Wisdom of the Upanishads II, Swami Sarvapriyananda

Oh [Music] esatto Mossad gamma yeah Thomas Oman QT r comma yeah great dude ma amrita my home shanti shanti shanti [Music] own leaders from the unreal to the real leaders from darkness into light leaders from death to immortality home peace peace peace good evening everybody this is a usual open Ishod class but since i have two classes i had one two weeks back and one now what i did last time was talk about definitions in general what they are their importance the central message but today i will talk about it in particular take up one and talk about it last time we spoke about what the Upanishads are and you recollect Upanishads are the source of Hinduism they are the fundamental source of Vedanta in fact Upanishads are these texts which you find in the Vedas which collectively in fact are called Vedanta we are sitting here in the Vedanta Society if you ask what is Vedanta one way of defining Vedanta would be the canonical texts called the open ishod's the spiritual wisdom that we get from the texts called Upanishads is Vedanta and actually translating the definition of valent we were taught as novices Vedanta nama Upanishad pramana these or finishes are many number but basically around some some 10 of these texts are taken as primary there is actually no primary or secondary major or minor upanishads but we have made an artificial division based on the selection made by adi shankaracharya a great philosopher saint of about 1400 years ago who selected 10 of these open ishod's one more controversially the Shweta Shweta so 11 Upanishads in all to write commentaries explanatory texts so those ones have selected are called the major Op initials but there are more than 10 there are many of those who finishes in fact we have a list of 108 upanishads in one of the opening shots themselves what do these open ishod's teachers they tell us that to put it briefly succinctly in one sentence that thou art you are brahmana that spiritual reality which we all are seeking the solution to all our life's problems is already within us not nay not within us we are that we are that which we are seeking seeking where everywhere whatever anybody is doing right here you are in bed on to society you are seeking a little wisely but all those people who are not in Vedanta stood outside moving around everywhere good bad and ugly they're all seeking their striving and openly should say that what they are all striving for ultimately is this reality which we already are the these this summary of openness Alok teaching is called maha vaakya the great sentence most famously that thou art taught wama see that's from one of the Upanishads the chandogya upanishad now the Upanishads have been fundamental to the development of Hinduism last time I mentioned how the different great philosophical systems Advaita Vedanta non-dual duronto vicious dog great of a tanta the qualified monastic vedanta dwight of eden the dualistic vedanta indeed all other philosophical systems within Vedanta should that Drita Drita Drita cinta Veda with all of these there are all basically commentaries traditions of commentaries on these opening shots so you can see opposition to the foundation of this philosophical system you might say well philosophical systems are all right what does it have to do with me in fact if you look at Hinduism as you encounter it when you come here us we are based on one combinatorial tradition of the Oh Phoenicians called Advaita Vedanta the commentator is a tradition of Shankar Acharya if you go out there you would not suspect it but if you see the Hari Krishna's I come from New York now and that's where the Hari Krishna had this start the ISKCON but it's gone really did not start there they have an ancient tradition behind them they're the gaudiya vaishnava school of of vedanta so they are also one come on up ahead there are chairs here come on come on come on so they are also one one of the branches of open yogic commentary come on up their chairs here and there too you know heels if you go there you will find this magnificent swaminarayan temple which is another sect of Hinduism and you would not suspect it open dishes that they're right there too because they trace their philosophical descent from one of the schools of Vedanta Brahmin who just qualified monism vashisht advaitha in this way the open issues have been on at the foundation the source of Hinduism directly or indirectly you can trace it back even more distantly the sects and the religions of Buddhism Jainism not directly of initiatic but sometimes in revolt to the Vedic tradition in Contra distinction to the Vedic tradition see if you are basing yourself on a on a text or revolting against its text you tied to that text so that's the importance of the opener ships to India to the whole of religion in India for thousands of years to the West also last time we discussed how the Upanishads came to the West what Schopenhauer said about the Upanishads he said it was the solace of my life and will be the solace of my death he said I considered the study of these open the book he had got in his hand was openly cut which is a Latin translation of a Persian translation of the Sanskrit original and by studying that he said I consider the study of this opening hub to be the most beneficial in the whole world except perhaps the original season not just a shortened heart even in this country Emerson Thoreau Whitman TS Eliot we are finding more and more in the notes which we have have that he had suddenly read the Upanishads in the original Sanskrit so all of them they had deep influence somebody said Emerson is a mind of America and one of his biographers and we said many Americans do not know little know how much that mind was shaped by the wisdom of India now you might say ok I'm sold you don't have to advertise it anymore can I can I have a taste of the real thing and that's why come on in that there's the space here yes that's why I took up one open issue let's get in the brief compass of time available to us let's get acquainted with one open issued via even the Vedanta Society have been coming here been experiencing it so I took up one the cane open issue to talk about that and I started last time Kano position is one of my favorites it's small it's very very profound very deep and very fascinating it's in the form of a dialogue between the teacher and student most of the opening shots are sometimes the teachers and students are named sometimes you don't find any names but there are questions and answers and they're always about the ultimate reality what is the truth about myself the universe and life that's the that's the question it's the grandest theme ever now each open issue there's a different approach to it I sometimes think these opening shots can each of them can be for a foundation for a different religion the sowed so rich and so diverse but they all come back to this grandest of questions Who am I what is the ultimate reality what's the purpose of life how can I overcome suffering how can i attain peace and joy and profound peace and joy and they are very direct your petitions so I took up the cane open assured last time and we saw the question we just had time to see the question the question is I will recite the original Sanskrit mantra it's thrilling in itself and I'll translate and then we dwell some time over it and then we look at the answer today the first month throughout the Upanishad is the question we don't know who the student is we don't know who the teacher is but we have questions and answers the question goes like this by what impelled by what does my mind think thoughts impelled by what do I speak these words what gives me the equity the experience of seeing right now seeing what gives me gives me the experience of hearing what enables life to perform all its functions and notice these are not many questions