Excerpts from Swami Krishnananda on Yajnavalkya Maitreyi Samvada

 

The love that you feel in respect of an object is in fact the love that you feel towards that which is called perfection and completeness. It is not really a love for the object. You have thoroughly misunderstood the whole point, even when you are clinging to a particular object as if it is the source of satisfaction. The mind does not want an object; it wants completeness of being. That is what it is searching for. Thus, when there is a promise of the fulfilment that it seeks, through the perception of an object that appears to be its counterpart, there is a sudden feeling that fullness is going to come, and there is a satisfaction even on the perception of that object; and there is an apparent satisfaction, just by the imagined possession of it together with the yearning for actual possession. So, what is it that you are asking for? You are not asking for any object or thing; you are asking for a condition of completeness in your being. "So, my dear friend," says Yājñavalkya, "nobody is dear. No object can be regarded as lovable or desirable. It is something else that you love and are asking for, but by a notion that is completely misconstrued, you believe that the object is loved."

So, what you love is a completeness of being which is reflected in the condition felt to exist between yourself and the object concerned. You must mark this point. What you love is only the condition that you imagine to be present in the state of the possession of the object. But that state can never be reached, for the reason already mentioned. So, nothing is dear in this world. What is dear is the condition which you intend to create, or project in your own being by an imagined contact with the object. So, not one person is dear in this world, but what is dear is that condition which is imagined to be present after the possession of that object or that relationship.

Now, what are these objects? Every blessed thing. Yājñavalkya goes on with his exposition to Maitreyī: Neither the husband is dear to the wife, nor the wife is dear to the husband. What is dear is a condition which they try to bring about in their mind by that relation. That condition is always missed, and so the happiness expected never comes.

After enumerating many things that are usually conceived as dear and desirable in this world, but which are actually not the source of real satisfaction to a person, Yājñavalkya says, nothing external can give you happiness, because it is not the thing alone that is the source of happiness but something else which is always missing due to a confusion of thought – na vā are sarvasya kāmāya sarvam priyam bhavati, ātmanas tu kāmāya sarvam priyam bhavati: For the desire of the Infinite, which is the Self, everything appears to be desirable. Here, the word ātman is to be understood in the sense of the Totality of Being. It is the Selfhood of all beings, a great subject which we have studied in detail in the Fourth Section of the First Chapter. For the sake of this Supreme Absolute, which is the Self of all things, you are unknowingly asking for 'things'. You have missed the point in asking for the things of the world. So it is a wild goose chase from birth to death, nothing coming forth, ultimately. You come to this world crying, and you go crying, because you have missed the whole point in the tremendous effort that you have put forth throughout your life, entirely for nothing – ātmanas tu kāmāya jāyā priyā bhavati.

Ātmā vā are draṣṭavyaḥ śrotavyo mantavyo nididhyāsitavyaḥ: "O, Maitreyī, it is the ātman that is to be beheld; it is the ātman that is to be known; it is the ātman that is to be searched for; it is the ātman which is to be heard about; it is the ātman which is to be thought in the mind; it is the ātman which is to be meditated upon. There is nothing else worthwhile thinking, nothing else worthwhile possessing, because nothing worthwhile exists, other than This."

Maitreyī ātmano vā are darśanena śravaṇena matyā vijñānenedaṁ sarvaṁ viditam: "If you can grasp the significance of what this ātman is, you have known everything; and then, you have possessed everything; you have become all things. There is nothing left to desire afterwards. And if this is not to be achieved, what is going to be your fate? Suppose you do not have this knowledge, everything shall leave you one day or the other. Today this goes, tomorrow that goes; and the history of humanity has told us repeatedly that you cannot lay trust upon anything. You have seen things coming and things going; today it is there, tomorrow it is not there. You cannot know what will happen tomorrow, and what will be the status and state of things at any moment of time. Everything shall desert a person if he is bereft of this knowledge. Because they are not a part of his being, how can they be with him always? That which is not 'you' cannot be possessed by you. That which is not 'you' really, cannot be a property of yours. That which is not 'you' cannot be with you always. Therefore it shall leave you. But why do you cry if anything goes away, and there is bereavement, loss, etc.? It is quite natural to lose them; it is exactly as things ought to be. Things which are outside you do not belong to you; therefore it is no use crying over them. What is the difficulty, what is the problem, and why are you worrying about it? If they become 'you' they cannot leave you, because you cannot be dispossessed of yourself. You are dispossessed of only those things which are not yours. This point, you must understand."

