Ask Swami with Swami Sarvapriyananda | November 1st, 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 everybody good morning here in new york it's a cold and almost wintery morning but then in other parts of the world so it's evening somewhere and nights elsewhere because of the pandemic conditions we have only a few people very few people here in the center itself but hundreds and hundreds of people all over the world watching this on the internet so in this um ask swami session we have questions which are sent in uh from the our virtual audience from all over the world and i know that we cannot answer many of the questions in fact most of the questions but if there's a fair selection which we do we have a team very good team of volunteers who work on it and select uh some questions and we try to make it as representative as sample as possible it is not necessary that all the questions have to be selected and answered it is rather where the teaching here is very simple and direct in in most of these questions that central teaching comes up again and again so it's good to listen to the question and the answer of the question even if it's not your question so we're not waiting when will my question come up so let's listen to the question and the answer to the question often it works for us even if we were not the person who asked that question so diane will read out the questions we have this morning good morning swamiji the first question is from deepak n how and it's in three parts how does the consciousness manifest in living and in the non-living tree plant stone sand air elements atoms etc two i understand everything is an appearance in my consciousness but can i experience consciousness in everything and three what is needed to see the underlying truth that everything is consciousness all right very profound question the first question is how does consciousness manifest in you know in people in animals in plants or as he said in sand and in what in atoms elements and you know so what we think of as living and non-living how does consciousness manifest in all of that think of it this way the ultimate reality brahman in advaita vedanta is existence consciousness business awareness and unlimited is-ness awareness being in consciousness now that is manifested in this world the world is a world of manifestation that is-ness awareness is appearing as this world when it appears as this world through names and forms some of these names and forms in fact all of the names and forms manifest existence otherwise they wouldn't exist so everything in this universe is manifesting the existence aspect of brahman the ultimate reality is existence consciousness is-ness awareness the easiness is manifest in everything simply because everything that we see exists the existence of everything is borrowed from brahman so everything that we know in this world everything that we experience in this world has the common common characteristic that it exists and that existence is borrowed from brahman the existence aspect the business aspect of brahman is manifested in everything as their existence tables exist chairs exist human beings exist animals and as he says sand exists atoms exist so existence is manifested in everything now there is some kind of some of these names and forms which exist which borrow existence from brahman some of these names and forms have the unique capacity of manifesting consciousness so they exist and they are also aware so what are the minds wherever you find a mind in us in animals even in a you know like a prototypical farm even in in plants lower living beings why is it that these things have minds so this is this mind is a part of what we call the subtle body in vedanta we talk about the physical body these ones which exist and there's a subtle body which not only exists but it manifests consciousness all bodies manifest existence otherwise they wouldn't exist but some of these bodies which are subtle bodies sukhma sharira they manifest existence as well as consciousness especially the mind aspect of it the subtle body is composed of prana life and the what we call the anta karana the inner instrument mind intellect memory ego so this mind intellect memory ego they manifest consciousness also they exist and they they're aware now this may not be this is actually not as complicated or strange as it seems think of it this way the sun is shining there's heat and light pouring out from it when sunlight falls on something it heats up but some of these things which heat up also have the extra capacity of forming an image of the sun think about it sun shining on rock or sand the rock or the sand becomes hot it heats up but the reflection of the sun is not formed there but the same sun shining on um on a drop of water not only the water heats up but you find a tiny image of the sun forming there the same sun shining on the lake you find not only the lake is warmed by the sunlight but you see the sun reflected in the lake a mirror so when you hold up well a mirror to the sun sunlight the mirror becomes warm no doubt but also the reflection of the sun is formed there similarly all things just like everything heating up in sunlight all all names and forms borrow existence from brahman some names and forms subtle bodies minds they borrow not only existence but awareness from brahman for consciousness so minds are um have existence and awareness now the question is how is consciousness manifest in everything the answer is this consciousness is manifest in the places where they are manifest consciousness is manifest through minds through the peculiar names and forms called minds which are part of the subtle body wherever you find uh mind or even more broadly wherever you find a subtle body sukshma sharira you will find the the presence of consciousness you will find evidence of consciousness to some extent you know sometimes more sometimes less depending on the quality of the subtle body depending on the quality of the mind now look at your examples let me talk about it in in terms of your examples tell me some of the examples tree plant stone sound all right let's stop right there trees and plants animals living beings so living beings obviously they exist they're manifesting existence but they are also manifesting consciousness to some extent because they have life life means prana is theirs the subtle body is there and the subtle body includes the mind to some extent so an animal or a human being might have more manifestation more play of consciousness because the mind is more manifest in a human being and has full play there and in a tree uh plant less so but still some evidence of consciousness whereas stone sand it exists so it is borrowing existence from brahman but it does not manifest conscious the consciousness aspect of brahman because there is only the gross body there is only the physical body the name and form is of a physical body there is no subtle body within that so it is not what we will call a living being living being is in sanskrit