Subodha Vedanta Class Notes – April 7, 2024

If we want there to be Shanti inside  – Tapa, if we want Shanti nearby – Dana, if we want Shanti far away – Yajna. It is very different to wish for Peace and to work for Peace. This is how we can work for Peace – through Tapa, Dana, Yajna. 

Imagine that we can develop any skill or learn any subject we want. If we had to isolate and zoom into one subject, one skill, what would we want it to be if it could come to us instantaneously? Pujya Swami Tejomayananda shares in the commentary to Subodha Vedanta that we listen to teachings on Divinity, but when it comes to reflecting and engaging in manana, we reflect on worldly matters – what people think about me, about all the things we need to do. This is why after studying the Ramayana and Bhagavata and investing so much into these Maps, we now are flowing through Subodha Vedanta to encourage clarity about what we are and the path we have to follow to feel what we are.

Chapter 8 is on in-quiry, in-quiry into the means. 

Verse1 – The disciple asks – What is the inner spiritual practice and the outer spiritual practice? 

The Guide replies – The methods for attaining purity and absorption of mind are the outer practices. Our comprehensive practice should be to bring more balance and focus to our minds, to our inner world. 

Vivekji shared a framework to help us cultivate this balance and focus in our day to day affairs: 

– Provocation – When an outside force is pulling us down. Better than this

– Motivation – When an outside force is pushing us up. Additionally, when we are motivated, we are more balanced. Better than this

– Inspiration – It is an inside force that is pulling us up, no longer an outside force. We will feel that we are inspired when we become more focused. Inspired people are focused on their purpose. But the best is

– Transformation – An inside force that is pushing us up. There is a momentum there and we will feel this when our inner world becomes more reflective. In the Silence Retreat, those who are training in contemplation, they are transforming themselves from an individual to Infinity. 

So what is shared in Verse 1, is for us to develop balance, focus and reflectiveness. 

Verse 2: How to do this, more specifically –

Yajno daanam tapaschaadi sagunopaasanam japah

Saadhanam bahirangam tat kathyate shaastra-sajjanaih

We have flowed through the first three practices to develop a balanced, focused and reflective mind – Yajna – dedication, Tapa – renunciation and Dana – contribution. 

The fourth practice shared is Upasana – to sit near since whatever we sit near, we imbibe that. A physical example is like wood on fire. When we place more wood next to the burning wood, it heats up, dries up and burns as well. But if we put the wood far away, nothing happens to it. So Upasana is to sit near whatever we want to change about ourselves in our life. If we feel we lack discipline, we should sit next to someone who is disciplined. We are fortunate that we have access to Sadhus. A Sadhu is one who lives for others. They are sitting near Bhagavan. That is why they imbibe virtues like selflessness and generosity. So we have Bhagavan who is all-virtuous, a Sadhu who has imbibed these virtues, and now we can sit near them as well as we have that access. 

The next practice is Japa – chanting or meaningful repetition. Whatever we say with our mouth and think with our mind, we tend to develop into that. Some aggressive parents describe their children in a not so polite way, as being distracted and dumb. If children keep on hearing this, will they not turn into that? Similarly, if we say to ourselves that we are so indisciplined, so disorganized, so dumb, then naturally we will develop that. That is the importance of a Divine name. This is why in our culture, we name things like an Ashram, beings by a Divine name. Not a cool or convenient name, but a Divine name. Pujya Swami Tejomayananda says that we do not even have to say this in a formal way. We chant Om Namah Shivaya, but we can just say Shiva. Vivekji also shared in Bhagavata to identify our bodily functions with a Divine name, like when we burp, say Shiva, when we sneeze, say Durga. The point is to think or say that Divine name. Japa is that which will protect us from being reborn. Please do not misunderstand or underestimate the efficacy of Japa. 

Saadhanam bahirangam tat  – These are all known as outer practices or disciplines. These make us more balanced and focused and reflective, so that we can engage in the inner disciplines.

Kathyate – Who said this? 

Shaastra-sajjanaih – The scriptures and those who have followed through with the scriptures. This is not random thinking; this is historical and experiential. 

One more thought: What is being shared in the last quarter is that more important than longevity is sincerity. Sincerity makes one a strong practitioner who feels a strong impact by these practices, strong impact as in becoming balanced, focused, and reflective. Just because someone has been involved with self-development for a shorter period, or one is younger in age, we should not feel held back as sincerity is key.

Verse 3: Overall verse 23 of Subodha Vedanta –

Yenaatma darshanam bhuyaat antarangam taduchyate

Shravanam mananam dhyaanam saakshaatkaarasya saadhanam

This verse connects back to the previous chapter, Chapter 7, which was about in-quiry into the ends and the teaching was that we have to engage in active listening, reflecting and contemplation to reach the ends. In Chapter 8, the inquiry is into the means. How do we get ready for these active listening, reflecting and contemplation practices? Five techniques were shared. Now we come back in this verse –

Yena – By which 

Atma darshanam bhuyaat – we will come to feel that we are not the vasana, but we are the Atma

Antarangam taduchyate – we will only feel this by engaging in inner practices or disciplines that are taking us inwards. These three practices are –

Shravana – active listening

Manana – active reflecting; we listen to Divinity and reflect on it. It is not listening to Divinity and reflecting on the world. 

Dhyaana – Active contemplation. 