you see he is not asking about what makes my mind tick is not asking teach me Freudian psychoanalysis what makes my eyes work he's not asking for a lesson in Physiology how does the how does the lens and the nervous the the optical nerves and all the how does the work he's not asking for a physiology lesson he's not asking for a bat is not asking a biological question or a psychological question he's asking only one question in all of these questions our conscious life the life which we are leading right now is constituted of sights sounds thoughts feelings memories breathing life this is what we experience all the time what enables this to happen this is the question fundamental question I mean you cannot go any deeper than this gain is it embedded appreciate Amana gain a product retama pride yoga kinoshita macho my mom Vedanti Chuck show show trunk oh they were unit P what a beautiful weights put what brightness what bright being within me gives me all these experiences you see consciousness is brightness it's light its awareness what is the nature of this awareness how much more direct can you get last time I dwelt on this question I don't want to dwell on it anymore I pointed out that it's only right now at the beginning of the 20th century that this question was precisely formulated for our times what is called the hard problem of consciousness if you look it up it's a huge thing now there's a play on the hard problem of consciousness in London it's called the hard problem of consciousness this essential light within us by which we experience joy by which we experience pain by which we think we had not even been able it's so so common to all our experiences we always ignored it but now people are asking this question consciousness studies scientists are asking psychologists are asking linguists are asking philosophers are asking and thousands of years ago the student in cane open Ishod asks this question and he gets an answer not the way he thought it he would the answer is very interesting and I'll give you the answer first translate and then we look at the answer the teachers teacher replies sure trust yes wrote ramana so mono Yad watch oho watch em saw promise your prana Joshua structure at image adhira pray TIA a smart local and with all wanti the key mantra the key text of the entire rope initial get this you don't need anything else not only in the open assured not nothing else you need in life anymore the problem of life is solved right here the answer to this question is given directly what is consciousness that answer is given this pointed out how do you realize this how do you make it a little you get it I mean how do you what what exactly is enlightenment that is answered in this mantra and what good does it do to me that is answered in this mantra at Mercer open the nature of the self that's one Atma Ganim enlightenment about the felt that's two art Magana columns the result of such enlightenment that three all of these are packed into this one mantra and at the end of this we'll all feel no no no I want to listen to more and that's how the open assured goes on detailed explanations more and more detailed explanation but let's unpack this mantra and see what the answers are the very first question what is the question of this of the student was what is consciousness and that is answer here if you there was this dictionary of psychology I think so the term consciousness there was some cursory attempt at definition of consciousness and then it's written nothing what reading has been written about it literally so it's a textbook long ago but now I mean few decades ago now a lot has been written but again not what reading not much what's really but people are make people are making scientists are making philosophers are making very serious attempts at trying to understand and grasp consciousness and you have a wide array of answers some of them are very Vedic as we shall see some of them are very materialistic trying to say the consciousness is just a product of the brain like your be liver secretes bile the brain secretes consciousness something like that you may laugh there are very serious scientists who hold this hold this view I attended a debate in Brooklyn in Pioneer works in Brooklyn there's a series called scientific controversies and I had taken a group of Vedanta students there when I went there it looked like some kind of a rock party you know these people all very young people and they were drinking beer and I thought there was going to be music and dancing afterwards there was a hard music going on there I thought where have we come but when the debate started it was a very serious affair on one side David Chalmers head of the the mind brain consciousness unit of NYU on the other hand on the other side Paul Allen chief scientists of Apollon and Ellen braintrust Christophe Co one of them were saying consciousness is a product of the body how it happens what it happens we don't know yet but clearly a product of the body it's nothing other than matter in productive matter and the other side David Chalmers in neutral language in circular language in scientific language nanu Panasonic non-spiritual non non Vedantic language he's saying more or less what what the cane openshot said thousands of years ago so it's a major scientific position now it's that important now we are at that cusp of a new understanding of consciousness I quoted even Thomas's book last time even Thomson's book waking dreaming and being where he says the Upanishads are so important he says consciousness studies did not start 20 years ago consciousness studies started thousands of years ago at in these texts called the Upanishads and so the initials are so important we ought to date our history as before ro punishes and after rope initials okay but coming back to the answer so first is what is this consciousness and the beauty of this mantra is it points so directly it's unsettling dear student you asked what is consciousness what is this bright being within which gives us all conscious experience how do I hear how do I see how do I think how does how do I hear I hear he says short rest yes Road from by the ear of the ear what is that how do I think by the mind of the mind how do I get the expression the experience of speaking so let me guess by the speech of the speech yes you're right so how do I smell nose of the nose whatever does it mean it means this when you say year of the year our eye of the eye or speech of this speech you mean three things one it is not the year if you say but you hear by the year then the answer is straight but if you say year of the year you get the conscious experience of hearing something right now with the help of the year no doubt but there is something other than the year the first point you have when you say year of the year when you say owner of the house you don't mean the house you mean something other than the house resident of the house you don't mean the house itself you mean something other than the house year of the year you mean something other than the year but you also mean something which is right there functioning in the year through the through the auditory system through the system by which you hear which powers it which lights it up as it where you also mean number three that which enables the ear to do what it does to make it very simple just not abstract I also gave this example last time look at all these electrical devices this bulb when it was there in the shop it did not give light then what happened to it when the Swami bought it and plugged it in here now it's shining the air-conditioner when it was in the shop it was not cooling the shop when you bought it here and plugged it in what happened it starts cooling the room this microphone when it was in the in the box it was not amplifying sound but when you plug it in it starts amplifying sound now I can ask this