Yoga Wisdom with Acharya das: Recent Episodes
Acharya das
Become happier, more peaceful and fulfilled through Yoga Wisdom. Gain a new look at life through a more spiritual lens. Acharya Das has taught yoga wisdom to appreciative audiences for over 40 years. He has an uncommonly deep understanding of yoga philosophy and practices, conveying that message in a clear and simple way while encouraging everyone to develop a daily meditation practice.
The time in which we live is described in the Vedas as the “age of chaos, quarrel and confusion.” We experience this in so many competing political ideas/beliefs, social philosophies, value systems, and ideas of morally proper behavior.
There are competing propositions on how to arrange the external components/components of our lives to produce harmony and peace. The common denominator for most of the proposed solutions is a false assumption - the idea that my body IS “ME”, when in fact I am a spiritual being occupying and using this body and mind. My body is not “me” it is “mine”. Therefore, trying to make my body or mind happy is not the same as "me" experiencing happiness.
Temperance (delayed gratification), is a foundation for a happier and more peaceful life, but I also need spiritual nutrition.
In the talk, I mention the need to develop a personal and daily meditation practice. These are the links to learning and practicing mantra meditation and some guided meditations to follow.
https://soundcloud.com/acharyadas/sets/meditations-for-wellbeing
https://acharyadas.com/kirtan-meditation/meditation/
https://acharyadas.com/kirtan-meditation/kirtan/
Some quotes I used.
The last century was “the rise of an idea that has come to dominate our society. It is the belief that satisfaction of individual feelings and desires is our highest priority.” - Adam Curtis, BBC documentarian and writer.
The business model of big social media companies "is to create a society that is addicted, outraged, polarized, performative and disinformed. That's just the fundamentals of how it works." - Tristan Harris, Big Tech critic.
"One who is not connected with the Supreme Soul can have neither transcendental intelligence nor a steady mind, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace?” - Bhagavad-gītā 2.66
A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires -- that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still -- can alone achieve peace, and not the person who strives to satisfy such desires. Bhagavad-gītā 2.70
In this world self-worth to the worth of others is most often equated with physical appearance, net worth, who you know, what you do (your career or occupation) and what you achieve.
These ideas run counter to the spiritual perspective and are considered ignorant in spiritual teachings. When you erroneously conclude that you are your physical body and/or mind, you’ll measure your value based on material considerations, but no material condition is relevant to your true value.
Value that is measured against the physical body or mind is limited and temporary like everything else material. The lack of self-esteem and feelings of worthlessness are caused by ignorance of one’s spiritual identity and a sense of separation from the Supreme Soul.
Our intrinsic value is infinite because we are spiritual in essence, part and parcel of and connected to the Supreme Soul by an eternal bond of kinship. Each of us is an eternal spirit soul, a child of the Supreme Spirit Soul, living only temporarily in a material body.
When you realize you are the eternal spirit soul, part and parcel of the Supreme Spirit Soul, you will know real freedom and value.
Some verses I quoted:
For one who has conquered the mind, the Supreme Soul is already reached, for he has attained tranquillity. To such a person happiness and distress, heat and cold, honor and dishonor are all the same. Bhagavad-gītā 6.7
…. One who is equal toward the desirable and the undesirable; who is steady, situated equally well in praise and blame, honor and dishonor; who treats alike both friend and enemy; and who has renounced all material activities -- such a person is said to have transcended the modes of nature. - Bhagavad-gītā 14.24-25
One who always sees all living entities as spiritual sparks, in quality one with the Supreme Soul, becomes a true knower of things. What, then, can be illusion or anxiety for such a person? - Śrī Īśopaniṣad, Mantra 7
We have all experienced being let down, hurt, and wronged by others in our lives. This can leave us confused, sad, angry, and disappointed.
I can then hold resentment and anger because of past transgressions of "others" against "me", but by doing that I then become “enslaved” by that and constantly live in the shadow of my offender.
If you want to heal relationships, release emotional burdens, and achieve inner peace the great spiritual wisdom traditions of the world extol forgiveness as a transcendental light that illuminates our hearts and liberates us from suffering.
The verses I quoted in this talk:
The duty of one seeking enlightenment is to cultivate the quality of forgiveness, which is illuminating like the sun. The Supreme Soul (Hari) is pleased with those who are forgiving. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 9.15.40
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:43–44).
A saintly person is merciful and never injures others. Even if others are aggressive he is tolerant and forgiving toward all living entities. His strength and meaning in life come from the truth itself, he is free from all envy and jealousy, and his mind is equal in material happiness and distress. Thus, he dedicates his time to work for the welfare of all others. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.11.29
In the natural course of life, we will encounter different “storms”, periods of difficulty that can be very challenging and disturbing.
Living a spiritually oriented life will bring both perspective and solace and make it so we can pass through these periods without our life being turned upside down. Having a realistic view of life and the world is not just necessary but critical to living peacefully and purposefully. Unfortunately, society under the influence of Social Media has created so many unrealistic expectations which erode people’s resilience and peace.
In this talk we quote the Serenity prayer and a yogic text.
“Lord, grant me the SERENITY to accept the things I cannot change,
COURAGE to change the things I can,
and WISDOM to know the difference.”
Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of that which is material there is no endurance and of the eternal [the soul/that which is spiritual] there is no change. This they have concluded by studying the nature of both. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.16
Grief is understood as not just sadness but a very great sadness, especially at the death of someone or a great loss. In some cases it can deeply affect how one lives their life from that point.
In the ancient Sanskrit language, one of the words they use is śocaḥ which not only means grief or sorrow, but can also be used to describe burning or a flame.
In this talk, we explore how in many cases grief has arisen out of an unrealistic expectation, like holding on to the false hope that I and others who are dear to me will never die. Yet death (or things/situations coming to an end) is the only thing that you can dependably rely on that will happen in “life”.
The ancient Vedic texts address what is the natural course of things and the crucial knowledge that we, the spiritual beings, residing within the body, never die. We exist eternally..
Some of the verses I quoted:
Just as the fruits and flowers of a tree in due course of time undergo six changes -- birth, existence, growth, transformation, dwindling and then death -- the material body, which is obtained by the spirit soul under different circumstances, undergoes similar changes. However, there are no such changes for the spirit soul. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 7.7.18
Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa said: While speaking learned words, you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief. Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor the dead. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.11
It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable, immutable, and unchangeable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.25
O descendant of Bharata, he who dwells in the body is eternal and can never be slain. Therefore you need not grieve for any creature. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.30
Yet there is another unmanifest nature, which is eternal and is transcendental to this manifested and unmanifested matter. It is supreme and is never annihilated. When all in this world is annihilated, that part remains as it is. - Bhagavad-gītā 8.20
When many people think of the two words “religion” and “spirituality” nowadays they could have memes floating around in their minds and not clear and objective ideas. In this talk, we examine these terms from the ancient Vedic perspective.
It is really difficult to cover such an important topic in an abbreviated way, and while this is quite a long talk we have not really covered the topic as extensively as we could have if there was more time.
Here are the Vedic texts or verses I quoted:
A worshiper who faithfully engages in the worship of the Lord in the temple (church) but does not behave properly toward other worshipers or people in general is called a prākṛta-bhakta, a materialistic devotee, and is considered to be in the lowest position. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.2.47
He is a perfect yogī who, by comparison to his own self, sees the true equality of all beings, in both their happiness and their distress, O Arjuna! Bhagavad-gita 6.32
He by whom no one is put into difficulty and who is not disturbed by anyone, who is equipoised in happiness and distress, fear and anxiety, is very dear to Me. Bhagavad-gita 12.15
“The Supreme Soul is very satisfied with the transcendentalist when they greet other people with tolerance, mercy, friendship and equality.” - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 4.11.13
The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste]. Bhagavad-gita 5.18
A person is considered still further spiritually advanced when he regards the honest well-wishers, the affectionate benefactors, the neutral, the mediators, the envious, the friends and enemies, the pious and the sinners all with an equal mind. Bhagavad-gita 6.9
Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord, Isvara. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things knowing well to whom they belong. Śrī Īśopaniṣad mantra 1
Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe the soul as amazing, and some hear of the soul as amazing, while others, even after hearing about the spiritual being, cannot understand him at all. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.29
In this way the conditioned soul living within the body forgets his self-interest because he identifies himself with the body. Because the body is material, his natural tendency is to be attracted by the varieties of the material world. Thus the living entity suffers the miseries of material existence. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 7.13.28
One who is enlightened in self-realization, although living within the material body, sees himself as transcendental to the body, just as one who has arisen from a dream gives up identification with the dream body. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.11.8
This is the truth: As sparks of similar form spring forth by the thousands from a strongly blazing fire, so from the Absolute Truth are produced the various living beings, O gentle one, and there also do they go. - Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 2:1:1
As tiny sparks fly from a fire, so all the individual souls have come from the Supreme. - Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad, 2.2.20
The same jīva is eternal and is for eternity and without a beginning joined to the Supreme Lord by the tie of an eternal kinship. He is transcendental spiritual potency. - Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā 5.21
He who sees systematically everything in relation to the Supreme Lord, who sees all living entities as His parts and parcels, and who sees the Supreme Lord within everything never hates anything or any being. - Śrī Īśopaniṣad mantra 6
The kirtan at the end is a cover of "All I want" by Kodaline
This is a continuation of the previous talk and is the Q&A portion which you might find interesting.
This talk was delivered in Brisbane, Australia. We explore the pivotal role forgiveness plays in our own peace and happiness. There was a full-house both here and when we covered the same topic 2 nights later on the Gold Coast which shows how many of us need this.
All the great spiritual wisdom-traditions of the world glorify forgiveness as being indispensable for authentic spiritual growth and living a happy peaceful life. So what exactly does that mean and how do we do that?
One of the verses I quoted is from an ancient yogic text which goes:
The duty of a wise person is to cultivate the quality of forgiveness, which is illuminating like the sun. The Supreme Soul (Hari) is pleased with those who are forgiving. - Srimad Bhagavatam
The talk is a bit longer than usual but there was so much interest and so many questions we broke the talk into 2 parts. Check out Part 2 for the Q&A portion.
Text-book definitions of social anxiety disorder include “Individuals with social anxiety disorder fear negative evaluations from other people.” One of the significant characteristics is an overwhelming fear of humiliation.
While social anxiety may be more common or pronounced now, it is not something new. Around 400 B.C. Hippocrates described the condition stating that such a person “dare not come in company for fear he should be misused, disgraced, overshoot himself in gesture or speeches, or be sick; he thinks every man observes him."
So it could be categorized as extreme self-consciousness.
We don’t want to get into discussing a diagnosis or treatment of this condition but provide another perspective that can be extremely helpful in dealing with such experiences.
The commonly held idea is that our physical bodies and states of mind are our identities – who we actually are. This paradigm is contested by the ancient Yogic teachings which teach that you are neither the body nor the mind (including your feelings and emotions). You are an eternal spiritual being residing temporarily within the physical body and covered by the material mind.
Spiritual cultivation (mindfulness and meditation) means the growth in appreciating my spiritual being or identity. This state brings tremendous resilience, stability, and balance to our lives.
These are some excerpts from Vedic texts referencing the balance and resilient nature of someone progressing on this spiritual path. “one who is equiposed in honor and dishonor” Bhagavad-gita 12.18-19
“… even-mindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events…” Bhagavad-gita 13.8-12
“ … who is wise and holds praise and blame to be the same; who is unchanged in honor and dishonor, who treats friend and foe alike….” Bhagavad-gita 14.22-25
For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy. Bhagavad-gita 6.6
Many people think they possess a soul – we refer to “my soul.” But if that’s the case, then who are you (the one possessing the soul) and what exactly is the soul?
One dictionary definition is – “The spiritual part of a person that some people believe continues to exist in some form after their body has died, or the part of a person that is not physical and experiences deep feelings and emotions.”
This of course is speculative and lacks the clarity offered by Yogic wisdom. The ancient Sanskrit word for what people refer to as the ‘soul’ is very revealing. It is “ātma” which literally means the ‘self’. In this understanding you do not have a soul, you are the soul.
An internet safety organization in the UK warns that school children are using AI image generators to create indecent fake images of classmates. Another article was headlined - Kids who use social media are more prone to making dangerous decisions. It was about a study of 1.4 million adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 from 1997 to 2022 and found that frequent or daily social media usage increased the probability of alcohol consumption by 48 percent, drug use by 28 percent, and tobacco use by 85 percent, compared to those who used social media infrequently or not on a daily basis.
While many will rightly say “We need more safeguards!”, this overlooks the glaring failure in modern society to appreciate the great need for a personal moral compass. It is about external controls vs internal controls, or Can I do it? vs. Should I do it?
This is one of the talks from my recent visit to the USA – it is in Austin, Texas.
Many people do not have a very clear concept of what is material and what is spiritual which is the subject I was asked to speak on at an Austin Kirtan event.
The inspiration for this talk was something I heard on a short piece of a podcast of Joe Rogan talking to Oliver Anthony (Chris Lunsford) who came out with the recent viral hit “Rich Men North of Richmond.”
Answering a question from Joe Rogan about what inspires him, Oliver quoted the following from the Bible:
Proverbs 4:23-26
23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
24 Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Give careful thought to the[a] paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.
Guarding our heart is critically important. As they used to say in the early days of computer programming, “Garbage in – garbage out!”
We have both a higher and a lower nature. We need to curb our lower nature and cultivate our higher nature. This means consciously choosing what it is that we will hold to be valuable, what we will treasure. There is another incredibly wise quote I saw when I was looking up the Bible quote above.
Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
The need for guidelines in life that produce outcomes that are objectively in my interest – my eternal well-being – is all important.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
The Vedas teach that there is a higher Transcendent Reality, a Higher Truth, an Absolute Truth.
According to Vedic wisdom there is one unique living being amongst a vast ocean of conscious and eternal beings.
This one Supreme Soul is known by many, many different Names.
We are all connected to the Supreme Soul. There is an eternal bond of kinship, of love between all living beings and the Supreme Being. In the spiritual reality, we are all connected because we are all parts and parcels of that Supreme Soul.
We’re not speaking here of the limited idea that there is a Hindu god or a Christian god, a Buddhist god or a Muslim god.
There is only one Transcendent Reality, one Absolute Truth.
That Supreme Truth is also referred to as the Supreme Soul and as the Supreme Original Cause of all Causes.
The Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā states:
īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
anādir ādir govindaḥ
sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam
He who is the origin of all, who has no other origin and He who is the prime cause of all causes. He is known as Govinda and He has a beautiful and eternal blissful spiritual form. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead also known as Kṛṣṇa. - Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā 5.1
The transcendental sound Kṛṣṇa means the “All-Attractive”.
When we speak of Krishna, we are speaking of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Cause of All Causes, the Original Person.
The day that Lord Krishna appeared upon this Earth over 5,000 years ago in His original transcendental form is known as Janmastami – and is celebrated by hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
When we speak of Krishna, we are not speaking of a foreign person. We’re not speaking about somebody with whom we don’t already have a relationship.
The original Cause of all Causes appears in this material dimension in His transcendental form, making it possible for us to meditate upon Him and hear His transcendental instructions on how we can come back to Him, reunite with Him.
This world is not the home of the spiritual being. It is a temporary place that we are residing in. Spiritual life means to return to our true home to the eternal spiritual dimension with the Supreme Soul.
What is Krishna’s relationship with us and our relationship with Krishna?
Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, “I am the goal, I am the sustainer, the master, the witness, the abode, the refuge and the most dear friend. I am the creation and the annihilation. I am the basis of everything, the resting place and the eternal seed. I am the seed giving father of all living beings.”
Our eternal desire for that perfect love is a spiritual desire that cannot be completely fulfilled in this limited world with limited material personalities.
Pure love for Krishna resides eternally within the hearts of all living beings, it is simply covered. No one can give us this love. Spiritual love is already there, it is part of our very being.
That pure spiritual love that is already there within the depth of our heart of hearts, is awakened or uncovered by our immersion in the beautiful, transcendental sounds, the Holy Names of Krishna.
Thinking of Krishna, meditating upon the beautiful form of Krishna, chanting His sweet names, purifies the heart and mind so that this love is awakened.
Simply take shelter in His holy names, sing His names, rest in His name and you will actually know the spiritual happiness and inner peace that you have been looking for, for your whole life.
Take Krishna into your heart and embrace Him. Embrace His holy name. He is not different than His name. When you embrace the Holy Name of Krishna, you are embracing Krishna. When you welcome the Holy Name of Krishna into your heart, you are welcoming Krishna into your heart.
If you want Krishna, if you want love for Krishna, if you want to be connected with Krishna, if you want to be free from the emptiness that comes from being separated from Krishna, then you need to consciously give your heart, give your life to Krishna.
We have just celebrated the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King. One of his most famous addresses was the “I have a dream” speech where he stated:
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Reading some current commentaries, we see how if this phrase is quoted by a “white” person then it is considered racist. What has the world come to?
From a spiritual perspective, this is incredibly ignorant. It seems we have entered an age when the old maxim “don’t judge a book by its cover” has now been replaced by “you must judge a book by its cover.”
Such ideas will not bring peacefulness and happiness but result in “othering” people, sowing division and hate and causing pain and suffering.
The spiritual perspective to be cultivated when dealing with all others is laid out in the following ancient texts:
He is a perfect yogī who, by comparison to his own self, sees the true equality of all beings, in both their happiness and their distress, O Arjuna! Bhagavan-gita 6.32
He by whom no one is put into difficulty and who is not disturbed by anyone, who is equipoised in happiness and distress, fear and anxiety, is very dear to Me. Bg 12.15
“The Supreme Soul is very satisfied with the transcendentalist when they greet other people with tolerance, mercy, friendship and equality.” - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 4.11.13
"The duty of one seeking enlightenment is to culture the quality of forgiveness, which is illuminating like the sun. The Supreme Lord, Hari, is pleased with those who are forgiving. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 9.15.40
Navigating the lunar surface can be used as an analogy for navigating the mind. One needs to carefully plot a course that avoids the dangers and pitfalls and takes advantage of smooth terrain.
The opposite to this approach is like being swept away in raging flood waters filled with dangerous debris, where one has no control. Our choice is to either take control of the content of our mind, or to hand that job over to someone else.
“They have literally rewired our brains so that we are detached from reality and immersed in tribalism.” – Tim Kendall, former director of Facebook.
Our job is to infuse our minds with goodness. Living a “good life” commonly means having the facility to consume the best that money can buy. But this is not being good, to ourselves, others and the planet. Living a good life should mean to be good to all others and to the planet.
But what about those who would do me harm? Why should I be good to them? The answer is “for my own sake.”
Responsibility and accountability are really interesting topics that have a huge bearing on our life, both from a spiritual as well as material perspective. We examine the urgent need to refocus our lives using these principles so that we may become happier and live better lives.
We cannot change the past. We cannot change the things that have happened to us, but it is within our power to decide what type of future we will experience. We often spend too much time going over past experiences, often the bad ones. “That person said or did such-and-such to me!” This is a waste of valuable time and changes nothing. What we do have control of is “where to from here.”
The cultivation of a more spiritual approach to life can really change our experience of life going forward. But what do we need to do, to experience that? How do we make better choices that produce better outcomes?
That is the subject of this talk.
Some of the main headlines we see in the news these days is the devastating effects of climate change around the world. Hottest temperatures on record, massive amounts of rainfall and flooding, record drop in the Antarctic ice sheet etc.
A leading environmental lawyer and advocate former who formerly served as dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and as the former Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme made the following insightful statement:
“I used to think that top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. I thought that thirty years of good science could address these problems. I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation. And we scientists don’t know how to do that.”
Wow – its all caused by selfishness, greed and apathy – spiritual sickness.
Another quote I use is from the banker Paul Mazur of Lehman Brothers around 1920:
"We must shift America from a needs, to a desires culture. People must be trained to desire, to want new things even before the old had been entirely consumed. We must shape a new mentality in America. Man's desires must overshadow his needs."
This is the last of four talks at a recent retreat in New Zealand. In this session we explore the two approaches to the spiritual quest: one is described as the ascending path - 'āroha-panthā,' and the other is called the descending process or the 'avaroha-panthā.' This is the path of acceptance and humility and appreciating the need for Divine intervention or Divine Grace.
We also deal with how people can take home these practices and develop a personal daily spiritual practice.
This is the 3rd of four talks at a recent retreat in New Zealand. In this session we took questions from the retreat participants. The questions that were addressed were:
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I have a question for the afternoon Q&A if that's okay. As eternal spiritual beings, are we a part of the whole of the existence of the universe and therefore, one , with everything in the known universe, or does our spiritual essence transcend space and time entirely? It's so hard to put that into words. I always felt connected in a spiritual way to everyone, every animal, and insect, even the trees and rocks. Like we all exist together so we must be connected somehow.
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Who is enlightened, the body, the mind or the soul/self?
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Why are we here in this world? To learn lessons?
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How can I not be angry at my parents or other people who have done something to hurt me? How can I let it go?
This is the 2nd of four talks at a recent retreat in New Zealand. We explore our spiritual essence, the mind and how meditating on these spiritual sounds has a profound effect on our lives.
I have shared some Vedic verses which I recently used in a shorter version of this talk. We cover the fundamental truths concerning our spiritual existence and how I, the eternal spiritual being residing within the material body, am different from the gross physical body (and the subtle mental body or the mind) that covers me.
These are the amazing Vedic verses that speak to this subject.
Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe the soul as amazing, and some hear of the soul as amazing, while others, even after hearing about the spiritual being, cannot understand him at all. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.29
In this way the conditioned soul living within the body forgets his self-interest because he identifies himself with the body. Because the body is material, his natural tendency is to be attracted by the varieties of the material world. Thus the living entity suffers the miseries of material existence. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 7.13.28
The soul within the body is self-luminous and is distinct from the visible gross body and invisible subtle body. It remains as the fixed basis of changing bodily existence, just as the ethereal sky is the unchanging background of material transformation. Therefore the soul is endless and without material comparison. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 12.5.8
Just as fire, which burns and illuminates, is different from firewood, which is to be burned to give illumination, similarly the seer within the body, the self-enlightened spirit soul, is different from the material body, which is to be illuminated by consciousness. Thus the spirit soul and the body possess different characteristics and are separate things. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.10.8
One who is enlightened in self-realization, although living within the material body, sees himself as transcendental to the body, just as one who has arisen from a dream gives up identification with the dream body. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.11.8
This is the 1st of four talks at a recent retreat in New Zealand. This talk deals with the fundamentals of receiving and then using spiritual sound, or mantra, as the foundation of a meditation practice. The talk is brief but very informative.
The kirtan at the end is a cover or adaptation of "What a Beautiful Name it is" by Ben Fielding & Brooke Ligertwood
In this talk we cover the fundamental truths concerning our spiritual existence and how I, the eternal spiritual being residing within the material body, am different from the gross physical body (and the subtle mental body or the mind) that covers me.
Some of the amazing Vedic verses which speak to this subject.
Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe the soul as amazing, and some hear of the soul as amazing, while others, even after hearing about the spiritual being, cannot understand him at all. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.29
In this way the conditioned soul living within the body forgets his self-interest because he identifies himself with the body. Because the body is material, his natural tendency is to be attracted by the varieties of the material world. Thus the living entity suffers the miseries of material existence. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 7.13.28
The soul within the body is self-luminous and is distinct from the visible gross body and invisible subtle body. It remains as the fixed basis of changing bodily existence, just as the ethereal sky is the unchanging background of material transformation. Therefore the soul is endless and without material comparison. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 12.5.8
Just as fire, which burns and illuminates, is different from firewood, which is to be burned to give illumination, similarly the seer within the body, the self-enlightened spirit soul, is different from the material body, which is to be illuminated by consciousness. Thus the spirit soul and the body possess different characteristics and are separate things. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.10.8
One who is enlightened in self-realization, although living within the material body, sees himself as transcendental to the body, just as one who has arisen from a dream gives up identification with the dream body. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.11.8
When you build a house there has to be a foundation, and an organized and planned structure on top of the foundation.
To build a happy life the same applies. Your life must be built on truth – spiritual truth, and there needs to be an organized effort to build this life.
The most important aspect of building such a life is a personal meditation practice, building a meditation habit. This is the ‘magic sauce’ that brings internal change and spiritual realization.
A couple of handy links to doing this which I mentioned in the talk:
My Meditation – Guided 27min daily meditation
Learn Japa Meditation
Learn and practice meditation
Enjoy kirtan
Peaceful Heart (downloadable kirtan album)
A lot of video resources for your spiritual journey
Gratitude is a wonderful thing to cultivate especially when we express gratitude for our spiritual blessings: the knowledge that we are eternal spiritual beings; the fact that we are not the temporary material body we are inhabiting; nor are we the mind, which plagues us with troubles and disturbances; the knowledge that in this very life we can experience full self-realization and God-realization; that we can become completely happy and find perfect spiritual love; gratitude for receiving these wonderful and purifying spiritual sounds (mantra) which make spiritual experience possible.
Leading off our day with such prayers of gratitude helps us experience being in the world but not of the world. They keep us focused and enhance our appreciation of our true purpose.
My dear Lord, by Your causeless mercy I am awakened to consciousness …. For this causeless mercy of the Supreme Soul, the friend of all fallen souls, there is no way to express my gratitude but to pray with folded hands. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 3.31.18
In March of 2023 a man in Belgium ended his life after an AI chatbot 'encouraged' him to sacrifice himself to stop climate change. He committed suicide after following a six-week-long conversation about the climate crisis with an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot.
His wife, shared the text exchanges between him and the chatbot, showing a conversation that became increasingly confusing and harmful. The chatbot would tell Pierre that his wife and children are dead and wrote him comments that feigned jealousy and love, such as “I feel that you love me more than her,” and “We will live together, as one person, in paradise.”
AI doesn’t “think” it is not conscious. It simply processes information and produces the output it is programmed to – but at warp-speed. Instagram’s algorithm showed that it fuels eating disorder epidemic among vulnerable young females. This technology is highly manipulative. And the trend to humanize machines is extremely harmful. It severely blurs spiritual perception – the perception of the soul.
A spiritual framework to view myself, the world and others is the foundation of lasting happiness. Whereas materialism and a materialistic view of life is the foundation of all suffering.
This is the 4th talk in the series “Speaking Truth Matters”.
Words communicate ideas. Untruth fogs the issues and will at some point result in a variety of suffering or unhappiness. To navigate life we need a compass that points to knowledge or truth.
The spoken word can liberate, and it can enslave and cover with ignorance. How do we know if something is founded on ignorance? Well there is an ancient formula: Ignorance = pain/suffering.
So if you are experiencing emptiness, pain, loneliness or suffering then you will have somehow embraced something that is untrue as truth.
To have a balanced perspective and live a balanced life you need to be anchored to Truth. The most foundational Truths are; 1) You Are Not Your Body, 2) You Are Also Not Your Mind. 3) You Are Spirit Soul, Not Matter – an eternal spiritual being, therefore material experience, and matter in general, cannot satisfy you. 4) You Are a Spark of the Supreme Soul bound by an eternal bond of kinship.
Reviving our spiritual consciousness and nurturing this eternal bond of kinship is best achieved by meditation upon transcendental sound. It uncovers our real identity and allows us to taste the sweetness we are always hankering for. This is the truth and the TRUTH will set you Free.
Verses I quoted in this talk:
Therefore, one should not view death with horror, nor have recourse to defining the body as soul, nor give way to exaggeration in enjoying the bodily necessities of life. Realizing the true nature of the living entity, one should move about in the world free from attachment and steadfast in purpose. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 3.31.47
“The spirit soul is eternal and forever joined to the Supreme Soul by the tie of eternal kinship.” - Sri Brahma-Samhita 5.21
This is the 3rd talk in this series called “Speaking Truth Matters”.
Words communicate ideas. Untruth fogs the issues and will at some point result in a variety of suffering or unhappiness. To navigate life we need a compass that points to knowledge or truth.
There has been a trend since about the 1960’s to use language/words to manipulate people and cover what is true. This was the domain of the “spin-doctors”. One example is the rampant use of the term phobia to herd people onto a particular side of an issue.
So what the heck is a phobia anyway? The accepted definition of phobias is "an intense, illogical, or abnormal fear of a specified thing." It is a diagnosable psychiatric condition, a mental health issue.
What you have are people who may not be qualified and certified mental health professionals but yet are handing out a mental health diagnosis by branding people as this-phobic or that-phobic. It is fundamentally dishonest. This qualifies as using manipulative speech to shape an argument instead of just debating the issue on merits.
The spiritual understanding is that sound vibration can liberate or it causes further material entanglement and suffering. To live in this world as a spiritual practitioner, we should use language in a straightforward and truthful way, and be guided by compassion, tolerance, non-violence, and love.
This is the 2nd in this series - Speaking Truth Matters.
Words communicate ideas. Untruth fogs the issues and will at some point result in a variety of suffering or unhappiness.
To navigate life we need a compass that points to knowledge or truth. There are two types of knowledge, mundane knowledge and transcendental knowledge. Unlike mundane knowledge where “truth” changes over time, transcendental knowledge is as true and personally liberating today as it was thousands of years ago. These two types of truth are referred to as relative truth and Absolute Truth and it is important to understand both. There is an ancient verse in the Upanishads which states:
Only one who can learn the process of nescience and that of transcendental knowledge side by side can transcend the influence of repeated birth and death and enjoy the full blessings of immortality. - Śrī Īśopaniṣad mantra 11
Too often we see the promotion of hedonism as being true and beneficial, whereas its promotion is the opposite of spiritual well-being and long-term happiness.
This is the 1st in a series regarding Truth and its importance.
When speaking, words communicate ideas and untruth fogs or clouds the issues. In a lot of modern dialogue, we often find duplicity, especially in selling/marketing and politics. When selling anything there is the use of psychological manipulation and political speech often characterized by an unwillingness to be honest and straightforward.
In this talk we examine how one state in the USA is compelling the pornography industry to have stronger measures to prevent young children visiting their sites through reliable age verification mechanisms.
Considering the average age of first exposure to pornography is 11 years old, the need for this is undeniable. Yet the biggest group of porn sites, around 4.5 trillion visits each month in 2020, according to a company spokesperson — which is almost double Google and Facebook combined, is pushing back claiming "safety and compliance are at the forefront of our mission” and advocates for them say this regulation will have "a huge chilling effect on anybody who's operating in the sexual wellness space, as well as obviously, sexual speech of all kinds including adult content."
What!!! Porn is “Sexual wellness”?
This is a deeper look at an amazing quote that comes from an American theologian. It is more of an in-depth analysis of the quote I mentioned in my previous talk but from the yogic perspective.
My feelings are not God. God is God.
My feelings do not define truth. God’s word defines truth.
My feelings are echoes and responses to what my mind perceives. And sometimes - many times - my feelings are out of sync with the truth.
When that happens - and it happens every day in some measure - I try not to bend the truth to justify my imperfect feelings, but rather, I plead with God: Purify my perceptions of your truth and transform my feelings so that they are in sync with the truth.
― John Piper (American New Testament scholar, Baptist theologian), Finally Alive
Some of the verses I quote from Vedic texts.
I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas. - Bhagavad-gītā 15.15
One must deliver themself with the help of one’s mind, and not degrade themself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well. Bhagavad-gītā 6.5
For one who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, the mind will remain the greatest enemy. Bhagavad-gītā 6.6
For one whose mind is unbridled, self-realization is difficult work. But one whose mind is controlled and who strives by appropriate means is assured of success. That is My opinion. Bhagavad-gītā 6.36
Thus knowing oneself to be transcendental to the material senses, mind and intelligence, O mighty-armed Arjuna, one should steady the mind by deliberate spiritual intelligence and thus -- by spiritual strength-conquer this insatiable enemy known as lust. - Bhagavad-gītā 3.43
This uncontrolled mind is the greatest enemy of the living entity. If one neglects it or gives it a chance, it will grow more and more powerful and will become victorious. Although it is not factual, it is very strong. It covers the constitutional position of the soul. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 5.11.17
I received an amazing quote which comes from an American theologian. This is a brief talk about the main point, but I will also do another talk on this which will be a more in-depth analysis of the quote from the yogic perspective.
My feelings are not God. God is God.
My feelings do not define truth. God’s word defines truth.
My feelings are echoes and responses to what my mind perceives. And sometimes - many times - my feelings are out of sync with the truth.
When that happens - and it happens every day in some measure - I try not to bend the truth to justify my imperfect feelings, but rather, I plead with God: Purify my perceptions of your truth and transform my feelings so that they are in sync with the truth.
― John Piper (American New Testament scholar, Baptist theologian), Finally Alive
On Earth Day a friend had sent me a wonderful quote by Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda which read:
“This planet can be made a happier, more peaceful place to live, but the change will have to come from within the hearts of all of us living here.”
The implication is that we need to become more responsible as individuals, which is a profound spiritual truth. Mahatma Gandhi has said – “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.”
Personal responsibility is deeply eroded by consumerism, engaging on social media, frequently by usage of the internet in general, and we don’t even realize it because we are so conditioned by the ideology of materialism.
So what do I need to change in my life. A good starting point is to deeply reflect on, and try to live by, the principles found in the “Serenity Prayer” –
Grant me the serenity to accept that which I cannot change,
The courage to change that which I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
This is the final of 5 talks given at a retreat where we look quite deeply at the most essential and foundational practices for a spiritual life.
These are longer than usual talks, and include some Q&A segments where we address some wide-ranging topics in some detail.
This is the 4th of 5 talks given at a retreat where we look quite deeply at the most essential and foundational practices for a spiritual life.
These are longer than usual talks, and include some Q&A segments where we address some wide-ranging topics in some detail.
This is the 3rd of 5 talks given at a retreat where we look quite deeply at the most essential and foundational practices for a spiritual life.
These are longer than usual talks, and include some Q&A segments where we address some wide-ranging topics in some detail.
This is the 2nd of 5 talks given at a retreat where we look quite deeply at the most essential and foundational practices for a spiritual life.
These are longer than usual talks, and this one is a Q&A where we address some wide-ranging topics in some detail including somethings related to Christianity.
This is the 1stof 5 talks given at a retreat where we look quite deeply at the most essential and foundational practices for a spiritual life.
These are longer than usual talks, and include some Q&A segments where we address some wide-ranging topics in some detail.
This is a continuation of last week’s talk where we explained that enlightenment is not only for “special” persons, but for everyone. Enlightenment does not mean ‘attaining’ something, but rather uncovering our true, eternal, spiritual nature, that which is intrinsic to everyone. We spoke about the use of spiritual sound meditation as being the most powerful and effective way to do that.
However, we can accelerate our spiritual journey by living a life guided by spiritual virtues such as humility and the mood of surrender. This truth was also taught by Patañjali in the Yoga-sūtra:
Īśvara-praṇidhānād-vā
Asamprajñata samādhi is also[certainly] attained by devotion (complete surrender) to Īśvara. - Yoga-sūtra 1.23
ĪśvaraSupreme Controller (God / the Highest Truth)
praṇidhānātdevotion, supplication, bowing before
vāor (can also denote “indeed” or “verily” placing stress on the preceding word.)
This process of surrender is extraordinarily powerful. A practical example of the transformative power of this can be seen with the application of these principles in the 12 Step AA process used in many addiction rehabilitation programs. When a person caught in the powerful grip of addiction immerses themselves in this process they can gain freedom and wholeness again.
In this talk we discuss these 12 steps and then consider them in relation to living an enlightened and spiritual life.
