Class Summary for Mar 25, 2025 - Chapter-5 - Slokas 19-24

Summarized by: Yamini

Recap of last class : 

• Recognizing that the self is the same in everybody. Examples about the dog that walks into the mirrored room and then it thinks that there are different dogs and starts barking. We are also similar In the sense that we are not able to recognize or see that the self is the same in everyone. 
• Another one was about how when your hand pokes your eye, you're OK with that. But if somebody else does that you will be angry, so. Once we need to reach that level where we are able to see everything like as the same. But that's possible only with proper sadhana. 
• A sadhaka considers an elephant, a deer, a dog and finally a dog eater in the same way. A dog is the most faithful thing, eating it is he worst thing a person can do. Seeing that kind of person same as others needs a higher intellect.
• Another story is about Nandev who gets the darshan of God when he is young without a guru, so he thinks guru is not needed. But then the circumstances happened that his sister says his mind is still not developed. He goes back and he complains to God and then God says that he agrees with his sister that he needs a guru. Then he asks if he got the darshan of God, what else can guru give? God sends him to a forest and there he sees someone is lying down with feet on a Shivaling. He gets mad and says “How dare you do this?” And the person replies, “Can you move my leg? I'm a little old. Wherever God is not there, just move my leg there.” He tries to move his leg and wherever he moves the Shivling starts appearing. He falls at the guru's feet. After that he even started seeing God in the dog.
• Ignorance can be illumined by the grace of God and also ignorance is removed by knowledge. Gyana yoga and bhakti yoga can clear up ignorance.  We need a combination of both along with the preparation, which is karma yoga to be able to get to that. 
• We talk about Jeevan Mukta Purushas, who have attained mukti in this life itself while living.  If you find happiness within yourself that is inside you while you continue to do everything in the world, you're not going to incur further attachments and you'll be able to get liberated. This knowledge is not something that we can acquire. This knowledge is something we become one with, something that needs to be lived. That's the only way we will be able to get this knowledge.
• Sat-chit-ananda -the sat is the existence, CHIT is the awarenes of this existence,  and then ananda is the happiness that is applicable to everybody when this awareness occurs. The Brahman is the omnipresent and ananda is the ever blissful state. Because of the various self-imposed vasanas we are not able to be in that Ananda state. The way to attain it is to focus on a higher goal and then slowly sacrifice some of the lower goals.  Also, we need to do it consistently and form an attachment to the positive goal. This kind of attachment is good and is our formula for overcoming vasanas -Substitution and Sublimation. If you have negative tendencies, you substitute that with positive tendencies and then eventually that will get to sublimation. All of the materialistic things are temporary. They all have a beginning and an end. And because of that, they are not going to give us real happiness. Only when you dwell in the brahman in you, it can  give you that permanent happiness. That does not mean we don't interact with the materialistic things in the world or don't acquire them. But we need to be conscious that they are not permanent . We need somethings to lead this life but we can moderate on how many things we acquire. Just remember that they are not permanent. 

• There have been instances where Buddha has punished himself, because he got some thoughts in his mind that he shouldn't have got. Even somebody at that level can sometimes get influenced. We had to recognize that it is hard. We need to consistently work on it to overcome it. 
• Once there was a very rich man who was trying to get into the spiritual path. He asked a sadhu what is the ananda state you're talking about this blissful state. I don't understand. The rich man had a bag of.Jewelry and gold and the sadhu picks that and  starts running and then the this rich man kind of starts chasing him. He chases the sadhu all around the village and then comes back to the spot where he started. And he keeps the backpack back. The rich man asks “Why did you do this?” The sadhu said, that which you had before I took the bag and ran and that you got back when I came back here and kept the bag, that is happiness or Ananda.
• What is karma yoga? Karma yoga is desireless actions and typically you can do that only when you do that selflessly.

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Summarized By : Anuradha Bhaskar

We started the class with chanting om followed by Nadishodana and meditation.
We recapped on what was covered in previous class.
We went over the next set of Shlokas in Chapter 5- 19-24 translation  and theme of these verses. Brief Translations summarized are
Shloka 19:- those whose minds are established in equality of vision like will possess the flawless qualities of god and hence attain absolute Ananda, like seeing anyone and also a dog eater alike.
Shloka 20:- when we are having the firm understanding of the knowledge of brahman then once is not deluded by pleasant or unpleasant. 
Shloka 21:- who are not attached to external sense of pleasures derive happiness and bliss in the self and thus be united with god.
Shloka 22:-  The pleasures which arise by external objects have a beginning and end hence they are source of misery. The wise hence do not delight in them.
Shloka 23:- The yogis give up the desire before giving up the body hence they alone are happy.
Shloka 24:- The yogis who are happy within themselves enjoying the delight of the brahman are illuminated by inner light get united with Brahman and are hence liberated from material existence.

• What is Sat, chit and Ananda? -few of us gave our interpretation as below.Sat means the existence or the that which is the truth.Chit would refer to as Chaitanya- awareness of the existence - Consciousness.

Ananda as we know would be Happiness which we are experiencing because of the awareness of the consciousness.

• While living in this world when willing to sacrifice from lower aspects to higher and when it can be done in any ashrama dharma would help us go to Ananda state. This would be possible also by having the positive attachments via Substitution before sublimation.
• Permanent happiness is being with brahman. The materialistic happiness is not permanent and we should try not go after it.
• Anger which comes up due to attachments is an excessive desire. The fire of desire which we have must be replaced by calm composed lamp. We need to use knowledge in such a way that huge fire of desire goes away when a lamp of light comes the desire of fire reduces.
• Awareness of the ultimate brahman in everything will help us in being conscious.  Just like how the electric things are there just as things without Electricity it is of no use. In the same way the brahman is the driving force in all of us.
• Sat is the brahman, chit would be awareness of the brahman then we are get happiness.
• Bhagwan has three attributes Sat- which is the ultimate truth , Chit- awareness , Ananda- the experience the happiness.
• How a river loses individuality when it merges with ocean in the same way when one who has realized his self, then he brings his mind to quietness and becomes one with Brahman.
• Wecan interpret the same in case of a Dreamer the dreamer status is gone when dreamer becomes one with awaker, i.e. when we come to conscious we know and become aware that it was a mere dream that it is not real.
• An example on how we can always immerse in brahman while we interact with transaction world like how a mother is always thinking of the little baby whom she puts in a cradle even while doing her chores. Even a slightest move or sound from her child she is always aware. We can in similar way interact with the world and still be always aware of the ever existing brahman.
• Another example which was given on Ananda- there was asadhu who was approached by a wealthy man asking on what is Ananda? After hearing to this question the Sadhu takes a bag of coins from this rich man and runs away, the rich man chases him for some time and catches him and then sadhu gives him the bag and explains him that this what is Ananda.
• How does Gyana Yoga work- it eliminates the ahankara- whichthen removes the my ness and takes us towards I ness, this is achieved by regular practice of  Sravanam(constant chanting) manam (learning of the scriptures )nidithyasanam( trying to meditate on the key things which was done as part of manam and sravanam)
• How should one do Karma Yoga?  By doing our actions without getting attached to the result.

We went over what was FIR:- Frequency Intensity and Recovery
Frequency- what is the frequency of stressful incidents.
Intense- The intensity of the incidents taken place.
Recovery- how quickly were we able to recover from the Intensity of the incident.
We also covered what was KPI- keep process indicators which is Deattach and Attach
DeAttach from all the lower things and get Attach to higher things.

Asha ji to Share an interesting story on DeAttach to Attach in next class.