Realizing Non-Duality (pt.2) by Swami Sarvapriyananda

[Music] mmm-ma sir thomas at gamma yeah Thomas oma duty gamma yeah richard imam written gamma ya own shanti shanti shanti ohm leaders from the unreal to the real leaders from darkness into light leaders from death to immortality home peace peace peace welcome to the second session in this session we will do nothing new exactly the same thing we are going to go back to the real self the Atman brahman but we'll take a different a different approach that's the beauty of Vedanta each of the Upanishads contains a variety of approaches if one doesn't work the other will there's a story about how Hanuman goes to rama and asks how can i be liberated and Rama says go and study the man Duke you finish it this is the man Duke Upanishad is the smallest of the Upanishads the Mundaka Upanishad is enough by itself to confirm liberation up upon those who are seeking liberation but if that does not work then Rama gives a list of I think 32 Upanishads try these and if they do not work then Rama gives a complete list of 108 upanishads and tried of us so there are different approaches the approach that we are going to take now to the same truth let's see if this works and if the first one works for you this one also will work once one of them works for you all all of them will work for you and you can enjoy it you can enjoy the different you can taste it in different ways this one is called the method of the five sheets it's a well-known method the method of the five sheets it's based on one of the Upanishads the tightiy reopen assured and in this book which we are studying it's it's the method which is given in the third chapter bunch of kosher vivica that's the name of the third chapter third chapter of this book bunch of the she by the way the bird punch on her she the name of this book literally means fifteen chapters 15 chapters on Vedanta so each of the chapters takes a different approach to the same question Who am I now the puncher kosher vivica did this this chapter is based on the title punishment one of the ancient Upanishads in the tightiy reopen Asian in the second section of the Thai tea reopen Ishod which is called Brahman and overly which means the section on the Bliss of Brahman the Bliss of Brahman in that section the first paragraph is it's super fun it's so beautiful it goes like this let me change and just translate I will not dwell upon it but I'll translate for you the first paragraph of the second section of the Thai tea reopen ition om have it up no T param today Asia pupa Satyam dominant Amram Yahweh Tony hey Tom grew Haram parami Bowman so much new taste aravaan Commons AHA brahmana vapors Chitti what does it mean the first sentence itself I mean to meet it in encapsulate all of Vedanta the first sentence brahma without no deep Adam what does it mean the knower of brahman attained the ultimate the knower of brahman attains the ultimate three questions arise Brahman what is Brahman second how do you know Brahman third what do you mean by the ultimate attaining the ultimate sounds nice but what is that three questions and the answers follow in the three sentences after this what is Brahman the absolute reality jungyeon amanda Meryem brahman is infinite consciousness and existence Brahman is infinite consciousness and existence if you want an explanation of this I have a talk which I gave two or three times you'll find it a couple of versions on the internet it's called defining God it's about this one little sentence Brahman is infinite consciousness and existence so I'm not going to talk about that now the next part is what we are going to talk about in this session how do we know Brahman how do we realize that we are Brahman the second sentence tells that what does it say Yahweh dimittam GU hai impera maybe omen you have to realize Brahman as residing within the sacred space of the heart that bears repetition Brahman how do I know Brahman it has to be known as within the sacred space of the heart of the cave of the heart that's literal translation that's just a fancy way of saying you have to realize Brahman as I am Brahman not God is Brahman or not the universe is Brahman or not the book or the table is Brahman I am Brahman that's the way to realize it how do you do that that's what we will see today but just for sake of completion the third question was yes you actually following me this is we have a serious group here often the audiences will go yeah what was the third question the third question was what is the ultimate what will I get out of all of this so Washington is aravaan karma and Saha brahmanah vapor street 80 the one who realizes I am Brahman attains the fulfillment of all desires all desires now be careful it does not mean does it mean that I'll attain the fulfillment of all desires that I'll become a Alvin the California State Lottery and become a billionaire or at least a multi-millionaire and my I will get this very nice gluten-free body and and I'll get the latest iPhone and my relationships will be perfect I get a house overlooking the ocean in Santa Barbara and I will also get parking and does that mean when as all my desires will be fulfilled this is what it means it sounds great no I'm sorry it doesn't mean that what it means is you see what are we trying to attain through the fulfillment of all these desires our lifelong projects this and that what are we trying to attain complete peace and satisfaction and and transcending suffering that's basically what we're trying to attain we might not give it such a grandiose name I'm trying to transcend suffering and attain perfect peace no you might just say that I'm trying to make it through one more day of my life but basically what we are trying to do is that trying to get some peace and love and joy and overcome suffering attaining Brahman one attains ultimate peace and joy and transcend suffering forever that's the promise that's the promise so the in that sense you you reach the culmination of all desires because having attained that there is nothing greater that you would like to attain and having attained that there is no sorrow in the world that can shake you I'm quoting from the gita not Duchaine a guru nabhi which are lathi by the heavy guest of sorrows physical relationship worldly financial whatever or all of them together nothing can shake you once you are established in grammar and there is nothing more to attain the good things happen well and good if they don't happen find you've got the best of everything so that is what's meant by attaining brahman but today that's not our subject either our subject is how do I know Brahman and then next paragraph after that shows you the way of the five sheets the discernment of the five sheets remember what did the section say how do i attain brahman you have to see Brahman in the cave of your heart what is the key of the heart mean and