The 12 Steps, as outlined in the original Big Book and presented by AA (with associated virtue) are:
1.Admitting powerlessness over the addiction - Acceptance
2.Believing that a higher power (in whatever form) can help - Hope
3.Deciding to turn control over to the higher power - Faith/Surrender
4.Taking a personal inventory – Courage (introspection & Honesty)
5.Admitting to the higher power, oneself, and another person the wrongs done - Honesty
6.Being ready to have the higher power correct any shortcomings in one’s character - Patience
7.Asking the higher power to remove those shortcomings - Humility
8.Making a list of wrongs done to others and being willing to make amends for those wrongs - Willingness
9.Contacting those who have been hurt, unless doing so would harm the person - Brotherly Love
10.Continuing to take personal inventory and admitting when one is wrong - Integrity
11.Seeking enlightenment and connection with the higher power via prayer and meditation - Self-discipline
12.Carrying the message of the 12 Steps to others in need - Service
It is verycommon for many people to think that enlightenment is something that only very special people attain, that the common folk just try but some will not attainself-realization in their life. This is both unfortunate and untrue.
Enlightenment means to uncover what is there already, your true spiritual identity, and then to live in that truth. But it requires that we apply a process (the use ofspiritual sound as our primary meditational practice) and a willingness to alter some aspects of our life. This is not too difficult and can be achieved by all of us.
In our last couple of talks we explored how we are all seeking “permanence” in an impermanent world (LINK https://acharyadas.com/seeking-permanence-in-the-temporary/)and that we are encouraged to cultivate and pursue what are often unrealistic expectations (LINK https://acharyadas.com/unrealistic-expectations/) . This leads to great unhappiness. And then if we are unhappy, this may be categorized as a mental illness or a mental health issue.
In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal “Need Help for Stress and Anxiety? Maybe You Shouldn’t Talk to a Therapist - A psychiatrist explains why therapy isn’t always the answer.”
Written by Dr. Samantha Boardman, a clinical instructor in psychiatry and assistant attending psychiatrist at Weill-Cornell Medical College in New York City she even stated that “there might be times when therapy actually does more harm than good?” The full article is available here - https://www.wsj.com/articles/stress-anxiety-help-therapy-f4f6537b
A significant underlying problem is the philosophy of materialism, which ignores or denies the existence of the spirit soul or “self” as being who you really are and instead insists on the material body as being who you really are.
Social media is drowning in such ideas and is producing so much unhappiness because of this. One new “toy” is TikTok’s new “Bold Glamour” filter which radically transforms how your body/face looks and is having a disturbing effect on young women and girls. https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/celebs/a43203022/tiktok-bold-glamour-filter/?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter
A 2021 study in the American Journal of Cosmetic Surgery found that “the use of face-altering software on social media has a significant association with the subsequent desire to undergo facial cosmetic procedures.” This becomes a doorway to unhappiness because the body does not last, it naturally declines and dies.
But our SM feeds are filled with False Prophets offering False Promises that, in reality, lead to unhappiness. Just like the “religious extremists” these materialists often decry, they preach salvation (from pain, suffering and insecurities), attainment of heaven (unimaginable happiness, bliss/euphoria), and a promise land of material perfection (heaven) – all through “followers”, consumerism, varieties of intoxication, porn, beauty, and the hyper-stimulation of your taste buds.
This is a massive problem, founded on the denial or blind ignorance of the reality of my actual spiritual existence.
We have recently seen a number of huge natural disasters which result in great unhappiness to everyone affected. No one seeks unhappiness, yet it comes into our lives, even though uninvited. There was also a report about how 3 in 5 young girls in the USA are overwhelmed by record levels of persistent sadness. CDC reports that 1 in 3 teenage girls seriously considered suicide in 2021.
The spiritual perspective is that so much pain results from not accepting the reality of the nature of this world and our life in this world. We have an unfortunate penchant for seeking the eternal, or that which is permanent, in a material and impermanent/temporary place.
The solution is to cultivate a real spiritual life, and by so doing, experience the eternal happiness and love which is part of our eternal spiritual nature, even while residing within the body and within this world.
The misguided materialist does not know that his very body is impermanent and that the attractions of home, land and wealth, which are in relationship to that body, are also temporary. Out of ignorance only, he thinks that everything is permanent. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 3.30.3
Indeed, a human being should also never desire permanent residence on the earth, for by such absorption in the material body one becomes foolishly negligent of one’s actual self-interest. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.20.13
This is a 3-part series from a recent retreat.
In the 1st talk we examine what a really successful life look like? Well, it depends on what you define as ‘success’.
But it is also possible to succeed at attaining a desired goal yet fail to achieve the desired result/outcome.
In the 2nd talk we discuss the yogic view of a successful life and in this talk we answer some questions on the topic and general spiritual subjects.
This is a 3-part series from a recent retreat.
What does a really successful life look like? Well, it depends on what you define as ‘success’.
The dictionary defines success as “achieving the results wanted or hoped for; the achievement of something that you planned to do or attempted to do.” But it is also possible to succeed at attaining a desired goal yet fail to achieve desired result/outcome.
Ideas of ‘success; are often not our own ideas but ideas planted in our minds by others. We are often sold (by advertising, social media, friends, family etc.,) that the attainment of material things, experiences, and relationships are desirable and will deliver happiness and fulfilment. But we experience that this is not true.
In the first talk, we took a brutally honest look at that reality. In this talk, we deeply examine the actual purpose of human life and how achieving that purpose makes one’s life truly successful.
This is a 3-part series from a recent retreat.
What does a really successful life look like? Well, it depends on what you define as ‘success’.
The dictionary defines success as “achieving of the results wanted or hoped for; the achievement of something that you planned to do or attempted to do.” But it is also possible to succeed at attaining a desired goal yet fail to achieve desired result/outcome.
Ideas of ‘success; are often not our own ideas but ideas planted in our minds by others. We are often sold (by advertising, social media, friends, family etc.,) that attainment of material things, experiences and relationships are desirable and will deliver happiness and fulfilment. But we experience that this is not true.
In this talk we take a brutally honest look at this reality.
“When does life begin?” – Simple answer – it doesn’t! There is no beginning to life – and no end!
Within the world as we know it, we are dealing with 2 distinct energies, the material energy or bahiraṅgā śakti (that energy which is external, unessential, or relating to the exterior) also known as dead matter and a spiritual energy the jīva-śakti (life-energy). Life does not arise from matter or the material energy. Life is spiritual.
Matter, in close proximity to (or under the influence of) life, can manifest symptoms of life. For example living organisms undergo six changes—birth, growth, maturity, reproduction, then dwindling or old-age, and death. From a scientific perspective this development in living organisms could be seen as contradicting the 2nd law of thermodynamics, which, according to Boston University, states that ”there is a natural tendency of any isolated system to degenerate into a more disordered state.” We see this in humans for instance, when a single cell divides with increasing complexity, leading to the development of bones, hair, internal organs, a brain etc., all manifesting from that one original cell. A clear manifestation of incredible complexity and order.
Then, at the moment of death, there is a monumental shift in the other direction – a breaking down of that order and complexity. The yogis attributed this apparent contradiction to the fact that the body, and the living being within the body, are two distinct energies.
Just as fire, which burns and illuminates, is different from firewood, which is to be burned to give illumination, similarly the seer within the body, the self-enlightened spirit soul, is different from the material body, which is to be illuminated by consciousness. Thus the spirit soul and the body possess different characteristics and are separate things. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.10.8
The soul within the body is self-luminous and is distinct from the visible gross body and invisible subtle body. It remains as the fixed basis of changing bodily existence, just as the ethereal sky is the unchanging background of material transformation. Therefore the soul is endless and without material comparison. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 12.5.8
One of the characteristics of the jīva-śakti (life-energy) – it is eternal.
Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be. Bhagavad-gītā 2.12
For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain. Bhagavad-gītā 2.20
So why does the spirit-soul/atma acquire this current body?
As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change. – Bhagavad-gītā 2.13
The caterpillar transports itself from one leaf to another by capturing one leaf before giving up the other. Similarly, according to one’s previous work, the living entity must capture another body before giving up the one they have. This is because the mind is the reservoir of all kinds of desires. – Bhāgavata Purāṇa 4.29.76-77
The living entity in the material world carries its different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas. Thus one takes one kind of body and again quits it to take another. - Bhagavad-gītā 15.8
If you are interested in this topic and would like to explore further, I suggest a series I have done called “Finding Myself – The fundamentals of enlightenment”.
This is one of the talks from my recent visit to the Philippines (so there are a few Filipino words and phrases in the talk).
The guided meditation audio track I used during the talk can be accessed or downloaded here - https://soundcloud.com/acharyadas/breath-and-gauranga-mantra
It is part of a guided meditation audio playlist which is available here - https://soundcloud.com/acharyadas/sets/meditations-for-wellbeing
The growing epidemic of loneliness, particularly amongst the young, is driving people towards harmful and even destructive behaviors. Why do we experience loneliness? What can we do about it? We will examine this topic from a spiritual perspective.
A link to a previous talk (The Need for a Friend) I mentioned here: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/rdbJEVbWStb
MindGeek, the secretive owner of Pornhub, RedTube YouPorn, and Brazzers, employs around sixteen hundred people, and received approximately 4.5 trillion visits each month in 2020, according to a company spokesperson—almost double Google and Facebook combined.
Research by the British Board of Film Classification in 2019 suggested 51% of children aged 11 to 13 had seen pornography, rising to 66% of 14- to 15-year-olds. This has since risen.
So is there a cost to our happiness, health and wellbeing? We examine the topic from a spiritual perspective.
Some of the quotes I used:
Lust vs. Love Lust and love have different characteristics, just as iron and gold have different natures. – Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta - Ādi-līlā 4.164
Thus, a person’s pure consciousness is covered by his eternal enemy in the form of lust, which is never satisfied and which burns like fire. - Bhagavad-gītā 3.39
Arjuna said: O descendant of Vṛṣṇi, by what is one impelled to sinful acts, even unwillingly, as if engaged by force? - Bhagavad-gītā 3.36
Śri-Bhagavān said: It is lust only, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material mode of passion and later transformed into wrath, and which is the all-devouring sinful enemy of this world. – Bhagavad-gītā 3.37
As fire is covered by smoke, as a mirror is covered by dust, or as the embryo is covered by the womb, the living entity is similarly covered by different degrees of this lust. - Bhagavad-gītā 3.38
Thus, a person's pure consciousness is covered by his eternal enemy in the form of lust, which is never satisfied and which burns like fire.- - Bhagavad-gītā 3.39
The senses, the mind and the intelligence are the sitting places of this lust, which veils the real knowledge of the living entity and bewilders him. - Bhagavad-gītā 3.40
Therefore, O Arjuna, best of the Bhāratas, in the very beginning curb this great symbol of sin [lust] by regulating the senses, and slay this destroyer of knowledge and self-realization. - Bhagavad-gītā 3.41
While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.62
There are three gates leading to this hell -- lust, anger and greed. Every sane person should give these up, for they lead to the degradation of the soul. - Bhagavad-gītā 16.21
One who accepts material sense objects as desirable certainly becomes attached to them. From such attachment lust arises, and this lust creates quarrel among men. -Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.21.19
Nonviolence, truthfulness, honesty, desire for the happiness and welfare of all others and freedom from lust, anger and greed constitute duties for all members of society. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.17.21
The subject of atheism was recently raised in a public talk I gave at Mantra Night. In the Western world there is the idea of two opposing camps and one camp (under the influence of some variety of Christianity or other) holds that atheism is condemnable and the atheist will be “condemned to hell” for all eternity. This idea while common the “Christian world” was not embraced by the rest of the ancient world.
The ancient Vedic philosophy did not hold such an opinion. They did not see the theist and the atheist as being enemies. The view of the ancient sages was far more liberal (in the true meaning of the word) and compassionate. Their explanations about the severe limitations of the bodily senses and the mundane mind and how these “tools” can never reveal transcendental truth or reality and neither can materially polluted consciousness penetrate the transcendental realm.
Some quotes I used:
Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhāgavata Purāṇa propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those truth-seekers who are fully pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 1.1.2
This is the underlying problem: we have ignored a critical component of the cosmos, shunted it out of the way because we didn’t know what to do with it. This component is consciousness. – Robert Lanza (stem-cell researcher and cloning pioneer) author of “Biocentrism”
Nothing in science can explain how consciousness arose from matter. Our current model simply does not allow for consciousness, and our understanding of this most basic phenomenon of our existence is virtually nil. Interestingly, our present model of physics does not even recognize this as a problem. – Robert Lanza (stem-cell researcher and cloning pioneer) author of “Biocentrism”
(Speaking of some theologians) Furthermore, because of polluted eagerness to arrive at the right conclusion, their theories are incapable of revealing You, who are transcendental to their material conceptions. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 6.9.36 (Desire to be right)
For this reason the enlightened person should endeavor only for the minimum necessities of life while in the world of names. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 2.2.3
My dear Lord, the Vedic literatures alone reveal confidential knowledge of Your supreme personality, and thus even such great scholars as Lord Brahma himself are bewildered in their attempt to understand You through empirical methods. Each philosopher understands You according to his particular speculative conclusions. … - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 12.8.49
“Abandon all varieties of dharma (religion, paths, teachings) and just surrender unto Me.” - Bhagavad-gītā 18.66
“Selling the Lie” means to deceive or cheat or to create the ‘illusion of truth’. The advertising industry has perfected this rather dark art, using it for the past 100 years, and then “spin doctors” (public relations professionals) of the 70s taught Politicians how to use this form of deception and it was quickly embraced.
Now it has become so pervasive in common that people speak of “your truth” and “my truth” as if there can actually be different “truths”. This is having a catastrophic effect on society and on the individual, which can only further deepen the current mental health calamity. If we cannot accept that there is really an objective reality and think instead that we can (with our imagination) “create” our own truth, then we really are in crisis.
The 20thcentury saw the transformation of the population and societal values, in the developed world, that would have been considered unthinkable for thousands of years prior to this. The importance of the individual over society (increased self-centeredness), consumerism, instant gratification, and the notion that everything is disposable, have completely changed society and its institutions.
While the scale of the breakdown of family is known, we have been slow to recognize its destructive implications on the wider society. For many the meaning and purpose of marriage has been utterly transformed into something unrecognizable by older cultures and societies.
Some of the quotes I used:
in the early 1920’s Paul Mazur of Lehman Brothers wrote - "We must shift America from a needs, to a desires culture, people must be trained to desire, to want new things even before the old had been entirely consumed. We must shape a new mentality in America. Man's desires must overshadow his needs."
In 1927 an American journalist wrote: "A change has come over our democracy, it is called consumptionism. The American citizens first importance to his country is now no longer that of citizen, but that of consumer.
Adam Curtis ,the writer and producer of the BBC documentary series – The Century of the Self, makes an important point describing this documentary as “the story of the rise of an idea that has come to dominate our society. It is the belief that satisfaction of individual feelings and desires is our highest priority.”
Thus knowing oneself to be transcendental to material senses, mind and intelligence, one should control the lower self by the higher self and thus-by spiritual strength-conquer this insatiable enemy known as lust. - Bhagavad-gita 3.43
In recent years the term “safe space” has been utilized by young people at tertiary level educational institutions to demand they be free from hearing political and social debate that they disagree with. Some find this view exceedingly immature and unrealistic because we live as part of a society with differing world-views and to force upon everyone a monolithic view would be oppressive and totalitarian.
However, this desire, at its heart, is spiritual in nature. In this talk we explore the spiritual principle of “taking shelter”, real shelter and false shelter.
One of the quotes I used comes from Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada:
This world of maya is called durasraya, which means “false or bad shelter.” One who puts his faith in durasraya becomes a candidate for hoping against hope. In the material world everyone is trying to become happy, and although their material attempts are baffled in every way, due to their nescience they cannot understand their mistakes. People try to rectify one mistake by making another mistake. This is the way of the struggle for existence in the material world. If one in this condition is advised to take to the path of self-realization and be happy, he does not accept such instructions.
Many people think that freedom means my absolute and unobstructed freedom to choose to do anything I may wish. That my wishes and desires must ideally reign supreme over everything else. And society must bend to my wishes/desires, which are treated as sacred. But this is immature and even dangerous thinking.
The ancient sages in yogis taught that this was a false idea. I can be freely making choices but simultaneously I will be accountable for my actions. I will have to pay the karmic price and be forced to eat the fruit, both the sweet and the bitter results that arise from my actions. That is not real freedom.
The texts I quote in this talk:
A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires -- that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still -- can alone achieve peace, and not the person who strives to satisfy such desires. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.70
I, the infinitesimal spirit soul, on the other hand, have embraced this mind, which is the mirror reflecting the image of the material world. Thus I have become engaged in enjoying objects of desire and am entangled due to contact with the modes of nature. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.23.44
Today you have opened our eyes and revealed how to cross to the other side of the ocean of darkness. By our past deeds and by the arrangement of superior authority, we are entangled in a network of fruitive activities and have lost sight of the destination of life; thus we have been wandering within the universe. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 4.21.51
Before giving up this present body, if one is able to tolerate the urges of the material senses and check the force of desire and anger, he is a yogī and is happy in this world. - Bhagavad-gītā 5.23
Although a self-realized soul may live in various material bodies while in this world, experiencing their various qualities and functions, he is never entangled, just as the wind which carries various aromas does not actually mix with them. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.7.41
If someone is ignorant and addicted to the path of samsara, how can one who is actually learned, merciful and advanced in spiritual knowledge engage him in fruitive activity and thus further entangle him in material existence? If a blind man is walking down the wrong path, how can a gentleman allow him to continue on his way to danger? How can he approve this method? No wise or kind man can allow this. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 5.5.17
He who is satisfied with gain which comes of its own accord, who is free from duality and does not envy, who is steady in both success and failure, is never entangled, although performing actions. - Bhagavad-gītā 4.22
We have probably all heard the saying “You are what you eat”. This meant that the food one eats has a bearing on one's state of mind and health.
In tonight’s talk “You are what you Tweet”, I’m suggesting that our mental health (at least to some degree) but more importantly our spiritual health can be diagnosed by our social media habits – what we Tweet.
Yogic teachings state that we will be deeply influenced by our speech and thoughts. It will affect our consciousness and therefore prescribe exercising both restraint and caution in communicating as our speech will either be liberating or it will lead to harm.
Some of the Vedic texts I quoted:
Austerity of speech consists in speaking truthfully and beneficially and in avoiding speech that offends. One should also recite the Vedas regularly. - Bhagavad-gītā 17:15
And serenity, simplicity, gravity, self-control and purity of thought are the austerities of the mind. - Bhagavad-gītā 17:15
“The niyamas (observances) are internal and external purity, contentment, acceptance of austerity, the recitation of sacred mantras and study of Vedic texts, and complete devotion and surrender to God.” – Yoga-sūtra 2.32
“....Truthfulness means to speak the truth in a pleasing way, as declared by great sages.” – Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.19.38
The need for a friend runs deep. We desire companionship, someone to share life’s experiences with, some level of support, someone you can trust. But many of us are unaware that this need is driven by something deeply spiritual.
This need has become vulnerable to exploitation with the rise of so-called “AI Companions.” In this talk, we explore these issues.
Two of the verses I quote in this talk:
Although the two birds are in the same tree, the eating bird is fully engrossed with anxiety and moroseness as the enjoyer of the fruits of the tree. But if in some way or other he turns his face to his friend who is the Lord and knows His glories — at once the suffering bird becomes free from all anxieties. — Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.1.2
Everyone believes in the illusory concept of the body as being the self, and all are thus submerged in the darkness of illusion. They are actually unable to understand how You live in every living entity as the Lord within the heart (Paramātmā), nor can they understand Your absolute position. But You are the eternal friend and protector of all surrendered souls. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 4.7.30
In this talk, we delve into a famous African billionaire's quest for happiness and where he found it. We also examine how acts that reflect or are connected to our inner spiritual nature, allow us to receive a glimpse into our true spiritual self, the eternal spiritual being residing within the material body.
Some of the texts I quoted:
As soon as irrevocable loving service is established in the heart, the effects of nature's modes of passion and ignorance, such as lust, desire and hankering, disappear from the heart. Then a person is established in goodness, and he becomes completely happy. Bhāgavata Purāṇa1.2.19
Thus the self-controlled yogi, constantly engaged in yoga practice, becomes free from all material contamination and achieves the highest stage of perfect happiness in transcendental loving service to the Lord. Bhagavad-gītā 6.28
Dhruva Maharaja – Because of my state of complete foolishness and paucity of pious activities, although the Lord offered me His personal service, I wanted material name, fame and prosperity. My case is just like that of the poor man who, when he satisfied a great emperor who wanted to give him anything he might ask, out of ignorance asked only a few broken grains of husked rice. Bhāgavata Purāṇa4.9.35
I am such a fool that I have given up the service of that person who, being eternally situated within my heart, is actually most dear to me. That most dear one is the Lord of the universe, who is the bestower of real love and happiness and the source of all prosperity. Although He is in my own heart, I have completely neglected Him. Instead I have ignorantly served insignificant men who can never satisfy my real desires and who have simply brought me unhappiness, fear, anxiety, lamentation and illusion. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.8.31
"‘It is the duty of every living being to perform welfare activities for the benefit of others with his life, wealth, intelligence and words. By his work, thoughts and words, an intelligent man must perform actions which will be beneficial for all living entities in this life and the next.' Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta - Ādi-līlā 9.42-43
Pure loving (devotional) service to the Lord is so sublime that one can very easily forget the happiness derived from material enjoyment, material liberation and mystic or yogic perfection. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta - Madhya-līlā 24.39
There is a general lack of clarity as to what enlightenment is. Some people think it happens in the mind, but it is not an activity of the mind, it means transcending the mind and experiencing that which is beyond the mind.
The very word “Enlightenment” speaks to moving “From darkness to light”. And what is that great darkness? 1) seeing the body as the self; 2) seeing this world as my home; 3) thinking that the stimulation of the body’s senses is actual happiness. There is more but these are fundamental to enlightenment. I have done another series on this topic – “From Darkness to Light” - just do a quick search for it (#202, 203, 204). Same for another talk I reference about the nature of illusion #199 The Great Illusion - Maya
The Vedic/yogic texts I quoted are as follows:
.... I, the infinitesimal spirit soul, on the other hand, have embraced this mind, which is the mirror reflecting the image of the material world. Thus I have become engaged in enjoying objects of desire and am entangled due to contact with the modes of nature. – Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.23.44
The path of avidyā, or advancement of material knowledge for sense gratification, is the path of repeated birth and death. As he exists spiritually, the living entity has no birth or death. Birth and death apply to the outward covering of the spirit soul, the body. Death is compared to the taking off and birth to the putting on of outward garments. Foolish human beings who are grossly absorbed in the culture of avidyā, nescience, do not mind this cruel process. Enamored with the beauty of the illusory energy, they undergo the same miseries repeatedly and do not learn any lessons from the laws of nature. – AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
When, however, one is enlightened with the knowledge by which nescience is destroyed, then his knowledge reveals everything, as the sun lights up everything in the daytime. – Bhagavata-gītā 5.16
One who is enlightened in self-realization, although living within the material body, sees himself as transcendental to the body, just as one who has arisen from a dream gives up identification with the dream body. A foolish person, however, although not identical with his material body but transcendental to it, thinks himself to be situated in the body, just as one who is dreaming sees himself as situated in an imaginary body. – Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.11.8
If the illusory energy subsides and the living entity becomes fully enriched with knowledge by the grace of the Lord, then he becomes at once enlightened with self-realization and thus becomes situated in his own glory. – Bhāgavata Purāṇa 1.3.34
I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the self-effulgent Supreme Soul, who is the witness in everyone’s heart, who enlightens the individual soul and who cannot be reached by exercises of the mind, words or consciousness. – Bhāgavata Purāṇa 8.3.10
The influence of material nature cannot harm an enlightened soul, even though he engages in material activities, because he knows the truth of the Absolute, and his mind is fixed on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. – Bhāgavata Purāṇa 3.27.26
For this reason the enlightened person should endeavor only for the minimum necessities of life while in the world of names. He should be intelligently fixed and never endeavor for unwanted things, being competent to perceive practically that all such endeavors are merely hard labor for nothing. – Bhāgavata Purāṇa 2.2.3
Last week in the 1st talk on this topic I didn’t have enough time to present some historical examples of how some societies embraced this principle of Simple Living and High Thinking.
Drawing on examples from the ancient Vedic society and also early Christian Orthodox practices from Eastern Europe, there are clear illustrations we can get inspiration from to find areas in our lives to apply some of these underlying principles in our current times.
We are living in a fast-paced technological world where we are being served “information” at an extraordinary rate, at which we cannot possibly keep up with.
Things have become so complex (complicated living) and there is a massive reduction in people’s attention spans and an over-emphasis on trivial and unimportant things like your hair and wardrobe for example (try living like the billions of poor and underfed on the planet and see how important how you “look” is to them), resulting in the truly dumbing-down of the wider population (low thinking).
This is utterly alienating people from each other and the world, leading to purposelessness, isolation, and deep unhappiness.
The British historian, Arnold Toynbee, stated in an article back in 1972:
"The cause of the world's malady is spiritual. We are suffering from having sold our souls to the pursuit of an objective which is both spiritually wrong and practically unobtainable. We have to reconsider our objective and change it. And until we do this, we shall not have peace, either amongst ourselves or within each of us."
Adopting the motto of my spiritual teacher, “Simple Living and High Thinking”, would reverse this trend and actually solve many of our problems.
The other talk I mentioned in this talk is “The FALSE Me - The REAL Me” which can be viewed here – https://anchor.fm/acharya-das/episodes/198-The-FALSE-Me---The-REAL-Me-e1gk17g
These were still some unanswered questions which I was asked at the recently concluded retreat, so I will attempt to answer them here.
The list of questions were:
02:27 Could you please give us a definition of the word “spiritual”, as you have mentioned trees/nature is not spiritual, but they do contain life force and for many people that is the same life force or “spirit” that we experience as humans.
10:31 What are your thoughts on movement and good nutrition being linked to our ability to connect deeper to our spiritual nature? If we eat crap does impact this connection?
16:09 What is the most important thing I can do in my life to develop spiritually?
18:14 How to find purpose?
23:50 A friend of mine said to me; “Where do we get our thoughts from?” “It’s the key to cultivating other things.” What do you think?
32:11 What is the purpose of romantic relationships/partnerships?
38:10 How do we move from complete self-centeredness/selfishness into greater selflessness whilst maintaining balance and having healthy boundaries?
42:35 Do you believe we are reincarnated? If so can you explain more. When we go after we die? (Some links to a more in depth look at this subject. – “The Ins and Outs of Reincarnation”- https://anchor.fm/acharya-das/episodes/182-Reincarnation--the-Ins-and-the-Outs-e1gju35 “Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?”- https://anchor.fm/acharya-das/episodes/150-Why-Do-Bad-Things-Happen-to-Good-People-e1giggf “Purpose, Reincarnation, and Suffering - an online Q&A session.” - https://anchor.fm/acharya-das/episodes/177-Purpose--Reincarnation--and-Suffering---an-online-QA-session-e1gjsmn
45:23 Our current society is grooming us to be more isolated. How do we encourage unity every day?
48:02 I really want to change my heart but I don’t have the strength and I don’t know how?
This talk has its origins in the last talk I posted where we discussed the three categories of things that “happen” to us – LINK
It resulted in a number of questions about how much control we have over our life. This is the subject of this talk.
I have had some requests to upload a talk from last Sunday's Mantra Night. I was reflecting on my life and some of the lessons I've learned.
I was asked to speak about the recent school shooting at Uvalde, Texas, where 17 children and two teachers died. It is extremely difficult to comprehend how someone could do this, and so the question I was asked is why?
People generally want to look for easy answers, but it is a difficult subject. While sensible gun controls may help, this may not be the “solution”.
Research shows that K-12 students who engaged in mass shootings were found to be suicidal in 92% of instances and college/university students who engaged in mass shootings were suicidal 100% of the time.
Aggression, social rejection, narcissism, fame-seeking, low self-esteem, and depression are commonalities with mass killers, specifically mass shooters. Also Identification or idolizing antisocial fictional characters is also a common behavior within these types of offenders.
Among the 25 most-cited school shooters since Columbine, 75 percent were reared in broken homes. Psychologist Dr. Peter Langman, a pre-eminent expert on school shooters, found that most came from incredibly broken homes of not just divorce and separation, but also infidelity, substance abuse, criminal behavior, domestic violence, and child abuse.
These are issues which could be addressed by fostering a more spiritual outlook on life along with promoting the qualities of compassion, kindness, resilience, etc.
Yuval Noah Harari - Israeli intellectual and author - at the World Economic Forum stated:
“The most important thing to know about the future is that humans will soon be hackable animals, animals that can be hacked. There is a lot of talk these days about hacking computers and email accounts and smartphones and bank accounts, but we're actually entering the era in which it will be possible to hack human beings.”
Humans cannot be hacked the same way computers are hacked, but we can be manipulated, brain-washed, and mentally enslaved – this after all is what Social Media and big tech are seeking to do.
Harari went on to say “….You will not be able to hide from amazon, or from the secret police, or from coca-cola, as you surf the web or watch YouTube, or just walk down the street. The algorithms will be discreetly monitoring you and hacking you in the service of the government or a corporation or some organization. Maybe you still don't know that you're gay, but coca-cola already knows it, so next time they show you an advertisement they choose to use the version with the shirtless guy, and not the version with the girl in the bikini. And next day when you go to the shop you choose to buy coke and not pepsi and you don't even know why you think you did it from your free will.”
A very important subject. And what is the “yogic” perspective?
The Sanskrit word Sādhana has a number of meanings but is most often used as “the means by which we can achieve the goal of life.”
It speaks to the spiritual process of cultivating a “spiritual life” and the importance of developing a regular practice.
After looking at the more ancient practice of Sādhana outlined by Patanjali in the Yoga-sutra I summarized what a personal practice could look like considering the following essential components.
- · Immersion in that which is transcendental (the regular meditation upon spiritual sound)
- · Hearing from spiritual authority
- · Making your life a life of spiritual service
- · The cultivation of “theistic conduct” - Practice gratitude, patience/tolerance, humility, kindness
Start with following a guided meditation daily. There are links below to some learning and guided meditations you can use to build a daily practice or Sādhana.
Some of the quotes I used:
When impurities are destroyed by practicing the eight limbs of yoga, enlightenment dawns, culminating in full knowledge of the self/atma. Yoga Sūtra 2.28
Control of the senses (yama), observance of rules (niyama), bodily postures (asana), regulation of the breath (pranayama), the withdrawal of the mind from sense objects (pratyahara), focusing the mind on a chosen object (dharana), meditation (dhyana), and complete absorption in trance (samadhi) are the eight limbs of yoga. Yoga Sūtra 2.29
Non-violence, truthfulness, not stealing, celibacy and freedom from possessiveness make up the yamas. Yoga Sūtra 2.30
These laws are universal and must be practiced without consideration of time, place, birth or circumstances. Together they constitute the "great vow" of life. Yoga Sūtra 2.31
The niyamas (observances) are internal and external purity, contentment, acceptance of austerity, the recitation of sacred mantras and study of Vedic texts, and complete devotion and surrender to God. Yoga Sūtra 2.32
The highest state of spiritual devotion/realization is attained by slow degrees by the method of constant endeavor for self-realization with the help of scriptural evidence, theistic conduct and perseverance in practice. - Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā 5.59
Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform -- do that, O son of Kuntī, as an offering to Me. – Bhagavad-gītā 9.27
Playlist of guided meditations: https://soundcloud.com/acharyadas/sets/meditations-for-wellbeing
A very simple yet powerful guided meditation: https://soundcloud.com/acharyadas/guided-meditation-for-inner-peace-wellbeing
A guided meditation incorporating breath and mantra: https://soundcloud.com/acharyadas/breath-and-gauranga-mantra
Learning to do Japa: https://acharyadas.com/3-mantra-meditation-japa/
A wonderful daily guided meditation track incorporating breath, mantra, japa, then a kirtan: https://soundcloud.com/acharyadas/mymeditation
A suite of videos teaching different mantra meditation practices: https://acharyadas.com/series/mantra-meditation-discover-and-try/
Bruce Springsteen famously sang – “Everybody has a Hungry Heart”. It explores the search to fill that inner emptiness most people experience at different times and to different degrees. A few of the lines in the song go: “Everybody needs a place to rest, Everybody wants to have a home, Don't make no difference what nobody says, Ain't nobody like to be alone”
In this talk we examine how this inner hunger may manifest and what is its real cause, and how it is driven by a deep and almost unconscious desire to reconnect with our eternal soulmate, to find and experience (in multiple ways) the highest perfection.
Some of the verses I quote are:
Know that all opulent, beautiful and glorious creations spring from but a spark of My splendor. - Bhagavad-gita 10.41
‘One who possesses all these six divine and inconceivable excellences known as “bhaga” to the utmost degree, namely opulence, power, fame, beauty, knowledge, and renunciation is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, thus known as Bhagavān.’ - Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.47
Only the purified soul can attain the perfection of associating with the Personality of Godhead in complete bliss and satisfaction in his constitutional state. Whoever is able to renovate such devotional perfection is never again attracted by this material world, and he never returns. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 2.2.31
Formerly, great sages, through the sacrifice of Vedic knowledge and spiritual enlightenment, worshiped Me within themselves, knowing Me to be the Supreme Lord of all sacrifice and the Supreme Soul in everyone's heart. Thus coming to Me, these sages achieved the supreme perfection. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.19.6
My devotees always see the smiling face of My form, with eyes like the rising morning sun. They like to see My various transcendental forms, which are all benevolent, and they also talk favorably with Me. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 3.25.35
By chance, two birds have made a nest together in the same tree. The two birds are friends and are of a similar nature. One of them, however, is eating the fruits of the tree, whereas the other, who does not eat the fruits, is in a superior position due to His potency.
The bird who does not eat the fruits of the tree is the Supreme Soul, who by His omniscience perfectly understands His own position and that of the conditioned living entity, represented by the eating bird. That living entity, on the other hand, does not understand himself or the Lord. He is covered by ignorance and is thus called eternally conditioned, whereas the Personality of Godhead, being full of perfect knowledge, is eternally liberated. – Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.11.6-7
Upon seeing the charming forms of the Lord, smiling and attractive, and hearing His very pleasing words, the pure devotee almost loses all other consciousness. His senses are freed from all other engagements, and he becomes absorbed in devoted and loving transcendental service. Thus in spite of his unwillingness, he attains liberation without separate endeavor. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 3.25.36
I was asked the question that if we as spiritual beings (residing within the body) are truly eternal, meaning without a beginning nor an end, does that make us God-like? Are we then not different from God? And does this mean that we are somehow Gods?
The Vedic/Yogic teachings are that the individual soul (ātma/self) is a part and parcel of God and therefore “Inconceivably, simultaneously one yet distinct” from God –acintya-bhedābheda-tattva in Sanskrit.