question by what does the microphone amplify sound the light that bulb gave light and air conditioner cooled the room yeah you are all very antic teachers true true electricity now suppose the teacher answers by the microphone of the microphone by the light of the bulb of the blood bulb and the air conditioner of the air conditioner he answers that way we are we know what is a why usage language we know what you mean you mean electricity what is electricity it's something quite other than the microphone electricity is not microphone one it pervades the microphone it enters into the microphone two and three it enables the microphone to do what the microphone does amplify sound electricity by itself does not amplify sound electricity by itself does not shine and give light electricity by itself does not cool the room these are functions of these devices but if they are enabled to do it because of the presence of electricity so that's a sort of rough-and-ready example for what consciousness does it is not our physical system quite contrary to the materialist reductionist approach consciousness is quite apart from this physical system it's not even Vedanta with on the proposes that consciousness is not produced by this system it's not a part of the system no more than electricity is a part of the micro microphone take the microphone apart you will not find electricity as long is unplugged you're going to get an output shock if you do that now they say before opening the unit unplug it so if you examine the physical system you will not find consciousness you will find flesh and blood and cells and organs and tissues biological activity chemical activity neuro chemical activity but consciousness itself you will not find and yet it is right here in this system just like electricity enables this to do what it is meant to do and that to do what it is meant to do and there conditioner to do what it is meant to do similarly consciousness is that which enters into this physical system this biological system and enables every organ to do what they were meant to do is to see ears to hear we are tongue to taste mine to think and the conscious activities of speaking and walking and talking and deciding feeling and all of this all of these are part of the physical system biological system but consciousness is apart from that but enables it to do it now remember I'm making a very subtle but very important distinction I'm not saying consciousness actually performs the mechanical actions of seeing hearing talking and smelling no you have difference between when you go to a door in the airport the door opens after the fashion the door sees you there's a sensor there it noticed there since the approach of your body and it opens but it actually does not see it does not decide it's an entirely mechanical mechanical physical you can explain it in terms of physics and you can explain in terms of electricity and sensors and computer science you can explain it the door does not get a conscious experience of I am seeing this person coming and now I must open the door no it doesn't do that whereas if you open the door for somebody else there's something very distinct going on within you you perform the same function outside but inside there is an experience which is this first-person experience that consciousness gives us and our life is nothing but this first-person experience think about it what is our life your life other than this first-person experience you might say no why I I eat and I breathe and I talk these are all physical actions these are biological actions yes but they're all actions in your first-person experience in your experience of life it's a lived experience and that fundamental for that is consciousness he points to that consciousness now a lot has been said yet and there is not no time to unpack the whole thing but a lot has already been said here one is this consciousness transcends the physical system it's not part of the physical system if the device is broken bury the bulb is broken electricity is not broken the microphone stops functioning electricity is not broken it is it is there this the device doesn't function so electricity cannot make it work similarly the claim is if this body dies so no longer do the IC or the years here or no longer do we speak or think in this body but consciousness is not destroyed there by consciousness is not destroyed there by that's the claim consciousness is immortal the claim is also that consciousness is unchanging everything that you all the changes that we notice are in the body of the mind think about it things in the world change people come and go things in the body change from childhood to middle to teenage to middle age to old age the body's changing the mind changes continuously notice that the mind and consciousness are clearly distinguished mind and consciousness are clearly distinguished so huge step forward in Vedanta mind and consciousness are not the same thing the thoughts that you are aware of the emotions that you feel that's the mind the memories that you can recover or not recovered that's the mind the intellect that understands intellect which we are using to understand this that's the mind but the awareness of all of that is consciousness mind changes continuously much very fast consciousness does not change even when we go into waking and when you fall asleep and we dream consciousness is not changed according to Vedanta it's the mind which has fallen asleep when the mind goes into deep sleep shuts down as it where consciousness has not shut down consciousness is just illumining the absent of mind the non functioning of the mind so one thing that's pointed out his consciousness is unchanging if consciousness is unchanging then consciousness cannot die this is a change the body can die even though maybe the mind can shut down but consciousness cannot die every problem every problem we face is in the body of the mind oh I have a tummy ache in the tummy not in consciousness consciousness does not have a tummy ache doesn't have a tummy oh I'm so depressed the mind is depressed are you aware of the depression in the mind yes the one which is aware of the depression in the one mind is that one depressed hmm now I mean the implications of this paradoxical statement are so wide I'm just giving you later on in question answers it might come out so he says a team would cheer here are the spiritual seeker is a very profound word which is used for the spiritual seeker here are literally it means the patient one the heroic one the one who realizes the truth and builds his or life upon the ground of the truth Hira ot moocher transcends the word uses transcends what is the result of this understanding of this this insight you transcend this body mind complex transcending body mind complex means not that you pop out of your body or you come out like a mist of smoke or something in the body remain separately an out-of-body experience no you still remain within the body you transcend the body exactly in the same way as electricity transcends this device what you mean transcends this device the device before the device was plugged in the electricity was there when the device is plugged in the electricity is there if the device is broken or unplug electricity is still there in the same way you the consciousness you transcend this body mind complex you are in it functioning through it but you are not it this transcendence is in this form when right now our feeling is is and modern the reductionist science says I am a body with consciousness or I am a body mind with a spark of consciousness what this open assured tells us is your consciousness in a body-mind functioning through a body mind you do not need the body mind the body mind needs you without you in this body mind darkness it's a zombie the concept of zombie is there so you are it's a zombie but with you the body might