You saved me my soul by introducing mytruself swami if only i got to know vedanta and hinduism 25 years ago i lost manything by using alcohol and drugs i was not gratefull to my dear gf so she left me .after withdrawal i felt dissapointed and sad and so depressed till the day accidentaly saw your channel and my ideology changed and some light lit my life .this vedantic knowledge is best remedy for ex addicts and depressed people like me thank you a lot dear swami and i want so eagerly to know more about vedantic and hinduism point of view
Thank you so much for your openness and truthfulness, Asad. I appreciate your courage, my friend! I am also a recently recovered alcoholic, addict to various drugs, even an addict to certain experiences; you feel me. But I have been clean from alcohol and drugs since January first, 2020 -- a new leaf was turned over. Now we are on the path of spiritual seeking. Stay strong, and we will both see better days than the ones behind us. Namaste bro
My comment remains the same. Everything comes full circle and your crystal clear teaching has taken my understanding to a place that was never available to me through decades of simple reading or unguided self study. Saved in golden years🤔🤗Thankyou
Me too im 42 now i waste my younghood with alcohol and drugs i lost my love because of my ignorance so i got so depressed recent years after wthdrawal nothing calmed me down till i get used to hindism and vedanta and this kind swami since then my life is gettinig better i am iranian if only i got to know this topics 25 years ago but its not late im grateful.
Asad 1978 I’m 67 and time is relative. Realization and deepening understanding is all that matters. Everything in our lives does happen in order to learn and grow. Now you’re on your path nothing will distract you.
Swamiji, Namaste! Thank you for a thorough analysis of the most important scriptures of Shankaracharya and for focusing our attention on key points, only this way of teaching allows us to perceive knowledge in all its purity and completeness! I allow myself to quote the words of Satguru Ramana Maharshi, possibly complementing the comprehension of the terms voiced in satsang. Maharshi: We seek to reach the goal with the ego, but the goal exists before the ego. What is in the goal is even prior to our birth, i.e., to the birth of the ego. Because we exist the ego appears to exist too. If we look on the Self [Atman] as the ego then we become the ego, if as the mind we become the mind, if as the body we become the body. It is the thought which builds up sheaths in so many ways. The shadow on the water is found to be shaking. Can anyone stop the shaking of the shadow? If it should cease to shake you would not notice the water but only the light. Similarly to take no notice of the ego and its activities, but see only the light behind. The ego is the I-thought. The true ‘I’ is the Self. Devotee: It is one step to realisation. M.: Realisation is already there. The state free from thoughts is the only real state. There is no such action as Realisation. Is there anyone who is not realising the Self? Does anyone deny his own existence? Speaking of realisation, it implies two selves - the one to realise, the other to be realised. What is not already realised, is sought to be realised. Once we admit our existence, how is it that we do not know our Self? D.: Because of the thoughts - the mind. M.: Quite so. It is the mind that stands between and veils our happiness. How do we know that we exist? If you say because of the world around us, then how do you know that you existed in deep sleep? D.: How to get rid of the mind? M.: Is it the mind that wants to kill itself? The mind cannot kill itself.
So your business is to find the real nature of the mind. Then you will know that there is no mind. When the Self is sought, the mind is nowhere. Abiding in the Self, one need not worry about the mind. D.: How to get rid of fear? M.: What is fear? It is only a thought. If there is anything besides the Self there is reason to fear. Who sees the second (anything external)? First the ego arises and sees objects as external. If the ego does not rise, the Self alone exists and there is no second (nothing external). For anything external to oneself implies the seer within. Seeking it there will arise no doubt, no fear - not only fear, all other thoughts centred round the ego will disappear along with it. ...All bad qualities centre round the ego. When the ego is gone Realisation results by itself. OM TAT SAT ओम् तत् सत्
Swamiji, thank you so much for this lecture again. Watching it for a second time helped me a lot understanding your point in ahankara. I can hardly wait for the next few hours until the next lecture start! Hari Om.
