Vedanta Retreat at Loon Lake on Who Am I by Swami Sarvapriyananda Lecture 1

0:04 Oh [Music] good evening and once again welcome to this wonderful retreated such a beautiful location and you just have to turn around and look back behind and see outside the glass windows as we were driving up this evening early this

0:51 evening doctor Pat was driving me up and like all of you I came to this pretty dense forest went along right from the gate to this place and I was thinking has reminded of an ancient name for Vedic knowledge you see a part of the Vedas are called our campus the forest books so today we are going to study the forest text in its appropriate setting within it in this pristine dense forest though we are oceans and continents away in space and millennium thousands of years away in time from the place Mary's

1:39 birth thoughts first dawned upon humanity in the on the banks of the San Joaquin River the Ganges in India thousands of years ago so when Arthur that's what we are going to study in this retreat and we're going to take a one particular text you can hope you've all got a copy of his text trig ratio acre but this topic this evening star is more of an opening an introduction something that will lead on to the this text which we are going to banana most of you are veterans in radar

2:27 you actually have been at it and it all without the means literally the is it confused to love belong of the means Veda and anta very ancient scriptures of the Hindus probably the oldest lived scriptures of the oldest living religion on this planet and there's a that's something else outside

3:14 and anta anta means the end but it does not literally mean the end of the Vedas not in the sense of a physical end though sometimes the core Vedanta texts are located at the end of the Vedas but literally it means the supreme knowledge that you find in the Vedas the highest teaching of the Vedas is final teaching of the datas so that is the Vedanta and the portions of the availa of the data where we find these gigantic texts are called into positions these coalition's are dakota texts of Vedanta in fact a definition of Vedanta is Valen

4:04 tada Upanishad remodel literally translated it means well anta is the source of spiritual knowledge God who petitions the source of spiritual knowledge Crotty petitions is Veda literally so these texts are on what they teach is Veda now these texts Upanishads are scattered in the four Vedas Rig Veda Yajur Veda sama Veda sama Veda Raiders of the Hindus B's who positions are scattered at their numerous we haven't recorded up a list of more than a hundred authentico conditions and they're supposed to have been more than a thousand Upanishads someone lost

4:49 someone of dubious authenticity but in one of the missions themselves the Mukti company should we find a list of 108 upanishads and among these opposition's 10 are very important these that are important because about 40 centuries ago the great Vedanta philosopher Adi Shankaracharya he selected these 10 to write his commentaries upon so he selected technical conditions and these 10 had become the foundation of Veda so water instant he sharp opposition

5:37 gain opposition competition rational function I gave you a position mundo combination let me put it this way monocle condition is a reason why this

6:23 mark Rubio condition 30 do condition then either a new position and charm doppio condition and finally reallocation here in fact you see that all in name are on here but more squad or something that belongs to the forest so our only

7:10 there are negative the reason I reckon them in disorder is that there is a verse which students many monastic students use in Dedham Alice to memorize the names of these or conditions so it goes like this Keisha kata-kata Krishna I am River are so it's easy to memorize the names now among all of them Briella revelation is of course the largest closely followed by the tango gift and the martyr proposition is the smallest supposed to be the most powerful smallest only with 12 mantras

7:58 now this literature is masked and all of it has been compressed for our benefit their senses been extracted by none other than Shri Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita so if you do not have the patience to go through the audio conditions and if you Hindus have very few leaders have actually read do conditions where most Hindus would have studied or who know something of the bhagavad-gita so what you have in no conditions have been taken the essence has been put into the bhagavad-gita in the dialogue between man and God between arjuna and krishna and also there is another text to

8:46 broaden the brahmasutra the echo reason aphorisms about random three tests this set of text called you volition special in the ten major revolution these are called in media relations only the Gaussian kernel is selected them to write commentaries I am Ricardo Medina which has the essence of your conditions and Shankar's a little commentary on this also and the brahmasutra Brahma sutras are a set of 555 aphorisms compact ordering which are philosophical in nature if you have questions we have questions about organization speech or