6. brahma tam parādād yo'nyatrātmano brahma veda. kṣatraṁ tam parādād yo'nyatrātmanaḥ  kṣatraṁ veda. lokās tam parādur yo'nyatrātmano lokān veda. devās tam parādur yo'nyatrātmano devān veda. bhūtāni tam parādur yo'nyatrātmano bhūtāni veda. sarvaṁ tam parādād yo'nyatrātmano sarvaṁ veda. idam brahma, idaṁ kṣatram, ime lokāḥ, ime devāḥ, imāmi bhūtāni, idaṁ sarvam, yad ayam ātmā.

Finally the Upaniṣhad says; sarvaṁ tam parādād yo' nyatrātmano sarvaṁ veda: Everything shall leave you if you regard anything as other than you. It is a metaphysical point, a psychological theme, and a practical truth. You cannot forget this. Anything that is outside you cannot belong to you and cannot satisfy you, and it will leave you. So, it shall bring you sorrow. It is a point which is eternally true. All things shall desert you, one day or the other. Even those things which you regard as dearest and nearest, most desirable and valuable, shall desert you and leave you, bringing sorrow, because they do not belong to you.

Yo' nyatrātmano sarvaṁ veda. idam brahma, idaṁ kṣatram, ime lokāḥ, ime devāḥ, imāni bhūtāni, idaṁ sarvam, yad ayam ātmā: "So, Maitreyī," says Yājñavalkya, "It is the ātman that appears as all these things. This is the point that is never grasped by the mind which looks upon objects as independent entities. The ātman is the one Reality that masquerades in various forms and names, but this point is not understood. The mind that is finite, located and lodged in the body, does not understand the fact that finite objects that are outside are only appearances of a single indivisible Reality. So, the finite tries to clings to the finite, not knowing this fact of infinitude that is at the background of these finite forms. If this infinitude that is at the base of these finite forms is to be understood, realised and made part of one's own being, then the realisation accrues." This ātman is all – idaṁ sarvaṁ, yad ayam ātmā.

Excerpted from Yajnavalkya -Maitreyi Dialogue

When will a study of Vedanta make sense?

 

This discrimination that whatever result action gives is limited – is the beginning of spirituality. Usually we seek happiness, security, adequacy through doing some action or the other. However whatever we can gain through action is always limited – limited in time, space and object. Actually what we are seeking is not impermanent happiness or security. We are seeking that which is nitya – that which is permanent – permanent happiness, permanent security. Once we recognize these two facts

1. That what I am seeking is permanent happiness/security

2. That whatever action I do can only give me impermanent happiness/security etc – I can go to the gym and workout – at the end of it lots of happy hormones are released and I feel good – how long will that feel good last?

We are ready to ask the spiritual question – if action cannot give me the permanent happiness/security I am seeking,  what can? Was my very assumption that ‘I am not happiness/ I am not secure’ and ‘I can/must get it from somewhere/something’ be wrong?

When we begin to think like this,  a study of Vedanta makes sense!

Nididhyasana Points

 ‘I am body’ belief responsible for division of experience into internal and external.

‘I am awareness’ understanding makes us see that all experience takes place in division-free awareness.

‘Internal’ thoughts and ‘external’ sounds … both are known in the same space of  division-free awareness.

Our attention whether on an external to body object or internal can never leave consciousness/awareness.

In awareness there is no border, no boundary.