Aatmiya Swami Ji. Jay Thakur. Hare Krsna. Primary Cause of suffering is Ignorance. Gradually gaining Awareness and be able to differentiate between the Body as Sthula Sharir, Mind/Intellect/Ahankar (Jeev) as SHUKSHMA sharir, eternal Consciousness and their interacting capabilities significantly reduce experience of suffering. We realise that causes of all sufferings are in the MInd/Ego association in the presence of Consciousness. Loving you one and all my fellow learning colleagues Now and HERE in this Light and Moment.
Forgive me for being nitpicky, but the notion of atma being part of paramatma is perhaps not an accurate characterization of Advaita Vedanta; it is perhaps closer to Vishishtadvaita. In Advaita, atma is indivisible, undifferentiated and part-less.
Always so enlightening to listen to you, although i m new to all this knowledge but hopefully i will understand some of the vedic knowledge n apply in my life..
This idea of ego in the context of vedanta has to be the most confusing thing about avdaita vedanta so far for me. I am grasping the example of the getting lost in music though. Very distinct feeling and experience. Hopefully there will be more examples to illustrate the ego and where it fits in all of this
Well, well, well, the next topic will be utterly fascinating. We all know we're conscious, but we don't fully understand everything about it. I'll be here next Saturday - or maybe just watch the upload later.
I view this posting as an opportunity to learn from others on the nature of suffering. In that spirit, could you elaborate on that subject a bit? Does freedom from suffering imply absence of sadness in the mind? Also, could you elaborate on what you meant by "there is NO rope...and NO you to see it"? I understood the message of Advaita Vedanta to be "there is ONLY you, Satchitananda Atma".
RSR suffering comes from being separated...from the beloved...your atman...sadness is just an emotion...yes only you and no you are both equivalent....
@@abajaj1510 I suppose I see where you are coming from. However, I have a slightly different Advaitic perspective. In my view, suffering comes from ignorance of Atma or true self and not from separation per se. This ignorance is the cause of the apparent duality which is implied by the "you" and "your beloved atman" separation. What can one who is already Atma be separated from? Also, IMHO, love is as much an emotion as sadness is. So the duality of emotions such as love and hate, sadness and happiness, etc., is experienced by the ego, the false "I", in the mind. Freedom from suffering therefore implies being established in the non-dual Atma thereby recognizing and sublating the duality of our experiences.
@@abajaj1510 Yeah, but what would Atma love though? Love, even if unconditional, implies a subject-object relationship and therefore a duality. A subject-subject love somehow seems narcissistic!
Swami ji please comment - I heard 'Shankar' translates to One who dispels Shanka (doubt) and thus has the honor of having the Third Eye of Knowledge - Is this accurate understanding?
Often we try to understand some spiritual assertions with the help of metaphors.A logical mind may not always accept it as the right approach .My deep regards to Swamiji and expect a clarification .
Swami, I'm having to unlearn what i thought the ego was. So the purpose of the ego is to help us function in this world and should not be saught to be removed. Can it be thought of as a vehicle? Or perhaps a collection of identifying labels to help others better understand how to interact with us, what to expect from us? Maybe it can be thought of as like an important body part? We shouldn't cut off our legs just because walking sometimes results in falling? The idea of ego in the west has a very specific connotation. It's considered specifically the sense of self importance. Not exactly the sense of individuality. Therefore it has a negative connotation.
The lights are on, but nobody's home! OK, let me play Devil's advocate. The locus of suffering is the Ahamkara, but we need it for normal functioning in life; after all, we can't walk around lost in samadhi all the time. But John Vervaeke, cognitive scientist at the University of Toronto, has talked about the "flow state" that people enter into when doing a task that is slightly above their skill level, but not so high above that they are forced to quit. Perhaps the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali aim at cultivating a permanent flow state? Aww, the heck with it - that sounds like too much work, anyway!
This is in reference to previous class. I always thought that anandam means bliss yet you’re saying it doesn’t mean bliss I didn’t understand that part. Everyone says that anandam means bliss. Confusing can you clear it up please. Thanks 🙏🏾 you’re so great learning a lot. Maybe now I can put an end to my suffering.
The mind is inert? I could do with some more clarity on that. Edit: ah, now I see. Like being lost in music, your mind is filled with experience of bliss, but there is no sense of: I am lost in the music. Only afterward when the ahamkara shows up, do you think of yourself as having had the experience.