does it require bypass surgery or what we will see we will see that's the next section which is coming up the basic idea here is Vedanta says you are Brahman and the biggest stumbling block there is our immediate reaction is no I'm not whatever Brahman is I don't think I'm very Brahman like I am this guy this this person this man or this woman this is who I am this is my life these are my experiences in life these are my hopes and sufferings and so on this is what I am sometimes you say life is good I hope it continues to be this way sometimes you say life is pretty bad I don't know when it will come to end but I'm having a bad run going to come to an end and hope hopefully things will turn up this is who I am I'm not Brahman you see it's like Mark Twain said it's not what you do not know that gets you into trouble it's what you know that it just ain't so that's what gets you into trouble I'm quite sure I am NOT Brahman why am I sure I'm not Drummond here is the method starts here because I see myself as this if you ask who are you what are you I'll say this and somebody points to this miss Polly and says what is this it's me it's I I am this this is me we are firmly rooted in this idea that I am a body mind complex this is what we have to get rid of we have to eliminate from our understanding what we are not don't worry we're not going to get rid of the body it's going to be there you can still go back home you can have a nice lunch after this the body will be there and you can eat and to digest the food also everything will work fine even after this session but you will realize that's not who you really are just like if I realize I am NOT the shirt doesn't mean that I have to take up the shirt I can go on using the shirt but I am not it that's how we are going to realize I am NOT this body mind system the open issued says you don't think you're a Brahmin you say now who do you think you are here this you mean the body yes alright let's start there the open Ischl uses what is called in ancient India are wounded in the ayah I don't that is a faint star in the sky it seems that in marriage ceremonies I don't know if they do it now also but in marriage ceremonies the bride it's considered auspicious that the bride would be shown their own that they star how would she be shown their own dirty star in the night sky she would be first shown because it's very faint you cannot point you can't just say it's there you know you won't see it you have to point out the branch of the tree here is a tree look at the tree yeah I see it look at the topmost branch I see it next to it you see that bright star I see that yes next to that star just below it to the left you see a faint star yes and below that you see a very faint star yes maybe that's Arundhati so to point out something very subtle you start with the physical with the gross with the obvious and then take you step by step any teacher knows this technique from the known to the unknown it's a poor teacher who starts at the you know at the level of his or her knowledge you must start where the student is so from the known to the unknown from what is near to what is distant from what is to what shall be you have to proceed in that way it's the golden rule of teaching and the opening should does that and this method does exactly that so we are going to do it now start with the body this body is called under Meyer kosha the sheet of made of food Annamayya means made of food a modification of food a transformation of food why because clearly this body is what we eat and drink it's been transformed into the flesh and blood and bones of our body what we eat and drink now am i this we will say immediately yes at least this is really what I am or part of me I am basically this body now the opening shot says take a closer look take a closer look this body changes continuously yeah I know that but how do you noticed what the body was like when you were five years old when you're 15 years old when you are one year old a vastly different body tiny are quite different even your mum wouldn't recognize you if you put two pictures together closely so different and yet you don't the person in this body you don't feel all that different you know I was in that body which is very different from this body even the matter in this dead body is different from this body matter is continuously they're shedding matter and we're getting more method into the body through food so the body has changed enormously from babyhood to childhood to teenage to youth to middle-aged to a senior person enormous change in the body and continuous change in the body yet I have no doubt I was the same person who used to be a baby used to be a child a teenager a middle-aged person and a senior person clearly I am the same person you don't think you have changed you might say I've changed Swami I was so you know I was so fit and swim in those days now look at me I am overweight and flabby body body so the body changes so much you don't think other than the changes in the body you don't think that you have changed so much that with changes and that it does not change they cannot be one and the same thing that which changes and that which does not change at least does not seem to change cannot be exactly the same thing you the indwelling self in this body you apparently do not change or at least not as much as the body does and the body changes continuously because of this reason you cannot be the body one I will give you several reasons these are not just intellectual arguments but see intellectually does it make sense then after that not only intellectually see it for a fact yes I am an unchanging presence in a changing body second second a reason why I am NOT the body clearly I experience the body I am an experience at the seer of the body it's an object in my experience we saw that in the first session the body is an object and the awareness in which the body appears and sometimes it disappears at night so what do you mean so I mean the body disappears you can see the guys sleeping on the bed you can see it but the awareness in the awareness of the dreamer that body is not there is dreaming about something else so you are the experiencer and the body is the experienced you are the seer the body is the seen the two cannot be the same thing in sanskrit drishya and russia russia means that which is experienced - that means the one who experiences because of this reason you are clearly the experience of the body you are you are in the body experiencing the body and the body is an object of your experience second reason why you cannot be the body because you are the seer and the body is the scene third reason you are Chitina the body is Jarra which means you are conscious the body is in tension you are sentient the bodies in sentient you can challenge that you can say that no Swami the body is not in since it's clearly a