functions as this individual our problem is we have forgotten our true nature as pure consciousness and we have identified ourselves with the body and mind and hence all problems which accrue to the body and mind they accrue to us it becomes my problem I am putting on weight I must I must exercise I must join up a fitness club or some kind of fitness club I must do that what's putting on weight not consciousness not a fast consciousness it's the body which is putting on weight I'm bored I need to watch TV what's bored not consciousness it's the mind which is bored I'm angry what's angry not consciousness it's a consciousness illumining anger a flash of anger in the mind I am deeply calm and meditative not consciousness it's still the same it's the mind which is common meditative consciousness just illumines that this is called transcendence of body mind and this is we're staying in the body mind right here functioning within the body mind you you attain the what is the result of this Vedanta would say a pentacle canoe pretty param param anand the property you you transcend all sorrow forever again the word is transcend sense and means not that all your health problems will be solved your financial problems will be solved your mud gage problems will be solved your parking problems will be solved forever now now the world outside remains as it is the world that is in the body remains as it is now even the mind in a way remains as it is but you as consciousness have none of those problems and you can go on and deal with the problems as they arrive at the level of the body and the mind or level of society but you know yourself to be untouched completely untouched completely invulnerable to those problems pray they are smart local Umberto Valenti it says you transcend this world while being in this world and you really become immortal become immortal means it's just a way of putting it you are immortal you are the dim mortal consciousness you just realize it that is attainment of eternal peace and Felicity of of joy and peace and you know the peace that passeth understanding so this is the sum and substance of the first the answer the core of the answer that is given to the student notice one thing it's entirely impersonal there's no Hindu or Christian or Buddhist there is no theist or atheist about it it stated as a scientific fact it stated as something that is that is obvious you can appreciate it not only that it's not something that you have to wait for it's that reality they talk about this pure consciousness it's not something that's separated from you by time and space but that what I mean is it's not a heaven that you have to wait for after if you are a pretty good boy or girl then after death you go to the nice place you are not after death you go to the other place it's a religious solution that is separated from you by time by death here they are not proposing a post-mortem religion after that you get something no no no it right now why not it's available right now why shouldn't you get it right now it's not a distance separated by by it's not as something separated by distance I saw a billboard heaven is a place this pure consciousness is not a place you go to it's you and it's available right here right now right here in fact it is you not even within you it's you all right you say we are sold wonderful how do I realize it how do I appreciate how do I get all the benefits I like it when do the benefits start flowing to me I want to realize this then the teacher says here comes the rub this is the next mantra phase another project sure that Chitina vodka tea no mana ha na with MonaVie Johnny mo yo te tada no she shall teach it to me o teacher I want to realize this pure consciousness I want to be liberated I want to be mortal I want to transcend all my problems right now right here where is this pure consciousness give it to me the teacher says there's a problem what's the problem another tragic you'll get jet either I do not go there the I do not go there means you cannot see it and the I stand in for all the sense organs you cannot hear it you cannot smell it you cannot touch it you cannot taste it pure consciousness can I go to it in pilgrimage you cannot go to it it's not in Banaras or in Jerusalem or anywhere no we ran to society no not even here you cannot go to it none of these motor organs none of the sense organs will help you the pure consciousness is not an object of the sense organs okay at least you can teach it to me in words no no words can express it now what gotcha t what no words cannot express it but you just expressed it year of the year I of the eye in the mind of the mind yeah but what did I say did you get it and not really the teacher says you know why I use such language if I say it's pure consciousness its Atman its Brahman then what will happen is you will think okay there is an admin or Brahman which I need to look for it's not like that if you say okay it's me you said it's me right yes so why didn't you say that the pure consciousness is you well if I say it's you you know what the problem will be you already have a very clear but completely wrong idea of what you are so the moment I say that pure consciousness is you you will say oh this is me so this is pure consciousness no it's not that either it's not what you think yourself to be true it's you but not what you think yourself to be you already have a very clear and very wrong idea about yourself that I am this body and mind so if a teacher says you are pure consciousness you will think okay I am pure consciousness body in mind no that's not right that's why I use such language that language is it's wonderful and okay no finish it is full of such paradoxical language we'll see so the speech cannot express it well at least give me an idea about it a concept nomina how the mind cannot think about it even I can I can't even think about it no I can't understand it no this looks difficult well then I melt with you do what you want you you you tell me you know it right you know it you ask the teacher and the teacher says now with the more I don't know it but you can teach me right that's why I'm here now we don't our teach it either now with MonaVie Johnny more you're a dozen lucious Chad how to teach it we do not know it cannot be taught you can see the student you wasted my time we came all the way and we braved the Los Angeles a candy part a good difficulty you should have told me half the class is gone well let me find my way out and so the teachers is wait wait wait there's one thing we can do the way I came to enlightenment I can transfer that to you we will see if it works what is that next month or the teacher says remember we're trying to become enlightened realize that we are pure consciousness so here is the instruction what is that pure consciousness he says omnia deva tad viddhi dot avi he it is shroom Apoorva ha ministered by our church actuary thus we have heard from our ancient masters what I have heard I transmit unto you what is that that pure consciousness you are looking for it is other than anything that you know whatever you know set it aside it's not that and all that you do not know set that aside that's not it also it's other than the known it's other than the unknown it's a very powerful instruction so what do you mean if it's something that I do not know then is unknown so the pure consciousness is something that I do not know it's an unknown thing for me the teacher says not even that it's not unknown it's not known now tell me what's the only thing that is neither known not unknown what is the one thing that you cannot say I know it as an object like a glass like my body like the mind but nothing like this like the universe nothing like this and yet it's not unknown either it's it's always there what's that I am awareness all the good answers exist I am I exist awareness in all our experiences what's the