BR Rishikeshchaitanyaji's lecture

Dear all,
For all those who missed Br Rishikesh Chaitanyaji’s talk at Nachi’s place on Thursday here is the gist.
Whatever is there in the beginning and end must naturally be there in the middle too.For eg.the mud which makes up an earthen pot is there before the pot was made and also after it has been broken to pieces. Similarly we arrive crying into this world and leave the world crying and grasping and naturally live in this world in distress . So this world is duhkhamaya.
What is the cause of this duhkha? The cause is seeing bheda, i.e. seeing that Iswara,prapancha and jiva as different and not seeing that everything is the Lord Himself.You attain happiness when u realize that there was never anything other than Him.
Man differs from the Lord in that man suffers from Klesha whereas the Lord does not.The klesha is due to avidya or ignorance about the reality behind oneself,asmita or the sense of Iness,raga or attachment, dvesha or aversion and abhinivesha or the fear of death. The root cause of turbulence in the mind is avidya which leads to all the rest.
The cause of fear is also bheda.We fear that we may lose money,power, status and fame due to the others never realizing that there is no other.There is only one Satchitananda.i.e, eternal, knowledge and bliss.
Satchitananda is our svarupa, which is why we want to live long, are curious and always run after happiness.We should live our life according to the four purusharthas. They are Dharma, Artha. Kama and Moksha.Even if u live ur life by the first three it is of no use. That is not the purpose of human life.The purpose of human life is Moksha alone.Anyone who lives otherwise is living the life of an animal.
The type of Dharma we have to follow is Svadharma.i.e a God conscious life, anything else is paradharma or the life of an animal. How do we reach such a state?This state can be achieved by Jnana or Karma. The former path is tough, so we must follow the path of Karma.. Karma is by Upasana(bhakti) or by surrendering the fruits of action to the Lord.The most astonishing thing is we are God only we haven’t realized it.We are like the lion who was reared by a sheep and lived the life of a sheep till another lion revealed to it its true nature.It doesn’t change the fact that it was a lion from the beginning.Similarly we are all divine only we haven’t realized it.
HURRY HOME!

What happens if we just let go ?

What happens if we just let go? Nothing happens except inner liberation. There is still food on the table. We are still brushing our teeth in the morning. Ultimately nothing can go wrong. It’s all perfect as it is. If we are dying in the moment, it’s still perfect as it is. All is being taken care of in the realm of perfection. That realm is what reality truly is.

There is a story about a man who traveled in the mountains and was overtaken by nightfall. As he continued walking in the dim light, he fell over what seemed to him to be a steep cliff. He managed to grab onto the branches of a small bush. He was holding on to it for dear life, imagining in his mind sure death if he let go of it. He spent the whole night in agony. By the first light of morning, sapped of all his strength, he lost his grip and fell. He was surprised to find that he landed on a secure ledge just two feet below where he had been clinging to the branches for dear life.

This humorous story illustrates our irrational fear and obsession. Because of our irrational fear we feel we must be in control. This originates from our belief that there is something fundamentally wrong with reality. The truth is that security is unobtainable because it is the very fabric of reality. Reality is all pervading. We can never fall out of it. We are already secure and we are always secure.

TEACHER VERSUS GURU

A teacher takes responsibility of your growth

A Guru makes you responsible for your growth

A teacher gives you things you do not have and require

A Guru takes away things you have and do not require

A teacher answers your questions

A Guru questions your answers

A teacher helps you get out of the maze

A Guru destroys the maze


A teacher requires obedience and discipline from the pupil

A Guru requires trust and humility from the pupil

A teacher clothes you and prepares you for the outer journey

A Guru strips you naked and prepares you for the inner journey

A teacher is a guide on the path

A Guru is a pointer to the way

A teacher sends you on the road to success

A Guru sends you on the road to freedom


A teacher explains the world and its nature to you

A Guru explains yourself and your nature to you

A teacher makes you understand how to move about in the world

A Guru shows you where you stand in relation to the world

A teacher gives you knowledge and boosts your ego

A Guru takes away your knowledge and punctures your ego


A teacher sharpens your mind

A Guru opens your mind

A teacher shows you the way to prosperity

A Guru shows the way to serenity

A teacher reaches your mind

A Guru touches your soul

A teacher gives you knowledge

A Guru makes you wise


A teacher gives you maturity

A Guru returns you to innocence

A teacher instructs you on how to solve problems

A Guru shows you how to resolve issues

A teacher is a systematic thinker

A Guru is a lateral thinker

A teacher will punish you with a stick

A Guru will punish you with compassion


A teacher is to pupil what a father is to son

A Guru is to pupil what mother is to her child

One can always find a teacher

But a Guru has to find and accept you

A teacher leads you by the hand

A Guru leads you by example

A teacher instructs you

A Guru constructs you


When the course is over you are thankful to the teacher

When the discourse is over you are grateful to the Guru

When a teacher finishes with you, you graduate

When a Guru finishes with you, you liberate

Dear all,
Jai Shri Krishna!
The summary of the 14 chapter is postponed to 23 May. The speakers are the same except for Jaya, who can't participate as she will be at Chennai. Instead viji will participate.