conscious body yes but the consciousness is your consciousness I will prove it to you you can see it now it's a startling proof when you look at your hand you can try it right now look at your hand the sensation is clearly subtly not noted within the sensation is I am looking at the hand right that's the experience is the experience ever that the hand is looking at me hello no never never and when you look at the other hand now look at the other hand it's exactly the same the other hand it's it's something that you are seeing it's not seeing you and in that way the legs and the belly and the chest and the head all of these parts of the body they are things you are aware of they are not aware of you the person is it making sense what I'm saying you'll say so what ah you see if you admit that you've admitted what I was saying the one who is aware is always conscious that which is not aware cannot be conscious this body is a collection of parts hands and feet and head and tummy and legs and all of that none of which are individually aware of you so the entire collection of this body cannot be aware of you or anything else you are the one in this body who is aware therefore you are sentient the body is not sentient it's because you dwell in the body the body appears to be sentient third reason because you are sentient the body is in sentient hence you cannot be the body how can the sentient being be an intention being no you must walk with me here clearly there is a difference between you and this book you are an you are a being of awareness of consciousness and you experience this book you can see it you can touch it you can read it the book cannot see you touch you or or read you know because it has no sanctions therefore you have sentience and the body has no sanctions the body appears to be sentient appears to be conscious because you are in the body or as somehow associated with the body being not sentient being unconscious you cannot be the body you are sentient and conscious the bodies sentient and not conscious third reason for treason very simple reason best startling where do you think you are located is always sit in here somewhere I don't know where maybe here in the chest maybe in the head somewhere you always feel your inner to the body right this is crucial you always feel your inner you're in here somewhere from your vantage point is the body outside you are inside you outside you are in here somewhere right now look at the feeling of your experience you are in here your embodied that's the word used your embodied not embalmed embodies not yet your embodied in the body and the body is something which encases you outside that which is outer and that which is inner how can they be one and the same that which is outer and that which is inner how can they be one and the same you clearly perceive the self as being at the inner self the body is an outer covering how can they be one and the same you cannot be the body and the fifth reason you can just go on and on the fifth reason the body is clearly composed of parts hands and feet and head and tummy and organs and tissues and millions and millions of cells it's a composite working machine you are not composed of parts you say oh I am Swami I have got hands and feet body I have got memories and ideas mind apart from body and mind do you have parts you do not have parts you always see yourself as one person as one being you don't think of yourself as a committee even people with multiple personality disorder at any one time they see themselves as one of the personalities never as a committee yes you are one the body is a composite of many how can one and the many be the same thing no five reasons in case you have forgotten you are unchanging the body is changing you cannot be the body you are the seer the knower the body is the seen the known you cannot be the body you are the sentient being experiencing the body the body is experienced it does not experience you it's in sentient how can the sentient and in sentient be the one thing no you cannot be the body and then you have inner and outer it distinctly your in the body the body is something external to you you don't feel you are here seeing the body here know you're in there somewhere therefore the body something out outwards it's an experience phenomenological you see it experience it in your life then the fourth one you are one you are an identity the body is a composite you cannot be the body I mean you say that the open assured says you're right then who are you let's look deeper let's look inside inside deeper subtler I'm translating the Sanskrit what do you find in the body you find the life forces prana prana breathing in breathing out the physiological forces which sustain the body digesting food blood circulating breathing and oxygen coming into the body the carbon dioxide coming out all the life force is surging within the body which maintain the body is a living body it's called prana are you prana question are you prana same reasons look at it does prana change yes it does sometimes you're energetic sometimes you are tired prana changes sometimes you are hungry sometimes you are satiated sometimes you are breathing in sometimes you are breathing out the prana surges and ebbs in your body you are the one who observes the breathing in and the breathing out you are the one who observes the hunger and the thirst and the satiate you are the one who observes experiences the health and the illness the changes in the prana are observed by you therefore you are unchanging the prana is changing you cannot be the prana the second reason you are the seer and the prana is the scene isn't it true can you observe the prana you should say yes because all those Buddhist meditation techniques of the following the breath it would be out of business if you cannot follow the breath breathing in breathing out breathing in I am here breathing out I am in the now in the present here and now how you anchor yourself using the breath clearly you can observe the breath therefore you are the fear in Vedanta we are not interested in the breath you're it's you can keep on breathing it's highly recommended but what what we are interested in is the consciousness which is aware of the breath therefore you are the awareness you are aware of the breath the breath is something that you are aware of it's not you because you are the seer it's the scene third same logic is the bread sentient or are you sentient you are sentient the breath is intention you are consciousness the breath is inert by that I mean when you you are aware of the breath the breath is not aware of you these two arguments are simp are similar seer and seen sentient in sentient they're linked but they are different the first argument is it's an object you are the seer of the object the second argument is you are sentient it is in sentient these are two arguments