These practices are very important. If we think of the greatest hindrance in our evolution, it will finally come down to vasanas. For our light vasanas – the antidote can be shravana; for medium vasanas, it will require shravana and manana; for heavy vasanas, it requires shravana, manana and nidhidhyasana. If we do not learn how to contemplate, we will never learn how to be content. Why? As the heavy vasanas are still trying to make us feel that we are Not the Atma, that we are the unatma or the individual. 

Saakshaatkaarasya saadhanam – These disciplines are the direct means or disciplines to experiencing what we are. They are not optional, but mandatory. 

A revealing teaching from Pujya Swami Tejomayananda – Doing something without this understanding, may either lead us to nothing, something or anything, but not the desired result.

How many of us expected us to be more evolved or more advanced in our journey based on how long we have been a seeker or on this path? This acknowledgement is for us to form clarity, and not feel dejection. Are we clear that we have to engage in these outer disciplines, to be ready for the inner disciplines which are the direct cause for freedom? When we don’t know the ends, we won’t know the means. And if we don’t know the ends and the means, we will never get to the ends because we are not following the means. 

The next chapter, Chapter 9 is on Maya. Pujya Swami Chinmayananda has shared that – We all campaign for Brahman, but vote for Maya. We love to talk about Brahman, but do we actually live by Brahman? No, we tend to live by Maya. 

Verse 1: 

Daivi hyeshaa gunaatmikaa prabhu-maayaa duratyayaa

Aham mameti roopaa saa mithyaa-bhoga-pralobhikaa

When we studied the Ramayana together, in Shri Rama Gita, Shri Lakshmana asked Bhagavan Rama – What is Maya?, and Bhagavan Rama responded with – Aham (i-ness) and Mama (my-ness). Now in Meaningful mornings, in Bhagavad Gita’s Chapter 4, Bhagavan Krishna describes – Mama Maya Duratyaya – It is very difficult to transcend My Maya. 

Something lovely about Subodha Vedanta – Pujya Swami Tejomayananda has been teaching since 1975, for over 50 years, and he has summarized all that studying and reflection in a book like Subodha Vedanta. He has done the thinking for us, so we don’t even have to think about it too much. We have to just follow it, just follow. How many of us take Vitamin supplements? Did we research it or develop it ourselves or do we just take them? Someone else did the research and we just take the vitamins. We do that about medicine, and here this is about enlightenment!

Some reflective points – Starting with the second quarter – 

Maya – Maya has the etymology of Ya Ma Sa iti Maya. Ya means Is, Ma means Not, Sa is referring to the concept of Maya – So, Maya Is Not. So our whole lifetime and lifetimes, we are trying to cross over that which IS NOT. That is why it is Duratyaya – very difficult. What makes understanding and then transcending Maya difficult is that we do not think enough; we only engage in thoughts. Thoughts are not deliberate, are not directed. They just come out. We have thoughts, but we don’t think. That is why even though Maya is not, we feel Maya is. And this is becoming more difficult to understand and transcend because now we live in a busier way than ever. Busy people do not think, they just do. 

In the third quarter – Sa which is Maya, Rupa – gets expressed as, Aham and Mama. Aham is the separation from Atma and as soon as there is separation, comes identification or Mama. 

Who told us that our thoughts are our thoughts? We need to really reflect on this.  Whatever we are thinking about, how do we know that they are not someone else’s thoughts? We just identify without the intention to identify and it just keeps on happening. This I-ness and My-ness is Maya. 

Another insight – Maya is mithya, an illusion. Just like in an eclipse, it seems the sun is going away, but if we are on the Sun, would the Sun ever go away? Sun will not go away until it exhausts its chemical energy. An illusion, when we know it is an illusion, is fun, but when we believe in the illusion, it becomes a delusion. It is not entertaining any more as we suffer. So it is shared here, in this illusion, bhoga pralobhika – we are in the delusion that sense objects will provide fulfillment. If we are honest with ourselves, before we engage in any sense object, whether it’s a cake or a movie, we do go in with the plan that it will make us more fulfilled, but as we are experiencing it and definitely after, we feel less fulfilled. We feel more drained of resources, time and effort. 

A positive reflection – Maya is often described as the original problem. Anything that comes from Maya is also problematic. But if the original problem is NOT, then all of the matters that we think are problematic, are NOT either. So whatever problem is in our life, its cause is Maya. So as Maya is not, the problem is not either. If we have clarity about this, we will never have a problem.

Discussion: What is a dominant cause for us to feel hopeless and a dominant cause for us to feel hopeful? What makes us feel hopeless and what makes us feel hopeful?

Vivekji shared that when he feels hopeless and he reads the Shastra, then that hopelessness becomes much less then. There is a re-orientation towards hopefulness, that there is so much advice and so much love that we should be faithful. Purposelessness also causes hopelessness. Purpose pulls performance. High purpose, high performance. Bhagavan Hanuman is a great icon of one who is hopeful. He is always clear about his purpose. We should also invoke hope and evoke toughness.

RAW from last week: KMF or keep moving forward –  When we keep moving forward, then living becomes much lighter. When we are clear that a purpose supersedes a person, we keep moving forward. It is that person who is slowing us down, with their judgments or their moods and so on. But if a purpose supersedes that, then we have to keep moving forward as the purpose is bigger. That is why a Guide is not described as a person, they are described as a purpose. Gurudev is often described as an institution.

RAW: Write or document all the false promises we make to ourselves.