Ask Swami with Swami Sarvapriyananda | December 6th, 2020

[Music] [Music] lead us from the unreal to the real lead us from darkness unto light lead us from death to immortality om peace peace peace namaste and good morning everybody although for everybody it may not be good morning because people from all over the world in our virtual uh audience we gather together here occasionally to discuss questions which come from all over the world from our virtual audience across the world so please ask swami sessions today dr tulsi ramjanardhan will read out the questions and i'll try to answer them yes the first question from nagaraj desai from germany he asks in one of your classes you showed how we can understand the real nature of the self you mentioned that one can understand this by asking the question who am i he showed that the answer for it can be understood by following the principle that whatever is an object in my awareness is not the real self my body my breath my thoughts my intellect and memory are all objects in my awareness and therefore not my real self if we go even deeper there is a blank and because we are aware of this even this is not the real me does attaining enlightenment mean experiencing the real nature of the self if it experiences itself or if it becomes aware of itself does it mean it is not the real self because it becomes aware of itself all right that's a good question the question here is that in advaita vedanta we we follow a process of self-enquiry we inquired into our experience of ourselves and the method for that enquiry is one principle that we take up the principle that is taken up is whatever i am aware of i am not that whatever we are aware of is an object not awareness itself that which we are aware of is an object to awareness not awareness itself so by this process we eliminate from our self-concept all objects you see the problem is that we have identified ourselves with uh with things which are not our self with the body with the mind we take these to be i me but we are not these vedanta tells us that your awareness pure awareness now how do we reach that how do we appreciate what we truly are by this method this is the method that has been adopted that the real nature of the self is that which is aware and anything that we are aware of is not the real self it's an object to the real self it's a very powerful method now if you follow this method even if you think about this method then you will come to this question which this gentleman has asked the question is so our ultimate goal is to know ourself self-realization self-knowledge whatever we are aware of is an object not the self so when we reach self knowledge we'll be will be knowing the self but then the self will be an object because whatever we know is an object then it will not be the real self this question is to be appreciated then you can understand the beauty of the answer so the answer is that the self can never be known as an object whatever is an object is not the self and that criterion remains true till the very end also whatever you know as an object is not the self so will the self remain unknown the goal is self-knowledge will we fail in attaining the goal will it remain with the self will my real self always remain unknown no it is more than known it is not known in the usual sense of knowledge what is the usual sense of knowledge whatever we know as an object usual sense of knowledge is but knowing something as an object i the consciousness i deploy instruments of knowledge through the mind and the senses so through the mind and the eyes i the consciousness i see what do i see objects forms um i this awareness through the mind and the ears i hear what do i hear objects sound similarly other objects are there for each sense organ separate object there is a smell and there is taste and there is touch not only that there are subtle objects in our mind itself thought and imagination and memory and ideas and desires emotions these are also objects why because we are aware of them so at the level of the external world objects physical body which is part of the external world object the breath they're aware of it object thoughts emotions memories aware of it object not the self beyond that even the intellect which we are using right now for understanding all this that is also an object it's a process we are aware of beyond that if you push as he says you will reach a blankness the blankness we experience in deep sleep the blankness we experience in deep meditation also because it is experienced that's also an object it is not us so we are not the physical body object we are not the breath the pranic body object we are not the mental body mind we are not the intellect we are not even the blankness beyond the intellect not anna maya kosha not prana maya kosha not mano maya kosha not vigyana my kosher not then see here is the beauty of it we now are looking for our real self and our tendency is to objectify why because we have always seen objects whatever we know are always objects so somewhere even if we say i know that the self is not an object we say that we think that but unconsciously the impulse is to objectify the self it can never be objectified it is not an object of awareness it is the awareness itself then how is it known will it be unknown no it is more than known in every act of knowledge it is known whenever you know something the presence of objects you are knowing the self itself whenever you know the absence of objects you still knowing the self itself it's like um let me give you an example it's only an example so when i show you the clock what do you see the clock and then i show you the mic here what do you see mic let's show you the clause here what do you see class clock mic class