Swamiji’s gave a special talk on the new years day and the topic for this year was “Power of Prayer”.  Please click on the link below to listen to this special class:

Swamiji Talk on Power of Prayer

Verse 13

Can that be true knowledge when the knower does not know himself?  To one who knows oneself, the support of knowledge and the object of knowledge the two will vanish.

How para vidhya is different from apara vidhya?  How abatma vidhya is different than atma vidhya

Verse 14

Sleep is not knowledge.  Perception of objects is not knowledge.  In the knowledge as it is, one does not hold anything.  True knowledge is other than sleep and the perception of objects.  It is awareness alone, shining, not void.

Any wordy knowledge is a process in which the intellect grasps something.  Brahma vidhya is a knowledge in which the intellect does not grasp anything new.  So drop the idea of grasping something new as Brahman.  It may lead to the conclusion that Brahma vidhya is something where we don’t grasp anything, so it must be nithra or state of blankness or thoughtlessness.  But it is not a state of blankness or thoughtlessness.  If thoughtlessness is Brahma vidhya, then sleep will be Brahma vidhya.  Perception, knowing, objectification are also not Brahma vidhya and no perception, not knowing and not objectifying are also not Brahma Vidhya.   Then what is Brahma vidhya – it is chaithanyam or consciousness itself.

This creates more confusion in that everybody already has consciousness so everybody is already liberated and no need for sravana manana nidhidhyasanam.  Brahma vidhya is dropping the two fold misconception.  It is not a thoughtless state or it is not grasping something.  It is a state where thought arises which removes two misconceptions.  What is that thought that arises in the mind is aham brahma asmi.  At the time of brahma vidhya, I don’t have thoughtless mind, but I have an unique thought that I am aham brahma asmi. This thought removes the following two misconceptions:

1. I am jiva different from Brahman.
2. Brahman is an object to be grasped, but it is the very subject which grasps everything.

The thought that eliminates these two misconception is Brahma Vidhya.

Verse 15

The Consciousness that is the Self is the Truth.  The knowledge which is of various forms is entiher different nor can it exist without consciousness.  Here, in the world, can the various gold ornaments exist without gold?

One gold associated with different forms and names appear as ornaments.  In the same way, when consciousness is associated with any particular thought, the consciousness becomes particular knowledge.  General consciousness becomes particularized consciousness.  Pot outside enters my mind through sense organs, generating pot thought.  This is different than any other thought.  Before this thought entered the mind, the general consciousness was in the mind.  When I opened my eyes, I saw pot, creating pot thought and general consciousness became pot consciousness.  This pot consciousness is pot knowledge.  When turn my eyes to some other object, the pot knowledge disappears and replaced by the knowledge of that object.

Consciousness is called knowledge when it is associated with a thought.  Plurality does not belong to consciousness, it belongs to thoughts.  Every knowledge is consciousness associated with a relevant thought.  If you extend this principle, Brahma Vidhya is also a consciousness associated with the relevant thought “Aham Brahma Vidhya”.  Consciousness itself appears as manifold cognition.  Consciousness is one but cognition are many.  These cognition can never exist separate from consciousness, because consciousness alone is appearing as cognition.  Without consciousness, there is no knowledge of pot, ornament, wall etc.   Just as ornaments do not exist separate from gold.  Gold can exist without ornaments, but ornaments can’t exist without gold.  Consciousness can exist without cognition, but cognition can’t exist without consciousness.  Consciousness is sathyam and cognition are mithya.  Without real gold, ornaments exists?  Similarly without consciousness, the unreal cognition exist?  Brahma Vidhya is also a cognition, can it exist without consciousness.  We boldly says that is also mithya.  Brahman is sathyam, but Brahma vidhya is mithya.  But this mithya gyanam is enough to remove the mithya samsara. To remove dream thirst, it is enough if you have dream water and dream water alone remove dream thirst.  Similarly for mithya samsara, mithya gyanam and mithya gyanam alone is required.  Vyavahariga sathyam not paramarthika sathyam is required.