will stop it at that because of these reasons you are unchanging the prana is changing you are the seer the crown as the scene you are sentient the prana is in sentient because of these reasons you cannot be the prana and the open assured says you're right let's look deeper subtler in words who are you we have already gone deep body prana this prana is a sheet of physiological functions is called pranamaya kosha the sheet of the prana i am not that either deeper than that you find the mind thoughts perceptions emotions these words that you are hearing sensations that you are getting memories that are being dredged up the mind are you the mind most people would stop here our general unexamined opinion about ourselves is that we are the mind most educated adult people in the world think of themselves as persons in bodies right we don't identify so much with the body yes it's my body and I'm in this body but I am actually a person I'm actually a mind and a body body mind system but are we opening shot asks are you the mind same logic apply it does the mind change oh yes I can see people laughing it does more than anything else and uh and you are the unchanging person aware of the changing mind you do not change the mind changes you say I changed my mind which means you did not change the mind changed the mind changes and you do not change you cannot be the mind that which changes in that it does not change they cannot be the same thing you cannot be the mind because it changes second are you aware of the mind can you become aware of the mind when you introspect thoughts memories you say Swami no thoughts alright then you are aware of the absence of thoughts so clearly the functioning of the mind or the lack of functioning of the mind memories are forgetting all of these things you are aware of we are aware of clearly that which you are aware of and that which the object that you are the seer and the seen they cannot be the same Rushton Russia you cannot the mind is seen and you are the sphere of the mind it cannot be the same you cannot be the mind third argument and this is startling where aren't the claims even the mind is not conscious you are conscious you are consciousness itself you shine upon the mind and therefore the mind seems conscious it's exactly like when you look in a mirror the mirror does have a face the face you see in the mirror is a reflection of your face similarly when the mind is in front of you is near you the consciousness the mind shines with your light and thoughts feelings emotions memories they all shine in the awareness that you are is the first session which we did so the mind sort of borrows consciousness from you it does not have consciousness of its own it's like moonlight there's really no such thing as moonlight it's all borrowed sunlight right though it appears to be moonlight and we call it moonlight and we use it as moonlight at night we do we enjoy the moonlight but it's just sunlight shining on the moon reflected to the earth in the same way the mind borrows consciousness from you there's pure consciousness and then uses it for thinking for understanding for for sensations for using the sense organs for creating the person the personality you cannot be the mind because you are the witness of the mind you cannot be the mind because you are conscious the mind is also in itself not conscious it's a base it's very simple actually you can try a little experiment just think of thought 2+2 4 or any time 2+2 4 was that 2+2 4 aware of you or you are aware of the 2+2 4 so simple it is a heart shining in the awareness which you unmistakably are you're unmistakably awareness and 2+2 4 is a thought like any other thought good thoughts bad thoughts emotional dramatic peaceful meditation all of that the mind does in the light which you lent it you cannot be the mind this is called the Manoa Maya kosha the sheet of the mind go deeper you know Upanishad says you are right you are not the mind also now we are really getting into deep waters open assured says go deeper subtler in words what is subtler than the body and subtler than the prana subtler than the mind the open assured divides the mind into two parts mind and intellect why big the intellect which is also the mind but the intellect is what we are using now hopefully to understand what's going on that intellect which we are using to understand what's going on here which we use all our lives that intellect am i the intellect am i intelligence beyond very subtle grounds here apply the same logic does the intellect change you don't seem to be sure I did not understand and how I understand intellect I understood many things but I don't I'm getting confused Swami I understood it in the class but when I leave the class I become confused again what's that lets the intellect the intellect changes definitely does understanding comes and understanding goes intelligence changes you feel very intelligent after a morning cup of coffee you don't feel so intelligent and in the afternoon after the busy day the intelligence changes in sanskrit it's called Vicky annamaya kosha there's a point to this where every idea we are going remember the bride being shown the faint star Arundhati star we are going subtler and subtler inward and inward the intellect changes you do not change is intellect something that you know yes remember all the feeling we had when we finally cracked a mathematical problem which we are struggling with as kids and you say I got it I've done it what happened the intellect lit up and you experienced it you are the experiencer of the intellect you experience sort of the understanding of the intellectual experience of the not understanding of the intellect you experience of a sharp intellect you're the experience of a dull intellect you are not the intellect you are it's here it's the scene I remember had gone to a university to give a talk and then one of the mathematics professors he told me young professor he said when you heard this you know Swami it's something that we really really need to hear I have these seniors professors who we're really good mathematicians in the prime of their youth and mathematics especially your mathematics is a young person's game you know the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in mathematics is the Fields Medal and that's given for work done before 40 it's a young person's game and so we have these brilliant mathematicians but as they get older the mind doesn't is not so sharp not so quick and they get so frustrated they get so depressed and so sad and they keep on writing papers which are which we know are basically trash but it's so sad because their identity is so strongly intertwined with the intellect it's not easy to give it you're easy to decide enta fie with the body and say it's a body I am the owner of this body or user of this body but very difficult to give up your ideas the