three different objects but notice there's something else you are missing it is not just clock it is the light reflected of the clock there is clock here plus light the light is falling on it and then it's illumining the clock so you're seeing the light the same light falls on this um this mic and illumina set it is mic plus light that gives you the experience of the microphone it is cloth plus light which makes gives you the experience of the gloss what is common to all of them clock is different from mic mic is different from cloth but the same light is illuminating all of them in the same way there is consciousness in every experience in experience in every knowledge of every object one thing is there consciousness is always there now why did i see it's only an uh an example one thing one must be careful of here the clock is a material object but the light which is reflected from this clock is also a material object so that that does not apply to consciousness what i mean is in every knowledge consciousness is there but not as an object as the illumina of that object once we realize that then we will find it in every uh every knowledge in ken openisha that is said in every episode of knowledge in seeing hearing smelling tasting touching in thinking remembering understanding forgetting loving hating whatever it is the same consciousness is shining everywhere but not as an object so it is self-revealed there is a very important conception in advaita vedanta self-reveal self-revealed is in sanskrit swap prakasha subprakasha it does not know itself it is in english self-revealed or self-luminous swap prakash it is revealed by itself continuously but it's not an object to itself in philosophy self reflexivity is a fault self reflectivity means nothing can make itself an object so for example i can use this finger to touch things i can touch the microphone i can touch the cloth i can touch the table this fingertip i can touch but can this fingertip touch itself no it can touch other fingertips but it cannot touch itself right in the same way these eyes they can see other things but they cannot see themselves and don't say that you can see yourself in a mirror you are seeing a reflection of the eyes in the mirror the eyes cannot see themselves directly the way they're seeing other things so self reflexivity is not allowed or it's it's seen as a fault in philosophy self-reflectivity means something knowing itself something referring to itself eyes do not see themselves the finger does not touch itself similarly consciousness does not know itself so when enlightenment comes you cannot say that the self will know itself no it does not technically know itself but it is more than known it is self-revealed itself luminous not only in um in enlightenment in every knowledge in all world ordinary knowledge in religious knowledge spiritual knowledge in all kinds of knowledge consciousness is self-revealed just as the light is common when it's reflected of all the objects also the eyes when we see different things we are seeing different things but what is common to all of them that the eyes are seeing same eyes are seeing everything and i touch different things with the fingertips what is common to that the same fingertip is touching everything so in touching everything i can say that i know that i this the fingertip uh in seeing everything i this eyes are self-revealed the in self knowledge what happens is you realize the luminous nature of consciousness and then in every act of knowledge it doesn't doesn't have to be only brahmayana in every act of knowledge the self is revealed consciousness is revealed that in dualistic language it is called seeing god everywhere seeing god in everyone seeing god in every experience so the answer to the question is when self-realization comes will the self know itself if it knows itself then it becomes an object it cannot be the self anymore no it will not know itself as an object but the self-luminous nature of of consciousness will be revealed to us and will be continuously aware it is already continuously available to us we don't recognize it that's all we will recognize it in thereafter every act of knowledge in every episode of knowledge it will be recognized and that is called freedom in openish in every cognition when consciousness reveals itself when you realize it's the presence of consciousness yourself the self real self that is called immortality then you may live anywhere you may live in any way yatra tatra in the language of ashtavakra yathata as whatever your condition you will be a monk you may be a householder you may be fully active in the world you may be totally withdrawn from the world you may be healthy the body may be healthy or sick you may be young or old a body in whatever condition you may be well known in the world you may be absolutely unknown whatever is the condition of your life wherever you exist you are that one ever free consciousness you are totally free and that is jivan mukti freedom by living yes ashwani saxena asks how can we gradually develop detachment from material pursuits we have material ambitions conditioned by the societal expectations but all these are impermanent offering no real happiness is there a gradual path towards detachment from material pursuits yes the straight answer to this is srinam krishna is to say as you move more towards the east the west is automatically left behind you don't have to leave something behind move towards your goal towards your destination move towards a high goal in life enlightenment of course but when you move towards a high goal in life what is it that i want then what i don't want will drop away from me you don't have to quarrel with material possessions and material goals they are not good they