Selected Verses of the Ashtavakra Gita (Part 1) | Swami Sarvapriyananda

Oum lead us from the unreal to the real lead us from darkness unto light lead us from death to immortality home peace peace peace Namaskar and good evening everybody I thank you all for having me here especially the organizers those who took the initiative inviting me here and putting this wonderful program together I am especially happy to be addressing your group because there are many here who have been pursuing Vedanta systematically for some time now for years together some of you are actually you have been trained by Swami dad and the G of attended his classes so you have been in connection with a with a very thorough genuine Advaita parampara lineage now it's a special pleasure to speak to a prepared group like this all right you know so you enjoy this you enjoy it more it's like listening to classical music if you don't know much about classical music you still like it but if you know something about classical music you enjoy it more in the same way Advaita Vedanta is something like that and especially the texts I have taken up ashtavakra I took it up because of the nature of this group I have never ever done such a long retreat on the ashtavakra witches I've done half-day retreats recently I did a couple of half-day retreats on the chakra but never ever a long retreat like this there are certain reasons why though it is my favorite text if you ask me what's the one book which you like the best I would say it is - tower cricketer I remember a couple of times when I went up by myself into the Himalayas the one book I always took with myself was ashtavakra gita now what is special about this text what is special about it there are if you look at the textual background of advaita vedanta the foundations are of course the Upanishads if you ask what is the definition of Vedanta we had to memorize when we studied with Alcazar when were introduced to Atlanta the first definition of Atlanta Arrington amo open assured from Adam so the source of spiritual knowledge called Upanishads is Vedanta so literally the textual basis of Vedanta are the Upanishads and based on the Upanishads there are the Brahma sutras and the bhagavad-gita bhagavad-gita Sri Krishna liberally draws on the open issues and the Brahma sutras of course and also there are many other texts called piranha glances which means brocklander enters our well sometimes translated as introductory text you might have heard of drink drishya Vivica we make sure our money vedantis are we as brahma charities when we first started learning Vedanta we were introduced to Vedanta through Vedanta sorrow record on a grant the introductory text but some of them need not be introductive some of them are pretty advanced for example you have OPA - oh sorry Shankar Acharya you have something like nation acidity Suresh watch areas punches 'she very famous with dr india's punch of the she so this another category of texts now one way of understanding this is that the Upanishads and certain other introductory texts they give us the basic teachings you have to listen to them and to gather a basic understanding to develop a basic understanding of Advaita Vedanta Kurdish can roughly correspond to what we call Shahada we all know that not right away gong to be proceeded from Shravana to monana to need it the asana to listening to the teachings to studying it systematically consistently then reasoning it out you understand the meanings when you have got questions doubts ask the questions reason it out the teacher can help you the texts themselves raise many doubts and they solve the whole process of perova Buckshot that means the office so called opponent I remember once when we when novices one of my brother monks asked was was saying this what are we talking about the pool of affection the opponent the ancient school of Naya or vaisheshika or the Sankhya all the various schools of Buddhism but they are all in Chien time een but then this young monk Ito he said something very interesting the naica or the Buddhist or the charvaka they're all inside us at some times our mindset is a charvaka mindset sometimes we have doubts which you will be surprised to see 1500 years ago and a eicha has raised the same doubt so there are texts which are primarily based on reasoning Upanishads brahma sutra bhagavad-gita together are called depressed hana treviño their foundation the triple foundation textual foundation of a traitor Vedanta but there is something called the bring up Prasanna trial the greater Preston is right the Condor neck under cardia Sri hushes the advaitha city of mother Susan Saraswathi and Shih Tzu Keokuk - Apogee pickup's itsuka Acharya some of you looking puzzled we have I haven't we heard about it good that you haven't heard about it though those are very good somebody said there are very good ways of frying your brain they're extraordinarily difficult texts very subtle reasoning entirely monana prahara based on reasoning very deep very sophisticated logic in the language of Nam DNA iya some of it mañana Pradhan and it's called Bree had pressed on a trial there are a few texts which are for needed the asana what is the purpose of needed asana we know too simulate the teaching I have heard the teacher so now I know by hearing the teaching I know what a delight of Atlanta wants to tell me and so advantage of Advaita Vedanta is you can summarize the teaching straighter it in one sentence you can say to thomas e or ahum promise me that's intuitive Avant or brahma satyam jagat mithya Jeeva Brahma even opera brandman alone is real the world or universe is an appearance and you are none other than Grumman the gy is none other than gremlin this is the summary all of Advaita Vedanta is here only nothing more than this or the maha vaakya stuck Thomas you see the same thing now this thing I know the teaching now after that whatever doubts we have how am i Brahman what is Brahman how am i Brahman and I've got many doubts about this all of these are resolved in the face of monana where you question it reason it out within oneself very important Advaita is not meant for just belief you know that oh you are great so only you have said it so I believe you know it's like going to a university professor you haven't signed up for a course in physics or mathematics and the professor writes an equation and says did you get it and you say sir you are great I believe you will tarry there you don't have to believe there to understand this so mononym is to understand so the stage of mononym we have got understanding clarity about the teaching but what remains is there is a process of assimilating the teaching I know what we're on to say in attending classes studying books for a long time I heard many talks so I've got a general idea I'm even convinced about it and even convinced about what way Dante's teaching but then a question still remains it still is not real to me I still am suffering when the world gives me a kick or a blow and all Ambrym asked me goes out of the window somebody says a rude word to me immediately reply with two more rude words to that person later I feel we all feel bad if we behave badly we think of ourselves as good people so we feel bad and we feel worse having studied Vedanta net and supposed to be serene and calm I am Brahman why did I become so rude and nasty to that person so double misery because of Vinod Vedanta misery samsara misery addicted at Vedanta misery so there is a process of assimilating the teaching of making it real let's say that's why we become to use the word realization to make it real in your life just as we feel this is real it's not Theory this is real I am Brahman should be as real as this or more real than this not just a concept not even just understanding should be clear it should be a something that like it's not only real something that I can call upon when I'm troubled illness is their failure and frustration is there in life unhappiness is their insights are oh is there in life other people behave badly and the great problem of death faces me and my beloved people at that time this should be a source of strength and peace and joy to me it does not happen then Vedanta is not fulfilled its promised its promise was identical do collaborative Rahman and the professor what is the purpose of Ananta I should be able to overcome all my sorrows and attain ultimate bliss if I'm not getting that you can say Swami I take you to consumer code you promised I attended so many classes I am NOT getting that bliss why not so that third stage needed Glasson is there to assimilate this after which you can say I not only know the teachings by shramana not only now I'm convinced of the teachings by mallanna but now it's real for me it's