it's called a jiva a thing becomes a living being when that thing is associated when a subtle body comes into that thing so matter becomes a living matter when life subtle body includes life prana comes into it and when the subtle body is there consciousness is manifest when do we say somebody's died when is there death so the living body dies when the subtle body goes out of it then it's no longer living because prana has gone out of it and the mind is carried by the subtle body it's gone so notice something dead body is still existing it exists as a dead body it's not that it vanishes in into thin air so existence aspect is still manifested there but the consciousness life aspect is not manifested there because the subtle body has gone from it that's how we define death in indian philosophy now so to sum up the straight answer to that is how is consciousness manifested understand first brahman is consciousness existence existence manifested by all names and forms and consciousness manifested by some names and forms which manifest existence plus consciousness and those names and forms have to be subtle bodies including the mind okay now let's go deeper into this phenomenon of consciousness he is asking this question i understand that all things appear in my consciousness he said that and but how is it that that my conscience how do i know that consciousness is in everything and the third part of the question was that how do i know what is needed to know that um everything is in consciousness what is needed to see the underlying truth that everything everything is consciousness right let's put them together everything appears in consciousness he says i i get it and the second thing he said was how do i know that consciousness is in everything and finally everything is consciousness okay if you have seen uh the dialogue with with uh rupert spyra yesterday he said something very interesting it's it's worth noticing that what he said was when you say something like this that everything that the consciousness is in everything he says no no no it's not that consciousness is in everything it's not that there's consciousness in plants animals and then he said humorously it gets worse it's not even that there's consciousness in human beings that is making a mistake what is the mistake as he said yesterday that we are assuming that there are such things existing by themselves like plants animals human beings and in them there is something called consciousness it is the primary mistake of assuming that there is a reality called a body and in that body there is something called consciousness rather what vedanta says is that there is consciousness and in it appears the world and all bodies plants and animals and human bodies what vedanta wants us to do is that we are conscious everybody knows this you don't need vedanta to know that but our our mistake is that we think we are bodies with consciousness what am i i am this thing and in me there is this nice process called consciousness no no vedanta says primarily you are consciousness and you are conscious of a body sometimes you are not conscious of a body when you fall asleep and dream you are conscious of other things not your the physical body which is sleeping sometimes you are not conscious of anything at all a blankness deep sleep you are consciousness itself and that consciousness sometimes illumines reveals things in the waking state in the dream state and sometimes it reveals nothing in the deep sleep state but all the time you continue to be consciousness so this entire universe including bodies including minds appears in consciousness and so instead of thinking that how can i know that there is consciousness in everything rather think about it this way as you said that i am clear that things are that all things appear in my consciousness put it this way all things appear in me the consciousness not my consciousness you're not something apart from consciousness the language is subtle when you say my consciousness sometimes the idea creeps in that i am the body with consciousness my liver my heart my lungs my consciousness no i am consciousness and in me appears everything all that i know appears in me the consciousness you said it's clear to you if it is appearing in if something is appearing in you the consciousness how is it appearing in you what is the relationship between you and the thing appearing in you is it like a table and this clock there is a table and on the table we have put a clock are you consciousness and on top of you something has been put is consciousness like a bowl in which nuts are put in there no are you like there is a world which comes and puts put inside you or is it like say a movie screen in which a movie appears or even better you know like a dream in which things people places appear but they are nothing other than the dreaming mind similarly things appear in consciousness they're nothing other than consciousness so what are those appearances constituted of they're constituted of consciousness they only they appear in you they appear to be different from you that's how you you're able to experience them the people and the places and the things that we see in our dreams where do they appear they are not appearing outside they are appearing in the mind of the dreamer and yet they appear to be outside that what that's what makes a dream possible what makes a dream possible i must be able to see the things in a dream as if it's the waking world as if i am in this waking world i'm seeing people and things outside me although the whole thing is happening in me in the mind of the dreamer if it is happening in the mind of the dreamer all the people in the dream all the places in the dream all the the sky and the earth in the dream what are they made of they're made of the mind of the dreamer they're made of mind stuff people in the dream are made of mind stuff buildings in the dream not made of concrete they're made of mind this is not difficult to understand you'll everybody will admit the things in my dream are all made up in the mind they're made of mind stuff itself they're made of imagination and thought they're images in the mind the the the the lake is not made of water it's made of mind the buildings are not made of concrete it's made of mind the sky is not made of space it's made of mind the bodies are not made of living matter it's made of mind in the dream i'm not saying anything extraordinary here it's just a matter of fact exactly in the same way everything that you see in consciousness is made of consciousness made means it's an appearance in consciousness nothing other than consciousness just looks different looks like an object then only you can see it therefore when you say how do i see that every consciousness is in everything in this sense consciousness is in everything in this sense that everything is made up of nothing other than consciousness and that is the answer to the third question as well how do i know that everything is consciousness everything is