are bad no you must catch hold of something higher notice the lives of great scientists and artists and writers they are so deeply involved in their pursuit of knowledge creativity art they don't have to think does it does a scientist einstein or somebody did they have to think i have to fight against material objects no there is no interest at all you drop it behind because all your interest your focus is on something higher automatically notice the lives of um you know great painter writer scientist whoever it is philosopher their life itself becomes very very very simple material concerns drop away from their from their daily you know from their view of life because their attention is entirely focused on their goal um in the same way spiritual life even more so when god realization is the goal when self-realization is the goal then material pursuits possessions money little concerns of career they become so small you don't bother about it anymore so that is the path the gradual path is always to move positively of course one must have certain rules certain discipline to reduce one's material concerns to the minimum so that gives you the freedom to pursue a high goal but the path is this simple motto the more i move towards god the more i move towards enlightenment the more time i give for study for meditation for thinking about vedanta the less time energy desire will be there to you know mess about in the world the unworthiness the other worldiness will come to you automatically by itself both are necessary surrounded krishna says ishari anurag bishoya birag love for god and a dispassion for vishaya for for worldly things did they go together it's always best to stress the positive aspect the renunciation of worldly activities and goals will come by themselves one may also make a certain discipline of minimizing one's needs of simplifying one's life that's also very good next question sudhir kumar gvss asks how is moksha defined in vedanta is it freedom from sorrow is it freedom from birth and death both so the way moksha is defined moksha means freedom spiritual liberation different words are used in indian philosophy moksha is one mukti is another nirvana is another kraiwalia an ancient word is another so many words are used to denote this ultimate spiritual freedom now what is this is it freedom from the cycle of birth and death or is it freedom from sorrow the answer is both both the way it is taught in indian classical indian philosophy not just vedanta in advaita vedanta or in other schools of vedanta or india vaishika sankhya yoga in buddhism jainism sikhism in all of them moksha is the goal one way would be freedom from the cycle of birth and death so we are trapped in this individual personalities and we go from body to body lifetime to lifetime evolving spirituality the whole goal is to attain spiritual realization and freedom but we are going through these um these little selves from lifetime to lifetime and when we attain our goal there's no more need to be encased in these cages of flesh and blood from lifetime to lifetime so freedom is attained so that is how it is put in there's a paradigm of indian philosophy all schools of indian philosophy they will talk in that language freedom from the cycle of birth and death but there is another language in which they speak which is freedom from sorrow freedom from unhappiness freedom from misery freedom from liberation freedom from limitation not liberation liberation from limitation so that's the and the two are not different freedom from the cycle of birth and death is equal to freedom from sorrow the cycle of birth and death is synonymous with suffering because it is limitation upanishads knowing that one goes beyond sorrow goes beyond death that's one language the buddha says that there is sorrow or suffering dukkha in life and there is an escape there is a freedom from suffering and there is a cause of suffering there is a freedom from suffering and there is a way to the freedom from suffering the four noble truths of the buddha so there is suffering dukkha and is this dukkha is there a cause of this dukkha yes that is desire krishna can dukkha be overcome yes that is called nirvana freedom from dukkha is there a way to overcome it yes there is the eight-fold way ashtanga marga so this is the paradigm of spirituality in india it's not just the buddha long before him sankhya sankey philosophy says afflicted by the threefold sorrow there is an enquiry how can we overcome finally overcome sorrow temporally we can temporarily we can overcome you feeling hungry eat food fine but completely totally overcome suffering and limitation in life is it possible and the answer is yes it is possible it is possible that is the spiritual quest that is the spiritual quest so the two to two ways it is put as you saw in sankey philosophy suffering is there is there a way to overcome suffering and that is the quest for liberation or the cycle of birth and death the cycle of birth and death freedom from liberation from the cycle of birth and death this unending cycle of reputations of this limited life that is also moksha and it's the same thing especially here in the west where it is mostly from the christian or abrahamic kind of thinking where the idea of multiple lives and births and deaths is not not common not accepted easily so one can speak about liberation from from suffering freedom from suffering that everybody can identify with one might say i am only sure of this one life i am born i know this and i am going to die i know that much i had many lives before this i will have many lives after that and i have need freedom from this cycle is that is it really a problem or is it an imagine problem imaginary is a solution to imaginary problem so in that case