Verse 16

“That” and “thou” are based firmly “I”.  From the knowledge of their origin, when that “I”  has perished, for one without the notion of “that”, “thou” and “I”, that natural state of oneself that is shining, will emerge.

This thought is not generated by meditation but by guru sasthra pramanam.  Misconception dropping is brahma vidhya.  First misconception is that I am a  finite localized individual.  This misconception is ahangara creating individuality.  Once I create this first person ahangara, then second a’s and third person arrives.  The finite second person and finite third person arise because of finite first person called ahangara.  When gyani says aham, it denotes infinite first person and so there is not second or third person.  The word first person is not relevant to gyani.

In the second chapter Lord Krishna discussed karma yoga and gyana yoga, focusing more on gyana yoga.  Lord Krishna begins second chapter with gyana yoga and concludes the second chapter with sthira pragya.  In between the two, he discusses karma yoga and asks Arjuna to do his karma, which is to fight the Mahabaratha war.  Lord Krishna glorifies gyana yoga but asks Arjuna to do karma yoga.  Arjuna finds this unacceptable.

Introduction Verses 1 to 7

Arjuna asks should I follow Gyna Yoga or Karma Yoga.  If you consider Gyana Yoga is better, then why should I fight the war?  In answering this question, we should note the following points:

1. There is no choice between karma yoga and gyna yoga. It is apples to orange comparison.
2. Qualifications for gyana yoga can be obtained only through karma yoga. Qualifications are detachment, purity, maturity.  Many of us do not have these qualifications.
3. Moksha can be obtained only through gyana yoga.

Follow karma yoga to obtain qualifications; Use the qualification to acquire gyana yoga; Use Gyana yoga to obtain moksham.  All other yogas like japam, parayanam etc. are all part of karma yoga.  There are no other yogas other than karma yoga and gyana yoga.

Arjuna’s question was wrong; both yogas should be followed.  There is a choice regarding marga or life style; one can follow sanyasa asrama or gragasthasram; but both sanhyasi and grahastha should follow karma yoga and gyana yoga.

Which is better?  Grahasthasram or sanyasa asram?  Krishna is clear that grahasthasram is better for most people.

Karma Yoga Verses 8 to 20

In these verses, Krishna elaborately discusses Karma yoga.  Karma:  Proper action; Yoga:  Proper attitude.  So proper action with proper attitude is karma yoga.

Types of actions:

1. Satvic – Promotes the spiritual progress the most; Best action; beneficiaries are more; unselfish
2. Rajesic – Mediocre; promotes some spiritual growth; Beneficiaries are less; confined only to family; selfish actions.
3. Tamasic – Does not promote spiritual growth, but results in degradation of spiritual growth; Harmful action; worst action.  I get the benefits, but others get harmed.

Perform panca maha yagya to improve spiritual progress and become satvic.  The goal is to become samtvam by accepting all results as a eeswara prasada.

Reasons to follow Karma Yoga, in four different angles:

1. Follow karma yoga as the command of God; follow out of fear of god
2. Follow karma yoga as a sense of gratitude or yagyaha
3. Follow karma yoga as a purifier of kama and soga
4. Follow karma yoga as dharma by which cosmic harmony can be maintained.

Verse 20, second line to verse 29:  Duties of a Gyani

Gyani does not require any sadhana (karma yoga, gyana yoga etc.) because he already achieved the goal of gyanam.  But as long as he is in the society, he should follow karma yoga as a model to the society.  In this verse, Lord Krishna is indirectly advising all elderly people to be role models for rest of the society.

Verses 30 to 35:  Summarizes karma yoga; verse 30 is most important;

Krishna gives five-part process of Karma Yoga:

1. Make the Spiritual goal as the primary goal; all other goals are subservient to this goal.
2. Eeswara arpana buddhi: Dedicate all your actions to god so you don’t hate any of your duty
3. Eeswara prasadha budhhi: Be prepared for any future situations because future is not under your control.  You are not the only one responsible for your success.  Accept any result as Eeswara prasadham.
4. Nirmamaha: when success comes don’t claim total credit
5. Maintain mental poise/balance

Verses 36 to 43: Obstacles of karma yoga:

Arjuna asks Lord Krishna what are the obstacles of karma yoaga.