real it's an ever-present reality for me I bless it why I am saying this we all know this there are a few texts which are needed D hasanat texts and this book ashtavakra Sangeeta ashtavakra gita is one of those rare need asana texts i would say this is one hour do Taketa is another one same category same level may be to some extent through piranhas cs1 some portions of yoga Vasishta like this what is the speciality of this ashtavakra gita the speciality is often you hear this is like the ultimate texts the ultimate texts of Advaita Vedanta the highest truth what advaitha vedanta wants to say undiluted I say like strong black coffee undiluted it might be little indigestible to many people it can it can really you know inspire one deeply all it can put you off also inner star' backrub when you come to Ostrava crates a final truth you are brahman ashtavakra is not interested in saying many things ashtavakra just wants to say one thing only I'm not giving the background about who ashtavakra was and the story of Jonah kashta but we all know this ashtavakra is just interested in reminding us of one thing you are Brahman what is Brahman Advaita Vedanta you know stuff girls say go back to class kindergarten back but you are Brahman Amram who asked me I am Brahman again and again somebody said a grand monotony and the grand awesome monotony from beginning to end only one message this is like anywhere in this book if you open randomly and pick up verses it is saying the same thing then what is the need to say it so many times we need is to help us to meditate if you study this book with understanding its equal to negative it's equal to needed asana sitting in meditation absorbed in the awareness that I am Brahman and you read this text it's the same thing so ashtavakra has only one message I think that English translation by Bairam it's a very beautiful here this one heart of awareness he gives a very beautiful introduction he says when all the teachings of all the religions of the world we have finished they are done when all the philosophers have said what they wanted to say and they fall silent our star Club begins everything is said after that ashtavakra begins he says that the words are so luminous very beautiful English the introduction there you see the words are so luminous they seem to appear on the page and disappear again back from the ethereal realm where they came from our chakra has no arguments in many of the other texts you will find very subtle logical arguments to prove the point argument counter argument pure hypocrisy dance are going on something like brahma sutra for example full of that that's the whole point of it ash Taba cries no argument it's beyond argument just the conclusion ashtavakra has the language of ashtavakra is very simple though it's Sanskrit actually very simple language you'd expect oh the highest teaching of Advaita Vedanta must be very complex no simplest language simple language no argumentation the highest fit again and again and again from the beginning to the end so that's ashtavakra we will do it today tomorrow and day after the way we will do it is this first class is like a is foundational one reason I wanted to stand up so that you can see me I would like to look at you and talk to you this first class will be a lecture I want to transmit something and I want you to listen carefully at three levels corresponding to Shravan a man and an idiot asana ask yourself do I know what he said do I know just basically I don't want you to say it but to even memorize the text just what did the Swami say what did have a crusade step one that is the basic minimum after the class Cibola potami buddy-buddy but what did he What did he say Oh some great to have a Don tick tock I'm actually quoting Swami Ranganathan and the G abbreviate memory he was the the 13th president of the Ramakrishna order was a great teacher many many decades ago 1970s he was the head of ramakrishna mission in Delhi so it is to tell this story after giving a talk in fact audience when he is coming out one lady very sort of hearted he said to him Soames here both buddy up Sami very good very good talk and the Swami made the mistake of asking her so what did you like what did you like in the top and she equally heartily she said oh capital my buddy buddy with on ki baat looking for ya what do I know big big uns Kabir on tick-tock but it's whatever you said it's good I remember once I was giving a talk in English in Bel Air but one of my friends a monk very nice Nepali by but his English is very poor so after the talk he said nice talk and would have been better if I could understand any of it so at the end of the talk one must be able to say at least to yourself these are the key points I remind you at the end at the very end I will give you the takeaway what did we get from today's stuff that is absolutely foundational one step one step two do I get it there is one thing in knowing what the teacher said the second step is I understand it okay I get it I know I understand it also I know what you said Swami I understand what you said that second stage little more difficult than that third stages is it true for me true not in the sense of belief true in the sense as you it's true for us that you are sitting there and standing here and talking to you this is truth it's not theory this is not a question of speculation it's a fact is it true now so you should be able to ask yourself what it said is it true for me right now is it real if you can say it's real then you have already got a production abuti custom that's the goal that's what what we are aiming at and it's the claim of ashtavakra and the claim of Advaita Vedanta that it's real right now and the point is to see it so we will go into it foundational today three steps ask yourself what did he say do I get it is it real and also at what point does it stop being real will be step by step the beginning yeah it's real last part will be mostly with people who say you know that I have to get no no I have to become an enlightened soul to undertake it real and tomorrow onwards the style will change once this foundation is done we will take up one or two verses and contemplate mostly I would sit tomorrow and I want all of us to be engaged in this to try to see see what ashtavakra is doing is best called a pointer he's giving continuous pointers it's just like saying look here is a light it is a light shining when I say here is a light shining you say yes Swami that's right it's a fact that's what ashtavakra is doing here it is Brahman Atman here that is what you want your consciousness as clear as that until we are ready to say yes that's right so it's a pointed are the pointers working if not where are we getting stuck I would like you to ask questions and interact with me I don't know how much time we'll have today but tomorrow onwards definitely we'll have time no I will tell you more about the approach tomorrow today it's more like a Vedanta talk before I start a note of caution why our stomach tries a little dangerous also not a little pretty dangerous the problem with ashtavakra because it's the highest truth and the undiluted truth and nothing but the truth and the ultimate truth it can be a little harmful sometimes ashtavakra so I am blenman so what is the need for me to meditate pray pack up the picture of my Krishna and my Cali and all and finished I am Brahman what do I need God for big trouble you are asking for serious trouble moment read reading ashtavakra one reaction is immature immature vedantam half-baked wiggenton the reaction is giving a prayer and meditation and karma yoga dangerous reactions i met this gentleman high up in the Himalayas in Gangotri he is to stay in a heart next to me he was a like a 1rst retired person he was I was studying ashtavakra he was telling a story and he told me oh this is wonderful my guru he was from Dehradun and he told me the name of his guru well I know he's a wonderful sadhu I mean he said to me there gentlemen are you actually asked me back to either end this a real thing is here my guru never told me about this and he is talking about fasting and nakata Shiva and worshipping the Tulsi plant and all what all are all these rituals this is the real thing and so he has come away abandoning his gurus come and sitting in the mountains so I asked him has your guru read this book he said yes I got it from him in fact so your guru has read it he knows all this right Cydia do you think his understanding is less than yours no so after reading it all and then he is still continuing with his toe supplying what shape and is fasting and everything yeah that is true think about it so do not abandon spiritual practices do not look down upon because this is a very high position and