2 - Tapah: Going Deeper through Austerity | Swami Tattwamayananda

08/06/19 • 84 min

Verses: I.1, III.1, III.2, III.3. This discourse was given on July 28, 2019 at the Lake Tahoe Retreat run by the Vedanta Society of Northern California by Swami Tattwamayananda.
-God is the one all-pervading spiritual reality.
-The five stages of the evolution of Godhead: pantheism, panentheism, polytheism, monotheism, monism.
-After inquiry, Bhrigu the young boy is instructed by his father Varuna: seek to know that from which all things are born, by which they remain alive, and into which, by departing, they enter.
-Varuna’s approach to teaching is indirect. He begins by teaching what is in front of us: food, air, sight, hearing, mind, and speech and asking the disciple to inquire deeper through tapah.
-Shankaracharya explains that tapah, austerity, means withdrawing from external senses and focusing on one ideal. Buddha’s example is given. All other great achievements are a result of this tapah.
-Yudisthara’s said that the greatest wonder is that even though living beings are dying every moment, we forget and think we will live forever.
-Bhrigu’s first discovers that matter seems to be Brahman. This is the conclusion of material scientists. But he himself realizes that this can’t be correct. Sri Ramakrishna’s parable of the woodcutter explains the importance of going deeper into spiritual inquiry. Sincere inquiry and tapa naturally led to Bhrigu’s realization of the need to go further. This doubt, parinama duhkha in Patanjal’s Yoga Sutras, is a force that propels you forward in spiritual life.
-At the next stage Bhrigu realizes that prana, life force, is Brahman. He again asks his father for instruction. When the mind is pure, the mind becomes your spiritual teacher.
-Both prana and matter are changing so they are still not the ultimate principle.
-In Bhakti, this tapah can be understood as self-surrender, prapatti.
-Tapah without a spiritual ideal can be lead to aberrations. A spiritual ideal, and ethical disciplines such as yamas and niyamas, close negative channels and help us to evolve an inner filter mechanism that protects us.

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1 - Introduction and Instructions to Graduating Students | Swami Tattwamayananda

Verses: I.1, I.11. This discourse was given on July 27, 2019 at the Lake Tahoe Retreat run by the Vedanta Society of Northern California by Swami Tattwamayananda.
-Triple foundation of Indian philosophy: (1) Upanishads, which form the foundation (2) Gita, which provides the interpretation and (3) Brahmasutras, which provides the logical analysis
-Initially, there was one Veda. Vyasa classified into four groups: Rig veda, Yajur veda, Sama veda and Atharva veda. Taittiriya Upanishad belongs to Yajur veda.
-Story of Yajnavalkya is discussed in the context of Krishna-yajur-veda and Shukla-yajur-veda.
-Each veda has 4 divisions: (1) Samhitas (2) Brahmanas (3) Aranyakas and (4) Upanishads.
-Upanishads are the essence of the Vedas and constitute philosophical ideas that are relevant to people from all religions and cultures.
-There are 31 anuvakas in Taittiriya Upanishad.
-Taittiriya Upanishad starts with a prayer to Vedic deities, such as Mitra, Varuna, Vayu and Indra. All deities are different manifestations of one Absolute Reality. The seeker asks for inner joy and spiritual common sense to pursue the path of truth and dharma.
-Lesson 11 is discussed: Instruction from teacher to departing students. Speak the truth and practice dharma. Dharma is the most important value when conducting duties in the world, and is the regulating principle behind artha and kama.
-A householder should work hard to earn wealth through proper means for the good of society – that way, he pursues the path of dharma. He should also take necessary actions for self-preservation.
-Vivekananda emphasized the harmony of “best of modern technology” and “best of spiritual values”.
-Guru-dakshina is discussed. If we get something for free, we fail to appreciate its full value.
-An ideal person should respect his parents, teachers and guests with the same reverence as god.
-Obligations in ascending order are discussed: (1) to yourself (2) to members of family (3) to society and (4) to ancient sages.
-A householder has a duty to teach the next generation. This is his way of paying back the debt to his teachers and ancient sages and preserving the parampara.
-Families and societies collapse when there is a lack of sanctity.
-Spirituality can be practiced in the midst of secular activities.
-Charitable practices, by themselves, are not enough. They need to be complemented by individual sadhana.
-A person or country that only receives and never gives back remains a debtor and fails to develop their own resources.
-One should refrain from commenting or criticizing Vedic scriptures unless they have learned their essence from a true master.

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3 - Ananda: Bliss as the Highest Spiritual Experience | Swami Tattwamayananda

Verses: III.4, III.5, III.6. This discourse was given on July 29, 2019 at the Lake Tahoe Retreat run by the Vedanta Society of Northern California by Swami Tattwamayananda.
-Bhrigu and Varuna’s approach to going deeper in spiritual inquiry through tapah, austerity is reviewed. Matter, annam, and life-energy, prana, are the first two stages of Bhrigu’s understanding of Brahman, but he continues his inquiry.
-At the next two stages of Bhrigu’s inquiry, he finds that the mind, manas and intellect, vijnana are Brahman.
-The definition of the mind, manas, is given, “sankalpa vikalpa antahkarana vritti.” It reflects on and determines what the objects are.
-The antahkarana is analyzed into the functions of ahamkara, chittam, manas, and buddhi
-The intellect and the mind reflect the Atman. Depending on the samskaras stored in the chittam, they are able to reflect the Atman more or less clearly.
-Finally, at the fifth stage, Bhrigu realizes Ananda, bliss, as Brahman. This Ananda does not refer to the Anandamaya-kosha, which is the bliss of enjoyment of the world. It is an unconditioned Ananda, which is our home.
-In deep sleep, this bliss is experienced because the faculty of experiencing duality is benumbed. In Samadhi, this bliss is experienced with awareness and we transcend duality.
-An Advaitin sees that he is one with the whole humanity so he has no quarrel with anybody.
-The language of Samadhi is silence, mind and intellect come back from Samadhi empty-handed.
-We are then able to see the changing as changing so that all anxieties are gone. We no longer interpret ourselves as the changing phenomenon of mind and matter. It is not a life negating philosophy but rather it allows us to work in the world without being shocked at its inherent imperfection.
-At the philosophical level, the world is changing, and Brahman is Real. At the experience level, the so-called world is seen as Brahman, so the world is also seen as real, but as Brahman.
-Some texts, such as Yoga Vasistha explain Brahman from the highest perspective where everything is seen as Brahman. Shankaracharya’s work also explains ways to reach the highest perspective starting from where we are in our evolution.
-To change our life, we can create healthy samskaras through constant thinking of these higher ideas. Our mind changes and we evolve.