" The knower comes and goes with the known and is transient , but that which knows that it does not know, which is free of memory and anticipation , is timeless. " If I is ahamkara, How is the " I am That " Here ', I 'refer to who ? What is ' That ' ?
Swamiji thank you for the session, saturdays became my most favourite day of the week! I have a question; I am confused with Ahankara, would you consider making a clarification in the next session? I assumed antarkarana (manas, citta, buddhi, ahankara) in Sukshma Sharira, but when you said mind is inert and therefore cannot be Ahankara, i made the conclusion that ahankara is not in sukshma sharira. Can we then say Ahankara is in Karana Sharira as it creates the avidya? If that is the case I assume again that Sukshma Sharira consists of Pranamaya Kosha, Manomaya kosha and only part of Vijnanamaya Kosha, as ahankara (which is in Vijnanamaya kosha) will be in Karana Sharira. I hope I could express my question clearly, and I hope you will consider answering it. Hari Om.
Ahankara is a thought, the I-thought, a thought that says, "I am a conscious being." Like all thoughts, it arises in the mind and is revealed by consciousness.
istanbul yoga merkezi The Viveka-Chudamani podcast is on the Arsha Bodha Center website. It was very insightful for me to listen to it. I listen to Swamiji’s podcasts on Spotify but the podcasts are available on other platforms as well.
Swamiji, as you explained the sukshm sharir when illuminated by eternal consciousness ,the I comes in to existence. When a person dies, the sukshm sharir leaves there’s no I although all pervasive consciousness remains. Then why should we not identify with mind and intellect (sukshm sharir ) ? Where’s the ignorance in this concept?
May I trouble you to clarify your question a bit? When you say "why should we not identify with mind and intellect" who or what is the entity that seeks to identify with the mind or intellect? Also, as I understand it, the "I-thought" or ahankara always has an apparent existence as opposed to coming and going out of existence. However, it may be manifested some times and remain latent at other times. When it is manifested and revealed by consciousness one has the ego-enabled "I am a conscious being" experience; when it is latent, such as in deep sleep, one has an ego-less experience. Furthermore, with regard to rebirth which you allude to, my understanding is that the "I-thought" remains latent in the sukshm sharir (subtle body) during its transmigration. When the sukshma sharir incarnates as a new-born baby, the "I-thought" remains latent in the baby for some time because babies, as we all know, do not have egos at first. The "I-thought" only starts manifesting itself once the growing human develops a sense of individuality. P.S.: This post has been edited to fix errors I discovered in the original version. Sorry about that.
You saved me my soul by introducing mytruself swami if only i got to know vedanta and hinduism 25 years ago i lost manything by using alcohol and drugs i was not gratefull to my dear gf so she left me .after withdrawal i felt dissapointed and sad and so depressed till the day accidentaly saw your channel and my ideology changed and some light lit my life .this vedantic knowledge is best remedy for ex addicts and depressed people like me thank you a lot dear swami and i want so eagerly to know more about vedantic and hinduism point of view
Thank you so much for your openness and truthfulness, Asad. I appreciate your courage, my friend!
I am also a recently recovered alcoholic, addict to various drugs, even an addict to certain experiences; you feel me. But I have been clean from alcohol and drugs since January first, 2020 -- a new leaf was turned over. Now we are on the path of spiritual seeking. Stay strong, and we will both see better days than the ones behind us. Namaste bro
My comment remains the same. Everything comes full circle and your crystal clear teaching has taken my understanding to a place that was never available to me through decades of simple reading or unguided self study. Saved in golden years🤔🤗Thankyou
Me too im 42 now i waste my younghood with alcohol and drugs i lost my love because of my ignorance so i got so depressed recent years after wthdrawal nothing calmed me down till i get used to hindism and vedanta and this kind swami since then my life is gettinig better i am iranian if only i got to know this topics 25 years ago but its not late im grateful.
Asad 1978 I’m 67 and time is relative. Realization and deepening understanding is all that matters. Everything in our lives does happen in order to learn and grow. Now you’re on your path nothing will distract you.
