Meditation in Life: Chapter 10 (contd)
Class Notes | March 19, 2019
Notes by Primary Writer, Sunita Menon
One of the most popular opening prayers for Vedanta is
ॐ सह नाववतु ।
सह नौ भुनक्तु ।
सह वीर्यं करवावहै ।
तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै ।
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥
First line of this prayer means — may we be safe. The second line means — may we enjoy. Enjoy what? If its not clear then how can we exert? or shine? Implication here is — may we be clear of the fruit of what we are about to engage in — our samvaada, our study. If that fruit is not clear, there will be no exertion or shining (application).
The purpose of this prayer and our course is sanyaasa.In Katha Rudra Upanishad it is described that the sanyaasa one takes (or enacts) is to stop looking back i.e., no regrets, no holding on. When we live like that (not focused on past, regrets of past) it is sanyaasa. Also no tears — interpreted as no anxiety of the future. When one lives like that, we can say that they are living by sanyaasa. We don’t do Sanyaasa, we live sanyaasa.
When one has no regrets of past, and no anxiety of future its like they are in Brahma Loka — where all are engaged in sadhana.
In Sat yuga all were identified with the spirit. With atrophy, they started identifying with intellect, then with the mind, and this period all are identified with the body.
In Brahma Loka one is identified with a higher sense of oneself, a higher realm. Guru of Brahma Loka is Lord Brahma who keeps on teaching. Students study sincerely and they transcend Brahma Loka eventually and realize their own consciousness.
Sahanau bhunaktu- May be we be clear about why we are here. We are here to be free — no regrets of past, no anxiety of future. We will only be steady and sincere towards this purpose.
Chap 10 is titled the Gross Body
We take for granted a whole lot. We take this body for granted. It is this equipment that will help us in our sadhana and if it becomes unhealthy because of our choices, we are am taking this for granted. To take for granted that one is the body is quiet hurtful. When someone takes us for granted, we feel hurt thinking that we give so much and there is no appreciation or support. Our creator gave us the opportunity to be with Him and do His work and we just think we are this costume, this disguise.
Karma is not decided by implementation but it is decided by intention. Just because we move our body a lot doesn’t mean we are engaged in karma. Karma is based on intention — what is the intention of our family? our profession? and of engaging in sadhana? When this intention is clear, then we exhaust vasanas. We go from Kaliyuga to Satyuga — from thinking of body to thinking of spirit.
There is no exhaustion of vasanas when we think we are the body — all change is outside, but my cheer and contentment never changes. This is what Gurudev shares first half of chapter. If I think I am only this body how can any other sadhana be meaningful? How can enlightenment not just be an idea? How many times we study the gross body?. This is an application course not just theory.
Who is the decider in your personality? Intellect is. Right now our intellect is extrovert. Intellect has decided that we are the body. Its looking out. Whatever we are, our desires follow suit. If I am the Body, then desires are of eating more , drinking more, sleeping more. Everything for the body.
Our Rishis are guiding us to change the direction of the intellect from extrovert to introvert. Then the intellect will decide that we are not just the body, there is also breath and mind. The intellect will eventually decide it is the ego, it is the spirit.
How does one go from extrovert intellect to introvert intellect? In Sadhana Panchakam — one of the upadesas that Acharya Sankaracharyaji gives is bhava sukhe doshoanusandhiyatam.
Anusandhiyatam means to study intensely, to engage in parikhsa like Raja Parikshit. To study dosha or imperfection of sukha (here it means pleasure).
We all want perfect happiness — independent , incessant and infinite. If any of my experiences is imperfect it won’t help me tune into what I want and need.
Extrovert intellect to introvert intellect happens when I examine my experiences particularly pleasure — all that I do for the body. If I examine all this I will find that there is never perfect pleasure then why do I invest? If I am able to slow my investment in pleasure, I will slow my identification with this body.
The introvert intellect — you will know that your intellect is shifting when you know there is more to life and there is more to you.
Gurudev uses the terminology of an intellect that penetrates — one that is tuned into Satya. Brahman is described as Satyam gyanam anantam — a penetrating intellect is one that takes the words of our scriptures and Rishis and penetrates it so it becomes their own. The intellect that does not penetrate, it treats words as words.
The absolute first experience we have when wewake up is of I - that I is also experienced when we sleep but there is no verbalization. What is that I? its AM and KNOW. AM = Existence and KNOW=awareness. Instead of using that intellect to keep with this experience, where should we keep it ? — with I am, I know, I joy. Extrovert intellect thinks about what we have to do today, where we have to go, what we have to get done. When if I just held that analysis and that contemplation right when I wake up then I will lock in AM, KNOW, JOY. We have the same opportunty when we go to sleep.. when all else is let go. That identification is so penetrating there is simply I am, know and the opportunity is lost again..
