1/20/21

Notes by: Pari Saluja and Dwija Ramesh

Notes by Pari

Recap:

• World view: karmic fundamentals (Law of recreation)
• Truth: essential nature is happiness
• Means: science of right action
• Mechanism: responsibilities (always present and increasing)
• Mindset: acting to evolve
• Instrument of experience: BMI to perceive feel, think in the world of OBT
• Conditioning: every action creates an impression, samskar (more we action we form tendencies)
• Free will: if we’re at the mercy of our Vasanas, our fates are decided but we can control our actions if we don’t allow that initial thought/desire to grow

*We can break the cycle of ignorance + desire + action by making independent happiness and making responsibilities our highest priorities

Class 1/20:

We need more than this knowledge though. We need to learn from someone living that life to show us how to live it as it’s easier to follow an example (guidance).

Reflective Activity Part 1:

Is there a difference between an Idol and a Role Model? Explain. What do you think are the qualities of a role model? Who are some of your idols and/or role models, why?

Why do we do anything in the first place? There are 3 reasons:

1. We want to gain something — material or otherwise. (ex. We do something for another person to gain affection)
2. We don’t want to lose something — tangible or intangible. (ex. We have to go to the party because we don’t want to lose our social standing/reputation)
3. We are simply attached to the action or the results (Ex. mother that keep trying to take care of her child even though they are grown up with their own family)

Is there anyone who has nothing to gain, nothing to lose, and/or no attachments? As long as there is something to be achieved, there is always something to be done.

Our highest gain is to know our true nature and be complete: once found, desire will not arise.

We tend to imitate those we idolized (ex. you want glasses b/c your parents have them but you personally have no need for them). However most of the time, an idol’s behavior and actions don’t align with their words. But since it’s always so much easier to imitate a person’s actions than following their words, we need to pick our idols wisely to make sure we’re getting the right influence.

There are only a few leaders, while followers are many. To lead is to think independently. A leader always:

• leads by example actions, not by words
• is clear about their goal + purpose
• follows the path of useless service — their motivation comes from a sense of completeness (ex. Gurus want nothing but give us everything)
• doesn’t hurt others
• treats all as equals
• empowers us to realize our own potential

When we meet people with our desired virtues (friends & family etc.), we want to be around them more to gain it for ourselves.

Notes by Dwija

RECAP:

Reflections/Summary/Key points from previous week’s Class

Recap:

Last week was our first class of 2021 and was taught by Shankarji. A quote that was shared was from Swami Chinmayananda, “Not to do what you feel like doing is Freedom.” Freedom was defined as not being attached to anything. It makes sense to say that when you are not attached, you don’t have likes and dislikes towards certain activities or subjects compared to others.

We also went over some of the big ideas from our first semester:

1. Conditioning of Experience

Every action causes an impression — samskar

As we repeat the same actions, we create tendencies that are harder to change

2. Freewill

If we are at the mercy of our vasanas, our fate is sealed

Our free will depends on whether we invoke our knowledge or if we act based on our vasanas

3. Breaking the cycle of avidya(ignorance), kama(desire), karma(action)

Make moksa(independent joy) and dharma(responsibilities) our highest purpose

Discourse:

In the discourse, Sumanji started off by explaining that we tend to need just the knowledge; we also need someone who is living the life of dharma to show us how to live that way. We often need real-life examples to show us that what we are learning is possible. In this class, we learned who we should look at to learn from to be able to live the life of self-development.

[Do Activity Part 1]

Why do we do anything?

• We want to gain something (material or otherwise)
• We don’t want to lose something
• We are attached to the action and results

Is there anyone who has nothing to gain or lose? In other words, no responsibilities?

As long as there is something to be achieved, there is something to be done

Our highest responsibility/gain is to know our true nature

Once this is realized, desire cannot spring forth — This is because desire stems from the feeling of being incomplete, but when we know our true nature, we are independently joyous; complete

The difference between those independently joyous and us:

We work to fulfill our lives, they work out of a sense of fulfillment

When we look to others, we tend to imitate those we idolize

• The problem with idolizing people is that their behavior does not coincide with their words.
• Following what others look like and do is much easier than following what they say

To lead means to think independently

We only need one leader for many followers

Being a leader means that sometimes, you have to do things you don’t feel like doing

Qualities of leaders:

1. Leaders lead by example, not just by words
2. Leaders must be clear about their purpose
3. Leaders follow the path of selfless service
4. Detached, patient, and dynamic
5. Their motivation comes from a sense of completeness and wishes for everyone’s welfare
6. Leaders are those that give
7. Leaders do not hurt or agitate others and treat all as equal
8. They empower us to see our own potential
9. This is the nature of gurus, shared in our Shastras

Good acts alone make good people great. However, great people do not do good acts to become great, that is just their way of life

True leaders and role models embody values and ideals

This is the most essential thing to think about when looking up to someone

Activity:

This week’s activity was split into two parts. The first half occurred before Sumanji’s discourse. The instructions were to answer the following questions:

1. What is the difference between idols and role-models?
2. What are some values and characteristics of idols and role models?
3. Who are some of your idols and role models?

After the discourse, Sumanji asked us to go back to our initial thoughts and to write down any changes after his explanation on the topic. Some shared that the difference between idols and role models stemmed from our intentions. We often idolize those who we want to be like. For example, one seeker was more familiar and drawn to the reputation and charisma of Robert Downey Jr. more than embodying his values. Similarly, many of our role models tend to be those closer to us, such as our parents and friends. From these people, we often pick certain ideals that the individual embodies. Instead of wanting to mimic every little detail, we tend to look more at habitual patterns that lead the person to be better.

When we look up to someone, we tend to follow their actions more than their words. Oftentimes, our role models are full of contradictions. What they say is not always what they follow.

For this reason, Sumanji advised us that the most important thing is to make sure that we look to gain the positive from whoever we look up to while learning from their negatives.

RAW:

The last RAW that we had was really a RAM, given that it was our last class before break. The RAM was to eat at least one meal by yourself. Some students shared that this activity helped them realize how sitting with others turned the focus from the food to external conversations. The time to eat along gave more opportunity to self reflect as well as appreciate the food that we are being given.

This week’s RAW is: Lead a task at your house. This could be being in charge of the garbage, being the one to wash dishes, or making some kind of schedule for everyone to follow.