Awareness is formless, border-free, boundary-free… always free of the objects that are illumined/revealed in its ever-presence.

Awareness, the essential me, is fullness, empty of all objects, free of all limits.

All experience appears in Awareness, and I am that Awareness.

I am awareness of the nature of fullness, empty of all experiences appearing in me.

I, awareness, of the nature of fullness, empty of all experiences appearing in me, am untouched by all experiences that are illumined in my presence.

I am awareness, of the nature of fullness, that is ever pure, that does not need to be purified, emptied, or expanded. Antahkarana needs to be purified, freed of clutter of unnecessary thinking, expanded, relatively so as to understand this.

All factors of all experiences, arises in awareness, totally pervaded by Awareness – they are temporary manifestations or appearances in awareness/consciousness of consciousness itself. ( यतो वा इमानि भूतानि जायन्ते येन जातानि जीवन्ति यत्प्रयन्त्यभिसंविशन्ति तद्विजिज्ञासस्व तद्ब्रह्मेति (तै.उ.३-४) All beings here are indeed, born from this infinite consciousness, having been born, they remain in infinite consciousness, and on departing, they enter into infinite consciousness.)

Awareness NEVER actually changes to become any factor of experience. It only appears to do so. Every factor of every experience, the experiencer, the experience, the experienced object is a totally dependent reality (mithya) while the awareness/consciousness of which they are made is satyam the independent reality. … even as wave is a dependent reality on water the independent  reality.

No factor of any experience or the experience itself is able to divide consciousness awareness, because the whole experience is nothing but consciousness itself … just as all waves are nothing but water.

Awareness/consciousness that one essentially is the Divinity, Ishvara, the background screen as it were, in which all experiences temporarily appear and disappear, from which all experiences borrow their seeming existence. There is nothing else here except Ishvara.

In absoluter reality, there is no plurality whatsoever. From the standpoint of consciousness, there is nothing else here other than consciousness. Ekam eva advitiyam. Plurality appears real only in ignorance of the reality of absolute non-duality.

All experiences are nondual consciousness alone. We in ignorance, interpret experiences to be plural.

Om Tat Sat

 

Discriminating the I-thought and the Real I

 

We all have a concept of ourself which is encapsulated in the I-thought. The I-thought, for the sake of our Vedantic analysis here can be looked at, as of 3 types.

1.     The I-thought which is associated with the past time, place and thus containing the qualities of the past. It is the remembered I-thought or ahankara and it has qualties associated with the past like “I was young and energetic’ or in case of childhood trauma, “I was helpless”, “I was a victim”.

2.     The I-thought which is the present experienced ahankara, which is associated with the present time and place and thus having qualites of the present..

3.     The I-thought which has in it the sense of being the same I which in the past, which is the same I which is now in the present. This I-thought we can call as the familiar or known I.

Now in this familiar ‘I’, the past remembered I is being equated to the present experienced I. Can you see the error taking place? How can one equate the past remebered ‘I’ or ahankara with the present experienced I or ahankara? One cannot because there is the difference of time, place and qualties between the two. Yet we cannot deny the sense of being the same I.

To arrive at what is that same I between the two, what is  common between the two, the differences or contradictory features between the two must be let go off (in Vedantic language, apply bhaga-tyaga lakshana ), retaining in our understanding the only common factor, which is the witness of both the past ahankara and the present ahankara, who is the witness-consciousness who we call as SAKSHI CHAITANYAM.

The witness-consciousness is not a part, product or property of the ahankara or any thought or the mind-body complex. It is an independent principle that pervades every thought, illuminating, enlivening them and yet is not limited in any way by the nature of any thought. Consciousness is the adhishthanam, the source  of all thoughts, that is always present, even when thoughts are not there. This witness consciousness is the real I, atma, the Self, the illuminator of every thought and the sarva-sakshi, the witness of everything in the universe.

Om Tat Sat

 

Online Satsang With Pujya Swami Viditatmanandaji

 A small group in Dehradun studied Upadesha Saram as taught by Pujya Swami Viditatmanandaji through his Youtube videos.

