Newsletter January 27, 2010

Past Events

Synopsis of last week's classes

Friday, Jan. 22 - Bhagavad Gita - Ch. 5 (Verses 15-17)
Bhagavad Gita gives us a way to escape the cycle of birth and death by bringing us knowledge of non-dual existence that is our true nature. Many of us have an image of a God who sits in judgment, and we act morally because we fear punishment from Him. We should give up this idea! God is all-pervading and our innermost Self too! This Knowledge destroys all ignorance and the effects of ignorance vanish too. It is like one sees the rope, the illusion of snake vanishes and with that the fear of the snake too. We must let the thought of God occupy our mind at all times. Only God is real; why waste time thinking of what is not real? Occupying our minds with thoughts of God will not make us distracted or unable to work. On the contrary, by turning our thoughts to God we will be much more efficient at our work because we will be able to separate what is essential from what is nonessential. God is the essential thing in life, since all
existence is dependent on Him. The 17th verse shows how the various aspects of our personality are to be trained so that we can see/experience the Truth. It is a beautiful and concise description of the four aspects of Yoga: Yoga of knowledge, of devotion, of concentration and of action. A couple of beautiful questions were asked at the end and were satisfactorily replied.

Sunday, Jan. 24 - Becoming Part of the Solution - Swami yogatmananda

Positive attitude is the key to success. When a person sees obstacles as an opportunity to grow, solution starts emerging and s/he is sure to reach success. On the contrary, if a person wastes energy on blaming the situation/people or brooding over the difficulties, then instead of becoming part of the solution, s/he becomes part of the problem and paves one's way
to failure. Inspiring life stories of people like Helen Keller, George Washington Carver are shining examples of converting extreme adversities into opportunities. Swami Vivekananda never approved the idea of condemnation. In his lecture 'Open Secret' he says - "Whenever darkness comes, assert the reality and everything adverse must vanish. For, after all, it is but a dream.... Be not afraid. Think not how many times you fail. ...Go forward: assert yourself again and again, and light must come." In another lecture 'Work and Its Secret', he says, "Let us give up our pride and understand that there never has been a blow undeserved.....Be determined not to curse anything outside, ...but be a man, stand up, lay the blame on
yourself. You will find, that is always true. ...."

Quest for the ultimate Truth and freedom cannot be given up for it is ingrained in the human constitution. Some philosophers like Immanuel Kant concluded that it is impossible to know the Reality as whatever we know is x+ mind. And as we cannot transcend the mind, x can never be known. However, all noble things in life, like ethics, morality, etc. will vanish if that search for ultimate freedom is given up. Great sages of the Upanishads did not give up the search just because the instruments of senses and mind could not do it. Through meditation, they went beyond the sense organs and mind and attained the ultimate freedom. That is becoming part of the solution. Kathopanisad says that a patient and intelligent person sees through the defects (of the sense perceptions) and turns his/her search within. The ultimate truth shines forth in deep meditation.
In Holy Mother's life, we see how this positive attitude is being implemented even at the mundane level. Her life is a lesson being part of the solution at every level : from most mundane to the ultimate spiritual.

Tuesday, Jan 26 - Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

What is the central theme in the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna? One way to find it is to see what is repeatedly told by him. And that is: God realization is the one and only goal in life. The other objectives in life such as seeking sense pleasure, name and fame, etc. are mere appearances, similar to a mirage. There's no water or real substance there, for these things are fleeting. It is clinging to the unchanging, permanent that gives true happiness. Sri Ramakrishna always taught that lust and greed were obstacles on the path. Girish asked the Master how to rid oneself of these drawbacks and the reply was: "Pray to God with a yearning heart. Pray to Him for discrimination." Eventually one comes to know that God alone is real and all else is
illusory. We are locked in bondage of lust and greed as it were and get so attached to these chains that we are afraid of losing them! It takes courage to tread the road of vidya, which is trying to get released from those shackles; it's a process. First people pray to God for things of this world. Then they seek God. The next step is to be ready to pay the price of God-realization. Giving up what is unreal is the price and the ultimate goal of actually having the experience of the Supreme can come only after paying the price.
Q: One will always be in contact with objects and sense them as pleasant or unpleasant. That will create the bondage too. How can that be avoided.
A: 'Sensing' the qualities like hot or cold, sweet or sour must be there but there should be no desiring of pleasure out of them.
Q: There are many happenings which stir lot of emotions - like the earthquake in Haiti; how can the equanimity be maintained?
A: One must certainly feel for others; but getting emotionally disturbed does not help the others; it rather compounds the problems. This must be emphasized on the mind.

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