Lord Krishna answers Kama/krodha or raga dvesha; materialistic attractions;  Artha kama is important, but dharma moksha is also important.  But when artha kama becomes more important than dharma mokhsa, that becomes an obstacle.  There are two stages handle this obstacle:

First Stage:  handle in relative measures;

1. Dhamaha – Mastery of sense organs; don’t let anything enter your mind without control.
2. Shamaha – Discipline of mine and thought pattern. Undisciplined mind has a tendency to get attracted to anything.
3. Vivekaha – Discrimination; understanding that finite plus finite is always finite; insecurity plus insecurity is more insecurity. Understand that I am complete (poornatvam) with myself and I will not be full with any amount of acquisition.

Second Stage:  Obsolete solution is to discover fullness and security within myself.

All pairs of opposites and triads shine, taking the support of some entity.  When that is searched, all will get dropped.  To them who see the Truth, there is never any wavering.

The idea given in this verse is self-inquiry always means atma vichara, even though we can loosely describe it as ahangara vichara:

• Atma vichara will lead to atma gyanam
• Atma Gyanam will lead to destruction of atma agyanam
• Atma agyanam is all the errors committed regarding atma; Destruction of these errors is technically called adhyasa nasa.  These errors are called ahangara.  The false I, born out of ignorance of real I, is ahangara.

When the rope in front of me is not clearly known, there is rope ignorance.  Rope ignorance leads to snake.  The rope is the subtracturm of the snake.  You tackle the snake by inquiry into rope adhishtanam.  Never attack unreal always attack or inquire into the real adhishtanam.  Rope inquiry will lead to rope knowledge.  Rope knowledge will lead to rope ignorance destruction.  Rope ignorance destruction will lead to the destruction of snake knowledge.  In the place of rope, we have atma and in the place of snake we have ahangara.  Once ahangara is destroyed, all forms of dualities (subject and object) and thirupidies or triads (subject, object and instrument) are destroyed.  Thirupudi and dwandams are unreal and require an adhistanam or substratum, which is atma vasthu.

All dwandas or pair or subject object pairs are born out of ahangara.  All of them are supported by atma.  If these unreal dwandam or triads are to be destroyed, don’t attack the ahangara; attack the adhishtanam, the support which is atma.  No dream activity will remove the dream; you must wake up to destroy dream.  Similarly, to destroy ahangara, you need to get the knowledge of atma.  When knowledge comes, ignorance go away; when ignorance go away, all the unreal dvaida and triad get resolved.  This results in the establishing the adhishtanam, atma.

In this instance, Ramana Maharishi only talks about the significance of atma vichara and not the procedure for atma vichara.  Any pursuit requires employment of appropriate instrument for the pursuit of knowledge.  For example, to know the color of crow you need eyes.  Simple process of questioning will not generate knowledge.  For atma vichara, the regular instruments (mind and sense organs) are incapable, insufficient and irrelevant.  They are extrovert, turned outside.  The instrument of atma vichara is guru sasthra upadesa.  Inquiring to atma is exposing to traditional teaching or Vedanta vichara.  The procedure for atma vichara is vedanta sravana manana nidhidhyasanam.

Verse 12

If there is no ignorance, how does knowledge shine?  Without knowledge, does ignorance shine?  And whose are the two?  Thus, having inquired, abidance in the original nature is the knowledge of the Truth.