consciousness with names and forms how do you know that everything is in the mind in the dream is just mind when you wake up you realize it was all imagined in the mind when you yourself say as everything that i experience appears to be in consciousness it simply means that everything is made of consciousness consciousness is everything the difficulty comes is you know why the difficulty is there is that when we think of everything is there and somehow consciousness must be in it how will i know that there's a solid world outside and somehow i have to know that there is consciousness inside no you have already said that this so-called solid world is an appearance in you the consciousness then ask yourself the question the things which appear to you in consciousness what are those things made of then you will realize they're made of nothing but consciousness the next question is from punit m how can we say consciousness illumines deep sleep in vedanta the counter question is usually who slept or how do we know we slept peacefully surely it is the absence of consciousness illumining awakeness that invariably leads us to believe and infer that we slept soundly i didn't wake up so i guess i slept deeply rather than it being a conscious experience how do we know that there is consciousness in deep sleep this is an important question in vedanta why do we feel that there is no consciousness in deep sleep you know where this question stems from it stems from an inadequate separation of consciousness and mind we think we have understood what consciousness is but we're still thinking about the mind that's why when the mind shuts down there's no thoughts feelings no ego no activity of the mind we think there's no consciousness because we still have not separated consciousness adequately from the mind in our understanding when the mind is active we feel its consciousness is there when and when we are awakened in this waking world we feel it's conscious we are conscious very clearly even dreams we feel we are conscious because we are aware of dreams but when the mind shuts down we are not aware of anything no objects come before us just a blankness we think there is no consciousness it's just blank what's blank the object of your experience is blank blankness or or the absence of objects that is what is being experienced now why is it so difficult to acknowledge this because at the root there is this inadequate separation of consciousness and mind now why is it important to appreciate this that there's consciousness in deep sleep in our waking state you don't have to fall asleep to admit it you have to wake in our waking state if we admit that there is if we can clearly grasp that there is consciousness even when i have fallen asleep the mind has fallen asleep then we will realize what consciousness is then the separation between mind and consciousness will be clear in our understanding at least we will see that i am not the body i'm not mind also what awareness is in itself the pure subject a clarity about that will dawn that's why consciousness in deep sleep is an important subject in advaita vedanta now to deal with the particular objection so an ancient objection that vedanta says yes there is consciousness in deep sleep because after waking up i fell felt that i had experienced complete peace i did not know anything i rested peacefully so that is an experience if there's an experience there must have been consciousness so one objection is no why should that be an experience it could be an inference i was not awake therefore i guess i was sleeping that's what he says i was not i didn't wake up so i guess i slept deeply i didn't wake up so i was not awake i was not even dreaming that also has to be added therefore i guess i slept deeply there's an inference on two counts this is wrong this has to be rejected on two counts one is on the grounds of experience another one is on the grounds of logic what is the grounds of experience rejecting this inference when we wake up and we look back look back means think about our just preceding experience of sleeping do we perform this kind of an inference so i fell asleep at such and such time and i had some dreams and then i did not have any dreams i was not awake therefore i must have been in deep sleep do you perform that kind of a logical do you have that experience of performing an inference going through an exercise of logic just after waking up no phenomenologically what is phenomenology tracking our experience how did it feel think about it how did it feel did it feel like you were doing an exercise in logic or did it feel did it feel like that i was not awake i was not dreaming i guess i must have been sleeping therefore i was asleep did you do that or did you feel i had deep sleep i slept you know like in english i slept like a log i didn't know anything in bengali they say gumi kada they slept like mud why would you say that because you have to imagine it's not like new york it's 100 degrees in the shade and 100 humidity so if you fall asleep deeply in that kind of humidity you'll feel like mud when you wake up so it's notice it's language which you find in every culture of the world which means deep sleep is something a phenomenon known to everybody in the world and all human beings we experience this i mean even animals would experience it so we that we slept deeply it's a phenomenological experience it's it's something that we directly subjectively experience not logical exercise okay on the grounds of experience we reject that it was an inference it's actually an experience so what if it's an experience that must have been consciousness how can you have an experience without consciousness what experienced it who experienced this experience of deep sleep so there must have been consciousness all right second on logical grounds also we must reject it why inference works this way in ancient indian logic the inference worked this way there is smoke on the hill therefore i infer there is fire on the hill see i can see smoke but i can't see fire how did you infer you saw smoke how did you doing for this fire because in my kitchen and at various times i have seen smoke and fire together wherever i saw smoke there was fire so now i'm seeing smoke see wherever i saw smoke i saw fire too together i saw both now i'm seeing only smoke it's so far away but i'm inferring there is a fire or a more a better example here in manhattan you don't see smoke on a hill too often here but you see smoke in the distant and the fire trucks are there immediately within minutes how do they know they don't see the fire maybe but they see smoke pouring out of the top floors of a of a high rise and so the fire trucks rush there because they know where there is smoke there is fire how do they know that because they have seen both together smoke and fire this is in um language is called vyapti english is even worse invariable concomitants just it means the two things go together all right so what now you are carrying out an inference about deep