Swamiji, Namaste!
Thank you for a thorough analysis of the most important scriptures of Shankaracharya and for focusing our attention on key points,
only this way of teaching allows us to perceive knowledge in all its purity and completeness!
I allow myself to quote the words of Satguru Ramana Maharshi,
possibly complementing the comprehension of the terms voiced in satsang.
Maharshi: We seek to reach the goal with the ego, but
the goal exists before the ego.
What is in the goal is even prior to our birth, i.e., to the birth of the ego.
Because we exist the ego appears to exist too. If we look on the Self [Atman]
as the ego then we become the ego, if as the mind we become the mind, if as the body we become the body.
It is the thought which builds up sheaths in so many ways. The shadow on the water is found to be shaking.
Can anyone stop the shaking of the shadow? If it should cease to shake you would not notice the water but only the light.
Similarly to take no notice of the ego and its activities, but see only the light behind. The ego is the I-thought. The true ‘I’ is the Self.
Devotee: It is one step to realisation.
M.: Realisation is already there. The state free from thoughts is the
only real state.
There is no such action as Realisation. Is there anyone who is not realising the Self?
Does anyone deny his own existence? Speaking of realisation, it implies two selves -
the one to realise, the other to be realised. What is not already realised, is sought to be realised.
Once we admit our existence, how is it that we do not know our Self?
D.: Because of the thoughts - the mind.
M.: Quite so. It is the mind that stands between and veils our
happiness. How do we know that we exist?
If you say because of the world around us, then how do you know that you existed in deep sleep?
D.: How to get rid of the mind?
M.: Is it the mind that wants to kill itself? The mind cannot kill itself.
So your business is to find the real nature of the mind. Then you will know that there is no mind.
When the Self is sought, the mind is nowhere. Abiding in the Self, one need not worry about the mind.
D.: How to get rid of fear?
M.: What is fear? It is only a thought. If there is anything besides the Self there is reason to fear.
Who sees the second (anything external)? First the ego arises and sees objects as external.
If the ego does not rise, the Self alone exists and there is no second (nothing external).
For anything external to oneself implies the seer within. Seeking it there will arise no doubt, no fear -
not only fear, all other thoughts centred round the ego will disappear along with it.
...All bad qualities centre round the ego. When the ego is gone
Realisation results by itself.
OM TAT SAT
ओम् तत् सत्
The ego is an impostor and I have taken myself for it. My true nature is limitless, pure and divine. Thank you very much Swamiji
Koti Koti Dandwat Pranaam Swami Ji 🙏🙇♂️🙇♂️🙏
Truly exquisite. Understanding alone, is the doorway through which all is revealed in it's perfection. Many thanks, to the One Self of All.
Swamiji, thank you so much for this lecture again. Watching it for a second time helped me a lot understanding your point in ahankara. I can hardly wait for the next few hours until the next lecture start! Hari Om.
Namaste dear Swamiji,
Thank you for making the profound so easy to understand and contemplate .
Love and light
Sonia u.k
Eternally grateful to Arsha Bodha and Arsha Vidya for disseminating this prescious knowledge in such accessible ways!
Shanti, shanti, shanti 🙏
Koti Koti Naman Gurudev Swami ji!
Aatmiya Swami Ji.
Jay Thakur.
Hare Krsna.
Primary Cause of suffering is Ignorance. Gradually gaining Awareness and be able to differentiate between the Body as Sthula Sharir, Mind/Intellect/Ahankar (Jeev) as SHUKSHMA sharir, eternal Consciousness and their interacting capabilities significantly reduce experience of suffering. We realise that causes of all sufferings are in the MInd/Ego association in the presence of Consciousness.
Loving you one and all my fellow learning colleagues Now and HERE in this Light and Moment.
The title of the wonderful video, Swami-ji mentioned several times, is "An Intimate Encounter with Your Ego". - Thank you for everything!
Recognise your self as atma which is part of paramatma..Thanks for driving this point into the mind🙏
Forgive me for being nitpicky, but the notion of atma being part of paramatma is perhaps not an accurate characterization of Advaita Vedanta; it is perhaps closer to Vishishtadvaita. In Advaita, atma is indivisible, undifferentiated and part-less.