the highest there's nothing beyond this and I can tell you with it might sound controversial from this position from this height let alone religion even science is superstition so this is a it is true it is simple fact other than rum and everything is appearance whether it's your religion your science whatever it is it's all within the realm of miles so there is a tendency to be contentious sometimes once I brought this all everything else is nothing don't do that this the third problem is one is giving up your own spiritual practices one is being contemptuous of others the third one is arguing and trying to convince others don't don't it just disturbs people and it harms oneself also all the great teachers always say the whole point is to convince yourselves see the truth and get the benefit from it after that you may but people become ashtavakra enthusiasts so don't do that with this warning a buyer beware so let's start with those who have the book I would like you to open it in chapter 15 chapter 15 verse number 4 chapter 15 in my book this if you have got this version its page number 94 [Music] advantage of the Sanskrit and English translation is you get a more precise translation advantage of but some book like by Rome for example part of awareness it's a very lucid very inspiring translation it's it's a wonderful free-flowing translation in English but may not be always be very precise chapter 15 verse number 4 alright so we start just a little note you might be thinking why chapter 15 and why from verse 4 so there's a story about it but in the interest of saving time I will not tell you the story if anybody remembers to ask me at the end you can ask me I will tell you why I have selected this portion so we are going to study from now on till the end of the retreat chapter 15 verse 4 onwards but verse 4 and 5 they are the foundation which we will do today will do verse 4 and 5 today I'll use the Sanskrit but don't worry if anybody has the problem with Sanskrit I'll translate everything so verse 4 please repeat after me not one do not a do not come dae-ho boltar curtana Baba Nabokov on sit through Posse sudah sock she did through Pelosi Saddam sock she need a picture so come Chara need a picture to come shut up so you're not the body neither is the body yours you are neither the agent of action not the experience of the results of action your consciousness itself ever the witness freely in freedom go about happily very profound words and this is typical of ashtavakra he compresses the entirety of Advaita Vedanta into almost each one of his verses is something tremendous simple language very profound these verses most of them you can expand into the entirety of advaitha volantis if these are so incredible and direct so lot is packaged in here we will spend some time today unpacking this verse follow me and in this way listen comprehend and see whether it's true do I did I hear what he said do I understand it and is it real for me three steps even listening I like this teaching I heard from a teacher who was who in fact is a Tibetan trained in the Tibetan tradition it seems debating with this tradition it seems when they started studying their monastic teacher said you to listen how not to listen don't listen like a an upside-down pot a leaky pot and a dirty pot here so upside-down pot so you know you and we understand in an upside-down pot whatever you pour the water flows are from the side nothing collects inside so after the class what did he say oh I was I dozed off no this upside-down pot don't listen like an upside-down pot leaky part we understand you pour something it seems to go in but - sometimes nothing is left so it shouldn't be like that and the third one is dirty pot dirty pot is in the part if there is some dirt in it no matter what you put drinking water or milk or something after that you cannot use it because it gets polluted so dirty pot would be like I have a skeptical attitude I have come here convinced that whatever there this text is saying and this guy is saying it's all wrong I'm going to prove them wrong now I have made up my mind see this these are balanced in advaitha vedanta we must ask questions there's no other way to understand that the weight of a dance except asking questions but the attitude in asking questions is I am sure there is something here but I don't get it yet that's why I'm asking you I'm trying to get it when we go that's what that much faith is necessary if we go into a classroom and the teacher is teaching mathematics or physics or something you don't say that the teacher is a liar and the textbooks are fake news then I'll never learn anything it's nonsense I'll never learn anything the attitude is the professor knows what he or she is talking about and what I need to learn is there in this book now I must try to struggle and ask questions and try to understand so that is the way one asked this question but not to just cut down for the sake of cutting down and then that is the dirty pot so don't listen like an upside down part leaky 4:34 shravana listening the basic the beginning of Vedanta is the question Who am I or what am i I often used to say Who am I but until one Swami corrected me and said see Who am I is basically the kind of person I am I am maybe especially in this country I'm trying to discover a dropped out of college and I'm trying to discover who I am which means this boy or girl is trying to find out whether I'm an artist or a scientist or what kind of person I am it's not about what kind of person I am or what I'm going to do in life what talents I've got none of that it's about what am I really am i this body and this body or this mind or something beyond that and weight of Atlanta says I am Brahman and existence consciousness please I am NOT this physical body I'm not the prana I am not the mind and not the intellect and not even the the darkness the the the onon the beyond the intellect beyond my kosha know and the witness of defy cautious and the witness of the stool of sukshma karana sharira the physical body in the subtle body and causal body and the witness of my waking dreaming deep sleep so that consciousness that witness consciousness is my real nature that has to be discovered that is the beginning of advaitha Vedanta another way of understanding this is the teaching of Advaita Vedanta is given in the Mahabharata to Amma see for example the traditional way of approaching Advaita Vedanta is called tap on the shoulder not to embody chosen let me start to a mercy that thou art chandogya upanishad Shweta Cato's father is telling him and that at the beginning of the universe there was this existence alone so they were so my McGrath is that the my dear boy the beginning of the universe there was this pure existence Brahman the absolute and then he even explaining and Shweta k2 so we can imagine he's like more like modern kid you know he was the open issue describes he was arrogant so you might be yeah so what that's cool but what is it to me then his father tells him Tomas issue a turkey to you or that which I'm talking about now you can't say that also what I am that and then she was a kid who wants to understand and his father gives him so many examples so many techniques of understanding it nine times and chandogya upanishad Thomas issue etiquette to third Thomas e that thou art what is the meaning of that and what is the meaning of Dao that means you or I and that means Brahman now there's a process I'm not going to explain that it's called maha vaakya vichara the process of analyzing the maha vaakya but the first step of the process is finding out what am i am i what i've always taken myself to be the problem with this inquiry the first obstacle is I know what I am we seem to think that we know what we are they never bother about that it seems to be most obvious to us I am this person I was a little baby in a child in a teenager now this person this is why I am this body so on you this body I like this saying by Mark Twain you know he says that I often have used it earlier he said yeah some of you are nodding Mark Twain said that it's not what we do not know that gets us into trouble it's what we think that it just ain't so that's what gets us into trouble I first heard it I heard it we're An Inconvenient Truth on global warming there was a documentary so in that who was the person who presented it X I'll go Al Gore and he says he quotes Mark Twain the people we deny climate change so we say that it just ain't so and that's what's getting us into trouble we keep denying what is we know that it is not so that's what gets us into trouble I know on the body I know that I am NOT Brahman that is what is getting us into trouble that is the world the seed of samsara is there so this first