September 15, 2022 Class Notes by Siddharth Kashinath

Introduction

In the play, Chitra, written by Rabindranath Tagore, the main character is a warrior. She is in the jungle and comes across Prince Arjuna. When she sees him, she is particularly captivated by how handsome he is. She feels that she will not be liked by him because she is a warrior and because she is not as beautiful as he is handsome. So, in her sadness she prays to the Gods. The devas appear and ask her what she wants. She asks to be as beautiful as he is handsome. So, they grant her that wish and she becomes beautiful and Prince Arjuna is captivated by her. However, this grace came with an expiry date. So, eventually her beauty runs out and she escapes from Prince Arjuna thinking he is not going to be into her. However, eventually he finds her again and this time she is looking as her usual self and he is more interested in her and he is more captivated by her because she is a warrior and is so strong inside. 

Vivekji’s reflections: What does it mean to be beautiful? Being beautiful is a straightforward developmental measure. What does it mean to be personable? Being personable is much more complex in terms of development and measurement. Which would you rather be? Beautiful or personable? Being personable is more captivating. What makes one personable? It is how reflective they are because it shows that they are a warrior on the inside. They are not trying to fight anyone outside; rather, they are trying to become better on the inside or be victorious over themselves. 

In our 9th year training together on reflection, our guide is Acharya Shankara. The word Shankara is lovely and is broken up into sham + karoti. Sham means auspiciousness or egolessness; karoti is one who can trigger that in others. Shankara is the one who is egoless and is the catalyst for others to be egoless also. 

This is important to note because in a subjective science, i.e. one that focuses on self-development, one can only share what one has. For example, if I am unhappy, then I cannot help another to be happy. First, I have to be happy to help others with their happiness. This is not the case with an objective science. For example, one can be a Republican and still campaign for Democrats. 

Acharya Shankara was egoless. He was born with the name Shankara. The title Acharya was bestowed upon him. Acharya means the one who leads themselves. In an objective science, one leads others. In a subjective science, one leads themselves.  Acharya Shankara is one who lived well for the sake of living well and others happened to notice him and began to follow. 

Acharya Shankara has another name that he is popularly known by – Bhashyakara. Kara is one who does. Bhashya means the one who explains. Religion, though a most straightforward subject, has become difficult because of people’s interpretations and practices and other negativity that has come into it over the decades. Acharya Shankara explained self-development / self-realization in a way that resonated with people. Society became better because of his explanations. 

His birth was quite unique. He was born and destined to live only up to age 16. He was serving himself and society so beautifully that Rishi Vyasa (from Shrimad Bhagavatam) graced him with twice as long a life – i.e. until 32 years of age. When he was turning 32, he was going to the mountains in Northern India to just be and many of his disciples followed him. He told them the life of this body is over and that he had to keep moving and they had to move on as well. So, they asked him, what is your final message to us – your valedictory address. Acharya Shankara gave them Sadhana Panchakam. These are his final teachings on how to invoke Shankara – being egoless. This scripture, which is simple and small, is most profound. 

Panchakam means five (a set of 5). Sadhana is defined as ‘means’- the means to joy. Five verses that guide us to joy. In each verse, there are eight practices (8 tips). Acharya Shankara shares with his disciples 40 ways to be disciplined. 

How many of us would identify as being disciplined? Very few. This is indicative of how we externalize that which is to be internalized.

Discourse

Verse 1 / Practice 1: 

Verse 1: Vedo nityamadheeyatam 

Veda means to know. Though the Veda is an expansive scripture/map, it only has two subjects: 1) Dharma – how to be successful; and when one matures / grows out of subject 1), then they take up subject 2) Brahma – how to be peaceful. 

Adheeyatam means to study. If one asks how airplanes work, we read about it and we learn how airplanes work. In terms of studying how to be peaceful, one starts off by reading. This evolves to listening, then to following and finally it should evolve to changing.

For example, many of us have been exposed to Bhagavad Gita chanting competitions. How did it start? First, we simply heard the verses. Then we listened and tried to understand what Shri Krishna actually means when he uses a certain verse in a certain way. When we grow up more, we do not just listen, but we follow. If one does flow through this pattern, then they will change from being indisciplined to being disciplined. 

Nityam means always. To always study who you are; to always be self-reflective. In a typical book, nityam would be defined as daily. If one engages in whatever they do daily, then whatever they are doing is a priority. So, Acharya Shankara is guiding us to always study who we are. And to do this daily.  

Practice 1: Read Inspiring

The idea is to read inspiring books everyday. When specifically? In the mornings. How do you know that a book is an inspiring book? Because it makes you want to be better. 

Discussion

Requirement 1: Be vulnerable

Requirement 2: Be respectful

Discussion subject: Why do we follow/pursue success before peace?

Vivekji’s observation: Whatever one identifies with, one pursues. For example, if one identified as a dog, then they would not pursue carrots or coffee. They would pursue a bone or dog food. We all identify as humans and because we identify as such, we pursue that which validates who we are. But if we are all more self-reflective – we know that we are more than just our bodies and our minds – i.e. if we identify with a deeper aspect of life, then we will naturally also pursue a deeper aspect of life. Not for that which is material such as the body or that which can be measured, but for that which is immaterial, such as becoming more faithful or more generous. Or becoming more disciplined as this course will teach us.  

Dialogue

Question 1: Could Vivekji name a few inspiring books?

Answer: Autobiography of a Yogi, The Tao of Pooh, Self Unfoldment, Tips for Happy Living, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Tuesdays with Morrie, The Power of Now, Just Be (Suresh Ramaswamy), You’ll see it when you believe it (Wayne Dyer).

Question 2: Why is it harder to put our minds to something that yields gradual results than to something that gives immediate results?

Answer: 

Higher perspective – Because we are lazy in a tamasic way, i.e. we are lazy in our thinking. Tamas is strong. Tamas makes us operate on just that which is close by.

Lower perspective – A lack of role models. Everyone around us is living in a competitive way and so we join the competition too. We inevitably compete with each other. If we had better role models who did not live for just that which is material, then we would feel more optimistic and hopeful that we should be the same way. 

Reflection Adventure of the Week (RAW): Read inspiring books for 10-20 minutes every morning.