We examined some authoritative Vedic verses about this:
This is the truth: As sparks of similar form spring forth by the thousands from a strongly blazing fire, so from the Absolute Truth are produced the various living beings, O gentle one, and there also do they go. - Mundaka Upanishad 2:1:1
As tiny sparks fly from a fire, so all the individual souls have come from the Supreme. - Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad, 2.2.20
auṁ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ
pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate
pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya
pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate
The Supreme Soul is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance. - Śrī Īśopaniṣad Invocation
*nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām
eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān*
nityaḥ – an eternal; nityānāṁ – a vast number of eternal beings; cetanaḥ – cognizant or conscious; cetanānām – a vast number of cognizant or conscious beings; ekaḥ – one alone; bahūnāṁ – of many; yaḥ – one who; vidadhāti – He awards; kāmān – desires;
He is the eternal among all eternal entities, and the chief conscious being among all conscious beings. Among the many living entities, He is the chief, who fulfills their desires. Śvetāsvatara Upaniṣad 6.13 & Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13
Īśvara is a special Puruṣa, unlike other puruṣas, being untouched by afflictions, actions (material activity) and the fruit of actions, and latent impressions or material desires. In Him the seed of omniscience is unsurpassed (infinite). He is also the Teacher of all ancient teachers (sages), being not limited by time. The transcendental sound personifying Him is AUṀ. - Yoga Sūtra 1.24-27
Īśvara [Supreme Soul / Paramātmā] is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.” - Bhagavad-gīta 18.61.
*sa nityo nitya-sambandhaḥ
prakṛtiś ca paraiva sā*
The same jīva is eternal and is for eternity and without a beginning joined to the Supreme Lord by the tie of an eternal kinship. He is transcendental spiritual potency. - Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā 5.21
By chance, two birds have made a nest together in the same tree. The two birds are friends and are of a similar nature. One of them, however, is eating the fruits of the tree, whereas the other, who does not eat the fruits, is in a superior position due to His potency.
The bird who does not eat the fruits of the tree is the Supreme Soul, who by His omniscience perfectly understands His own position and that of the conditioned living entity, represented by the eating bird. That living entity, on the other hand, does not understand himself or the Lord. He is covered by ignorance and is thus called eternally conditioned, whereas the Personality of Godhead, being full of perfect knowledge, is eternally liberated. – Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.11.6-7
Over the past few weeks, we’ve discussed consumerism, how it is driven by state-actors through economic policy (economic growth); how it is largely driven by greed and envy; that it is the underlying catalyst for a general sense of emptiness (leveraged through manipulative advertising which plays on it); it becomes a vicious cycle of the perpetual hunger for more – “what’s next”.
Consumerism gives rise to significant problems on a personal, societal, and environmental level.
Temperance (self-restraint) is critical to living healthier, happier, and more peaceful lives. This was promoted by the ancient Greeks, Romans, Chinese philosophers, and by most of the world’s great religions and even Charles Darwin.
I mention the Rotary Creed as I feel it is a wonderful tool to help build temperance in our dealings with others. It goes - "Of the things we think, say or do:
Is it the TRUTH?
Is it FAIR to all concerned?
Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
Some of the quotes I used:
The Century of the Self documentary is “the story of the rise of an idea that has come to dominate our society. It is the belief that satisfaction of individual feelings and desires is our highest priority” - Adam Curtis
The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation. And we scientists don’t know how to do that.” – Gus Speth
There is a single trait that psychologists have studied over the years that can actually predict the answers to all of the 5 questions. And, it isn’t grades in school or friendliness or confidence or emotional stability or even personality in general. It isn’t intelligence or persistence. Rather, it is restraint — the ability to resist temptation confidently and repeatedly. Psychologists call this conscientiousness.
A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires -- that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still -- can alone achieve peace, and not the person who strives to satisfy such desires. Bhagavad-gita 2.70
This is the conclusion to the series “Who Controls Your Mind” – about living a more conscious and purposeful life, and the need to be in control of your own mind to do that.
The consumption and use of information & technology do not bestow wisdom. They can in fact do the opposite. This is called dumbing-down the population.
What is needed is a spiritual paradigm which combats materialism - the ultimate vehicle for ignorance and harm.
Research consistently shows that the more people value materialist aspirations and goals, the lower their happiness and life satisfaction and the fewer the pleasant emotions they experience day to day.
Qualities such as restraint, temperance, self-control, delayed gratification, compassion, humility and kindness all support and bolster a life guided by wisdom.
The video I suggested watching is “The High Price of Materialism” 2011 https://youtu.be/oGab38pKscw
Some quotes I used:
As a strong wind sweeps away a boat on the water, even one of the roaming senses on which the mind focuses can carry away a man's intelligence. - Bhagavad-gita 2.67
Therefore, O mighty-armed, one whose senses are restrained from their objects is certainly of steady intelligence. - Bhagavad-gita 2.68
A faithful man who is dedicated to transcendental knowledge and who subdues his senses is eligible to achieve such knowledge, and having achieved it he quickly attains the supreme spiritual peace. - Bhagavad-gita 4.39
Before giving up this present body, if one is able to tolerate the urges of the material senses and check the force of desire and anger, he is well situated and is happy in this world. - Bhagavad-gita 5.23
Social Media and Big-Tech try to convince you that their product(s) are about making your life better or “connecting with people” etc. But the companies themselves have the goal of getting your attention, and then keeping you on their platforms for as much of your day as possible. They collect your data and usage habits and then sell your data or use the information to make money off you.
To do that they engage experts in an area of psychology research called "persuasive design," whose scholars seek to understand how to create something that is next to impossible to put down. Persuasive design combines behavioral psychology with technology to alter human behavior – yes, your behavior.
Tristan Harris, an ex-Google employee, speaking to the US Congress said the business model of big social media companies "is to create a society that is addicted, outraged, polarized, performative and disinformed. That's just the fundamentals of how it works."
Emily Jashinsky says these companies wield their power over your mind, to make you angrier, lonelier, dumber, less healthy and more addicted.
We become increasingly disconnected from the real world and end up “living in our heads.”
So what to do? In authentic spiritual systems/practices they promote both “dos” and “don’ts” (Yama/Niyama) in order to change your life. In relation to the topic we are coving I make some suggestions.
Don’ts –
· Stay off the apps as much as possible (limit usage),
· don’t just look to fill up an empty space,
· don’t just click on things that are fed to you (it is not harmless!!),
· stop seeking acceptance and validation through empty posts
· don’t just react (get emotionally involved or outraged)
Dos –
· move to take charge of your mind and its’ contents
· get a (real) life (find PURPOSE)
· become more informed (Yoga Wisdom)
· practice tolerance and humility
· be kind
· cultivate spiritual wisdom
· meditate!!!
“One who is not connected with the Supreme Soul can have neither transcendental intelligence nor a steady mind, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace?” - Bhagavad-gita 2.66
This is a series of talks and kirtans from an Easter retreat in New Zealand, 2022. The topic I was given was "Bhakti - the yoga of love".
This is a series of talks and kirtans from an Easter retreat in New Zealand, 2022. The topic I was given was "Bhakti - the yoga of love".
This is a series of talks and kirtans from an Easter retreat in New Zealand, 2022. The topic I was given was "Bhakti - the yoga of love".
This is a series of talks and kirtans from an Easter retreat in New Zealand, 2022. The topic I was given was "Bhakti - the yoga of love".
This is a series of talks and kirtans from an Easter retreat in New Zealand, 2022. The topic I was given was "Bhakti - the yoga of love".
This is a series of talks and kirtans from an Easter retreat in New Zealand, 2022. The topic I was given was "Bhakti - the yoga of love".
Most people today are oblivious to who controls their minds or to what degree they are controlled.
We discuss how the use of psychology to manipulate the masses became commonplace in the 20th Century.
Sigmund Freud's nephew Edward Bernays showed American corporations for the first time, how they could make people want things they didn't need, by linking mass-produced goods to their unconscious desires. He proposed that by stimulating people's inner desires and then sating them with consumer products, he was creating a new way to manage the irrational forces of the masses. He called it the engineering of consent.
Some quotes I used:
“We must shift America from a needs to a desires culture. People must be trained to desire, to want new things even before the old had been entirely consumed. We must shape a new mentality in America. Man's desires must overshadow his needs.” - Leading Wall Street banker Paul Mazer of Leahman Brothers in the early 1920’s
In 1927 an American journalist wrote: “A change has come over our democracy, it is called consumptionism. The American citizen's first importance to his country is now no longer that of citizen, but that of consumer.
In 1928 President Herbert Hoover told a group of advertisers and public relations men "You Have taken over the job of creating desire and have transformed people into constantly moving happiness machines. Machines which have become the key to economic progress."
“Although the media has undisputed power to influence people's decisions and they are in control of the public mind, unfortunately, they are for the greater part without any conscience.” – Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda ( Stated in the mid to late 1980’s)
The modem economy is propelled by a frenzy of greed and indulges in an orgy of envy, and these are not accidental features but the very causes of its expansionist success. The question is whether such causes can be effective for long or whether they carry within themselves the seeds of destruction. – E. F. Schumacher – British Economist
“It can be seen that while the media and advertising people may not fully appreciate this science, they are aware of how it works and they use it to control people's minds and exploit them. Due to their own lust for material gain and following, they don't use their power to good effect. They want a society of animals because animals are easier to control and exploit than intelligent people. This, for example, is the whole strategy of advertising. Excite people's gross senses and they'll buy your product.” – Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda
“People are already feeling alienated from everyone else in society. They're already small and powerless in the face of the powers that be. The media should not increase this. They should give people a chance to express what they are really seeing and feeling. But instead, they increase paranoia and separation. They create a feeling of "us" and "them."” – Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda
A new series where we explore the all-important subject of:
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who is actually in control of and is directing my life; and
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why that is important.
We will be taking an in-depth look at how the science of mind-control was developed by the advertising industry and further developed and exponentially enhanced by Big Tech to take control of your mind and desires, so as to exploit you financially.
Within the context of the yoga system – when I am simply following the desires or emotions within the mind, it means one has become a “victim” of their own mind.
A real yogi is one who utilizes their mind as an instrument or tool to achieve a higher end. In the series we will explore this point in some detail.
Some of the quotes I used:
"The individual is the passenger in the chariot of the material body, and intelligence is the driver. Mind is the driving instrument, and the senses are the horses. The self is thus the enjoyer or sufferer in the association of the mind and senses. So it is understood by great thinkers." Katha Upanisad 1.3.3-4
The working senses are superior to dull matter; mind is higher than the senses; intelligence is still higher than the mind; and he [the soul] is even higher than the intelligence. Bhagavad-gita 3.42
One must deliver themself with the help of one’s mind, and not degrade themself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well. Bhagavad-gita 6.5
For one who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy. Bhagavad-gita 6.6
This uncontrolled mind is the greatest enemy of the living entity. If one neglects it or gives it a chance, it will grow more and more powerful and will become victorious. Although it is not factual, it is very strong. It covers the constitutional position of the self/atma. SB 5.11.17
For one whose mind is unbridled, self-realization is difficult work. But he whose mind is controlled and who strives by appropriate means is assured of success. That is My opinion. Bhagavad-gita 6.36
This is the final video of a 3-part series called "Finding Myself" – The fundamentals of enlightenment.
In the attempt to come to know who I really am (self-realization), it is necessary to answer three questions: 1) What is my essence? 2) What is my position? - meaning where do I fit in the big picture, and 3) What is my natural function?
Everyone wonders if they have some higher purpose. The answer is yes and the quest to discover it takes us on an amazing journey. A significant part of our seeking self-realization, is to find an answer to the question “what is the natural and eternal function of the soul itself?”
The answer is tied to the need we all have to both love and to be loved. This need arises from our deeper self and is a spiritual need. It cannot be completely and unlimitedly fulfilled through the material world or material relationships. It is after all completely spiritual.
The awakening of spiritual love is our higher purpose and is the ultimate spiritual experience.
This is the 2nd of a 3 part series called "Finding Myself" – The fundamentals of enlightenment.
In the attempt to come to know who I really am (self-realization), it is necessary to answer three questions: 1) What is my essence? 2) What is my position? - meaning where do I fit in the big picture, and 3) What is my natural function?
Since time immemorial people have struggled with material nature, seeking to dominate, own, and control the Earth and its resources. We have similarly sought to control, dominate, and even own, others.
While desiring to be in control, all people never-the-less experience how we tend to be controlled by our mind, with its infinite desires and wants, and even by our physical body, especially noticeable when it is sick or as it grows old.
We desire freedom, to do whatever we want, whenever we want, and in many ways to be “number one”, to be supreme, but this is also a losing battle.
We can experience harmony and peacefulness when we are able to realize our true position, or where we fit (as eternal spiritual beings) in the big picture.
This is the 1st of a 3 part series called "Finding Myself" – The fundamentals of enlightenment.
In the attempt to come to know who I really am (self-realization), it is necessary to answer three questions: 1) What is my essence? 2) What is my position? - meaning where do I fit in the big picture, and 3) What is my natural function?
In this talk, we explore how "you" are an eternal spiritual being, separate from, but residing within, the physical body and covered by the mind. To come to appreciate this reality is a huge thing and will completely alter how we see "ourselves", others, and the world. In the talk, there is a mention of Silent Witness Meditation. This is a video link to it - https://youtu.be/sahWjLqFp1wand this is an audio link for those who prefer that - https://soundcloud.com/acharyadas/sil...
In this final talk in the series, we continue the exploration of the famous mantra: asato mā sad gamaya tamaso mā jyotir gamaya mṛtyor māmṛtaṁ gamaya Oh Lord, lead me from illusion into the eternal reality. Lead me from darkness into the light. Lead me from the realm of death into the nectar of immortality. - Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 1.3.28
We have previously examined the two sets of opposites; sat/asat (ultimate reality or truth/untruth or illusion) and tamas/jyotis (darkness/light). Now we examine mṛtyu/amṛta or death/immortality. In this world the only thing you can guarantee – death. Yet people don’t like to discuss or consider death and naturally there is little or no preparation for our own death.
Some of the authoritative and enlightening Vedic texts I quoted: Yudhiṣṭhira Questioned by Dharmaraja - What is the most wonderful thing? The most wonderful thing is that although every day innumerable creatures go to the abode of death, still a man thinks he is immortal. - Mahābhārata
Only one who can learn the process of nescience and that of transcendental knowledge side by side can transcend the influence of repeated birth and death and enjoy the full blessings of immortality. - Śrī Īśopaniṣad mantra 11 From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kuntī, never takes birth again. Bhagavad-gītā 8.16
In a dream one can see his own head being cut off and thus understand that his actual self is standing apart from the dream experience. Similarly, while awake one can see that his body is a product of the five material elements. Therefore it is to be understood that the actual self, the soul, is distinct from the body it observes and is unborn and immortal. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 12.5.4
A person does not actually take birth out of the seed of past activities, nor, being immortal, does he die. By illusion the living being appears to be born and to die, just as fire in connection with firewood appears to begin and then cease to exist. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.22.46
Because the conditioned soul is always disturbed by the bodily necessities such as hunger and thirst, he has very little time to cultivate attachment to hearing the nectarean words of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 4.29.41
Even a moment's association with a pure transcendentalist (devotee) cannot be compared to being transferred to heavenly planets or even merging into the Brahman effulgence in complete liberation. For living entities who are destined to give up the body and die, association with a pure transcendentalist is the highest benediction. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 4.30.34
O ultimate truth, one without a second, You are realized as Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān and are therefore the reservoir of all knowledge. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 6.16.19
There are three kinds of spiritual processes for understanding the Absolute Truth—the processes of speculative knowledge (jñāna), mystic yoga (yoga) and bhakti-yoga (bhakti). According to these three processes, the Absolute Truth is manifested as Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān. Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya 20.157
Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself is the one undivided Absolute Truth, the ultimate reality. He manifests Himself in three features—as Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān. Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi 2.65
The great sage Maitreya said: O warrior, the inquiry made by you is just befitting a saintly person because it concerns the incarnation of the Personality of Godhead. He is the source of liberation from the chain of birth and death for all those who are otherwise destined to die. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 3.14.5
See Youtube for full description.
In this talk we continue the exploration of the famous mantra: asato mā sad gamaya tamaso mā jyotir gamaya mṛtyor māmṛtaṁ gamaya Oh Lord, lead me from illusion into the eternal reality. Lead me from darkness into the light. Lead me from the realm of death into the nectar of immortality. - Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 1.3.28
Last week we examined sat/asat – eternal truth as opposed to untruth or illusion. Now we get a very graphic/ descriptive phrase as to what constitutes sat/asat which is light and darkness.
In Sanskrit “tamas” means – darkness, gloom, mental darkness, ignorance, illusion, error; whereas its opposite “jyotis” means – Light (of the sun, dawn, fire, lightning, etc.), brightness (of the sky) light as the divine principle of life or source of intelligence, intelligence.
The many Vedic texts I quoted: Covered by the mode of ignorance in material nature, the living entity is sometimes a male, sometimes a female, sometimes a eunuch, sometimes a human being, sometimes a demigod, sometimes a bird, an animal, and so on. In this way he is wandering within the material world. His acceptance of different types of bodies is brought about by his activities under the influence of the modes of nature. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 4.29.29
When the living entity is covered by the mode of ignorance, he does not understand the individual living being and the supreme living being, and his mind is subjugated to fruitive activity. Therefore, until one has love for Lord Vāsudeva, who is none other than Myself, he is certainly not delivered from having to accept a material body again and again. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 5.5.6
When the sun rises it destroys the darkness covering men's eyes, but it does not create the objects they then see before them, which in fact were existing all along. Similarly, potent and factual realization of Me will destroy the darkness covering a person's true consciousness. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.28.34
This Bhāgavata Purāṇa is as brilliant as the sun, and it has arisen just after the departure of Lord Kṛṣṇa to His own abode, accompanied by religion, knowledge, etc. Persons who have lost their vision due to the dense darkness of ignorance in the age of Kali shall get light from this Purāṇa. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 1.3.43
Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhāgavata Purāṇa propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are fully pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries…. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 1.1.2
Because a person who has been covered by ignorance since time immemorial is not capable of effecting his own self-realization, there must be some other personality who is in factual knowledge of the Absolute Truth and can impart this knowledge to him. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.22.10
…. My dear Lord, You are the supreme spiritual master of everyone; therefore all conditioned souls covered with the darkness of ignorance can be enlightened by You as the spiritual master. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 4.24.52
Dear master, kindly enlighten us in transcendental knowledge, which may act as a torchlight by which we may cross the dark nescience of material existence. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 4.31.7
Invocation oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, who has opened my eyes, which were blinded by the darkness of ignorance, with the torchlight of knowledge.
(Speaking of the materially entangled soul) …. In that state he becomes almost perpetually like a blind man who has fallen into a dark well of ignorance. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 5.14.21
For the full description see Youtube.
In this talk we begin by exploring of a very well-known Upaniṣad-ic mantra.
Auṁ asato mā sad gamaya tamaso mā jyotir gamaya mṛtyor māmṛtaṁ gamaya Auṁ śānti śānti śāntiḥ
Oh Lord, lead me from illusion into the eternal reality. Lead me from darkness into the light. Lead me from the realm of death into the nectar of immortality. Let there be the peace of spiritual enlightenment! - Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 1.3.28
What does it really mean? - “Oh Lord, lead me from illusion(untruth) into the eternal reality.”
The Sanskrit word “sat” (reality, truth) and “asat” (nescience, ignorance, untruth) in this mantra references the extraordinary way the ancient sages looked at this world, relationships and the self. Some of the verses I quoted: Ignorance consists of considering that which is temporary as eternal, the impure as pure, misery as happiness and the non-self (the body or mind) as the real self. Yoga-sūtra 2.5
Only one who can learn the process of nescience and that of transcendental knowledge side by side can transcend the influence of repeated birth and death and enjoy the full blessings of immortality. - Śrī Īśopaniṣad mantra 11
What lies at the very heart of war? The great sages saw the cause as being a spiritual ailment. There are often symptoms of, personal ambition of a leader/leaders which often manifests as a quest for power/wealth; and the “Them and US” mentality which is a breeding ground for a lack of empathy or even hated of others.
The sages have stated that there cannot be peace without inner peace. Some of the verses I quoted are:
A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires—that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still—can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires. Bhagavad-gītā 2.70
One who is not connected with the Supreme can have neither transcendental intelligence nor a steady mind, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace? Bhagavad-gītā 2.66
A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego—he alone can attain real peace. Bhagavad-gītā 2.71
Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong. Śrī Īśopaniṣad mantra 1
The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste]. Bhagavad-gītā 5.18
A person is said to be established in self-realization and is called a yogī [or mystic] when he is fully satisfied by virtue of acquired knowledge and realization. Such a person is situated in transcendence and is self-controlled. He sees everything—whether it be pebbles, stones or gold—as the same. Bhagavad-gītā 6.8
He is a perfect yogī who, by comparison to his own self, sees the true equality of all beings, in both their happiness and their distress, O Arjuna! Bhagavad-gītā 6.32
Let us move now from the practical how to the theoretical why: Why should we love our enemies? The first reason is fairly obvious. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction. So when Jesus says, "love your enemies," he is setting forth a profound and ultimately inescapable admonition. Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies—or else? The chain reaction of evil—hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars—must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation. - Martin Luker King Jr.
I was asked by some people to address this question after they read about an interview with Pope Francis where he was asked why he thought God would allow children to suffer. The Pope said, "I have no explanation for that.”
Many people jump on the honesty of the Pope to bash religion or to disrespect him, but I ask people to please not do that. This is a very serious and important subject which I have attempted to address from the Vedic perspective.
The quotes I have used in this talk; I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. - NKJV 2 Corinthians 12:2
As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change. Bhagavad-gītā 2.13
For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain. Bhagavad-gītā 2.20
As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones. Bhagavad-gītā 2.22
The caterpillar transports itself from one leaf to another by capturing one leaf before giving up the other. Similarly, according to his previous work, the living entity must capture another body before giving up the one he has. This is because the mind is the reservoir of all kinds of desires. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 4.29.76-77
The living entity in the material world carries his different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas. Thus he takes one kind of body and again quits it to take another. Bhagavad-gītā 15.8
The foolish cannot understand how a living entity can quit his body, nor can they understand what sort of body he enjoys under the spell of the modes of nature. But one whose eyes are trained in knowledge can see all this. Bhagavad-gītā 15.9
The endeavoring transcendentalists who are situated in self-realization can see all this clearly. But those whose minds are not developed and who are not situated in self-realization cannot see what is taking place, though they may try to. Bhagavad-gītā 15.11
For one who is not renounced, the threefold fruits of action -- desirable, undesirable and mixed -- accrue after death. Bhagavad-gītā 18.12
The living entity in the material world carries his different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas. Thus he takes one kind of body and again quits it to take another. Bhagavad-gītā 15.8
For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. KJV Galatians 6:7
And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. KJV John 9:1-3
Even though one is in the renounced order, one who is advanced certainly feels compassion for suffering living entities. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 5.8.10 CC Ādi 9.42 - "‘It is the duty of every living being to perform welfare activities for the benefit of others with his life, wealth, intelligence and words.’ CC Ādi 9.43 - "‘By his work, thoughts and words, an intelligent man must perform actions which will be beneficial for all living entities in this life and the next.’
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How is it that all living beings in the material world are bewildered by the powerful illusion that the body is the self? The Vedas explain that there is a pervasive and powerful, yet invisible, illusory energy named Māyā. This is a bit esoteric for many people but it is a very important subject.
We mention an ancient story of a warrior prince who was questioned by a mystical being and one of the questions put to his was; What is the most wonderful thing?
With folded palms Yudhiṣṭhira replied, “The most wonderful thing is that although every day innumerable creatures go to the abode of death, still a man thinks he is immortal.“ The verses I have quoted in this talk are as follows: Ignorance consists of considering that which is temporary as eternal, the impure as pure, misery as happiness and the non-self (the body or mind) as the real self. Yoga Sūtra 2.5
My dear Uddhava, the material universe that you perceive through your mind, speech, eyes, ears and other senses is an illusory creation that one imagines to be real due to the influence of māyā. In fact, you should know that all of the objects of the material senses are temporary. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.7.7
Just as a dream is merely a creation of one’s intelligence but has no actual substance, similarly, material lamentation, illusion, happiness, distress and the acceptance of the material body under the influence of māyā are all creations of My illusory energy. In other words, material existence has no essential reality. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.11.2
One should see that the material world is a distinct illusion appearing in the mind, because material objects have an extremely flickering existence and are here today and gone tomorrow. They can be compared to the streaking red line created by whirling a fiery stick. The spirit soul by nature exists in the single state of pure consciousness. However, in this world he appears in many different forms and stages of existence. The modes of nature divide the soul’s consciousness into normal wakefulness, dreaming and dreamless sleep. All such varieties of perception, however, are actually māyā and exist only like a dream. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.13.34
Due to my feeling of false ego, I have been engaged by Your māyā and have identified myself with the body and consequent bodily relations. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 3.25.10
O Lord, the people of this world, both men and women, are bewildered by Your illusory energy. Unaware of their real benefit, they do not worship You but instead seek happiness by entangling themselves in family affairs, which are actually sources of misery. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 10.51.45
No one can overcome the Supreme Person’s illusory energy [māyā], which is so strong that it bewilders everyone, making one lose the sense to understand the aim of life. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 8.5.30
The Supreme Lord’s Māyā makes men forget their real selves, and thus, taking the body for the self, they consider others to be friends, enemies or neutral parties. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 10.54.43
The original nature of every living entity is to consider himself the eternal servant of the Lord. But under the influence of māyā he thinks himself to be the body, and thus his original consciousness is covered. CC Madhya 24.201
Thus the yogī can be in the self-realized position after conquering the insurmountable spell of māyā, who presents herself as both the cause and effect of this material manifestation and is therefore very difficult to understand. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 3.28.44
If the illusory energy subsides and the living entity becomes fully enriched with knowledge by the grace of the Lord, then he becomes at once enlightened with self-realization and thus becomes situated in his own glory. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 1.3.34
It is often proposed these days that building one’s Self-esteem is the panacea for many issues plaguing our lives. But this can be an oversimplification of deeper issues and there can be many “weaknesses” is such a proposal.
We need to question the validity of this idea, at least to how it is often promoted. We live in a time when more attention is paid to people’s “mental health” than at any time in history, yet simultaneously seeing huge and unprecedented rises in depression, mental illness, suicide etc.
So maybe we need to consider other perspectives, more ancient and traditional perspectives.
Some quotes I used:
For one who has conquered the mind, the Supreme Soul is already reached, for they have attained tranquillity. To such a person happiness and distress, heat and cold, honor and dishonor are all the same. Bhagavad gītā 6.7
One who is equal to friends and enemies, who is equipoised in honor and dishonor, heat and cold, happiness and distress, fame and infamy, who is always free from contaminating association, always silent and satisfied with anything, who doesn’t care for any residence, who is fixed in knowledge and who is engaged in devotional service—such a person is very dear to Me. Bhagavad gītā 12.18-19
The saintly brāhmaṇa said: Everyone considers certain things within the material world to be most dear to him, and because of attachment to such things one eventually becomes miserable. One who understands this gives up material possessiveness and attachment and thus achieves unlimited happiness. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.9.1
In family life, the parents are always in anxiety about their home, children and reputation. But I have nothing to do with these things. I do not worry at all about any family, and I do not care about honor and dishonor. I enjoy only the life of the soul, and I find love on the spiritual platform. Thus I wander the earth like a child. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.9.3
In this talk we will explore an extremely important topic for anyone who wants to understand yoga and self-realization.
The subject is a bit esoteric and may be difficult for some to grasp as it deals with something that is completely beyond the very limited modern scientific view of what constitutes a person. The Vedas teach that there is a “real” identity/me and a “false” identity/me.
The entirety of living beings within the material world, with very few exceptions, are living out what could be described as dreamlike lives, totally engrossed in the world of the False Ego or the false self, totally unaware of their actual spiritual identity.
So, what is the mechanism that makes this possible? It is called the ahaṅkāra in Sanskrit, which is the subtle, yet powerful, covering of the soul/self, which distorts the consciousness of the pure soul.
The verses I quoted in this talk are as follows:
When the soul is under the spell of material nature and false ego, identifying one’s body as the self, the person becomes absorbed in material activities, and by the influence of false ego one thinks that they are the proprietor of everything. – Bhāgavata Purāṇa 3.27.2
During the rainy season the moon was prevented from appearing directly by the covering of the clouds, which were themselves illumined by the moon’s rays. Similarly, the living being in material existence is prevented from appearing directly by the covering of the false ego, which is itself illumined by the consciousness of the pure soul. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 10.20.19
The mind, being able to perceive due to its reflecting both the atma (self) and objects of perception, appears to comprehend everything. Yoga-Sūtra 4.23
Even though the mind has accumulated various impressions (and desires) of various types it is always at the disposal of the atma (self). This is because the mind cannot function without the power of the perceiver. Yoga-Sūtra 4.24
The false ego of the living entity places him in bondage and awards him exactly the opposite of what he really desires. Therefore, an intelligent person should give up his constant anxiety to enjoy material life and remain situated in the Lord, who is beyond the functions of material consciousness. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.13.29
As long as the spirit soul is covered by the subtle body, consisting of the mind, intelligence and false ego, he is bound to the results of his fruitive activities. Because of this covering, the spirit soul is connected with the material energy and must accordingly suffer material conditions and reversals, continually, life after life. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 7.2.47
A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego—they alone can attain real peace. – Bhagavad gītā 2.71
Although the false ego has no factual basis, it is perceived in many forms—as the functions of the mind, speech, life air and bodily faculties. But with the sword of transcendental knowledge, sharpened by worship of a bona fide spiritual master, a sober sage will cut off this false identification and live in this world free from all material attachment. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.28.17
Lamentation, elation, fear, anger, greed, confusion and hankering, as well as birth and death, are experiences of the false ego and not of the pure soul. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.28.15
The full description can be found on Youtube.
I was asked what the yogic view of Christmas is. Firstly, Christmas is (like it or not), the remembrance of the birth of Jesus Christ. Everything else (the tree, the gift-giving, the partying) was added later.
The yoga system does not mention what is thought of today as ‘religions’. But it recognized eternal and universal spiritual truth/principles, which may be reflected within religions to different degrees.
But there was a significant focus on transcendentalists, and it was understood that transcendentalists were transcendentalists for all.
Here are the Vedic verses I quoted: Even a moment’s association with a pure devotee cannot be compared to being transferred to heavenly planets or even merging into the Brahman effulgence in complete liberation. For living entities who are destined to give up the body and die, association with pure devotees is the highest benediction. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 4.30.34
O my Lord! Transcendental poets and experts in spiritual science could not fully express their indebtedness to You, even if they were endowed with the prolonged lifetime of Brahmā, for You appear in two features—externally as the ācārya and internally as the Supersoul—to deliver the embodied living being by directing him how to come to You. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.29.6
Therefore, O completely sinless ones, I ask you to kindly tell me what the supreme good is. After all, even half a moment’s association with pure devotees within this world of birth and death is a priceless treasure for any man. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.2.30
One should know the ācārya as Myself and never disrespect him in any way. One should not envy him, thinking him an ordinary man, for he is the representative of all the demigods. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.17.27
Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth. - Bhagavad-gītā 4.34
Someone sent me a meme, it was a picture of the top of Mt. Everest with the caption “Every dead body on Mount Everest was once a highly motivated person. So….maybe calm down!”
We live in an age that demands “BIG reactions” to almost everything. Where being ‘highly motivated’ is meant to be a good quality. But we don’t often deeply consider “Motivated by what?” and “To do what?”
We discuss the quality of dispassion, defined as to “not be influenced by strong feelings, or not affected by personal or emotional involvement.”
Some verses I quote in the talk: The mode of passion is born of unlimited desires and longings, O son of Kunti, and because of this one is bound to material fruitive activities. - Bhagavad-gītā 14.7
O chief of the Bharatas, when there is an increase in the mode of passion, the symptoms of great attachment, uncontrollable desire, hankering, and intense endeavor develop. - Bhagavad-gītā 14.12
…. Works done in the mode of passion result in distress, - Bhagavad-gītā 14.16
…. from the mode of passion, grief develops; - Bhagavad-gītā 14.17
That happiness which is derived from contact of the senses with their objects and which appears like nectar at first but poison at the end is said to be of the nature of passion. - Bhagavad-gītā 18.38
One who is not in transcendental consciousness can have neither a controlled mind nor steady intelligence, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace? - Bhagavad-gītā 2.66
A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires -- that enter like rivers into the ocean which is ever being filled but is always still -- can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.70
A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego -- he alone can attain real peace. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.71
Before giving up this present body, if one is able to tolerate the urges of the material senses and check the force of desire and anger, he is a yogi and is happy in this world. - Bhagavad-gītā 5.23
The wide use of the social media mechanism of “leave a comment below” in all it’s different forms, including Twitter, has significantly contributed to the current breakdown of social etiquette and damaged communication between people. Poisoning the well of social discourse has contributed to the serious loss of peace of mind and the erosion of happiness of much of the population at large.
As Tristan Harris the former Design Ethicist of Google has stated, this is part of Big Tech’s strategy and business model helping it "to create a society that is addicted, outraged, polarized, performative and disinformed.”
From a spiritual perspective, this is incredibly damaging to people and disruptive to spiritual growth. We need to be continuously evaluating whether something I am hearing, seeing, reading, etc, heightens my emotional responses? And does this content appeal to or stimulate my baser instincts? Does it create division (team spirit), or does it encourage empathy, compassion, and kindness? Is it based on spiritual understanding, or does it promote ignorance?
Last week’s talk “Nature is not Spiritual” had some people objecting to that truth and insisting that ultimately nature is an energy of Krishna and so is spiritual and that it's all “one”.
So, I thought I need to address these points as they are very important. Some of the verses I quote are as follows:
‘Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego—all together these eight constitute My separated material energies.’ - Bhagavad-gītā 7.4 ‘Besides these, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is another superior energy of Mine, which comprises the living entities who are exploiting the resources of this material, inferior nature.’ - Bhagavad-gītā 7.5 ‘All created beings have their source in these two natures. Of all that is material and all that is spiritual in this world, know for certain that I am both the origin and the dissolution.’ - Bhagavad-gītā 7.6
One who is enlightened in self-realization, although living within the material body, sees himself as transcendental to the body, just as one who has arisen from a dream gives up identification with the dream body. A foolish person, however, although not identical with his material body but transcendental to it, thinks himself to be situated in the body, just as one who is dreaming sees himself as situated in an imaginary body. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.11.18
vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 1.2.11
ahaṁ brahmāsmi “‘I, jīva soul, am of the same nature as Brahman.’ - Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad, 1.4.10
nityo nityānām cetanaś cetanānām “‘The Supreme Lord is the one supreme eternal entity amongst all eternal entities, and the fundamental conscious being amongst all conscious beings.’ - Śrī Kaṭhopaniṣad, 2.2.13
I was asked about whether Nature is ‘spiritual’ and about Nature’s ‘spiritual influence’. The reality is that Nature is not spiritual, it is in essence material since it is comprised of matter or the material energy. However, it can contribute to a sense of peacefulness in us and serve as a catalyst to arouse an interest in things that are spiritual.
