Summary:

Lecture 9 gives examples how to relate to God. Consciousness is as-though confined. All that is here is Ishvara. Going from subjectivity to empirical reality to final reality. Mistake of trying to eliminate all vasanas. How perception happens, or how consciousness lights up the world: Consciousness > lights up mind > lights up senses > lights up world.

Source: Drg Drsya Viveka

CONTINUATION OF LECTURE 7, VERSE 13:

• TO RELATE TO ISHVARA, IT IS GIVEN DIFFERENT NAMES:
  • Brahma: intelligence has capacity to produce something new at every moment. Every moment there’s a new manifestation that wasn’t there a moment ago.
  • Vishnu: Between constant manifestation and going away of forms, there’s a seeming stability. If could see all changes taking place, mind would be overwhelmed. Intelligence gives vision of stability while things are changing.
  • Shiva: As moment is created, previous moment has to go. Allows change of forms.
  • Durga: Laws that give you power (to change life, persistence to remove ignorance).
  • Lakshmi: Laws that govern how much wealth you have. Wealth (money, friendly home) is not material, it’s one of manifestations of Ishvara. Sometimes, have much of this, but inability to use it resourcefully, thereby lacking Sarasvati.
  • Sarasvati: Laws that governs how brilliant your mind is and how much of that brilliance you can access.
  • Dharma: When lifeforms are created, they need to preserve themselves and understands others also want to preserve themselves. If go with/against dharma, law of karma-phala (consequences) takes over.
• YOU ARE PART OF THE ORDER: Therefore, one begins to see oneself as part of grand scheme of things. Takes you from position of isolation to connection, because you are pervaded by intelligence, as is everything else. Go from dissatisfaction to gratitude, and naturally become a contributor.
  • Can start to live from trust, knowing the order is ever present and it’s impersonal and has been running this universe perfectly/justly, since beginningless time. Trust can only come from understand presence of Ishvara’s laws/orders.
  • Otherwise it’s like rowing in a stream, without any knowledge of winds, and where stream is going. Journey becomes anxiety.
• EXAMPLES OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BRING PRESENCE OF ISVARA IN LIFE:
  • MAN ON BUS: Man was carrying crate of vegetables on his shoulder in the bus. Co-passenger said, “Yes, you must make living by selling these vegetables village-to-village, and it’s a hard life. But your life would be much easier if you put the crate down and let bus carry it”. Similarly, life can be much easier if release the need to carry the burden you’re not meant to. Else will be dissatisfied and project onto others.
  • WAVE RECOGNIZES OCEAN: Imagine wave has eyes, looks around and sees other waves. Due to it’s I-sense, it gives reality to it’s as-though confinement, and compares self to the Pacific wave! Jealousy. Comparison, etc.
    • Unless wave shifts vision, it’ll continue to feel small no matter how many self-help seminars it attends.
    • Wave has to understand that my wave-ness is there, but there is another entity which is Ocean. If vision shifts from wave-ness to Ocean, you move from duality to unity.
    • Waves are many, ocean is one. Every wave comes from ocean, is sustained by, and resolves into Ocean. Wave understands everything is equally a manifestation of Ocean, and Ocean is one system within which each wave plays a part; then it will start thinking about contributing to the system.
    • When wave comes to know the ocean, is it positive thinking? It’s objective thinking.
  • Knowing I am and all thing are within Ocean, one releases need to control things or complain. If oblivious to all-pervading intelligence, then feel small and isolated.
  • When take into account your place within grand scheme of things, acknowledging your talents/skills, relinquishing need to have a perfect life, and getting over the need to put labels onto everyone… then you have grown.
• CONCLUSION:
  • Maya/Ishvara isn’t an academic study. To grasp it, is to change your interactions with the world. It’s a system within which you find yourself and have to navigate your life intelligently by understanding rules of the game.
• NEXT VERSE: Understanding many forms, but one reality.

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Course was based on [1] Drig Drishya Viveka book by Swami Tejomayananda [2] Book by Swami Nikhilananda [3] Neema Majmudar.

Recorded 18 Jan, 2024