I like Swamiji’s crystal 😍🤗
Always so enlightening to listen to you, although i m new to all this knowledge but hopefully i will understand some of the vedic knowledge n apply in my life..
Swamiji only one appearance in a week is too long to wait at least twice would be great.
Pranams and Thanks Swamiji
Thank you sir for the wonderful lesson :-) so much clarity about EGO
Thanks Swamiji.
🕉🕉🕉🙏
when I thought ia lost, mind is lost and there will be no sadness experience-just like in deep sleep, we forget our problems
This idea of ego in the context of vedanta has to be the most confusing thing about avdaita vedanta so far for me. I am grasping the example of the getting lost in music though. Very distinct feeling and experience. Hopefully there will be more examples to illustrate the ego and where it fits in all of this
Well, well, well, the next topic will be utterly fascinating. We all know we're conscious, but we don't fully understand everything about it. I'll be here next Saturday - or maybe just watch the upload later.
Fascinating !!!
"Jiva is a composite thing."
In the absence of suffering there is only love..
And there is NO rope...and NO you to see it....
I view this posting as an opportunity to learn from others on the nature of suffering. In that spirit, could you elaborate on that subject a bit? Does freedom from suffering imply absence of sadness in the mind?
Also, could you elaborate on what you meant by "there is NO rope...and NO you to see it"? I understood the message of Advaita Vedanta to be "there is ONLY you, Satchitananda Atma".
RSR suffering comes from being separated...from the beloved...your atman...sadness is just an emotion...yes only you and no you are both equivalent....
@@abajaj1510 I suppose I see where you are coming from. However, I have a slightly different Advaitic perspective. In my view, suffering comes from ignorance of Atma or true self and not from separation per se. This ignorance is the cause of the apparent duality which is implied by the "you" and "your beloved atman" separation. What can one who is already Atma be separated from?
Also, IMHO, love is as much an emotion as sadness is. So the duality of emotions such as love and hate, sadness and happiness, etc., is experienced by the ego, the false "I", in the mind. Freedom from suffering therefore implies being established in the non-dual Atma thereby recognizing and sublating the duality of our experiences.
@@rsr9200 good thoughts. The one non dual emotion is unconditional love ...when dualized it manifests as different emotions. 🙂
@@abajaj1510 Yeah, but what would Atma love though? Love, even if unconditional, implies a subject-object relationship and therefore a duality. A subject-subject love somehow seems narcissistic!
Namaste everyone
Thank you so much for these wonderfull teachings 💗🌺
Thank you
Swami ji please comment - I heard 'Shankar' translates to One who dispels Shanka (doubt) and thus has the honor of having the Third Eye of Knowledge - Is this accurate understanding?
🙏🙏
🙏
❤
namaste swamiji
So nice and elevating. 🙏🙏
Thanks 🙏🏾 swami
Alcohol and drugs, are they used to eliminate the suffering in the" Iness" temporarily?
Namaste Swami well explained
So all matter is enlivened? But what makes it different or separate conceptually from consciousness?
Often we try to understand some spiritual assertions with the help of metaphors.A logical mind may not always accept it as the right approach .My deep regards to Swamiji and expect a clarification .
Swami, I'm having to unlearn what i thought the ego was. So the purpose of the ego is to help us function in this world and should not be saught to be removed. Can it be thought of as a vehicle? Or perhaps a collection of identifying labels to help others better understand how to interact with us, what to expect from us? Maybe it can be thought of as like an important body part? We shouldn't cut off our legs just because walking sometimes results in falling? The idea of ego in the west has a very specific connotation. It's considered specifically the sense of self importance. Not exactly the sense of individuality. Therefore it has a negative connotation.
Om
The lights are on, but nobody's home!
OK, let me play Devil's advocate. The locus of suffering is the Ahamkara, but we need it for normal functioning in life; after all, we can't walk around lost in samadhi all the time. But John Vervaeke, cognitive scientist at the University of Toronto, has talked about the "flow state" that people enter into when doing a task that is slightly above their skill level, but not so high above that they are forced to quit. Perhaps the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali aim at cultivating a permanent flow state?
