April 28th, 2026

Our spaces are called cultures, courses or trainings. The difference between a culture, a course and a training is the length of each of the sessions (externally), 12 hours for courses like this, Jnyana course, it is 32 weeks. For our training, this is 42 weeks. The bigger difference is the accountability. In a culture there’s little accountability. In a course, there’s more accountability. In a training, there is the most accountability, there’s pods, there’s assignments. Accountability is critical to shift from listening to reflecting. Without accountability, wee pat ourselves on the back saying, I listened good enough, but we all know that’s not good enough. We need to reflect as well. Our Jnana course is like a training in terms of accountability. This is not a very large map of self development that we have explored and are completing. We have engaged in this map of self development slowly, so that we purge this idea of just approaching this with more content, more content, but rather with the agenda of more reflection.

Recap:

Verses 19 to 22 I’m reviewing and completing the latter portion of 19 To 22

Reviewing the fourth quarter of verse 21: The 12th vice, when understood, helps us to understand the corresponding value. And when this is understood, we begin to practice this for this to become our virtue. The translation for Nidra is sleep but through rationale, this would be Tama. The value is to have habits, and we have made this more practical, and that is to localize. So going through this again, Nidra (Tama), though it’s defined, as sleep in our reflection, this is escapism and what is shared in a translation, it is Satva, but Satva is another word we need to define. And so in a practical way, it is to localize when I’m feeling sleepy, when I’m feeling lazy, when I’m escaping, I just have to start. I have to start with what’s right in front of me. Localizing that space in time.

Verse 22 : The 13th vice is Raja or aggressiveness. What is the value to come out of this vice? It is sattva. So satwa is used for Tama now, sattva is being used again for Raja. And in the next vice, it’s Satva that becomes the vice. That’s why it’s so important to follow translation, tradition, transformation. Sattva, if we take this in a traditional sense, means truth. In a transformational sense, how we can practice this is to hedge, to avoid that which makes you aggressive, to avoid that which propels you to not follow truth.

The 14th vice that is shared is Sattva. This is a dialog between Rishi Narada and Raja Yudhishtira, Vices 12, 13 and 14, all can contain the word sattva, first as a habit, which is, let’s say, far away, then more as a personality that’s closer. But now sattva itself is the vice, and so the way to understand this more rationally is smallness. Sattva is still a Guna. A guna is still a projection of Maya. The way that has been shared to fight this is Upashama, which means contemplation. Contemplation is lovely. but there are many who feel like they’re practicing contemplation, but they’re just practicing relaxation. Contemplation is not a casual sadhana or practice, and so how we can ready ourselves for contemplation is to inquire. Our inquiry is what will help us to start to be contemplative. If there’s one word that encapsulates all of Manahshodhanam, it is inquiry. Contemplation is tradition and Inquiry is the transformation. We have invested six hours into these four verses, these 14 vices, these 14 values. Now Rishi Narada shares with Raja Yudhishthira, what if you don’t have these six hours? What if you have more than 14 vices? What if you can’t practice these 14 values? So he shares that which encompasses all.

All of the 14 values that have just been shared to Raja Yudhishthira, Guru, bhaktiya, That is the bhakti that is directed to the guru for a seeker is indeed, the quickest way  to turn vices into values which will in turn change into virtues. One’s guide, is one who has all 14 of these virtues, or at least is dedicated to convert these values into virtues. And so if I’m dedicated to one who’s dedicated, there’s going to be this flow for me to be the same. And we have many expressions of this one being when this Makara, that is a crocodile, is holding on to the foot of Gajendra, this grand elephant, and this grand elephant is directed towards the divine. Then the divine makes the crocodile free and the elephant free. So in this visual, imagine our Guru is Gajendra, and we are like a crocodile. So if we just hold on to the feet of our guide, and that guide, naturally is directed to the Divine, that same grace in the form of guidance, will come into our lives.