thing in advaitha Vedanta is to inquire into what am i and our first answer is I I know what I am if you ask point it out this one yeah this is why I am the body is the first answer we give naturally not just theoretically we behave as it we are the body we talk as if we are the body we think as it we are the body we enjoy and suffer as if we are the body and this is what he strikes at straight away not one day you you are not the body here I will stop here and drill deep follow me there are multiple pointers in Advaita Vedanta to show that we are not the body what are these pointers how do they work the pointers and you I'm calling them pointers but word used in Vedanta is recrea a methodology how do you use these methodologies I will give you five there many how do you use these methodologies what are the personal purpose to come to an absolute clarity that I cannot be the body what is there but I am NOT the body how do you use this methodology again I'll remind you listen what did he say understand I get it and third is it real the moment you say it's real you will see clearly that you are not the body if you say it's not working go back to the earlier stage did I understand it not I can't understand go back to the earlier stage did I hear it at all what was said all right so what are these Blessed pretoria has I'm doing a good job of selling it so everybody don't worry you heard these many times I'm not the body why drishya understa body is drishya I'm not the body why I am Nikki Abubakar body sorry Canada and not the body why I am body is Jana I'm not the body but why they have BA who inaugurated era is composed as composite I am one I'm not the body because the body is external to me I'm internal to it antara by here see not so fast don't worry I'm going to start take up each one one by one and we'll actually see it the first one is my favorite so I've spent some time with it the first technique of understanding that I am NOT the body not just understanding actually seeing it as a fact just as you will be able to say I am NOT this this jar of water I should be able to say with that much conviction and clarity and not this body - this comes from the dribbly Chevy Vega the first verse itself you see I am the seer of the experiencer and this book is the scene what I see the seer and the seen are not the same entity usually in our experience so I am seeing this book and the book is seen and my let's say in a very naive first step the eyes are the seer and the book and the eyes are clearly different I want your assent are the clearly difference yes so that seer and the seen are different entities to separate entities what are what is the seal to begin with the eyes and the book is the same trick this okay now let's go a little inwards the eyes themselves become the scene scene in the sense experienced I know what I mean by that is I know when my eyes are open I know that this guy's boring me so much I can't keep my eyes open I know it I know that I can't see well I need glasses I know it so who or what is the one which knows the eyes experiences the eyes the mind let's just give a general answer to it the mind again nothing theoretical we all have a mind some zombies ear we all have a mind we think we remember we feel the love we hate we want we are sometimes fulfilled sometime frustrated that's the mind I'm talking about internally we have a continuous dialogue running that's the mind so the mind is the one which experiences the eyes the eyes are the scene and the mind is the seer again the tools to are separate or not two are separate clearly you feel it one might even say I'm not very sure what the mind is but whatever it is certainly not the eyes it's something different from the eyes not just the eyes then in that case the action that means all the fights and circles eyes ears the skin and the taste and the the nose ladies sense of smell the five sense organs they are different from the mind which perceives them perceives means experiences them all the information gathered by the five senses sight and sound and smell and taste and touch the information is taken and dumped in the mind so these are seeing objects and the mind is the seer and the mind is different from the sense organs in some sense it's different mind is the seer the senses are the scene what happened to the world outside the book that's the scene and the senses also now are the scene and the mind is the seer now let's take a step back is the mind experienced is the mind seen in one sense yes because when I am happy I feel I know I am happy nobody ever says I'm very happy but I can't feel it no of course you feel it otherwise you can't even say that you're very happy I'm trying to remember it's on the tip of my tongue so you know the operation of the mind memory is failing memories memory is unable to recall that operation of the memory the success of the memory the failure of the memory is known to now if I say that the memory the thoughts the likes and dislikes the intellect understanding and not understanding all of it if I'm calling in the mind in Sanskrit will be called untuk karana Manabu digit ankara I'm calling it the mind then it is an object to me the knower of the mind what is this door of the mind I don't know but I clearly feel it there's a name for it introspection when it look inside I can feel my mental states if I know my mental states then my mental states are drishya seeing and I am this year and drishya and drink and Russia are insane must be different separate so I the seer of my mental states and different from my mental states already we are in very deep and it's something wonderful I'm often drawn attention to this in my talks that at this level itself if you understand that you are the knower of your mind then a distance comes between you and the mind and it's very useful mind then cannot torture us anymore that very nice story of Turk and they say that one person meant to asado in the Himalayas and said mark majima both do kemo I am very unhappy or Swami and just Swami now you know trig ratio Vivek he applied and he said do you know your sorrow do you know your misery and this man said yes do a cool tomb jaunty oh yes I know my can feel it that's why I'm saying I'm Dookie I am sorrowful I'm miserable because I feel myself I can't say and I am terribly unhappy but I don't feel it it will be ridiculous I feel unhappy that's why I've come to you and the Swami said to him the mothma said to him if you feel your sorrow if you know your sorrow then you are not sorrowful you are the knower of your sorrow what you know you get two different from it first and this you must be different if I know the book am i the book of course not if I know the glass am I the glass of Cour not in the same logic I know the state of my mind called sorrow I I am NOT sorrowful I am the knower of the sorrow by that very fact she look at the boldness of obturator it sounds crazy if you apply it it'll work immediately if you apply it if you say it's a thing just like this book is a thing this clock is the thing this disturbing thought in my mind is a thing why is it a thing because it is an experienced object and I am the experiencer I must be separate from it it I was there before it came I am here now when it is scaring me I'll be there when it's gone again so I am NOT attached to this thing it's not part of me it is coming and going in the mind domme Dookie toondoo Kenan Dookie - tahoe you are not miserable you are the witness of the misery in your mind and the amazing thing is if you think like that and actually observe the sorrow not saying I am sorry for my sorrow this sorry immediately you feel calm the mine will become calm and very soon you will see the sorrow will either go away or its effect hold upon you will diminish hmm and that's what happened to the manual stories doesn't end you the real punchline comes next so the man which happened to that man who thought about it came back to the Mahatma and said he catered a Mohammed Maggio right I've made about Shanthi my boss Shantou and now I'm very peaceful and the mad monk scored him immediately don't shout me you are - Shanti candor stomach you are not peaceful you are the knower of the peace in your mind very important point why is it important because the moment the mind becomes peaceful and I say oh I am so peaceful that the mind has caught you again and what is the harm Swami I am peaceful all right the mind has caught you again little by little it'll get disturbed again that same person from única comes down from the Himalayas and gets caught in Delhi traffic you will think oh I was so peaceful in my life now I'm so disturbed here cut with cut with the mind cut with the mind the disturbance of the mind is this your object the peace