Quiz

Where is this passage from ?

Men call the Aswattha, - the Banyan-tree, Which hath its boughs beneath, its roots on high, The ever-holy tree. Yea! for its leaves Are green and waving hymns which whisper Truth! Who knoweth well the Aswattha, knows all.

Its branches shoot to heaven and sink to earth, Even as the deeds of men, which take their birth From qualities: its silver sprays and blooms, And all the eager verdure of its girth,Leap to quick life at touch of sun and air, As men's lives quicken to the temptings fair Of wooing sense: its hanging rootlets seek The soil beneath, helping to hold it there, As actions wrought amid this world of men Bind them by ever-tightening bonds again. If ye knew well the teaching of the Tree, What its shape saith; and whence it springs; and, then

How it must end, and all the ills of it, The axe of sharp Detachment ye would whet, And cleave the clinging snaky roots, and lay This Aswattha of sense-like low, - to set

New growths upspringing to that happier sky, Which they who reach shall have no day to die, Nor fade away, nor fall - to Him, I mean, Father and First, Who made the mystery

Of old Creation; for to Him come they From passion and from dreams who break away; Who part the bonds constraining them to flesh, And, - Him, the Highest, worshipping alway

No longer grow at mercy of what breeze Of summer pleasure stirs the sleeping trees, What blast of tempest tears them, bough and stem To the eternal world pass such as these!

Dear all,

Jai Sri Krishna,

It has been decided that in the next satsang 6 of us are going to summarize the 14 chapter. Date is 17 May(sunday). Introduction and first five stanzas by Srinivas, next five by Jaya,the next five by Ramana,the following 5 by Madhavi,the next 5 by Murali and the last two by Nachi.

14 Chap completed

Dear all,

This is just to inform that we concluded 14 Chap today. Next satsang will be the opening of the new Chap, the 15 th one. Quite exciting and interesting to look back with satisfaction and look ahead with anticipation!
Hari om and Jai Sri Krishna.
Nachi

Gurudev jayanthi

Thanks to Madhavi who suggested that we meet to celebrate Gurudev jayanthi, we had a spiritually rich and satisfying evening on the 8 of May. We chanted Guru stothram to begin with and followed it by reading a letter written in the 1950's by Gurudev to a devotee. He talks about how learning is the beginning and fulfills itself only in education. He also says that man begins with learning and becomes a real man when he turns the learning into education and becomes a super man in meditation. A man is a victim of his circumstances, a real man struggles and puts in self effort to gain mastery over the circumstances but a super man has all the circumstances under control.
We shared another interesting story about a king who renounced his kingdom to become an ascetic. He built himself a hut in the forest, but still did not attain realisation. A Holy man passed by and the King asked him for guidance to attain realisation. The Holy man replied 'renounce Oh' King, renounce what is yours'. The King thought he renounced the kingdom and all his possessions and all he had now was a hut. He burnt the hut and sat under the tree for meditation. He still failed to attain peace. The Holy man once again passed him and the King asked for guidane again. The Holy man replied ' 'renounce Oh King, renounce what is yours'. The King was puzzled and thought that all that his was his rosary and the water container. He burnt these two items and sat for meditation again. Once again he failed to attain realisation. The Holy man once again passed the King and repeated the same advice. The King was foxed and thought he had only his body to renounce and nothing else left. So he prepared his funeral pyre to immolate himself, when the Holy man appeared before him and stopped him and asked him "Is the body yours?". The King replied "This is all that is left of me...and when my body is burnt, all that is left will be my ashes" The Holy man replied, " you claim even the ashes to be yours...you have not truly renounced as long as you have not renounced the 'myness'. you have only replaced one possession for the other. One has to renounce not the possessions, but the possessiveness"

The evening ended with singing of Adisankara's Nirvana Shatakam. The chorus joining for 'Sivoham...Sivoham'. It was a memorable evening.

