4 - The Science of Inner Bliss (Ananda) and Living a Sacred Life | Swami Tattwamayananda

08/06/19 • 89 min

Verses: III.6, II.8, I.11, I.9. This discourse was given on July 30, 2019 at the Lake Tahoe Retreat run by the Vedanta Society of Northern California by Swami Tattwamayananda.
-Ananda: attaining what ought to have been attained; having done what ought to have been done.
-Ananda: the science of inner bliss.
-The enjoyment of good health and wealth is very small in comparison to the enjoyment of transcendental bliss.
-Transcendental bliss allows spiritual seekers like Prahlada and the Russian pilgrim in the Way of the Pilgrim to see every day as a holy day and handle all difficulties in the world.
-Lesson I.11 is a convocation address for students who are to begin living with these transcendental ideas in life. (1) Imbibe what is good from your teachers (2) Respect and serve those who are even more exalted than your teachers (3) Preserve the tradition so that you are spiritually and culturally enriched. (4) Your actions towards your elders are a sacred act.
-Lesson I.9 explains that we most always hold to Rtam, doing what which ought to be done and distinguishing between right and wrong. This Rtam preserves the whole universe.
-Dharma is this Rtam in practice: it protects and sustains the universe.
-Satyam is the philosophical dimension of rtam.
-Tapas is intense concentration on your ideal, without which nothing can be achieved.
-Svadhyaya and Pravacana are learning the scriptures and transmitting the scriptures.
-Sama and Dama is self-restraint, which turns our mind into our tranquil friend, rather than our enemy.
-The guest must be honored. A guest is one who comes to your home without prior notice or invitation.

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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.

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5 - Direct and Indirect Methods of Explaining the Unexplainable Brahman | Swami Tattwamayananda

Verses: I.9, II.1. This discourse was given on July 31, 2019 at the Lake Tahoe Retreat run by the Vedanta Society of Northern California by Swami Tattwamayananda.
-Rtam, Satyam, and Dharma are explained.
-Svadhyaya and Pravacana are explained.
-Vedanta allows us to see all of the world’s traditions from a universal perspective. We expand beyond our immediate interests, needs, and physical body. Our svadharma helps all people.
-The four ashramas are reviewed. The importance of learning to retire gracefully is emphasized. 70% of ancient sages were retired householders who knew how to work not out of compulsion.
-An indirect way of explaining Brahman, which cannot be explained, is typified by Varuna’s successive instructions relating the ultimate reality to that which we normally understand.
-The direct method (swarupa lakshana) method of explaining Brahman, is typified by the discussion between King Janaka and Yajnavaklya in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. The question is what serves as light for a man and the student is led to understand that the sun, the moon, fire, sound, and the mind all get their light from the Atma, the light of all lights which is self-revealed.
-The concept of aparoksha anubhuti, non-indirect experience, is clearly explained in reference to Brahman.
-Brahman is beyond the six changes that characterize all entities within time, space, and causation.
-Brahman is not the effect of any cause. It is not manufactured, not attained, not the result of a process of refrainment, nor through a process of change. It is de-hypnotization through removal of obstacles. It is returning to our own home.
-Two approaches to realization are explained: (1) immediate experience through listening once due to extreme spiritual fitness, (2) 7 disciplines of practice that allow us to gradually increase our fitness.
-Life becomes an enjoyable spiritual pilgrimage concentrating on a higher spiritual goal.
-Thoreau is cited as an example of a practitioner of tapa, austerity.