of the mind is drishya object they come and go I am peace itself that is real Shanti Shanti of the Optima the real peace of the Atma is not peace of the mind it is the undisturbed consciousness which observes the arising and disappearance of the restlessness of the mind of your face of the mind Delhi traffic it reminded me last year this I think I told is true last year some some last year some tension was there between China and India and on the news in the internet it seems the Chinese threatened and you're saying that don't you know that we can be in Delhi in 24 hours our army can be here in jelly in 24 hours some person quipped back from India saying that's impossible because Delhi is heavily defended on all sides by traffic jams nobody can be in Delhi in 24 hours the traffic is too much you are not the peace of the mind you are not the disturbance of the mind you are the witness of the disturbed mind of the peaceful mind joyful mind depressed mind you are the witness when you are the witness the mind calms down actually mind becomes much more peaceful then further if I am that witness of the mind then the name of that witness let's just call it suction suction here he says Sakshi Salah Sakshi you are the witness you are not the body you are the witness of the body this Sakshi or this is the real thrust of the real sphere I just those who have steamed rig drishya Vivica talks I just quoted to you the first verse of the regressive a vehicle rupam drishyam low johnandrich forms are seen eyes are the seer dr. Shyam trick to Marisa the eyes are seen the mind is this year this shoddy rehtaeh ha the mind the brick T's of the mind movements of the mind are seen by whom in Sakshi this shoddy retire Sakshi by the witness why are we calling it witness there's the only name we can give it the real CR the real you you are that light which shines upon the mind why am i calling it light by a my colleague in consciousness because definitely one thing you can say about it it gives you awareness it makes you aware of things so that Sakshi shining it illumines the mind the mind shining with the light of the Sakshi in humans the sense organs the mind and the sense organs shining with the light of the suction you means the world reveals the world to you the Sakshi is ever be witness never witnessed drag Ivana - - Shetty you the Sakshi you never become an object because whom will you become an object - you had ever the subject so that Sakshi you are not the body not just the body not even the sensory system not even the mind so there stop first pointer first point it very quickly I told you drink this Shiva is actually a whole talking about today the first pointer is I am rushed out of the body the body is drishya therefore I am NOT the body drishya thought not not one day her trip to earth body is this ship because the body is richer you are new cannot be the body for the same reason that you are not this book you clearly see the book you are not the book you clearly experience the body you are not the body a little skeptical look is there the stages four stages stage one the dispersed but the first one is drink this ship this is the pointer to show you that you are not the body it operates in four stages Stage one start from the next ternal world external world is seen by you here your eyes are the seer Stage one eyes and the external world are different clearly this external world it's in a book you are seeing the book step one eyes are the seer book is seen step two the eyes themselves become the object of experience and mind is the seer I open my eyes I close my eyes I need glasses everything about the eyes is known by the mind so the eyes are known mind is the knower right step 3 go further back the mind itself becomes known when we look inside thoughts feelings emotions desires likes memories you all come and go that's the mind and clearly I know it something within me I with I myself not within me I know the mind so I am the seer of the mind the mind is seen see not with eyes in the sense of knowing it now if the seer and seeing nowhere and known are different then I must be different from the mind I am different from the mind I am different from the sensory system clearly and different from the body because I am this self which experiences this body tradition let me ask you this question let's take it step by step we've all heard it I think we all understand it's not very difficult to understand but the question is whether we realize it is easy is it a fact or not let's see where do we stop many people will say nay and boldly say oh yeah just by saying that you are tough let's hold on to this question I mean boy it is very bold but the waiter will say how will they say go tell just by saying is it it will work it's like magic let's take it step by step and see where the problem is aha at that time where does it stop you your eyes are different from this book Stage one real love theory yeah my eyes are different from my mind whatever the mind is my mind is something in my eyes are something else real love theory yeah right your mind and your eyes the same you feel that your eyes in the mind of the same No so it's real mind and the eyes are different yes but I am asking a question different interior concept or different in fact different in fact it's a fact nobody doubts it whatever the mind is even a scientist will not say that the mind is something different at the most the most ranked materialist reduction is to will say the eyes are part of the body the brain is part of the body and the brain produces the mind that much how the brain produces the mind big question no scientist today knows what is the link between brain and mind hard problem of consciousness stop there no further right here in NYU David Chalmers he coined the term hard problem of consciousness you see so interesting last year there was a workshop in NYU it's the leading Department of analytical philosophy in the world today and you know what what's the topic hard problem of consciousness and Advaita Vedanta yes yes and say did they accept it no they're a tough crowd sir but the fact that it is being discussed as a solution to the heart problem there's no solution no satisfactory solution to the heart problem that it's the almost like the last frontier of science of internal science now the mind is different from me I know the mind so the mind must be different from me theory or fact fact if you are bold enough to say fact then you are an enlightened person some say kind of some say no some are saying no it is just theory Advaita Vedanta says it that like this book is different from your eyes your physical eyes and this physical book are two different entities clearly to that extent and even more so you the consciousness and what you call your mind they're two different entities singh's fact we will see why it is stopping we'll see but anyway this is the first pointer drink this you're a vacant you what what did I say you are not your body why you are dashed off your body you cannot deny that you experienced your body and Vedanta has the this is a Jewish word which spa it means the gall the the boldness to say that what's the boldness boldness is this when we say I'm miserable the vedantist why do you think you're miserable because I feel it I feel miserable we're on the hunt its body the boldness the gall to the cheek to say because you feel it you cannot be miserable see this is what this is what it means if you want the dressed up if you already know er if you are the one who feels it then it must be something different from you with nowhere and unknown the feeler and the felt and the CR and the C are two different entities if you go by that then what you feel Vedanta is not denying that you feel it that you experience it nobody can deny that but without is saying because you experience it you cannot be it so if it's a feeling of misery you say yeah I am experiencing a feeling of misery and the consciousness lighting up a feeling of misery in the mind one pointer quickly second pointer the Sami car and every car I'm not the body which one is easier because the body is subject to so many changes and I then by I I mean the knowing self within and the same self I know this body was a at one time it was born for the baby it grew into a young child we can make him a teenager a young person a middle-aged person and a senior person and I feel I was every one of them the baby's body and the senior persons what is so different so very different you keep pictures nearby cannot recognize and yet I am first to claim it is true I am this one and I'm this one two very different things to continuously changing things and one unchanging self which I experience to be unchanging how can the changing and unchanging