Hari Om

Dear all,
Jai Shri Krishna,
Another week has passed by so quickly. Today we completed the remaining 5 verses. They are as follows.
23. Udaasinavat asino gunair yo na vichalyate
Gunaa vartanta iti evam yaha avatishtati na ingate.

The benevolent Lord in reply to Arjuna’s question as to how a man who has transcended the gunas behaves in the world answers;
A man who has transcended the senses is centred in the Self and with a sakshi bhava observes the 3 gunas acting through the body , mind & intellect equipment, knowing fully that he is different from them.Therefore he is not agitated at all by the gunas.
Chinmayanandaji said an ordinary man is a victim of circumstances, a real man overcomes challenges with effort but a superman rides over challenges effortlessly as he is not a slave of the gunas.For this to be possible one has to identify with That---- the Atman.

24. samaduhkha sukha swastha samaloshtaashmakanchana
Tulya priyaapriyoh dhira tulya atmasamstuthi.

Shri Krishna continues
He (i.e.) the one who has transcended the gunas is balanced or equipoised in the face of dvandvas or dualities like sukha-happiness, duhkha- sadness; swastha- balanced,reacts similarly to a clod of earth, stone or gold. I once heard that when the late Kanchi acharya Sri Chandrasekhara Saraswati’s 90 b’day was celebrated by showering goldcoins on his head; there was no expression of happiness or pride on his face. He accepted it as if it were a routine affair.Such is the greatness of Mahatmas for whom even gold carries the value of a lump of mud. The gunaateetha is said to be the same to his likes and dislikes, to praise or censure.If u had seen A.R. Rehmaan when he was felicitated with a gold crown by singer suseela, he said in all humility that he was happy just to be seated next to suseela who was a goldmine.These are the ideals we must follow if we are to be supermen.

25.manaapamanayoh tulyastulyo mitraripakshayoh
Sarvarambhah parityaagi gunaatitaha sa uchyate.

The Lord further continues such a person is the same in honor and dishonor, treats a friend and enemy alike and undertakes all activities without the sense of doership.Such a person has really transcended the gunas.

26. mamcha yo avyabhicharena bhaktiyogena sevate
Sagunaan samityeetyaitaan brahmabhooyaya kalpate.

The Lord says the one who with faith and devotion to Him & with a one pointed mind serves Him will undoubtedly transcend the gunaas and reach Him the Brahman or the Truth. Serving the Lord is serving the world with love as the world is also Him the unmanifest.
27. Brahmanohipratishtaaham amrutasyaavyayasyacha
Shaashvatasya cha dharmasya sukha syaikantikasyacha.

Reaching the Brahman is becoming Him who has the following qualities.
Amrutasya- immortal, avyaya—imperishable , shaashvatasya—eternal and whose dharma or nature is sukha atyantika---ultimate happiness or bliss.So we become Satchitaananda----- eternal , consciousness and bliss.

In this chapter the Lord lovingly tells us about the gunaas, how we must recognize them, what their properties are and how we can transcend them to reach Him. He also tells us how a gunateetha behaves. Are we ready to tread the path shown to us ? Do we have the courage to face the world and not think of giving up at the smallest obstacle? With this the Lord has shown us that the problems are not out there but in here the mind . So the journey is always inward. Hari om!

Hi all, 3-05-09
Today we did the 20, 21& 22 verses of chapter 14 of BG. It goes like this.

20, Gunaan etantitya threen dehi deha samudbhavaan
Janma mrityu jara duhka vimukto amrutam asnute.

It means the embodied one who has transcended the three gunas which are born of this body, is free from birth, death, oldage ,pain and enjoys blissful immortality. We all forget the body and mind in sleep. Imagine if in the same way while we are fully conscious we are able to forget the body and mind then there is no more the cycle of birth, & death or the dvandvas of the body and mind. This is the real freedom , freedom from sansar. This freedom is called immortality.I think u know the story of a mahatma who was beaten by some robbers. When his sishyas gave him first aid and then asked him who did this vile thing to him , he answered; the hand that beat me is now nursing me. This mahatma has gone beyond the gunas. There are no dualities for such a person.

21, Arjuna uvaca
Kair lingais threen gunaanetan ateeto bhavati prabho
Kimacharaha katham chaitan threen gunaan ativartate.

Arjuna asks Krishna as to what are the characteristic features of
1) a person who has transcended the gunas.
2) How does he transcend them?

22,Sri Bhagavan uvaca,

Prakasam cha pravrttimcha mohameva cha pandava
Na dveshti sampravrittani na nivrittani kankshati.

