Summary:
Lesson 40 revises mental preparedness required to assimilate Self-knowledge which leads to your liberation. For example, you can't rush to College, without High-school education. We also revise how our raga/dvesha (likes/dislikes) can take us on a ride, or align us to Isvahra's laws.
Source: Bhagavad Gita, CH5 – verse 22-24
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5, Verse 22:
ye hi saṃsparśajāḥ bhogāḥ duḥkha-yonayaḥ eva te ।
ādi antavantaḥ kaunteya na teṣu ramate budhaḥ ॥ 5-22॥
Oh Arjuna ! Those pleasures which are born of contact are indeed sources of sorrow only, (because) they have a beginning and an end. The wise (person) does not revel in them.
Key Concepts:
- Pleasures Born of Contact (saṃsparśajā bhogāḥ):
- All pleasures are born out of the interaction between sense organs (e.g., visual, auditory) and sense objects (e.g., sunrise).
- Mere presence of a sense object or sense organ alone is not enough to give pleasure; they must interact.
- The Problem with Sense Pleasures:
- Every pleasure is inherently mixed with pain.
- There are three types of pain associated with sense pleasures:
- Acquisition – The effort and struggle to acquire the object of pleasure.
- Preservation – The anxiety and effort involved in maintaining or preserving the object.
- Loss – The inevitable pain of losing the object or its condition changing.
- Example: Parents feel the pain of loss when their child leaves home to live independently.
- The Zero-Sum Game of Worldly Pleasures:
- Arrival of an object = pleasure, but its departure = pain.
- Conversely, departure of an object (e.g., a troublesome person) = pleasure, but the thought of their return = pain.
- This cycle of pleasure and pain is a zero-sum game—there is no real gain or loss, just a constant cycle of attachment and detachment.
- To think “I won” or “I lost” in this game, is delusional.
Ineffective Solutions:
- Possessing Objects for Pleasure:
- This approach works temporarily, but the person accepts the pleasure (the rose) while ignoring the inevitable pain (the thorns). Future pain is highly likely, such as the effort required to preserve the object.
- Renouncing Everything:
- Deciding to renounce all objects because they contain inherent pain also doesn't work.
- This leads to feelings of emptiness or loneliness, and eventually, the mind craves ownership or fantasizes about what it would be like to possess something.
- Method 1 (Possession): Leads to complaints due to the effort involved.
- Method 2 (Renunciation): Leads to boredom due to lack of engagement.
Conclusion: Both methods continue the bondage to samsara (the cycle of birth and death).
Vedanta’s Solution:
- Sannyasa (Renunciate Lifestyle):
- Solution: Simplify your life. This isn't so much about not possessing anything. But renunciation is through recognition that nothing on earth is really a big deal or really worth it. Even a new relationship. It's exciting at start. But quickly reaches baseline.
- Gṛhastha (Householder Lifestyle):
- Solution: Do not wish to give up things.
- Key: Develop sufficient mental strength to withstand the inevitable pain that comes with possessions.
- Ultimate Goal: Discover fulfillment in the Self (pūrṇatvam).
How to Discover Purnatvam (Fullness):
- For both lifestyles (Sannyasa and Grhastha), Self-Knowledge (jñāna-yoga) is the only lasting solution.
- Other methods (e.g., affirmations, self-help techniques) may provide temporary relief but do not address the root problem.
- Example: Affirmations like “I am confident” may help, but they also create new issues like “I must be sensitive to others' needs.”
- Self-Knowledge, on the other hand, addresses all problems by disassociating from the false “I” (the ego), which personal development methods reinforce.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5, Verse 23:
śaknoti iha eva yaḥ soḍhum prāk śarīra-vimokṣaṇāt ।
kāma-krodha-udbhavam vegam saḥ yuktaḥ saḥ sukhī naraḥ ॥ 5-23॥
That person who is able to manage the impulse born of desire and anger here itself before the fall of the body is disciplined. He is happy.
Key Concepts:
- Handling Rāga (Attraction) and Dveṣa (Aversion):
- Raga: Attraction or likes, which lead to attachment or desire (kāma) for an object.
- Dvesha: Aversion or dislikes, which result in fear or unjustified anger (krodha) or hatred toward an object.
- Both rāga and dveṣa are born out of the false notion that the world is either a source of joy or sorrow.