one common thing I all your life not even the ego I'm not even talking about the ego the presence the awareness the being the press the easiness of everything this think your life the constant is isness it's just coloring upon isness in fact one of the evident ik text says it's like an easel a canvas on which a painter paints whatever you paint that's your life but the canvas is always there without that you cannot paint that canvas what is that canvas in your life it's you yourself but which you here's the wonderful you know the beauty of this teaching everything about yourself that you know set it aside body Brett you know not this either the thoughts not that memories not that feelings not that perceptions not that understanding not that the nothing blank unknown not that can you stay with that the story of the ten people across the river I've often told that story ten French cross the river the old Indian story ten friends cars crossed a river and after crossing the river they thought have we all crossed over or did somebody drown so let's count and they counted one two three four five six seven eight nine oh my god the ten persons there they drowned the other person somebody has said you're not doing it right you stand here let me count one two three four five six seven eight five oh my god the tenth person is done our friend drowned in the river and they started wailing and weeping until a wise person comes by and asks what are you crying for my friends and they say that our friend drowns you attend Maui at night and the wise men must have counted and said how are you 9 now we counted then the wise man says don't weep this is important this the guru says this to us the open Ishod says don't be afraid that which you are seeking for exists the tenth person is there is a life and wealth where there relax I'm sure you don't weep that's what you know master tells us enlightenment is possible your Buddha nature is there you're at the other Atman Brahman it's there you should hear it relax I'll show you and says now you count they say we have counted humor be showing he counts one two three four five six seven eight nine I told you nine and the wise man comes and takes his hand and points it this way thou art the tenth - ah must wama see thou art the tenth and this person sees Wow ten let me see one two three four five six seven eight nine ten oh my god the tenth person has been found another say let me try it let me try it and they all come and do that and define the tenth person they're so happy and they're so grateful but we are doing exactly the same thing what is it that makes the IC and the mind think the speed speak all these conscious experiences of our life count them sit down sit down calmly and count here is the physical body here are the life processes breathing go deeper here our thoughts go deeper here is the intellect understanding memories even the ego I go deeper blank nothing what is it that watches these the blank you come to when you dismiss even the intellect you see there is nothing more the student asks other than what I can experience here there is nothing more and the teacher replies except you're right there's nothing more to be experienced here except the one whose experience is that the mistake they were making there are only these 9 where is the 10th person and what did the wise man say you're right there only it is 9 to be counted and there is one more the one who was counting how can you deny the counter the one was counting how here is a precise question how can you deny that which experiences body mind intellect thinking feeling speaking hearing are you with me now give the tests to the student have you got it never actually a test the teacher says have you got it remember it's not an object it's not an object that's the problem it's not an object what was the mistake of the person who was counting what mistake why didn't he find the tenth person because he was looking in the wrong place where was he looking why was he looking outside can you think about that if you know that you wouldn't know what what prevents us what is the this flimsy barrier between you and enlightenment what is it what what did what made him look outside why did he think he would find the tenth person outside because he found the first nine outside so he thought okay one two three four five six seven eight nine clearly the tenth one should have been there but it's not there down the problem is the self is not an object we may say yeah I know we may say that we are not getting it that's the fun the search for God a mystic said is the problem with the search for God is the one you are looking for through these eyes is the one who is looking through these eyes I didn't invent it never I mean I didn't come back the great mystic in past ages it's not an object and everywhere we're looking for an object if I describe it you in the finest open ascetic terms pure existence pure consciousness pure place you know what we'll do we're trying to look for pure existence pure existence as an object never you'll never get it and what happens is when you finally begin to see that you do not get it as an object the next big we fall into is so it's not there ten percent is ground there is no Atman no no I can't find it so it's not there we are you are mistaking the one you are ignoring the one who counted you're ignoring the one who's trying to find it you're ignoring the awareness itself in fact you're ignoring the only one reality which lights up your life you're looking at the object you are missing the light the reason why you're missing the light is you yourself or that light no harm done because you yourself are that light you can never perish we just go on seeking for a few lives more so there is a test given by the teacher the teacher says URI Magnus is overrated or remove a pin hounam tom with a brahmana roopam yada yada yada a with a new knee mom's llame with a man every thumb my dear student have you understood it what I taught the student says yes and the teacher says you have understood very little this pure pure consciousness as it is in you or as it is in the gods whatever it is you understood very little if you say you have understood because if you think I found it like I found this glass I have found you have got a concept maybe you've got an understanding that's not your consciousness if you say I have got it as an object then you have not got it because it's not an object even the subtlest thing that you can get is still a subtle thing even the subtlest concept that you can arrive at of the open issue of the obvi self is still a concept it's not assessed and the student remarkable student worthy of the teacher the student says confidently money vide tom i have understood it I've got it and teacher says me mum's humor waiver they analyze it further investigate further are you sure think about your answer before you give me I'm confident I've got it and the teacher you know the glares at him sort of don't seem to get it it's not an object you can get you see if the teacher puts the student in a dilemma if the student says I've got it it's wrong because you cannot get it as an object you cannot understand it as an object if the student says I have not got it please stupid you flunk the course in the teacher and there's no option of keeping silent at least the teacher can keep silence in the silence is the highest expects position of the Earthmen silence is profound silence is cruel but if your student you can't afford to keep silent this teacher is asking a question you have to reply now what does the student - if he says yes I've got it it's clearly wrong no I have not got it you flaunt it keep silent we flunked it again because I expect an answer and the students is yes I have got it and the teacher says explain you can't be that stupid and the student says nah money I surveyed 18 own of a dative a Thatcher