terrible wars that we have fought from the wars of ideology to the coffee table fights you have between your ideas that you have another person whom you may love but they hold a different idea altogether maybe political ideas maybe ideas on religion they're just ideas there's something in the intellect very difficult to decide enta fie from but clearly they are the scene and you are the seer you cannot be the same and the same logic applies intellect is in sentient you are sentient you are the awareness the intellect is like a very subtle machine very very subtle machine but it's still a machine it's not you when you suppose I feel very dump I don't understand what's going on but am I still there or not and there I didn't disappear because the intellect is not functioning I understand it I feel very smart it's the intellect which understood it and I am just lighting it up the understanding and intellect you are sentient the intellect is in sentient because of these three reasons you are unchanging intellect changes you are the sea you're the intellect is the scene you are sentient intellect unsay in sentient the VG anima the sheet of the intellect is also not it's a covering it's a sheet you say okay let's go deeper opening shad says okay go deeper subtler in words when you leave the intellect in the mind and the prana and the body and go inwards you will see if you try it now we'll try to lose later in the meditation you will find a blankness you will find a blank myth just nothing try it you will see if you do not see if you do not notice your breathing if you do not notice your emotions or memories if you do not even notice the thinking the understanding just blankness will come that blankness is what we experience in deep sleep the in the open assured it is called anandamaya kosha the sheet of bliss why bliss I think maybe because ignorance is bliss blankness I'm only half joking because it's absolutely quiet they're absolutely restless no body no experience of the physiological functions no mind working no intellect turning away just blank that quiet and peace that's also something that you experience that's not you that blankness is not you it's something that you experience we experience in deep sleep it's called the Arnon the Maya it's not you also because it comes and goes one second because it's an object of your experience in deep sleep third because it's in sentient in you are sentient you are awareness it's not awareness in fact it's clearly non awareness it's blank therefore you are not the under my other sheet of bliss what have you done so far let's take a look I am NOT the body and you know the reasons go deeper to breath prana are not the prana you know the reasons go deeper the mind I am NOT the mind same reasons go deeper the intellect which is doing all this all these activities we are doing is in the intellect I am NOT that same reason and then go deeper the blankness beyond all this I am not that either at this point we are eagerly waiting ah now he's going to point out the teacher is going to point out the real self Brahman pure consciousness and you know what the teacher does quite nothing and the student gets confused where is the Atman then you just shown me that I am NOT the body I am NOT the prana I am NOT the mind I'm not even the intellect I'm not even the blankness beyond all of these in very my where is the real self where is this Ottoman Brahman the blessed thing you're going to point out where and the teacher keeps quiet at this point a story becomes relevant listen to the story and then I'll show you how to apply the story we'll apply it in meditation the story is the well-known story of the ten friends who crossed a river when they crossed a river they thought have we all crossed over or did somebody drown let's count and one of them made others line up and counted one two three four five six seven eight nine oh my god one two three four five six seven eight nine or the tenth person is drowned the other said you're not doing it right let me count one two three four five six seven eight nine who you're right our friend the tenth person is dead and they started crying and of this wise person who walks by says why are you crying my friends Oh sir we were 10 people time friends crossing the river and our poor friend the tenth person ground this person must have counted and seen there were ten persons how do you know the ten persons drown the tenth person is dead we counted and they were crying and this wise man said don't cry my friends the tenth person is alive and well where where relax I'll show you this is what the Guru does you are an immortal cells existence consciousness place or if you are for dualistic / situation believe God exists where where wait I'll show you I'll show you how the wise man said to them line up and you count one he told one of them we have already counted no just humor me show me so he counted and follow this carefully one two three four five six seven eight nine and the wise men took his hand and turned it around towards him and said thou art the tenth - I must wama see thou art the tenth ten and this guy goes wait a minute one two three four five six seven eight nine and ten oh wow the tenth person is alive and other say let me do let me do it let me do it and one two three four five six seven eight nine and ten all the ten persons arrived now we may well laugh at them but that's exactly what we are doing how let's act like this this is incredible actually story is so deep tell me what was the problem that the person faced while counting he could not find the tenth person why couldn't he find the tenth person he was looking in the wrong place where was he looking there one two three four five six seven eight nine and he expected there there will be a tenth person follow this why did he look outside because we found the first nine persons outside so he's naturally whatever he has counted is outside he's naturally led into believing the 10th person must be outside all that we experience through consciousness in consciousness is an object of consciousness follow this everything that we have experienced in life is an object of consciousness but consciousness itself is not an object we are trained to look outside even if we say yes I am looking for the pure subject we're still looking for an object we continuously miss the pure subject because it is our habit from life after life to experience objects they may be physical objects they may be mental objects intellectual objects emotional objects what's a physical object like a body or this table but the mental object of thought emotional object a field happiness intellectual object understanding something or not understanding memory there are all objects and VXR we have been trained to have a habit of looking for an object now when the open shot tells us you are pure consciousness what do we try to do we start