you one need not refer to multiple lives birth and death one can just say there is suffering in life yes is freedom from suffering possible yes so moksha is also freedom from suffering both ways one can put it yes next question from ishaan ray he asks there are a lot of techniques of meditation like the mindfulness meditation the meditation on om etc would you kindly describe what vedantic meditation is as a vedantin which technique should i follow for my daily meditation vedantic meditation meditation is focusing the mind it could be a narrow focus like in yogic meditation it could be a mindfulness but attention training of the attention is meditation and that's absolutely necessary in spiritual life so that's why we have in all traditions just about every religious tradition has some form of training of the attention it need not be formal meditation it could just be prayer it could be repetition of a prayer so a kind of training of attention is there in every religious tradition of the world in vedanta what the place of meditation is one must understand what is the place of meditation first of all is training of attention necessary in vedanta yes vedant actually advaita vedanta takes it for granted that already one has a focused mind it's part of the fourfold qualifications the discernment between the unreal and the the temporary and the eternal the dispassion for the temporary the six-fold discipline the six-fold discipline that includes samadhana focus so the ability to focus of course is taken for granted in vedanta you must have some ability to focus but beyond that vedantic meditation is a special reason for the need for vedantic meditation it is called nididhyasana the term for meditation vedantic meditation is needed dhyasana so the process of vedanta is shravana mananananana literally means hearing what it means practically is systematically studying vedanta so systematically studying the teachings assimilating the grasping the teachings is is shravana after doing that one comes to manana the power of thinking reflecting upon it so by by by the first stage i know what the teaching is i know what vedante is telling me i know what the upanishads the gita and other vedanta texts broadly what they are saying i know now i have so many doubts so so many questions and doubts these are resolved these are resolved in the second stage so at the end of the second stage of mananam i can say that i know the teachings and also i understand them i know the teachings and i understand that what remains it still is not a living reality to me i was promised that i shall go beyond sorrow dukkha i'll go go beyond sorrow cessation of sorrow anand the prophet i shall attain permanent satisfaction in place i have not got that my life has not changed yet i'm not getting the benefit of that knowledge i have the knowledge i have the conviction the benefit is not coming so what is necessary is assimilation and to make it a living reality so to make it a living reality this um vedantic meditation is prescribed what you have studied and heard what you have understood first stage second stage now stay with it and marinate yourself in it soak it in assimilate it swami vivekananda says tell yourself again and again i am that so aham i am he i am brahman not in the sense of repetition of a mantra something that we have understood very clearly now stay with that understanding he says till it tingles with every drop of your blood so this is the process of vedantic meditation more technically the idea in advaita vedanta is knowledge or enlightenment comes from the first stage hearing hearing or studying the truths that gives us knowledge but the others two stages are necessary for removing problems for removing obstacles two kinds of obstacles up there asam bhavana viparita bhavana asambhavana means impossibility obstacle and viparita bhavana means the contrary tendencies so the impossibility is i hear you that you are saying i am brahman i am not body mind i am brahman i hear you but it doesn't seem possible i have got many objections so those objections are removed in second stage mananam removes asambhavana the the stage of uh of courgitation reflection removes the the obstacle of impossibility that it's impossible now after that i realized it is possible not only possible it must be true i get conviction then remains the the problem of viparita bhavana contrary tendencies over a lifetime many lifetimes we have developed tendencies of identifying with body we have developed tendencies of identifying with mind these tendencies of identifying with body and mind behaving thinking speaking and behaving as if i am this body and mind this has to be overcome how will this be overcome by the same knowledge just stay with that knowledge till it becomes very obvious a living light effortlessly available to me that's that third that that second obstacle viparita the contrary tendencies the tendency of thinking of behaving as if i'm body mind that is overcome by vedantic meditation so vedantic meditation serves the purpose of assimilation of the teachings of making it a living reality of overcoming the contrary tendencies of thinking and behaving as if i am a body mind now where will you find these vedantic meditations what are the techniques how do you do it you can find it scattered in many places it's basically staying with the clarity of the conviction so the clarity of the conviction has to come first one cannot jump straight to vedantic meditation people think that oh so finally we have to do that meditation let me start with that you cannot start with that you have to start with sravana and manana first know the teachings get clarity and conviction about the teachings and then make it blossom in your life but there are techniques so