yonas thug Bay that'd be the known of a dative a the char here is more of that language very interesting if I translate directly I do not say that I have known it it is not that I do not know it I know it those amongst us he points to the other students those amongst us who have understood my statement that I do not know it yet I it's not that I do not know it they they know it I'll repeat it now money away did I do not say that I've known it yet no no they either not that I do not know it whether I know it and then he finds to all the other students you're a stud beta that beta they amongst us who are sitting here those who have understood my statement that I know it I I do not say that I know it and yet it is not that I do not know it they know it and repeat that amongst those who are sitting here those who have understood this statement that I do not say that I know it and yet I do not say that I do not know it I know it they are know it they know it and the teacher is so happy he understood the student is what these precisely put it precisely he just rephrase the teachers own teaching what was the teachers teaching it is other than the known it's other than the unknown exactly what is what it's the student says and he rephrases it in his own language so that he shows the teacher have got it now most many of you look puzzled and I'm sure thousands of years back many of the other students looked puzzled what's he talking about the teachers first the teacher speaks speaks in riddles and now the students that he's got the same contagion he's speaking in riddles too now the teacher explains to the all the students yah Madame Tessier madam madam just you Nevada sir are we got'em be Jonathan big yatama be Jonathan beautiful completely paradoxical language he is explaining the teacher says look I'll explain it to you those who think they know it as an object they know it not those who know that it cannot be known as an object they know it a rig can't imagine a thumb it is unknown to those who have known it it is known to those of not known it and yet I can see many of you get it there's pure consciousness which is not an object which is you in fact the non objective view one teacher puts it so precisely I can't put it more precisely not this you not this awareness look at the awareness that you are and from that awareness eliminate that means ignore set aside mentally everything that you can qualify as this this body set aside this breath set aside this mind this problem this happiness this desire this good and this bad and this guilt and this set aside because it's an object even the intellect with which you are trying to understand this this intellect this understanding set aside for the moment nothing Swami that nothingness certified what remains not this awareness from awareness eliminate this in your understanding eliminate to this you will come to that you come to that you and you will say with the teacher it is unknown to those who claim they know it it is known to those who claim it cannot be known a began to be Jonathan then the next statement is even more grand / Tebow's editor madam mom Rita - mhmm in dirty those who know it Brahmin aspen the pure consciousness when in every experience of life in every experience of life they attain immortality in every experience of life can consciousness be appreciated when you are seeing yes it is that awareness which through the mind and the eyes and the object gives me the experience of seeing can pure consciousness be appreciated in hearing yes it is that awareness which with the mind and the ears and sound gives me to express the feeling of hearing can I experience pure consciousness in in pain yes it is that awareness which with the mind and the body and the nerves interprets or experiences pain it illumines pain is it itself ever in pain no never prety both have editor madam in every experience when you realize yourself as pure consciousness making that experience possible illumining that experience then you are immortal unreadable even the day then you get immortality yet immortality means you realize yourself as that immortal pure consciousness we can go on there's so much to it little cryptic statements very powerful but let me throw it out for questions let me dwell in it for next few minutes don't have philosophical questions ask ask a direct question regarding this pure consciousness right now you're from your lived experience yes the gentleman there I'll come to you later speak into the microphone if you glimpse immortality as you're describing it can one forget it no one cannot you see it's like I'll give you some simple example what's your name vert on what on so that your name is Martin you don't generally forget it if you act in a play as say Macbeth then for the time being you're acting as magnate but you know I'm an actor called water that knowledge you don't have to remember I must keep on remembering I am water Lambert and otherwise I might forget no you don't you throw yourself 100% into the acting and when you come out you're still the same person water that knowledge is not lost now that's an example you might say it's lost in deep sleep for example you don't think about it when the mind does not function but no it's not lost the claim is once you understand yourself as pure consciousness once you know that it's continuously available to you it's like sitting in light sometimes you may look at the light sometimes you may not but you can never escape from the light because everything that you experience is experienced in that light once you understand the light of your consciousness you will see every experience in life speaks to you about that how can you forget it how can you forget it if it is one thing among many then you can forget it the whole problem in religion is keeping your mind on God everybody is so difficult my mind is full of so many other things I can't keep my mind on God because we take God as one thing among a thousand other things so the mind naturally dwells among thousand things but if I say seeing what here reminds you of your eyes careful question seeing what here reminds you of your eyes so seeing anything because seeing itself reminds me of my eyes now you might say now I have to look at the mirror to see my eyes not necessary the very fact that you can see me you can see this room you can see the person next to you it not only shows you these people and these objects it also reveals to you that you have eyes which are functioning the very act of seeing reveals to you that you have eyes though you are not directly seeing your eyes in the same way every conscious experience reminds you points you back to the pure consciousness you are once you get it why you are asking this question is because right now you feel I have got it and next tendency will be now I have good on to it then the feeling will be I might forget it I'll probably forget forget it by the time arm out of the door that's because it's something in the mind it's a concept that you're beginning to understand and that's good but that's not yet enlightenment enlightenment is at separation I am that which is illumining the understanding of your consciousness in the mind that understanding of pure consciousness is not pure consciousness if I do not understand it I am still the pure consciousness revealing the not understanding intellect if I my intellect gets it I am still the pure consciousness which is illumining the intellect that gets it it will be permanent irreversible you can never go back again you can never forget it even to try okay question there was a question like here I'll come to you yes please speak into the microphone something occurred to me when you were speaking that hadn't occurred to me before and it was a way to distinguish I know I'm going to make this into a question it was a way to distinguish consciousness from hearing seeing and that is