Such a person is not affected by prakasam (light- sattva) or pravrittim ( activity- rajas) or delusion ( moha- tamas). He does not hate the gunas for expressing themselves nor does he long for them when they are not there. All of us experience feeling bad for losing our anger or for not having enough sattva while dealing with a situation. This is because we are puppets in the hands of our gunas. Wherever they pull we move and they are all following the order of the phantom king the EGO. So all our sadhana must be directed towards moving from tamas to sattva via rajas and then transcending even sattva.

Dear all,

Just sharing some thoughts. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa said just as we oil our hands before we cut a jackfruit so that its juice doesn't stick similarly we must armour ourselves with knowledge and detachment to live in this world.The earlier we do this the happier we will be.Arjuna learnt this late and had to face vishada.Dhruva learnt it early after he suffered at a young age at the hands of his stepmother and Prahlada faced tribulations with a smile at a tender age as he had gained knowledge and detachment inside his mother's womb . His teacher was the great devotee of the Lord----Narada

Dear all,

Tomorrow the 8 May is Swami Chinmayanandaji's jayanthi. There will be chanting of Guru stotram and talk on Bhagavad Gita at nagalands by Nachi. Interested satsangis kindly assemble at Nagalands- Jyotisar at 8p.m. on 8 may.

Yours in spirit

viji

Anapeksha of a voter

It was his turn.He had stood in the line for half an hour patiently in the sun.He entered the room and showed his card.His name was called out and his left index finger was marked with an undelible ink.It was election day.The country was wearing a festive look. The shops were closed and there was little traffic.There were no blaring mikes and it was really silent.It was a sunny Sunday and people were out there in their colourful best going out to exercise their franchise.The past one month was a frenzy.All types of people and parties were vying with each other to woo the voter.And there he was sitting weighing the pros and cons of whome he had to vote for.Should he vote for stability,good administration,development or a young leader.He wanted all these but there was no one offering all of them in one platter and he had only one choice.Should he vote for the party which was offering him some monetary benefit,or the one which offered him many freebies,or a party which offered television sets free or the person who was his same caste creed or religion.Or should he go back home because it makes no difference whome he voted for as all of them were one and the same.This was the first time he was exercising his franchise and he wanted to be sure he made no mistake.His young mind understood that his vote was not for personal gain. It was for the people as a whole for the state for the country.He was voting not only for himself but for a greater cause.He was not bound by the result.It was his duty to vote in spite of the results.So thinking he pressed the button on the EVM and waited for the sound.Ia this anapeksha? Srinivas

A-----a was very anxious.She was preparing for an elocution competion in her school.She was representing her group in the competion and everyones hopes were pinned on her.The last time she spoke she was very good and everyone had praised her.She felt on top of the world.This competition was only two days away.She could visualize herself speaking better than last time and could hear the claps and pounding of benches after her speech and saw herself receiving her prize amidst great applause.From her dreamworld she came down to reality.She saw her mother busy with her work.She went to her mother and started bothering her to prepare the speech.Her mother looked into her eyes.Here was her daughter ,who was a good speaker suddenly not at all confident of herself.She was more bothered of the praise and ovation she would get after her speech rather than how she should deliver her speech.This anxiety was making her confused and unsure of herself.Many of us are in the same position as the little girl.We are more bothered about the result of our work rather the work itself.This makes us anxious,frightened and less confident.How nice it would be if we work to the best of our abilities not bothering much about the result.Dont you feel this is Anapeksha?

Srinivas

Eknath Easwaran--Passage Meditation

Eknath Easwaran developed a method of meditation called "Passage Meditation" — silent repetition in the mind of memorized inspirational passages from the world's great religions.[2] As Easwaran said, "The slow, sustained concentration on these passages drives them deep into our minds; and whatever we drive deep into consciousness, that we become."

Easwaran's program for spiritual growth consists of eight points:

* Passage Meditation
* The repetition of a mantram (a holy word or phrase), sometimes referred to as Japam
* Slowing down
* One-pointedness
* Training the senses
* Putting others first
* Satsang, or a spiritual fellowship
* Reading the writings of the mystics


Passage meditation is a modern meditation technique developed by spiritual teacher Eknath Easwaran. Rooted in classic methods found in most spiritual traditions including a long-standing tradition of Hinduism dating back to Vedic times [1] it involves silent, focused repetition of memorized selections (passages) from scriptures of the world and writings of great mystics. According to Easwaran, the principle of meditating on inspired passages is that the words sink deep into our minds, eventually transforming “character, conduct, and consciousness.”