looking for pure consciousness where do we look as an object you're never ever going to find it the beautiful saying God is the one looking through the eyes looking for him Oh Lord thou art the one who is looking through the eyes which are looking for you you will never ever find it not now when you don't find it the reaction will be it doesn't exist there's no such thing and the student says to the master so I'm not the body not the prana not the mind not the intellect not the blankness beyond the intellect so the Atman doesn't exist the self doesn't exist and the teacher says either self doesn't exist and you don't exist do you think you don't exist I exist did what am i what do you have to do what we are doing is we are looking at the body then we looking inwards shuttle's at the prana inward subtle at the mind inward subtle at the intellect subtler than that the blankness beyond the intellect then we are looking for something very subtle which we will find at the Atman no no no no what is the Atman like the tenth person it's the one which was looking and counting what was that you can never objectify it but it's you what you have to do with now is we'll do it in the meditation we will try to locate this not as an object remember it will never be an object we locate it as the subject of all objects as that witness which witness is the body the prana the mind the intellect and the blankness beyond the intellect but not as not a theme the two gray mistakes are to look for the admin as a thing number one the second great mistake is to say the admin does not exist it's nothing clean no nothing no I call it no thing when the upanishads when it is said in 1880 not this not this well not this it eliminates every object whatever you can think of conceive of imagine experience in life everything eliminated it's not you and the next not this then it's nothing not that either not that either what is that which is not an object and not nothing also right now we shall go into the meditation and same way this time we shall go into the cave of the heart according to Adi Shankaracharya he interprets the phrase cave of the heart as the cave of the intellect understanding in the cave of the intellect is shines pure consciousness that's what we are trying to locate according to this author with the Aranya she says the cave of cave means this entire system of five sheets body prana mind intellect the blankness beyond that the sheet of inter bliss Annamayya pranamaya mana of in Jana Maya ananda maya these five sheets he says this is the cave it's like a cave complex a cave complex and deep inside it you don't have to be scared there's no lion sitting there deep inside it it's you the real you but it's not an object all right we shall follow this to find out our true self in the cave of the heart sit straight before that I mean somewhat one of you of you looked quizzical so we can have one or two questions I think yes yes I know they've listened so I haven't forgotten the question answer session will have one or two questions and then we can go into the meditation yes yes I can see a hand there at the bottom of the stairs somebody waving vigorously yes all right a few questions thank you we have time my question is this um the difficulty is getting past that mind intellect because even to think I am NOT the mind I'm not the intellect you're using the mind to think that right how do you get like past that I don't know about this blankness even just think blankness is a thought yeah in the mind correct now did you get her question it's an important question even to transcend the mind of the intellect you're still using the mind and intellect right I am NOT the mind clearly this is an understanding in the intellect itself right so ultimately isn't the Atman the intellect isn't it a thought isn't it an idea isn't it a concept how can you talk about something transcending the intellect good question the answer is a simple but a bit subtle if you follow this consciousness uses the intellect it is not the intellect I'll give you an example the example is simple but it explains it answers your question the example is this when I say I am happy or I feel happy I say that I'm using my tongue the tongue the vocal instrument says I am look at my lips and the vocal instrument I am happy I feel happy who says it the tongue clearly the tongue and the vocal chords they are generating the sounds and the words now do I mean that the tongue is happy no it's I'm just using the tongue to report a feeling in the mind correct right happiness is a feeling in the mind I'm using the tongue to report it consciousness is beyond thought but we have to use thought to point ourselves back to pure consciousness consciousness itself is not a thought but when we talk about it when we analyze it we have to use the instrument what is the instrument of analysis intellect so the intellect is dealing with something which is not itself it's a thought no doubt as you said it's a thought pure consciousness it's a thought but the thought point said something right when I use pointing means like this when I use the word book when I use the word book book is the word this in my hand is not a word but the word points to this thing similarly when I say pure consciousness it's a thought you're right it's absolutely a thought whenever I think about it when I try to understand it they are thoughts there this intellect but they are all pointing to something beyond the thought and intellect do you understand the answer no yeah hold on to that answer about the example of of the tongue saying I am happy the time is not happy the mind is happy when you say I am the witness of the mind that's a thought but it points to a witness beyond the mind there's a question there can we have it microphone so consciousness is no thing yes it can't point to something but it I've heard the concept of business yes yes could you complete the thought no isness all right I'll ask you to wait for the third session because the third session is all about business it's an entirely different approach it's about pure existence the first session was about pure consciousness this session is also about pure consciousness which is the pure subject it's not a thing third session will be about such pure being pure isness yes we will look at that there's a question there the witness so what that is the witness okay so what is that what is the witness that observes correct is she's asking a very subtle question then what then is the witness clearly it's not a body it can't be a physical entity clearly it's not the prana the vital forces clearly it's not the mind clearly it's not the intellect clearly it's not something blankness beyond the body mind intellect then what is it what can we say about it we can say that it is consciousness because because of it everything is lit up is it true because the intellect and the