if you you're interested in knowing the techniques you can for example in the drig drishya viveka we have a whole lecture series i think 12 classes are there on the net towards the end you will find six techniques of vedantic meditation six techniques of needed asana in upper okay shankaracharya gives 15 techniques apart 15 techniques of vedantic meditation so he just takes the yogic meditation terms and changes the meaning to um sort of one might say appropriates the yogic meditation techniques and um shows how vedantic meditation can be done in 15 different ways aparokshanavuti now the question was how do i do my daily meditation what is suitable for me in my daily meditation here i must say quite apart from vedantic needed what is required in our spiritual life is what is called upasana that's an entirely different kind of meditation and that comes before vedantic meditation upasana is one form of upass uh literally means worship so one form or mental worship one form of mental worship is you have a chosen deity ishta devata and the guru gives you a mantra the ishta mantra and one repeats the mantra and visualizes the deity as taught by the guru daily at least twice a day that is foundational unless upasana mantra the deity meditation is done the mind is not ready that opening which is necessary for vedanta will not be there vedanta gives a lot of stress on the preliminary preparation of the mind so mantra deeksha and meditation on the deity devata japan this is what should be the daily daily meditation for us also for the devotees and monks in our ramakrishna order we daily do meditation and it's the form of the upasana ishta devata and mantra it is at his unique potency and vedanta also says it it makes it a requirement that one should have gone through this process i think that's what i would like to say next question satya from europe asks i sincerely want to strengthen the practice of bhakti-yoga in my sadhana on the lines you described in several lectures however i am unable to settle down on one particular form of god my mind wavers between different incarnations of vishnu and also on nirguna brahman this has become a roadblock in my bhakti sadhana could you please advise how i resolve this how do i choose my ishtadeva would mantra diksha from a guru help if so how do i receive that because i do not have access to a guru here in this country i don't know which country is speaking from writing from but just is from europe right um as i just said in the answer to the earlier question for one reason is this one you want to meditate you want to cultivate bhakti devotion to god but in which form want to worship vishnu as narayana or as krishna as avatar krishna or rama in which form will you worship which mantra rama mantra krishna mantra there are numerous mantras of vishnu or narayana how and even if you pick one the problem is i pick one if i pick one if the mind which has chosen not picked one that same mind can change it can now after one or two years go somewhere else the harm is as he points out the harm is that it becomes a block it becomes a stumbling block um what happens is it's like there's a saying that suramar krishna is to tell the story of a man who was digging a well to get water and he did not find water so he thought maybe i'll try there and he tried there then after that he tried somewhere else so it's better to drink dig one six foot well rather than six one foot wells you have to dig deep in one place so for that and initiation by a guru ishta devata ishta mantra is necessary that's why the importance of mantra diksha initiation is very very very much appreciated not only in the path of bhakti in the path of ghana also for that you need a guru and a mantra on ishta the ishta and the mantra will be indicated by the guru if you have any special preference you may tell the good like you have a tendency towards vaishnavism this is the incarnations of vishnu or the forms of vishnu that you can tell the guru and probably the guru might give you a mantra and easter devote of that that nature one can still continue and must must have continued continue to have respect for different forms of god not only in our religion in every religion the respect will be there we know the lord whom i worship as my chosen deity god in that form in which i worship whose mantra i repeat whose form i visualize to whom i am devoted that very lord appears in all these different forms so i bow down to them i respect them but my sadhana will be focused focus is necessary without focus no realization will be possible now where well preliminary one may start with some mantra i will not say anything one should not give this and talk about this openly on the internet but you can pick one form of of the lord of narayan or vishnu and the corresponding mantra and start repeating it but look for a guru who can give you mantra deeksha and the japa mantra bantra for japan and the forum for visualization in our order we have centers we have centers in france and in germany in netherlands in in the united kingdom in switzerland our swamis visit these countries and other countries nearby so in europe you do have centers in moscow and in saint petersburg also in russia the centers are there and i understand it's quite easy to travel between countries in europe so you may please look up vedanta society in germany or in france or in england netherlands switzerland and look for and get in touch with the swami there and ask about mantra diksha in not only for this gentleman but in general those who are serious about spiritual life who want god realization it is highly it's not compulsory but it's highly recommended that one should take mantra diksha initiation it is it's a great help next question vipan kumar asks how do we know