Meditation in Life: Chapter 33
Class Notes | March 17, 2020
Notes by Primary Writer, Nitya Bhagavatula
Introduction
Whenever you see someone who is differently-abled who has special needs — what do you feel?
Vivekji thinks we’re imagining how it would be to be in their position. How come we don’t think how they would feel if they didn’t have that special need?
There was a video that showed a man in a wheelchair. Next was him in the water with the wheelchair underwater. The man was standing and looked so powerful! This visualization was called the Power of Water. It wasn’t about special needs or not having special needs. How this relates to us: the Power of Jnana can have the same effect on us. Right now our peace is dependent: it’s dependent on context, which is why so many are losing their peace. When knowledge (Jnana) comes in to our life and we internalize it (Vijnana) — we start to feel light. Lighthearted and light-spirited! We start to feel we ARE light. That is our nature.
Nara (Water) and Jnana are often used interchangeably. Power of water and knowledge. What it means to feel light is felt with the following quote, “First, they will ignore you. Then, they will laugh at you. Then they will fight you. And then you will win” — Gandhi. Light-spirited people don’t mind when any of the above happen. You are peaceful, so none of it matters.
Focus on shifting our pursuit of peace from pleasure to the Self. Every time you experience pleasure (watching great movie, eating ice cream etc.). Understand that with Vishaya Ananda the source is Brahma Ananda. When you have that jnana or insight, you never get lost in the pleasure. It is demonstrated very well in Shiva Manasa Puja wherein Shankaracharya describes how Your Puja is my Vishaya Bhoga. Whenever I’m experiencing pleasure, I’m remembering it as an offer to you.
Will you indulge or be indiscriminate? You won’t. The only change that has to happen is understanding.
Vedanta is a knowledge. It is describing what we’re experiencing right now. There is no need to do — you simply must understand. Last week I shared that we must reorient our understanding. We will rediscover peace. There is far more peace within than without. When that is full — this is called realization. It’s a reorient, rediscover, realization. You already have this ability. You simply have to capture it.
Chapter 33: Inner Repose
Gurudev shares that we begin our climb towards inspiration by participating. Deeper than being a participant is being involved. (read, write, reflect). And Deeper than this is to be committed. Your whole lifestyle is dedicated to purification. Your whole home is dedicated to preparation. You are ever engaged in the process of contemplation. That is independent of this class/ course. This is how you raise your inspiration!
Are you participating, involved, or committed?
Those who are committed to contemplation. You slow your input of objects. You stop your perception is how it’s noted in the text. Slow perception. For example, back in the day the TV had a big remote control. You had to press it so hard to change the channel. See how much lesser perception there was from the television. Everything moved slowly.
Now if you’re on Netflix or on your phone. We keep on scrolling — more perception. Slow down your perception. Slow down. Recently, Vivekji’s father said it is like we’ve gone back 100 years. Things are so much slower now.
Now that Vyasa isn’t in school — Sheela Didi and Vivekji went in to super organization mode. Because we’re all in one locality everything was slower and more impactful. Slow your perception. If you can do this — a deeper change/practice is that you stop projection.
Slow perception — stop projection.
If you project on to articles — you’ll definitely project on to beings. When you slow your projections, you slow down your thoughts. You start to feel peaceful and start to feel Peace. Be careful. Be attentive. Be vigilant about the peace when perception is slowed and projection stopped. When you pay attention — that begins the fuel as you continue your journey.
Our threshold for peace is so small. When we experience peace — we feel we have to reward ourselves with more perception. We’re not analyzing or accurately feeling this peace within. This is such a nuanced point or teaching: to accurately know how much agitation there is with ABCs and how much peace there is when it comes to divinity or self. It helps us to re-record our nature.
Our nature right now is “I think happiness is on the inside, but I KNOW happiness is on the outside.” However, as you start to become more realistic you value happiness inside. You stop thinking happiness is outside and KNOW happiness is inside. You change the Anatma vasana to an Atma Vasana.
HASTEN SLOWLY. It will require a lot of time.
Q&A
Q: Do realized people tell others that they are realized? If they don’t tell — why not?
A: For someone who is realized — are there other people? Is there anyone to tell? They don’t say they’re realized. And that is why if you ever come across people who proclaim they are realized — that is indicative that they haven’t realized fully. They are still making this claim for the sake of their ego. Secondly, they are also aware that if they tell people they are realized — people will expect them to touch their foreheads and make them realized. However, it is only through your own efforts that you can become enlightened. The way you will know if someone is enlightened is simply by their contentment. (Chapter 2 — Verse 11: The enlightened one is the one who has no desires. No blueprint. They know and are the Self.)
Q: When there’s a lot of noise in our head and we have a harder time settling down — is it okay to use the Japa Mala during contemplation?
A: When you get to the mind part — don’t use the Mala. If you’re rattled and need the support — my suggestion is to use the Mala before contemplation to create quietude. Then, begin contemplation more formally. Once you pass from the body to the breath — you shouldn’t use the body some more. Create some quietude through Japa and then go through the rest of the process.
Q: When we say go forth beyond the ego — isn’t the ego just a collection of thoughts? If you don’t have thoughts you’ve gone beyond the go?
A: Yes. The Antakarana (mind/memory/intellect/ego) are all thoughts. IF you have no thoughts you’ve transcended the Ego. Therefore in our process, when I say chant with the mind you address one level of the thoughts. Deeper is enquire/ observe. Once you observe the Ego and you realize this is a lie. How can I be a thought?! Thought is inert and I am light. This is when you disidentify with the thought/Ego and re-identify with the Spirit. When you’re not bound and are free -that is Enlightenment. That is why it is imperative to be careful about what you’re thinking of. Your thoughts are creating your Vasanas.
Closing thoughts
March 3rd RAW visualize that your thoughts are someone else’s. If you don’t identify with your thoughts — then you’re not impacted by your thoughts. Whatever you don’t identify with — then you’re not impacted. That is reality.
Last week’s RAW (Secretly make a fish face in every conversation). By doing so, remember Tulsidasji — only way to come out of pleasure is for our Prince to take us out of the water. Anyone who is logical will become someone who knows you have to surrender. Logical thinking will lead one to realize they can’t burn their Vasanas themselves. They surrender. That is why your intellect should take you to faith. Knowledge should take you to devotion.
RAW: Magical Mantras begins on March 29th. From now until March 29th I want you to intensify your practice of Japa. Intensify by 20%. 108 times — now chant 128 times. Even better is 130 times. We need this now more than ever. This will make us ready for Magical Mantras.
Housekeeping:
- Many cool satsang opportunities coming up!
- Starting on the first day of Spring — every morning at 8am EST there will be a 15 minute session (Meaningful Morning). If we start strong in the AM, we will finish strong. It is open to all ages. It will make you sleep early and wake up early! This will trigger that discipline.
- Now our Meditation in Life class is open to all and invite family/friends. This exposure is important. Follow your responsibilities and be peaceful. Invoke Peace, Evoke Peace.
- We have class next week since Pearl Jam concert got postponed! None of us have a holiday :)
- Our course will finish on May 26th. It will be our 32nd class, so we have nine more classes to go.
- Foundation Vedanta course recording — if registered more recently or is in it now — email VG or Kanchan, and she will personally give it to you. You will only get it if you’re in the course.
HARI OM