sleep what is what inference are you carrying out um in deep sleep you are inferring there was deep sleep and therefore there was no consciousness deep sleep there was no consciousness that's what you're trying to infer [Music] that uh or you go a little further back you said that i was not awake therefore i was in deep sleep that part we have dismissed experience part so you take this up the deep sleep there is no consciousness but this logic will not work why so what is the logic in this that in deep sleep there is no consciousness because that there is no experience in deep sleep i did not experience anything therefore there is no consciousness the sign of consciousness is that there must be some kind of experience this is a blankness but this logic will not work it has to be rejected on logical grounds why because where did you experience both together to say absence of experience means that there is no consciousness then you must have experienced some time there is no experience and there is no consciousness together you must have experienced then only you can say look here is a case just like smoke on the hill here is the case deep sleep no experience therefore there must be no consciousness in deep sleep how do you know that in some case earlier you must have seen no experience and no consciousness together but if you have seen no experience and no consciousness together if you have experienced it there must have been consciousness you cannot establish that we have the invariable concomitants going together no experience no consciousness you cannot exp you cannot establish that without consciousness so the inference fails what comes of it what's the upshot in deep sleep there is consciousness notice waking dreaming deep sleep are not uh dependent on consciousness waking dreaming deep sleep are the states of the mind they are not states of consciousness states of the mind mind is awake using instruments of knowledge the sense organs contacting a world waking mind has fallen asleep and dreaming within itself without contacting an external world dreaming mind totally ceases to operate deep sleep consciousness illumining the wake waking mind illumining the dreaming mind illumining the sleeping mind waking mind experience of sense objects and of course thoughts dreaming mind no experience of sense objects consciousness reveals activities of the mind sleeping mind consciousness reveals the dormant state of the mind blank consciousness is one and the same the next question is from anushrat s in the seventh mantra of the mandukiya upanishad is pointed towards by telling us what it is not the mantra starts by telling us that is that it is not the state of waking dreaming or deep sleep then the mantra states that it is neither consciousness nor unconsciousness i have found in the translation of the mantra by various advaita acharyas that this statement is modified to state that it is neither simple consciousness nor is it unconsciousness the introduction of the word simple does not come from the literal translation of the mantra but appears to be added so that the author can argue that turiam is the same as consciousness while the upanishad seems to explicitly state that it is not consciousness can you please clarify this point [Music] that might be a problem with the translation if you go to the original the original of the seventh mantra that's the first sentence of the seventh mantra of the mandu kyo panishad what does it say nanta pragyam it is not the dream state turned inwards antapragyam it is not nabahish pragyam it's not the waking state not turned outwards what is not we're talking about the theory of the ultimate reality so it's not the dream state it's not the externalized waking state no bhaita pragyam not some in between no other states may be possible somebody is hallucinating somebody may be high somebody may be something like that may be there none of them na pragyana ghanam not that state also with in deep sleep where the distinction between subject object is lost it's just one uniform blankness not even that state no pragm not even the state of knowing everything all at once now this is an interpretation it just says na pragyam so it's not that state of knowing everything all at once shankaracharya's interpretation so that's the state of the mind becoming omnipotent like omniscient like ishwara god so is it like all knowing no not even that they're knowing nothing at all just like a stone no it says no not even that not inert or insentient like a stone so what putting it together it's not what you experience in and not the state of the waking not the state of the dream not the state of the waking not something in between not deep sleep not even the omniscience of god or not even or not just simply not thinking insentient dull dead matter none of them now the problem is with the word pragm does it mean consciousness no it means consciousness plus mind or consciousness channeled through consciousness limited by the mind then only when you say antapragyam mind turned inwards consciousness illuminating the mind turned inwards dream state bahish pragyam the mind turned outwards through sense organs consciousness illumining that that is called waking state so what is being denied is the dream state as you said the waking state the deep sleep state in between states all states of the mind oblation you know omniscience just pragm you are right that's an interpretation by shankaracharya but again pragma by itself does not mean consciousness is not denying consciousness this is where somebody might have translated i don't know some translator that it is not consciousness not simple consciousness no that's not the correct translation it is not the omniscient state of the mind illumined by consciousness a good example will be like this very simple example to understand this first sentence the example i use of the golden ornaments so there is a bracelet made of gold there's a necklace made of gold and then there is um say a ring made of gold three ornaments and the question is what is gold what is gold is gold exactly the bracelet you can't say it is because the necklace is also gold the ring is also good it doesn't have to be a bracelet to be gold even the bracelet it was gold before you made a bracelet out of it so the bracelet as such is it gold no not being a brace being a bracelet is not not the same as being gold so is it um the necklace no for the same reasons is it a ring no for the same reasons you then is it all of them together necklace ring and bracelet all together all the jewels all the ornaments together is that gold no because gold can exist without being an ornament at all it's not that the whole array of jewelry is that that's what's called gold not at all then you throw away all the ornaments is it something else is called gold no not even that we'll also event but it's basically the reality in and through all the ornaments correct so when you say when we say that the bracelet is not gold we know exactly what is being meant the name