not to think of it as a thing where a function or an object but to think of it as a relationship and then when you think a little further you can think of consciousness as a relationship to Brahman consciousness the way you're thinking as a relationship that's a function of the mind a relationship always takes two terms if you remove the terms father and son with one term you cannot you cannot just have a father without a child you cannot have a son without a father and if you remove the two terms the relationship has come right right if consciousness is a way of relating to the world suppose you remove the world then consciousness will be gone awesome but then you wouldn't wonder about it no but when you come back then you would say that okay we have an example like deep sleep no world look at it from your point of view no word not even the conception of yourself as a person sleeping follow this carefully right and so you will say then there is no need of relationship there is no need of consciousness relationship the two terms are not there world is not experienced I as a person I'm not experienced and that's deep sleep but here's the question did you experience if sleep was there an experience of deep sleep it's a subtle question think about it do you experience waking not confident there should be a resounding yes of course we are experiencing making do we experience dreams surely we have experiences of dreams and after that there is a stage of deep sleep no dream dreamless sleep and this is proved beyond any doubt because even physically there is a science and medicine accepts psychology accepts non REM sleep non-rapid eye movement sleep which is said to be deep sleep so there is something called deep sleep now the question is do you experience deep sleep some would say no there's no experience in DT if there was not if there was not then you know what would happen when you wake up you would say I was awake I fell asleep and dreamt now I am awake again but you don't say that he said I was awake I had dreams and there were periods without dreams you see I slept like a log I did not know anything he did not say I was disturbed by dreams or I had a nightmare no I slept like a log I did not know anything is that an experience yes why do we think it's not an exam times you might think that's not an experience why do we think it I've come to you why do you think that is not an experience because again the tenth man problem all the time we think and experience is an experience of an object of a thing that's what is experience I am experiencing a person a thing a place something then it's an experience if there is nothing then how can it be an extreme that's what we are thinking but deep sleep is not an absence of experience it's an experience of accents if you remove everything from all the contents from your consciousness that does not mean you remove the consciousness itself so the consciousness just humans the blank stage of life that's deep sleep if you admit there is an experience in deep sleep without objects without even a conscious subject to experience it then you are admitting there is consciousness without terms then Dec that consciousness cannot be a relationship what is it a relationship between so consciousness is not understood in Vedanta as a relationship consciousness is understood as the reality itself but there is another question there the back yes I'll come to you the back there I please speak into that yes so consciousness being that which illumines yes then would that be the only true way of examining our life here are the way we function the way we think true way in this way is take your stand on that what advaitha says is shift the reference of the I Who am I right now as I am this Advaita Sage this is the source of your problem first of all it's false you are not this shift it to the consciousness that I am consciousness experiencing this this body mind let it be as much of an object as this class that's the true standpoint that solves your problems at that standpoint you have no more problems anymore so no need to examine at that point examine what your your actions your thoughts your you know the way we function here after that you can examine and you'll be examining from a more truer perspective here you see after that the real major problem of life is solved there at that point but the game of life still goes on right you still have the body you still have a world out there you still have to park your car you still have to pay your mortgages all those things are there but then instead of becoming a terrible struggle of strife of dwindling success and mounting failure of a losing battle as long as we identify ourselves with this body it's a losing battle against the universe because this body is going to get old and deteriorate and die no matter how gluten-free you are [Laughter] there is no solution in this world as long as you are rooted in the body there is no safety here as long as you are rooted in the mind let the body be there let the mind and intellect be there let the life video as it is you take your stand as pure consciousness you see you have no problem and you can play the game of life as long as it goes on with great joy and freedom and then you know and then fun then it becomes Hollywood for you it's a movie you are the screen on which the movie of life plays you know it's not a poetic way of saying it in Advaita Vedanta it's a literal truth isn't consciousness the screen on which life is experienced right now without any way dance or anything isn't it in your awareness that you experience life a greater truism cannot be there than that we don't to just tell you that stay with the awareness don't slip out into body and mind the body and mind do I do their thing there was a question there somewhere yes at the back at the back all right we can see ya mr. Swami my name is Keira my question is like I I know that I am consciousness but should I have to intellectually keep on telling that like I have to associate my ego to consciousness always I mean I to consciousness always I are yes because not because you did actually have to do it it's because every time the I associate itself with body mind then the correction has to be done that's the sadhana in fact in Vedanta that's coordinated the asana every time I act I think I speak as if I am this thing then the correction has to be done within me look you have understood your awareness why don't you live up to that why don't you claim that every problem you examine in this light you will see the problem solves it disappears problem is not solved it's dissolved we would you want to follow up on that zero I always associate my eyeness to that consciousness yes you do it for once in fact the word I use pretty both have a determiner which is a beautiful commentary that in their times which it says it's a knowledge that flashes once forever once it's done if you if you have to keep on practicing it's like an intellectual way of convincing yourself it's a good practice but it's not yet enlightenment enlightenment comes in a flash once and you cannot drive it away again but for that this practice you're telling is a good practice thank you yeah it's a powerful practice the question there yeah so AG my name is Shawn yes and so we come to this class and we spend in a good one hour to really understand well not really say that I wouldn't really understand I have that understanding of the concept right and then once you go we have the material duties to perform each day we get into that day-to-day sufferings and make it precise a question yes sufferings right how do we make sure that we remember the realization of the consciousness even we do the material duties on each day there can be many answers to this it's like in dualism you are how do I keep my mind on God in the midst of life but here the answer is much more direct and very fascinating