If darkness is the problem, light is the only solution.  Similarly, to remove ignorance (internal darkness), gyanam is the only solution.  Gyanam is a relative entity falling within duality, opposing ignorance and therefore gyanam is also mithya.  You can’t conceive of gyanam without the concept of ignorance and therefore knowledge and ignorance also come under Dvaidam.  Arrival of one displaces the other.  Initially we should pursue gyanam and destroy ignorance and after gaining gyanam we should disown gyanam because claiming gyanam is also a form of ahangara.  You should say I am the adhishtanam of gyanam and ignorance and different from both.  If knowledge, vidhya is also a mithya, why should I pursue it?  Vidhya mithya is required to remove avidhya mithya. Once avidya is removed, you should disown both.   It is like using soap to remove dirt.  You apply the soap to remove the dirt but after that you wash off the soap.  Similarly, to remove ignorance, you obtain knowledge.  But after removing the ignorance, you disown knowledge.

Both gyanam and agyanam are associated with ahangara and this is the real knowledge.  Gyana nishta is the availability of this knowledge, effortlessly.  We can recall our phone number, names etc. when needed, without any effort.  Gyana Nisha is the availability of gyanam effortlessly.

Verse 13

Can that be true knowledge when the knower does not know himself?  To one who knows oneself, the support of knowledge and the object of knowledge, the two will vanish.

Without understanding ourselves, we are trying to understand one anatma after another.  Without knowing about oneself, knowing about everything else is a fruitless pursuit.  Apara vidhya is as good as avidhya (ignorance).  Apara vidhya, without para vidhya is mithya.  Atma alone functions as a knower, without knowing that knower, all other knowledge is false.

Knowledge of anatma is not useful because:

1. It is knowledge of anatma and anatma being mithya and knowledge of a mithya will not be a great knowledge.
2. Anatama gyanam will not free the individual from the sense of limitation which is the problem of samsara.

Arjuna’s, asks in verse 32 what is the obstacle to the practice of Karma Yoga and ultimately Gyana Yoga?  Why is that many people are not able to follow karma yoga?  Lord Krishna’s answers that it is because of raga dwesha kama krodha or moha and delusion.  This is due to confusion regarding priority of life.  Artha and kama becomes more important than dharma and moksha.

Goals of humans are Artha, Kama, Dharma and Moksha or Wealth, Entertainment, values and spiritual freedom.  On one side, we have wealth and entertainment and the other side we have values and mokshas.  One who has clarity that moksha and dharma is more important is a viveki.  Kama is the main problem and krodha is only kama in a different form.  Struggling to complete myself with wealth, family etc. is kama.  Since obstructed kama is krodha, controlling kama is required.

Solution to Kama:

• Dhamaha:  Discipline of sense organs; filtering what enters mind through sense organs at every level
• Samaha:  Mental discipline; Discipline at mental level; unhealthy thoughts should be nipped in the bud, like how the enemies and diseases are nipped in the bud.  Unhealthy thoughts are like a terrorist or internal enemy and should be controlled.
• Vivekaha:  Discipline at intellectual level.  I, the finite thing, will remain a finite thing with the acquisition of any finite thing.  Security and fullness must be found in myself.  Mistaken I is the source of all sorrow.

Verse 42

They declare the sense organs to be superior to the sense objects.  The mind is superior to the intellect.  The intellect is indeed superior to the mind.  That which is superior to the intellect is indeed that Self.

These three-fold solutions are temporary and not a permanent solution.  Self-knowledge is the only permanent solution.  Desire is a symptom or expression of incompleteness.  It will go away only with poornatvam or the knowledge that I don’t lack anything and I don’t miss anything.

Dhayananda Saraswathi states that “converting everything around me into luxury is moksha”.  When things around me are necessities, it is samsara; when they luxury, it is moksha.

Paraha (superior) Atma signifies three:

1. Sukshma; subtle; a subtler thing is called superior.
2. Mohanthaha:  Ever pervading
3. Prathyaha:  Closer to you

A subtle thing (atma) controlling gross body etc.