that brahman is the ultimate maybe there is something beyond brahman which is no one has encountered yet okay good question how do we know brahman is the ultimate what is brahman existence infinite existence consciousness or existence consciousness bliss saccidananda or satyam gyanam brahma now why can't something be higher than that why can't something be deeper than that why can't there be something beyond that i'll give you a couple of logical answers one look at it from the point of view of brahmana's existence so brahman is defined as or indicated as pure being or existence itself sat now suppose you say that there can be something other than brahman something higher than brahman something beyond brahman something transcending brahman so this which is beyond brahman higher than brahmana transcending brahman will be other than brahman but brahman is existence so if it is other than existence it becomes non-existent something which is other than existence what will it be not existence if it is not a it becomes not a if it is not existence it is non-existent so that which is higher than brahman which is other than brahman not existent cannot exist logically now or look at it from the point of view of consciousness so something suppose it is higher than consciousness greater than consciousness beyond consciousness how will it be known by consciousness itself so that one thing that you need is existence consciousness so this unlimited existence consciousness is brahman we are already existing i am existing and i am aware you are existing and you are aware only our problem is we feel very limited this existence and awareness is very limited my existence is subject to birth and aging and death i feel because of identification with body my awareness seems to be subject to waking and dreaming and deep sleep more awareness less awareness drowsiness dullness this is because of identification with mind and the sattva are just thomas of the mind but in itself existence and awareness are unlimited so that is what vedanta shows us and that is freedom there can be no nothing higher or beyond existence awareness if it is beyond existence it becomes non-existent if it is something beyond awareness it becomes an object to awareness even for knowing that realizing that you still need awareness even if there is an ex god most magnificent god who is apart from you in a dualistic sense separate from you then it is only to you that god will appear it is only you the awareness who will search for that god ultimately when you realize that wonderful god it will still be you the consciousness it will be dependent on you if you are not conscious the most wonderful god also cannot appear to you so ultimately everything is dependent on existence consciousness that infinite existence consciousness is brahman that same infinite existence consciousness is you and i under delusion as reading yesterday swami vivekananda says the question was swami vivekananda gives great emphasis on confidence in yourself confidence in the faith in the self then you ask the question which self this is here what is meant is the real self or the ultimate self eternal self he says but it also means the limited self us because then he adds very important because the limited self is nothing other than the eternal self under delusion we the limited existence consciousness is nothing other than brahman the unlimited existence consciousness just because of our ignorance about it we don't realize it that's all there can be nothing beyond that anything which exists is dependent on that so how what can be beyond it yeah right next question lakshmi meera asks the body is not real mind is not real our waking state is a dream state of which we are unaware because of the illusion the only real concept is pure being or pure awareness with this what goes from life to life it is not the body or the mind so what is the entity against which all karma is recorded is it against the reflected consciousness in illusion who keeps track of karma is it the pure consciousness keeping a record of all karma notice what was said world is not real bodies not real waking is equal to dream fine then then comes the question karma who is going from lifetime to lifetime why do you regard that as real you just said notice what you yourself said world is not real this lifetime is an appearance waking state is a dream then again why are you asking what goes from lifetime to lifetime how where is karma who recording who is recording karma you see this is this is the confusion we say and on one hand i understand advaita vedanta says that the world is an appearance brahman alone is real the next i say yes it is an appearance but who is the one living here who is the one who going from this life to that next life it's like saying that um i understand when i'm seeing um a movie cinema and that it is uh it's it's all a movie it's not real then the neither is there a the hero nor is there a villain or is the crime being committed nor is there a court case i understand all of that is a dream it's a fiction it's a movie next i'm asking but who will punish the villain where will the villain if it's all a dream then when which jail with the willian go to the what will be the reward of the hero who will keep track of reward and punishment you've just said the whole thing is a story so in advaita vedanta to clear up this confusion what we do is we have two levels of truth true levels of reality ultimate level and our transaction level actually ultimately there will be multiple levels there is the ultimate level paramar thicker there is this worldly level of transactions called vehicle there is the level of error and dream and illusion called pratibhasika there's even an error of complete non-existence