Pujya Swamiji has kindly consented to bless us all with an online satsang in which this group can ask him their doubts. Pujya Swamiji will also bless us with a summary of Upadesha Saram.

If you are interested in attending me send me an email at tattvavidya@gmail.com.

The Body Is Scared, The Body Is A Temple

 "Upasana helps one to grow spiritually and it also helps to understand that everything is Isvarah, the infinite intelligent cause of the whole universe.

Resolving the individual into the total one will see there is no more individual, this ultimately becomes jñanam and culminates in the final knowledge which is “I am Isvara” but until I totally understand the equation “tat tvam asi” That thou art, I need to gain a certain relaxation and nourishment through prayer. Repeated chanting and understanding this prayer will give this priceless nourishment." Swami Vagishananda

Transcription is below  - please excuse some typos which may be there

Sit comfortably, yet alert. So let your trunk and neck be aligned, close your eyes gently and take a deep breath to get settled down…….. ……… ……….

Now make a sankalpa to affirm your intention and commitment to meditate. Acknowledge the fact that you have many unfulfilled responsibilities and issues that need to be addressed. Since you don't want to be distracted by those things during this meditation, you can give yourself permission to set all those concerns aside just for the duration of this meditation. You can even imagine a box into which you put all your concerns, close the box and place it at your altar or anywhere else…. You can open the box and address your concerns after this meditation……….

With progressive relaxation we relax the body.

Let’s start by turning your attention to your feet. Become aware of sensations there. Notice a sense of pressure as your feet press down….. …….

Now become aware of any tension that might be held in the muscles of your feet and let go of that tension……. Allow those muscles to relax completely…….If you find it difficult to release the tension, just imagine you are breathing into them…. And they will relax….. ……

Next, turn your attention to your ankles and calves. Notice if there is a sensation  of pressure…. Notice  the touch of your clothing …. Any  warmth or coolness……Become aware of any tension held in the muscles of your ankles and calves and let go of that tension completely…… ……

Next, turn to your knees and thighs…….Notice the weight of your hands or arms where they rest on your thighs…… Notice any other sensations. ……Become aware of any tension held in your knees and thighs and let go of that tension completely…..

Next, turn to the trunk of your body. Feel the weight of your body pressing down on the seat…….Feel the firmness of the seat beneath you……. Let go of any tension……..

Next, turn to your lower back and stomach together…….. become aware of the sensations there……… Let go of any tension. If you find it difficult to let go of the tension, simply breathe into it gently….. imagine you are breathing into that tension very gently………

Now turn to your upper back and chest together……….

Become aware of sensations and let go of any tensions that are there…. ……

Become aware your neck muscles and shoulders. We tend to hold a lot of tension here. Become aware of any tension here …. let go of it completely …. If you find it difficult, breathe into it gently…….

Be aware of your arms …. Let go of any tensions you may be feeling there……

Now become aware of your face, the muscles around your eyes, at your temples and across your forehead. …..Let go of any tension.

Now become aware of your breath … just be aware … we are not regulating it. Relax and simply listen to these words, without concentrating …. Just allow the meaning of the words to take place.

………………………….

This body-mind-sense complex that you are endowed with, is a manifestation of Ishvara’s Grace …. It is sacred …. It is the home of Ishvara … it is a devalaya.

Dehah devaalayam proktah : deha is the body devalayam - is an abode of deva – who is deva – the Infinite Lord. The body, all bodies are the temple of the infinite Lord. The body is looked upon as a temple of the infinite Lord.

……………. ………. …………. Take a deep breath and let it out very slowly…..

Jiva Deva SanatanaH  …. Since time immemorial Ishwara  dwells in this temple, that we call the body…..