9:32 what's discussed in the Gita those are discussed in the bhagavata Brahma sutras philosophical discussed the hope based on reasoning argumentation so these three texts are regarded as the foundational texts of advaitha or they are regards the foundational texts of Veda this is going technically shooty shooty means that it is heard this is technically God's ability the drilling means something is remembered or transmitted by memory and brahmasutra is called the I logic is here stands for logic so should we press

10:17 father springing pressed on my oppressor Tristana is foundational text so pressed on a tram vallarta these are the Sanskrit terms plus thought there was thought foundation try a tribute these tests with their commentaries along with their commentaries are the triple foundation of a number and this is God the star apply electrical foundation so you want to know the original texts of Vedanta these are the original texts of bigger now these have been commented on by great philosophers over the ages Shankar Acharya commented on the huh he's got extensive sanskrit commentary

11:03 something over fourteen centuries ago and that forms the basis of the system of advaita vedanta non-dual Bureau which is one interpretation of this of these three texts these this set of texts actually is not one text but many texts Gita has some 700 verses Rahman of italia about for centuries or three centuries after Shankar Acharya another great philosopher anything south of India hero territories on these not individually under conditions but all together he wrote commentaries are no collisions sweetie govinda and brahma sutra and his

11:50 commentaries form the basis of another system of Vedanta corn vicious chadwick efficient waiter qualified Mona Singh or qualified non-dualism then Thomas Matata another great philosopher maybe a couple of centuries after Rohani Acharya who wrote commentaries on this and his express x position his interpretation forms the basis of what is called doing the rhythm dualism so here you have AB draga vishna Vega Duane and there are the schools play God

12:36 great ocean park greater then there is a agility of hidden rain of of rodeo rationalism you may sound all sounded incomprehensible and strange but believe me you have come across those chaps they are the the Hari Krishna's who sing and dance almost in every city of the world there it was awakened analyzing one of these then after schools cognoscenti of atomic school which is the philosophy of the podium a big Rock School of Business that one night not without basically what are the differences in these groups we just touch upon it and then go ahead the Advaita Vedanta insists that you and

13:23 God are one reality it is one reality brundin which appears as the limited individual being as this world and has come but it's one reality one undivided non dual reality and vicious turn to a insists it's not knowledgeable it's like the relationship is one are part and whole Advaita Vedanta it is identity relationship of identity you ain't God of one and same reality which is not whether for handful by which they need leave and this universe these are all thoughts of God and God is the home of

14:09 which everything is in fact it's like the relationship you wear to the different parts of your body I am hands and feet there are different from each other but they are all elected in an organic unity because they are they all part of my body in the same way all of us living being sentient beings and all the in sentient matter in this universe it forms part of the body of God so instead a unity with with parts that's wishes of a do it exists no demo really there's a lot of opportunity there different God and humans not different goddess is omnipotent to initiate all mortal only present and ruler of the universe and we

14:58 are we helpless that we are subject to birth and death and the other ruled so it's a relationship of master and servant the ruler at the room so we are different so they come for difference and all of this one is a mix you can imagine the amount of interpretation that has done now we are immediately based gently with which one is correct and they have fought for centuries they are for at least 700 to 800 years and this is a vast body of nutrition so good that they have fought over it because they're fighting has been a kind of closer fertile packing and because of

15:45 that Indian philosophy has been enormously enriched you have this past body of thought and depending on your personal inclination you will have a ready-made system when the philosophy and scriptures already value if your devotional by temperament this might suit you more if your philosophy tool and devotion these are parts of acting this is the path of knowledge so there are various paths which are there but I personally like Sri Ramakrishna's attitude so this was a unique genius of sri ramakrishna he tells the story of Hanuman the devotee of Lord Rama once Lord Rama

16:30 asked her mom what do you think of me so God is asking creature what do you think of me and honey ones reply is very interesting I'll give you the Sanskrit first or the flavor of the original and then translate anyone say they're going to do so Jeeva would be our production are doubled god rama varma tph cheetah aunty lore as this body anima this beautiful one I am thy servant Rawat my daughter I am on this vessel as a sentient creature residing in this body I am a part of thee thou art the whole and I part and

