Introduction

Reflect & Ask is a space, not a course. A course has expectations that you are attending and participating. A space, like Meaningful Mornings, is where one can come or not come. However, one needs to have sthira (steadiness). A great quality of a seeker is to be steady; from steadiness comes sincerity. 

When asking a question, one should be open about what they are thinking and feeling. 

When listening to a question, one should be respectful. 

Each week, on Thursdays from 8:45pm-9pm, a slide will be shared in class with the questions from previous sessions to encourage seekers to engage in Vitamin R3 (read, write and reflect) on how one would respond to such questions.  

Share about this space with others so that they can also benefit from customized responses from our Guides.

Opening Reflection

The purpose of Reflect & Ask is customization of the Science of Oneness. 

When asking a question, one should have these two qualities:

• Be ready to receive the answer. Being arrogant, stubborn or closed means that one does not feel the answer when it comes and cannot act upon it. 
• Be responsible. One should have already reflected upon the question and purified one’s mind before asking the question. 

In Oneness, there are no vices. One never feels lust, jealousy, or anger towards one’s self. However, one continues to feel such vices towards others. 

Reducing the Intensity (e.g. how intensely frustrated one feels), Frequency (e.g. how many people cause frustration), Recovery (e.g. how quickly one recovers from being frustrated) of these vices, signifies how well one is practicing the Science of Oneness.

Q & A

How do I learn to communicate a vision succinctly to those around me? 

What if they are not receptive to my vision? 

Does grace flow more when you try to communicate a vision with others who may not agree with it? 

Vivekji’s Response 

To communicate a vision, practice it and live cheerfully. This exemplifies that one is following through with one’s learnings. If one is constantly engaged in stress, anxiety, dejection, it makes it harder for others to believe in their vision. 

The gauge of someone wise is they are unaffected by things happening to them in life. 

When you know and care about someone, they become ready, open and respectful to the vision you offer. 

Grace is not determined by success, receptivity or feeling. Grace is about quality, not quantity. When students are ready, a teacher becomes more passionate. A game of soccer is more enjoyable when there are “good” players. However, even without good players, a game can be enjoyable. 

When considering a life change (e.g. change in jobs, moving cities) that will alter the status quo, how do I differentiate between discomfort that should be embraced vs. a change that will disturb my peace?

How do we know if a change is making us more virtuous? 

Vivekji’s Response

The purpose of life is not comfort, but to evolve and be virtuous. Tapa means to burn down comfort zones. Change should be embraced if it is making you a better person. 

Whether a change is making us more virtuous has to be determined by you. It is not context based – you can be in a tamasic environment and be satvic and vice-versa. Part of yoga is having the honesty that if you are going to succumb to a vice, don’t expose yourself to that (e.g. if you love backpacks, don’t go down a street where backpacks are sold). 

I was laid off from work yesterday. I see this as an opportunity that Bhagavan has something else in store for me. But how can I keep moving forward? 

The fact that you are in satsang after such an incident yesterday shows that the intensity and frequency of vices has decreased and should be commended. 

The purpose of life is to be happy and then healthy. If your resources have decreased because of this job change, this does not change your purpose. If you validate something that is not happiness (i.e. having a job), that is hypocrisy. 

Swami Brahmananda from the Ramakrishna Mission has shared that ¾ of our mind should be on Bhaghavan (mayapati) and ¼ should be on samsara (maya). So focus on finding a job, but don’t feel stress or anxiety because there is no point in that. Be clear that Even This Will Pass. 

Growing up, my actions were driven by guilt. I don’t feel this way anymore, but sometimes I feel guilty about not feeling guilty! How should I think about this?

Remember how much Bhagavan loved you and still loves you. If not, you will still be stuck in the trap of fear and guilt. We are all able to relate to this because our parents did not teach us Sanātana Dharma in the right way. Ours is not a fear-based religion.

When you are born into a circumstance where there is lack of knowledge, you stay either at negative or neutral. When you try to understand Bhagavan, the only important thing is intention, or the “why” of things. This is Bhaktya.

Bhaktya is the key word that Bhagavan is focused on your intention, not implementation. Guilt comes in when you have shifted into implementation mode and away from intention. As discussed in Manah Śodhanam, because I don’t Remember (Agnana) my nature, I don’t Realize (Avritta) my nature, then I don’t Rejoice (Adhrishta) my nature. So as long as you don’t Remember, guilt will continue to weigh on you. 

Closing Insight

The nature of dvaita is difficulty. The only way to transcend dvaita is advaita. For everyone going through tough times, nothing can help other than Advaita Vedanta, the Science of Oneness.