called tuchara but let's just take two levels ultimate level relative level take the movie example what is the ultimate reality of the movie it is just light and screen that's the ultimate reality pictures on our screen that's the ultimate reality in the movie and what is the relative level of the movie oh there is a hero and there is a villain and there is car chase and there is a court case and reward and punishment whole story is there happiness misery and there will be a whole plot is there that's at the level of fiction that's at the level of the movie two levels are there it is not a very strange abstract philosophical concept you know one may say that oh what is this two levels of truth sounds very abstract we always use it whenever you're talking about fiction story book whenever you're talking about a movie cinema or theater there are always two levels one is at the level of your own existence another one is that level of the story similarly in advaita vedanta brahman is the ultimate reality existence consciousness place an infinite being awareness satyam yana manantam brahma that's the only reality there is nothing else apart from it the first thing that a student of vedanta learns it's in the vedanta sara we have to the only reality is that existence consciousness bliss non-dual brahman the moment you say non-dual no two there's nothing apart from that but there seems to be something apart from it what seems to be there world is there full of millions of beings living and non-living there is history there is there are human beings there is myself especially i am their body mind thoughts feelings emotions all of this is there then if it is not a reality apart from brahman what can you call it except fiction except mithya accept appearance so advaita vedanta says brahmasatyam where brahman is real the world is an appearance two levels reality level appearance level how does that help the question answer the question the question was everything is an appearance everything is not real or appearance level mithya then what about karma what goes from lifetime to lifetime remember karma and what goes from lifetime to lifetime even lifetime to lifetime all of that is within the level of appearance mithya the level of the movie not the level of the screen not the level of brahman from the ultimate standpoint there is no lifetime there is no something going from something to something there is no karma good and bad no result of karma no need for somebody to record that karma also that that is at the ultimate level so nothing is there no when we are experiencing it at a relative level we have a higher level all of that is there so evaluation level what is going the sukshma era the physical body dies the subtle body goes from lifetime to lifetime the tendencies of past karmas are recorded in the subtle body and in the karnataka causal body and in the cosmic causal body that is maya all our karma is recorded and that gives rise to experiences of each jiva in the future so and the lord of all of this who is the person responsible to whom should i write my appeals god is the person responsible the personal god of religion advaita vedanta accepts all of that but calls it transactional reality relative reality lower reality appearance equal to falsity that's it so the two distinctions i often told you the story of sometimes i mentioned one of our monks used to ask this question in indian religions you find multiple lifetimes birth and death again and again and again and in judaism christianity islam one lifetime so which one is true one one lifetime or multiple lives so finally he went to ask a very radical non-dualist teacher a monk who lived in the himalayas nearby ashram this whole ashram was also in the himalayas so this monk was asked so what is true one lifetime or many lifetimes and the monk replied swami when there is not even one birth what is the question of rebirth please go and study mandu so this monk was very annoyed he came who had asked the question he came and told me these non-dualists are impossible to argue it i've gone with a serious question uh many lifetimes for one lifetime and he dismisses the whole thing he says go and study at the mandukya so that is the advaitic perspective from the ultimate perspective no multiple lifetimes not even one lifetime was brahman ever born did the screen ever become the hero or the villain no but at the relative level level of movie hero and villain both appear and there is a story and there is a plot and there is something true about the story something false about the story also all those things are true at the relative level ultimately brahman alone is reality and that brahman you are not only brahma satyam brahman is real not only jagat mithya world is an appearance higher truth lower truth ultimate truth relative truth but also most important jiva brahmanapara you are none other than brahman you the the individual being who thinks of yourself as a jiva you are none other than that ultimate reality that's the most important thing yes next question prakash narayan asks as one goes deeper into non-duality one realizes that time and space are illusions and nothing actually exists and nothing is going on is this true well let's you see how it's related to the earlier question one realizes time and space are illusions nothing actually exists nothing is going on is this true answer will be yes and no same movie example when you go to the movies and if you are asked the movie is a movie there is no hero villain there is no good deeds bad deeds there is no happy ending sad ending which is just screen and light and pictures true so nothing is going on there no that's also not true there's a movie going on there at the level of the movie there are people that's why