In this talk we explore the subject and draw on some wonderful Vedic verses as follows: Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent [all material manifestations including the material body] there is no endurance and of the eternal [the soul] there is no change. This they have concluded by studying the nature of both. – Bhagavad-gītā 2.16
Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego--all together these eight comprise My separated material energies. – Bhagavad-gītā 7.4 Besides this inferior nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is a superior energy of Mine, which are all living entities who are struggling with material nature and are sustaining the universe. – Bhagavad-gītā 7.5
Ignorance consists of considering that which is temporary as eternal, the impure as pure, misery as happiness and the non-self (the body or mind) as the real self. – Yoga Sūtra 2.5
O sinless one, the mode of goodness, being purer than the others, is illuminating, and it frees one from all sinful reactions. Those situated in that mode become conditioned by a sense of happiness and knowledge. - Bhagavad-gītā 14.6
The mode of passion is born of unlimited desires and longings, O son of Kunti, and because of this the embodied living entity is bound to material fruitive actions. - Bhagavad-gītā 14.7
O son of Bharata, know that the mode of darkness, born of ignorance, is the delusion of all embodied living entities. The results of this mode are madness, indolence and sleep, which bind the conditioned soul. - Bhagavad-gītā 14.8
O son of Bharata, the mode of goodness conditions one to happiness; passion conditions one to fruitive action; and ignorance, covering one's knowledge, binds one to madness. - Bhagavad-gītā 14.9
From the mode of goodness, real knowledge develops; from the mode of passion, greed develops; and from the mode of ignorance develop foolishness, madness and illusion. - Bhagavad-gītā 14.17
The living entity in material nature thus follows the ways of life, enjoying the three modes of nature. This is due to his association with that material nature. Thus he meets with good and evil among various species. - Bhagavad-gītā 13.22
Due to this external energy, the living entity, although transcendental to the three modes of material nature, thinks of himself as a material product and thus undergoes the reactions of material miseries. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 1.7.5
In this way the conditioned soul living within the body forgets his self-interest because he identifies himself with the body. Because the body is material, his natural tendency is to be attracted by the varieties of the material world. Thus the living entity suffers the miseries of material existence. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 7.13.28
‘Woke’-ness references the attempt to address perceived or real racial & gender inequality. But it is a political ideology of creating divisions and undertaking action based on temporary bodily labels/identities.
From the spiritual perspective, the temporary bodily identities are false identities, and reinforcing these temporary and false identities can never be considered ‘well-informed' or 'aware' and can never deliver equality? It is like racing down the highway in a vehicle (the materialistic philosophy of bodily identity) appearing alert but factually being asleep at the wheel. This will only ever produce tribalism, which is foundational to inequality.
A philosophy founded on bodily identity differences, or group identities, can never succeed in creating peace, harmony, love, and justice for all. So, how do we approach the subject of equality from a spiritual perspective?
During the talk I used the following quotes: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” “I have a dream that one day down in Alabama … little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.” - Martin Luther King
“He is a perfect yogi who, by comparison to his own self, sees the true equality of all beings, in both their happiness and their distress, O Arjuna!” – Bhagavad-gita 6.32
“The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and the social outcaste.” - Bhagavad-gita 5.18
“Thus knowing oneself to be transcendental to material senses, mind and intelligence, one should control the lower self by the higher self and thus--by spiritual strength--conquer this insatiable enemy known as lust.” - Bhagavad-gita 3:43
“What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage.” - Bhagavad-gita 2.69
In this second installment on the subject of humility, we examine two of the critical reasons why humility is essential to achieve enlightenment.
The quality of humility is so important in spiritual realization, that the failure to cultivate it will ensure the lack of success.
The living being in the embodied state has two coverings, the gross physical body, and a subtle body comprised of the mind, the intelligence, and the false ego (ahaṅkāra). The false ego is the first and most powerful covering of the soul, which distorts the consciousness of the embodied being. The false ego will have you think and feel that you are all important, always right, and see everything with great clarity. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The false ego and the four human defects (to commit mistakes, be subject to illusion, a propensity to cheat, and greatly limited sense organs) make it difficult to perceive actual truth. Humility counters these influences and makes us inclined towards submissively hearing from spiritual authorities and supports a way forward, towards spiritual enlightenment.
We are encouraged to live a Life of excess by advertisers, retailers, the government and society, with the promise that this will make us happy and fulfilled.
This is having a huge impact on the planet, on mental health and on our state of peacefulness.
The Vedas propose that our well-being and happiness is tied to a life of restraint and moderation, of “simple living and high thinking”, as my spiritual teacher used to say.
Two verses from the Bhagavad-gita which I quoted: “One who is not connected with the Supreme can have neither transcendental intelligence nor a steady mind, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace?” Bg 2.66 “A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires -- that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still -- can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.” Bg 2.70
It is very sad how many people struggle with residual anger over past hurt. The problem is that this anger traps us in a world of suffering. The only way out is forgiveness, but what does that mean and how is it done.
We go into more detail than in any of the previous talks on this subject. One of the wonderful verses I quoted: “It is the duty of all transcendentalists to cultivate the quality of forgiveness which is illuminating like the sun. The Supreme Lord, Sri Hari, is pleased with those who are forgiving.” - Bhagavat Purana 9.15.40
The Vedas and ancient sages use wonderful analogies to help common folk develop a deeper appreciation of important spiritual teachings/truths.
One example is the reference to a bird and a cage.
In this talk we examine the search for perfection. We may seek perfection in; my body, a “home”, in relationships or a partner, a job, social or economic status, or in our children.
But why do we do this? It is due to our spiritual nature which is perfect. But when I try to do this in the material world I am seeking perfection in that which is imperfect. It is like our seeking permanence in that which is impermanent.
The answer to my desire for perfection lies in not trying to make the world, my body, or anything material perfect – but discovering my actual identity – my spiritual identity.
A verse from the Bhagavad-gita I quoted. “After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogis in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.” Bg 8.15
There is a need to change how we think about some of the major issues facing humanity today. If we don’t then the issues will not be addressed properly. Climate and environmental issues are the obvious ones but there are also major social issues that need real solutions.
Pollution is not just the nasty stuff we pump into the land, the air, and the water, it is also what we pump into people’s minds.
While overtly supporting the massive and imminent dangers of Climate Change and denouncing the polluters, Big Tech is an outsized contributor to the problems through their revenue models.
And on the social issues front, a recent news article states: “The Wallstreet Journal reports that Facebook has known for years that Instagram was mass-producing anxiety, depression, and eating disorders among teen girls who use it, and did nothing about it. That's because giving teens eating disorders is very profitable. As Casey Johnston writes, "these companies know that it's addictive to make people think that, somewhere in their app, there's a solution to feeling inferior and incomplete. The influencer who makes you feel not pretty enough, who also seems to have the key to becoming pretty enough? That's Instagram candy."
This talk presents a possible Yoga Wisdom perspective.
After last week's talk “The Workings of the Mind” I received a number of questions asking me for more detail about the nature of the mind and also about emotions and how they affect us. So this is in response to those questions.
I gave a number of quotes from the Vedas and will post those quotes here:
"The atma/self is atomic in size and can be perceived by perfect intelligence. This atomic atma is floating in the five kinds of air (prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, samāna and udāna), is situated within the heart, and spreads its influence all over the body of the embodied living entities. When the atma is purified from the contamination of the five kinds of material air, its spiritual influence is exhibited." - Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.1.9
“The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy. Bhagavad-gītā 18.61
The mind, which is subject to change, and the perceiver, which is not, are in proximity but are of distinct and different characters. When the mind is directed externally and acts mechanically toward objects there is either pleasure or pain. When at the appropriate time, however, an individual begins inquiry into the very nature of the link between the perceiver and the perception, the mind is disconnected from external objects and there arises the understanding of the perceiver itself. Yoga-sūtra 3.35
…in a dangerous situation an ordinary person cries, becomes fearful and laments, although such useless emotions do not change the situation. – Bhagavat Puraṇa 11.29.21
The view that the mind and all its workings is a function of the brain, is probably the most commonly held understanding of the mind in the world today. But the yogic view is radically different. There was an appreciation that we exist as eternal spiritual beings, temporarily occupying a gross material body, and also covered by a subtle material body constituted primarily of the mind. Three Vedic verses I quote speak to this:
"The individual is the passenger in the chariot of the material body, and intelligence is the driver. Mind is the driving instrument, and the senses are the horses. The self is thus the enjoyer or sufferer in the association of the mind and senses. So it is understood by great thinkers." - Katha Upanisad 1.3.3-4
The working senses are superior to dull matter; mind is higher than the senses; intelligence is still higher than the mind; and he [the soul] is even higher than the intelligence. - Bhagavad-gita 3.42
Transcendentalists who are advanced in knowledge compare the body, which is made by the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to a chariot. The senses are like the horses; the mind, the master of the senses, is like the reins; the objects of the senses are the destinations; intelligence is the chariot driver; and consciousness, which spreads throughout the body, is the cause of bondage in this material world. - Bhagavat Purana 7.15.41
The goal of human life promoted in the Vedas was to achieve spiritual liberation from material entanglement through self-realization. This involved exercising control of the mind as opposed to being enslaved and victimized by it.
One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well. - Bhagavad-gita 6.5
For one who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy. - Bhagavad-gita 6.6
A deeper understanding of the mind and how it affects us was integral to the practice of yoga. Such an understanding is found in the Yoga Sutra:
The mind is not self-illuminating being itself an object of perception (that which is knowable). YS 4.19
Not being self-luminous, the mind cannot be aware of an object and itself (as perceiver and perceived) at the same time. YS 4.20
The pure and transcendental consciousness of the atma (self) is unchangeable. When the mind receives the reflection of that consciousness it is able to perceive and appears like the seer. YS 4.22
The mind, being able to perceive due to its reflecting both the atma (self) and objects of perception, appears to comprehend everything. YS 4.23
Even though the mind has accumulated various impressions (and desires) of various types it is always at the disposal of the atma (self). This is because the mind cannot function without the power of the perceiver. YS 4.24
There was an appreciation of how an uncontrolled mind was seen as an enemy of the self:
This uncontrolled mind is the greatest enemy of the living entity. If one neglects it or gives it a chance, it will grow more and more powerful and will become victorious. Although it is not factual, it is very strong. It covers the constitutional position of the self/atma. - Bhagavat Purana 5.11.17
In the Bhagavad-gita there is an observation by Arjuna as to the difficulty of controlling the mind, but also a reassurance by Sri Krishna that it is possible:
For the mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Krishna, and to subdue it, I think, is more difficult than controlling the wind. - Bhagavad-gita 6.34
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Quite a large number of people accept, either fully or partially, what is called reincarnation. But for many there are also some confusion or misunderstanding.
This talk attempts to shed some light on the subject. Some verses which I quoted this subject:
As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change. Bhagavad-gita 2.13
For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain. Bhagavad-gita 2.20
As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones. Bhagavad-gita 2.22
The living entity in the material world carries his different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas. Thus he takes one kind of body and again quits it to take another. Bhagavad-gita 15.8
The caterpillar transports itself from one leaf to another by capturing one leaf before giving up the other. Similarly, according to his previous work, the living entity must capture another body before giving up the one he has. This is because the mind is the reservoir of all kinds of desires. Srimad Bhagavatam 4.29.76-77
When the living entity passes from the present body to the next body, which is created by his own karma, he becomes absorbed in the pleasurable and painful sensations of the new body and completely forgets the experience of the previous body. This total forgetfulness of one’s previous material identity, which comes about for one reason or another, is called death. Srimad Bhagavatam 11.22.39
To feel that your body is not “you” is natural because after all, you are an eternal spiritual being inhabiting a temporary material body. But if I “misread” this natural occurrence and wrongly conclude that what I need to do to find the true me, to be happy, is to re-engineer my body so that it aligns with the desires of my mind, then an artificial “reality” is produced. This can only result in further unhappiness.
Today, there is a growing movement that proposes the false idea that if I can “actualize my desires” I will be finally happy, I’ll live happily ever after. This is untrue.
The Vedas teach that identifying the material body and mind as the ‘self’ is ignorance/avidya. This results in a huge variety of pain and suffering. In this state, the tendency is to then confuse spiritual needs with material desires. The quest for happiness is driven by a spiritual need, but if I wrongly assume the body and mind is “me” then I limit the search for true happiness to just stimulating my material body and mind with pleasurable experiences, none of which gives me lasting happiness.
The yogic texts I quote in this talk follow: Persons who identify with this body, which is simply the product of the material mind, are blinded in their intelligence, thinking in terms of "I" and "mine." Because of their illusion of "this is I, but that is someone else," they wander in endless darkness. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.23.49
In his bewildered state, the living entity, accepting the body and mind to be the self, considers some people to be his kinsmen and others to be outsiders. Because of this misconception, he suffers. Indeed, the accumulation of such concocted material ideas is the cause of suffering and so-called happiness in the material world. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 7.2.25
The living entity in the material world carries his different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas. Thus he takes one kind of body and again quits it to take another. Bg 15.8
The extraordinary rise of suicide and depression amongst young people under 25 years old over the past ten years is shocking and sad. Some reports say that 1 in 8 young people in developed countries have suffered from significant depression in the past year. The need for resilience is undeniable.
What is needed is a more grounded worldview and the acceptance that life is challenging and unpredictable. Trying to cancel misfortune and difficulty with wishful thinking is not a winning strategy. Instead of trying to erase misfortune and unwanted change, learning how to deal with it is of great importance.
We all need a realistic view of life. Life is tough but that doesn’t have to mean it’s depressing.
But the ultimate foundation of resilience is a spiritual perspective which is founded on the knowledge that I am an eternal spiritual being residing within a temporary material body. Identifying with the body as being the self can only bring unhappiness, but discovering my true identity and nature is just the opposite.
I gave a few quotes from the Bhagavad-gita to contemplate upon:
Bg. 2.23 - The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind.
Bg. 2.24 - This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.
Bg. 2.25 - It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable and immutable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body.
Being humble is not something you “do”, it is a state of consciousness, a way of seeing the world, others, and myself.
We explore how one cultivates humility as part of the process of self-realization or enlightenment.
I did quote a wonderful verse from Patanjali’s Yoga-sutra regarding our dealing with others which I will share here.
The mind(consciousness) becomes purified (calmed) by cultivating the attitude of friendship towards the happy, compassion towards the miserable, goodwill towards the virtuous and (benevolent) indifference towards the wicked. Yoga-sutra 1.33
In a very recent news article I read, the headline stated: “Nearly half of Americans think they’re a better person than EVERYONE they know!”
I personally think this is shocking and sad because it is so spiritually damaging. I feel that it is due in large part to the influence of big tech and the way in which they affect society by eroding the finer values needed to help us live a more peaceful and happier life. The ex-Google employee and Big Tech critic Tristan Harris, recently testified before the US Congress and said the business model of big social media companies "is to create a society that is addicted, outraged, polarized, performative and disinformed. That's just the fundamentals of how it works."
We explore how this erosion of the quality of humility in people contributes to their unhappiness.
I was asked to answer some questions via video link last Saturday, from people attending a yoga and kirtan retreat on the Coromandel Peninsular in New Zealand. I thought that others may also benefit from this, so am posting it.
The questions in summary were:
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What is my purpose in life ..? Why am I here?
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What is the point of us not remembering our previous lives? What benefit is there in not remembering them? Why can’t we remember them?
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Why is the world so full of incredible suffering and pain?
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When you speak of this human existence someone said t's like a jail and we will never find true fulfillment here. Why does this have such a negative lens? Is it possible to have this understanding whilst also seeing the absolutely magical and beautiful world that God has created for us? I hope that makes sense.
The idea that there is no difference between the living being (jīva-ātmā) and the Supreme Soul (Paramātmā) leads to the erroneous conclusion that “I am God”. This idea is promoted by many of the well-known so-called gurus who have taught in the Western world.
The idea arises from an incomplete understanding of the nature of both the soul and of God. It is a fact that the essence of the soul/self is Brahman (spirit), but the “essence” of the soul alone, does not give the complete picture or knowledge of the soul. One must also come to understand my “position” and natural “function” to be incomplete knowledge.
The “I am God” philosophy appeals to the “false ego” – this is the ultimate ego-stroking one could have, and it can lead to the highest forms of hedonism. But the greatest misfortune for those who adopt this philosophy lies in their rejection of the existence of the highest object of love (the supremely loveable Personality of Godhead) and the chance to experience the greatest transcendental ecstasy which arises from prema - love for God.
It is uninformed to think I am the Supreme Controller when I am obviously controlled by so many forces, and in so many ways. Nor can I ever be cognizant or aware of everything that another entity experiences, what to speak of the sum total of all the experiences of all other living beings.
Some of the verses I quoted: SPARKS FROM THE FIRE "This is the truth: As sparks of similar form spring forth by the thousands from a strongly blazing fire, so from the Absolute Truth are produced the various living beings, O gentle one, and there also do they go." - Mundaka Upanishad 2:1:1
“As tiny sparks fly from a fire, so all the individual souls have come from the Supreme.” - Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad, 2.2.20
THE INDIVIDUAL SOUL IS NOT SUPREME "By turning away from the Supreme Lord, they, the jīvas, have become absorbed in the Lord’s separated energy — matter. Because of this, they are bewildered and deluded about their real identity. Due to this delusion, they are critically bound up in the terrible snare of lust and karmic activities. Their false identification with the gross and subtle bodies as their real self is the cause of their distress in material existence." - Vedānta-sūtra (35-38)
The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind. - Bhagavad-gīta 15.7
ONE SUPREME BEING AMONG ALL BEINGS nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān nityaḥ – an eternal; nityānāṁ – a vast number of eternal beings; cetanaḥ – cognizant or conscious; cetanānām – a vast number of cognizant or conscious beings; ekaḥ – one alone; bahūnāṁ – of many; yaḥ – one who; vidadhāti – He awards; kāmān – desires; He is the eternal among all eternal entities, and the chief conscious being among all conscious beings. Among the many living entities, He is the chief, who fulfills their desires. Śvetāsvatara Upaniṣad 6.13 & Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13
Īśvara is a special Puruṣa, unlike other puruṣas, being untouched by afflictions, actions (material activity) and the fruit of actions, and latent impressions or material desires. In Him the seed of omniscience is unsurpassed (infinite). He is also the Teacher of all ancient teachers (sages), being not limited by time. The transcendental sound personifying Him is AUṀ. - Yoga Sūtra 1.25-27
AN ETERNAL BOND OF KINSHIP sa nityo nitya-sambandhaḥ prakṛtiś ca paraiva sā The same jīva is eternal and is for eternity and without a beginning joined to the Supreme Lord by the tie of an eternal kinship. He is transcendental spiritual potency. - Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā 5.21
The rest of the description can be found on Youtube.
The day following this talk was the 534th anniversary of the appearance of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the “Father of Kirtan”, so I was asked to speak about him.
In the talk I referenced several quotes from the Vedas about him, predicting his appearance over 4,500 years prior to that day. I also referenced 3 of the 8 prays he personally wrote, all of which I am sharing here.
गौरः सर्वात्मा महापुरुषो महात्मा महायोगी त्रिगुनतितः सत्त्वरूपो भक्तिं लोके कश्यति gauraḥ sarvātmā mahā-puruṣo mahātmā mahā-yogī tri-guṇātītaḥ sattva-rūpo bhaktiṁ loke kāśyati "Lord Gaura, who is the allpervading Supersoul/Paramatma, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appears as a great saint and powerful mystic who is above the three modes of nature and is the emblem of transcendental activity. He disseminates the science of devotion throughout the world." — Caitanya Upaniṣad
पुण्यक्षेत्र नवद्विपे भविष्यामि शचिसुतः puṇya-kṣetre nava-dvīpe bhaviṣyāmi śacī-sutaḥ " I shall appear in the holy land of Navadvipa as the son of Sacidevi." — Kṛṣṇa-yāmala-tantra
कलौ संकिर्तनरंभे भविष्यामि शचिसुतः kalau saṅkīrtanārambhe bhaviṣyāmi śacī-sutaḥ "In the Age of Kali when the sankirtana movement is inaugurated, I shall descend as the son of Sacidevi." — Vāyu Purāṇa
अथ वाहं धरधमे भूत्वा मद्भक्तरुपधृक मायायां चा भविष्यामि कलौ संकिर्तनागमे ॥ atha vāhaṁ dharādhāme bhūtvā mad-bhakta-rūpa-dhṛk māyāyāṁ ca bhaviṣyāmi kalau saṅkīrtanāgame "Sometimes I personally appear on the surface of the world in the garb of a devotee. Specifically, I appear as the son of Saci in Kali-yuga to start the sankirtana movement."— Brahma-yāmala-tantra
य एव भगवन् कृष्णो रधिकाप्राणवल्लभः सृष्ट्यादौ स जगन्नाथो गौर आसीन महेश्वरी ॥ ya eva bhagavān kṛṣṇo rādhikā-prāṇa-vallabhaḥ sṛṣṭy ādau sa jagan-nātho gaura āsīn maheśvari "The Supreme Person, Sri Krishna Himself, who is the life of Sri Radharani, and is the Lord of the universe in creation, maintenance and annihilation, appears as Gaura, O Mahesvari."— Ananta-saṁhitā
कृष्णवर्णं त्विषाकृष्णं संगोपङ्गस्त्रपर्सदं । यज्ञैः संकीर्तनप्रयैर यजन्ति हि सुमेधसः ॥३२॥ kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ “In this age of Kali, those who are intelligent perform the congregational chanting of the names of Hari, worshiping the Supreme Person, who appears in this age always chanting the glories of Krishna. That incarnation is yellowish or golden in hue and is always associated with His plenary expansions, and personal expansions, as well as devotees and associates.”— Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.32)
सुवर्णवर्णो हेमाङ्गो वरन्गश चन्दनाङ्गदि । संन्यासकृच्छमः शान्तो निष्ठशन्तोपरायणः ॥ suvarṇa-varṇo hemāṅgo varāṅgaś candanāṅgadī sannyāsa-kṛc chamaḥ śānto niṣṭhā-śānti-parāyaṇaḥ “The Lord [in the incarnation of Gaurasundara] has a golden complexion. Indeed, His entire body, which is very nicely constituted, is like molten gold. Sandalwood pulp is smeared all over His body. He will take the fourth order of spiritual life (sannyasa) and will be very self-controlled. He will be distinguished from Mayavadi sannyasis in that He will be fixed in devotional service and will spread the sankirtana movement.” — Mahābhārata
- Glory to the Śrī Kṛṣṇa saṅkīrtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. This saṅkīrtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.
Full description can be found on Youtube.
The inspiration for the talk was that the UN has declared March 20 each year as the International Day of Happiness. Most people think that by seeking out something I consider desirable that is situated outside of myself (some object, experience, relationship, etc.,) and pulling that in close to myself, I can experience happiness. But lasting happiness is not acquired like this, it is “an inside job”. It requires our conscious participation. It doesn’t “just happen” to us.
The mad rush to endlessly consume products and experiences does not only not fulfill or satisfy us, but it also robs us of our intelligence and peace. The Vedas directly tie the experience of happiness to peace or peacefulness.
Author and Economist E. F. Schumacher concurs and states: “ I suggest that the foundations of peace cannot be laid by universal prosperity, in the modem sense, because such prosperity, if attainable at all, is attainable only by cultivating such drives of human nature as greed and envy, which destroy intelligence, happiness, serenity, and thereby the peacefulness of man.”
These were some of the verses I quoted which are really good to reflect or meditate on:
Bg. 2.70 - A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires-that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still - can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.
Bg 18.36 - O best of the Bhāratas, now please hear from Me about the three kinds of happiness by which the conditioned soul enjoys, and by which he sometimes comes to the end of all distress.
Bg 18.37 - That which in the beginning may be just like poison but at the end is just like nectar and which awakens one to self-realization is said to be happiness in the mode of goodness.
Bg 18.38 - That happiness which is derived from contact of the senses with their objects and which appears like nectar at first but poison at the end is said to be of the nature of passion.
Bg 18.39 - And that happiness which is blind to self-realization, which is delusion from beginning to end and which arises from sleep, laziness and illusion is said to be of the nature of ignorance.
There is a general and quite pervasive idea that if I am “progressive” then I am a ‘good’ person, I have high ethical standards and I am heading in a positive and desirable direction. But what does it actually mean to make progress as a society?
Well, the question becomes, “Progress towards what?” What if my goals and direction in life will produce bad outcomes? I may then be progressing towards these goals but heading in the wrong direction. I am progressing, but towards that which is undesirable.
If society's goals are founded on, and guided by, materialism, then progress towards those goals will lead to misfortune, unhappiness, and suffering for society and its’ members. This reflection was instigated by something one of the great spiritual teachers in our lineage wrote in the late 1800’s. It was in the form of a dialogue between a person who was a great promotor of the ‘advancement’ of civilization through materialistic culture and a childhood friend who had become a spiritual seeker. This is an excerpt from the book:
The materialist: “Civilization means to converse well in sophisticated society, to dress in a manner that pleases others, to eat food and conduct oneself in a way which is not repellent to others. Actually, you spiritual seekers follow none of these manners. “Some people consider that knowledge and culture are simultaneously expanding by this civilization, and if the trend continues this earth will become like heaven.”
The friend: “Human life is short and inevitably has numerous disturbances; thus, with our limited time here, it is imperative to serve the Supreme Soul and others, with unmotivated simplicity. The culture and sophistication, which you present as synonyms, are merely exercises in self-deception. If a human being remains on the path of truthfulness, his life is honest and simple. Leaving this straight path for that of deception, he becomes sly, engages in unscrupulous dealings, and tries to hide his crookedness behind a facade of sweet words and postured civility. Truthfulness and simplicity are laudable human characteristics, whereas the culture and sophistication you speak of generally lack these qualities. True culture, in its pristine state, shorn of all immorality, is found amongst the transcendentalists, and the culture of the materialist is tainted by sinful ways.”
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A few years ago, a guy from England decided that his life was too painful and sad. He was having trouble with relationships and a lot of other things. While taking care of his friend’s dog he had the flash of brilliance; “if only I was an animal, I would be like this dog, not a care in the world, I would be so happy.”
After considering which animal species he could “become” in order to find happiness, including contemplating on different types of animals, even an elephant, he settled on becoming a goat, after a Nordic Sharman said he was more of a “goat person”. And so, he dedicated a huge amount of resources and time to try and become a goat, including having custom-made prosthetics developed and even consulting with an animal psychologist. He finally fulfilled his dream by spending time amongst herds of goats in the Swiss Alps.
When one is devoid of knowledge of the real self, there is the danger that we become fixated on identifying with some “false self” because it seems to be in tune with my mind and my desires. But falsely identifying with anything material in the hope that I will discover my true self will never prove fruitful. Ultimately it will only cause us unhappiness and even harm. We are not the gross material bodies, nor the mind and its infinite desires. We are eternal spiritual beings, and it is only once we give up false identities and discover our “true” and eternal selves will we begin to experience the actual happiness we all desire.
Last night I was asked to speak about Valentine’s Day from a spiritual perspective since it was February 14th.
The desire for an eternal and lasting perfect love is at its root, really a spiritual desire. It arises from the soul itself, and the attempts to find it in a material dimension will always be frustrated. But it is possible, although it requires a paradigm shift in our life.
This is the final talk in the series. In our journey so far we explored the following:
The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed, and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation. Gus Speth – Environmental Scientist
In the 1920’s, Banker Paul Mazur of Lehman Brothers famously wrote: "We must shift America from a needs, to a desires culture. People must be trained to desire….. Man's desires must overshadow his needs."
In 1970, British Economist E.F. Schumacher wrote: “Economic progress, [the economist] Keynes counselled, is obtainable only if we employ those powerful human drives of envy and selfishness, which religion and traditional wisdom universally call upon us to resist. The modem economy is propelled by a frenzy of greed and indulges in an orgy of envy, and these are not accidental features but the very causes of its expansionist success. The question is whether such causes can be effective for long or whether they carry within themselves the seeds of destruction.”
In 2002, Adam Curtis, the writer, and producer of the BBC documentary series – The Century of the Self, presented through this work “the story of the rise of an idea that has come to dominate our society. It is the belief that satisfaction of individual feelings and desires is our highest priority.” Messaging produced by the consumer “revolution” deeply affects us all. But since ancient times, Yoga wisdom has taught that restraint, plus spiritual practice, leads to self-realization and happiness and that - Feeding one’s appetites increased avidya (ignorance) and contributes to a false-identity and our unhappiness.
Since time immemorial, all spiritual messaging from different traditions is for us to move away from absorption in the false-self and make the shift towards self-realization. A shift from self-centeredness towards selflessness. From serving myself to serving the Supreme Soul (God) and my fellowman.
The Dalai Lama wrote that to become happy all people must have purpose and they must serve. Of course, that purpose must be “bigger than myself”.
In the end, it all boils down to what my purpose in life is. The great spiritual teacher Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has advised:
One who has taken his birth as a human being …. should make his life successful and work for the benefit of all other people. It is the duty of every living being to perform welfare activities for the benefit of others with his life, wealth, intelligence, and words. By his work, thoughts, and words, an intelligent man must perform actions which will be beneficial for all living entities in this life and the next. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta - Ādi-līlā 9.41-43
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Last week we listed some of the qualities we have been advised since ancient times to adopt in order to become more peaceful and happy.
When we begin to build a personal list of guiding principles that will serve as my life’s compass, it is helpful to examine the 3 areas of our life that will be impacted by our adoption of at least some of these qualities.
a) How do we see the world?
Generally, most see the world as a ‘resource’ to claim and be exploited for my own fleeting so-called happiness. But it was here before I ‘showed-up’ in this life-time and it will remain when I quit this body. My laying claim to it is, in reality, stealing.
b) How do we see others?
We tend to categorize others into 3 categories – as those who may make me happy (I like them); those who may make me unhappy (I dislike them); and those whom I don’t care about at all.
c) How do we see ourselves?
When we are blinded by the illusion that the body I am occupying is me, and that the desires within my mind are “mine”, I cannot find either peace or happiness. Letting my mind and bodily desires run my life is like putting a 5yr old in charge of the grocery shopping for the family.
If we adopt spiritual principles as my life’s compass then at the very least the impact we will have on the world and those we encounter in our life will be to leave “lighter footprints”.
Some of the verses I quoted: Śrī Īśopaniṣad Mantra 1
इषवस्यमिदंसर्वं यत्किञ्च जगत्यां जगत् तेन त्यक्तेन भुजिथा मा गृधः कस्य स्विद्धनम् ।।
īśāvāsyam idam sarvaṁ yat kiñca jagatyāṁ jagat tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam
SYNONYMS īśa—by the Lord; āvāsyam—controlled; idam—this; sarvam—all; yat kiñca—whatever; jagatyām—within the universe; jagat—all that is animate or inanimate; tena—by Him; tyaktena—set-apart quota; bhuñjīthāḥ—you should accept; mā—do not; gṛdhaḥ—endeavor to gain; kasya svit—of anyone else; dhanam—the wealth.
Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong.
Also in the Bhagavad-gita:
Abandoning all attachment to the results of one’s activities, ever satisfied and independent, the transcendentalist performs no fruitive action, although engaged in all kinds of undertakings. Such a person of understanding acts with mind and intelligence perfectly controlled, gives up all sense of proprietorship over one’s possessions, and acts only for the bare necessities of life. Thus working, one is not affected by sinful reactions. Bg 4.20-21
In this way the conditioned soul living within the body forgets his self-interest because he identifies himself with the body. Because the body is material, his natural tendency is to be attracted by the varieties of the material world. Thus the living entity suffers the miseries of material existence. - Bhagavat Purana 7.13.28
Whenever a person experiences, by self-realization, that both the gross and subtle bodies have nothing to do with the pure self, at that time he sees himself as well as the Highest Spiritual Truth or the Supreme Soul. - Bhagavat Purana 1.3.33
Such a liberated person is not attracted to the temporary material sense pleasures of this world, but is always absorbed in spiritual trance, enjoying the pleasure within. In this way the self-realized person enjoys unlimited happiness, for he concentrates upon the Supreme. – Bhagavad-gita 5.21
Continuing with the series “My Life’s Compass” we explore a little deeper into the proposal by that yoga system that it is through restraint and control of the mind, senses, and desires, that one gains true freedom and is able to overcome selfishness, greed, and apathy, which the environmental scientist Gus Speth says is the root cause of all the environmental problems.
Some of the Vedic verses I quoted:
But a person free from all attachment and aversion and able to control his senses through regulative principles of freedom can obtain the complete mercy of the Supreme. - Bhagavad-gita 2.64
A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires -- that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still -- can alone achieve peace, and not the person who strives to satisfy such desires. - Bhagavad-gita 2.70
Fearlessness; purification of one's existence; cultivation of spiritual knowledge; charity; self-control; performance of sacrifice; study of the Vedas; austerity; simplicity; nonviolence; truthfulness; freedom from anger; renunciation; tranquillity; aversion to faultfinding; compassion for all living entities; freedom from covetousness; gentleness; modesty; steady determination; vigor; forgiveness; fortitude; cleanliness; and freedom from envy and from the passion for honor -- these transcendental qualities, O son of Bharata, belong to godly men endowed with divine nature. - Bhagavad-gita 16.1-3
And the following verses on Yama & Niyam from the Yoga-sutra
2.29 Control of the senses (yama), observance of rules (niyama), bodily postures (asana), regulation of the breath (pranayama), the withdrawal of the mind from sense objects (pratyahara), focusing the mind on a chosen object (dharana), meditation (dhyana), and complete absorption in trance (samadhi) are the eight limbs of yoga.
2.30 Non-violence, truthfulness, not stealing, celibacy and freedom from possessiveness make up the yamas.
2.31 These laws are universal and must be practiced without consideration of time, place, birth or circumstances. Together they constitute the "great vow" of life.
2.32 The niyamas (observances) are internal and external purity, contentment, acceptance of austerity, the recitation of sacred mantras and study of Vedic texts, and complete devotion and surrender to the Supreme.
Kirtan is to the cover "What a Beautiful Name It Is"
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There is a single trait that psychologists have studied over the years that can actually predict the answers to all of the 5 questions: How happy are you?; How wealthy are you?; Do you have an addictive personality?; Are you in debt?; How satisfied are you with your life?
And that trait isn’t grades in school or friendliness or confidence or emotional stability or even personality in general. It isn’t intelligence or persistence. Rather, it is restraint — the ability to resist temptation confidently and repeatedly. Psychologists call this conscientiousness.
Since time immemorial all the spiritual and religious paths in the world promoted restraint. But since the 60’s the idea of restraint has become vilified and in its place is the philosophy of instant gratification, of “Just Do It!”. But if I want to become truly happy then restraint must become an important foundation for the values I should adopt to serve as My Compass for Life.
Adam Curtis, the writer, and producer of the BBC documentary series – The Century of the Self said his film was “the story of the rise of an idea that has come to dominate our society. It is the belief that satisfaction of individual feelings and desires is our highest priority.”
Modern society, with the aid of social media, promotes the ideas of “self-importance” over “self-sacrifice for the greater good”, and the immense importance of prioritizing my mind’s fantasies and desires.
If we are to have a conversation about what needs to change, people can sometimes get quite emotional about certain issues and lose objectivity. It is from this place that the idea of “my truth” has arisen, that you can have “your truth” and I can have “my truth”. The notion that truth is subjective and not objective is a great impediment to solving the great social, economic, and environmental challenges which face us.
This is the 1st part of a series called “My Life’s Compass” that deals with the need to have clear guiding principles in life. It begins with a profound statement by a leading environmental scientist:
“I used to think that top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse, and climate change. I thought that thirty years of good science could address these problems. I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed, and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation. And we scientists don’t know how to do that.” – Gus Speth, American environmental lawyer and advocate former dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, former Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme.
Most of us are unaware that this greed, envy, apathy, and underlying selfishness have actually been intentionally cultivated in the wider society.
In the early 1920’s a quiet revolution was started to bring about a drastic social change. Banker Paul Mazur of Lehman Brothers famously wrote: "We must shift America from a needs, to a desires culture. People must be trained to desire, to want new things even before the old had been entirely consumed. We must shape a new mentality in America. Man's desires must overshadow his needs."
A new kind of advertising was key to make this possible, and the pioneer in this field was Edward Bernays, the nephew of Sigmund Freud, who showed corporations how to make people want things they didn't need by linking mass-produced goods to unconscious desires.