This Class:

Verse 23 :

upadesham- imam nityam, vimrishāmi punah punah; .

shamanam cha prapashyāmi, malānām tu shanaih shanaih.

One word summary of this verse: Exertion

Upadeesha= that is advice or guidance

Imam=that which was just shared.

Rishi Narda, the one who’s beyond balance. Raja Yudhishthira, the one who’s longing for balance.

Nithyam= which means comprehensively

Vimrashami=I reflect on this. I immerse myself in this

Puna, punaha= again and again and again.

What happens when one comprehensively reflects on converting vices into values, into virtues? Shamana, there is a dissolving, there is a decrease.

Prapashyami= I can feel this. When it comes to a reduction or a dissolving of these vices, you can’t see that, you can only feel that

Malana=all of those 14 vices and more

Tu= means you indeed But how does this all happen?

shanaih shanaih= through one’s steadiness. There is a slow reduction dissolving of these vices.

Tying all of this together, when you give in, then you give up! For the one who gives to their inner world, there is guidance that they’re immersed in comprehensively. Sometimes they get pulled out into extroversion, sometimes they falter, but they try again and again, so they’re giving in. They start to give up what they’re not. They give up, depending on a conducive context, they give up the expressions of the equipments, like overthinking, giving in equates to giving up. When you’re able to tune into who you are more deeply, you renounce who you are more shallowly. In trying to make this less philosophical and more practical, this verse is very much about once, staying power. To be able to stay in a course, requires a certain power. To be able to stay in training, requires a certain power. To be able to stay in daily contemplation, daily satsanga requires a power. You have that power, and by leveraging this, you become more powerful. That’s very different than an objective science. You can be exposed to an objective science all day and still not know it. But being exposed to a subjective science, this will start to change.

Verse 24:

eeshwara anugrahāt evam, prasādena guruh tathā;

kim na sādhyam mayā loke, nischintah aham atah adhunā

One word summary of this verse: Excellence

Ishwara anugraha= by the grace of the Divine,

Eva= There’s so many emphatic words in verse 23 and 24 indeed, certainly, surely

Prasadena= And this is the further guided grace, which we can describe as guidance from our guru. So the grace of the Divine and the guidance of our guide, because of this,

Kim Na sadyam= what is not possible. And here’s a really powerful part,

Mayā=by me

Loke=in this world

We tend to feel another person is powerful. Maybe my guide is powerful. Maybe my God is powerful. But here the sharing is what is not possible in this world for me, and specifically when we think about what is most impossible in terms of feeling is freedom.

Vices, values, virtues, and the finality of this is all virtues in all ways. The one who has all virtues in all ways is Bhagavan. Bhagavan is the one with all virtues in all ways. And what’s specifically shared to help this super inspiration is

Nishchintaha= the feeling that I can’t,

Aham attaha aduna= I no longer have this. I don’t feel that I can’t. This is the translation. Here’s the reflection: The Divine comes into our lives, firstly as Grace, but it’s almost like this grace needs to be processed and the prossification of grace is into guidance. An example of this is that we can’t see or use pure light.  So we get an instrument to convert that pure light into a light that we can see and use. Similarly, Grace is that which is too powerful and it comes to a seeker like me in the form of guidance. Real guidance turns back into grace and here Grace means your life becomes easy and you’re able to make the lives of those around you easy.

With Grace, you will start to feel that life is easy, not because of context. But you will start to feel, why can’t I do it? I can take on this responsibility. I can have my dharma tested through artha and kama to experience Moksha. The practical reflection from what’s shared is for some of us, we need a course correction. For some of us who are luckier, we need a course direction. For those who are older, a course correction is needed. That course correction only comes when the divine graces you in the form of guidance. But those who are younger, you don’t need a course correction. You need a course direction. Same goes through the divines grace, that guidance comes to your life. It’s easier for course direction than correction, because there’s less wrong ways of thinking and speaking and acting. So this 24th verse is describing what course direction and course correction looks like.