2013 Lake Tahoe Retreat 2 – You are Never Too Late in Spiritual Life | Swami Tattwamayananda

Verses: 2.55, 12.13, 6.37, 6.38, 6.40, 6.41, 6.42, 6.43, 6.44, 2.56
-You can become a sage or a saint. Everybody can strive towards becoming a sthitaprajna.
-Grace and Self-Effort: we make an effort to be able to make use of God’s grace when it comes.
-We gain santushta (contentment) and krtarthita (the feeling that we have obtained that which was to be obtained), which cannot be taken away.
-First, we listen, shrutiya, reason, yuktiya, and then gain our own experience, svanubhutiya.
-Spirituality begins when we reach the experience level and it is the secret of the joy of spiritual seekers (Ananda), immortality (amrta), and the feeling that there is no other.
-What happens if we do japa, meditation, and lead a pure life, but are not able to completely succeed in this life? (6.37 + 6.38)
-Krishna answers Arjuna with great affection: Nothing is lost. All good actions leave a subtle residual effect (samskara) in our system. When we are reborn those good tendencies will manifest if a suitable environment becomes available to us. (6.40)
-When we reconnect, get an inexplicable feeling of being at home in a spiritual tradition, and continue our journey. You are never too late and nothing is ever lost.
-There should be no complacency/ procrastination, but there is also no room for anxiety. You can live in this life as a jivanmukta.
-Good samskaras will allows us to born in a good prosperous family to continue our practice. (6.41)
-A yogi that makes a tremendous effort but stil doesn't succeed will take birth in a yogi's family. (6.42) His mind will be filled with tremendous good samskaras. Even if he is unwilling, he will be forced to enter into the path. Swami Vivekananda is a great example, he was a saptarishi. (6.43 and 6.44)
-A muni, a contemplative, does not get overjoyed nor does he get depressed. (2.56) A yogi sees everything from a wholistic viewpoint, not just the tip of the iceberg. He goes beyond duhkha, suhkha because he knows he is beyond the body.