Most important is to engage in simple living, so that there can be high thinking. Without simple living, high thinking is just words.
In Chandogya Upanishad, Rishi Narada describes to Sanatkumaras all that he knows. Sanatkumara describes all they know as Shabda. When someone is selfish and says sorry and you know that its just words. This journey should not be like that.
Rishi Narada is so humble he realizes the ashadba — that which is beyond words.
Intellect has decided this is who we are. We are going to be more careful of our experiences and pleasure. This will help us change the direction of the intellect to be more. There is constant reminders that we are more, that we are SatChitAnanda — our states and avasthas is clear in that. It demands that vichara– vich means to filter, separate and know what’s important.
Notes from guest writer, Sumanth Ravipati
Vivekji started the class by covering the definitions within the shloka ‘Om Sahana Vavatu’
No regrets about the past, no axiety for the future
Definition of sanyasa
Next chapter is called ‘Gross Body’
If this equipment becomes unhealty due to our choices, then we have taken it for granted
Karma is based on intention
What is the intention of your family
What is the intention of _____
When the intention is clear, we exhaust our vasanas
If I live by implementation, there is no exhaustion
Our cheer and content never changes
If I think I am only this body, how can enlightment not just be an idea?
Who is the decider in your personality?
Who is the decider in you?
The intellect
Right now the intellect is extrovert
It has decided that we are the body
Whatever we are, our desires follow suit
Our rishis are guiding us to change the direction of the intellect from the outside to the inside
It gradually decides we are the ego and eventually that we are the spirit
Breakdown of the phrase: Bhavasuke-doha-anusandeyatam
Anusandeyatam of dosha (imperfection) of sukha (pleasure in this context as it is next to dosha and it is imperfect) — bava (to engage in)
We are fortunate that we realize that eating, sleeping, etc is just happening to us and not all there is
Built into every pleasure is pain
If all I am interested in is dog food, then I am a dog
In Ch18, rajasic suka is easy in the begining and hard in the end; tamasic suka is vice-versa
The introvert intellect
When you just know there is more to life, more to you
An intellect that penetrate, is one that is tuned into Satya
Brahman — is defined as satyam, jnanam, anantam
An intellect that does not penetrate treats these words as just words
The first experience you have every day is that of ‘I’
That experience is ‘(I) Am’ — ‘Know’ — ______
Sort out what is changing and what is constant.
That separation is key
Should be ‘I Am’ — ‘Know’ — ‘Joy’
If you hold that analysis when you wake up you
Have the same opportunity when we go to sleep
By realizing what is just words or ‘shabda’, we can realize what is beyond words or ‘ashabda’
There are constant reminders that we are more
I is period. It is a light. Between states, the light illuminates nothing so the ‘I’ is still there.
The mind has become mute during deep sleep.
‘(I) Am’ — ‘Know’ — ‘Nothing’ during sleep, that ‘Nothing’ has to change to ‘Everything’
RAW
Live as if this is someone else’s body
Picture that this body is your enemy’s body
Notes from Guest Writer — Vidya Ganti
Do we truly understand the purpose of our course “Meditation in Life”? If we have clarity about the benefits of engaging in this course, then we will also be clear about how much to exert or apply ourselves in this course. This course is our sadhana, our means, our road to eventually attain moksha! We want to be able to live by sanyasa, with no regrets of the past and no anxiety of the future.
Chapter 10 examines the Gross Body, how we sadly come to think that we “are” this body. In this Kali Yuga, we identify most with the body. We think we own the body and so we begin to take it for granted. It is actually our intellect that decides that we are this body, but that is the decision of an intellect which is extrovert. Such an intellect makes us more conscious of this body and only drives us to indulge more and more in it, to drown ourselves constantly in the pleasures for the body, of the body, making us more and more dependent on this body.
However, is this body our true identity, our true nature? Only when we come to understand that we are not just the body, but also the breath and the mind, and going even deeper past the sheaths, the ego and then the spirit, do we begin to disidentify with this body. If we were clear about the intention of the body given to us by our Creator, we would be able to exhaust our vasanas using this body as a mere instrument.
This is achievable if we follow the teachings of our Rishis who guide us to change the direction of the intellect from extrovert to introvert. Such a penetrating intellect makes us realize that there is more to life than just the body we identify with so strongly. We then begin to examine ourselves, our pleasures and slow down, recede. The less we invest in pleasures, the less we invest in this body, thus seeking happiness that is infinite.
Simple living, high thinking should become the way of life to be able to treat this body as our only possession, and not the possessor of several possessions. With an intellect that is introvert, that is penetrating, we will then be able to wake up every morning with the absolute, perfect experience that –
I — AM KNOW JOY — SAT CHIT ANANDA!