17:17 as the pure consciousness which is the witness of this body and white achma you and I are one of the sea this is my conclusion which one is correct this is my conclusion all of them are correct from which where are you it depends on where you're standing where you take your stand whenever even after all this knowledge that you and I are one this is the beauty of it when I know you and I are one when I can say a hum from ask me I am Braham but after that when I add to this body I'm not going to act like brother I am the servant of the God always in this body in knowledge in spiritual knowledge

18:03 I know I'm one bit come when I act in this world I act as a servant of the law where a beautiful synthesis and tada lonna approved on this this disc approach to it this is a fighting instead of saying this is correct or that is correct they're all correct you can also say they're all incorrect because after all you're trying to understand infinity an infinite reality these are all approaches to that but our approach over the next few days will be firmly here with epilogue is to download earlier they are dark pit we've got upon them once in a while but this is going to be our approaches because this book is following in the

18:48 tradition of Shankar Acharya so this is what they were to follow but I wanted you to know the background of this individual is fast where another inch passed like an ocean so there are many streams flowing into it this is one approach maybe the most popular maybe the most rational scientific maybe the most reasonable approach was attractive but still one of them and there are followers of all the other schools and then and each of these schools has produced saints and sages right now having said that then from this point of view what do the open you should say what does we're not busy can you tell us in one sentence what they have to say

19:34 yes we can Abby panting where are the speaks about the identity of Jeeva and ROM Jeeva who is this weird character kijima if you the individual any sentient being human beings disappearance other looms or they're doing there are all demons and and Brahman the ultimate reality is broken upon by your conditions existence consciousness place or what have you that aggregate reality and individually they are one and the same this is what the open should say and this is expressed in what is called the Baha Sanskrit mantra means Muhammad's

20:23 great senses the great sentences selected from one one of each of the Vedas which Express this identity chain of random identity which speak of the identity of God and man of the of the human and define those sentences selected to represent the essence of the teachings of Vedanta so that there are four other one from each of the various actually there are many of those sentences in the opposition's all you collisions trying to express this so you would expect many such sentences in your position but just what is as a formality one is taken from each of the Vedas so first most famous that now are the plum

21:12 I see that the what this is one duck thomassie these have been taken from the Chandra operation sixth chapter of revelation 6 chapter and it means that thou art so you having an unimportant this and many modality to start with this there are the most well known okinawa turned on yahoo position is part of the sama veda before Vegas some of it the chant of your position comes and so the representative now Africans sama Veda is tough to oversee that means that tor means doubt a seat or that thou art

21:58 what is that from the divine God spirit ultimate reality from you I each other's very simple and quite unmistakable non-comprehensive straight up so that's one of them another equally famous Muhammad the great sentence is a humdrum awesome this one is from the rear of my competition a homegrown costly what does it mean a means I run away from this as

22:47 we need air I am from our grasp and this especially dear to us in the lamination order because the different monastic orders destruction program we have our own bar wackiest great sentences which we are supposed to contemplate upon so this is ours or in the rhombus novel I am NOT diverging intoxicated scholars have enough to know this from hospital gift for power there are things which are top-secret in the process of sannyasa giving monastic vows there is a

23:32 particular text which is known only to send me a cease and I don't ask me what it is because the tradition goes if you but once here that you have to become a monk or above so there are people in the Himalayas very simple villagers would be terribly scared of lumps because they know that at least there are at least one power which they can extensor I don't know if this guy's got a supernatural powers but at least one power you can tell me the text and then I'll give up my why I mention before an important become a monk so that's the reverence in which that thing next is it are impossible that's from the other recognition and rear-ending combination is from the jejune Vader so the yajurveda is harmful

24:20 then there is another one from John remember Rama Rama Rama is indeed the creator of universal is a particular deity but Brahma here is because has been gravity contract on them it means the ultimate reality so from jeonnam drama this is from the either a yoga ship this one and this nobody should found in the Rig Veda in the Rig Veda what does it mean exactly the same as the other key right Nana going to be scared about this term a gana makes the consciousness which we themed it in our