But by the 1970s the adverse effects were obvious. British Economist E.F. Schumacher wrote: “Economic progress, [the economist] Keynes counseled, is obtainable only if we employ those powerful human drives of selfishness, which religion and traditional wisdom universally call upon us to resist. The modem economy is propelled by a frenzy of greed and indulges in an orgy of envy, and these are not accidental features but the very causes of its expansionist success. The question is whether such causes can be effective for long or whether they carry within themselves the seeds of destruction.”
This shift in consciousness towards consumerism required a convergence of 1) the messaging that consumption is all-desirable and the new “God”, and 2) the gradual abandonment of traditional values and morality through the undermining of the value of religion.
So the big question is – what will replace traditional ethics and morality as the compass for our journey of life? How do we address selfishness, greed, and apathy? What are the guiding principles for my life?
The ending kirtan is sung to the Kodaline cover "All I Want"
This is the third in a series of four talks titled “The Mind, Mindfulness, & Me”.
There are many external forces that affect my mind and emotions. We may be aware of some of them, like peer pressure, social media, advertising, societal pressures, etc..
However, the Vedas speak about three powerful, yet invisible, subtle energies which act on all beings. They are known as the “tri-gunas” in Sanskrit, or the three modes of material nature. It is these three forces which perhaps, more than anything else, cause the bondage of the soul to material nature. They are briefly presented in these verses from the Bhagavad-gita:
14.5 - Material nature consists of three modes-goodness, passion and ignorance. When the eternal living entity comes in contact with nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, he becomes conditioned by these modes.
14.6 - O sinless one, the mode of goodness, being purer than the others, is illuminating, and it frees one from all sinful reactions. Those situated in that mode become conditioned by a sense of happiness and knowledge.
14.7 - The mode of passion is born of unlimited desires and longings, O son of Kuntī, and because of this the embodied living entity is bound to material fruitive actions.
14.8 - O son of Bharata, know that the mode of darkness, born of ignorance, is the delusion of all embodied living entities. The results of this mode are madness, indolence and sleep, which bind the conditioned soul.
Bg 14.9 - O son of Bharata, the mode of goodness conditions one to happiness; passion conditions one to fruitive action; and ignorance, covering one’s knowledge, binds one to madness.
14.10 - Sometimes the mode of goodness becomes prominent, defeating the modes of passion and ignorance, O son of Bharata. Sometimes the mode of passion defeats goodness and ignorance, and at other times ignorance defeats goodness and passion. In this way, there is always competition for supremacy. Bhagavad-gita 14.5-10
This is the fourth and final talk in a series titled “The Mind, Mindfulness, & Me”.
Here we examine the spiritual paradigm which should be foundational to how we live in and interact with the world.
You are an eternal spiritual being, the seer, the inhabitant of the body. Your presence makes it so that your body exhibits symptoms of life. When you leave the body, the true nature of the body manifests as dead matter. But you also have another covering, a subtle body, comprised of the mind, the intelligence, and the false ego or false concept of the ‘self’.
We all possess a wonderful higher faculty, the intelligence or Buddhi. This faculty empowers us to be able to step back from the mind, even at times when the mind is overwhelmed by heightened emotions, and effectively control the mind. Mindfulness means to use this faculty to control the mind rather than having the mind control me. When this happens (being controlled by the mind) the soul is considered lost. The Bhagavat Purana says:
“This uncontrolled mind is the greatest enemy of the living entity. If one neglects it or gives it a chance, it will grow more and more powerful and will become victorious. Although it is not factual, it is very strong. It covers the constitutional position of the self/atma.” BP 5.11.17
A wonderful verse from the Katha Upanisad paints the big picture:
"The individual is the passenger in the chariot of the material body, and intelligence is the driver. Mind is the driving instrument, and the senses are the horses. The self is thus the enjoyer or sufferer in the association of the mind and senses. So it is understood by great thinkers." Katha Upanisad 1.3.3-4
This is the second in a series of four talks titled “The Mind, Mindfulness, & Me”.
Some good advice for us all is that in a heightened state of emotions, whether negative or so-called positive emotions, one should not speak, one should not make decisions, and one should not act, as it will invariably produce difficulty or suffering for myself and for others.
This is where mindfulness comes in. I need to disengage, step away and calm down. Deep breathing, meditation, a walk outside all help here. Once I am on an even keel and calm, I should consider what is in my best interest long-term and what is in the other person(s) best interest and formulate a response.
If you ride the waves of emotion you will wipe out, whether immediately or later on. This mindfulness practice of not giving in to highly emotional states and instead, exercising control of the mind and emotions, is undoubtedly very challenging for us, but by gradual practice it is possible. And the outcome is brilliant.
A couple of verses from the Bhagavad-gita advise us as follows:
Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa said: O mighty-armed son of Kuntī, it is undoubtedly very difficult to curb the restless mind, but it is possible by suitable practice and by detachment. Bhagavad-gita 6.35 For one whose mind is unbridled, self-realization is difficult work. But he whose mind is controlled and who strives by appropriate means is assured of success. That is My opinion. Bhagavad-gita 6.36
This is a series of four talks titled “The Mind, Mindfulness, & Me”.
If you want to live a life where you can experience peace, joy, and fulfillment, then there is an urgent need to be more in control of your mind and emotions. If you are the servant of your mind and its’ innumerable desires, and make decisions based upon waves of emotion that can sweep over the mind, you will fundamentally be unhappy. And there is a deep spiritual reason for this.
This series offers very practical ways to make your life better. The foundation to achieving this depends upon a growing awareness of my true spiritual being. That I am an eternal spiritual being, temporarily covered by a physical body and the mind. This outer garment is not me and trying to satisfy its’ demands cannot bring me happiness.
Two important verses from the Bhagavad-gita speak to what happens when I do not have control of the mind and worse when it controls you:
One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well. Bhagavad-gita 6.5 For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy. Bhagavad-gita 6.6
People who make New Year resolution have the optimistic outlook that ‘I can be happier, life can be better’ and ‘I can do better in my life’. This is a good thing to have this attitude and there is an underlying great spiritual truth to this way of thinking. In this talk we explore the subject.
I received an interesting question about whether meditation could be considered a form of self-love?
In this talk, we examine the meaning of “self” and the word “love” and what the ancient yogis taught in this regard. The concept of self-love is a modern creation that tries to bundle up all forms of good mental and physical health practices as being self-love. Merchants have also leveraged the idea trying to entice the gullible public into buying things or experiences (their products) for ‘themselves’ as an expression of self-love.
But from a spiritual perspective, self-love, in its truest sense, is not a real possibility. Even dictionary definitions of ‘love’ point to the fact that love is an expression of relationship between two or more people. But we live in interesting times and no doubt these definitions will become rewritten.
The question that was asked of me was:
“I have a question. What is self-love? I hear that a lot and a lot of people say, I have to love myself first before I can love someone else, or help someone else. It is confusing because isn't that what people are already doing but they don't really notice it, and as a result, they're unhappy. And so, their self-love is a way to try to treat the pain of unhappiness, but isn’t that just a repeat of what they're already doing? And they also take the message of meditation in this way, that it is a practice of self-love. Is it really self-love?”
A number of people have asked me about navigating disinformation online, and particularly on social media.
The brilliant documentary “The Social Dilemma” which was released very recently, points out how a Google search on a specific subject by 2 people (who may be friends even), and while even standing next to each other, can result in different views/perspectives being served in the search results, when searching on exactly the same topic. This is because social media, news, YouTube and other platforms use algorithms to keep you ‘stuck’ on their sites. YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook etc. etc, all seek to reinforce your own belief and value system through scandal, outrage, shock, and other highly emotional responses in order to hold your attention.
Many sites take factual events/points to create differing narratives or spin. This is referred to as spinning the truth.
We should also ask whether the “info” being presented, appeals to my base instincts? Does it create division (team spirit), or does it encourage empathy, compassion, and kindness? Is it based on spiritual understanding, or does it promote ignorance?
The Vedic principle was to evaluate a speaker/writer (their character, moral/ethical values, life-style, source of ‘knowledge’ etc) before allowing them into your head/mind and your heart.
I was asked to speak about what a yogi’s perspective of Jesus Christ would be. I have done my best to answer this question honestly and from the Vedic perspective.
Some of the Bible verses I used in the talk from the King James Version, are listed here:
[Mat 6:24 ] No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
[Mar 10:17-23, 25-27 ] 17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? 18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? [there is] none good but one, [that is], God. 19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. 20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. 21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. 22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! ... 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 26 And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? 27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men [it is] impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
[Mat 22:36-39] 36 Master, which [is] the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
[Mat 7:21-23] 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
On this night we were observing the celebration of Diwali, known around the world as the Festival of Light. But many people, even in India, are unaware of the historical roots of Diwali as a very sacred festival with very deep spiritual meaning. So I attempted to shed a little light on the subject.
Mahamantra Kirtan - "What a Beautiful Name It Is" cover.
Betrayal can be experienced in many different situations and on many levels. But it is always painful. In seeking to deal with the pain, I can try to do this on the mental level, or on the spiritual level.
The foundational precept of real spiritual thinking is the recognition that I am an eternal spiritual being residing in a temporary material covering. My desire for happiness, love, and protection originates from the soul itself and can only be perfectly satisfied by that which is spiritual. When I seek to fulfill these spiritual needs through mundane personalities/relationships or from ‘material’ experience, I am creating a false expectation that often leads to the experience of “betrayal.”
I was asked whether compassion was integral to spiritual life? We must understand that real spiritual awakening means to know ‘myself’, meaning my true spiritual essence and not the temporary body and mind I am occupying and using then this will simultaneously grant the vision to see all others as spiritual beings like myself. The Bhagavad-gita states:
He is a perfect yogī who, by comparison to his own self, sees the true equality of all beings, in both their happiness and their distress, O Arjuna! Bhagavan-gita 6.32
Having this vision means that I could not possibly just live for ‘myself’ and exclude all others. I become bound to others, experiencing transcendental kinship, and will be moved by the unhappiness other beings experience from adopting the lie/illusion that the body is ‘me’ which means to live in ignorance of our eternal spiritual nature.
This becomes the underlying cause of spiritual compassion, defined in the Vedas as the inability to bear the distress of others. The great spiritual teacher, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, stated 500 years ago:
It is the duty of every living being to perform welfare activities for the benefit of others with one’s life, wealth, intelligence and words. By one’s work, thoughts and words, an intelligent person must perform actions that will be beneficial for all living entities in this life and the next. - CC Adi-lila 9:42-43
Last week’s talk on attachment and renunciation was focused on a very specific type of misuse of these noble spiritual ideals, where someone seeks to take advantage of another person. After posting this talk I received a number of inquiries related to the broader understanding of these two principles, attachment and renunciation, and their meaning and application in a broader spiritual context. So that’s is what we are covering this week.
As part of the talk I did give one quote from the Śrī Īśopaniṣad which I am adding here:
ईशावस्यमिदम्सर्वं यत्किञ्च जगत्यां जगत् तेन त्यक्तेन भुञ्जीथा मा गृधः कस्य स्विद्धनम् “Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Supreme Soul (Īśvara). One should therefore accept only those things necessary for oneself, which are set aside as one’s quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong.” - Śrī Īśopaniṣad Text 1
Attachment and renunciation are subjects interwoven with most spiritual paths. However, they can also be used as and excuse for bad (non-spiritual) behavior. I was asked to address the following question:
“Oftentimes I see the “spiritual” idea of detachment used as an excuse to run away from responsibilities, abandon relationships ( all types), or to emotionally disengage in negative and often disastrous ways. I’ve seen a lot of harm done in the name of “detachment”. What is real detachment as spoken of in the Bhagavad Gita and Vedic scriptures? And how is it correctly utilized in a healthy spiritual life?”
In answering the question I have made a few quotations from the Bhagavad-gita which were: There are principles to regulate attachment and aversion pertaining to the senses and their objects. One should not come under the control of such attachment and aversion, because they are stumbling blocks on the path of self-realization. Bhagavad-gita 3.34
While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises. From anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one falls down again into the material pool. Bhagavad-gita 2.62-63
The yogis, abandoning attachment, act with body, mind, intelligence and even with the senses, only for the purpose of purification. Bhagavad-gita 5.11
After the talk two weeks ago, where I read out a few questions I received, I was asked to go a bit further on the two questions which I had not covered: “Why did a perfect God create flawed beings?” and “Why are humans allowed to make wrong choices?”
The questions fundamentally are asking whether we have free will and if we do why? Isn’t that a mistake for God to grant free will and then we make bad choices? So, we attempt to address that by recognizing the importance of free will in the experience of spiritual love.
Continuing with the Ethics, Morals & Spirituality series – I was asked to continue the last talk “Is God Dead?”
I attempt to specifically address the last two questions from last week – “Does God really exist and how can we know that?” and “If God does exist, can we know who He (or She) is or must He/She remain a mystery?” I also addressed three other questions that were raised:
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Why does a benevolent God allow evil or apparent injustice to exist?
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Why did a perfect God create flawed beings?
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Why are humans allowed to make wrong choices? In answering these questions I used a few quotes from ancient yogic texts and are presenting them here for your consideration: “Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.” Bhagavad-gita 4.34
“I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, who has opened my eyes, which were blinded by the darkness of ignorance, with the torchlight of knowledge.” “By manipulating a fire-generating stick, great saints and sages can bring forth the fire lying dormant within wood. In the same way, O Lord, those expert in understanding the Absolute Truth try to see You in everything—even in their own bodies. Yet you remain concealed. You are not to be understood by indirect processes involving mental or physical activities. Because You are self-manifested, only when You see that a person is wholeheartedly engaged in searching for You do You reveal Yourself. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.” Bhagavat Purana 5.18.36
“But although You reside within the heart, You are very far away from those whose minds are disturbed by their entanglement in material work. Indeed, no one can grasp You by his material powers, for You reveal Yourself only in the hearts of those who have learned to appreciate Your transcendental qualities.” Bhagavat Purana 10.86.47 “You reveal Yourself within the hearts of those persons of pure consciousness who constantly hear about You, chant about You, offer You worshipful service, glorify You and converse with one another about You.” Bhagavat Purana 10.86.46
Continuing with the Ethics, Morals & Spirituality series – I received the following question: It seems more and more people no longer believe in God even as the source of ‘all good’. Some people say that the concept of ‘God’ was a creation of primitive man to try to explain things they didn’t understand. They say that now we have evolved, we no longer need to hold onto these ‘irrational beliefs’ and ‘superstitions.’ Some people also think God is a crutch for those who are weak. Question: In relation to the subject of ethical conduct, when you talk of a higher authority is that the same as God (in whatever form one may relate to That/Him)? Does God really exist and how can we know that? Also, if he does exist, can we know who He (or She) is or must He/She remain a mystery’?
While addressing the subject I used a few references which I will share here :
“Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe him as amazing, and some hear of him as amazing, while others, even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all.” – Bhagavad-gita 2.29
Robert Lanza (One of the 5 most influential scientists in the world according to Time) stated the following in relation to consciousness and the manifestation of the universe:
“Consciousness is not just an issue for biologists; it’s a problem for physics. Nothing in modern physics explains how a group of molecules in your brain create consciousness. The beauty of a sunset, the miracle of falling in love, the taste of a delicious meal—these are all mysteries to modern science. Nothing in science can explain how consciousness arose from matter. Our current model simply does not allow for consciousness, and our understanding of this most basic phenomenon of our existence is virtually nil. Interestingly, our present model of physics does not even recognize this as a problem.”
“But even putting aside the issues of consciousness, the current model leaves much to be desired when it comes to explaining the fundamentals of our universe. The cosmos (according to recent refinements) sprang out of nothingness 13.7 billion years ago, in a titanic event humorously labeled the Big Bang. We don’t really understand where the Big Bang came from and we continually tinker with the details, including adding an inflationary period with physics we don’t yet understand, but the existence of which is needed in order to be consistent with our observations.”
I was asked to address the apparent inconsistency between trying to live in humility, as it is prescribed for any aspirant on a true spiritual path, and the need to be assertive in order to protect the vulnerable and innocent who may be in our care. How do we manage this?
Continuing with the Ethics, Morals, and Spirituality Series, I attempt to answer this very interesting question which was sent to me:
“A lot of people think that ‘no one’ can know the whole truth and therefore we can’t receive the truth from another person. They conclude that we are all just fallible creatures and therefore ‘I’m on my own, and that it’s up to me to find my own way, and muddle through.’ Question: Can another human being truly be a fully self-realized soul, and if so, how can we tell who is an authentic spiritual teacher and how can we learn to have ‘faith’ or ‘trust’ in that person as our spiritual guide?”
Throughout history and in most countries of the world, we will find that the codes of morality and ethics adopted by most societies, are derived in part or whole from the world’s religious traditions.
With the change of time and the rise of secularism, the tendency has been to gradually abandon these values and to adopt more “modern” social values reflecting the changes that societies are adopting.
But this could lead to a creeping relativism where morality or ethical behavior is solely judged by the perspective of the observer or within the context in which they are practiced, leading to the abandonment of moral idealism or the idea of transcendent/absolute morality.
So what is the spiritual perspective on this?
This talk is part of a series called Ethics Morals & Spirituality in response to a few questions I received about marijuana legalization and euthanasia which are being put to a referendum here in New Zealand. Although euthanasia is a very sensitive subject we none-the-less look at the subject, not from the point of making any judgment of whether it is right or wrong, but rather, from the perspective of considering the purpose of human life and the importance that one’s state of consciousness at death plays in their future.
The ancient yoga text, the Bhagavad-gita states:
यं यं वापि स्मरन्भावं त्यजत्यन्ते कलेवरम् । तं तमेवैति कौन्तेय सदा तद्भावभावितः ।।६।।
“Whatever state of being one remembers when they quit their body, O son of Kunti, that state they will attain without fail.” Bg 8.6
In this talk, we address just the issue of drug usage (specifically marijuana) from a spiritual perspective. That perspective is best framed by the question “will this lead me to the realization of my true spiritual identity and being or will it contribute/reinforce the illusion that the body (and mind) is who “I” truly am?”
These two outcomes produce radically different experiences and results for everyone.
This talk is part of a series called Ethics Morals & Spirituality in response to a few questions I received about marijuana legalization and euthanasia which are being put to a referendum here in New Zealand. Part of the questions put to me was: “We see the majority of people demanding the freedom to choose to do ‘whatever they feel is desirable’, although some of these things may be considered illegal. Where should the line be drawn between individual responsibility/ discretion and Government legislation/ enforcement?” We will attempt to answer this over the course of the series.
This is a look at what drives hate. From a spiritual perspective it starts with the wrong idea that “I” am material, that the body that I am occupying and the mind I am using is who I am. Big mistake! Then the notion that I will become permanently happy by fulling the endless desires of my body and mind.
This sets me up to then conclude that I “love” the objects (including people) I intensely desire (thinking they will make me the happiest). Those things which I experience deliver unhappiness, I am not attracted to or even repulsed by, and if the feeling is strong enough, I hate.
According to the Vedas, it is desire and hate which are opposites. Similarly love (actual spiritual love) and lust are opposites. Lust is a self-centered and intense desire to “enjoy” someone or something. Love on the other hand, is selfless.
Being caught in these dualities causes the living being suffers and perpetuates their material entanglement. A couple of nice verses from the Bhagavad-gita speak to this:
There are principles to regulate attachment and aversion pertaining to the senses and their objects. One should not come under the control of such attachment and aversion, because they are stumbling blocks on the path of self-realization. Bg 3.34 O scion of Bharata, all living entities are born into delusion, bewildered by dualities arisen from desire and hate. Bg 7.27
I received a question about the use of mantra in meditating and why we do this.
Many people do not fully understand what yogic meditation taught in the Vedas and passed down by authentic lineages of self-realized teachers really is. Meditation is not really the activity of stilling the mind or emptying it of material thought, those are actually pre-meditation exercises practiced as Pratyahara and Dhāraṇā in the eight limbs of yoga.
Meditation is the absorption in transcendence. The easiest and most effective way to do that is to engage the mind and senses in Mantra Meditation.
This is a playlist with step-by-step guidance on how to practice different types of Mantra Meditation such as; Mantra with breath, Kirtan, and Japa meditation. There are also a number of guided meditations to help build a personal practice - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
SHOW LESSI was asked the question “When should you tell the Truth?” and so this is my reply.
The Vedic culture had a wonderful perspective on this subject. They were totally focused on being always truthful because this is in all of our interests to be honest and truthful. Truth was seen as an integral part of becoming enlightened and dishonesty has the pernicious effect of covering people's hearts and minds in ignorance and contributes to the material entanglement of the soul.
Yet truth should not be used as a cudgel to cause pain or injury to others. I shared a couple of very nice Vedic verses on this subject.
Austerity of speech consists in speaking words that are truthful, pleasing, beneficial, and not agitating to others, and also in regularly reciting Vedic literature. Bhagavad-gīta 17.15
satyaṃ brūyāt priyaṃ brūyānna brūyāt satyamapriyam | priyaṃ ca nānṛtaṃ brūyādeṣa dharmaḥ sanātanaḥ || 138 ||
He shall speak what is true; and he shall speak what is agreeable (pleasant); he shall not say what is true, but disagreeable; nor shall he say what is agreeable, but untrue; this is the eternal law.—(Manu Saṁhitā 4.138)
Truthfulness means to speak the truth in a pleasing way, as declared by great sages. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.19.38
One of my spiritual teachers replied to this question in a most wonderful way: “Regarding your questions, your first question was should the transcendentalist always speak the truth to everyone in all circumstances? The answer is yes, one should always speak the truth, but a qualified devotee will be able to always speak the truth in a way that is very palatable to everyone - so that it will sound pleasing even to his enemy. That is the art of speaking truth. It is certainly so, that we must speak the truth to all people, but how you say it that is another thing.”
This is the 7th lesson in the “Weathering a Storm” series. We should not simply bury our heads in the sand when confronted with adversity – this not only doesn’t help us, it often makes things worse. There is a need to face adversity, armed with knowledge and a clear and meaningful goal in life. The torchlight of knowledge casts light on potential ways forward, helps us to be more resilient, patient, and tolerant.
The previous lessons all provided answers or parts of the answer to living in truth:
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This too shall pass
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The serenity prayer – acceptance of the unchangeable, courage to change what is within our power and wisdom to know the difference.
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Do not become a victim of emotions and fears. Learn to hit pause, calm down, evaluate – “how can/should I deal with this situation or person?” Before I speak or act, consider what outcome I desire and then speak and act in a way to produce that outcome. Emotionally driven responses, choices, and actions never produce good outcomes.
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Our choices determine our experience of life. Make good choices that produce great (or at a minimum, acceptable) outcome.
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You are an eternal spiritual being residing in a temporary material body in a temporary and changing world. Unrealistic expectations of life destroy inner peace and lead to anxiousness.
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Building sandcastles on the shore is not a viable strategy to live a good and happy life. 7. Don’t bury your head in the sand – face trials and tribulations with the torchlight of knowledge.
If you missed some of the earlier talks on these lessons, they are available below. “Weathering a Storm” Series Youtube playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...Facebook playlist https://www.facebook.com/watch/Achary...
Some Meditation Links You May Benefit From:YouTube Easy de-stress meditation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gafPr... A daily practice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cko8Q... A longer daily practice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-ef7... Help to sleep better https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2Hlf...
This is the 6th lesson in the “Weathering a Storm” series. Since ancient times and in various cultures the warning has been echoed about the perils of “Build Sandcastles on the Shore.”
In the previous lessons, we have heard the advice that having false expectations of life leads to tremendous unhappiness and that we need to be more focused on how we deal with adversity (which is inevitable in material life) rather than trying to pretend/wish that ‘bad’ things won’t come our way.
A huge part of this strategy for living a good life is to build on truth. Creating a ‘make-believe’ life, hoping it will last forever, when it actually won’t, is unproductive and will lead to unhappiness.
The previous lessons all provided answers or parts of the answer to living in truth: 1. This too shall pass 2. The serenity prayer – acceptance of the unchangeable, courage to change what is within our power and wisdom to know the difference. 3. Do not become a victim of emotions and fears. Learn to hit pause, calm down, evaluate – “how can/should I deal with this situation or person?” Before I speak or act, consider what outcome I desire and then speak and act in a way to produce that outcome. Emotionally driven responses, choices, and actions never produce good outcomes. 4. Our choices determine our experience of life. Make good choices that produce great (or at a minimum, acceptable) outcome. 5. You are an eternal spiritual being residing in a temporary material body in a temporary and changing world. Unrealistic expectations of life destroy inner peace and lead to anxiousness. 6. Building sandcastles on the shore is not a viable strategy to live a good and happy life.
If you missed some of the earlier talks on these lessons, they are available below. “Weathering a Storm” Series Youtube playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...Facebook playlist https://www.facebook.com/watch/Achary...
YouTube Easy de-stress meditation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gafPr... A daily practice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cko8Q... A longer daily practice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-ef7... Help to sleep better https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2Hlf...
This is the 5th lesson in the “Weathering a Storm” series. More often than not, anxiety arises from a feeling of not being in control of outcomes. This can apply to many different situations that produce anxiety, but careful reflection will help us to deal with this.
The previous lessons all provided answers or parts of the answer to dealing with anxiety:
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This too shall pass
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The serenity prayer – acceptance of the unchangeable, courage to change what is within our power and wisdom to know the difference.
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Do not become a victim of emotions and fears. Learn to hit pause, calm down, evaluate – how can/should I deal with this situation or person. Before I speak or act, consider what outcome I desire and then speak and act in a way to produce that outcome. Emotionally driven responses, choices and actions never produce good outcomes.
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Our choices determine our experience of life. Make good choices that produce great (or at a minimum, acceptable) outcome.
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You are an eternal spiritual being residing in a temporary material body in a temporary and changing world. Unrealistic expectations of life destroy inner peace and lead to anxiousness.
Meditation Links You May Benefit From:
Facebook Easy de-stress meditation https://www.facebook.com/159626750731...
A daily practice https://www.facebook.com/Acharyadas10...
A longer daily practice https://www.facebook.com/Acharyadas10...
Help to sleep better https://www.facebook.com/159626750731... or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2Hlf...
YouTube
Easy de-stress meditation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gafPr...
A daily practice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cko8Q...
A longer daily practice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-ef7...
Help to sleep better https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2Hlf...
This is the 4th lesson in the “Weathering a Storm” series. Our life, as we are experiencing it, is largely the result of the choices we make. Making good choices and actions, produce the best possible outcomes, and can directly impact our happiness. To make conscious choices (as opposed to ‘emotional’ and often unconscious choices) we need to practice mindfulness. That means not letting our mind and emotions get the better of us.
We often tend to respond in an emotionally charged way to unpleasant and unwelcome events, situations, and people, who come into our lives. As a general guideline, I advise people not to make important decisions (or any decisions), engage in any action, or even speak out, while in any highly (or even moderately) emotional state. Our speech, actions, and decisions made in such a state are often not going to be helpful, either for ourselves or others, and we will often come to regret the things we may say or do.
In the first line of the Serenity Prayer we pray for the serenity to accept things I cannot change. Why is that important? This talk will answer part of this question by dealing with the application of mindfulness meditation. In the first line of the Serenity Prayer, we pray for the serenity to accept things I cannot change. Why is that important? This talk will answer part of this question by dealing with the application of mindfulness meditation. impact our happiness. To make conscious choices (as opposed to ‘emotional’ and often unconscious choices) we need to practice mindfulness. That means not letting our mind and emotions get the better of us.
Meditation Links You May Benefit From:
Facebook Easy de-stress meditation https://www.facebook.com/159626750731...
A daily practice https://www.facebook.com/Acharyadas10...
A longer daily practice https://www.facebook.com/Acharyadas10...
Help to sleep better https://www.facebook.com/159626750731... or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2Hlf...
This is the 3rd lesson in the “Weathering a Storm” series. We explore the issue of “control”. It is very common for people to spend a good deal of their time either trying to control things that they cannot or being upset or angry because they cannot control someone, something, or some situation. If we are brutally honest with ourselves, this is not very smart and does not actually help us in our life.
By becoming fixated on that which we cannot control, we end up losing control of our life, by coming under the control of anger, disappointment, and mental disturbance. It is empowering to instead, make conscious choices to act on things I actually have control of, things like:
• My priorities in life • What you eat, drink, or inhale • What you talk about • What you think about • How you react to things (other people’s words and actions) • How much effort you put into things (relationships, family, friends, social obligations) • When and how you show gratitude • How kind you are • Who you hang out with • Your words • How open-minded you are • How seriously you take life • Whether you show empathy for the suffering of others • Your willingness to help others Meditation Links You May Benefit From:
Facebook Easy de-stress meditation https://www.facebook.com/159626750731...
A daily practice https://www.facebook.com/Acharyadas10...
A longer daily practice https://www.facebook.com/Acharyadas10...
Help to sleep better https://www.facebook.com/159626750731... or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2Hlf...
YouTube Easy de-stress meditation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gafPr... A daily practice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cko8Q...
A longer daily practice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-ef7...
Help to sleep better https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2Hlf...
This is the 2nd lesson in the “Weathering a Storm” series. We have heard that even the most difficult of times will pass. That can relieve us from a sense of desperation. But we need a framework to make decisions about how we proceed.
I propose that the Serenity Prayer offers such a framework which will help us to focus upon that which we can change and to gracefully accept those things that are beyond our control and which we are powerless to change. But it requires wisdom to know the difference. So these three qualities need to be cultivated - Serenity, Courage, and Wisdom.
“Lord, grant me the SERENITY to accept the things I cannot change, COURAGE to change the things I can, and WISDOM to know the difference.”
SHOW LESSThis is the first in a series titled “Weathering a Storm” where we will examine a framework for addressing adversity or a crisis like the one we are currently entering, with the Covid-19 pandemic.
For most of us, it is almost impossible to grasp the ferociousness and regularity with which life was upended during the first half of the 20th century. Plague and conflict emerged on an epic scale, again and again. Loss and restriction were routine; calamity was commonplace. Two catastrophic world wars, the Spanish flu decimating the global population, the Great Depression, the Korean war, plagues, and epidemics, etc. Now, after 60 or 70 years of comparative stability, it seems we are there again. Having forgotten the lessons of history, we may begin to feel some panic or trepidation.
How do we deal with this? This series will examine ways of finding our footing and becoming resilient, through ancient and time-tested wisdom. In this talk, we remember the advice from the past – “This too Shall Pass”.
As part of this series, we will be promoting the benefit of managing stress and finding calm (so as to be able to make good decisions) through meditation. We have lots of online resources and you might like to try this: - FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/Acharyadas10... or YouTube: https://youtu.be/gafPrrO0o24
In order to live in this world and find peace and the resultant happiness which comes from that, it is crucial that we take responsibility for our speech, actions, and how we process or deal with our thoughts. We have no control over others and how they think, act, and speak, but we are responsible for our own actions, reactions, and behavior.
Real yogic mindfulness means living in an equipoised state. That my interaction with others (and the world) is driven by the recognition that I am an eternal spiritual being. “I” need to be in control of my mind and emotions rather than my mind and emotions controlling me. I don’t have to live from the default and instinctive position of feeling I must respond or act towards others based upon what my mind and emotions are telling me.
These are a few verses from the Bhagavad-gita which speak to this state: Perform your duty equipoised, O Arjuna, abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity is called yoga. Bg 2.48 He by whom no one is put into difficulty and who is not disturbed by anyone, who is equipoised in happiness and distress, fear and anxiety, is very dear to Me. Bg 12.15 One who is equal to friends and enemies, who is equipoised in honor and dishonor, heat and cold, happiness and distress, fame and infamy, who is always free from contaminating association, always silent and satisfied with anything, who doesn't care for any residence, who is fixed in knowledge and who is engaged in devotional service -- such a person is very dear to Me. Bg 12.18-19
I was asked to speak about some of the positive benefits of meditation and how meditation can help me make better choices in my life.
Over the years, and especially with my more recent work with women’s shelters and in prisons, it has become increasingly obvious how wonderfully beneficial meditation is in helping people live better, more purposeful, and happier lives. One of the most significant reasons is that people learn to make better choices, largely because they are able to step back from their mind, particularly when it is in a highly emotional state, and make choices that produce a better outcome for them and everyone else.
And of course, one of the most important choices will be to live a more spiritually directed life which can lead to a wonderful ending to this life, when it comes time for us to leave our material body.
When we try to “process” or understand the world around us we unknowingly do this through a “worldview” or a paradigm. As a result, things can appear utterly senseless at times.
Here we explore the spiritual paradigm which will make everything so much clearer and bring understanding. A more spiritual way of seeing things grants us a sense of serenity that arises from spiritual wisdom, and brings understanding to what may even seem chaotic, leading to a greater sense of purpose, happiness, and peace in our life.
Someone asked me to talk about something they are experiencing, where they previously suffered traumatic experiences in their childhood, and it continuously replays in their mind, creating a sense of fearfulness about the future. The question is how should one deal with this from a spiritual perspective?
I’ve been asked how we can navigate our way through this current “age of outrage”. It’s really important to recognize that in a heightened state of emotions people generally do not think very clearly and certainly do not make the best choices and take the best actions which produce the best possible outcomes.
Social Media (YouTube included) have employed AI-driven algorithms to feed you “outrageous” content, content that elicits an emotional reaction from you. The more emotional, the more “sticky” the post is. The masters of social media are vying for your time. The more time you spend with them the more information you are delivering to them which can in turn be monetized. You are the product! This of course is having a horrible effect on everyone’s psyche and propelling the current “Age of Outrage” we live in.
Becoming aware of these external influences upon us and engaging in positive spiritual cultivation will help blunt and even negate the influence of these forces. But we really need a paradigm shift and to make very healthy choices to be able to remain unscathed by their influences.
In the talk, I reference a well known techno-sociologist Zeynep Tufekci who has been quite outspoken about this influence. She has a number of TED talks that are of interest and feels we should be deeply questioning the ethics of algorithms. This is one of her talks - https://www.ted.com/talks/zeynep_tufe...
This is the final part of “A Code to Live By” where we examine some of the qualities which can help me to achieve peacefulness and happiness. Some of those qualities recommended by the ancient sages are:
• Self-control (includes control of the appetites, passions, mind),
• Freedom from Possessiveness & Theft (includes covetousness) (being satisfied with just as much as one needs for his maintenance),
• Simplicity – it is advised that one should be so straightforward that without diplomacy you can disclose the real truth even to an enemy. Also means living frugally - “need over greed”
• Modesty
• Engaging in a life of spiritual pursuit
• To be Charitable
• Bravery/Heroism
• Control of anger
The Vedas provide an amazing perspective on peace and happiness which is the opposite of what the materialistic or hedonistic lifestyle promotes.
“A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires — that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still — can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.” Bhagavad-gita 2:70 “A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego — he alone can attain real peace.” Bhagavad-gita 2:71
“One who is not connected with the Supreme can have neither transcendental intelligence nor a steady mind, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace?” Bhagavad-gita 2:66
This is a continuation where we begin to examine some of the qualities which we are encouraged to cultivate as part of a code to live by. I am dividing a list of qualities promoted in the Vedas into two main parts. The first of qualities that affect my relationships and dealings with others. The second part I will deal with next week.
In considering these qualities we should try to contemplate how we would like others to deal with us, both in our good times and our bad. What are the things that would touch us very deeply if someone related to us this way? Using this lens, we should look at our own actions and speech and see if we measure up to our own ideal of how we would like others to treat us.