be the same thing it's logically impossible I be intuitively the inert nor I know that I was in the baby's body I was in the child's body I was the one in that teenage body and I am the one in this middle-aged or old body so I am the unchanging self and the body is continuously changing it works at two levels one is you say this is not a proof not a proof in a scientific sense or a mathematic it's a proof in a legal sense like you know what does a lawyer try to do try to pursue it give persuasive arguments it's trying to persuade you to see yourself as distinct from a changing body one but deeper than that argument is it's trying to point out an intuitive feeling but I am the same being in a very and a rapidly changing body that intuitive feeling which we all have is trying to draw attention to that one lady in Santa Barbara she told me that she must be in a 70s now he said recently I was passing by a shop front in Santa Barbara and they looked at the window and I saw this old lady in the window and I thought who is this old lady her own reflection he says for me it was like 40 years ago I wonder what I am today I can easily recall it I just I know how I felt 40 years ago just like it's gone by but the body has changed so much that is an intuitive feeling the Prakriti them-- the pointer is stay there stay with it you will begin to see here is a changing entity and I'm dwelling in in it a kind of unchanging entity that punch only changing unchanging cannot be the same therefore I am I the unchanging self I am NOT the changing body near weak are savi Cara body is Sally car the six-four changes the Oscar talks about Jyoti Asti 130 vapor in Amethi epoxy at a machete born and having been born comes into existence and then grows and then reached reaches maturity and then begins to age and degenerate and then dies six four changes in the body and I own up to all of them which means I cannot be the body the same person one more third pointer see Jenna conscious not conscious sentient in sentient I am sentient I am the one who's aware the body is in sentient an object of awareness here one thing I'll point out but it's worth thinking about if you can really absorb this Vedanta becomes very easy we keep saying consciousness consciousness consciousness but what exactly is meant by consciousness what is consciousness and what is not consciousness today if you ask consciousness studies it's a big field there are psychologists there are AI people there are quantum physicists there are neuro scientists there are language people philosophers psychology of psychologists of course psychiatrists brain scientists what is the definition of consciousness will give you many definitions none of them satisfaction Advaita Vedanta is going to give you a definition just now you'll see it's very direct elegant and entirely satisfactory and something that you can see for yourself will work right right now but you want that only one thing you have to look into your own experience right now notice in your experience there are always two things subject an object you the nor and what you know what you know remember field think that is the object and you aren't in order use this knife anything that you can call this in your experience is an object I repeat anything that you can call this in your experience is an object we Shia was to shut up that which experiences this is consciousness but my father he actually he gives this definition but no Pondicherry I was a student of Shankar Acharya favorite student I need them I need them titanium uh Needham Chaitanya not this conscious consciousness is definition of consciousness is not this what do I mean by that it means what is consciousness look at your experience now just notice your experience this mic this so this is not consciousness it's an object this shirt this can I describe it at this yes so this is not consciousness object object to what object to consciousness this skin this body this really I can describe this yet yeah so it's an object it's not consciousness when I breathe in and breathe out mindfulness you know breathing in breathing out know that you are reading in know that you're breathing out know that you are breathing in what way Dante will be interested in is not your breath well aunt is interested in oh you know that you are reading it therefore the breath is an object of knowledge you are aware of it can you call it this Britt yes so consciousness the breath is not consciousness it's an object thoughts ideas feelings are coming and going memories this thought it's an object therefore evil of thought is not consciousness in Vedanta is an incredible what is supposed to be consciousness in all consciousness studies thought is mine and they don t even the mind its contents of the mind are not consciousness they are objects to consciousness this thought this idea this memory if you are using this then it cannot be consciousness it's an object are you with me we are in deep waters try to go beyond memory or thought or even intellect even this process which we are using to understand this is called Budi intellect but these can describe it as this so even this is not consciousness this is an object to consciousness try to go beyond it black but the blank is also experience this blackness you cannot say it in length as the dislike this this void this union that is also an object so starting from the external universe to the body to up to intellect and the void beyond the blankness beyond all our object all shut up all our be Shia and that which experiences it all is called consciousness Chaitanya Chiara so now the body can is it this this body if you see this body then it is not consciousness I am the conscious experience of the body and the body is experienced it is journal in sentient which one am I am I the intention body or the sentient experience of the body a sentient experience so I cannot be the body this experimental life very much great good in New York he designed this experimental it makes it very clear why this this chit jata you know he says when you look at your hand and you look at the hand see the experience what does it feel like does it feel like I am a way out of the hand or does it feel like the hand is aware of me is the hand saying hello how are you doing no never I am aware of the hand so way on which side is awareness on the side of the hand or on my side I I feel aware am i drawing your attention to your own experience your what might be called the phenomenology of experience the feeling how does it feel I am aware of it so what same thing is true of descent what is true of these to enhance is true of your feet and your belly and your chest and your in fact the whole body is just parts which are aware of all body is a conglomeration of paths which I'm aware of so I am the consciousness aware of these things so this is an object I am the consciousness chit jata it cannot be the same thing even mind think of thought just now it's why we when I try to tell you're not trying lot of thoughts come in I try to think blank even night will help I am the witness of the blank the absence of thoughts but the thought like 2+2 is 4 or ABCD something like that just think of a thought now then I think ABCD just ain't right just now notice the experience I just think ABCD in my mind now am i aware of ABCD or a B is ABCD aware of me do you understand the question it's simple question just look into your mind I am aware of the thought ABCD there's no possibility there's no sign of ABCD being essential thing aware of me I say hello ABC uvula ABC you say hello you'll get a shock I might become split personality or schizophrenic or something like that no I am aware of the thoughts so the thoughts are object B Shia Jarrah JIT Jarrah because the body is Jarrah with the body is an object I'm aware of I cannot be the body the other two very quickly pointers I will just mention them we have done enough a Kimani come some of you know not England you know you must have heard me saying these things earlier I I remember I was in I was visiting Oxford University a few years ago just doesn't visiting this as a tourist I met this gentleman here he is the leading expert on China Ron ometer professor Renault meter he is written the Oxford British very short introduction to China he's Indian but he's the leading expert on China in Oxford University we are talking about this and I said because at that time those YouTube videos were coming up more and more this is a problem because whenever I go people have heard what I have to say then he said something very nice he said don't worry Swami it's like the golden oldies you know P so when musicians go to perform everybody wants to them to perform the day songs they are famous for it if if each time they