25:06 sense now nothing very spiritual about it the consciousness that we feel right now the consciousness which you are using to listen to me and understand my words when which you can see me by which you can hear my words and by which you can think about it there are consciousness which we have within us that consciousness is actually grown the ultimate reality how Regency so this is the meaning of Mohammed from Radio kitchen which is Rig Veda and then finally you have another long walk at the last one of the four and that is I

25:53 this is from demand occupation is from Martin occupation and the Magnum Coalition is found in the eternal away the fourth bitter so this marker what does it need exactly is it and the other I have these this haha means self rather meager given here so this that is then if you take your thumb and pointing towards yourself this very self is brown I am artery and this is the Mahabharata reminder here worship all of them as you can see are seeing the same one and the same let you are now this is the whole message of definitions enumerations it

26:42 starts with questions students go to the teachers and ask questions in the moon derivation we find Shona there's a beautiful passage there it says shown Oh Hawaii Mahalo onion some video super scripture show Naga the name of the disciple and in the interesting description Mahalo Mahalo literally means a person who has huge sacrificial altars now remember this heads back to the days of the ancient Vedas the earliest form the Hindu religion when there were no big temples they had the religion there was sex fire sacrifices

27:28 when you offer the butter or other things into the fire - please the Vedic art that was the conventional religion of those days now a person personal big fire orders would be a rich person when we describe a successful and religious man of the world muhahaha one was many linked fire orders now it's interesting that chaga a spiritual seeker is described as a person who has made his way in the world who is successful and a religious person in the world then he gets a spiritual question and what is the question he asks in the wound of operation here he goes to the teacher to Rishi and asked

28:14 this question because many know have evolved account a salami dumb McGowen karate Sanskrit itself is beautiful don't be intimidated by the Sanskrit and keep chanting it once in a while just to get a flavor of the ancient language and when we study the drinker Chevy maker and suggest you all give one of these with with you so that you can use it to chant the repeatedly touch of a highly tested now the question what does it mean sir what is that I am knowing which I can know everything in this universe what a strange question and the answer given by

29:00 the deer is equally strange he says its repelling him outright that it is relevant by going wrong then you will know everything she got him look at the track he takes do you need a little bit it he was fired from her with over the the Maharaja the Rishi says the same says to this man who asks him what is that knowledge by which I could know everything he says first know that knowledge is of two times instead of telling it straight away he says knowledge is of two types what are the two types of knowledge transcendental knowledge and relative knowledge or you can see spiritual knowledge [Music]

29:46 related knowledge but are usually truck is translates into transcendent that supreme knowledge knowledge of the beyond and opera there it is not transcendent that it relates to here and now this word and then he gives a list what do you mean by a linear relative knowledge and he gives this whole university syllabus first of all he says to the student tech drummer our invader invader sama Veda sama Veda Shiksha an Avianca randomly Rotom Chanin dojo tisha BT whatever was being studied in those days before Vedas whatever knowledge they had all the text there

30:33 and he answered everything's like poetics and grabber and astronomia things like that all of that you might wonder why registering astronomy but because it was related to their religion because then to perform certain fire sacrifices at particular hours that the pagan ritual they perform so they have to know have a good knowledge of time and that they do by following the planets and the stars and things like that all knowledge available in that society the sage tells this person although that is related not secondary knowledge learning knowledge mpirica God but the person must be confused you are included all the

31:19 religious and spiritual books also in secondary know then what is the highest knowledge what is the transcendent knowledge but I are the doctor the transcendent knowledge is that by which literal word used is action the invariable is attained which is Brahman impression now see how he has made a distinction between all grains of knowledge and spiritual knowledge otherwise or might think okay it's one kind of knowledge I know this I can sign up for again intercourse and come to bloom they further course and then that be enlightened not semester which office

32:04 is there the sale is classified it under a parameter religion knowledge not transcendent knowledge in the channel of the ignition the the teacher who happens to be the father of the students wait okay to the student the teacher asks the why in your school did they teach you that by which new way knowing that you can know everything same questions anger in guarding a serving authority by one knowledge anything here in this universe becomes known and if his son is puzzled if you have one knowledge you know that subject by doing chemistry in the only chemistry peddling biology and only biology by knowing chemistry you don't know everything in the universe though

