Notes by Dwija Ramesh

Recap:

Growing up is not a reflection of time. It is a reflection of our growth. When we strive for the higher, we must let go of the lower. 

Sacrifice: 

1. Be clear about what is the lower —> negative tendencies 
2. LET GO OF IT NOW
3. Grab onto the higher 

Discourse:

What is heaven and hell?

Heaven: reward 

Hell: punishment

The results for our actions now will take place later. However, if we go deeper, heaven and hell are not confined to a specific place or time. When we do what we should not/don’t do what we do when we should do it, our minds become troubled and our present sorrow. This creates regret and worry. It is the destruction of oneself. This takes us away from peace. All our values start to fade as our negative tendencies grow stronger.

Bhagawan Krishna shares the three gateways to hell:

1. Desire
   1. when obstructed, desire results in anger(annoyance counts!)
   2. it could also result in sorrow
2. Anger
   1. results in sorrow
3. Greed
   1. Keeps leading to more and more desires
   2. results in sorrow
4. What about jealousy and envy?
   1. Jealousy: when we have something or want something and we fear losing it
      1. For example, Sumanji sees someone flirting with his fiancé, he feels jealous and he gets jealous because he doesn’t want to lose his fiancé (3 parties involved)
   2. Envy: when we want something that someone else has and we can’t get it
      1. Someone got an A on their AP Bio test, but Sumanji got a B(two parties involved)

Only if you know what feelings are happening can you work on changing those notions and erasing the root cause: Desire. Know the process to break the process.

Reflecting means taking a lease to these emotions and dissecting them.

So how do we get rid of desire?(Hint: running away does not work!)

1. Recognize the source of desire: a repeated thought
   1. Your imagination creates different scenarios and digs it deeper in our minds(If only…..)
2. Know why you are acting on something – avoid thoughtless action
   1. If you just act/speak, chances are you’ll do something impulsive and end up with regrets
3. Avoid action less thoughts
   1. Hold up Sumanji, what?
      1. This is what that means: Just sitting and thinking about what you want will not help you go anywhere
      2. You have to act to go anywhere
   2. Eg. Waking up early so that you can achieve your great goals and aspirations – when the alarm goes off, you need to act and get up. But then thoughts start -> 
      1. Man, my bed feels good!
      2. The extra blanket was a good move!
   3. Action is needed, but we just think
4. If our actions aren’t in line with our convictions, our actions take a turn for the worse
   1. Our actions start controlling our intellect

If you want to be better, analyze your personality and take up the advice that you give so easily to others. 

RAW Reflection: At the end of your shower, turn on the cold water for 15 seconds. 

This was an opportunity for each of us to evaluate our personality before we change the temperature, during the cold shower, and afterwards. We have to let go trying to make everything work for us and what we like because otherwise, when Time takes the comfort from us, we have lingering desires left, making things more difficult for us and our evolution.

This week’s RAW is:  Consider the plan you made for your identified goal. Check your email for the prompt for this week’s RAW — the one word, one tagline. And email to Sumanji…. ‘Cause it’s related to a surprise. 🙂