In this meditation…. we try to understand this truth……

…….. …….. ……… ………

Our shastra has this vision that Ishvara being the creator of this universe as well as the created universe, every part of my body is sacred because it is pervaded by Ishvara….. so a devata is associated with each and every part of the body. It is only because of ignorance that we are not alive to this reality. So we now consciously invoke their Grace by remembering them.. ….A devata is a manifestation of Ishwara, governing a specific function in the universe. In the Laghu Nyasa of Vedic Chant, the Rudram, reveals the devatas governing different aspects of this body.  

……..

I will be saying a few chants from this portion of the  Rudram, which points out the different devatas…. associated with the different parts…. of the body.

Through these chants we invoke the Grace of the devatas and  allow ourselves to recognize how sacred and blessed this body is.

……..

प्रजनने ब्रह्मा तिष्ठतु । Prajanan -In the genital organs from where all creation begins -   may the Grace of Brahma, be invoked. I see my genital organs as sacred because the grace of Brahma is here…… Unto Brahma my Salutations

पादयो-र्विष्णुस्तिष्ठतु । In my feet -  may the grace of Vishnu be invoked.  My feet are sacred. The grace of Vishnu is ever-present here…… Unto Vishnu my salutations……

हस्तयो-र्​हरस्तिष्ठतु । In my hands and all that I do with my hands … may the grace of Hara be invoked. Hara is a form of Lord Shiva….. Unto Hara my salutations….

I see that the intelligence that pervades these parts of my body is the intelligence of all the devatas, the cosmic intelligence that pervades the Universe warp and woof, like the threads that make up a fabric.

बाह्वोरिन्द्रस्तिष्टतु । In my arms, in the strength,…. the power they are capable of…. May the Grace of Indra be invoked … It is by Indra’s grace that these arms are endowed with their capacity, their strength and power. …. Unto Indra my salutations.   

जठरेऽअग्निस्तिष्ठतु । In the jaathara agini, the digestive fire that is present in the stomach …may  the Grace of Agni be invoked. And because of the grace of Agni,  this body functions. The body gets hungry and gets nourished because of the food that's digested  in the stomach by Agni’s heat. I allow myself to see this grace operating….. Unto Agni my salutations.  

हृद॑ये शिवस्तिष्ठतु । In my heart the Grace of Shiva abides…. I invoke that Grace by my remembering….    Shiva is in my heart … ever present as the sense of  ‘I am’…. Shiva means  all auspiciousness, all blessing…. and it is that all-auspiciousness, all-blessing that is ever-present in my heart…. When I can see that, it  allows me to  accept life and flow with it ……. Unto Shiva my salutations……

…….

कण्ठे वसवस्तिष्ठन्तु । May the Grace of eight vasus or devatas of nature  be invoke  in my throat  … because of their Grace, I can swallow, speak, sing….express myself. … Unto the Vasus, my salutations.

वक्त्रे सरस्वती तिष्ठतु । May the Grace of Saraswati, the Goddess of speech, of knowledge reside on my tongue…. With her Grace I express myself appropriately, I  receive knowledge ….I allow myself to see this…… Unto Saraswati my salutations……

नासिकयो-र्वायुस्तिष्ठतु । In my nostrils, may  the Grace of Vayu be invoked…. Whose Grace  allows the air to be inhaled and exhaled. And in this simple process with inhalation I am energized and with exhalation I relax…. Because of the Grace of Vayu, life flows in me….. Unto Vayu my salutations. …..

नयनयो-श्चन्द्रादित्यौ तिष्टेताम् । In my eyes may the  Grace of the sun and the moon be invoked. They are the luminaries that bless us with Light. It  is because of the light that I see. I see this Grace operating. …. Unto Chandra and Aditya   my salutations…..

कर्णयोरश्विनौ तिष्टेताम्  May the Grace of the twin Ashwini Kumars be invoked in my ears – it is because of their Grace that these ears are blessed with the capacity to listen, to hear, to absorb, to understand. The twin Ashwini Kumars are the Vedic Gods symbolizing the rising and setting sun. They are associated with bringing treasures and medicines to man. I see their Grace because of which I am able to listen. ……Unto the Ashwini Kumaras my salutations……

ललाटे रुद्रास्तिष्ठन्तु । In my fore-head may  the presence of the many Rudras, their Grace be invoked….. Unto the Rudras my salutations …..