32:50 today professors of physics by dispute that is a minor in physics you know everything in DNA so that is the question that is the question that is raised in two finishes KO Mancha ka ginawa depression Amana Cana Rana Pratap Ravi Gupta Kaz Tom watch ami mom the Joshua from Goa Daman unit P sir just to read out the question look at the sophistication of the question sir what is that light within which inspires my thoughts so many thoughts come to me throughout my life throughout my days thoughts ideas memories desires love a

33:39 frustration exultation all these things coming my mind all the time they are flowing through my mind from thence - they come in what light do these thoughts shine what prompts my life what what instigates my eyes to see what enables my eyes to see what enables my ears to hear eyes to give me the impressed person experience of seeing our ears to give me the first-person experience of hearing sounds how do these words which are coming out of me what is the source how is it eternal look at the sophistication of the question - dealing in the 21st century consciousness studies is just beginning to ask this question it's a science in

34:27 its infancy consciousness studies scientists are saying that we do not even have the right questions yet one Swami who is a mathematician if we're talking about the morning this approach to consciousness studies and its relation possible relation to Vedanta and this Swami said to me dismissively I don't regard consciousness studies as a real science I said why not remember is a mathematician so it also is a pure mathematician so pure mathematician is a person who holds every other branch of knowledge and contact Oh Hardy who sponsored Ramanujan to come to Cambridge in the great mathematician

35:15 so he was asked what is the application of all these things what application to your chemo needs have all these mathematics abstract mathematics you're doing and hardy said famously I should hope they do not have any application yeah I would be apart within a deposition their mathematics is simply so his response was why don't you consider consciousness studies to be a science he said it's not a science until you can define the terms you have not yet come to the proper definition of consciousness nobody agrees on what is consciousness so how does first person experience take a place they call it the problem of quantum they call it the

36:00 qualia in this boom this these two jumps this is supposed to be the hard problem of consciousness today right now hard problem in the sense that we designed this have no idea even how to tackle this problem also who will this person Chalmers he is the person wetting coined the term hard problem of consciousness and you know that's beside the better ah look at this person who's asking a question maybe 40 centuries ago what is this person asked is it was asking about this

36:46 thing how does conscious experience take place so it starts with these questions and the answers given are always the same that there is an ultimate reality which is existence consciousness bliss if you know that if you know that then your questions will be answered by knowing that everything is known that is the secret of the universe by knowing that your true self is know the very essence of vadhana is captured in certain texts like I like this text from the time video finish at second chapter it goes like this and then till yo condition is a text which says from her window D para the no

37:31 other or run one attains the ultimate very simple text the knower of random attains the ultimate or attains the highest o supreme now immediately you have questions what is this problem and how do you know Krum and what do you mean by taking the eyes what is the price that is being promised what do you get by knowing this and the next few lines in that position in that section give answers to these three questions what is relevant how do you know Brahman and what is the result of it what what actually do we get out of all of this what is Rama and a beautiful definition some yharnam

38:18 bragging is infinite existence and consciousness sub-camp pure existence janym pure consciousness other than them infinity when salami that sounds pretty profound but what does it mean I refer you to my talk my connection of definition of God it's on youtube if you take one and a half hours talk about this these three by yes Shankar Acharya rise to three pages of dense philosophical commentary in sanskrit to explain this much sentence securing gana mana come from brahman is infinite existence and consciousness Shankar Acharya is designed with Suresh for Acharya another grave and weight a master he writes I counted more than 250

39:06 versus to explain this within sentence and you will require long commentaries to explain each of those risks so but the point there is the next sentence explains how do you know prefer this infinite from whatever it is how do you know it because you're supposed to know breath so how do you know it and can you at all knowing the next section says you're a girl Anita my arm but I'm a yeoman who realizes Bromham in the sacred space in the cave of his heart in the sacred space on the cave of his heart again mystical language we will see what it all means at least these things will be clear at the end of the retreat now what it means is you

