Summarized by: Neelima Turaga
The class started with Opening prayers, followed by pranayam and meditation.
We did a quick recap of last week's class and then continued with Gurudev’s videos based on shlokas 55 and 56.
Just like a child is fascinated by toys but does not care about them anymore as he grows up, as long as we are in a lower level of consciousness, we are attached to the worldly objects and pleasures. Once we can rise above the world of objects, feelings and thoughts, into the higher plane of consciousness, we start experiencing infinite bliss. And at that point the worldly pleasures don’t matter anymore. All the desires disappear.
All the joys we have ever experienced have a beginning and an end. When we have the infinite source of happiness, there is no reason for us to return to temporary joys. This happens not because we are resisting or suppressing desires, but we naturally overcome or outgrow them. This kind of spiritual evolution is more sustainable.
In this materialistic world of objects, we have to constantly battle three emotions - attachment, fear and anger. These are interconnected. Excessive attachment leads to fear and anger. For example, if your son goes out and does not return as per the regular time, the parent gets worried, imagines the worst case scenarios and is under extreme fear. This fear is stemming from the attachment towards the son. When the son returns home, and the parent realises the fear was unnecessary, the emotion transforms into extreme anger towards the son, for not having called or informed. This illustrates the cycle of attachment, fear and anger.
The subjective takeaway is to keep a record/journal of our FIR. FIR is a measure of capability in handling our emotions - Frequency, Intensity and Recovery time. With consistent sadhana, introspection and Karma yoga, we should be able to achieve lower levels of FIR over time. This is something we should continue to do regularly. Keeping a journal will help us monitor our progress in this area
Shlokas 57, 58, 59 and 60 - We chanted the shlokas and saw the translation.
One who remains unattached under all circumstances is a sage with perfect knowledge. Bhagawan further says that if one is able to withdraw his senses from objects, just like a tortoise withdraws into its shell, he is able to attain divine knowledge.If a tortoise perceives any danger or threat, it immediately withdraws all its limbs into its shell. The shell is extremely strong, and protects it from all external dangers. Similarly, if a person is able to withdraw his senses from external objects, he is able to protect himself from all distractions.
As per shlokas 59 and 60, sense organs and senses are extremely strong, and can leave a long lasting effect, even when we think we overcame them. They leave a lingering taste in us. Our desires drive our sense organs. The desires in turn stem from hidden vasanas. If we try to resist those vasanas, they may still keep disturbing us inside. The best way is to substitute those negative vasanas with a more positive or higher cause. For example, suppressing an intense craving to have a sweet or a mango can only be temporary. The desire remains somewhere in the back of the head, ready to bounce back. Instead if we can substitute this thought or craving, by engaging in a higher level activity, like attending a satsang, or listening to Gurudev's talks, we can effectively substitute that desire. This will work better than the suppression. Overcoming vasanas is not an easy task. Only following a regular Sadhana routine, including Sravanam, Mananam and Nidithyasanam can help us in this journey..
We concluded the class with closing prayers and one minute of reflection.
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