you have gone there why have you just gone there to see a blank screen no so the world appearance which is an appearance of brahman none other when the rope appears as a snake you can it is correct to say that there is an illusion it's an error there is no snake it's a rope correct so there's nothing no there is a rope and it appeared as a snake there is the desert it appears as the mirage looks like water there is the sky colorless but appears as the brilliant blue sky poets can write poetry about brilliant blue sky although it's not at all blue similarly the brahman appears as the world it appears as jiva the individual being you and i and it appears as our samsara and it appears as the unenlightened masses and as the enlightened few who realize the truth about it even after realization it is the wonderful thing even after realization this appearance continues so it's not true to say nothing is going on in an absolute level paramartica nothing is going on only brahman is there non-dual brahman always so even this idea of everything is brahman brahman is eternal brahman is all pervading these are also you're making some compromise by accepting space we say brahman is all pervading by accepting time we say brahman is eternal as against all other entities which appear to be there which are limited in space and born and dying created and destroyed brahman is eternal and all-pervading by accepting all entities we say brahman is all is in everybody all things are all objects are brahmana but you are already accepting all objects you are already accepting time you're already accepting space even time space and object they shakala was too they are also appearances so is brahman not all pervading is brahman not eternal no no you cannot say that otherwise that will make little error that brahman is non-eternal the brahmana is not all pervative it is all pervasive eternal and non-dual but only with respect to space time and object what is going on movies going on dream is going on snake is appearing the mirage is appearing in reality only brahman existence consciousness please and you are that being that knowing yourself as that enjoy the appearance do what has to be done whatever has to be done you can enjoy it it becomes a joyful life becomes a most wise way of living most peaceful deeply rooted in the eternal peace of brahman you can live in the midst of it intense activity there's no problem at all see this where does this question come from nothing is going on it's all an illusion in spiritual life when we first enter in spiritual life there's a great desire for peace shanti and the immediate tendency of the mind is let me erase this samsara i should not see the world with all its problems i should not see my own life with all its problems let me go into just peace quiet like deep sleep or deep meditation that is not advaita vedanta advaita vedanta says in the deepest meditation and deepest peace and with eyes open in the battlefield of kurukshetra you should see the same brahman it should be perfectly all right in language of ashtavakra yatra in wherever in whatever circumstance you are put in whatever be the mode of life whatever be the conditions of life rich and poor healthy unhealthy young old with hundred years to live with only one day to live none of that should make absolutely the slightest difference to me because i see only the non-dual brahmana i never seek to erase experience to shut out the experience i will not experience the world i will only be in in deep samadhi no that is not advaita vedanta when uttarakhand sadhu put it very beautifully advaith nearby is not for wiping out the experience of the world advaitha makes you makes you fearless nirvana means limitless in the experience of the world there is no resistance you're completely open like the space is open to everything you may consider something good something bad something beautiful something ugly space is equally open to everything and space provides blesses everything with the space to exist and to do their thing similarly you are brahman which is open to every manifestation in the universe not one thing is different from you you are very happy you are very much at peace in every circumstance it may sound difficult but one when is one one is centered in the heart of reality which is existence consciousness place then it becomes possible so that is what advaita is for not for erasing our experience of the universe i think we have run out of time we will conclude here we had a good set of questions so thank you very much please take care stay safe [Music] [Music] stay safe everybody i pray to the lord to bless all of us to protect all of us you

Channel: Vedanta New York

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Rating: 4.8934627 out of 5

Keywords: vedantany, vedanta society of new york, sarvapriyananda, swami sarvapriyananda, sarvapriyananda lectures, swami vivekananda, vivekananda, vivekananda teachings, vedanta ny, vedanta, vedanta lectures, belur math, jnana yoga, hinduism, spirituality, enlightenment, higher consciousness, meditation, mindfulness, realization, consciousness, moksha, nirvana

Id: XY5ht6Y7WKs

Length: 57min 41sec (3461 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 22 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/seedbachha]

Questions:

01:24 - How can we understand the real nature of the self?

14:25 - How can we develop detachment from material pursuits?

17:58 - How is moksha defined in Vedanta?

23:24 - What is Vedantic meditation?

32:45 - How do I choose my ishta devata?

37:30 - How do we know that Brahman is the ultimate reality?

41:44 - If everything is an appearance, how is karma kept track of?

50:30 - Is it true that time and space are illusions?

[u/Daendrew]

/u/savevideo