39:52 have to realize from them as your see let me repeat that what it means is exactly these Mohammed you're realizing Brahman in the sacred space of the cave of your heart all that language all it means is you have to realize random you have to know Brandon as yourself and I am that is the knowledge that we are changing we must come to a realization not just to repeat it not just read about it but actually make it living reality that I am wrong so that is the knowledge you get chasing and what is the gain from all of this definition see is they to do consensus so actually face analog Almanza from

40:40 miRNA because she Devi the personal realizes runner who finds that I am run when it comes to such a realization not just gives lectures about it but actually becomes a living reality for that person that person attains all human desires all human desires so this takes an explanation does it mean that look I want the latest Tesla car and iPhone 7 and a house in Malibu and things like that if you have the list of things if I realize ramen will I get all of them together that's not what is meant what is meant there is why you want all of these things from the candy

41:26 that you pestered your long haul to the multi-million dollar home on a debate area which you are looking forward to if you are don't but if you are all of these why do people want these because they feel they will be happy then will be satisfied if I get it that I will really really be happy we have eating like them deep inside us to get a permanent satisfaction arguments obstruction and to overcome our styles overcome our translation our misery this is the goal of human life however you put it you will see any human endeavor from the child to the to the

42:11 Nobel prize-winning professor to the president of a country to a homeless person on the street everybody in any sphere of human life all they're trying to do is be happy overcome suffering these are the two things that they're trying to and what they promise is if you realize yourself as problem then these to be achieved you will really really help unshakably so you will get ultimate satisfaction and peace and completely overcome all suffering for all time to come remember it does not mean you're going to overcome the disease in the body that I might eight years old but soon after realizing from when I look 20 no disease

43:02 and desert part of the natural process of the body but what did they promise is the suffering that comes to us through that we will be able to save it full confidence that I do not suffer in reality I know that the body is sick I know the body is old I know that there are failures in life and so and so forth but I also can see in what since I am above all of it so now the rest I was suffering from cancer and hurry-mart Swami Tony Allen he comes and asks straight-out Krishna sir how are you today throat cancer and Sudama Krishna says oh because of this I cannot eat I'm having so much pain and how do you want to see something strange he looks at your

43:48 operation he says but I see you are in great bliss that's a cruel thing to say to a cancer patient but shri ramakrishna says immediately he burst into laughter he says the rascal has got me out he has found me out that he knows where to where to attitude towards this you know he knows that I read him about this I kind of transcended pain we have seen it I myself seen it in the legs of some of the greats one is know I've seen personally how they can overcome suffering just like that and not just in the case of person who is highly advanced spiritually hindi they say

44:33 India Hong J way about highly advanced spiritually not only in depth but anybody has cultivated this for a long time even though they might not be fully enlightened as yet and I have myself seen something very interesting we have a hospital in Calcutta where the main monastery is located and in that hospital is one ward where the old Swami the Swami's were sick they are treated if they're admitted those who require serious treatment their operational things like that surgery this hospital is called same our petition it's in Calcutta now one thing I noticed was and there are all these in other words that there are hundreds of other patients and all the ward was kind of gloominess it's suffering pain in

45:21 many cases disease which should not be cured it can be managed and the people know this so you can feel it in the other other words but when you come to the primal devotee bhadra exist on this earth that's also the same people some old men are just lying there and they are probably not going to get much better we are going to die very soon but there is a peace enjoyed it this is a lightness there which are clearly noticed so if you continue to Ananda for a long time you get that me now I want to make we find two friends what is open for questions see here is what I can drive in towards we have to realize that I am

46:06 wrong yep trailer get diagram this is the knowledge here conjugative now what happens the moment you say I am gremlin the first objection will be just a minute I am NOT Brandon and Swami sir no Fiona or and mister so-and-so this is so and so under drumlin I can be anything but not run I don't think very Brandon like so when we look at ourselves they do not consider assets to be problem so what does it mean to say that I am problem what without of the claims is that we are thoroughly mistaken about ourselves we do not know what what we truly are so in order to realize this that you are