• Sense organs are superior to sense object.  Because of the existence of sense objects are revealed by sense organs.
• Superior to sense organs is the mind because sense organs can function only with mind.  If the mind is not functioning properly, sense organs can’t function.
• Superior to mind is intellect.  Mind has two functions:  doubting and emotions.  Both can be controlled by knowledge or discriminating intellectual power. Gyani is the one who is not under the grip of emotion because he can control it; note that he does have emotion, but he knows how to control it.  This was very well explained in Katho Upanishad by comparing the body to a chariot, the sense organs to the horses, the mind to the charioteer.
• Atma is superior to intellect. Atma is the consciousness because of which I know the intellect. I the subject can’t be questioned, because only the subject makes the object aware.  That awareness is atma.

Verse 43

Oh Arjuna!  This knowing the Self which is beyond the intellect, and steadying the mind with the mind, conquer the elusive enemy which is in the form of desire.

The ultimate object is to know the chaithanyam or atma which is:

• Not a part or product of the body Atma
• Atma is independent of the body;
• Atma is limitless;
• Atma is eternal;
• Atma survives the fall of the body, but not available for transactions because there is no medium.

Atma is like light.  When light pervades the hand, you see the hand but not the light; but the light is there.  It is also there beyond the hand.  Similarly, atma is not only in your body but also extends beyond your body.  One should know this and own up to the fact that this formless consciousness is the real I.  The real transformation is the transcending the form, that I am the formless consciousness.  Body and mind are like the instruments I use to transact with the world.  By claiming the new identity, we should change our orientation from physical body to formless consciousness.  This new orientation if gyana nishta.  The physical body is limited, but I am not limited.

Gyana Nishta is internalizing this knowledge and ready availability of this knowledge at the time of difficulty.  This comes by dwelling on the teaching in any form – by teaching, writing, thinking, sharing etc.

In Chapters 14, 17 and 18 of Bagawat Geeta, Bagawan Krishna discusses the three gunas – Satvic, Rajasic and Tomasic.   Swamiji has presented many aspects of these gunas in a chart form in his book on Bagawat Geeta.  I prepared a chart based on Swamiji’s chart and added other aspects of the gunas based on Swamiji’s teaching.  I presented these charts to Swamiji for his blessing and presenting them, with his permission, for your use.

Please click on the link below to access the chart.

Three Gunas

This is a special talk given by Swamiji on the new year day of 2000.  This one hour special talk discusses the following:

• Ten commandments that should be followed by all seekers of moksha
• The practical ways of following these ten commandments

While many of us study vedanta, and are in the process of assimilating the knowledge, we struggle to apply this knowledge during our day to day lives.  Swamiji gives some very specific guidance that will help us lead a better life.

Please click on the link below and listen the teachings of Swamiji.

Ten Commandments

Many events of our life are out of our control and most of our life appears to be predetermined.  It appears that we may be able to influence only a small portion of our life.  Our birth is destined. Our death is destined.   And most of our life appears destined.  Then, is it correct to say that our life is destined and we can do nothing to change our destiny?

I had the privilege of meeting the Swami Paramarthananda in August 2016 and at that time I presented this question to him.

Before I present the answer from the Swamiji, some discussions regarding the laws of karma.  Karmas can be classified, based on their occurrence,  into three types:

1. Sanjitha Karma: Sanjitha karma is the sum total of all karma accumulated from our previous jenmas (lives).  Sanjitha karmas will mature over many jenmas (births/lives).
2. Agami Karma: Agami Karmas are generated by our actions in this life.  Some agami karma will mature in this life and some will become sanjitha karma for maturity in later lives.
3. Prarabtha Karma:   Prarabtha karma is the karma maturing or fructifying in this life.  Maturing karma could be either from this life or from previous lives.