mind and the prana and the body are all lit up and experienced because of of that Atman so it must be consciousness no I come to you one thing we can say that other thing we can say is it must be a presence because you feel the isness of that you're aware you know the way that the present yes and then sometimes it merges in the body is that the same it doesn't merge in the body what happens is an experience isn't about it experiences the body but the real problem is not experiencing the body the real problem is forgetting that presence and taking yourself to be the body the real problem is forgetting the Atman the presence the witness and taking yourself to be the body and the awareness in my awareness of body appears and functions no problem at all but I am a body Oh all problems come to you then right I am a body in awareness or or the body is in awareness which I am no problem but I forget the background awareness and I say I am the body you see the difference between this I am awareness with a body that's all right I am a body with awareness big problem we normally think of ourselves as bodies with some kind of awareness right that's what I'm trying to do eliminate from your self-concept what you are not and you're left with what you are don't try to directly grasp that if you try to directly grasp it you will grasp an object you'll either grasp the body or the mind or the intellect some idea you are the light which lights up this body mind complex you are the one the tenth man is the one who counts the other nine the tenth man is the one who sees the other nine we will use that for the meditation now you are that which experiences the five sheets you are none of the five sheets body prana mind intellect the blankness beyond the intellect under Maya pranayama no Maori Gianna my are in the Maya you are none of these five you are the one which experiences the five and you are independent of the five one more question yes it's a microphone there this is one question here she is asking there's a question yes namaste Swamiji going back to the question of what's the point of all this yes is the journey or is realizing Atman or God same as experiencing admin our God yes realizing it understanding it getting it is it the same as experiencing remember Advaita Vedanta how we started up it's a system of knowledge problem ignorance solution knowledge the solution is knowledge this admin if all this is true then it must always be there isn't it what's the the problem is we are missing it we get involved in the body mind God forgets that he's God he's playing as not God but he forgets that he's God and that creates the problem we think we are not pure consciousness we are body mind and so whatever happens to body mind is happening to me that's the source of trouble that's the source of suffering the only way see the source is then ignorant it's not that you are a body band you have to become pure consciousness no it's not that the tenth person is dead and has to become alive now no the tenth person just has to recognize himself as the tenth person then the problem is solved you have to recognize that you are the unchanging pure consciousness immortal then the problem is solved think about it every unhappiness remains at the level of the mind or the body still the body will persist for some time until death of the body and you can continue to deal with the problems of the body as they arise but you are safe do you see that how did this puts you in an invulnerable position Wittgenstein used to say that religion is the search for absolute safety absolute security there is an it's possible absolute safety is possible in the self which you are the pure consciousness nothing can touch it it because of the light of that that everything else is lit up okay you recommend yes one more follow-up on the same thing if the quest is to detach this detach ourselves from this tiny identity and merge into the Brahman or admin that we have just that can be actually I mean based on my personal experience it can be experienced right now through many other let's say senses our eyes or other ears listening to a grand music bass or watching a beautiful landscape right then and there I feel that my identity or my association with this tiny identity growls right I feel that divine cherish the big yes these are mystical experiences they are artistic experiences we have them but you know what advaitha would say to that it does not correct the fundamental error you get a remarkable experience of oneness with nature and there are true experiences but it does not solve your problem because the deep-rooted understanding is I am a human being enjoying nature and feeling one with nature the root problem is I am a human being this body and mind that is not corrected for the time being I get a nice feeling the moment the feeling is gone the freeway is there the mud gauge is there the kids have to be sent to school the body is suffering all that remains but if there as in this method you in your you know what this method does it shifts your identity it shifts your identity from a body with awareness to be an awareness experiencing a body I'll repeat that Who am I we first say before with antha we say I am a body with consciousness now after Vedanta when I do the five sheets and go deeper and deeper I am consciousness experiencing this five sheet complex called the body I am consciousness I am NOT the body the shifting of the reference of the eye shifting of the reference of the eye is what wadn't accomplishes it's not a new experience we'll take the question later now we'll go into the meditation all right it's not a new experience it's a new knowledge yeah you know there is this difference if you are seeking new experiences that's also valid after all ramakrishna had remarkable experiences that's called the way of the mystic the way of the mystic you get mystical experiences and it's fine but this is the way of knowledge where you see what you are in itself there what the reality is and that sets you free let's set you free all right sit straight and it'll be like a machine so I'll just laughs put your hands on your lap breathing normally last lower body both legs relax with blacks upper body relaxed Bulldogs / then as he relax the head back of a chocolate black the face on the beach if you wasn't judging by your mouth relax old body relax bleeding or me breathing normally now I'm in creating through a series of exercises just follow my voice Clay's your it in your lap changed a little bit no dissertation will activate tell yourself that's my hand though though I have to encourage the beast and black label it and label it boy it's an object a mirror is not me breathe in and breathe out relax we within and Beyond no dissing session of being he noted that your nose or a Jubilee simply in Bihar lately that's the prana it's an object a very familiar of the breath