- In reality, the world is neither the source of joy nor sorrow. It is the individual's intellectual notions about the world, owned by the ego (aham kāra), that create these experiences.
- False Notions of the World:
- Raga: The false belief that the world will give permanent happiness or security.
- Dvesha: The false belief that the world is capable of giving sorrow. This is subjective, as what one person finds sorrowful, another may find joyful. For example, one person may find music joyful, while another may find it unbearable.
- Blaming the External World:
- Until a person acknowledges the presence of Ishvara and the infallible laws and orders, they will continue to blame external factors such as society, parents, siblings, environmental obstacles, weather, etc. In reality, Ishvara doesn't make mistakes. What you have is exactly what you deserve, whether you LIKE it or not.
Formula for Likes and Dislikes:
- With Likes/Dislikes:
- Makes you live in a bubble. You're not with the empirical world, but with your own world, constructed out of likes and dislikes. Example: “Yellow is happy,” “Black is evil,” “White is angelic,” “Car = status”. These are all subjective opinions.
- This subjective world reinforces separation from Ishvara.
- This subjective world is called jīva-sṛṣṭi (the individual's creation) or prātibhāsika.
- Without Likes/Dislikes:
- The objective world is seen as it is, without personal projections. You're grounded.
- Example: “Sun is sun,” “Tree is tree,” “Man is man,” “Car is car,” “Nuclear explosion = result of neutron striking the nucleus of an atom.”
- This objective world represents Īśvara-sṛṣṭi (God's creation) or vyāvahārika (empirical reality).
- This is the world of science and objective facts, where things are seen as they are, without personal bias.
- The objective world is seen as it is, without personal projections. You're grounded.
The Importance of Shifting from Jiva Srishti to Ishvara Srishti:
- Both subjective (Jiva Srishti) and objective (Ishvara Srishti) worlds are necessary to engage in life. For example you need jiva srishti to imagine.
- However, the goal is to move away from jīva-sṛṣṭi (subjective projections) and start seeing and speaking about things in the light of īśvara-sṛṣṭi (objective reality).
Managing Rāga and Dveṣa:
- Lifelong Process: Shifting from pratibhasika (illusory reality) to vyavaharika (empirical reality) is a lifelong process. This “process” involves reducing those binding likes/dislikes that keep you feeling bound, and subserving them in the name of pursuing moksha.
- Important Note: One is not supposed to get rid of all likes and dislikes. This is both unrealistic and unnecessary, just as it is not necessary for the body to be 100% healthy. In fact the body is never 100% healthy, it always have damaged cells.
- Similarly, one doesn't need to eliminate all likes and dislikes, but just enough so they don't dominate one's attention and distract from higher pursuits.
- Analogy: Just as you can't function 100% properly with a headache, you can't comfortably concentrate on self-inquiry with the “headache” of raga and dvesha. Reduce the raga/dvesha psychological headache. However has managed, is a yuktaḥ (Integrated Person).
Summary:
- Raga (Attraction) and Dvesha (Aversion) are born from false notions about the world being a source of joy or sorrow.
- The subjective world (jīva-sṛṣṭi) is filled with personal projections, while the objective world (īśvara-sṛṣṭi) is seen as it is.
- The goal is to move away from subjective projections and see the world objectively. Ultimately to see the world as nothing but manifestation of Ishvara, whose truth is Brahman.
- Managing rāga and dveṣa is a lifelong process, and one doesn't need to eliminate them entirely.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5, Verse 24:
yaḥ antaḥ-sukhaḥ antara-ārāmaḥ tathā antar-jyotiḥ eva yaḥ ।
saḥ yogī brahma-nirvāṇam brahma-bhūtaḥ adhigacchati ॥ 5-24॥
That yogi whose happiness is within, and whose recreation is within, and whose vision is within has become Brahman (while living) and attains oneness with Brahman (after death.)
Key Concepts:
- Life of an Integrated Person (Yuktaḥ / Jñāni / Jīvan-Muktaḥ):
- Wise person is in touch with one's nature. This manifests as general cheerfulness through the body-mind medium.
- Contrast with an Extroverted Mind:
- Many people travel or seek external experiences because they are not happy with themselves in the present moment. They feel a void of boredom, emptiness, or lack of meaning in life.
- Extroverted Mind: A mind that is constantly seeking fulfillment outside of itself. This fuels industries like tourism, where people travel to escape their inner dissatisfaction.