46:52 wrong and that prophecy or am Bramha lying problem in order to realize it is what must be first do we must first clear up the confusion of our step back how odd but which you you are running with which you this body sitting there on a chair there is that relevant in one when one sense I am rather but which I what is the either they are talking about is it the one which week with your which my passport or my driving license speaks about that I this person was born the son of so-and-so either in a place in India is about so many years old this is the description is that relevant so

47:38 what am I Who am I that is the question which has to be answered first before we come to the realization that I am wrong let me repeat that the Veyron the way the river teaches you are but before you go to that we must first clarify what is meant by you Who am I that is the question to be if you start it and that is why I selected this book drink to Shiva where does it come in this and the enough pedantic text so these are the original text they are vast and difficult in order to make them easy introductory text written by Agnon masters of non-dualism at

48:26 waiter Masters in the centuries after Shankar Acharya when artists are we made teacher Avenue chakrasana himself wrote quite a few Viveka chudamani are mimosa when your openness honesty and the other melon or monastic introductory texts are volantis Allah belong the furring Hashanah our auction routine in general area Road drinker Chevy Vega Bunch agasshi so many wonderful romantic texts are there now I have selected this because it's small and powerful very important text and it starts with this question whoever and answers it in the very first verse in fact between I will

49:12 not take it up today because it requires lot of alertness and focus you all journey for long hours and evening we had supper so I'm not going to go into that we will do this text over the next three days three and a half days and this text actually concludes in text number 31 I think yes 31 so we will do up to that and the rest is a kind of addendum and extra holistic edited and we click over to the remaining text up to 46 46 is the last verse but up to 31 is the main body of the text that's what we concentrate on starting tomorrow

49:59 what does it deal with Who am I why is that important whoever I has to be in order to realize that rely to be run what is the point of realizing that the point is to overcome all suffering no less than attainment of ultimate bliss so there is not very small agenda in front of us over the next few weeks and just an additional note you might see a note of caution most of us here are initiated devotees we have got a mantra from a guru and we practice that so we already have certain Balanta practices now what is the role of that in the

50:47 scheme of things one must not be overcome by enthusiam this effect and the effect if you begin to get it it's so thrilling it's such a revelation at one unwise step is to abandon all other practices and come to this alone don't do that what we have been practicing what the Guru has taught you those who have got initiation into a mantra please go on practicing and the second thing is the temptation to tamper with your practices ok the Guru gave me this 20 years ago but now they are practicing nice new updated version let me modify one liquid with you don't answer what with what the Guru has given what the

51:33 Guru has given has to be practiced exactly as the Guru has dignity in the computer science they talk about I am Bob so you protect your systems with a firewall so what the Guru has given is there in its own place this vision treat separately we shall study this independently what is the role of devotion what is the role of Karma Yoga what is the role of Guru yoga meditation all those things will come up slowly and I will also do it in the slightly this retreat within going to the most important verse of this book tomorrow that's the first curse and spent quite a bit of time over it so that we absorb the meaning very clearly absolutely

52:19 clear about the meaning then we jump ahead to almost the very end of the text and there are certain meditative practices we will learn on that and try to try to get a taste of what they're talking about it's quite thoroughly and then we shall come back to be the reorder of the text and which that we shall study that so that's what is there in front of us we have some time for questions anybody has questions today I gave you the background so background for these cases all there in the background and this is a text which is we're going to take up we know what why this has come what is

53:05 the necessity of this extra whereas it's ten so a very small question yes so humble must mean yes when somebody is reaching that stage yes then the harm because that is already dissolved the ego has completely dissolved so then they know even me and things like that so then why is we also say in spite of that he's like a hamburger fries that after coming down in an issue object after after that realization but what does it mean for the ego to dissolve we all understand that in fact all that we come here very precisely understand

53:52 these terms after then they have to know at least what happens after grandma kya even if I do not get propaganda by day after tomorrow but what exactly does it mean and what happens so that Ave will give it a step definitely that much I can promise enlightenment I can promise yes all the practices have to be continued but when you let you go and pack some would go to the forest cut some wood and bring it back let man be lazy he said sir what will we do in that wood wherever I still bring a lot of wood back and then they're going to light a big fire and then and then we