bracelet is not gold the form of the bracelet is not gold the use you do with the bracelet you put it on your wrist that's not cold but the reality of the bracelet is good the substance what it is made of that is gold but then that's the same substance in the necklace it's the same substance in the um in the ring it's the same substance in all the jewels together all the ornaments together and if you throw away the ornaments you won't get that substance similarly consciousness is one and the same in the waking state so when you say it is not the dream state it's not the waking state it's not the deep sleep true it is not the states themselves but it is the reality in and through each each state without consciousness none of these states are possible the states may come and go but consciousness is one and the same all through so when you say no pragm so that might mean the mind itself maybe in its omniscient state like the mind of god like shankaracharya says in his commentary but what is meant here is not the mind it's the consciousness underlying which is which is consciousness which is thorium not the mind it's not the dreaming mind not the waking mind not the deep sleep mind it's not the omniscient mind not the no mind also it is the one and the same reality lying and which is in and through everything that is what is meant in that seventh mantra of the manduki upanishad this is from prakash n who is in cyprus brahman is described as sachitananda in indian scriptures among them existence seems to be most important as both consciousness and bliss need existence is it fair to say that brahman is existence with consciousness and bliss so brahman is described as existence consciousness bliss in vedanta and existence seems to be most important seems very logical that to be conscious or to be in bliss you first need to exist and so can we say brahmana's existence with consciousness and bliss no no brahman is existence consciousness bliss not something which exists which has consciousness and bliss why do we think that way that seems logical because we are thinking in terms of objects and bodies here is a body obviously the body exists and sometimes it may be conscious sometimes it may be in a coma but other times it is conscious and this conscious body sometimes it is exp rarely once in a while it is expressing bliss as expressed by a smiley face i am in bliss so i exist i am conscious and in bliss but this is not what is meant by brahman being existence consciousness please the discussion we had in the first question about brahman being business awareness and the easiness the existence aspect of it is manifested in all things which exist they borrow existence from brahman and in some of the things which exist consciousness is manifest which which are those things the subtle bodies sukshma shadhiras they both exist and are conscious but the easiness awareness is it continues notice even in the dead body even in the dead body it is still that same business awareness but just the easiness is manifest as dead body is but the awareness is not manifest anymore you can't say the dead body is aware it will be alive or to be a ghost why is it not the bi is not the awareness manifest because the subtle body has left the subtle body is required to make manifest both easiness and awareness so similarly in this case brahman is is existence and consciousness isness awareness in all the bodies in all existing things the business aspect is manifest as this thing is that thing is table is a human being is building is sky is earth is atom is galaxy is business is manifested manifest means what it borrows and in human beings or in in living beings which have the subtle body not only is but is aware the awareness aspect of brahman becomes manifest i gave the example of the sun shining wherever the sun shines it heats it up heat is borrowed by every entity on which sun the sun shines but only some of them become illumined and they form a reflection of the shining sun so those things like um mirror or like a like water not only they become heated up but they also borrow the reflection of the sun the little image of the sun is formed there similarly all entities borrow existence from brahmana but some of those entities borrow not only existence but also awareness from burma but the existence that you find in all the entities of the world is not brahman as such is a borrowed existence the awareness that you find in all of us is not brahman as such is a borrowed awareness it comes and goes it's more or less depending on the mind itself now what about ananda bliss again when we find some existing aware entities like us like the questionnaire sometimes you may feel happy so is that brahman so existence awareness and that existing awareness is happy i exist i am aware now sometimes i am happy so is that ananda is that bliss no that's a borrowing of that that's a fraction that's a reflection it's a limitation of the existing so what is the original nature of ananda that infinite existence awareness is ananda the infinity the unlimitedness of that existence awareness of that is-ness awareness is ananda i'm translating from the upanishad satyam gyanam anantam brahma what is the ultimate reality brahman satyam is-ness gyanam awareness anantam unlimitedness or infinity infinite existence what is infinite existence not limited what do you mean by not limited existence what is limited existence born existing dying limited it came into being it dies unlimited existence never dies never comes into being always is and awareness ganum unlimited awareness what is limited awareness the awareness that we feel in our thoughts and perceptions each thought shines briefly in our minds and is gone each perception i see i hear i smell i taste i feel touch comes briefly like a flash like fireflies blinking in the dark it's gone that is not brahman that is a reflection of brahman that's a borrowing of the awareness of brahman but this brahman in itself is unlimited awareness not coming and going so unlimited awareness unlimited existence that itself that unlimitedness of awareness existence is ananda's place is fulfillment why do i say this because it's good to think of it that way because otherwise moment we say anand or bliss we seem to think of it as a feeling so i will get a new kind of feeling and that is brahman no every feeling is a limitation of brahman brahman in itself is not a feeling if that sounds strange how can anand the bliss not be a feeling imagine the existence itself by existence we do not mean an existing object but the very existence of that object by awareness we do not mean a particular thought or a perception but all thoughts and perceptions they they borrow borrow awareness similarly by ananda we do not mean a particular feeling of bliss but that fullness that unlimitedness which is the source of all bliss that completeness which is the source of all bliss now to remove a possible misconception misapprehension that are you saying then that after enlightenment i will not get