perform something different audience will be disappointed so you tell them what you and you have supposed to tell them be happy anyway a Cabana come so the body is made of many parts body is a composite of many things put together but I myself when you think about yourself whatever you are you never think of yourself as a composite so no I am a composite if so many parts and bits the body and I am a composite they have so many thoughts in my mind that's the mind but the you yourself if there is any distinctive always we think of ourselves as one unit I am one I never say I am a committee even people multiple personality disorder there one person at a time they consciously identify with one personality not with all personalities at a time I am never a committee and one this body is clearly not one it's a system of many parts body parts and organs and tissues and cells and subcellular structures multiplicity m endlessly complex entity so it is an a come a come how can the one and the many be the same thing so that's one more pointer and one more pointer that antara by here just once I just mentioned it you can see if it works or not we always have the feeling that I am some reason if I say locate yourself you'll always feel and somewhere in there if you look at the body you will feel you feel intuitively I'm somewhere in here but if you look at the sort in there are thoughts you will feel and somewhere in earth to the thoughts even the thoughts are outer to me so I am inside and the body is outside a very elegant argument if thing which is inside and outside you clearly feel that the two cannot be the same thing my vest and my shirt are inside and outside if they're inside and outside that two clearly distinct entities west and shut to clearly distinct identities otherwise the relationship of inside and outside will not stand it might sound silly but it's psychologically very effective we always feel that we are in cycling five pointers think about that you will get time to ask the question later on why am I not the body this is not plumb they are not the body my point is why we're number one Drishti applaud because it's an object I am - stop sorry Cara it continuously subject to change I'm there by car I feel that then next it is Jarrah it's an object of consciousness and chip I'm sentient its intention then a common a commits composite and obviously myself to be a single and the next one is an answerable here it feels external I already feel internal to it if that's anywhere near the truth it cannot be the same thing so based upon our intuitive experience that experiencing self cannot be the body say next yeah I know that don't my body but it's my body I'm not the body but it's my body next each ashtavakra anticipates that he says not a the huh it's not your body either now we protest that this is too much what do you mean it's not my body whose can it be I will not explain in detail but once other Luther I can in Hindi he pointed out so nicely I tell you and then I'll translate he said I assure you kiss a hug Avila how can it be your body why not - never I ask did you make it how can I think how is the thing yours how does it how is it your position maybe you made it did you make it even your parents didn't make it because the process by which the body came up is extraordinarily complex natural biological process building up from genes upwards we have hardly any control over it so parents didn't make it also its nature which made it in any case you didn't make it then do you own the material sort of which it's been another kind of position I own the materials so do you own the Akasha why you have knee or the 150-yard periodic elements the periodic table elements do you own them no another way of owning something your body and he says it Chris near the earth uncle who gifted it to you nobody we have no such thing Carvel's the cow sure show me the papers a cop pulls up show me the papers license registration no not of the car you have this body I don't have the papers to it you're in trouble where are the papers to your body who how do you know that you'd be the one he belongs to you know telecon I was there once in Gangotri they were doing a land survey for the first time government officers with laptops and all and one others don't understand anything about traditional monks there one of them came to me and said not much of the body mousse kill hair is very difficult math magic those government officers had come to my cave and asking current account how do the K belongs to you he belongs to me it was there i sat down to meditate there now how do I prove that it belongs to me so who will show your papers who gave you this body but how do you prove your ownership of the body you don't own the materials out of it is made you don't we did not make it does it obey you no well I am in charge of it this very little of it to be severe in charge of actually it's not really well I can awfully if you see I can raise my hand I can talk one little stroke many of your doctors you know one little stroke somewhere and unable to lift that with all desire to lift up impossible how is it opening only because it wants to see it seems to a baby if it doesn't want to obey me nothing is nothing that I can do body does not obey us and it's very good it doesn't obey us if nature said here I'm giving you the keys now I take over endocrine system digestive system respiratory system cardiac system everything the hormonal the end of all the bad chemicals in the body neurons you take over run it within two minutes nine one one cause what happened he tried to take charge of his body or her body no we are incompetent to run this machine even for for 30 seconds we'll die literally not a day it's not yours call it practically call it Ishwara something else is running it this is the nature or issue or whatever you call it almost done next not a day if you are not the body and if the body is not yours therefore you cannot be the doer doing is done with the body and the mind working thinking speaking none of it is under our control so therefore you are not you the conscious entity you are not yourself the tour yes in association with the body and mind you become the doer and once we are the doer we get the results of action so we will become the experience of Vakhtang Carta but really speaking you the conscious entity you the - stop you the sentient being in this body you are not the doer or the experience of the results of action so what are you children you are of the nature of consciousness why did you say that because it seems to be obvious whatever it is it cannot be denied you experience that is one thing cannot be denied what is denied is what I was experiencing I had illegally taken possession of it this is my dad said I am this this is mine Vedanta foundation it hits there it is not yours it is not you it is not yours but you are experiencing it no doubt nobody can deny that you're experiencing it's a fact in front of a lantus is because you are experiencing it you are not it witness when I am the witness sudah Sakshi not only in Vedanta class not only mindfulness exercise and witness booth rock advanced all do is saying very nicely he said by divine teaching degree she of a maker he said though mahadji or the monks were present math concealed under eye not you may such you know do you feel that you are the Saatchi the gathering they said yes is holid like booze but I got a mega yogi you going to fall you're going to fall into a very big pit what is the pit he says this is Ian ugly sucker this is an artificial witness it is something which you do like a meditation exercise I am witnessing the movements of the breath I am witnessing the sensations I am witnessing the thoughts in the mind it's a meditation exercise moment you stop it it's gone Sakshi gaya what Advaita Vedanta is talking about sadawa Sakshi consciousness is always the witness whether you try it or not it's right now it's always there always has been whether you go into an Advaita Vedanta or not whether you try it or not whether we understand it or not you are you the consciousness if you see consciousness plus mind then not but if you use the consciousness you are always helplessly the witness choicelessly the witness in fact Jiddu Krishnamurti is to call it choiceless awareness yeah very good term you are the choiceless awareness you are the witness Sonakshi and therefore what is the result of all this neurotic so calm each other be happy move around happier witness how will it move it on body is still there just because you are you know that you are not the cop it doesn't prevent you from driving the car so you are under this great delusion I am the car no you are not the car you can drive the car you can be in the body