मूर्थ्न्यादित्यास्तिष्ठन्तु । In the back of  my forehead, may  the blessings of the 12 Aditiyas, the solar deities, be invoked. May they bless me. Unto the Adityas my salutations……

शिरसि महादेवस्तिष्ठतु । In my head the Grace of  Mahadeva be invoked…. Om Mahadevaya namah…..

शिखायां-वाँमदेवास्तिष्ठतु । In the back of my head, the portion where the Shikha is, may i the presence of Vamadeva be invoked…. Om Vaamadevaaya Namah….

पृष्ठे पिनाकी तिष्ठतु । my entire back… is presided… by Pinaki.. referring to Shiva holding his bow….. He holds power, He holds and wills maya saktih . Unto Pinaki my salutations……

पुरतः शूली तिष्ठतु । The entire front is presided by Shuli,  who is Lord Shiva bearing the Trishula…. Unto Shuli my salutations……

पार्​श्वयोः शिवाशङ्करौ तिष्ठेताम् ।  My left side, my right side are presided over by Shiva and Shankara. Unto Shiva and Shankara my Salutations……..

सर्वतो वायुस्तिष्ठतु । May the Grace of all-pervading Vayu be invoked in every cell of the body and outside the body. May I see His all-pervading Grace at all times. Unto Vayu my Salutations …….

ततो बहिः सर्वतोऽग्नि-र्ज्वालामाला-परिवृतस्तिष्ठतु । When I recognize how Ishvara pervades both the outside and this entire body-mind-complex,  it is like Ishvara as the fire of knowledge pervading the entire creation in endless sacred circles of fire

……

सर्वेष्वङ्गेषु सर्वा देवता यथास्थानं तिष्ठन्तु । May all the devatas abide in  their respective parts … so that I am alive to their Grace in all my angas, in each and  every part of my body.

माम् रक्षन्तु । May all the devatas protect me …. By gracing me with the capacity to recognize them and not take them for granted. ….. Unto all the Devatas my salutations…..

सर्वान् महान् जनान् रक्शन्तु  may all the people mahan janaan the protectors of Dharma may they all be protected,  to do fulfil their role in this great cosmic offering.

……

In this vision my body mind sense complex is scared. I can accept this body-mind as it is…... This body is a Devalaya,…. it is a temple presided over by all the devatas, filled with their Grace, pervaded with their blessings……I can invoke their grace by choosing dharma in what I do……

With Shiva, all auspiciousness, ever-present in my heart, this body is an ever-flowing manifestation of grace,  of auspiciousness ….. ….. …… May I be alive to this reality. May this body be a temple for me…. In whom all auspiciousness resides… because Shiva is in my heart…... When this vision is there, there is auspiciousness.

I try and see this vision again and again…. The very fact that I try is also nothing but Ishvara’s Grace. …..

I see clearly that it is Ishvara’s intelligence, the cosmic intelligence because of which this body-mind-sense complex functions…. …… ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. …… ….. …… …… …… ….. …… …….

Ishvara is in my heart and the body is a temple. … it is sacred ….. it is all Ishvara …..I see this…. …. ….. ….

Om….. Om….. Om…..

Shri Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Ram

Om Shantih Shantih Shantih

Aids to Japa - Swami Tadatmananda

Mantra Japa is generally done silently, although it can be helpful chant aloud. When chanting silently, your mind will naturally be more susceptible to distractions.  There are several ways to minimise this problem. One way is to recite your mantra more rapidly, when your mind begins to wander. By speeding up, your attention will become more intensely focused. After a minute or so, you can return to your normal speed. Another method is to recite the mantra more loudly or forcefully in your mind. This is done by simply imagining the voice in your mind to get louder.  After your attention is again fixed on the mantra, you can return to your normal level.