coming and aware of the breath going out is an object I am NOT it if something am aware of its naughty go deeper sound of my voice other sounds to the sensations part of your mental sensory system clearly irate aware of the sensations real sounds eerily of the themes of the body their alertness or dullness energy of tiredness and the - earnest all these you're aware they are the mind the thoughts which coming interrupt you here live on words that the mind you're clearly a pair of the mind sometimes there are thoughts memories things to do discomfort there are all parts in the mind you're American tell your health and not a might to the mind I've not thought I observed one go deeper noted the internet which you're using right now the power if you're using right now to understand all this in the world is the Internet the brightest faculty of understanding the link clearly you're irrelevant at all so it's an object and that is aware of it internet mail it is the Internet I am NOT it beyond that beyond the understanding beyond knowing you try to see anything you try to reach further there is nothing whatever comes up in either the body or the bread or the sensations and thoughts on internet beyond that blend and you are aware of the lightness label it machine of bliss I am not it not it now like the tenth man the white mantle in the hand of the tent mentors instead mu1 watching all being the body the problem the mind the intellect would not make that turn inward it is lands anything that arises my sound label it sound who is watching in the body label body who is watching trying to understand not understanding label it intellect who is watching am i doing it right am I not doing it right mind David who is watching stinks gaining on me focus on the body sensations of the body - what - who being sensations adhere that one is not an object I returned home three times and serene your eyes moving down personal [Music] [Music] so we open your eyes you don't need be we do to get it you don't have to help me that might be a traitor your honor mind intellect - and then we such a jerk evangelism you'll never do that anything that comes up in your head here in a body English country here is how very dearly needed once you get it in he experience in the world is enmity of every species of the world maybe experience of John McCain open should probably hold a little meeting that what does it mean in every experience of life when you realize you attain immortality are you do that it really is about it all the rain he counted isn't it the pain in persons counting all the time whatever they are we're here whether it's the world outside the body or the prana of the mind of the intellect or there's nothing this all appears one consciousness we you are and that consciousness is free of those machines is free of the world you see we got you a different item it takes time yoga or meditation you can do a lot of little practice is always mean I don't want to go to the group in the image it will be different which is that our once that what now and our go and study the obedience and bring about a dreaming about it meditate upon it another thing for years together a lot of English is but I'm not enlightened yet okay no one humidity right and possibly you up this way this is how to say how to breathe down the world outside this is all concentrate and fall asleep and I try to do that okay karma yoga for you go after people who do good in the world clean clean the life see the world really fasted why did you do that if it's so easy everybody would be nice we need to edit what we are talking about first yes this can be done only there are we individual learning bodies you can invite because I mean why are multi realizes the reason is that the works at the level of purity of the mind say I want to be in life I want to know that I and the Atman I want to challenge it on the who perform I am of the nature of shiva a nominee to replace all right man why not because the intermediate my heart violently forward if I see the nine allowing term attention something hateful something very attractive panna cotta in an Abenaki I want to be loved and taken advantage of a TV I want to be full of love and not an ecstasy of love God intelligent about how beautiful when I come I don't feel that not God why not it made an imperial yard fringy miss your content in finances the world our attention has entered in the world that's why do not collect it and put even God it is not repeal of the religious computer later in the matter of meditation I really want to be arm and body I want a hot zone here they say none Imperial on public boiled us the moment I try to calm the mind on so the cream that is a long unglamorous time that has to be done but an entity had acknowledged even do two things you can take a long hard road trip up the mountain step by Monday be merciful to me but if you get inside mentally you can relax knowing that you are from them and cannanore the project of rending the mind concentrating the mind forgiving love and devotion a beautiful life kalenna with with absolute relaxation and it will evolve in from from that point of view how wonderful life we have salutely nothing every entity and all that if you practice can be continued with the greatest bigger and greater in together what will be in them prayer and meditation in good words they will allow you to enjoy it what we'll be talking about it will become more and more real it will become over and it will remove suffering tonight when he told me how he said if you come to as waiter with a clean mind and heart pure myself and this very teaching deliberately here enough money more incident if you do not she's not company integration then after the teaching you will say I got it intellectual I got is a nice clever love the alert reading the causes of Micronesia and forgive me is the difference is not in the teaching not in the very original this difference is in the preparation the mind and the body do not obey your generation yes and Lord area the body and mind have their own agenda as an art in clean them they are not irresponsibly and what means given otherwise so it whatever thing to notice to be centered in this and then immediately you might not a common donate that you have to relieve edit already know a little something after the really knowing for certain is permanently available to you wherever is not it when you are faced with a very negative person or the lack of parting ways or something how about the next being is shining the light that I even feel Pharaoh we raise for lunch now they move back here and one bar tonight but a dervish

Channel: Vedanta Society of Southern California

Views: 101,008

Rating: 4.8191085 out of 5

Keywords: vedanta, advaita, swami sarvapriyananda, santa barbara

Id: CMgNtMHJOOQ

Length: 78min 16sec (4696 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 01 2017