unlimited bliss no there will be a feeling of continuous there will be a feeling i will not say continuous but there will be a feeling of fulfillment thoughts will come and go but there is always you know completeness a fulfillment which cannot be disturbed a peace that passeth understanding having attained which nothing more remains to be attained being established in which the greatest of sorrows cannot shake you that is anandam and that's because of the unlimited nature of business awareness the world is an appearance in consciousness and appearances are unreal as they borrow existence from pure consciousness my doubt is in dakshina mati stotram the city is appearing in a mirror for something to appear in a mirror that object should exist only then can a mirror reflect it how do we then say that appearances are unreal here the city is not borrowing its existence from the mirror but the mirror proves that the city exists does not the appearance of something in the mind prove that something already exists and pure consciousness is just revealing it just because we are experiencing through our mind how does it prove that they are unreal and do not exist right so this is an ancient dualistic argument dwight argument going back more than a thousand years the questioner might think no i thought of it myself we do but others have thought the same thoughts like us in ancient ages also yes when you think about advaita when you think about these examples these questions if you think about it seriously these questions will come up it's not that [Music] so we understand what the question is in the dakshinamuti's torture the example is given of a city scene in a mirror and [Music] the immediate reaction would be but there's a city outside a mirror only reflects what's outside so there is a city outside the mirror it doesn't mean that the city is just a reflection in the mirror there's a real city outside the mirror the very fact of the reflection pro proves the reality of an external city similarly if you are saying the world is an appearance in in consciousness just like the city appears in a mirror then you just prove that there is a world outside so it proves the reality of the world so that's the question so let's go back to the dakshinamurti stortram which is a beautiful hymn written by adi shankaracharya composed by ali sanchankaracharyas maybe 1400 years ago it goes the first line is what he refers to vishwam that's the first line what it says is vishwam the universe is like a city darpana drishyamana nagaritam is like a city seen in a mirror now when you see a city in the mirror just take that aspect the mirror and the city scene in it notice what do you see you see um streets and people and buildings maybe birds flying in the sky maybe a lake all of that is seen from a distance if there's a big city you're standing on a hilltop and you have a mirror you can see the whole city reflected in the mirror or when you cross the brooklyn bridge or george washington bridge and you come into manhattan you can see at night the manhattan skyline shining in the lights of the buildings shining in your driving mirror you can see the building and the lights and the streets all shining cars but when you look closely when you touch it you don't touch buildings and cars and city and people and streets you touch glass it's just mirror there is in fact no building there no people there no no cars there no streets there it's just glass it's a mirror it's all throughout though it looks like that if the mirror is particularly shiny and clean it you won't even see the mirror you just see a vivid city but when you touch it there's nothing but the glass in fact wherever that you are seeing people and buildings and cars and movement there's nothing but the mirror and mirror only the glass and glass only people look the differences building is different from person person is different from car but actually when you look there it's the same mirror no difference it just looks like that similarly in the mirror of consciousness in the mirror of awareness is unlimited awareness which is brahman appears this universe body mind thoughts feelings notice he said that the world appears in the mind not in the mind the illusion is to it is money in consciousness the self which is consciousness in consciousness appears this universe vishwam this universe appears like that just like when it is examined the reflection in the mirror you find nothing but glass nothing but the mirror if you examine this world inquire use vedantic means of inquiring you will find nothing but it's it's it has to be nothing but consciousness itself appearing in all these ways fine this is what is meant but the question is different the question is but in the example there's a world outside which is appearing in the mirror you're right in the mirror there is nothing but the mirror though it looks like a city if you examine it you will find only the mirror but what about outside the mirror there is the world there is the city there so similarly why don't you say there is a world outside consciousness which is appearing in consciousness then forget all this you know consciousness business and say there is a real world and that's it that's the dualistic question understanding that this could be a mistake what look at the next word that shankaracharya uses nijantar gatam which means within oneself not outside shankaracharya knows immediately we'll make the mistake why do we make the mistake we have to know how to properly use an example an example is meant to prove only one thing you should not take all aspects of the example sudama krishna is to say upon example is meant to prove one thing and one thing only when you say as brave as a lion you don't mean do you mean the person is brave if a lion is brave at all so if a person is brave like a lion you don't mean that he goes around on all fours and growls and pounces on you at the first excuse no you don't you just mean the person is brave similarly when you say the world is a is an appearance in consciousness like a city scene in a mirror you mean that much you don't mean that there is a city outside and so there's a world outside the consciousness none of that is meant here only one point has to be taken that's why in the next line he switches the example past within oneself he switches the example to a dream in the dream you see a world you see people even you see yourself also you are in your own dreams you have forgotten that you are dreaming you are sleeping that's completely forgotten your real nature is forgotten the waker and now a dream world comes and in that you are also there and it looks like it's outside you you are there in your dream and you see people there and they don't seem to be in your head they seem to be out there you're walking in the park use the park is outside you actually where is it it's all in you the dreamer's head in in your mind but it appears outside bahiri bhuta appearing as if outside shankaracharya says as if even outside why does that