamEva cha
agnyaanam chaabhijaatasya paartha sampadamaasureem 

daivee sampadvimokshaaya nibandhaayaasuree mataa
maa shuchaH sampadam daiveemabhijaatosi paandava 

Amaanitvam – humility. (no self-glorification)

AdambaH – Damba is pretention, we should be unpretentious. 

Ahimsa- non-violence or non-injury. Not hurting someone in any of the three levels – By mind (manasa), action (karmana) or speech (vacha) 

Kshama – forgiveness. 

The above are prerequisites, and the following are values to be cultivated (just a few from the 26 values are mentioned here). 

Abhayam – fearlessness. (Fear of sorrow arising from separation of whatever is dear to us is most common. We should practice not to have sorrow, which will lead to fearlessness)

SattvasamshuddhiH – purity of heart. 

jnana-yoga-vyavastitiH – We can practice karma yoga with a little bit of worldly knowledge. But Jnana we cannot practice unless we have the knowledge of shastra and we have a Guru. Only with the teachings of Shastra and Guru we can be situated in Jnana Yoga. 

Daanam – charity. The giving of one’s resources to the fullest to a deserving person (both should be adhikari). 

Svadhyaya – Self-study (reflection/mananam based on what Shastras teach) 

TapaH – TapaH is at three levels – body, speech and mind. At the body level, it is purity, celibacy, non-injury. At the speech level, it is Vedic recitation and understanding. At the mind level, it is silence, control and purity. 

Arjavam- straightforwardness.