you know what you're asking you are asking I know I see everything with my eyes when they see so many things how do I remember my eyes what should be the answer the instinct is to say without the mirror and look at your eyes no that's not the Advaita cancer what's the treaty cancer can you tell me how does seeing something remind me of my eyes because you're seeing do you see now see now the very fact that you see you know what it tells me two things it's a glass and the second thing is my eyes are seeing this class that I have got eyes otherwise I can't see the glass in our unenlightened state if you show this you say what is this glass the enlightened person says glass appearing to my eyes I'm not talking about eyes or glass I'm talking about pure consciousness and your life every duty that you perform whether you are driving a car teaching students buying something at a shop getting angry losing your temper then feeling guilty about it all of that points back to the pure consciousness completely untouched and pristine and immortal which you are question let's come here okay the other gentleman who is believing is anything then we come here is the last one yeah so maybe my question is you said or at least I thought you said that consciousness is immortal it doesn't die with you okay now intellectually it absolutes of a better word how do i you know rationalize that or do I have to take that on faith that consciousness is immortal and doesn't die with me right okay when I can give you a number of answers but two things I'll tell you one on this side first one thing is did you notice all changes are objects of consciousness every change that you experience is experienced in consciousness think about changes this room your body your life your all of them are lit up by you the consciousness consciousness itself never changes not on paper think about it deeply you'll see that consciousness itself cannot change it is that which a you means change it is that which you reveals change if it cannot change how can it die okay this is one thing the second thing is a more direct answer is don't bother about it if you is by centering yourself into your consciousness all your problems are solved now and forever don't bother about the future death of the body think about it you know it goes so deep the rabbit-hole runs very deep life and death are the life and death of the consciousness or our life and death revealed in consciousness clearly there is birthed and life and death of the body clearly everybody sees that but birthed and life and death of the consciousness as any animal experienced is know birthed and life and death are revealed by consciousness time past present and future is consciousness in time or in time in consciousness without the wilted time is in consciousness space is consciousness a point in space on his face in consciousness space is in consciousness somebody asked in Abaddon's a teacher in the Himalayas Swami you are telling us that I am all-pervading but no I am here I'm not there how can I be all-pervading I'm here I'm not there you get the question now listen to the answer carefully even the any one of these answers in often legend a person I'm here I'm not there how can I be all-pervading and the answer was here and there are they not to in your consciousness the whole experience of here and there of space is it not in consciousness in fact when we take convenience a consciousness is all-pervading it's a concession to space by taking space to be real visa consciousness is all-pervading actually even that is not true when we say consciousness is eternal non dying that's a concession to time past present and future actually even that is not true because we say that otherwise the reaction will be also consciousness is not eternal no no we are not saying that eternal not eternal do not apply to consciousness because there are time words that tensed words tasks present in future consciousness is everything you're making a concession to things only when you accept all things when you say ok consciousness pervades everything but everything is in consciousness consciousness is not in everything yes all pervading eternal non dual these are also relative terms ultimately conscious in in itself you cannot say anything about it at the teachers in beyond words last question pronounced for me my name is Cornelius and I heard you speak about the availability of liberation right now yes and what I wanted to ask is kind of piggybacking on some of the other questions twofold actually first question is what is that one thing that shrouds this consciousness or this conscious reality for me right now and secondly how do we transmute a familiar unknowing into a X experience or one I guess all right let me change your idea about liberation the idea we have always been taught about liberation in Vedanta is that I am not yet liberated I am a person in search of liberation the Hindus and Buddhists and Jains Indian religion see as as a cycle of birth and death I am undergoing birds and and suffering until I get liberated when I shall finally see okay I am liberated no more is birth and death for me and this infinite consciousness and all that is past behind me that's the way Hinduism Buddhism Jainism all the dharmic traditions in India they see it the cycle now I'll tell you something shocking it's wrong when you get enlightened you will say you will not say oh I was in a cycle of birth and death now I am liberated from it now I shall not have any more burden that I will remain as pure consciousness no what you will see is I always was pure consciousness and liberated I am pure consciousness and liberated I always will remain as pure consciousness liberated that entire so-called cycle of birth and death was a phantasm a nightmare it never was of it is a fiction it never was a reality the reality was I was always liberated in the negative language when the man took you open he should go to father puts it there is no one who is liberated so we're all in bondage there is nobody who is in bondage so we are all seeking there's nobody who's seeking what do you mean this is the final truth I am literally translating Godfather statics so this is the concept of liberation the ultimate but if you say it at first it doesn't make sense first thing the immediate reaction would be okay we can stop coming together onto society I have rather Christian put it this with it this is too much we face it you are selling an unreal solution to an unreal problem there is this person you know there are this so-called snake oil salesman earlier would say this is leaky or all your diseases so the judge sentenced a person like that's real case in the 18th century in America turn a quack to jail and the sentence the charge was this is charged with his found guilty of of selling real remedies to Unreal L ailments and unreal limited to real ailments so it will sound crazy if you say put it that way but that's actually what happens you see from the point of view of pure awareness that's the state which has always been there what shouts what takes you across in one word and then with this ignorant shouts it nothing shouts it except ignorance what takes you across nothing except knowledge just to know it but behind that is the whole story of entire story of spiritual life it sounds direct and pretty easy in one sense it is in other sense not at all I pray to sri ramakrishna to the holy mother to bless us all with this insight so that we may find blessedness in this very life itself om Shanti Shanti Shanti he re Huw that's at Sri Ramakrishna retorno Moscow you

Channel: Vedanta Society of Southern California

Views: 119,722

Keywords: vedanta, advaita, Swami Sarvapriyananda, Wisdom of the Upanishads, Vedanta Society of Southern California, Hollywood Temple

Id: gOerwGOJBWA

Length: 81min 26sec (4886 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 02 2017