you can be with the mind with the mind you can think with the organ of speech you can speak with the body you can walk and talk and one look into everything else so come Chara happily why happily near apeksha with complete freedom on depend not dependent on anything else because that witness is ever the witness it is not subject to birth and death body subject to birth attendant it's not subject to illness and disease the pranamaya which causes illness and disease it's not subject to waking dreaming deep sleep mind is subject to vague in reading deep sleep it's not subject to frustration or fulfillment mind is subject to frustration or fulfillment it is ever the witness of all these changing states you are that dr. Ouma see therefore sukham Chara be happy the next verse said one hour it took for this person then next we've already done the next bus when you read it you will see raga dominoed Mo Rocca Mishima no thermo Nam honesty kadar channel nominal speaka da channel miracle possible Dogma biblical possible Dogma sneer ubukata so culturally Congress likes and dislikes and you can add many other things memories ideas all of those things mono Dharma they are properties of the mind so na monastic adachin the mind itself is not yours you are not the mind the mind is also not yours in fact a very powerful practice to calm the mind in to free ourselves from the tortures of the mind is to disown the mind you don't belong you don't belong to make up get up I am nothing to do with you disown the mind in yoga wash it so there is a practice tell the mind o mind whatever you can think of whatever you can think of I am NOT interested mind will say no no no we long to be done to think about we're answering don't fall into the trap you don't need the mind to become Atman you are Atman the mind needs you for its existence and for being lit up by consciousness you don't need to mind at all so mind will trick now I don't think only good thumbs the thoughts up to this no all mind whatever you can think of and not interested and what I am interested in you cannot think of it it's beyond your range along - ago cherub beyond thought and Youngsville what will happen this is a technical meditation we should do that immediately Shanti mind will become quite even for a short while because you are disowning all interest in the mind now - naked Archana by the same logic we apply the same logic to the mind mind is drishya understa mind is no sorry Cara continuously changing I am the Rakata the mind is gerra in sentient I am chit sentient awareness the mind is an income many I am a come the one knower of the mind the my range is exterior to me by your I monitor into an interior to the mind therefore I'm not the mind nor is the mind mind and miracle 4c mind changes consciousness does not change there's no V culpa Atma means self what kind of admire you both heart ma pure consciousness nearly car a sukham Chara result of this happily move around move about move out means what does it mean move about walk talk eat drink sleep meditate study have fun whatever you are doing something all of that happy so far happy without what any release problem you can yes Sri Ramakrishna was suffering from throat cancer hurry as later became Swami Tory Ananda asked him one day son how are you feeling today I'm Saddam Krishna very because he says I cannot eat so much pain is there and this hurry he said but sir I see that you are in great joy you're in great bliss cruel thing to say to a cancer patient Sri Ramakrishna says oh you rascal you have cut near if you found me out in Bengali salons Irenaeus no rascal has found me about that means there is it's in a sense yes there is cancer yes there is pain yes there is trouble and yet if you apply this it is dis your understa not theoretically absolutely as a fact it may be a nice book it may be a torn book but I am NOT saying it's nothing to me so this show it is changeful and the changeless it is in sentient and tension it is external i'm internal it's a complex thing I am the one one unit use these succumb each other even in the midst of suffering so come Chara I'll stop here we have really run out of time more than enough but I wanted to lay this foundation today's takeaway is you are not the body not the mind neither is the body yard nor is the mind I'm not saying body and mind are not there of course they're there you're seeing it but you are not it why tell me the five reasons this ship taught then sorry sorry Carla then jhana then honey come then aunt Olivia by him so aunt Ella baby exactly very good training as Vedanta students shows up very good so think about this spend up I won't say sleepless night thinking about ashtavakra wants you to sleep happily so come Jeremy sleep every option and tomorrow we will change our whole approach we will now slow down after that and I would like you to ask questions and we will work with you even in asking questions it can operate at three levels one question is asking for information that's one thing second question is argument that means I have doubt this is my counter-argument you give me your answer that's one second level third level is not information or argument a pointer show me this reality you are saying Atman is here I'm still unable to catch it step by step can you show it to me I can not my credit all here we would like to do that's the third kind of question is the most interesting so we will see tomorrow shantih shantih shantih hurry [Music] anything that you want to say so we bring our mind and body yes yeah yes I mean this was always that you are always awareness anything else that I was well I was waiting for that I just what happened was that we had a very interesting Swami so I mean is Shri Ananda ji some of you see SWA ministration and eg he was the one who started the Vedanta work in South Africa this is a disciple of swami sivananda swami sivananda who is one of the disciples of sri ramakrishna so so I mean initiation there was a very interesting character I mean I never saw him but I've seen your monks have told me he was a yoga hatha yogi a great scholar tremendous control over body and mind even at 90 years shi sha Shan and all of that used to do I mean one example just shows the kind of person he was he thought one day he was in South Africa for a long time he started the Vedanta work he thought one day I have not yet read the Mahabharata but I don't have time every had extraordinarily tight routine he said I'll find out ten minutes of 15 minutes every day and he did that 10 minutes 15 minutes for and he continued without break for I think a decade and finished the whole novel so that kind of person and it seems he was a very humorous person at those who have seen him they told me humorous person he was a hottie yogi also with Samsonite some extraordinary occult powers and all recreate Vedanta teacher now it seems many years ago he came to USA on a tour and he went to Chicago we have a monestery death and a retreat center called Ganges and school we did not name it Ganges it was named Ganges before we went it for some reason so in that Ganges ministry so I'm initiations he came in the 1970s I or 80s he taught and there was a young American monk there Swami Yogananda who said he said in the introduction here after one or two classes I felt this is wonderful I should note down this should not be lost and those days recording was not so easy so he noted down some points and after initiation on the event of a many years later he said it should not be lost so he published it he said I wish I had taken more detailed notes but whatever I've taken just points one two three four he published it just teachings of Swami nice try on a few classes and the book is like this just little notes at the beginning I found this second one it says see ashtavakra sangeeta chapter 15 verse 16 it is through your ignorance alone that the universe exists in reality you are one there is no individual self Jeeva our supreme self Paramatma other than you begin at the fourth verse of 15 chapters which we started and go through the verses to see the process by which the author arrives at this conclusion I thought I have read this earlier but I never noted it so I went back and studied it carefully and calmly and I found it's a wonderful sequence so this is the second time I'm doing it I did it in one of our centers but that was just a half-day retreat so here I'm going to do it carefully not so fast as I went tomorrow onwards we will take up one or two verses and then we'll interact try to see what initiation he was trying to show us there so that's the story [Music]

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: WkJ8J5w-ASQ

Length: 88min 0sec (5280 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 10 2019