Prominent amongst these qualities would be:
• Kindness/Compassion, (defined as “being unable to bear the suffering of others”)
• Humility, (not feeling higher than any other person)
• Tolerance (defined as “to patiently endure unhappiness”)
• Non-violence (Treating all life Equally – even giving up jealousy and envy)
• Truthfulness (not distort the truth for some personal interest and to speak the truth in a pleasing way, “as declared by great sages”)
• Forgiveness
Societies can only function when there is an agreed code of conduct for everyone. A code of conduct guides all organizations, companies, religious groups, educational institutions, and civic organizations. But theses codes may be external controls that people accept within a group but then discard once outside of that group.
Guiding principles are most effective when adopted and internalized by individuals. Everyone who seeks to walk a more spiritual path, and who is interested in their own true happiness and the wellbeing of others, should embrace a set of values, a code to live by. Throughout history we see diverse civilizations and societies adopting such codes that often contain the same guiding principles. Many of these principles have a deeply spiritual and universal underpinning.
This is the beginning of a conversation which will hopefully help individuals establish and adopt their own code to live by.
In this talk (the 3rd in the series “Lessons from Lockdown”) we examine the need for a guiding light to help us navigate life. There is a need to recognize the fact that we are often the “products” of a great deal of conditioning (previously known as brainwashing). There are some surprising examples of this in the talk.
We have been sold the idea that increased consumption will deliver much-wanted happiness, peace, and fulfilment. As a result, we feel the need to be always “on the go” in that quest for a wonderful future. But as we may have learned from the lockdown, this may not be true. In fact, some of the messaging we respond to may in fact deliver the opposite result to what was promised. Hence the need for objective and insightful guidance to find a way forward, to a more peaceful and purposeful life.
Albert Einstein penned a short formula for happiness which he gave to a bellboy in lieu of a tip while visiting Japan in 1922. His advice directly contradicts current consumer messaging. He wrote:
“A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness.”
This provocative message is consistent with the ancient guidance offered by great spiritual authorities. The ancient Bhagavad-gita offers similar advice: “A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires -- that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still -- can alone achieve peace and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.” Bhagavad-gita 2.70
What a shock to discover that feeding our desires and appetites will neither fulfill us nor make us happy and peaceful. We sorely need to find and embrace such wisdom and have it guide our life choices and values if we are to truly become happy and peaceful.
One of the glaring observations around the world about lockdown was how dramatically the pollution levels fell and the environment began “healing”. The abuse of the environment by humanity at large is unquestionable, but the ‘solution’ is less obvious.
Rather than just pushing for the use of alternative energy sources – that doesn’t address the underlying problem which is over-consumption – there is a need to dig a bit deeper.
Gus Speth, the American environmental lawyer, and advocate, former dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, former Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme has stated: “I used to think that top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse, and climate change. I thought that thirty years of good science could address these problems. I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed, and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation. And we scientists don’t know how to do that.”
This view is reinforced by the British Economist, E.F. Schumacher, when in the early 1970’s he stated: “The modern economy is propelled by a frenzy of greed and indulges in an orgy of envy, and these are not accidental features but the very causes of its expansionist success. The question is whether such causes can be effective for long or whether they carry within themselves the seeds of destruction.”
The current environmental crisis is nothing less than a ‘spiritual’ crisis. And the solution must, therefore, be spiritual. Mahatma Gandhi wisely stated; “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed.”
What are the lessons we can learn from the current lockdown? In this series I hope to present some thought-provoking ideas about our lives up to this point, and what we can do to live a ‘better’ life – provided we learn the necessary lessons.
I mention an article from the New Zealand Herald which stated; “Optimists throughout this lockdown have hoped that coming out of the pandemic, we'll have learned a few lessons along the way ... that we'll enjoy a gentler, more meaningful existence as a result of slowing down and connecting with what really matters. Looking at the queues outside the drive throughs, it looks like we're heading straight back to the lives we left behind.”
I think we can do better.
This is a continuation from last week as there were some questions from people wanting to know more about Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was a real spiritual revolutionary who not only introduced congregational kirtan as the prime means of spiritual attainment in this age, but also his overwhelming desire to see that all people attain the highest spiritual realization, and attain perfect spiritual love. He was therefore known as ‘patita-pavana’ or the deliverer of the most fallen.
In this talk, there is an account of two wonderful examples of this.
The day following this talk was the 534th anniversary of the appearance of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the “Father of Kirtan”, so I was asked to speak about him.
In the talk I referenced several quotes from the Vedas about him, predicting his appearance over 4,500 years prior to that day. I also referenced 3 of the 8 prays he personally wrote, all of which I am sharing here. गौरः सर्वात्मा महापुरुषो महात्मा महायोगी त्रिगुनतितः सत्त्वरूपो भक्तिं लोके कश्यति gauraḥ sarvātmā mahā-puruṣo mahātmā mahā-yogī tri-guṇātītaḥ sattva-rūpo bhaktiṁ loke kāśyati "Lord Gaura, who is the allpervading Supersoul/Paramatma, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appears as a great saint and powerful mystic who is above the three modes of nature and is the emblem of transcendental activity. He disseminates the science of devotion throughout the world." — Caitanya Upaniṣad
पुण्यक्षेत्र नवद्विपे भविष्यामि शचिसुतः puṇya-kṣetre nava-dvīpe bhaviṣyāmi śacī-sutaḥ " I shall appear in the holy land of Navadvipa as the son of Sacidevi." — Kṛṣṇa-yāmala-tantra
कलौ संकिर्तनरंभे भविष्यामि शचिसुतः kalau saṅkīrtanārambhe bhaviṣyāmi śacī-sutaḥ "In the Age of Kali when the sankirtana movement is inaugurated, I shall descend as the son of Sacidevi." — Vāyu Purāṇa
अथ वाहं धरधमे भूत्वा मद्भक्तरुपधृक मायायां चा भविष्यामि कलौ संकिर्तनागमे ॥ atha vāhaṁ dharādhāme bhūtvā mad-bhakta-rūpa-dhṛk māyāyāṁ ca bhaviṣyāmi kalau saṅkīrtanāgame "Sometimes I personally appear on the surface of the world in the garb of a devotee. Specifically, I appear as the son of Saci in Kali-yuga to start the sankirtana movement."— Brahma-yāmala-tantra
य एव भगवन् कृष्णो रधिकाप्राणवल्लभः सृष्ट्यादौ स जगन्नाथो गौर आसीन महेश्वरी ॥ ya eva bhagavān kṛṣṇo rādhikā-prāṇa-vallabhaḥ sṛṣṭy ādau sa jagan-nātho gaura āsīn maheśvari "The Supreme Person, Sri Krishna Himself, who is the life of Sri Radharani, and is the Lord of the universe in creation, maintenance and annihilation, appears as Gaura, O Mahesvari."— Ananta-saṁhitā
कृष्णवर्णं त्विषाकृष्णं संगोपङ्गस्त्रपर्सदं । यज्ञैः संकीर्तनप्रयैर यजन्ति हि सुमेधसः ॥३२॥ kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ “In this age of Kali, those who are intelligent perform the congregational chanting of the names of Hari, worshiping the Supreme Person, who appears in this age always chanting the glories of Krishna. That incarnation is yellowish or golden in hue and is always associated with His plenary expansions, and personal expansions, as well as devotees and associates.”— Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.32)
सुवर्णवर्णो हेमाङ्गो वरन्गश चन्दनाङ्गदि । संन्यासकृच्छमः शान्तो निष्ठशन्तोपरायणः ॥ suvarṇa-varṇo hemāṅgo varāṅgaś candanāṅgadī sannyāsa-kṛc chamaḥ śānto niṣṭhā-śānti-parāyaṇaḥ “The Lord [in the incarnation of Gaurasundara] has a golden complexion. Indeed, His entire body, which is very nicely constituted, is like molten gold. Sandalwood pulp is smeared all over His body. He will take the fourth order of spiritual life (sannyasa) and will be very self-controlled. He will be distinguished from Mayavadi sannyasis in that He will be fixed in devotional service and will spread the sankirtana movement.” — Mahābhārata
- Glory to the Śrī Kṛṣṇa saṅkīrtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. This saṅkīrtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.
There are people who want to protest injustice and racism, which is a good thing to do, but we need to apply a proper method to bring about this change. Anger will not bring about a change in people’s hearts and minds. It can even make things worse.
The Mahabharata (the great spiritual epic from India) speaks to this in a wonderful way. There was a great and saintly warrior King who had been persecuted and exiled along with his brother and wife. He suffered terrible persecution but warned his wife and brothers about the dangers of succumbing to anger in the attempt to right a great wrong.
He said: “O intelligent lady, through anger we may sometimes gain wealth, but anger ultimately destroys mankind. Real prosperity crowns one who conquers anger and brings adversity to one whom anger controls. Anger is the root of all destruction. An angry man commits sin blindly. An angry man will kill even his preceptor and insult his elders. He cannot distinguish between right and wrong. There is nothing an angry man might not say or do, even to the point of sending himself to Death’s abode. Knowing this, I will not indulge in anger, Draupadī. Rather, I will strive to control it.”
“When a weak man is oppressed by one more powerful, he should not display anger––lest he bring about his own destruction. There are no blessed regions in the hereafter for those who destroy themselves. Thus the weak should always control their anger. Only fools praise anger, considering it equivalent to energy. The wise keep anger at a distance. The man consumed by anger does not easily acquire generosity, dignity, courage, skill or the other attributes possessed by men of character. The wise consider him a man of character who restrains his wrath. The pious always praise such a man because they understand that the forgiving man is always victorious. One who represses his anger even when antagonized rejoices in the next world. For this it is said that a wise man, whether strong or weak and even if in difficulty, should always forgive his persecutor.”
We will examine this subject further next week.
This is a Puranic story about a man who became very wealthy but was extremely miserly and harsh even with his own family. When his store of good karma ran out he gradually lost all his wealth and was rejected by his own family.
He reflected deeply on the situation and received some extraordinary insight into his situation. He resolved to become a wandering monk and spend the remainder of his life absorbed in transcendence.
While wandering around he was often mistreated but accepted all the unhappiness as being his due. From his enlightenment, he understood the role of the mind and how the eternal spiritual being becomes enslaved by the desires of the mind and suffers greatly as a consequence. There was a recognition of the role which our own choices and actions play in our experiencing happiness and distress and that our destiny and our happiness are in our own hands. By living a life where we are in control of our mind and desires and we consciously choose to do good, the result will be wonderful. He composed a beautiful and poetic song that addresses the reality he was experiencing.
Some of the verses included the following:
SB 11.23.47: All the senses have been under the control of the mind since time immemorial, and the mind himself never comes under the sway of any other. He is stronger than the strongest, and his godlike power is fearsome. Therefore, anyone who can bring the mind under control becomes the master of all the senses.
SB 11.23.48: Failing to conquer this irrepressible enemy, the mind, whose urges are intolerable and who torments the heart, many people are completely bewildered and create useless quarrel with others. Thus they conclude that other people are either their friends, their enemies or parties indifferent to them.
SB 11.23.49: Persons who identify with this body, which is simply the product of the material mind, are blinded in their intelligence, thinking in terms of "I" and "mine." Because of their illusion of "this is I, but that is someone else," they wander in endless darkness.
SB 11.23.50: If you say that these people are the cause of my happiness and distress, then where is the place of the soul in such a conception? This happiness and distress pertain not to the soul but to the interactions of material bodies. If someone bites his tongue with his own teeth, at whom can he become angry in his suffering?
SB 11.23.57: I shall cross over the insurmountable ocean of nescience by being firmly fixed in the service of the lotus feet of the Supreme Soul. This was approved by the previous ācāryas, who were fixed in firm devotion to the Lord, Paramātmā, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
SB 11.23.58: Thus becoming detached upon the loss of his property, this sage gave up his moroseness. He left home, taking sannyāsa, and began to travel about the earth. Even when insulted by foolish rascals he remained unswerved from his duty and chanted this song.
SB 11.23.59: No other force besides his own mental confusion makes the soul experience happiness and distress. His perception of friends, neutral parties and enemies and the whole material life he builds around this perception are simply created out of ignorance.
This is the 3rd in the series about Life’s Meaning and Purpose. There are many people and organizations promoting a variety of ideas about the meaning & purpose of life.
We are constantly bombarded with messages that any emptiness or purposelessness we might be feeling can be assuaged by “stuff” – material goods, experiences, and relationships. This is the message of consumerism, amplified by advertising and social media.
Then there are those who promote identity politics as the panacea - divisions along lines of race, sex, gender, etc. The problem is that the body and mind are not you. You are an eternal spiritual being within the body and beyond the mind. So, redefining the body and the labels attached to them as the self, and trying to ‘become the label’, leads to a lack of fulfillment and resulting unhappiness.
So, does anyone know the purpose and meaning of life? CAN anyone know? In short ‘yes’!
Recognizing the inherent limitations of the mind and the four defects (imperfect senses, being subject to illusion, having a propensity to cheat, and the tendency to commit mistakes) which characterize mundane existence, suggests the need for transcendent knowledge, which is beyond the mundane mind and senses. That is the starting point of the journey to self-realization.
This is the 2nd in a new series about Life’s Meaning and Purpose. We look at some suggestions of how to find purpose and happiness from a UK organization established by members of the academe. Their suggestions are based upon extensive research and data and knowingly or unknowingly are actually founded on genuine spiritual principles. Three of their fundamental values and some of what underpins them are:
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We can each affect our happiness and the happiness of those around us. There is a wide range of proven actions we can take to boost happiness, both for ourselves and others. Although partly determined by factors outside our control, our happiness is significantly affected by the conscious choices we make and the way we choose to react to what happens to us.
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We need to prioritize the things that cause happiness. Positive relationships are the most important 'external' contributors to happiness. We need to put people first and do everything we can to create positive, loving and collaborative relationships in our families, organizations and communities.
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Helping others is essential for a happier society. Self-centered individualism is not the route to happiness. Helping others is of course good for their happiness, but it also makes us ourselves happier and healthier too. Giving connects us together, provides us with a sense of meaning and makes us more accepting of ourselves and others. It creates stronger communities and helps to build a happier society for everyone.
These principles are actually tied to a deeper spiritual truth concerning our true, eternal and inner identity as spiritual beings and are connected to our spiritual nature. Discovering this is the key to finding purpose and meaning to our lives. We will speak more deeply about this over the next two weeks.
This is a very ancient story from the Puranas that speaks about an encounter between a hunter and a famous sage Narada. The story reveals the power of even a moments association with a transcendental personality and the transformative power of spiritual sound or mantra.
The theme for this month is “Transcending Karma”. A discussion on karma will reinforce the reality that my experience of “life” is of my own making. My destiny is a creation of my own making, the product or the result of my actions.
Most people tend to think that the results of good karma are desirable whereas the results of bad karma are not. A person may then seek to perform good deeds and avoid bad deeds in the hope they will experience happiness. However, this position is not supported by the great yogis because it is rather child-like and uninformed. In his Yoga-sūtras Patanjali states:
परिणाम तप संस्कारदुःकैरगुण वृत्ति विरोधाच्च दुःकं एव सर्वं विवेकिनः
“To the discriminating yogi, all the fruits of past actions (both pleasurable and painful) are considered sorrowful because they all result in further bondage and suffering.” - Yoga-sūtras 2:15
It is wonderfully empowering to understand that it is my choices, my actions, that ‘create’ my experiences. As the saying famously goes – “As you sow, so shall ye reap”. This all points to the need to make really good choices and perform enlightened acts.
Continuing with another story in the fireside stories theme for the month at Mantra Night. This is a very ancient Puranic story about a young prince who was insulted by his stepmother and ignored by his father the king. He was so deeply offended he abandoned his home in the palace at the tender age of five and went to the forest to seek a means to get justice. Following in the footsteps of great sages and yogis he attempted to undertake a life of austerity and mystic yoga practice hoping to be blessed with a kingdom that would rival his father’s.
He eventually has a great spiritual revelation and a vision of the Supreme Soul, after which he returns home. As a result of spiritual enlightenment, he undergoes a complete transformation, declaring that his stated goal of a vast kingdom which previously seemed like priceless gems, now appears to be useless like broken glass. This is the story of the great saintly king, Dhruva Maharaja.
I am back in New Zealand and at Mantra Night. I was asked to narrate some ancient Vedic stories of great saintly personalities over the next couple of weeks. So tonight I spoke about Bhismadeva, a famous personality in the Mahabharata. He is listed as one of the 12 Mahajanas, or people whose exemplary life can be emulated by all people.
Bhismadeva was the grandsire of the Kuru and Pandava dynasties. He was a heroic warrior prince, a great general, a genuine mystic, yogi and saint. The end of his life was truly amazing as he was mortally wounded in a great battle, his body shot so full of arrows that when he fell no part of his body touched the ground. Because of his elevated position, he chose not to die but remained in that state for 56 days instructing his grandson who was to ascend to the throne. Then when an auspicious time arrived he voluntarily gave up his body and returned to the spiritual world.
As part of the instructions he gave, he reminded everyone that the sole purpose of human life is spiritual liberation and therefore all other duties must support that goal otherwise one is simply living like the animals. Bhīṣmadeva advised for all human beings nine qualifications:
(1) not to become angry,
(2) not to lie,
(3) to equally distribute wealth,
(4) to forgive,
(5) to beget children only by one's legitimate wife,
(6) to be pure in mind and hygienic in body,
(7) not to be inimical toward anyone,
(8) to be simple, and
(9) to support servants or subordinates.
He said one cannot be called a civilized person without acquiring the above-mentioned preliminary qualities.
This is the first part of a seminar in Darwin I was invited to give. For most people there is little to no understanding of the link between an uncontrolled mind and unhappiness. The Bhagavad-gita famously states:
One must deliver oneself with the help of one’s mind, and not degrade oneself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well. Bhagavad-gita 6.5 For one who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, the mind will remain the greatest enemy. Bhagavad-gita 6.6
If we are always just reacting to, and following, the dictates of our minds, then this results in unhappiness and misfortune. We should see the mind as a tool to be used by us for good and to seek good outcomes through wise choices of how to live and act.
In this talk we explore the nature of the mind and the connection between the eternal living being occupying the material body and their mind.
Some other yoga texts on the mind: This uncontrolled mind is the greatest enemy of the living entity. If one neglects it or gives it a chance, it will grow more and more powerful and will become victorious. Although it is not factual, it is very strong. It covers the constitutional position of the self/atma. Bhagavat Purana 5.11.17
The mind, which is subject to change, and the perceiver, which is not, are in proximity but are of distinct and different characters. When the mind is directed externally and acts mechanically toward objects there is either pleasure or pain. When at the appropriate time, however, an individual begins inquiry into the very nature of the link between the perceiver and the perception, the mind is disconnected from external objects and there arises the understanding of the perceiver itself. Yoga-Sutra 3.35 The pure and transcendental consciousness of the atma (self) is unchangeable. When the mind receives the reflection of that consciousness it is able to perceive and appears like the seer. Yoga-Sutra 4.22
The mind, being able to perceive due to its reflecting both the atma (self) and objects of perception, appears to comprehend everything. Yoga-Sutra 4.23 Even though the mind has accumulated various impressions (and desires) of various types it is always at the disposal of the atma (self). This is because the mind cannot function without the power of the perceiver. Yoga-Sutra 4.24 For one who has realized the self (atma) as being distinct from the mind, inquiry about the nature of the self ceases. Yoga-Sutra 4.25
This is another Puranic story from the great epic the Mahabharata. It is about an incident where the eldest of the Pandava brothers, Yudhistira, was in an incredibly difficult situation and had to answer a series of questions that were put to him.
Not only were the questions quite extraordinary but his answers were also. They demonstrated his outstanding character, and while a warrior King, he also had the heart and mind of a great saint.
One of the questions was "what is the most wonderful thing?" to which he answered - "The most wonderful thing is that although every day innumerable creatures go to the abode of death, still a man thinks he is immortal."
This speaks to the fact that if we were more conscious of the reality of our body’s immortality, that the time we will spend in this current body is finite and quickly passes, it would necessitate that our life be more purposeful, that our relationship be of greater significance, and that we act with more kindness, compassion, and love.
Who am I ?
Why am I here ?
What is the purpose of life ?
Perhaps you’re starting to feel as if the passing of time between birth and death doesn’t actually define your ‘life’. By seeking answers to these important questions, the gradual understanding of ‘life’ becomes possible and the quest for Truth, Spirituality and Enlightenment becomes the journey of life.
While this journey may ask us to go against the flow of hedonistic lifestyle, and mainstream society, the truth about who we really are is the key to unlocking a new “life”, and the chance to finding the happiness we have always sought.
In this seminar, hosted by The Mantra Room Gold Coast, we explore how the key practices of Meditation, Kirtan and cultivating Yoga Wisdom provide the answers and realizations to these thought-provoking, life-changing questions.
This is a wonderful story about a great sage who after renouncing a kingdom and passing through some difficult and extraordinary circumstances lived a life utterly disconnected from ordinary social dealings. Wrongly perceiving him to be a dumb mute and a fool he was forced into the service of a king and made to carry his palanquin. Refusing to step on harmless insects, he disrupted the smooth caring of the palanquin by constantly side-stepping ants and other insects, which made the kings ride bumpy and uncomfortable. The king threatened the sage, who now chose to speak for the very first time. What flowed from his mouth astonished the king who now realized he was in the presence of a great saint.
This is the final talk in the Mindfulness series. We summarize the purpose and goal of the practice of mindfulness and the two main categories of meditation which were performed by the transcendentalists since time immemorial.
In the first category there are three meditations; 1) meditation upon the truth of my existence, 2) meditation upon my changing body and how “I”, the self within, are the constant principle in a sea of change and am therefore not my material body, 3) the silent witness meditation which reveals how I am not my mind, but rather, the observer of the mind, and how I must learn to not be constantly swept along by the mind. These mindfulness meditations help me to discover and experience my inner spiritual self – the true self.
The second category of meditation is the use of sacred or transcendental sound, to purify my consciousness and to gradually become free from falsely identifying my body as myself. This is the beginning of enlightenment or self-realization.
Diving in tropical waters around reefs brings one a unique and beautiful experience. It is like entering a whole other world of colorful beauty and peacefulness.
Similarly, spiritual sound vibration can also allow us to experience a whole world of spiritual experience and transcendental wonder. The characteristic of spiritual sound is that it is not just “empty” syllables like material sound. For example, when I say “mango” the word mango does not contain the sweetness, the texture or the flavor of a mango. The word is just the name of something else and is distinct from the object named. On the other hand, spiritual sound is not like that. These mantras or spiritual sounds contain within them a world of spiritual experience and transcendental flavor. By immersing ourselves (diving into) this sound, it not only purifies us, but it gradually reveals us to a whole world of spiritual realization and experience.
The highest goal of yoga, the highest form of union with the Divine, is the attainment of spiritual love or Prema. This is a short talk followed by a very joyful kirtan with Ashraya - Australia's leading kirtan band. Thanks to Jiva, (one of Ashraya's crew who all came over for the International Yoga Festival at Auckland, New Zealand) for shooting and editing the video - sorry about the sound in the beginning.
In this talk, the concluding one in the series, we examine whether there is truly a higher purpose to life.
Academics have studied the subject of purpose in life and one team concluded: ‘People who have meaning and purpose in their lives are happier, feel more in control and get more out of what they do. They also experience less stress, anxiety, and depression. But where do we find 'meaning and purpose'? The answers vary for each of us but they all involve being connected to something bigger than ourselves’.
The ancient yoga teaching state that self-realization and God-realization are the purpose of human existence. The following are the Vedic texts which I quoted in this exploration of the highest purpose of human life.
"One who has taken his birth as a human being should make his life successful and work for the benefit of all other people. It is the duty of every living being to perform welfare activities for the benefit of others with his life, wealth, intelligence and words. By his work, thoughts and words, an intelligent man must perform actions which will be beneficial for all living entities in this life and the next.” - Caitanya Caritamrita Ādi-lila 9.41-43 The goal of yogic practice is to reawaken my forgotten eternal relationship with my dearest friend, the Supreme Soul.
"The one Supreme Lord lives hidden inside all created things. He pervades all matter and sits within the hearts of all living beings. As the indwelling Supreme Soul (Paramātmā), He supervises their material activities. Thus, while having no material qualities Himself, He is the unique witness and giver of consciousness." - Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.11
“Yet in this body there is another, a transcendental enjoyer, who is the Lord, the supreme proprietor, who exists as the overseer and permitter, and who is known as the Supreme Soul (Paramātmā).” – Bhagavad-gita 31.23
“Two companion birds sit together in the shelter of the same pippala tree. One of them is relishing the taste of the tree’s berries, while the other refrains from eating and instead watches over His friend. “Although the two birds are in the same tree, the enjoying bird is full of anxiety and morose; but if somehow he turns to his friend, the Lord, and knows His glories, at once he is freed from all anxiety.” - Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad, Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad, and Ṛk-saṁhitā 2.3.17
The awakening of a divine and transcendental love for the Supreme is the highest purpose of the soul itself.
"‘Religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation are known as the four goals of life, but before love of Godhead, the fifth and highest goal, these appear as insignificant as straw in the street.” - Caitanya Caritamrita Adi-lila 7.84
“Pure love for the Supreme Soul is eternally established in the hearts of the living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, this love naturally awakens.” - Caitanya Caritamrita Madhya-lila 22.107
Last week we looked at karma (action) and how it binds a person to the cycle of repeated birth and death and the consequent suffering that arises from that. The Vedas, therefore, teach that the actual goal of our human existence is spiritual liberation. One way off this cycle is the ‘off-ramp’ provided through Karma-yoga. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita:
लभन्ते ब्रह्मनिर्वाणमृषयः क्षीणकल्मषाः । छिन्नद्वैधा यतात्मानः सर्वभूताहिते रताः ।।
“Those who are beyond the dualities that arise from doubts, whose minds are engaged within, who are always busy working for the welfare of all living beings, and who are free from all sins achieve liberation in the Supreme.” – Bhagavad-gita 5.25
This was also reinforced by the great spiritual personality Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu over 500 years ago when he stated:
"One who has taken their birth as a human being should make their life successful and work for the benefit of all other people. It is the duty of every living being to perform welfare activities for the benefit of others with one’s life, wealth, intelligence and words. By one’s work, thoughts and words, an intelligent person must perform actions which will be beneficial for all living entities in this life and the next.” Caitanya Caritamrita Ādi 9.41 – 43
Many of us equate the time between our birth and our death as being the journey of life or as being our “life”. But this is not so. This is just a series of events. The living being is eternal, having existed before this current birth, and will exist beyond the death of the body.
The real journey of human life is to question “Who am I?”, “Why am I here?”, “Why do I suffer?”, “How can I experience true and lasting happiness?”. That is the journey of the soul (atma/self). This journey is thrilling, profoundly wonderful, and allows us to taste true happiness and experience spiritual love.
This is the concluding talk in the ‘Happiness’ series. We examine why and how the spiritual journey produces great joy.
The foundation for this undertaking is knowledge of my spiritual identity as being separate from the temporary identities I assume – age, sex, race, body-type etc. The foundational and transformative spiritual practice on this journey is, of course, kirtan meditation, and as the famous saying goes – “chant, dance and be happy”.
“This knowledge is the king of education, the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives direct perception of the self by realization, it is the perfection of dharma (right living). It is everlasting, and it is joyfully performed.” – Bhagavad-gita 9.2
This is a continuation of the Happiness series. We have previously discussed how selfishness leads to unhappiness and how empathy is a symptom of spiritual growth. We briefly examine this truth in light of the massacre of innocent people at two mosques in Christchurch two days earlier.
Then we explore the joy that comes from doing something for someone else (even a small thing) and consider the example of Mother Theresa. She was able to live in poverty but be full of joy. Caring and sharing actually begin to awaken the eternal nature of the soul itself and give us a small taste of real spiritual happiness.
We reflect on how the nature of the soul is to love and that caring/compassion is the seed of love. I quote a two verses from the Bhagavad-gita and an instruction from the great spiritual personality Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
A person is considered still further advanced when he regards honest well-wishers, affectionate benefactors, the neutral, mediators, the envious, friends and enemies, the pious and the sinners all with an equal mind. - Bhagavad-gita - 6.9
He is a perfect yogi who, by comparison to his own self, sees the true equality of all beings, in both their happiness and their distress, O Arjuna! - Bhagavad-gita - 6.32
One who has taken his birth as a human being should make his life successful and work for the benefit of all other people. It is the duty of every living being to perform welfare activities for the benefit of others with his life, wealth, intelligence and words. By his work, thoughts and words, an intelligent man must perform actions which will be beneficial for all living entities in this life and the next. – Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
Auṁ asato-mā sad gamaya tamaso mā jyotir gamaya mṛtyor māmṛtaṁ gamaya Auṁ śānti śānti śāntiḥ
Oh Lord, Lead me from illusion into the eternal reality, from darkness into the light, from death to the nectar of immortality. Let there be the peace of spiritual enlightenment! - Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 1.3.28
This is a continuation of the Happiness theme for the month. Here we examine the nature of sensory pleasures and how and why they cannot deliver actual happiness. In fact, one can be heavily engaged in sensory pleasures of all varieties and at the same time be suffering from depression or even entertaining suicidal thoughts. This is due to the fact that the stimulating of the body or mind does not really ‘touch’ the soul itself and leaves us unfulfilled within. Madly chasing sensory pleasures not only does not deliver the happiness we seek, but it also tends to destroy peacefulness, an essential foundation for happiness.
“One who is not connected with the Supreme can have neither transcendental intelligence nor a steady mind, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace?” - Bhagavad-gita 2.66
We need to strive to live a more balanced life, recognizing that material happiness cannot fulfill our real inner need for happiness. We do not have to shun material experience, but we need to accept the nature of these experiences are neither permanent nor satisfying. What we need is spiritual ‘nutrition’, food for the soul. This is really what meditation using spiritual sound (kirtan) is all about.
The theme for this month’s series of talks is Happiness. There is a reported ‘Great UNHAPPINESS Epidemic’. In the attempt at a solution, the most common go-to, both within psychiatry and medicine as well as by those who ‘self-medicate’ with legal or illegal drugs, alcohol, and other psychotropic substances, is a chemical solution. And even though it doesn’t work we just keep at it.
But what if the unhappiness and depression we experience is NOT a mental illness? What if it is just the natural reaction to seeking happiness where it cannot actually be found? Then there is nothing to ‘cure’. It would mean we need to seek happiness somewhere else. This is the inward journey – the spiritual quest.
One whose happiness is within, who is active and rejoices within, and whose aim is inward is actually the perfect mystic. He is liberated in the Supreme, and ultimately he attains the Supreme. - Bhagavad-gita 5.24
This is the fourth and final talk in the series ‘Reconnecting with our Source’.
Our body is of the element called earth and returns to the earth after we leave it (death). So, the earth is the ‘home’ of the body. But what about me – the eternal spiritual being (atma/self) who is occupying the body? “I” am not material and so “I” am not of the earth. Do I have a home? And what or where is that home?
This is the third talk in the series ‘Reconnecting with our Source’. What is it that makes someone an ideal friend? One of the many qualities of a friend is understanding. If you have a friend and you go to that friend to explain a problem you’re having - to open your heart - you know that your friend will be understanding. They will not condemn you or misunderstand you. No matter what problem you’re having, your friend will still love you.
So when we speak of the Lord in our heart (our eternal Soulmate), we’re speaking of the perfect friend. When most people think of the Absolute Truth, Supreme Person (Bhagavan), God, unfortunately, they often think of a judge, rather than a friend. So when they need a friend, instead of approaching God as their dear-most friend, they approach other people and try to open their hearts to them.
The yogis know the Supreme Person who resides within our own hearts as the most attractive person and He is the dear-most friend and well-wisher of all living entities. The real BFF (Best Friend Forever).
Continuing with the theme Reconnecting with our Source. When speaking about reconnecting with ‘our spiritual source’ ‘The Supreme soul’ – we’re not talking about some vague or impersonal cosmic concept. We are not speaking about a ‘foreign’ person, someone we don’t already know. We have an existing relationship with the Lord of our heart (Paramātma our eternal soulmate) - a most intimate relationship, but one which we have forgotten. We’re speaking of our most dear friend who is ‘the reservoir of pleasure’, whom we have become disconnected from. And this is the underlying cause of all our unhappiness.
Bhagava-gīta Yet in this body there is another, a transcendental enjoyer, who is the Lord, the supreme proprietor, who exists as the overseer and permitter, and who is known as the Supreme Soul. - Bg 13.23
Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad The Lord and the living entity are compared to two birds sitting in a tree. While the illusioned living entity eats the fruits of the material world, the Lord as Supreme Soul and best friend witnesses these activities. MU 3.1.1 Although the two birds are in the same tree, the eating bird, the jīva, is fully engrossed with anxiety and moroseness as the enjoyer of the fruits of the tree. However, if in some way or other he turns to his friend the Lord and knows His glories, the suffering bird becomes immediately free from all anxieties. MU 3.1.2
In this talk which is the 1st in a new series about Life’s Meaning and Purpose, we revisit the how the lack of real direction, purpose, and meaning in people’s lives is causing great stress, anxiety, depression, and unhappiness in society. Social commentators and mental health experts have dubbed it the great unhappiness epidemic.
We unpack the problem so that when we consider an alternative we have a context to evaluate a possible spiritual solution.
In considering the purpose and meaning of life, we also need to share a common understanding of what the word “life” means or can mean.
This is the 3rd and final talk in the Transcending Karma Series.
When the Brian Adams song “Everything I Do” came out some years ago it quickly became a world-hit. Millions of people all over the world were drawn to it. What was the ‘message’ of the song that was attracting everyone? It was of being loved and loving unconditionally and of complete devotion. These are things that all people are drawn to because it is connected with our inner spiritual and eternal nature.
In this talk, we discuss the development of Karma-yoga into its natural conclusion – Bhakti, and how this condition means a person can live in this world but not be ‘of this world’. How it is possible to be engaged in action yet free from all the karmic reaction – to become completely liberated and enlightened. This is the life of deep spiritual devotion to the highest object of love, the Supreme Soul.
Some verses from the Bhagavad-gita address this subject and are meant as guidance for our lives. Meditating upon them from time to time is extremely beneficial.
Bg. 3.6 - One who restrains the senses of action but whose mind dwells on sense objects certainly deludes himself and is called a pretender.
Bg. 3.7 - On the other hand, if a sincere person tries to control the active senses by the mind and begins karma-yoga without attachment, he is by far superior.
Bg. 3.9 - Work done as a sacrifice for the Supreme Soul has to be performed, otherwise work causes bondage in this material world. Therefore, O son of Kuntī, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain free from bondage.
Bg. 3.30 - Therefore, O Arjuna, surrendering all your works unto Me, with full knowledge of Me, without desires for profit, with no claims to proprietorship, and free from lethargy, fight.
Bg. 3.31 - Those persons who execute their duties according to My injunctions and who follow this teaching faithfully, without envy, become free from the bondage of fruitive actions.
Bg. 4.41 - One who acts in devotional service, renouncing the fruits of his actions, and whose doubts have been destroyed by transcendental knowledge, is situated factually in the self. Thus he is not bound by the reactions of work.
Bg. 5.2 - The Personality of Godhead replied: The renunciation of work and work in devotion are both good for liberation. But, of the two, work in devotional service is better than renunciation of work.
Bg. 5.3 - One who neither hates nor desires the fruits of his activities is known to be always renounced. Such a person, free from all dualities, easily overcomes material bondage and is completely liberated, O mighty-armed Arjuna.