Passage meditation does not require adherence to any particular religion or belief. For example, a minister in the Roman Catholic diocese of Oakland and a registered yoga teacher, describes [2] how passage meditation has served her as a tool for personal transformation. As another example, a group of recovering alcoholics has produced a brochure [3] explaining how passage meditation is a practical method that can be used as part of a 12-step program.

Generally, meditation methods may reduce stress, and research published in 2006 in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology provided evidence that suggests that passage meditation reduces stress and may enhance mental health.[1]

People with low neuroticism (not being easily distressed) have a 50% lower risk of developing dementia, according to research published in 2009 in the Journal of the American Academy of Neurology "Personality and lifestyle in relation to dementia incidence"

Practiced for one-half hour daily on first arising, passage meditation is the foundational discipline of Easwaran’s Eight Point Program for drawing spiritual ideals into every aspect of daily life:

Jiddu on Meditation

There are various schools, in India and further East, where they teach methods of meditation - it is really most appalling. It means training the mind mechanically; it therefore ceases to be free and does not understand the problem.So when we use the word 'meditation' we (Jiddu means himself, I think) do not mean something that is practiced. We have no method. Meditation means awareness: to be aware of what you are doing, what you are thinking, what you are feeling, aware without any choice, to observe, to learn. Meditation is to be aware of one's conditioning, how one is conditioned by the society in which one lives, in which one has been brought up, by the religious propaganda - aware without any choice, without distortion, without wishing it were different. Out of this awareness comes attention, the capacity to be completely attentive. Then there is freedom to see things as they actually are, without distortion. The mind becomes unconfused, clear, sensitive. Such meditation brings about a quality of mind that is completely silent - of which quality one can go on talking, but it will have no meaning unless it exists.

Without expectations

Dear all,

jai sri krishna, reg the discussion about Anapeksha- being without any expectation.It means strive wholeheartedly for the goal you want to achieve and accept the result unconditionally.The result could be anything; it may or maynot be to the minds' liking, yet accept it completely and do what has to be done.Expectations have two bad side effects.1)It causes performance anxiety due to which your effort to achieve the goal may be affected 2)It may make u feel low if the result is not what you want it to be. Anapeksha is another way to attain equanimity.

Contradictory meanings

Dear All,

When I read the explanation of 'sarvarambha parityagi' and 'udaseena,' (compiled from an unknown origin) in our blog, followed by the conclusion that-" This picture of a contemplative can hardly be made to correspond to what is required of a warrior on the battlefield," I was perplexed.

When the geeta was taught to Arjuna in a battle field, then surely Krishna would not have said something which was not meant for a warrior. So there is another interpretation which is meant to propel a man to act with contemplation.

Sw Chinmayanandaji's explanation goes like thiis- Sarvarambha parityagi is to give up the arrogant and ignorant feeling that we are the initiators of any action. We are but a part of a thread of a series of connected actions whether we are aware or unaware of it. So to act, giving up the identity of 'I' to the action is sarvarambha parityagi. Swamiji says that 'Udaseena' is being unconcerned about the result of our action.

Love and Peace
Nachi

Commentary

anapekshak suchir daksha
udasino gatavyathah
sarvarambha pariyogi
yo madbhaktah sa me priyah

He who neither rejoices nor hates, nor grieves nor desires,
and who has relinquished (both) the beneficial and the
harmful, such a one endowed with devotion is dear to Me.

The epithets suchi (clear, clean) and daksha (expert) do
not suggest the sloppiness or slovenliness which is often
condoned in the name of other-worldliness or mysticism. A
man of devotion is not steeped in the negative state of inert
ignorance. A contemplative is not a hobo type. The Gita
here discountenances any type of spirituality which does not
include being awake to the details of a given situation,
without which no-one could be described as daksha (expert),
i.e. a man of savoir-faire. I
The epithet sarvarambha parityagi (relinquisher of all
undertakings) just means that he does not initiate any course
of action as a conscious agent. He participates in life only
as a boat would go downstream.
The expression anapekshah (one who expects no favours)
indicates his neutral poise, in the same way as the
other term :udasinah (one who sits unconcerned). This
picture of a contemplative can hardly be made to
correspond to what is required of a warrior on the
battlefield.

Welcome

Welcome to ANAPEKSHAH!

This is a space for creativity. A space to express in words a unrecorded thought. A space to share a stimulating feeling. A space for threading spiritual camaraderie. A space to let someone else experience the wonder of a new understanding that we have experienced!
To make a beginning, can each of you write in what the word anapekshah means to you? Bloggers enjoy the read!!!
Love to all
Nachi