- Tourism: A solution provided for extroverted minds. It is driven by the need to fill the void created by identifying the “I” with the limited body-mind complex (BMI).
- The Freedom of an Integrated Person (Yogī / Jñāni):
- The integrated person can be with or without objects and never loses sight of one's intrinsic freedom.
- Such a person is called a yogī (jnani), meaning they have discovered “I am Brahman.”
- NOTE: Yogi doesn't always mean a jnani. Context is important. There are many yogis totally ignorant of their nature, thinking siddhis (powers) are the end of life.
- They are free from the need to seek external validation because I am full.
The Yogi's Experience of Freedom:
- While Living (Embodied Consciousness): The yogī enjoys their freedom while living, as long as their prarabdha karma (the karma that has already begun to bear fruit) continues. What does “enjoy one's freedom” specifically mean? Nature of this existent conscious being is free of this limited body-mind instrument, and all the desires/dissatisfactions/aging attached to this instrument.
Summary:
- The integrated person (yuktaḥ / jñāni) is not dependent on external objects or experiences for fulfillment. Although one will naturally still live a life surrounded by some level of comforts. Long as you're wearing a body-mind, comfort will play a significant role in life.
- In contrast, an extroverted mind seeks fulfillment outside of itself, fueling industries like tourism, which cater to the need for external experiences.
Keywords: bhoga, dvesa, dvesha, ishvara, ishvara srishti, isvara, jiva srsti srishti, jivan mukta, jivanmukta, jnana yoga, jnani, maya, nirvana, pratibhasika, raga, samsara, samsparsaja, sannyasea, sansparshaja, sarira, sharira, srshti, sukham, vedanta, vyavaharika, yogi, yukta
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Credit for help in Bhagavad Gita teaching is given to Swami Paramarthananda
Recorded 12 March, 2019
1. What does it mean to renounce internally?
A sensory organ and a sensory object, both are necessary to give pleasure or pain. The acquisition of an object can bring pleasure, but this is followed by pain, either because of the loss of the object, or because of the inability to retain the object of pleasure. This is Samsara. To renounce internally means finding joy in Self-knowledge. Focusing on Self-knowledge means focusing on the Self, which is the source of all my sorrows and joys.
2. From what?
Renouncing the continual cycle of pleasure and pain engendered by objective pleasure and pain of the material world.
From whom?
From the material world.
3. And for what reason?
I must renounce in order to achieve equanimity. To have peace of mind. To achieve Moksha when I am still alive. To achieve my life’s purpose.
4. Why should I renounce?
Because I refused to fulfill the highest purpose of life in last life. Thus I got exactly what I deserve! For this reason alone, I shall fulfill the highest purpose of existence in this life, which is Moksha, & end the cycle of birth and death.
5. What does it mean to be psychologically / mentally independent of the world (people / situations)?
It means being an integrated human being. To move away from the Jiva Shristi towards the Ishwara Shristi, and finally towards the A-Shristi.
Hi Andre,
I submit answers to questions asked after the course, for your corrections. Thank you.
Good work Nicholas. Keep it up. You’re taking care of your wellbeing and thinking.
Some contributions…
1) What does it mean to renounce internally? Like to add, renunciation is an inner attitude. Seeing what an object can do for you and not do for you. Without this, one either denies oneself from life experience in the name of “there’s nothing out there in the world for me / I’m on a spiritual path / etc”. Or one gets taken for a ride,giving excess power to the object to rule one’s emotions and wellbeing. So renunciation is just having a healthy relationship with everything. You still need people, experiences and challanges in life. So we’re not getting away from anything. Just using it (respectfully) for our growth.
2) From what? Need to eventually get away from “spiritual world vs material word” division. Because all that is here is Intelligence (Ishvara). World is manifestation of intelligence. Your brain, lungs… manifestation of intelligence. And that same intelligence manifests everything else. So what is there to renounce from? Nothing. Therefore, again, the world “renunciation” is having a healthy relationship with everything, rather then putting things into boxes.
3) And for what reason? I’d like to point out, you’re are ever in the process of evolution. It’s ongoing. We need patience and kindness towards ourselves, because sometimes the progress isn’t happening as fast as we’d like.
5) Good answer. Less my own stuff and projections, coloring in the world and people into what it’s not (jiva-srsti), and more ishvara-srsti (seeing things as they really are).