Aww, the heck with it - that sounds like too much work, anyway!
I is ahamkara.
kindly guide on the statement
" I am That "
Thank you
This is in reference to previous class. I always thought that anandam means bliss yet you’re saying it doesn’t mean bliss I didn’t understand that part. Everyone says that anandam means bliss. Confusing can you clear it up please. Thanks 🙏🏾 you’re so great learning a lot. Maybe now I can put an end to my suffering.
How are you so sure that Atma/Consciousness do not undergo change? Just because Shankaracharya said so?
The mind is inert? I could do with some more clarity on that. Edit: ah, now I see. Like being lost in music, your mind is filled with experience of bliss, but there is no sense of: I am lost in the music. Only afterward when the ahamkara shows up, do you think of yourself as having had the experience.
Swamiji, the "I" thought, like mind is also subtle/inert, then how come it can experience sadness?
" The knower comes and goes with the known and is transient ,
but that which knows that it does not know, which is free of memory
and anticipation , is timeless. "
If I is ahamkara,
How is the
" I am That "
Here ', I 'refer to who ?
What is ' That ' ?
Swamiji thank you for the session, saturdays became my most favourite day of the week! I have a question; I am confused with Ahankara, would you consider making a clarification in the next session? I assumed antarkarana (manas, citta, buddhi, ahankara) in Sukshma Sharira, but when you said mind is inert and therefore cannot be Ahankara, i made the conclusion that ahankara is not in sukshma sharira. Can we then say Ahankara is in Karana Sharira as it creates the avidya? If that is the case I assume again that Sukshma Sharira consists of Pranamaya Kosha, Manomaya kosha and only part of Vijnanamaya Kosha, as ahankara (which is in Vijnanamaya kosha) will be in Karana Sharira. I hope I could express my question clearly, and I hope you will consider answering it. Hari Om.
Ahankara is a thought, the I-thought, a thought that says, "I am a conscious being." Like all thoughts, it arises in the mind and is revealed by consciousness.
Arsha Bodha Center - Swami Tadatmananda Swamiji, then it is in sukshma sharira, right?
RSR where is that Vivekachudamani podcast??? That is my favorite text of Shankara! I want to listen to it too
istanbul yoga merkezi The Viveka-Chudamani podcast is on the Arsha Bodha Center website. It was very insightful for me to listen to it. I listen to Swamiji’s podcasts on Spotify but the podcasts are available on other platforms as well.
RSR thank you, i will check immediately!
Awesome
Thank u guruji every week the clarity of life is getting better. Need your blessings 🙏
Namaskar
Thank you
Swami: does consciousness enliven matter? TY Esse
Swamiji, as you explained the sukshm sharir when illuminated by eternal consciousness ,the I comes in to existence. When a person dies, the sukshm sharir leaves there’s no I although all pervasive consciousness remains. Then why should we not identify with mind and intellect (sukshm sharir ) ?
Where’s the ignorance in this concept?
May I trouble you to clarify your question a bit? When you say "why should we not identify with mind and intellect" who or what is the entity that seeks to identify with the mind or intellect?
Also, as I understand it, the "I-thought" or ahankara always has an apparent existence as opposed to coming and going out of existence. However, it may be manifested some times and remain latent at other times. When it is manifested and revealed by consciousness one has the ego-enabled "I am a conscious being" experience; when it is latent, such as in deep sleep, one has an ego-less experience.
Furthermore, with regard to rebirth which you allude to, my understanding is that the "I-thought" remains latent in the sukshm sharir (subtle body) during its transmigration. When the sukshma sharir incarnates as a new-born baby, the "I-thought" remains latent in the baby for some time because babies, as we all know, do not have egos at first. The "I-thought" only starts manifesting itself once the growing human develops a sense of individuality.
P.S.: This post has been edited to fix errors I discovered in the original version. Sorry about that.
23:30. 25:34. 27:27. !!! 👍 👌
Pronaams!🙏
Swamiji snake and rope part is abit difficult to comprehend.
Thank you, Swamiji.
🕉🕉🕉🙏