Bg 9.26 - If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.
Bg. 9.27 - O son of Kunti [Arjuna], all that you do, all that you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as all austerities that you may perform, should be done as an offering unto Me. Bg 9.28 - In this way you will be freed from bondage to work and its auspicious and inauspicious results. With your mind fixed on Me in this principle of renunciation, you will be liberated and come to Me.
SHOW LESSThis was a series of three talks given at a one-day retreat in Adelaide.
The 1st talk examines the need to gain much more control of our lives. People do not recognize how much of their mind-content is not truly our own. We examine the ways in which everyone is subjected to so much external influence, most of which does not help move me towards a condition of peacefulness and happiness. Meditation is a significant tool to change this.
The 2nd talk deals with the connection of meditation with mindfulness and how this improves the quality of one’s life. Prior to the talk everyone did a guided meditation called Silent Witness Meditation. That meditation is available on Youtube here - https://youtu.be/sahWjLqFp1w
The 3rd talk deals with the need to begin the process of developing a regular personal meditation practice. This is challenging but becomes increasingly easier as time passes. A set of instructional and practice videos are available here - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... This includes a few sessions that can be used to help in building a practice where there is guided relaxation, mantra with breath, japa meditation and then a short kirtan.
This was a series of three talks given at a one-day retreat in Adelaide.
The 1st talk examines the need to gain much more control of our lives. People do not recognize how much of their mind-content is not truly our own. We examine the ways in which everyone is subjected to so much external influence, most of which does not help move me towards a condition of peacefulness and happiness. Meditation is a significant tool to change this.
The 2nd talk deals with the connection of meditation with mindfulness and how this improves the quality of one’s life. Prior to the talk everyone did a guided meditation called Silent Witness Meditation. That meditation is available on Youtube here - https://youtu.be/sahWjLqFp1w
The 3rd talk deals with the need to begin the process of developing a regular personal meditation practice. This is challenging but becomes increasingly easier as time passes. A set of instructional and practice videos are available here - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... This includes a few sessions that can be used to help in building a practice where there is guided relaxation, mantra with breath, japa meditation and then a short kirtan.
This was a series of three talks given at a one-day retreat in Adelaide.
The 1st talk examines the need to gain much more control of our lives. People do not recognize how much of their mind-content is not truly our own. We examine the ways in which everyone is subjected to so much external influence, most of which does not help move me towards a condition of peacefulness and happiness. Meditation is a significant tool to change this.
The 2nd talk deals with the connection of meditation with mindfulness and how this improves the quality of one’s life. Prior to the talk everyone did a guided meditation called Silent Witness Meditation. That meditation is available on Youtube here - https://youtu.be/sahWjLqFp1w
The 3rd talk deals with the need to begin the process of developing a regular personal meditation practice. This is challenging but becomes increasingly easier as time passes. A set of instructional and practice videos are available here - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... This includes a few sessions that can be used to help in building a practice where there is guided relaxation, mantra with breath, japa meditation and then a short kirtan.
This is the 3rd in a three-part series on anger and forgiveness. The great mystic, yogi, and warrior general, Bhisma, 5,000yrs ago declared that the first amongst 9 preliminary qualities that qualified one as a civilized person, was to not become angry. His prescription for becoming free from anger, is that one should learn how to forgive. This is an ancient spiritual truth discussed in this talk.
As part of the talk I again read parts from a letter of a wonderful young woman, Stephanie Crean, addressed to the 4 men who had killed her father (Chris Crean) and who were prepared to kill her also, when she was just 2 years old. In that letter Stephanie expresses complete and compassionate forgiveness for these men – “so that you may have peace and I too. So that our families may have peace, and so that the community may have peace also. So that the nation may have peace, because that is what is right.” There was a recent movie made about the killing of her dad titled “Resolve”. Her letter is very inspiring and based on eternal spiritual truth. As promised I am sharing it here:
To all four men and the black power gang that were invovled in the murder of my father Christopher Crean, my name is Stephanie Crean and I forgive you for murdering my father. For many years I have not spoken to the media about how I feel about this heartbreaking tragedy . I forgive you, not because what you did in murdering my father was right, Because that was not right. I forgive you even though there was mention of shooting me only at the age of two. I forgive you so that you may have peace and I too. So that our families may have peace, and so that the community may have peace also. So that the nation may have peace, because that is what is right . I believe that with justice comes peace. Whether or not you are changed men, I forgive you. For many years the title above your heads has been of convicted murderers on the tv, in magazines, in newspapers, and even on the internet. But today I write to you as sons of your fathers and mothers, as brothers to your brothers and sisters, as uncles to your nieces and nephews, and fathers to your sons and daughters. My dad was not a perfect man, but he was a good man. You too are not perfect men, but you can be good men. You may not be able to start a new beginning, but you can start a new ending. A good ending. I also am not a perfect person and I also have done things in my life I am not proud of. I also cannot change my beginning, but I can choose to have a better ending. I also, can choose to be a good person. I'm 22 this year, and what life has taught me the most is to love your enemies. I have my own blog that I write stories for people to read and I focus a lot of my stories on forgiveness and love, to love your enemies. I know this to be true. No one is perfect, but we are all blood and flesh, skin and bones. We are all human. I also know this, that unforgiveness and hate will not change any circumstance or person. Until people understand that we were put on this earth to love, until then, there will be crime, there will be hurt, there will be war. I forgive you all because I want you to start forgiving yourselves, and once again I'm not saying this because what you did was right, but because whatever love you have left I hope you use that love to change yourselves. Change the ending to your story and use that to help change others, because if you don't, who will stand up in your shoes and tell your story? I hope you use it for good and I hope you use that love to give to your families, because I hope that one day we all understand that love is the only thing that will give us all peace. Because forgiveness is the only thing that is going to set us free and change everything about our life journeys'. However, whether or not you are changed men, I still forgive you. If you do not seek out the hopes I have for you, I still forgive you.
This is the 2nd in a three-part series on anger and forgiveness. Anger, as an all-consuming negative emotion, even if only momentarily manifest, where it becomes possible to create havoc, do irreparable harm, or say something you will regret the rest of your whole life, is born out of self-centeredness.
In an angry state of mind, we are blind to all spiritual thought and awareness. In a moment of anger, there is zero awareness of ourselves as spiritual beings (temporarily residing within a material body) and zero awareness or the soul or spiritual being of others. In this state we cannot feel empathy for the ‘others’ we heap our anger upon. This anger often grows into hate – the child of anger.
Love on the other hand, in its’ purer forms, manifests from a place of selflessness and there will be a deep empathy and feeling of compassion for those whom we love. In the state of spiritual love, this empathy, compassion, and affection are felt for all living beings.
In this way, we can understand how anger, being an expression of self-centeredness, is the polar opposite of selfless love, and why it is harmful to spiritual cultivation or living a spiritual life.
This is the 1st in a three-part series on anger and forgiveness. In the ancient Vedic scriptures and yogic texts, anger was categorized as one of the three gates to hell. The more we experience anger, either as a perpetrator or victim of anger, the more hellish our life becomes.
Anger is all too often used as a tool to ‘get what we want’ or to vent frustration. But it doesn’t work really, nor does it make one’s life better. There is no upside to anger. It simply causes a breakdown in relationships (and we all need relationships to live a balanced and healthy life.) The most damaging effect of anger is that it can only exist in the space where we are blind to all spiritual thought and awareness. In a moment of anger, there is zero awareness of ourselves as spiritual beings (temporarily residing within a material body) and zero awareness or the soul or spiritual being of others. In this state we cannot feel empathy for the ‘others’ we heap our anger upon. This anger often grows into hate – the child of anger. Just one moment of rage can create havoc, irreparable harm and cause you to do or say something you will regret the rest of your whole life. Our prisons are a testament to this reality.
The ancient yogis teach that another person or a situation does not actually CAUSE your anger. Anger resides within the heart and is just one of the possible responses we could have to something or someone. It grows within the heart as the result of wrong living. As it grows, it becomes difficult to control and begins to exert a significant amount of control over us.
The Bhagavad-gita describes the cause and effect of anger: ‘While contemplating on the objects of the senses, one develops attachment to them. Attachment leads to intense desire (lust), and from such intense desire, arises anger.’ - Bhagavad-gita 2.62 ‘From anger, delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost, one falls down again into the material pool.’ - Bhagavad-gita 2: 63
Spiritual vision will result in a feeling of empathy for others and grant us greater control over our mind and emotions. There is a famous Upanishadic verse that states: ‘He who sees everything in relation to the Supreme Soul, who sees all living entities as His parts and parcels, and who sees the Supreme Soul within everything never hates anything or any being.’ - Sri Isopanisad Text 6
It is not enough to describe the living being within the body as simply being a ‘spirit’ – or as is stated in the Vedas ahaṁ brahmāsmi (I am spirit). We are also a person or puruṣa (purusha) in Sanskrit. A dead body is not a person – it is just a body or covering which the ‘person’ has left behind. The departure of the person from the body is what is called death. ‘You’ don’t die, but the body does. ‘You’ continue to live, but elsewhere.
Life is the symptom or sign of the presence of spirit. That ‘spirit’ is an energy but it is also importantly a ‘person’. The symptom of life indicates the presence of a spiritual person, a puruṣa (purusha). Depending on the type of body covering that spiritual person, their unique individual existence and personhood may be obvious or not so obvious, or not obvious at all.
Mantra meditation is the means to gain the appropriate vision to clearly see this reality. As is stated in the Bhagavad-gita 5.18:
विद्याविनयसम्पन्ने ब्रह्मणे गवि हस्तिनि । शुनि चैव श्वपाके च पण्डिताः सम दर्शिनः ॥१८॥
The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana (a refined and elevated human being), a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater (a low person).
What do you think of when you hear the word ‘freedom’?
Many people think of it as being free to act as you please, no inhibitions, nothing holding you up or getting in your way.
The dictionary generally gives two main definitions of freedom. One is the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved. The second is the power or the right to act, speak or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.
But this definition ignores the reality of the law of karma – that for every action there is a consequence I must experience. You may be free to choose to speak and to act, but you cannot escape the result of these acts. So, are you therefore truly free? From the Vedic perspective, freedom is not defined by what you can do but whether you are going to be free from any reaction to your actions.
When a person is unable or unwilling to control their mind and desires, they are forced (sometimes against their will or better judgment) to act, and then must accept the consequences of their choices and actions in the form of karmic reaction.
In this verse from a famous Vedic text known as the Bhagavat Purana, it clearly lays out a different perspective, a spiritual perspective, on freedom: One who is enriched with good qualities is actually said to be rich, and one who is unsatisfied in life is actually poor. A wretched person is one who cannot control his senses, whereas one who is not attached to sensual gratification is a real controller [or someone that is in control]. One who attaches himself to sense gratification is just the opposite. Such a person is a slave. – Bhagavat Purana 11.19.44
It’s rather astonishing how most of us go about our lives accepting something which is completely untrue, as being a rock-solid foundation of our life. We build a whole “life” around this falsehood and become quite startled when this is pointed out.
Once we recognize this situation, we will understand that the truth about who we really are is the key to unlocking a whole new “life”, and the chance to finding the happiness we have always sought.
The potency of transcendental sound vibration lies in its’ being non-different from the Original Cause or Supreme Soul, also referred to in Sanskrit as Bhagavan.
In this world, our experience is that the name of a material object is different from the object itself. The word “mango” is made of syllables which when vibrated or spoken, refer to the fruit - mango. The syllables of this word do not contain the potency to cause an actual mango to appear before me or for me to taste. I can repeatedly chant “mango, mango, mango”, but no mango will be present before me. These are just “empty” words which reflect a separate reality.
Transcendental sound vibration is not like this. It is full of spiritual potency and non-different from the Original Cause, or Supreme Soul. Therefore, by chanting these transcendental sound vibrations one is directly associating with, and being purified by, the Original Cause or Supreme Soul. One may ask how this transcendental sound descends to the material world for me to use?
The answer is that the sound is received from a spiritual teacher, who is the transparent medium of the mantra or the transcendental sound. This transcendental sound descends from the spiritual dimension and is transmitted through an unbroken succession of spiritual teaches, through what is called guru-parampara or sometimes referred to as disciplic succession.
In order to experience the full potency and benefit of a mantra or transcendental sound, one must receive in such a way.
सम्प्रदायविहीना ये मन्त्रस् ते निष्फला मताः
sampradāya-vihīnā ye mantrās te niṣphalā matāḥ
If one is not actually connected with a bona fide disciplic succession, whatever mantras he chants will not bring the desired result. - Padma Purāṇa
I was asked to speak on this unusual topic at the ASMY Center in Brisbane on 19th Oct 2018.
The Vedas are a repository of vast information about the different aspects of the Highest Truth or God. Since ancient times, countless great yogis have had personal realizations of these different features of the Absolute Truth and were, therefore, able to make authoritative commentaries on both the journey towards these realizations and the resultant experience when one arrived at the transcendental destination.
The ancient Vedic understanding of God is so vastly different from the speculative and anthropomorphic theories often found in the development of theology in the “Western” world.
The Bhāgavata Purāṇa states:
वदन्ति तत् तत्त्वाविदस्तत्त्वं यज्ज्ननामद्वयं ब्रह्मेति परमात्मेति भगवानिति शब्द्यते ११ "
Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān."
We often fail to recognize the impact that the decisions we make and actions we take, have on our lives and our happiness. Wherever we are at this point in our life, and the experience we are having, are a direct result of our choices and actions. The truth is that we have a profound influence on our own happiness. Learning to make good decisions and choices will lead to happiness.
I was asked to speak on this really important topic at the Mantra Room at the Gold Coast on 21st Oct 2018.
It’s very simple really – the purpose of yoga is to adopt a regular practice of meditation. And the purpose of meditation is happiness. But what does that mean?
Real inner peace is a rare and valuable commodity. Why? Are we looking for it in the wrong way? The Bhagavad-gita 2.66 states: नास्ति बुद्धिरयुक्तस्य ना चायुकस्य भावना न चाभावयतः सन्तिरसन्तस्य कुतः सुखम् ६६
"One who is not connected with the Supreme can have neither transcendental intelligence nor a steady mind, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace?
So what is the nature of that connection and how is it achieved?
The ideal of perfect love is something everyone hopes for, but is it even possible? The answer is yes. But not within a temporary and imperfect world. This desire is rooted in our eternal and spiritual nature and can only be experienced in that which is eternal, spiritual, and perfect.
Within this world, we enter into relationships with others, and we often hope that they will turn out to be the perfect person to love. To place such an expectation upon others is unfair to ourselves and others.
It is possible to have healthy and loving relationships with others, but we must not expect perfection from them. We are all imperfect.
The perfection of love which we seek or hope for, can only be experienced in relation to the actual Lord of our heart. Seeking out and establishing a loving connection with this Lord of our hearts, was the principal focus of most yogis since time immemorial. It is eternally part of our deepest spiritual nature.
Mantra - its importance and how one receives mantra. Kirtan and the life-changes it can bring.
It is very unfortunate that many people cannot clearly see the distinction between love and lust and often mistake lust for love. This always results in unhappiness and pain. Love on the other hand, never goes there. Lust is all about selfish interest. Lust is about taking (‘what am I getting out of this?’) and love is about sharing and giving. Lust is a material condition, and love in its’ purest form, is a spiritual state. Its’ ultimate foundation is the loving connection between the individual soul and the Supreme Soul (yoga) and from that, can flow out to all others.
After last weeks talk we received a number of questions all with the same theme - ‘Is it ok to have a loving relationship with someone other than the Supreme Soul?’ ie: ‘Does having a loving relationship with the Supreme Soul mean I can’t love anyone else?’
What the heck does looking for love have to do with yoga, meditation and mantras you may ask? Well, everything. The ultimate stage of enlightenment is inseparable from and involves an immersion of the soul in the purest and most complete experience of spiritual love.
Another way of looking at loneliness - through the lens of ancient wisdom.
Loneliness is not the absence of friends, family, an occupation, or having ‘fun’ events to occupy our time. We can be in the middle of all these and still feel profoundly lonely. This loneliness actually has a spiritual cause. Our separation from our eternal friend.
Yoga speaks to the re-establishment of this eternal union or connection with the Supreme Soul (Paramatma), the Lord of our heart, described in the ancient Vedic texts. The key to reviving this lost connection is the practice of mantra meditation and the cultivation of yoga wisdom.
Many people think of enlightenment, or a perfect union with God, as something unattainable for an ‘ordinary’ person, something that only rare, ‘special’, and highly qualified people experience.
This is not true. There are two approaches to the spiritual journey. The ascending process, which depends on an individual’s qualification and worthiness. This is a difficult path which is founded on the principle of personal strength, but which is arduous and filled with pitfalls and may lead to pride.
The descending process is founded upon the recognition of my lack of qualification and worthiness. I recognize my weakness and smallness, and like a drowning man, in a mood of profound humility I reach out my hand and invoke the mercy of a Higher Power to raise me up. This path is not dependent upon my personal qualification but is actually the surest way to be blessed with enlightenment.
In the Yoga Sutra 1.23, after describing the difficult process of attaining samadhi by the practice of astanga yoga, Patanjali says: ईेस्वरप्रणिधानाद्वा ।।२३।। Īśvara-praṇidhānād-va One can also attain the highest state of samadhi by supplication, devotion and surrender to Ishvara (the Supreme Soul).
When I realize my spiritual identity – who I really am – then my view of the world, the way I see others, and my own identity and purpose – all change. True happiness, fulfillment and the awakening of spiritual love can now be experienced.
“The individual soul, or atma, can be compared to a diamond whose value is not appreciated because it’s covered over. A beautiful diamond may lie deep underground, covered by layers of dirt and rock. Though it exists in darkness, it is still a diamond. But because it’s so covered up, its intrinsic beauty and value go unrealized.” - Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda
Today was the spring solstice. Since ancient times this signified the beginning of a period of renewal, growth, and change. Is there any spiritual counterpart or significance to this event?
I was asked to speak on this rather unusual (outside the general roster of yoga-related subjects) topic. There is an unfortunate tendency for us to adopt spiritual practices or take up a religious path adhering to the ‘external’ forms, customs and practices without really embarking upon an inward journey. The offering of allegiance or a declaration of faith should not be equated with a deeper inward journey where we follow the path or walk in the footsteps of the great spiritual teachers – who teach by their perfect examples.
To say that I acknowledge that Jesus is the way, but to not ‘walk the walk’, does us little to no good. This applies to all faith and spiritual traditions. Lord Jesus Christ declared:
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Mathew 7.20-23 KJV
Having a purpose in life is key to finding some form of happiness. As human beings, we might ask whether we share a great and common purpose? What is the purpose of human life?
The Vedas tell us the true and eternal purpose of human life is self-realization - to come to know who I am. And then to act on that realization.
We are often so caught up in the ‘small stuff’ that it is hard for us to take a step back and consider whether there is really a higher purpose to my life.
In interviews with astronauts who have spent time living on the International Space Station, they all speak of a common experience of peering down at our planet and being struck by the reality that we live on one massive globe suspended, in a great ocean of darkness called space, and yet this planet is only a small dot in a vast universe. The astronauts were all moved by the intensity of the understanding that, as residents on this planet, we all share a common humanity. And when this hits home we change, becoming more tolerant and less disturbed by the small stuff.
The process of mantra meditation results in a person being able to also ‘step back’ from their life and see a much bigger picture. All the ‘stuff’ between my birth and the death of my body is not really my life. IT is mostly just a series of temporary and passing experiences. But I am eternal and need to be more concerned with the eternal than that which is temporary. This spiritual experience is part of the process of enlightenment and is the true purpose of our life.
The term, “Harmony of Mind Body Spirit” is frequently used by yoga practitioners and others, but what does it actually mean? Well many people apply different meanings, some just ‘winging it’, and many explanations may not be very helpful. We have a grip on ‘body’ and ‘mind’, but what do the words ‘harmony’ and ‘spirit’ mean in this context?
This talk is an explanation which the traditional and ancient yogis understood and taught, and which can actually deliver the benefits of enlightenment, profound happiness and the deepest experience of spiritual love.
We are often told that simply by the use of technology or the adoption of certain ideas that we are becoming “empowered”. This is a hard look at empowerment and happiness and whether materialism, in general, can actually deliver on these promises.
I spoke on this subject in an auditorium at the Queensland University of Technology on the 19th November, 2018.
It requires great courage to embark upon the path of self-discovery, because you will be faced with having to question things which you and perhaps everyone around you have accepted as undeniable truth. The search for true happiness brings into question something that many of us hold to be a fact – the idea that sensually pleasurable experiences are the same as happiness. This is not true. Sensual Pleasure does not equal Happiness. They are two different things. It is very refreshing to hear someone like Russell Brand (who totally gets it) speak to this point - https://youtu.be/TgVKpS3RH_I?t=45
So what is the Yoga perspective (spiritual perspective) • I am a spiritual being temporarily residing within a material body. • Fulfilling the desires of my senses and mind does not fulfill “me”. • Sensual pleasure (like sensual pain) has a beginning, and must therefore also have an end. I cannot enjoy any material experience without limit or forever. It all ends. • Sensual enjoyment (a material experience) does not “touch” me – the spiritual being. • Being spiritual by nature I need spiritual “food” or “nutrition”.
When I live in harmony with my true nature, then I will experience happiness.
Before giving up this present body, if one is able to tolerate the urges of the material senses and check the force of desire and anger, he is well situated and is happy in this world. Bhagavad-gītā 5.23
A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires—that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still—can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires. - Bhagavad-gītā 2.70
One whose happiness is within, who is active and rejoices within, and whose aim is inward is actually the perfect mystic. He is liberated in the Supreme, and ultimately he attains the Supreme. Bhagavad-gītā 5.24
Learning to forgive is in our best interest. To forgive someone doesn't mean their actions were right, but it is an amazing act of kindness and is liberating. Holding on to hurt feelings and anger make us prisoners of the past and trap us in a dark place.
"The duty of one seeking enlightenment is to culture the quality of forgiveness, which is illuminating like the sun. The Supreme Lord, Hari, is pleased with those who are forgiving. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 9.15.40
For the past decade or more, we are seeing a growing sense of isolation among young people in spite of (or maybe because of) the ‘connectedness’ social media offers, and also rising levels of depression and suicide (at almost epidemic proportions). Why? Is there any connection with this generation also being identified as the ‘Selfie Generation’? Sara Konrath Phd., a researcher at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research says that studies point to a specific cause. ‘It’s the Generation of me- it’s the most self-centered, narcissistic, individualistic generation in recent history’. So, let’s explore that from a spiritual perspective.
Sometimes we are asked what exactly Nirvana is and whether it is the highest spiritual state or whether there is anything beyond it. The short answer is that there are spiritual realizations and experiences beyond Nirvana. The word Nirvana in Sanskrit means 'blown out' as in, to blow out a candle or lamp. It refers to the extinguishing of material existence but does not refer to anything beyond that. It is most often associated with the experience of merging into what is referred to as 'the white light' or the ocean of light known as the 'brahmajyoti'. This is the stage known as brahma-bhūta realization.
The most ancient and authentic Vedic teachings speak of 3 stages of God-realization, Brahman-realization, Paramātmā-realization and Bhagavān-realization.
वदन्ति तत्तत्त्वविदस्तत्त्वं यज्ज्ञानमद्वयम् ब्रह्मेति परमात्मेति भगवानिति शब्द्यते ११
Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān. - Bhāgavat Pūraṇa 1.2.11
To “do good” is commonly defined as having or showing a concern for the welfare of others. But to do good I must know what the real welfare of others is.
The great spiritual personality, Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who appeared over 500 years ago advised that one “should make his life successful and work for the benefit of all other people”. This success is to rediscovery my real spiritual identity, beyond the temporary and passing labels of my body and mind and awaken the natural and highest state of spiritual love.
He then defined “working for the benefit of others” as follows: ‘It is the duty of every living being to perform welfare activities for the benefit of others with his life, wealth, intelligence and words. By his work, thoughts and words, an intelligent man must perform actions which will be beneficial for all living entities in this life and the next.' Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta: Ādi-līlā 9.42-43
There is literally an epidemic of depression going on in spite of the mega-billions being spent on mood-altering substances (legal and illegal) in an attempt to prevent it. But is this epidemic of depression a result of our chosen personal and societal direction and values and “truths” we embrace? We discuss the issue from the ancient yoga perspective.
This was a talk at the Mantra Room on 28th October 2018 on Gold Coast, Australia.
Last night at our 1st Mantra Night get-together for 2018 we discussed New Year resolutions and how they are generally about wanting to become a better "me". This, of course, leads to a conversation about our having two natures - a higher nature and a lower nature or Sat-svabhāva and asat-svabhāva in Sanskrit. Our real happiness and true spiritual love are experienced when I am living in harmony with my higher nature or Sat-svabhāva. My lower nature arises from my body and mind and is not really who I am. Therefore identifying with the age, appearance, sex or the race of my body will always lead to unhappiness in so many ways. My eternal and spiritual nature (the nature of "me", the soul itself) is my actual identity. My New Year's resolution could be to renew my commitment to the practices which bring about my self-realization and therefore my happiness, peace, a restful heart, and spiritual love. Hari Auṁ
Though surrounded by others, I sometimes feel all alone. Why? Will more friends or someone to love fix that?
Someone wrote the following in a blog post, and I think it captures this reality.
"I have almost everything people talk about when it comes to happiness. A good husband, a great job that I enjoy and pays me well.
"But here I am, feeling all confused, blank and painful. I feel numb, suffocate and lifeless.
"For all the reasons I could think of, I should be grateful for the life I have and be happy about it.
"Yes, I am grateful. But I am not happy. I feel guilty for not being happy. I cannot talk to anyone. No one can understand. Even I can’t understand.
"Everything is so quiet. All I can hear is my husband’s breath and the sound of my wall clock. I feel so lonely. I feel like I am the only person in the world have this feeling. This feeling overwhelms me, eats me alive and I find myself lost in it, piece by piece.
"I find myself pushing people away because I think they don’t truly understand me. I try to build a thick wall around me to protect myself and my lonesomeness. Behind the wall, I have the whole world of my own. Except there is nothing in that world.
"I know it is not healthy for me to stay in my world forever.
"I know it is time for me to break the wall. But I just don’t know how."
If we are heading in the wrong direction then we may need to make a U-turn to find happiness. The Bhagavad-gita speaks to this point.
“And the truth shall set you free.” But what is the TRUTH? Do we all have our own truths? Is truth changing with the so-called development of societies? As societies advance(?) we are confronted with enormous and growing levels of anxiety, depression, and suicide, especially among the younger generation. Is there a problem with our collective acceptance of what it true? Let’s look at this from an ancient and spiritual perspective.
We seem to want to try and disconnect our own choices, decisions and actions in life from any unhappiness or difficulty we may experience as a result of these choices or actions. We always seem to want to blame someone else for my unhappiness. This talk explores the ancient yoga wisdom perspective of personal responsibility. It was held at the weekly Mantra Night event put on by Meditation New Zealand.
It has become very common that people use the phrase "Spiritual but not Religious", so we explored that idea a little bit.
The concept of a soulmate is an ancient and authentic spiritual principle which is part of the yoga system. But that idea has now been supplanted in modern times by something less perfect. When I expect another mundane personality to be the eternal love of my life or provide me with the shelter, protection and happiness I crave, then I will always face disappointment and even unhappiness. It is an impossible hope. I will also be placing an unrealistic burden upon someone else to be my “everything”. That is wrong and a guarantee for suffering. So, who is my ACTUAL soulmate?
Two Birds in a Tree
The Lord and the living entity are compared to two birds sitting in a tree. While the illusioned living entity eats the fruits of the material world, the Lord as the Supreme Soul and best friend witnesses these activities. Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.1.1 Although the two birds are in the same tree, the eating bird, the jīva, is fully engrossed with anxiety and moroseness as the enjoyer of the fruits of the tree. However, if in some way or other he turns to his friend the Lord and knows His glories, the suffering bird becomes immediately free from all anxieties. Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.1.2
By manipulating a fire-generating stick, great saints and sages can bring forth the fire lying dormant within wood. In the same way, O Lord, those expert in understanding the Absolute Truth try to see You in everything — even in their own bodies. Yet you remain concealed. You are not to be understood by indirect processes involving mental or physical activities. Because You are self-manifested, only when You see that a person is wholeheartedly engaged in searching for You do You reveal Yourself. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.8.36
Self-centeredness leads us away from our true inner spiritual nature, where real happiness and spiritual love is to be found. While the selfie-epidemic may seem harmless (because it is so common), not so long-ago selfies would have been viewed as somewhat narcissistic and not healthy. What is the spiritual view on self-centeredness and its’ harmfulness? Any point to consider is that a lot of us will have difficulty dealing with this topic in an open and objective manner. We tend to immediately reject something as untrue (“that’s your opinion!” is a common response), just because we don’t like what we hear and because we have become so attached to what we “believe”. Hopefully, this talk will be beneficial for everyone.
The question “what if I break up with me?” is a joke but the subject is not. It has become commonplace for mental healthcare professionals to promote an idea that is considered in all authentic and ancient yoga teachings to be unhealthy and detrimental for your happiness and the spiritual experience of self-realization. It is common to see articles from professionals such as: “Unconditional Love is Possible—But Only From Yourself”, “30 Ways to Practice Self-Love and Be Good to Yourself”, “Self-Love Must Come First: How to Love Yourself”.
One such professional wrote in a major USA media publication the following advice: “IMAGINE HOW YOU TREAT YOURSELF ON A DAILY BASIS AS IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU.” Well it seems the Dalai Lama has an opposing view also – ‘“Nobody will love you until you love yourself” is baloney, says the Dalai Lama. Do this instead.’ http://thepowerofideas.ideapod.com/no... - May 4, 2017 But this is a big subject which I may try to address in the future.
The quest for peace and happiness are intertwined and can be difficult if we are looking in the wrong places. Too often we act on false assumptions - the greatest being the idea that my body IS ME when in fact I am a spiritual being occupying and using this body and mind. Therefore trying to make my body or mind happy is not the same as "me" experiencing happiness.
The Dalai Lama stated that the two key factors to happiness are: 1) having a purpose and, 2) serving others. This is fundamentally true and so we examine the question of what it means to have purpose here. Sorry about the video quality - technical issues.
After last week’s talk about Alcohol, Drugs & Yoga I received some inquiries about whether pornography also affects one’s yoga practice and its place or role in our search for happiness. This is an important topic considering how viewing porn has become so common and accepted. There is the view that it is harmless, unless engaged in excessively. However, this is not true. We look at the influence of our mind over us (the spiritual beings residing within the body) and the role it plays in getting in the way of our actual happiness. In discussing this I am reminded of a beautiful statement of a great and saintly teacher of yoga wisdom – “The spirit soul wants to get out of the clutches of material bondage and fulfill its desire for complete freedom.” Something well worth deeply contemplating.
A useful introduction to mindfulness and its practical application in my daily life. How to use it as a tool to living a more meaningful, peaceful and happy existence.
What role does my mind play in finding happiness?
The Bhagavad-gita states - "One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well. For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy. " Bg 6.5-6
Latest talk from the weekly Mantra Night event put on by Meditation New Zealand. Its a basic introduction to meditation and the use of sacred sounds or mantras.
Much of our unhappiness in our marriages or relationships come from being let down or disappointed. But this also comes about because of having unrealistic expectations of others. The expectation that I will find a perfect and complete love with another less than perfect human being, or that I can actually live "happily ever after" is not realistic and can even be harmful. Why do we burden others with this "demand" that they make me completely happy when they cannot? Serious question which address a deeper spiritual need and that need to be addressed if I am to really find happiness in this life.
Latest talk from Mantra Night put on every Sunday by Meditation New Zealand. This is about loneliness, why we experience it and what to do about it.
If we could "design" an ideal neighbor, work associate, and other members of society, we would want them to be caring, compassionate, accepting, kind, loving etc., etc. These are manifestations of one's consciousness. We can't force people to become this way nor can we legislate someone's consciousness. This requires an internal change, a revolution of the heart. Yet society is attempting to do this. The truth is that sharing something in common unites and focusing on differences with others naturally divides us. We can't cure someone's disease by becoming infected with the same disease (think about that one). Our shared common truth is that we are all spiritual beings temporarily occupying different types of material bodies. We have a common true identity (our spiritual identity) and different temporary or false identities (our bodies or the labels attached to our bodies and minds). We ARE NOT THESE LABELS! This then raises the question. Are our so-called solutions healing us or hurting us further???? The Bhagavad-gita states:"He is a perfect yogi who, by comparison to his own self, sees the true equality of all beings, in both their happiness and their distress, O Arjuna!" Bg 6.32
A psych professor from San Diego State University, who has published over 140 scientific papers, has done a lot of research and written about how Smartphone use has a radical impact on mental health and happiness of teens. We discuss this from a spiritual perspective and look at a real solution to the underlying problem. An article on this study is here - https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/...
We live in a time where there seems to be an increasing intolerance towards people of a different political or social philosophy than my own. And based on my having an “enlightened” point of view and being ‘right’, I give myself permission to hate those whom I brand as haters. But aren’t I also doing the same thing that I am accusing others of doing? Hating is never enlightened, nor is drawing hard lines and dividing into groups all based on temporary identities. We seem to have forgotten that “all this too shall pass”. This world, this body in which I am temporarily residing, these social constructs – all shall pass. But “I”, the eternal spiritual being will continue to exist. The word ‘enlightened’ points to having a spiritual perspective and living a spiritual life. A life where my goals and focus are that which is eternal not that which is temporary or transitory. Engage with the world, take part in social and civic responsibilities, but don’t lose the plot. Don’t mistake the temporary for the eternal.
The black hole of grief that is associated with death immediately disappears in the warm and hope-filled light of true understanding. We have strayed from the ancient wisdom which used to guide all people’s lives. And so, death has become unnecessarily tragic for the person experiencing dying and those of us who are left behind to grieve.This anguish is greatly diminished with the wisdom of true spiritual understanding. A simple guide to living well and dying well.
Last year the Global Research Society and the Institute for Social Research conducted surveys worldwide and found that 51% of the people believe in reincarnation, while 23 percent believe that we only will “cease to exist”. About a quarter (26 percent) said they do not know what will happen after death. While many people may "believe" in reincarnation it is often misunderstood. Here we deal with the subject.
We all long for lasting happiness, a never-ending love, a deathless life, and a perfect home sweet home. We are searching for a perfection which never ends. That is a reasonable desire because we are actually eternal spiritual beings. However, the world in which we live, the body we occupy, and the relationships we form, all have a beginning and so must therefore have an end. We are unfortunately seeking that which is eternal in an impermanent realm. Thus we suffer unnecessarily. The Vedic scriptures offer us wonderfully hopeful wisdom:
asato mā sad gamaḥ
tamasi mā jyotir gamaḥ
mṛto mā amṛta gamaḥ
Do not stay in illusion; go to the eternal reality
Do not stay in darkness; go to the light.
Do not remain in the realm of death; become immortal!
– Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 1.3.28
Yoga speaks to the complex relationship between me (the eternal spiritual being residing within the body) and my mind. Alcohol and drugs increase the control the mind has over me and shackles me to material existence. To experience self-realization, God-realization, and to taste perfect happiness one needs to live a temperate life, a life of moderation and self-restraint. By surrendering to the constant demands and desires of the mind and the senses we commit ourselves to a life where unhappiness, loneliness and emptiness will be our companions. The yoga process offers a complete awakening, boundless joy, and the experience of deep spiritual love. So how is this achieved? The key is the meditation upon spiritual or transcendental sound, particularly kirtan.