54:39 have to cook and then this is the forest so you can't leave a big fire to put the fire out after that so sir if you are going to put the final perimetry if I go to all the trouble in the same way if ultimately Brahman is beyond all practices knowledge alone is required by going brandon you become wrong and have you realize yourself is Bronwyn why should i do unselfish were its lot of trouble karma yoga why should i meditate why should I worship God if you are going to put on the bad and evil by light the fire the perspiration until you were to go hungry that's the thing where they are stuck we must unstick

55:26 ourselves in that situation in order to realize a blink practice is relevant but in the path of knowledge where does devotion bhakti coming where discovery overcoming various meditation coming thousands of things to be understood they took a there is a whole new approach I would say new which is popular in Europe in some parts of USA also where they say following Ramadan she and I sir gallant and others you are a night in your heaven how seeing it and then you keep lighting battery burger unable to see it and you feel totally confused what should I do anything doing anything will only deliver office but that kind of thing I generally waiter

56:13 does not approve that kind of thing in the traditional Sun out on a table every yoga Attucks place some might give primary importance to her tea some might a primary cortex to meditation and in this part we give primary importance to knowledge but here are two I will explain later on in the class an idea what a good does meditation - what good does love octi - what good does selfless service - so they are they all have their own and in traditional romantic everything was included they did not say you need only to know that you are ramen but I cannot know keep quiet you are rather then if you thoroughly contribute a little disheartened and also little you

57:00 know you lose self-esteem I can't realize myself as Brahman something must be wrong with me well not that I mention that into a very open day so many centuries ago there are no temples yes but fire was those fire worship done and you mentioned yeah yeah yeah by orders fifty hi auntie reporters you described nothing oh I know much about it that's an entirely different part of the Vedas if I have sacrifices see it comes in this way this mention a few words at its top the makers have two parts already say three parts gather to

57:54 pass up karma karma literally means water but here it means in the context of the Vedas it means rituals papasano means worship or meditation and yannis knowledge with spiritual knowledge knowledge of the self or knowledge of the problem now what we are going to talk about and we have been talking about this evening is this and this is following definitions which are part of the Vedas but this is in fact the power of the Vedas comprising these current language

58:40 and go possum in karma performance rituals in the Vedas in karma you have various kinds of sacrificial rituals the idea there was there are various God's not your gimmick reality God not run but there are gods like Indra varun Agni who rule over different powers of nature and if you want your worldly design satisfied then you have to please those gods and away complete those guards worse there would be a platform for performing rituals and fire the idea was

59:28 whatever you are offered into the fire with the appropriate chanting of the month laws and with appropriate reference that will go the offering will go to the conch so that God is qualities yes not drunk not yelling at reality not the God of religion these are smaller powers and they would grant you the eroticized so that was the kind of belief they had in those days it was a religion but a pretty holding hydrogen house somebody wanted well somebody want kingdom to conquer somebody wanted children whatever and they will try to please the mountain which I saw it stilts are executed in many temples mosques churches all over the world

1:00:15 people actually go and pray all things worldly desires to be satisfied we are not looking to realize Brahman oh lord show me that I am Brahma no hold on let me get a job or if you particularly mean then that person loses Java and so on burning is asked and so depending upon the ritual there is some simple ritualism complicated rituals so there are various kinds of that functions very addicted it is a huge size it's got knee mom's approval I have a little bit only with whatever I'm here to spend you a problem with this is most of it is

1:01:01 obsolete today what is it all of it it has been replaced by the modern kind of Hinduism as you see today we go to see any a Hindu temple in any part of the world you will see many deities and worship going on offering of food offerings flowers water is being poured in Sanskrit mantras will be chanted that is what you see so these are sacrifices that replaced by you job what you do here for example it's a puja a puja is worship of God and that can be done for very things and the capital for spiritual things so the old iron rituals

1:01:48 have sudden become obsolete they still survive nothing ever antalya because of so in India so they still survive in big poojas one part of it will be D for the fire to see determine whether two societies will be performing under birthday of sri ramakrishna something a whole fire is lit that is a remnant of the ancient Vedic languages instead of a platform now they have a homework under a metal tray on which the finest victim all right thank you