happen nidraya because of sleep similarly because of maya you the consciousness the entire world is experienced within you including the body including the mind but it appears as if outside now what happens is it seems that there is a real world in that there is a real body in that there is a mind and in that there is consciousness and that consciousness in the mind and body is experiencing a real physical world outside that's what it looks like to us what shankaracharya is saying that tiny little thing consciousness which seems to be in the mind is the real thing and in consciousness is the mind and the body and the external world just like a city scene in a mirror the role that sleep plays in a dream the same role maya plays for consciousness in brahman if you don't like them the mirror is a very beautiful example in today's world if you don't like the mirror example you're saying oh there's a world outside the very city outside the mirror so there must be a world outside consciousness um shankaracharya will if today's world he will switch the example he will say think of a movie screen and think of a computer screen where you you can see an entire movie but there's no no nothing outside it's being projected from the screen itself similarly in the mirror of consciousness a physical mirror dull dead matter like glass it requires something outside to be to start reflecting it requires light and requires proper conditions of illumination it requires an object outside then only reflection is formed in the glass but in the mirror of consciousness it does not require anything outside because it's consciousness it's aware and it projects within itself so that's the point whatever is experienced as if outside is actually within consciousness and is nothing other than consciousness just as whatever you see in the reflection in the in the image you see in the in the glass in the mirror is actually nothing but glass it's not a physical reality outside okay and this question is from rama m in three parts okay can you just hold on one more thing i wanted to say about this reflection example why is it so easy to um see that there is a reflection and that the reflection in the mirror means there's a city outside because you're thinking of seeing a mirror and there's a city and that's reflected in the mirror and you are outside the whole thing you can see the city you can see the mirror and you can see the reflection right but that you can't do for consciousness there is no outside to consciousness here is consciousness a mirror there is a world it's being reflected in consciousness i can see both i can see the world without the consciousness also not at all you can never see a world outside consciousness you can never see anything outside consciousness you can never experience any how can you require consciousness for every experience the definition of experience you know very very elegant definition of experience consciousness plus object is experience so ah there must be a consciousness plus object but that object can never be proved without consciousness it's always in consciousness consciousness illumining its own objects within itself is what we call experience so this is rama m's three-part question how do i know if i'm progressing or regressing in my path to enlightenment two how does one recognize an enlightened being and three this is related to pratyahara or withdrawal of senses from external world from the external world could you give practical suggestions on how to practice pratyahara how does one know if one is progressing in spiritual life srirama krishna is to give a simple definition he would say vishaya bhi raag is sharia nurag that means a growing dispassion neutrality dispassion for the world you know our entire engrossment in the world this is the source of my pleasure and remember whatever can give you pleasure can give you unhappiness also the moment you give it the power to give you satisfaction it can dissatisfy you the power to give you happiness it can make you unhappy the more the power it has over you if i get it i'll really really be happy be careful what you are saying is i'm going to be really really unhappy until i get it and after i get it after it goes away so um the gradual dispassion for the world the world loses its power over you it really cannot do anything lasting for me and therefore if it cannot really do anything lasting for me it cannot really make me unhappy also it's not anything important to me where so am i depressed no all my love my my the power same power of desire now flows towards god vishaya virag ishwar anurag a dispassion for the world a passion for god if both are increasing and increasing dispassion for the world an increasing desire for for god this is in devotional language in dualistic language in non-dualistic language uh passion for inquiry that i must know this is this truth there it's real it's for me to know that to realize i am brahmana the world of appearance i begin to see that it is an appearance as appearance see good things in a movie bad things in a movie pleasant things in a movie um you know like a horror movie scary things in a movie because it's a movie good and bad pleasant unpleasant or horrible and attractive at one level they're all the same because they are not real they may give different kinds of aesthetic experience but as far as reality is concerned you have the equal disregard for all of them if you see very nice things in a movie you don't want to pick some of those away from the movie put it in your bag and walk out of the movie hall if you see horrible scary things in a movie unless you're a little kid you won't want to run away from them because you know they are not there so what is in a movie can neither pull you ultimately really speaking nor can it repel you really speaking except in an aesthetic sense similarly a dispassion for the world that is from a non-dualistic perspective and an enquiry i must find out the reality of this movie i am told that i am this infinite being i don't feel it i don't understand it let me see that is a sign of progress in spiritual life more practical sign of progress in spiritual life i'm a very great teacher of vedanta said that over time you'll notice your reactions to the world decrease your reactions decline to the world in what sense the negative reactions anger depression irritation um passion um you know jealousy um worldly ambition unhappiness about things in the world all of them they will decline in frequency intensity and recovery time frequency they won't happen depression i used to get depressed every every month or every week won't happen so much once in a while i may feel um but but not not so often frequency will go down of all the negativities frequency will go down it will not disappear immediately that's the whole point of progress intensity will go down earlier it used to be deep depression now just feel it feel a twinge of unhappiness good earlier i used to fly into a rage now it's a flash of irritation good that's progress