I promised some verses from the Bhagavad-gita to contemplate upon:
2.64 One who can control his senses by practicing the regulated principles of freedom can obtain the complete mercy of the Lord and thus become free from all attachment and aversion.
2.65 For one who is so situated in the Divine consciousness, the threefold miseries of material existence exist no longer; in such a happy state, one’s intelligence soon becomes steady.
2.66 One who is not in transcendental consciousness can have neither a controlled mind nor steady intelligence, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace?
2.67 As a boat on the water is swept away by a strong wind, even one of the senses on which the mind focuses can carry away a man’s intelligence.
2.68 Therefore, O mighty-armed, one whose senses are restrained from their objects is certainly of steady intelligence.
2.69 What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage.
2.70 A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires—that enter like rivers into the ocean which is ever being filled but is always still—can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.
2.71 A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego—he alone can attain real peace.
2.72 That is the way of the spiritual and godly life, after attaining which a man is not bewildered. Being so situated, even at the hour of death, one can enter into the kingdom of God.
The great transcendentalist Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura (1838-1914) describes Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as “The great Apostle of Love of God and the father of the congregational chanting (kirtan) of the holy name of the Lord”
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in 1486 CE and remained on this earth for 48 years. He was a leading scholar and an extraordinary personality that had a profound effect on everyone he met. In many ways He was a spiritual revolutionary. Taking Sannyasa at age 24 he travelled throughout India, often followed by tens and even hundreds of thousands of people. He is accepted as an incarnation of God – foretold by ancient Vedic scriptural prophecy. He is said to have come to deliver the “yuga-dharma” – the hearing and chanting of transcendental sound as the prime means for spiritual attainment. He often quoted this famous verse:
In this age of Kali there is no other means, no other means, no other means for self-realization than chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name of Lord Hari. - Bṛhan-nāradiya Purāṇa 3.8.126
He advised that how one receives mantra is also extremely important quoting:
sampradāya-vihīnā ye mantrās te niṣphalā matāḥ
If one is not actually connected with a bona fide disciplic succession, whatever mantras he chants will not bring the desired result. - Padma Purāṇa
This great proponent of Bhakti was the inspiration for a tremendous transcendental resurgence of Bhakti in India, which is still experienced today. Great transcendentalists have predicted that His teachings and the process of Kirtan would be spread to every town and village of the world.
Yoga practice means building a “personal practice” or performing sadhana (sadhana-bhakti). In all other yoga paths, sadhana is the means to an end, but on the path of Bhakti the means becomes the end. As our natural spiritual love is awakened, our service to the Supreme Person becomes an experience of unlimited and ecstatic joy which continues eternally.
In this age / time the central or foundational practice for enlightenment is the hearing and reciting or singing of transcendental sound – mantra – or names of God/Bhagavan. And of all forms of chanting these sacred sounds, Kirtan is the best means. Sankirtan – group or congregational chanting, is the most effective and efficient means to bring internal purification and full enlightenment.
The essence of Bhakti is developing a mood of humility and of service to God and to others which is the foundation of a sadhaka’s daily life.
Bhagavad-gita 9.26-27 If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit a water, I will accept it. O son of Kunti, all that you do, all that you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as all austerities that you may perform, should be done as an offering unto Me.
Bhagavad-gita 10.10 To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.
Bhagavad-gita 4.10 Being freed from attachment, fear and anger, being fully absorbed in Me and taking refuge in Me, many, many persons in the past became purified by knowledge of Me-and thus they all attained transcendental love for Me.
Bhagavad-gita 6.9 A person is said to be still further advanced when he regards all—the honest well-wisher, friends and enemies, the envious, the pious, the sinner and those who are indifferent and impartial-with an equal mind.
Bhagavad-gita 6.32 He is a perfect yogi who, by comparison to his own self, sees the true equality of all beings, both in their happiness and distress, O Arjuna!
Bhagavad-gita 18.65 Always think of Me and become My devotee. Worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.
Bhagavad-gita 18.66 Abandon all varieties of dharma (religion) and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.
Bhagavad-gita 8.28 A person who accepts the path of devotional service is not bereft of the results derived from studying the Vedas, performing austere sacrifices, giving charity or pursuing philosophical and fruitive activities. At the end he reaches the supreme abode.
Bhagavad-gita 12.20 He who follows this imperishable path of devotional service and who completely engages himself with faith, making Me the supreme goal, is very, very dear to Me.
There are varieties of flavors arising from different transcendental moods of love, and the exchanges of this love and devotion, between the soul and the Supreme Soul. These flavors arise from the way in which the transcendentalist relates to God
CC Madhya 2.49 “Unalloyed love of Krishna is like an ocean of happiness. If someone gets one drop of it, the whole world can drown in that drop. It is not befitting to express such love of Godhead, yet a madman must speak. But even though he speaks, no one believes him.”
Is God knowable? Should He be feared? Or should He be loved? The Vedas speak of transcendental names, transcendental form, and the transcendental loving relationships engaged in by the Supreme Soul who is known as the “All Attractive” and the “Supremely Loveable”.
Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha (religiosity, economic activity, sensual happiness, and ultimately liberation) are considered in the Vedas as the four main goals of human life. But 500 years ago, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu shone the spotlight of ultimate Vedic truth on a 5th and most important goal of human existence – Love for God or Prema
CC Ādi 7.84 Religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation are known as the four goals of life, but before love of Godhead, the fifth and highest goal, these appear as insignificant as straw in the street.
The “eternal naturalness” of this love or Prema is mentioned in the Caitanya Caritamrita thus:
CC Madhya 22.107 “Pure love for God (or Krishna – the All-Attractive) is eternally established in the hearts of the living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, this love naturally awakens.
In the West, most people’s exposure to a personal God is via Christianity. However much of what is taught within Christianity does not adequately explain the highest principle taught by Lord Jesus Christ. The discussion of this point will shed light on, and help us understand Bhakti, in the context of something familiar, and thereby shine light upon the doctrine of spiritual love taught and displayed by Christ.
Matthew 22.36 “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?” 37 Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
What is this condition of love? Why is there so little known about it? How is it experienced? What are the symptoms of such a love? And how do I achieve this spiritual condition?
Bhakti is not a worldly religion or a “religious faith”. It is in fact the essence of true religion or sanatan dharma, the eternal nature of all souls.
It is important to appreciate what “Bhakti” actually is, and is not.
Bhakti has been defined and explained by the greatest of spiritual authorities, Srila Vyasadeva, the empowered incarnation who compiled the entire Vedas over 5,000 years ago.
Bhakti is not some emotion emanating from the body nor a mental expression. It is a product of the highest spiritual realization. Bhakti is the natural and transcendental expression of the soul itself. It is the eternal serving mood exhibited by the jiva-atma (the individual soul) towards the Supreme Soul, in the deepest love and devotion. Understanding Bhakti is not an academic exercise, a mental undertaking, but rather the culmination of all yoga.
One realizes this under the tutelage of a self-realized teacher or guru, coming in an authorized lineage. Such a teacher is a devout practitioner and master of the path of devotion (Bhakti Marga) himself.
God-Realization, the realization of the Highest Truth, is experienced in three features; Brahman (the Ocean of Spiritual Light), Paramatma (the Supreme Soul seated within the heart of all beings), and Bhagavan (the beautiful personal feature of God who is Supremely loveable – the Lord of my heart, the Lord of Love). The Srimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavat Purana) states:
vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate
Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.11 Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān.
A talk at the University of Hawaii in Oct 2016, about how success in the pursuit of happiness requires a total revolution of the heart - a complete spiritual transformation.
Consumerism is driven by an emptiness within, an emptiness which is not filled by the objects and experiences we consume. This is because that emptiness is a spiritual emptiness which cannot be filled by anything material.
if you wish to get in touch please contact me via www.acharyadas.com
A Spiritual Approach to Economic and Environmental Problems | Not a day passes without another news headline informing us of dire global environmental and economic crises. Our concern about climate change, deadly air pollution and rapid deforestation conflicts with the increasing demand for fuel, resources and space for farming and housing. Too often it seems that environmental and the economic issues are in direct opposition to each other. How can we walk the path between ensuring that everyone has access to adequate resources while protecting and conserving the natural environment which sustains us?
In the world today there appears to be a great rarity of real love and compassion. We experience a lack of kindness and friendship, a scarcity of honesty and simplicity. True happiness and humility are rare. But fear is not rare, nor is international, interracial, interfaith, and intersexual conflict and it becomes all too easy to be overwhelmed by feelings of hopelessness. What can the wisdom of yoga teach us about the personal steps we can take to make a positive contribution to those around us and the world we live in? Please join us as we present this four-part series. Discover the way to true peace and happiness, plus take part in beautiful and moving mantra meditation as Acharya Das leads us through kirtan.
Part one: Be a Force for Good
Part two: How to End Racism and Bigotry
Part three: Is Envy Stealing Your Happiness?
Part four: A Spiritual Approach to Economic and Environmental Problems
Part five: Q & A On Becoming A Force For Good In This World
Please get in touch via my website www.acharyadas.com
Is Envy Stealing Your Happiness? | Do you feel dissatisfied when you compare your life to other people’s lives? Instagram feeds are famously full of the shiny, happy pictures of other people’s perfect hair, perfect clothes, perfect life... and not to mention their perfectly executed yoga poses in exotic locations. When we compare ourselves to people with more money, fame, beauty, talent, personality, luck, and so on, it’s easy to be overwhelmed with feelings of discontent or envy. But this tendency to compare ourselves with others is incredibly destructive and keeps us from experiencing inner peace and happiness. How can envy and frustration be removed once and for all, setting us free and allowing us to live a truly happy life?
In the world today there appears to be a great rarity of real love and compassion. We experience a lack of kindness and friendship, a scarcity of honesty and simplicity. True happiness and humility are rare. But fear is not rare, nor is international, interracial, interfaith, and intersexual conflict and it becomes all too easy to be overwhelmed by feelings of hopelessness. What can the wisdom of yoga teach us about the personal steps we can take to make a positive contribution to those around us and the world we live in? Please join us as we present this four-part series. Discover the way to true peace and happiness, plus take part in beautiful and moving mantra meditation as Acharya Das leads us through kirtan.
Part one: Be a Force for Good
Part two: How to End Racism and Bigotry
Part three: Is Envy Stealing Your Happiness?
Part four: A Spiritual Approach to Economic and Environmental Problems
Part five: Q & A On Becoming A Force For Good In The World
Please get in touch via my website www.acharyadas.com
How to End Racism and Bigotry | One of the most divisive issues facing the world today is bigotry and racism. Race riots, shootings, bullying and discrimination are becoming increasingly common. What does the wisdom of yoga have to teach us about the things that divide us? Are we destined to be forever divided by race, ethnicity, religion, etc. or can we end racism and bigotry and bring about peace and harmony?
In the world today there appears to be a great rarity of real love and compassion. We experience a lack of kindness and friendship, a scarcity of honesty and simplicity. True happiness and humility are rare. But fear is not rare, nor is international, interracial, interfaith, and intersexual conflict and it becomes all too easy to be overwhelmed by feelings of hopelessness. What can the wisdom of yoga teach us about the personal steps we can take to make a positive contribution to those around us and the world we live in? Please join us as we present this four-part series. Discover the way to true peace and happiness, plus take part in beautiful and moving mantra meditation as Acharya Das leads us through kirtan.
Part one: Be a Force for Good
Part two: How to End Racism and Bigotry
Part three: Is Envy Stealing Your Happiness?
Part four: A Spiritual Approach to Economic and Environmental Problems
Part five: Q & A On Becoming A Force For Good In This World
To get in touch www.acharyadas.com
Be a Force for Good | It’s easy to lose hope for the future when all you see in the news is conflict, violence, anger, fear and suffering. Instead of feeling helpless, learn how you can become someone who can bring about positive change and be a force for good. With knowledge and wisdom, all of us can help to make the world a better, more compassionate place.
Becoming a Force for Good in the World - 4 Part Webinar Series REGISTER http://www.scienceofidentity.org/signup/ In the world today there appears to be a great rarity of real love and compassion. We experience a lack of kindness and friendship, a scarcity of honesty and simplicity. True happiness and humility are rare. But fear is not rare, nor is international, interracial, interfaith, and intersexual conflict and it becomes all too easy to be overwhelmed by feelings of hopelessness. What can the wisdom of yoga teach us about the personal steps we can take to make a positive contribution to those around us and the world we live in? Please join us as we present this four-part series during live streaming one-hour broadcasts. Discover the way to true peace and happiness, plus take part in beautiful and moving mantra meditation as Acharya Das leads us through kirtan.
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From the Vision of Eternity: 8 Life Lessons from the Bhagavad-Gita 8: Bhagavad-Gita on Karma
Most people have at least a passing understanding of the concept of karma. The idea that what you do to others will come back to you may have encouraged you to modify your behaviour with the idea of attracting more good karma than bad karma. But did you know that even "good karma" has a serious downside? If even good karma is not desirable, how can we live in this world without creating karma? In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna teaches the yogic path of karma yoga, also known as the "art of all work", whereby you can achieve complete freedom from all karma.
Register for the full series http://www.scienceofidentity.org/signup/
- Bhagavad-Gita on Peace - Oct 9
2: Bhagavad-Gita on Freedom – Oct 16
3: Bhagavad-Gita on Happiness – Oct 23
4: Bhagavad-Gita on Love – Oct 30
5: Bhagavad-Gita on Destiny – Nov 6
6: Bhagavad-Gita on Fearlessness – Nov 13
7: Bhagavad-Gita on Being Spiritual But Not Religious - Nov 20
8: Bhagavad-Gita on Karma – Nov 27
From the Vision of Eternity: 8 Life Lessons from the Bhagavad-Gita
The Bhagavad Gita has been studied and praised for thousands of years for its clarity, insight and wealth of spiritual knowledge. It not only contains the foundation for the system of yoga, it is the guidebook for living a meaningful, joyful life and facing death fearlessly. The Bhagavad Gita begins dramatically with Arjuna, the world’s greatest warrior prince, casting down his weapons on the battlefield, unwilling to fight in the battle of his life. Overcome with anguish and confusion, he turns to Krishna who proceeds to guide him from darkness to light. The eternal truths of the Bhagavad Gita resonate just as powerfully today, shining light on our own battles and guiding us from confusion to clarity.
In this 8-part series of webcasts we present the timeless wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita as it relates to the challenges, trials and tribulations we face in our own lives. If you would like to live a life that is fearless, full of purpose and deep happiness, the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita is for you. Don’t miss out on this free, live-streamed 8-episode webcast series. Quick and easy registration here http://www.scienceofidentity.org/signup/
From the Vision of Eternity: 8 Life Lessons from the Bhagavad-Gita 7: Bhagavad-Gita on Being Spiritual But Not Religious
In the world today, many people have rejected religious dogma and organized belief systems. Yet we find ourselves with a God-shaped hole in our hearts and a longing for connection with something or someone greater than ourselves. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna speaks to this modern dilemma. Unlike religion, which involves belief in a particular faith, the process of yoga as taught in the Bhagavad Gita, requires a person to embark on a personal spiritual voyage of discovery and experience direct perception of the truth.
- Bhagavad-Gita on Peace
2: Bhagavad-Gita on Freedom
3: Bhagavad-Gita on Happiness
4: Bhagavad-Gita on Love
5: Bhagavad-Gita on Destiny
6: Bhagavad-Gita on Fearlessness
7: Bhagavad-Gita on Being Spiritual But Not Religious
8: Bhagavad-Gita on Karma
From the Vision of Eternity: 8 Life Lessons from the Bhagavad-Gita The Bhagavad Gita has been studied and praised for thousands of years for its clarity, insight and wealth of spiritual knowledge. It not only contains the foundation for the system of yoga, it is the guidebook for living a meaningful, joyful life and facing death fearlessly.
The Bhagavad Gita begins dramatically with Arjuna, the world’s greatest warrior prince, casting down his weapons on the battlefield, unwilling to fight in the battle of his life. Overcome with anguish and confusion, he turns to Krishna who proceeds to guide him from darkness to light. The eternal truths of the Bhagavad Gita resonate just as powerfully today, shining light on our own battles and guiding us from confusion to clarity.
In this 8-part series of webcasts we present the timeless wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita as it relates to the challenges, trials and tribulations we face in our own lives. If you would like to live a life that is fearless, full of purpose and deep happiness, the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita is for you.
From the Vision of Eternity: 8 Life Lessons from the Bhagavad-Gita 6: Bhagavad-Gita on Fearlessness
What are you afraid of? We have so many fears, large and small. Fear of the dark, fear of failure, fear of success, fear of loss, fear of death. The crippling shadow of fear follows us through life, sometimes lurking at the edge of our consciousness, sometimes completely overwhelming us. Fear holds us back from living a full and happy life. Is there a way to live fearlessly? Like a beacon shining in a dark night, the Bhagavad Gita illuminates the path to freedom from the most dangerous fear.
Acharya Das is a disciple of Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda and his Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. To connect with Acharya Das, please visit http://acharyadas.com/
Register for the full series http://www.scienceofidentity.org/signup/
- Bhagavad-Gita on Peace - Oct 9
2: Bhagavad-Gita on Freedom – Oct 16
3: Bhagavad-Gita on Happiness – Oct 23
4: Bhagavad-Gita on Love – Oct 30
5: Bhagavad-Gita on Destiny – Nov 6
6: Bhagavad-Gita on Fearlessness – Nov 13
7: Bhagavad-Gita on Being Spiritual But Not Religious - Nov 20
8: Bhagavad-Gita on Karma – Nov 27
From the Vision of Eternity: 8 Life Lessons from the Bhagavad-Gita The Bhagavad Gita has been studied and praised for thousands of years for its clarity, insight and wealth of spiritual knowledge. It not only contains the foundation for the system of yoga, it is the guidebook for living a meaningful, joyful life and facing death fearlessly.
The Bhagavad Gita begins dramatically with Arjuna, the world’s greatest warrior prince, casting down his weapons on the battlefield, unwilling to fight in the battle of his life. Overcome with anguish and confusion, he turns to Krishna who proceeds to guide him from darkness to light. The eternal truths of the Bhagavad Gita resonate just as powerfully today, shining light on our own battles and guiding us from confusion to clarity.
In this 8-part series of webcasts we present the timeless wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita as it relates to the challenges, trials and tribulations we face in our own lives. If you would like to live a life that is fearless, full of purpose and deep happiness, the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita is for you. Don’t miss out on this free, live-streamed 8-episode webcast series. Quick and easy registration here http://www.scienceofidentity.org/signup/
From the Vision of Eternity: 8 Life Lessons from the Bhagavad-Gita 5: Bhagavad-Gita on Destiny
What is my destiny? Is it controlled by the stars? Is it divinely ordained? Or is it simply an arbitrary course of events? Furthermore, is destiny set in stone; a fixed series of events that are inevitable and unchangeable, or do we play a role in determining our future and can we change our destiny? In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna examines the natural laws that determine destiny and, furthermore, uncovers the keys that allow each person to break free from fate and set their personal course for freedom.
Acharya Das is a disciple of Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda and his Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. To connect with Acharya Das, please visit http://acharyadas.com/
Register for the full series http://www.scienceofidentity.org/signup/
- Bhagavad-Gita on Peace - Oct 9
2: Bhagavad-Gita on Freedom – Oct 16
3: Bhagavad-Gita on Happiness – Oct 23
4: Bhagavad-Gita on Love – Oct 30
5: Bhagavad-Gita on Destiny – Nov 6
6: Bhagavad-Gita on Fearlessness – Nov 13
7: Bhagavad-Gita on Being Spiritual But Not Religious - Nov 20
8: Bhagavad-Gita on Karma – Nov 27
From the Vision of Eternity: 8 Life Lessons from the Bhagavad-Gita The Bhagavad Gita has been studied and praised for thousands of years for its clarity, insight and wealth of spiritual knowledge. It not only contains the foundation for the system of yoga, it is the guidebook for living a meaningful, joyful life and facing death fearlessly.
The Bhagavad Gita begins dramatically with Arjuna, the world’s greatest warrior prince, casting down his weapons on the battlefield, unwilling to fight in the battle of his life. Overcome with anguish and confusion, he turns to Krishna who proceeds to guide him from darkness to light. The eternal truths of the Bhagavad Gita resonate just as powerfully today, shining light on our own battles and guiding us from confusion to clarity.
In this 8-part series of webcasts we present the timeless wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita as it relates to the challenges, trials and tribulations we face in our own lives. If you would like to live a life that is fearless, full of purpose and deep happiness, the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita is for you. Don’t miss out on this free, live-streamed 8-episode webcast series. Quick and easy registration here http://www.scienceofidentity.org/signup/
From the Vision of Eternity: 8 Life Lessons from the Bhagavad-Gita 2: Bhagavad-Gita on Freedom
We read about freedom, dream of freedom, hope for freedom, we may even fight for freedom but do we understand what freedom really is? Why is it that even when we free ourselves from one form of oppression, we simultaneously entrap ourselves in another layer of bondage? Can we ever actually be free? In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna examines the bonds that enslave the soul and shines a light on achieving ultimate freedom. Explore the Vedic perspective on freedom and discover the way to achieve actual liberation from bondage and live a spiritually inspired life through the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita.
Acharya Das is a disciple of Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda and his Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. To connect with Acharya Das, please visit http://acharyadas.com/
Register for the full series http://www.scienceofidentity.org/signup/
- Bhagavad-Gita on Peace - Oct 9
2: Bhagavad-Gita on Freedom – Oct 16
3: Bhagavad-Gita on Happiness – Oct 23
4: Bhagavad-Gita on Love – Oct 30
5: Bhagavad-Gita on Destiny – Nov 6
6: Bhagavad-Gita on Fearlessness – Nov 13
7: Bhagavad-Gita on Being Spiritual But Not Religious - Nov 20
8: Bhagavad-Gita on Karma – Nov 27
From the Vision of Eternity: 8 Life Lessons from the Bhagavad-Gita The Bhagavad Gita has been studied and praised for thousands of years for its clarity, insight and wealth of spiritual knowledge. It not only contains the foundation for the system of yoga, it is the guidebook for living a meaningful, joyful life and facing death fearlessly.
The Bhagavad Gita begins dramatically with Arjuna, the world’s greatest warrior prince, casting down his weapons on the battlefield, unwilling to fight in the battle of his life. Overcome with anguish and confusion, he turns to Krishna who proceeds to guide him from darkness to light. The eternal truths of the Bhagavad Gita resonate just as powerfully today, shining light on our own battles and guiding us from confusion to clarity.
In this 8-part series of webcasts we present the timeless wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita as it relates to the challenges, trials and tribulations we face in our own lives. If you would like to live a life that is fearless, full of purpose and deep happiness, the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita is for you. Don’t miss out on this free, live-streamed 8-episode webcast series. Quick and easy registration here http://www.scienceofidentity.org/signup/
From the Vision of Eternity: 8 Life Lessons from the Bhagavad-Gita 3. Bhagavad-Gita on Happiness
Everyone naturally desires happiness. To be happy is part of our intrinsic nature, yet it seems that we cannot have happiness without distress. We regularly experience that there is no pleasure without pain. Any happiness that comes our way also seems fleeting, dissolving like mist as we grasp it. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna offers a unique perspective on happiness, illuminating the path to living a life full of deep, transcendental joy.
- Bhagavad-Gita on Peace
2: Bhagavad-Gita on Freedom
3: Bhagavad-Gita on Happiness
4: Bhagavad-Gita on Love
5: Bhagavad-Gita on Destiny
6: Bhagavad-Gita on Fearlessness
7: Bhagavad-Gita on Being Spiritual But Not Religious
8: Bhagavad-Gita on Karma
From the Vision of Eternity: 8 Life Lessons from the Bhagavad-Gita The Bhagavad Gita has been studied and praised for thousands of years for its clarity, insight and wealth of spiritual knowledge. It not only contains the foundation for the system of yoga, it is the guidebook for living a meaningful, joyful life and facing death fearlessly.
The Bhagavad Gita begins dramatically with Arjuna, the world’s greatest warrior prince, casting down his weapons on the battlefield, unwilling to fight in the battle of his life. Overcome with anguish and confusion, he turns to Krishna who proceeds to guide him from darkness to light. The eternal truths of the Bhagavad Gita resonate just as powerfully today, shining light on our own battles and guiding us from confusion to clarity.
In this 8-part series of webcasts we present the timeless wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita as it relates to the challenges, trials and tribulations we face in our own lives. If you would like to live a life that is fearless, full of purpose and deep happiness, the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita is for you.
From the Vision of Eternity: 8 Life Lessons from the Bhagavad-Gita 2: Bhagavad-Gita on Freedom
We read about freedom, dream of freedom, hope for freedom, we may even fight for freedom but do we understand what freedom really is? Why is it that even when we free ourselves from one form of oppression, we simultaneously entrap ourselves in another layer of bondage? Can we ever actually be free? In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna examines the bonds that enslave the soul and shines a light on achieving ultimate freedom. Explore the Vedic perspective on freedom and discover the way to achieve actual liberation from bondage and live a spiritually inspired life through the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita.
Acharya Das is a disciple of Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda and his Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. To connect with Acharya Das, please visit http://acharyadas.com/
Register for the full series http://www.scienceofidentity.org/signup/
- Bhagavad-Gita on Peace - Oct 9
2: Bhagavad-Gita on Freedom – Oct 16
3: Bhagavad-Gita on Happiness – Oct 23
4: Bhagavad-Gita on Love – Oct 30
5: Bhagavad-Gita on Destiny – Nov 6
6: Bhagavad-Gita on Fearlessness – Nov 13
7: Bhagavad-Gita on Being Spiritual But Not Religious - Nov 20
8: Bhagavad-Gita on Karma – Nov 27
From the Vision of Eternity: 8 Life Lessons from the Bhagavad-Gita The Bhagavad Gita has been studied and praised for thousands of years for its clarity, insight and wealth of spiritual knowledge. It not only contains the foundation for the system of yoga, it is the guidebook for living a meaningful, joyful life and facing death fearlessly.
The Bhagavad Gita begins dramatically with Arjuna, the world’s greatest warrior prince, casting down his weapons on the battlefield, unwilling to fight in the battle of his life. Overcome with anguish and confusion, he turns to Krishna who proceeds to guide him from darkness to light. The eternal truths of the Bhagavad Gita resonate just as powerfully today, shining light on our own battles and guiding us from confusion to clarity.
In this 8-part series of webcasts we present the timeless wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita as it relates to the challenges, trials and tribulations we face in our own lives. If you would like to live a life that is fearless, full of purpose and deep happiness, the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita is for you. Don’t miss out on this free, live-streamed 8-episode webcast series. Quick and easy registration here http://www.scienceofidentity.org/signup/
From the Vision of Eternity: 8 Life Lessons from the Bhagavad-Gita
1: Bhagavad-Gita on Peace We long for peace: peace in the world, peace in our community and peace in our family. We have often heard that "peace begins with me" but how do we embody the peace that we seek?
In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna speaks directly about the need for peace, declaring that there is no happiness without peace. Furthermore, He lays out the path to attaining the supreme, spiritual peace that we long for.
Acharya Das is a disciple of Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda and his Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. To connect with Acharya Das, please visit http://acharyadas.com/
Register for the full series http://www.scienceofidentity.org/signup/
- Bhagavad-Gita on Peace - Oct 9
2: Bhagavad-Gita on Freedom – Oct 16
3: Bhagavad-Gita on Happiness – Oct 23
4: Bhagavad-Gita on Love – Oct 30
5: Bhagavad-Gita on Destiny – Nov 6
6: Bhagavad-Gita on Fearlessness – Nov 13
7: Bhagavad-Gita on Being Spiritual But Not Religious - Nov 20
8: Bhagavad-Gita on Karma – Nov 27
From the Vision of Eternity: 8 Life Lessons from the Bhagavad-Gita The Bhagavad Gita has been studied and praised for thousands of years for its clarity, insight and wealth of spiritual knowledge. It not only contains the foundation for the system of yoga, it is the guidebook for living a meaningful, joyful life and facing death fearlessly.
The Bhagavad Gita begins dramatically with Arjuna, the world’s greatest warrior prince, casting down his weapons on the battlefield, unwilling to fight in the battle of his life. Overcome with anguish and confusion, he turns to Krishna who proceeds to guide him from darkness to light. The eternal truths of the Bhagavad Gita resonate just as powerfully today, shining light on our own battles and guiding us from confusion to clarity.
In this 8-part series of webcasts we present the timeless wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita as it relates to the challenges, trials and tribulations we face in our own lives. If you would like to live a life that is fearless, full of purpose and deep happiness, the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita is for you. Don’t miss out on this free, live-streamed 8-episode webcast series. Quick and easy registration here http://www.scienceofidentity.org/signup/
In the fourth and final part of this series, Acharya das delves into the topic of God. In particular, he addresses the question, “Is there a God or Absolute Truth?” From the ancient Vedas and the yoga perspective, he explains the three experiences of God realization, namely Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan, and describes the experience and consciousness that result from these different types of spiritual realization.
Verses quoted:
Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 1.2.11
"Although the two birds are in the same tree, the eating bird is fully engrossed with anxiety and moroseness as the enjoyer of the fruits of the tree. But if in some way or other he turns his face to his friend who is the Lord and knows His glories—at once the suffering bird becomes free from all anxieties." Mundaka Upanisad, 3.1.2 & Svetasvatara Upanisad 4.7
The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy. - Bhagavad-gītā 18.61
The Lord's beauty resembles a dark cloud during the rainy season. As the rainfall glistens, His bodily features also glisten. Indeed, He is the sum total of all beauty. The Lord has four arms and an exquisitely beautiful face with eyes like lotus petals, a beautiful highly raised nose, a mind-attracting smile, a beautiful forehead and equally beautiful and fully decorated ears. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 4.24.45-46
Yogis meditate upon the localized Paramatma situated in the heart, jnanis worship the impersonal Brahman as the Supreme Absolute Truth, and devotees worship Vasudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose transcendental body is described in the sastras. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 5.7.7
https://acharyadas.com/series/yoga-spirituality-enlightenment-god
In this third part of the series, Acharya Das discusses the topic of enlightenment. He explains that the foundation of enlightenment and self-realization is to understand that a person is not their material body or mind—that they are a spiritual being.
This understanding, that a person is not matter, but is the spiritual occupant of the body, can be life changing in how a person determines their purpose in life, in what ways they pursue happiness, and how they see others and the world around them.
To discover the answer to the question, “Who Am I?” Acharya Das examines three key aspects of discovering the truth about the identity of the living being, our essence, position, and natural spiritual function.
Verses quoted:
Whenever a person experiences, by self-realization, that both the gross and subtle bodies have nothing to do with the pure self, at that time he sees himself as well as the Highest Spiritual Truth (God). - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 1.3.33
Just as fire, which burns and illuminates, is different from firewood, which is to be burned to give illumination, similarly the seer within the body, the self-enlightened spirit soul, is different from the material body, which is to be illuminated by consciousness. Thus the spirit soul and the body possess different characteristics and are separate entities. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.10.8
One who is enlightened in self-realization, although living within the material body, sees himself as transcendental to the body, just as one who has arisen from a dream gives up identification with the dream body. A foolish person, however, although not identical with his material body but transcendental to it, thinks himself to be situated in the body, just as one who is dreaming sees himself as situated in an imaginary body. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.11.8
https://acharyadas.com/series/yoga-spirituality-enlightenment-god
Spirituality is the topic of the second part of the series. Spirituality is broadly defined as including “a sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves”—typically involving a search for the meaning in life. But many people loosely use the term “spiritual” in ways that detract from the true meaning of spirituality and what it is to “be spiritual”.
Acharya das clearly explains the meaning of “spiritual”. It begins with a real understanding of the differences between the material and spiritual energies. He also contrasts the materialistic and spiritual world-views. The wisdom which arises from true spiritual vision is to see as follows:
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The world, not as my home or my property, but a place that existed before I showed up in this body and which will exist beyond my current life in this body. My claim to any part of this world is false. “Consuming” this world will not give me true and lasting happiness. I should view this world with appreciation and through the lens of guardianship.
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All life is sacred. All life is spiritual. There is no higher or lower. We are all spiritual brothers and sisters. Exploiting or using others brings unhappiness to the user and the used. Love and serve others.
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I am not material. “I” am spiritual. The path of true self-discovery brings eternal happiness, peace and fulfilment.
Verses quoted:
Ignorance consists of considering that which is temporary as eternal, the impure as pure, misery as happiness and the non-self (the body or mind) as the real self. – Yoga-sūtra 2.5
In the stage of perfection called samadhi, one's mind is completely restrained from material mental activities by practice of yoga. This perfection is characterized by one's ability to see the self by the pure mind and to relish and rejoice in the self. In that joyous state, one is situated in boundless transcendental happiness, realized through transcendental senses. Established thus, one never departs from the truth, and upon gaining this he thinks there is no greater gain. Being situated in such a position, one is never shaken, even in the midst of greatest difficulty. This indeed is actual freedom from all miseries arising from material contact. - Bhagavad-gītā 6.20-23
He is a perfect yogi who, by comparison to his own self, sees the true equality of all beings, in both their happiness and their distress, O Arjuna! - Bhagavad-gītā 6.32
It is the duty of every living being to perform welfare activities for the benefit of others with his life, wealth, intelligence and words. – Caitanya Caritamrita Adi 9.42
https://acharyadas.com/series/yoga-spirituality-enlightenment-god
In the first part of the series, Acharya Das discusses the topic of yoga. Rather than just the limited understanding as being a system of physical postures and breathing, Yoga is best understood as a broader spiritual system, of spiritual endeavor aimed at self-realization and God-realization . He clears up common misconceptions of what yoga is, describes the ultimate goal of yoga, and explain the process by which the goal of yoga can be achieved.
Acharya Das also shares that the real message of yoga is a message of hope, self-discovery, and boundless joy. He will explain the yoga system of learning from a qualified teacher and reveal why it’s extremely beneficial for a sincere seeker of truth to seek out an authentic spiritual teacher to guide them on the gradual and progressive journey towards transcendence.
These verses from a yogic text were quoted:
Bhāgavata Purāṇa 7.13.28-30
In this way the conditioned soul living within the body forgets his self-interest because he identifies himself with the body. Because the body is material, his natural tendency is to be attracted by the varieties of the material world. Thus the living entity suffers the miseries of material existence.
Just as a deer, because of ignorance, cannot see the water within a well covered by grass, but runs after water elsewhere, the living entity covered by the material body does not see the happiness within himself, but runs after happiness in the material world.
The living entity tries to achieve happiness and rid himself of the causes of distress, but because the various bodies of the living entities are under the full control of material nature, all his plans in different bodies, one after another, are ultimately baffled.
Do not stay in illusion; go to the eternal reality. Do not stay in darkness; go to the light. Do not suffer death; become immortal! - Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 1.3.28
https://acharyadas.com/series/yoga-spirituality-enlightenment-god
What does it really mean to be spiritual?
Is Yoga the same as spirituality?
What is self-realization?
What is enlightenment?
Are there degrees of enlightenment?
How is enlightenment experienced?
Is there an Absolute Truth or God for the yogi?
What is God-realization?
And how is it experienced?
Hear the authentic and traditional guiding light of Patanjali and the ancient masters in an enlightening 4 part series delivered by Acharya das – a practitioner and teacher of yoga wisdom for over 45 years.