Some of the laws of karma:

1. Some of the prarabtha karma are from this life and others are from previous lives.  Maturity or fructifications of Karmas is not linear.  This is similar to seeds of plants – some seeds sprout quickly while others take longer.
2. Karma includes both punyam (positive karmas) and pavam (negative karmas).  Punyams are the result of our dharmic actions and pavams are the result of our adharmic actions.
3. While I do not control what has happened in my prior lives (sanjitha karma) or what is happening in this life (prarabtha karma), I can control how I react to my current situation (agami karma).  A dharmic and purposeful life can increase punyam or decrease pavam.
4. All karmas – sanjitha, prarabtha and agami karmas- are the results of my actions in this life and previous lives.  I did have control over any and all of my actions of my previous lives.  I do have control over any and all of my actions in this life. I and I alone created all of my karmas.  While my adharmic choices in the past have resulted in current unfavorable situations,  I should make dharmic choices here and now.  I can’t change the choices I have made in the past, but I do have the free will to make the correct choices now.
5. When prarabtha karma for this life is exhausted, the body falls.
6. When sanjitha karma is exhausted,  we get moksha or liberated.

Swamiji stated that some of the prarabtha karma are parapalam  and some  are dhurpalam, that is they are weak and controllable or strong and non controllable.  However, we do not know which ones we can control and which ones we can not control.  So we must always exercise our free will and make dharmic choices.  We may also be able to reduce the impact of the controllable prarabtha karma by doing prayachitham (remedial measures).  Prayachithams are of two types:

1. Lowkika prayachitham:  These are worldly activities we can perform.  Example of a  lowkika prayachitham is going to a doctor when getting ill.
2. Sasthrika prayachitham:  These are the rituals mentioned in scriptures.  If these rituals are performed as described in the scriptures, the impact of prarabtha karma can be reduced or eliminated.

When we face any adverse situation we should always do our dharmic duty and take proper prayachitham – either lowkika prayahitham or sasthrika pryachitham.  For example, when one gets  seriously ill, one  should seek the treatment from a doctor.  Refusing to follow medical advice and accepting the medical condition as our destiny is fatalism.  Our scriptures do not allow fatalism and fatalism is fundamentally against the duties of a human being.  Bagawan Krishna has emphasized this many times in Bagawat Geeta.

In conclusion, we always have free will and that free will gives us control over Agami Karma.  A dharmic life can reduce agami karma pavam. We can also do some prayaschitham for prarabtha Karma to mitigate a negative phalam.

Notes:

• This post is based on my meeting with Swamiji in August 2016 as well many of his classes, specifically his classes in Tatva Bodha and his class number 148 – Chapter 10, Verse 33 of Bagawat Gita.  I also recommend the readers to listen to  those classes and get their own perspective (this post is from my perspective).
• I thank Ram Ramaswamy for framing this question in logical way.  Many parts of this post are borrowed from his original question, which is reproduced below:

To exhaust Prarabhda karma one gets rebirth. This is destiny. While living, one experiences prarabhdha karma phalam, this too is destiny. Once Prarabhda Karma is exhausted for this lifetime, the body falls. This is also destiny.

Agami Karma’s are new karmas generated by our actions in this lifetime. Some Agami Karma phalam will occur in this lifetime itself. Others will become Sanchitha Karma that will come back in a later life.

We do have some control on Agami Karma or so it appears. A purposeful life can reduce agami karma. We can also do some Prayaschitham for Prarabhda Karma as well to mitigate a negative phalam.

Looks like there is an only a small portion that we can influence. Most of our life appears destined. Our birth is destined. Our death is destined. Some parts of our life are also destined; we just do not know which part.

Is it then correct to say that based upon the part  (Small) we do not control, our life is not destined? Even Ramana Maharishi told his mother: What has to happen will happen. What should not happen will not happen, however much we try. Is this not destiny?

“Value is a value only when the value is valued by you” – Dayananda Saraswathi

Swamiji in Bagawat Geeta, Class 35

Swamiji in Class 226 of Bagawat Geeta:

There are four types of people:

1. He who knows not and not knows knows not; fool
2. He who knows not and who knows knows not; ignorant; teach him
3. He who knows and knows not he knows; very intelligent but does not know he is intelligent; wake him
4. He who knows and knows he knows; very intelligent; follow him.

Vedas add one more variety – tamasic –  he who knows not and thinks he knows.