and recovery time that will also go down earlier a depression or an anger when feeling of anger would last for hours or days and weeks and now it comes and goes maybe i feel it but it's gone after some time and it's there it was there in the morning by afternoon i'm fine it's just gone good that's progress the negativities it will not be as frequent it will not be as intense and you will recover from it much faster you will get out of that much faster sign of progress then how do you recognize enlightened being you can't but that's not entirely true [Music] whosoever company reminds you of god uplifts your mind that's a sign i don't know if it's an enlightened being but definitely a spiritually very advanced being let's be conservative about being enlightened let's be um not be in a hurry to say somebody is enlightened especially i am enlightened one monk put it very nicely if a person is enlightened and doesn't claim to be enlightened there's no harm done but if a person is not enlightened and claims to be enlightened a lot of harm is done to the one's own spiritual progress first and foremost and to other people also so it's better not to claim to be enlightened or even to claim other people and enlighten but spiritually advanced one gets there are certain signs uh one is that upliftment you will feel in the company of such persons i have seen such persons just their presence they don't even have to give a talk they don't have to ask swami question answer like i'm doing you just be in the presence maybe exchange a few um words or just be there you will feel uplifted you will feel purified like you have taken a bath um that's one um sign of a spiritually advanced person a person who inspires you in spiritual life swami vivekananda also gave a criterion of strength does it strengthen you the company of the person the teaching of that person or does it make you more dependent if it strengthens you true spirituality is there it makes you more spiritual pratyahara so i'll end with that pratyahara is a stage in the ashtanga yoga of patanjali in patanjali's ashtanga you're eight limbs yama and niyama the first two are disciplines moral and ethical disciplines do's and don'ts then there is asana sitting a steady posture for meditation pranayama the control of the breath regulation of the prana through the breath which calms down the mind then comes pratyahara withdrawal from the world outside and then there is um dharana focus dhyana meditation and samadhi complete absorption so these are the eight limbs of yoga that pratyahara is withdrawal from the external that's the crucial thing where from external things you come in inwards before that moral practices and sitting and breath control they are to do with the external world and the body but pratyahara is now you're coming into the mind you are shutting down the senses and turning the mind inwards so how do you do that with the eyes one can shut the eyes but then how do you shut here you need earplugs maybe but how do you shut down the uh the skin and the taste and it's not physical shutting down which is meant here what is meant here is the mind shouldn't flow outwards through the sense organs the question is good because not much discussion is there about pratihara in our our text as far as i know so what it meant here is that the mind shouldn't flow into the world outside through the sense organs so turning away of the mind it can be done at different levels one important way powerful way is bhakti devotion devotion to god the mind goes where where the heart is so what i want and what i love so i love my lord who am i visualizing in the heart so my attention will go there and the senses will no longer pull me outside you can strengthen that you can put a no admit admission sign in your heart that nothing no admission of anything from the world outside until i'm done with meditation and that helps in pratyahara so turning the mind inwards by the pull of of love of god bhakti helps a lot a vedantic approach to pratyahara is this tell your mind strongly o mind nothing in the world outside there's nothing that can please me nothing that i want anything that the mind can bring to the sense organs into into itself um sights sounds taste smell touch i am not interested in any of that whatever you can supply me with all mind i am not interested in any of that and what i am interested in the witness consciousness i am the self that you cannot supply me with so you are shutting down the mind both ways what the mind can do for you not interested whatever you can do whatever thought perception you can bring to me not interested and what i am interested in you can't you can't bring it it's beyond your range it's beyond the capacity of the mind you'll see the mind calms down senses also will calm down immediately when you strongly drive this thought into the mind the mind will keep offering you see this see this you close your eyes hear this hear this or feeling mosquito buzzing around the whole mind will go there which is normally you may ignore but in times of meditation in slightest stimulus little sound the mind will go there maybe somebody else is meditating near you i've seen that happening meditating and somebody just in front of me another monk swallowing loudly like this and the mind gets irritated because of that monk swallowing i can't meditate as if as if you could meditate whether everybody was silent if you put in a deep silent chamber you would go into some other you wouldn't it's the mind's mischief which immediately takes up some object either attractive or unpleasant or disturbing or something and tries to go on thinking about it no nothing you can think about is of any use to me then the mind will try another kind of mischief okay what is it of that is of interest to you maybe i can supply that you're interested in you're interested in vedanta in the pure consciousness all right let's think about pure consciousness here are the different theories the books that we have read the talks that we have heard no i am not interested in your theories in your talks in your memories in your arguments pro for and against no the moment you give in to one of them it will immediately lead you step by step into the world outside again that's the very nature of the mind whatever you can supply me with not interested what i am interested in you cannot supply me with that this is a technique from the yoga vashishta the mind will keep quiet and then you are free of the mind the senses immediately become silent when when the mind gets this kind of treatment the senses are the servant of the mind they become quiet also like our master is in trouble we better keep quiet very good thank you so much i pray to the lord the divine mother to protect all of us keep us safe and bless us you

Channel: Vedanta New York

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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

Id: tnhl0sD0Whk

Length: 69min 35sec (4175 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 02 2020